Thank Goodness it's Friday...

The week has been fairly ordinary, with the usual "hot spots." Tuesday was crazy as usual of course, but yesterday was even more so. I have SO much work sitting in my inbox, and so many things that are keep me running in all different directions that I am having trouble getting my regular work done. I heard yesterday that they are going to need me to get all my material receiving (that's what's in my inbox) done by the end of today because it's the end of the month for accounting reasons.

Next week is going to be even more nuts.

• Independence Day is right smack in the middle of the week, and I know they're going to make us all work 10-hour days.
• Add to that the fact that my supervisor, whom I share a lot of duties with, will be off all next week.
• Elaine, who does all the part-marking of our aircraft parts before they go out, will be off two of those 4 days, and I will be filling in for her supposedly.
• I am leaving on vacation with Sarah next Friday, and I have a ton of things to worry about.

The other day when I was putting the battery in my Harley, I was pulling awkwardly on a cable with pliers with my face very close to it. The pliers slipped off and hit me hard in the glasses, knocking them off and putting a big gouge in the left lens. I have been meaning to get new glasses for some time, and now is that time because I'm looking through a nice scratch. I guess I'm lucky. On one hand, if I already had new glasses I would have ruined them, and on the other hand if I hadn't had them on I might have damaged my eye (yes, I hit it that hard). I stopped last night and made an appointment for 4:30 today for the eye exam. Sarah will go with me today so she can help me pick out some new glasses. I want something in the smaller, rectangular style that's popular, and I told her I value her input and would like her to help me choose. She seemed eager.

(Sigh) Well, it's time... I hope today goes okay... I want a good weekend without dread of Monday

Will Wonders Never Cease...

If the world starts turning backwards or something weird like that today, it's because (brace yourself) I actually washed my Harley yesterday!

I haven't washed it since right before we went to Anacortes Oyster Run last year. I think that was in September. Wowsa.

School ends today, but Sarah is only going for a couple hours if even that. I'm officially off "pick her up from school" duty, so I'll be riding to work most days now. Yippie!

I put the new battery in last night. Because most batteries are made in third world countries and are metric in dimension (this one is made in Viet Nam) they don't fit exactly like an OEM one would. It's a little less thick than the original so I had to cut some pieces of hose to take up the slack under the hold-down strap to keep it from bouncing around. I'll tell you what, that baby really turns over now!

Back in the saddle!

The Last Day of School

Well, not officially. Sarah said tomorrow is actually the last day, but hardly anyone will be going (her words). I told her she might just as well go whether anything is going on in the classrooms or not. Gives you lots of social time to say your summer goodbyes and stuff. I'll just be happy to not have to pick her up after school any more for a couple months.

That means Harley commuting to work!

Speaking of Harley--I got my new battery yesterday. I always have my UPS stuff shipped to me at work for obvious reasons. The last thing I want to see when I drive up to my home is a box sitting "naked" on the step out in the open. I got home and put it on the charger and pulled the old one out of the bike. Side-by-side, the old one is thicker. Sort sorta worries me, partly because it will rattle around if I don't put a spacer of some kind in with it, and partly because maybe it isn't as strong of a battery as the thicker one. If nothing else, the new one will be easier to get into the little hole it lives in. I need to figure out what I can use to take up the extra space to make it fit nicely. I hope it's got the juice I need to turn that baby over...

When I took Sarah and her boyfriend home yesterday, I saw that they had put Sarah's old pool up in the back. It's the kind that uses an air ring around the top, and it hadn't been filled up. The water can only go so high without the air ring to "float" the sides all the way up. I drove home and filled my portable air tank and came back and filled it up, then put the hose in the pool to add more water. When they set it up, they didn't get the bottom smoothed out quite right, so it the bottom had big wrinkles in it and one side of the pool was a little lower than the rest. They had also lost the big rubber o-ring that seals the top of the filter, so it would never really stop leaking.

I was back home for an hour or so when Teresa called. She said she heard a whoosh noise and looked out back to see that the pool had practically emptied itself, turning their parking area into sort of a shallow moat! I guess the one side that was a little lower is what did it. The water level got to a certain point and the pressure against it allowed it to "roll over" and empty itself. The only way to fix it right is to empty it enough to where you can straighten the bottom of it out, and I doubt if she'll do that. It just goes to show you--If your foundation isn't straight, neither will anything else be.

I'll be eating leftovers for a week! When I emptied my crock pot last night, the roast beef and the fixins' that were in the pot with it totally covered a big oval serving dish. It was excellent too. I added a salad to my meal so I could pretend I was eating right. Anyway, add the clam chowder leftovers to the roast beef and I've got lots of stuff to eat on for a while. I think I'll have hot dogs tonight for a change.

It's going to be a warm day, so I'll be simultaneously wanting to strip naked, drink beers, and ride the Harley. I guess I'll just have to prioritize...

Chat Party!

I had never been to a chat party until last night. That's kind of weird actually--Partly because I have been chatting on Yahoo of and on for several years, and partly because I have a hard time passing up a party invitation. I guess the planets aligned this time.

I wasn't going to go because it was all the way up in Everett, but then I got to thinking, "Hey, Everett isn't far... Jeez..." The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go and meet these people. I decided that a blast on the Harley was just what I needed, so I checked the weather: Cloudy with a chance of showers was good enough for me.

Yesterday morning I amazed myself by actually getting dressed and going out grocery shopping. I have a bad habit of staying naked all morning (sometimes all day) and not getting much done. I was very low on lots of pantry things, so I decided to blast out and beat the usual Saturday crowds. It worked out well. One of the items I bought was a huge beef roast that I'm going to put into the crock pot today. Yum! After I got back, I put all my groceries away then ran back out to McDonald's and grabbed a couple of their "Two for $2" egg McMuffins. When I got back, I stripped back down to my comfort level once again (I can't help it).

I still had the passenger seat on it from Thursday night when I took a friend to a biker bar out in Cumberland for their Taco Thursday event, so I wanted to take that off and put it back in "solo" mode. Also, because the battery on the Harley is on its last legs, I had to charge it so it was ready by the time I was ready to leave. Anyway, I went out to the garage (duh, of course I was still naked) and changed the seat and put the charger on.

At 6:00 it was getting close to time to go and I was starving again, so rather than make something I opted to drive to Wendy's in the car before I left. I didn't want to do any drinking on an empty stomach, nor did I have any idea what they had to eat at the bar. After I tanked up my stomach, I drove back home, changed into my riding duds, and put the seat back on the Harley (the battery is under the seat). I left at about 6:45 or so.

It was a great ride even if it was all freeway. I guess the reason was that I was comfortable, and I had the carpool lanes working in my favor. I made the 50-mile trip in about 45 minutes. The party was slated to start at 7:00, so I was just barely even "fashionably late." I did a couple loops around the place to assess the parking situation, then ended up parking my bike in a perfect spot right out in front of the main window.

It's weird walking into a party that is made up of chat members because chances are you don't know what anybody looks like. It's weird. As I walked in, a couple gals were there near the bar ordering their drinks and I overheard, "So who would that be? Gray?" Grayhaird is my Yahoo chat name. That's basically how it went. People would walk up and say, "Hi, I'm GNS, or hi, I'm Missi, or hi, I'm SeaBreeze" etc. Nobody used their "real" names. It was a lot of fun.

The party actually took place at a sort of outdoor addition that they had built onto the bar. There was a nice thing out there with a bunch of furniture and mood lighting, and had sort of a tropical flavor to it. Also, because most of the chatters were smokers, it enabled everyone to be able to smoke as they saw fit. There were people there from the Everett area, Spokane, Tri-Cities, and down around my area as well. All in all, I'd say about 25 people or so showed up. The coolest thing was that everybody was very uninhibited and loose. We were all adults and all fun-loving. Because we had all done all the suggestive chatting that people do, it was like we sort of already knew each other's personality a bit. It was cool. A lot of playful ass-grabbing and stuff. I must say, it was the most hugging and touching I've ever seen a bunch of strangers do at a party. I loved it. Lots and lots of pictures were being taken too, so I'm curious as to how those will turn out. One guy, Junkyard Dog (we call him JYD) rode his bike all the way from Spokane, and as he got into town there in Everett, his throttle cable broke. I hope everything works out okay for him getting it back on the road for his 6-hour ride home. It looks like it's going to be a soggy ride too.

I kept my drinking in moderation, and said my goodbyes at 11:30. I went out to the bike, unlocked it, and sat down. I turned the key on and hit the starter button. It groaned once and clicked. Dammit! Harley's haven't had kick start levers on them for a couple decades so kick-starting it wasn't an option. After sitting there for a bit, I tried it again. It would "almost" start, but I was lucky to even get half an engine revolution out of it. Finally I gave up and pushed it around the corner into their parking lot alongside of the building and went all the way to the back to where the alley intersected with it. Their parking lot had a slope down to the street so I figured I could "bump-start" it. I gave it a shot, but didn't quite get it. I pushed it back up to try again, and this time a nice older guy named Roger who was out having a cigarette gave me a push. I got a lot more speed that time and it fired right up. Thanks Roger, wherever you are. I owe you one.

It was an excellent night to blast back home on a midnight ride. The night was clear, and I was riding toward a bright half moon lighting the sky. The city of Seattle looked awesome, but riding at night at 75mph with a good buzz on requires a little more focus than is allowed for just looking around admiring the lights and sights. Still, I was able to enjoy it--After all, unlike a car I have an unobstructed view . The air in the face while you're on a Harley really helps you keep clarity when you're riding under the influence too. I guess that's why I have so much fun with it.

On the way home I got to test my new fuel petcock. About halfway home the engine started to sputter, so I reached down and slid it over to the "reserve" setting. The engine immediately caught and smoothed out again as gas resumed feeding it. I didn't want to stop for gas on the way home just in case it refused to start again. I knew I had plenty of gas left in the "reserve" portion to get me home, and of course I did arrive with no problem at about 12:30. I shined a flashlight into the gas tanks and there was still gas in there. I would venture a guess that I could probably get about 40 miles or so out of it on reserve.

All in all, it was an excellent night. Now I'm up and only had a very mild hangover which is already gone. I wonder how long it will be before the rest of them show up online? Noon?

Wood

Yes, I'm talking about that kind of wood...

I know I've written about it before... How we men almost always wake up with wood. Today was a little different though.

Lately, the temperature has been such that I haven't even worn a robe in the morning when I go downstairs to make my lunchtime sandwich while my coffee is brewing. Yes, I spend the whole 15 minutes standing naked in the glaring light of my kitchen, slapping my crappy sandwich together.

Anyway, today I get up and it's solid. I mean solid. I sit on the edge of the bed for a minute. Nothing. I stand up and turn on the bedroom light. Blinded momentarily, I stumble over and turn the computer on. Still no sign of it diminishing.

What could I do?

Well, I went downstairs and did my usual routine, that's what. The whole time I was down there it never drooped one iota. It was sorta weird. I finished all that and was up here with my coffee, surfing the web for at least another 20 minutes before it finally went down!

Sure it's fun to play with and I do it often, but this time I really didn't feel like it. Like I said before, it's kind of like our little guys truly do have a mind of their own, and today it was asserting its independence.

Although it was 4am, I couldn't help but feel weird standing in the kitchen that way. My curtains are always open to the back yard, and you would think that bit of apprehension would have stifled it. Nope. Oh well...

Good ol' penises...

Vehicles and Maintenance

It seems to be a time of machine breakage.

My car needs front brakes and a new heater core. It also needs new struts, but I can deal with a lousy ride. I just want it to be safe and for the heater/defroster to work. It also runs like crap, so tuneup parts are also in order. I ordered some brake parts last night and I'll pick em up today on the way to pick Sarah up and slap em on tonight.

When I was out on my ride to Chelan a week and a half ago, I lost the little knob off my speedo for resetting the trip odometer. I use the trip meter to keep track of how many miles I ride in between gas fill ups, so I need to be able to reset it each time I fill up. I bought a new one a few days ago at my local bike shop, along with a few carburetor parts I needed. Last night I went out to install it and found to my dismay that the whole shaft the knob was hooked to was gone as well. After my initial "being pissed" about it mood wore off, I wondered how I could make it work some other way. I rummaged around in my big box of miscellaneous hose and tubing and came up with a piece of rubber tubing that was just teeny enough inside to fit over the little nubbin that was left on the speedo and I epoxied it on. It seems to work fine. It's flexible enough that it should never break, but rigid enough that I can easily spin it each time I want to reset my trip odometer. The carburetor parts I had on order are to fix the problem it has of overflowing gas if I accidentally leave the fuel petcock on when I park it. I'll come back to a big puddle of gas on the ground. Imagine having that happen in the garage? No thanks!

I also bit the bullet and ordered a new battery for the Harley yesterday morning. I had done some research already so I knew what I was going to buy, but still hadn't done so yet. I kept hoping that the bike would not leave me stranded on our trip but wasn't overly concerned because I was with other folks. I could have gotten a push should I have needed to (thankfully I didn't). There were a couple times it turned over slow, but because it had been ridden a lot, it started very easily. Anyway, I remembered yesterday morning I still had money in my PayPal account, and my favorite online Harley superstore has that as an option. I was able to damper the $85 bill down to $22 out of pocket. I should have it very soon. Considering I've had the bike now since September of 2003, I've been very lucky the battery has lasted as long as it has. Some people are lucky to get two years out of one. I think it's because they end up sitting so long in between rides.

The truck still sits... Still not being driven. Still insured, still leaking oil on the driveway, still has a bad engine, and still only starts when it wants to. It's dirty and the paint looks horribly oxidized from neglect. It needs a bunch of stuff, but I just wish it would go away. Trouble is, you can't sell something that doesn't work right--You'll lose your ass.

Sigh. Put it on the list...

I'm Just Not Into Today

Yeah, I know... It's Father's Day. What does that mean to me?

Not much.

At the risk of being cynical or apathetic, I just don't care for Father's Day and I don't think I ever have. It's just another of what I call "obligatory" shopping days. Dad's aren't the same as moms, and I don't think we get the same warm feeling that women do on their day of celebration. Don't get me wrong--I treasure all those special times that all dads do, like holding your child, reading to them, teaching them to ride a bike, or all the other multitudes of things that come with fatherhood. I just don't like the day of celebration I guess.

What did I get for Father's Day? I got the opportunity to get up this morning and make breakfast for Sarah and I. She stayed over last night--The first time in over a year--Because Teresa was going to someones wedding in Bellingham overnight. Well, although we had a good visit, I knew if I wanted breakfast I would have to cook it myself. I forget what time she got up, but it was at least 9. She did say "Happy Father's Day" at one point, but that's it.

I just got back from my parents' house... Paying the obligatory visit to the old man. I stopped at the store and bought him a nice, big steak and a package of strawberries. I got no reaction from him, and really didn't expect any. After listening to him rant about all the things that matter to him (and nobody else) and of course repeating them umpteen times each, I had to listen to them all over again when my brother and his family showed up. I swear I wish I had a big piece of gauze to bite down on sometimes... I couldn't wait to leave.

This week was fairly uneventful. Nothing went wrong or badly at work all week, which is very good indeed. I did manage to take the Harley out for a ride on Thursday night, and went up to Enumclaw to the Yella Beak Saloon. They have a Thursday biker event every week, and I wanted to check it out. I wasn't too impressed. Nice folks tending bar though, and that's always good. Of course I ended up drinking more than I should have. On the way home I stopped at my brother's house and talked to him for a while, and of course had another beer. I told him all about the weekend in Chelan and stuff. By the time I went to bed I was fairly well lit, and wouldn't you know it--Forgot to set my alarm clock. I woke up at 5:20 instead of 4:00, so had no time for coffee, but I did at least have time to make my sandwich for lunch. Even though my day got off to a shitty start, it ended up being an okay one.

Yesterday I drove up to R.E.I. in Seattle and bought myself a new chair to take to work to replace the one my coworker ruined. It's almost the exact same dimensions and design as the old one, and it's the only place I found one. It was $25, which isn't bad. Now all that remains is to see if the guy will step up and pay for it like he said he would. Hell, I'll even take $5 a week if he'll do it that way. I'm just happy to get a nice, comfortable snooze chair back.

I never did get a call or email or anything from Mark, but I don't get my hopes up. After all, I was absent from his life for 26 years... You can't expect me to be all that high on his list. He has said though that in the short time we've known each other I've been twice the dad that his "dad" ever was, and that will have to suffice. He has his own loving family right there to shower him with praise on this, his third year as a father.

I hope he had a good one!

A Great Weekend of Riding!

I got home Sunday at about 12:40pm... 659 miles after leaving here at 11:45 on Thursday morning.

Seven bikes made up the group of us that went over there, three of which were couples. The weather was very, very good for riding--Not too hot, not too cold. Everyone's bike performed well, and nobody had problems with their bikes. Well, unless you count somebody's brake light being stuck on for a while... I was very surprised at how many times someone complimented me on the look of my Harley throughout the weekend. I like it, but I certainly didn't expect any compliments on it. After all, it's pretty nondescript. Evidently I underestimated the appeal of the "hot rod look." As usual, I was the only rider with no windshield (my macho thing). Although everyone calls me brave, I know in their minds they're probably saying, "What a fucking idiot." Fine by me... I have an unobstructed view, and in my opinion, it's worth the occasional B-52 bug or needles of rain pain.

It seems that every year we end up stopping at a meat market somewhere. Not just any meat market, but a jerky/pepperoni type market. This year was no exception. We were led off the beaten path to the little town of Roslyn to a little bitty nondescript meat market called Carek's Meats. Everybody bought themselves a hefty supply of "mystery meats" to get them by. Great stuff! I told Steve we should rename this annual event the Beef Jerky Run.

Thursday and Friday were both excellent weather days, but Saturday was drizzly and rainy. That didn't stop myself and Steve and his wife Maria from riding. We went to see Chelan Falls and explored the length of road that runs along Lake Chelan almost to the end, stopping at the "summer place" of one of Steve's coworkers for a visit. We ended up getting very wet on the way back. Although Steve has a windshield on his bike, neither of them had their chaps on like I did, and ended up getting pretty wet. Back in town we stopped at a Mexican restaurant to warm up and get some drink and food. When we arrived back at the motel, I explained to everyone there that we had just earned our rain riding merit badge.

The main reason for the ride on this weekend was the Mansfield Rally as I've said before. Mansfield was about 25 miles out of Chelan, across the Columbia and up on the mesa on flat land. We rode up there to scope it out and register on Friday morning and spent a couple hours wandering around the town and exploring. It was a very sleepy little farm town, and according to some, not everyone there was happy about bikers "taking over" for a few days. Others welcomed it. Anyway, the main reason we wanted to go was to see Edgar Winter perform on Friday night. We were not disappointed! We went back that evening just to see his show at 6pm, and let me tell you, that guy put on one helluva show! His band was very tight and precise, and it was made up of some very, very good young talent. Because of the small size of the event, it was a very intimate setting--Even for an outdoor event. We were able to walk right up to the stage while they were performing and stand only 3 feet from them. I got some great pictures!

One of our little jaunts of the weekend was our trip to Dry Falls between our visits to Mansfield on Friday. I mentioned going there, and only half of the people had ever heard of the place, so off we went. The road was long and flat and after a little while I decided to shake it up a little and pulled out of the group (I was 2nd from the rear) and kicked it up to 95mph and flew by everybody. After a bit here came one of the couples flying past me on his Buell (for the informed reader, a Buell is a high quality crotch rocket with a Harley engine in it). Right after that, another rider on his Gold Wing. After we all met up a few miles farther at the "T" in the road, Jerry the Buell rider said his GPS showed 111mph and just wouldn't go any faster. His girlfriend said that was quite fast enough! Sean, the Honda Gold Wing rider, said his speedo showed 110 and he wasn't gaining on Jerry. See what kind of trouble I can cause? I just couldn't help it. We got some great pictures of Dry Falls too, and when I ever get them all posted I'll put up a link. From there we took a circuitous loop back to Chelan, taking a good hour and a half or so to get back. It was an awful nice day and a nice ride, but I paid for it by my new found need for Chapstick...

Our group had all the rooms on the lower floor of one motel wing, with myself and one other guy also inhabiting two rooms above. When anyone was there in between rides, you could usually find them outside on the lower floor. Because it was about 2 feet below ground level, we affectionately called it "The Dugout." You could usually find someone there at any given time of the day, drinking, eating, or just resting between rides. Because we had our bikes all lined up in front of the motel, bikers going past would always see our bikes, then us... And usually wave.

We left Sunday morning to come home, and the weather was flawless pretty much all the way to Cle Elum, where it started to take a slight turn. It wasn't much, but it was enough to make me wary--We were still quite a ways from the pass. Just in case, I put my "neck sock" on before we left Cle Elum after getting gas. It's basically a turtleneck sweater without the sweater. It enables you to reach down and tug it up over your lower face while riding if you start getting pelted. And boy did I get pelted. The rain really came down, and with no windshield and running at 70mph on a 4-lane freeway, you pay attention. At one point I had it actually running down the inside of my goggles a bit. Little by little, myself and Steve & Maria ended up being out in front, and after at least a half hour, we finally out-distanced the rain. We ran together until I finally exited the freeway at home.

After stripping my clothes off and wrapping myself in a bathrobe, I just couldn't get warm. Finally I ran a tub and soaked in it for a half hour or so. All better. But was it time to relax? Nope.

I drove up to Bea's house (Teresa's ex sister-in-law) for her birthday. I wanted to deliver two computer programs that I had for her, and I also wanted to see her new house and meet her significant other. She seems to have it going for her. The house is beautiful, and her boyfriend seems to be a great guy. I had a good time with them and their friends that were also there.

From there I hopped back on the freeway and sped all the way to Burien because it was also my sister Denise's birthday. Whew! By the time I got there it was 8:45. I visited with them for a while and finally limped on home... Showing up at about bedtime.

Too pooped to even properly get ready for bed, I just turned the light out and crawled in.

The Last Day of Work

At least until Monday...

I'm both nervous and exciting about the trip. There's always a certain amount of minor anxiety that hits me when I'm about to take off on a trip like this. Will I have everything? Will the bike give me any trouble? Will the weather cooperate? I know, I know--Relax. After all, the whole point of this trip is to have fun anyway.

I still haven't bought a travel bag to put on the backrest yet, and I need to do that. I screwed up by waiting this long and not doing some comparison shopping a long time ago. I guess I concentrated on finishing the bike too much and ignored it. I stopped by Bent Bike and looked at one last night, but I didn't buy it. I guess I'll go ahead and drop the $110 on it. It's a two-piece bag set--Use either or both parts. The reason I didn't buy it was partly sticker shock and partly Bent Bike themselves. They're not exactly a "high class" motorcycle store. They deal primarily in used parts, but also have a bunch of leather goods and helmets and stuff like that. Their reputation for customer service is horrible. It's a place that almost never lets you take something back for exchange. I hate doing business there if I don't know 100% about something. Anyway, the bags are made of that cordura nylon stuff that they make backpacks out of, so you know it costs like $5 to make in whatever country they're made in. I just know I need a bag to put my clothes in that will mount either in front of the passenger backrest or behind. I want it to provide me with my reclining comfort. It really helps when the wind is pushing on you to have something behind you.
This is the next best thing to having some nice, soft breasts behind me to lean on...

My day yesterday started off great, but went sour at about 11 when my tongue totally blew up like a balloon. I have no idea why that happens, but it's happened before. Yesterday was probably the worst I've ever had it. I couldn't talk, couldn't swallow well, and it also affected my breathing a tad. Needless to say, I couldn't eat my lunch either, so I worked through it. When that happens to my tongue like that, it both pisses me off and scares me as well. I get pissed because it's embarrassing and frustrating, and it scares me because until it starts to go down I never know exactly how bad it's going to get. That is a very helpless feeling. Near as I can tell, it's some sort of hives thing. I've always been susceptible to hives, and I've been into medical facilities many times in the past when this has happened, and they've never been able to figure out why it happens or how to fix it. Their anti-inflammatory injections of cortisone or steroids (they use those for bee stings, etc) never did any good, so there's not much reason to go other than the fact that my breathing could possibly be cut off. If that happens, then I'm really in deep shit.

I haven't felt much like writing the last few days. Sometimes that just happens.

I did go off on the Harley on Sunday and went down to visit Melinda. As usual, I went unannounced, and as often happens, she wasn't home. Her husband Danny was though, and I hung out for an hour or so and visited with him. She was in Puyallup at a sort of a seminar/instruction class for her embroidery business. She has a bunch of state-of-the-art equipment for creating designs on clothing. Although I'm sorry I didn't get to see Melinda, I still enjoy going to their house. They sure have a nice place, and I'm always struck by how quiet it is there. I took the scenic back roads going down there, but flew back on the freeway. I wanted to be able to give the Harley some road time to make sure it was going to be okay for this weekend.

A couple nights ago I had to retire the comforter for the season (actually I can't believe I held out this long). I woke up in the middle of the night bathed in sweat--So much so that I had to get a towel and dry myself off. I had the window open, so it was not hot in the room at all--In fact fairly comfortable--So I knew it was time. I swapped it out for a really light acrylic cover that came in that shitty bed-in-a-bag thing I bought right after I moved here. Much better. I had to finish my sleep on the other side of the bed where it was still dry. Ewww...

Well, I hope I have a better day at work today.

A Day of Sun on the Buns

Lately I've had nudism on the mind. That is, when I didn't have Harley on the mind. Actually, there were plenty of times I'm sure they were both on the mind.

At any rate, I went up to Issaquah yesterday and spent about 5 hours enjoying the day "nature's way." It was fantastic weather for it and I just couldn't say no to my inner self. I spent my time sunning, swimming, walking around, talking to people... Just generally having a great time. I used a decent amount of sunscreen so I didn't get overdone. I have a tinge of redness pretty much all over, but not too much at all. I think I did well.

I remember thinking at one point how perfect it was to be there at that moment. When you're lying there on the blanket with the sun beating down on you, and the breezes are cooling you gently--Occasionally hitting you with stronger gusts that make you sigh and smile to yourself. Add to that the sounds: Birds twittering, children squealing and laughing, water splashing, and snippets of conversation here and there. Idyllic.

Yesterday was my final introductory visit. Now I have to join or I can't go back. To me it's a no-brainer--I have to join. To be able to drop in there any time you want for even a swim, sauna, or hot tub is worth it... Sun or no sun.

I was able to ride the Harley to work each of my 4 work days this week, and the weather was perfect for it. I got a lot of compliments on its new look, and that's always a nice thing. Friday was even more interesting: The company has their van out for repairs leaving them only one truck to use. The other driver was out in it and they asked me if I would like to use my bike to pick up some cutting bits for one of the mills in the shop. I said "Duh" and threw my leathers on, gone in no time. I came back right in the middle of break and half of the company was out having their smokes, and I got a LOT of "how'd you get away with that?" type remarks. Pure jealousy.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do today, but I'm sure I'll be on the Harley at some point. Maybe I'll go see Melinda in Chehalis. Yesterday I repeated what I tried last year and put an ad on Craigslist to see if someone would like a nude car washer. Haha... Hey, you never know right? Stranger things have happened. All I want is a place where I can wash my car nude, and in return I will wash theirs as well.

I think that would be so cool.