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.

Lending and Borrowing

You know that old Shakespeare saying, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" that's been around for centuries? People could learn from that. I should not lend, and irresponsible idiots should not borrow.

I have a folding chair that I keep at work to take my daily nap in. It's not your average folding chair--It's got a unique angle to it that allows you to recline back in a very comfortable position. It originally had a footrest that was attached as well, but that wore out and I tossed it. It's an Eddie Bauer chair, and most likely not replaceable.

Except now I need to replace it.

According to him, when he got out of it to go to the cooler, the wind blew it into the campfire and burned half of it up. I don't buy it. As a matter of fact, if I do find a replacement for it, I doubt if he will either. Some people have no respect for others' property. That pissed me off ALL day yesterday at work. It was one of the few years that my birthday falls on a work day, and I chose not to even mention it all day long. I just stewed. Then to add to it, quitting time comes and goes and I have to stay and work another two hours. At least I had the Harley to ride home.

I stopped at Cave Man Kitchen on the way home and bought myself a BBQ chicken sandwich for dinner. Right as I got off my Harley, my brother cruised up on his, bringing me a birthday card. Chris next door came over too and we stood around swapping bike stories and stuff for a while. When he left I went inside and ate my now cold chicken sandwich. I noted with a sigh that they just weren't as good as they used to be. There isn't as much in the middle as there used to be. About that time, Teresa called and asked me if I was home, saying that they wanted to come over before my parents did (everybody wants to avoid my dad these days). She added that Sarah had some things she needed to print and their printer wasn't working right.

They came over and were here for a short while when someone tapped on the garage door. "Oh jeez," Teresa says, "they're here." Nope, it was my sister Denise and her husband Mike and son Jesse. They were a welcome surprise, and they brought me a 12-pack of Corona and some limes. We three guys were all out in the garage when my parents drove up. My dad was in a surly mood (when is he not?) of course. They gave me some canned nuts and a chisel for my birthday. It was the kind of chisel with the built-on hand protector thing on it so you won't smash your hand with a hammer if you miss the chisel. I was trying it out on a piece of wood and my dad lit into me, telling me that's not how you do it, etc, etc. I went into the house and asked my mom, "What's wrong with that asshole anyway?" She said he had been that way all day. "Just don't talk to him." she suggested. I told her he was in serious need of some medication. I left all the ladies nodding their heads in agreement and went back out to the garage. It was only a few minutes later that he poked his head into the house and hollered at her, "You about ready?" What a dick. I like to spend time with mom, and so does everyone else

If she ends up dying before he does, I'm moving. Fuck him... Relative or not, he's totally alien to me.

Happy Birthday to Me

And my present to myself? Riding my Harley to work today!

Yes, after what seems like forever, my Harley is finally back on the road. The final thing I did on it that was part of the facelift project was attaching my new gas tank logos. I had to take my time and do some careful measuring and contour bending to get them to fit correctly. In the end, they came out just fine. It was basically done on Sunday, but I needed to tweak a few adjustments before I was ready to ride it (such as charging the dying battery). Here's a quick shot of what it looks like now:


I took it out on the road for about an hour yesterday, stopping once at Greg's house to check out a couple of light bulbs he was going to give me. After getting home, I checked the bike out completely, finding nothing missing, nothing loose, and nothing wrong. To celebrate, I grilled myself a nice, juicy steak for dinner last night.

I had another great grilled meal the night before. I found a great recipe for a shrimp marinade, and made up a bunch of shrimp skewers. They marinaded for 3 or 4 hours and I invited Sarah and Teresa over to help me eat em. Big thumbs up from everyone on that recipe. Pretty labor-intensive though... What with the making of the marinade and the cleaning of the shrimp. It was worth it.

Well, it looks like it's going to be a hot one around here today... Mid to upper 80's. Good day for bike riding to work. Too bad I'm expecting to have to work mandatory overtime... Oh well.

Weekend Stuff

It was an interesting day yesterday. I spent most of my morning nude as usual, doing housecleaning and other mundane stuff.

Greg came over at about 11:30 so we went out to the garage so I could play "show & tell" with the Harley facelift project. He hadn't seen it since I tore it completely apart a few months ago.

We were sitting out there enjoying our beers and talking about stuff, when all of a sudden, BANG! I'm talking loud too. A small, white delivery truck had stopped and was just starting to turn into the street before backing into a driveway, when a beat up old Dodge van FLEW by and smacked him in his left front side. All this happened right in front of my unit and we had front row seats. The guy was going so fast when he hit that he blew parts and debris for about 40 or 50 feet down the road. The street in front of me here is only one block long, and it's a dead-end too, so to see someone going that fast down the road was just asking for trouble anyway.

The driver of the white delivery truck gets out and it was Chris, my next door neighbor! He was just about to back into his own driveway with the delivery truck that he borrowed from work. The guy comes walking back from the van (sitting with a now flattened right front tire). He's a Mexican that speaks very little English, has no driver's license, and doesn't really even know what insurance is. He called his boss on a cell phone and gave the phone to Chris where it was all explained. Greg went out with Chris' digital camera and took a bunch of pictures from all angles while all the phone stuff was going on.

The police showed up at about the same time as the guy's boss did, and evidently everyone involved hammered out some sort of a mutual deal whereby the Mexican guy didn't go to jail. Personally, I don't get it, but hey... If it makes everyone happy what the hell. The police left after a while, and the neighborhood returned to it's usual state of calm. Pretty exciting stuff to have happen right in front of you.

We sat out in the garage for a few hours, drinking beer and catching up on stuff. Talk got around to cell phones for some reason and he said he still didn't have one but really wasn't too interested in having one. I told him, "Boy have I got a deal for you." I explained the prepay system I'm on and gave him Sarah's old cell phone--Completely charged--With box, manuals and all. He thought that was a pretty good setup and was happy.

He drove us up to R and R Cycles where I planned to buy a kit to rebuild the Harley's carburetor. Much to my dismay, when we got there they were closed for the whole 3-day weekend. Had I known that was going to happen I would have swung by and bought it on Friday. Oh well. On the way home Greg drove us to Applebee's and treated me to dinner. I guess it was payment for the phone and a few other things I gave him.

It's looking pretty dreary today, but hey... A day off is a day off, right?

The Beginning of a 3-Day Weekend

Not that I'm going to do anything exciting...

One positive note: The Harley is ridable. I took it down off the jack last night and took it down the little street in front of me a few times.

I had a lot of problems I dealt with:

• I poured some gas in it and it leaked out of two places where the inferior clamps I used didn't hold. During that whole fiasco I ended up with gas everywhere.
• After I fixed the gas leaking and tried to start it, the battery went flat so I had to put it on the charger.
• After the battery had enough juice to start it, I found it had no spark and wouldn't start. I removed the right side fuel tank where all the wiring is and re-seated all the wiring plugs and it was fine then.
• There seems to be an oil leak on the left side that it never had before (at least it never leaked enough to present itself to me before). I have no idea what it is yet because it's not exactly easy to access.

Chris from two doors down was here with his darling little 3-year old daughter Kaylee while I was farting around with it. He was helping me with little things as I was troubleshooting everything. I was hoping to ride it to work today, but the good thing is that it is ridable at this point, so some careful work this weekend should clinch it.

I stopped at Winco foods after work to buy my "Friday beer" just in case I was able to ride the bike to work today (nowhere to carry a half case of beer on a Harley). Just as I pulled into the parking lot, the phone rang. It was Teresa, calling from work and explaining how Sarah was doing. Her timing was perfect because she was telling me that Sarah wanted a few things to eat and drink and wondered if I could get them for her. When I stopped by to see her and drop off her groceries, I got a firsthand look at what strep throat looks like. Wow... I pity anyone with that. She was still able to eat, but had to chew things up pretty well to get them down her throat. She was drinking a lot of smoothies and Sobe strawberry-banana drinks. Anyway, she seemed to be in good spirits and was enjoying the fact that she was able to stay home on a nice day. She had been spending time out in the hammock on the deck reading.

Because I knew she was out of school was the reason I hoped to be able to ride the Harley to work today. I am usually her after school transport home, and the bike doesn't quite work for that. Actually, I may get to next week anyway because of their mandatory 10-hour day work week on holiday weeks. I usually avoid such things, but I may do it next week. It's not time-and-a-half because it will still be only a 40-hour week, but it will still be extra pay.

Although I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't ride to work today, it's okay. After all, it's a 3-day weekend, right?

Sometimes Nothing Happens...

...And yesterday was a good example.

I picked Sarah up from school and she was not looking good. She's been sick for a few days now, so Teresa had her scheduled to go to the doc yesterday. After I dropped her off, I ran a few errands. I stopped at the glass store and ordered another bedroom window screen, stopped at R and R Cycle and bought some new brake pads and a new fuel hose for the Harley, then stopped at Lowe's and returned an item I didn't need.

I had every intention of going out to the garage and getting some stuff done.

I grabbed a beer and opened the garage door, and managed to get 6 nylon zip ties put on the Harley when the phone rang. It was Greg, asking questions about his laptop, wireless connections, and griping about Windows Vista.

While I'm still talking to Greg, Chris, my next door neighbor (a motorcycle rider) came over with his dad that had stopped in to visit him (also a motorcycle rider) to check out my project. All the while I'm drinking beer. We ended up swapping a lot of stories and having a good gab fest. After a while they both hopped on their bikes and took off for a ride.

About that time, Gina, a friend of mine stopped by to show off her new PT Cruiser convertible. We ended up yakking and yakking, and by the time she left it was almost 7pm.

Teresa called and said that Sarah has strep throat, so no school today. At least now we know what was wrong with her, but you have to wonder how many of her classmates also have it now.

I whipped up some spaghetti for dinner and watched most of a movie. I started falling asleep at that point... A victim of alcohol and a full tummy. Bed time.

Oh well... At least I got those 6 zip ties put on...

A Delightfully Rainy Weekend

Why? Because I had so much work to do and it felt good to be indoors doing it!

I spent all day out in the garage working on the Harley yesterday. Well, I shouldn't say all day, because it was close to noon before I got out there to begin with. The bottom line: I got a lot done. When I got up this morning I was tired and sore from it.

I started the day by going to my favorite mom & pop Harley store and plunking down $90 for a fuel petcock. Yeah, I should have bought this one to begin with. Don't you hate it when you gamble on something unknown and it ends up being a total loss? That's what happened to me. I gave up on the old one after trying to install it in my freshly painted gas tanks. It physically would not fit through the hole. WTF? The filter screen on it was actually too big to go into the hole, and if I ever did get it in, I probably would never see it again. No, take that $40 and toss it into the toilet. When I got the new one home and opened it up, it was pure quality all the way--Smooth and precise, and a perfect fit. There's something to be said for made in USA.

I did a lot on the hawg. As a matter-of-fact, it's almost finished! I have to put the rear wheel back on, but I'm thinking I might hold out and put some new brake pads in the rear while it's apart. As much of a hassle as it was to take off, I don't want to do it again for a while. The reason I took the rear wheel off to begin with was to afford me lots of room to deal with the new wiring I had to run under the rear fender for it's new turn signals.

I finally came into the house at about 7pm last night, and I was dog-tired. The best thing in the world to me at that point was to strip, shower, and eat a Papa Murphy's Cowboy pizza. That's exactly what I did. I called it in and went down to pick it up (it's only about 10 blocks away). For those of my readers that don't know, Papa Murphy's is a take and bake pizza chain, and their Cowboy is my favorite one. You can get an idea what's in it by going here. When I got home, I preheated the oven, took a shower, and sat naked wolfing pizza and watching Being John Malkovich. That was quite the movie... Very entertaining.

After doing some laundry and stuff this morning, I went over to Teresa and Sarah's house to install some curtain rods in Sarah's bedroom. She already had Levelor blinds in there, but never had anything to break up the "blank" look of them. I took a little cooler along with my tool bag, so in addition to being fairly easy, it was also a fairly pleasurable job.

My mom called the other night... Wondering where I bought the bottle of wine I gave her for Mother's Day. It wasn't wine, it was vinegar. Sigh. After I left Sarah's house I swung by their house and picked it up. Unfortunately only my dad was home, so I told him I had to get home and finish my laundry. I swung by the store and exchanged it. That's a helluva Mother's Day gift, isn't it? Anyway, I'll chill it and take it over tomorrow. Tomorrow is her birthday, and just like Mother's Day, I have no idea what to get her.

Sometimes I envy the Jehovah's Witnesses... They don't celebrate birthdays or any other holidays...

But then... I look out the window like I am now... And I see rain... And I remember that those poor Jehovah's Witnesses have to go "door knocking" all the time... Nope, I'll stay naked and warm thankyouverymuch.

27 Years Ago Today...

5:25pm, Eastern daylight time... That was the last cigarette I ever smoked.

How do I remember it? It was the day after Mt. St. Helens erupted, and here in Washington State, we remember that event every year on the date it happened.

I was living in North Carolina then, in the final months of my 6 year enlistment in the Air Force. I was living in a rented house with a young married couple--Both coworkers and great friends of mine. One afternoon Cindy and I were sitting on the couch in the living room, and if memory serves me, were both pretty high. I don't know where Skip (his nickname all his life) was at the time... Probably outside doing something. I turned to her and said, "See this? (holding up the cigarette I had just lit) It's the last cigarette I'll ever smoke."
"Yeah right." she said with the typical cynicism people reserve for statements like that.

I have no idea why I chose to quit. Nobody told me I should, begged me, coerced me, or anything else. I never experienced any health issues of any kind, and never felt that smoking interfered with anything in my life. Looking back on it now, I do seem to remember being annoyed at the few times I couldn't smoke somewhere. Rules were very loose governing smoking back then, and when a situation denied me the ability to smoke I remember being perturbed. How dare they, right? Boy, times change... Anyway, that may have influenced my choice to quit. You know what I think really did it though? Cindy's words: "Yeah, right." I remember saying something to the effect of, "Oh yeah? You'll see..."

Yeah, right.

I remember telling everyone, and telling everyone to tell everyone else. I wanted people to be watching me all the time--Never giving me an opportunity to slip and "lose it." I also remember thinking that it would be easy because I had a lifestyle that afforded me the opportunity to smoke a lot of weed, and I figured I would just smoke joints instead, and then ease up on them after a while. Ha. Weed may have a lot going for it, but it does NOT replace smoking. The fullness in the lungs (eww!) when you inhale a cigarette was not there. Obviously it was a nicotine thing. I do think, however, that being stoned a lot helped me lessen the urges when they did hit though--My mind simply wandered away from it more easily.

Anyone that has quit will tell you their own stories, but for me it was a "roller coaster ride" of urges and desires. I could go a few days and be fine--Only occasionally reaching for my smokes after a meal and instantly realizing, "oh yeah..." when they weren't there. Then out of the blue a huge wave of withdrawal would hit, and I'd run the gamut of emotions. As time went by, the frequency of bouts of withdrawal did get farther and farther apart, but their severity never waned much--For at least 6 months or so anyway. Little by little, even they went away. For years I might occasionally have a dream where I awoke and realized that I was smoking in it. It never affected me or made me want to smoke when I woke up, rather, I found it curious that my subconscious had still not let it go. I think it was at least 10 years until I really felt like I was a nonsmoker.

Sometimes it seems like it was just the other day, and and sometimes it seems like it was a lifetime ago. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since that day, but at the same time, I've sorta come full circle. I was young, single, and carefree back then, and now I'm old, single, and carefree (sometimes too carefree... Just like back then).

Thank you, Mount St. Helens, for affording me the way for me to remember this important date in my life.

I've Said it Over and Over...

... And I'll say it again: Sometimes it's the little things. In this case, it's all about the little expense I shelled out to buy the little mesh to keep out the little pests.

Yes, I picked up my new window screen and brought it home yesterday afternoon, and it was a perfect fit!

I doubt if anyone reading this places this much importance on such a little victory, but there are several factors here:

1. I spent all last summer with NO screens (I still can't believe I did that) and placed keeping my home bug-free as a higher priority than keeping the upstairs cool and comfortable. After all, I am nude here all the time, so I was reasonably comfortable (so I thought) most of the time anyway.


2. My aluminum windows have more than one "track" in them on the outside. I really had no idea where or how the screen was supposed to fit. Screens have springs on one side to hold them into the tracks, and every time I would try to measure the openings I would get puzzled and give up.


3. I don't think I actually got to the point of finding out how much (or little as proved to be the case) a screen would cost. I think I may have went to Lowe's once and asked about screens and was told they didn't do them.

Yes, I looked at them several times while I've lived here--Each time with new resolve and determination. And each time I gave up or forgot about it.

I know for a fact that there were times I was chatting online with a group of people and the subject of temperature would come up. I know it was in the low 90's in here on more than one occasion, but I didn't care all that much. I had a killer fan, I was naked, and my home was bug free. On one or two occasions I did give up and open my window for a half hour or so before bedtime and was rewarded with bug bites all over me while I slept. I'm pretty sure that little tidbit is in my blog archives somewhere.

Anyway, that's all history. Now I can be comfortable in the upstairs here at my humble abode, all the time thumbing my nose at the bugs that bounce off the outside of my new force field. I can hear them now, "Let me in... I smell a naked human inside and I want a bite!"

It's Turbulent Tuesday

That's what I call it at work. For some reason, Tuesdays are always very busy and fast-paced--Much like Fridays--So I came up with the name Turbulent Tuesday.

Denis came by last night... "Okay, let's see the damage" he asked, obviously hearing about the fender paint from my parents as I knew he would. When we went out to the garage he said, "Ah, that's nothing... Easy fix. I've still got the same paint in the pot and ready to go." (For the uninformed, the "pot" is the little plastic hopper that you put your paint in and attach it to the top of the paint gun.) He said he would give them a quick smooth and shoot them this morning, and because it's supposed to be warm/hot today, he would leave them outside to cure all day, so he took them with him when he left. Whew. Things don't look as bad as they did at first. Still though, it was heartbreaking to see that on those fenders the other day...

After I got home from work yesterday, I made a couple trips back and forth between home and a local window/glass store, measuring for bedroom window screens. I ordered one screen, and if I got my measurements right, I'll order the other one too. If not, I'll adjust and reorder. I figure if I screw up one screen at $20, it's still cheaper than paying them a $40 measuring fee in addition to the cost of the screen. I just know I will not put up with having no screens up here again as I did last summer. You either roast or let bugs in, and that's not much of a choice. I really like breezes, and I'm looking forward to it! Funny I never did it last year when I think about it... What a putz...

My crappy Sunday pretty much stayed on track--It was crappy all day. I ended up going out with a major chip on my shoulder (even though I tried hard not to) about the paint snafu, and my dad didn't help matters any. He was in his usual antagonistic/argumentative mood. It's really unfortunate too because it was my mom's day and she got the short end of the stick during that visit. I ended up taking her a nice bottle of wine, but I couldn't bring myself to put up with my dad for more than a half hour before I left. He just kept ranting on and on about how filthy Mexicans are, and I don't like that bigoted crap he dishes out. He lives right next to one of Auburn's biggest parks, and he only notices when a park user does something wrong (litter, etc). If he sees something like that, he accuses everyone remotely similar to them for the rest of his pathetic life. I like everyone unless they give me a reason not to, and he just pissed me off more than I already was. Amongst my siblings I refer to him as the neighborhood Gestapo, as all he does is walk around looking for anyone that does something to piss him off.

After I got home from their house I decided to address my truck's "random start" issue. I never know when it's going to start or not, and it's very frustrating. I ended up replacing almost everything else in the engine electrical area that provides spark to it, and still the same--It starts right up and 5 minutes later... Nothing. Not much sense in having a vehicle you can't depend on. It still costs money to insure... Driven or not. I guess I'll bend my friend Greg's ear on this one and see if we can solve it.

Well, time for work...

Update to this morning's post...

First I stared in disbelief.
Then I thought I was going to cry.
Then (and still now) thought I was going to throw up.

I went out to the garage a couple hours ago to move my Harley parts into the house where it was a little warmer and safer for them. I moved both the gas tanks into the living room and set them down on the carpet in a good spot and went back to get the fenders.

Both fenders were evidently fucked up on the ride home in my car.

I didn't see it yesterday when I took them out of the trunk and put them in their spot in the garage, but it's there, plain as day. Each of them has nasty abrasion/impression marks on one side from the trunk carpet of my car. We both knew how dry/not dry they were when we put them carefully into the trunk wedged between a couple old t-shirts to keep them from moving. I only drove about 6 blocks. Evidently the factory carpet in a car trunk is not like regular carpet. Now both of them need to be redone.

I feel sick, and I still have to face Mother's Day yet.

I want to just crawl into a fucking hole.