One week and counting!
So much to do. Have to get my crap together and pack it on the bike. I want to make a run this Saturday with everything on the bike so I know what kind of load I'm traveling with. I need to get some tools together. Rig a water bottle holder. Find someone to take care of the cat.
Get money. Woo...get a tattoo with the money. Maybe in Sturgis :) For those that don't know what Sturgis is...well, you can write me!
whew Long time no post. No real reason for lack of updates. I can do this from work, from home, from anywhere I have net access. That's the wonderful thing about Blogger, I can update from pretty much anywhere.
Harleyroads.com is coming along. I'm halfway through my models section. Once I get that up, I'll probably open the site, and then finish it as I go. I'm getting excited about it.
Otherwise, it's the same old same old. Kids and I are going down to my moms for the 4th of July weekend. Gail is staying here to work at her part time job, full time. She took a weeks vacation from her full time to work full time at the part time, while her part time boss(es) go on vacation.
Get all that? :)
This weekend is Rolling Thunder, which I will be riding in. For those that don't know, motorcycle riders come from across the country and meet at the Pentagon. They then ride across the bridge to the mall. It's to raise awareness for the POW/MIAs from all wars still out there.
Aside from the picnics, BBQs, time off work and such, we should remember what this weekend is for. A time to honor the memory of our vets, and to appreciate that which they fought, and died for.
Today is Towel Day. I have my towel. I hope I see a bunch of other people with towels. And I hope this is amusing Douglas Adams to no end. I bet he's giggling his butt off somewhere.
I so wouldn't want to be in Cody's shoes right now. His teacher is supposed to send home "weekly reports" every Friday. She forgot it last Friday, so she gave it to him yesterday. She found it on the floor under a desk this morning, so she taped it to Cody's desk. After the kids had come in, then gone back out for recess, she found it in the trash. When she confronted him about it, and told him that she was calling his mom, he just said "uh oh, busted".
Gail is now on her way to the school to sit in his class. I sure wouldn't want to be him...
edit: none of this exists any more, but I'm keeping it here for posterity
OK, have a new layout (again) and a new way of doing this now. Quick bits, everyday thoughts, whatever strikes my fancy will be here, on the main page. The reasons for this are two fold. 1) I can get quick thoughts down, and take up less space. 2) It'll keep the front page of my site more interesting.
Let's face it, if you're here, it's because you a) Know me b) Know someone who knows me c) Are just some freak who surfs Blogs all day and nothing else. Whatever the reason, when people come to this page, I want them to be able to see what's going on right away, rather than have to wade through some complicated menu.
For the more astute among you, you have noticed that I have a Journal menu item up there as well. What that will be used for is rant/raves/deep thoughts/introspective moments. I will take the time to go through, spell check, check for grammar, etc. Those will be longer than these (hopefully) short bits on my front page here. So, having said that, enjoy! But, and this is just a minor point, none of the links up there work yet. Soon though!
I hate Windows. Microsoft's Windows that is. I hate it I hate it I hate it. Currently, my Windows machine is rebooting. For the 4th time today. And that's a slow day. (I'm writing this from my Linux box. I like it more and more everyday.)
Gonna go kick my machine s'more.
Trying to finish something I've started seems to be one of my biggest flaws. I never finish anything, whether it's a webpage I'm working on, a certification I'm going for, school, something at work...whatever. I find it extremely annoying, and dis-heartening. I know it's not good for my self esteem, for my work ethic, even in general.
I promised myself I would try, that I would at least finish one project. But then I think about it. And I get listless. Or something more important pops up. Or I have to do something else. Or I need to watch the paint peel. Get the picture?
I tease Gail and call her a freak often, because she works at a new age store, and she is interested in crystals, and tarot cards and stuff. She gets her fortune told, and her palm read. But I have to wonder some days. She had a reading done for her last week, and the lady doing the reading told her that I wasn't happy where I was, and that when an opportunity came, I should take it, even if it means leaving my place of work. I've been here for over 6 years. I'm familiar with it, and I'm content. Not necessarily happy, but content. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I don't go to work each morning dreading the time I have to spend sitting at my desk (well, at least not that often).
But I'm not passionate about it either. I don't find myself ever saying "OK, what cool thing am I going to do at work today?" But is that a bad thing? I can honestly say I don't know that many people who are absolutely content AND happy with their jobs. I think most people work at jobs that are so-so, but they do it, so they can have the money to do the things that make them happy when they're not at their jobs, whether that's going on vacations, going to the movies, out to eat, to the bookstores, whatever.
I'm tired. And I'm whiny. And I don't wanna do anything but sit here and do nothing. Perhaps that's part of the problem. That's what I'm doing.
I'm feeling so lethargic right now. I don't feel like doing anything at all. Even if my boss came in and said "Shad, take the rest of the day off, and go home", I couldn't say that I would go home and do something productive, like yard work, or fun, like riding my bike. I'd probably end up in bed. I'm SLEEPY.
Getting back into the habit of writing stuff down is harder than I thought it would be. I keep finding myself putting it off, with one excuse after another. So why do I bother? Well, I like reading what I was thinking prior. I'm also trying to get into the habit because I want to keep a journal when I go on my trip to Sturgis this coming August. My buddy Jeff and I are riding there and back. No trailering of the bikes will be happening here. It's just something I've always wanted to do. And I want to record my thoughts about the trip as I go. I think I'll have to resort to keeping my journal the old fashioned way, with pen and paper, but I'm going to write in it every night. And take pictures. I want to take lots of pictures.
I think it's also time to redesign the site. It is spring time after all, time to do a little spring cleaning. I think something simple, brighter, and easier to maintain will fit the ticket just right. No idea when I'll get to it though. Still have to finish Harleyroads.com, my brother wants me to do a Tribes2 site for his tribe, and I need to get on the ball and get Gail's site, and her DAR site up and going.
Damn, now wonder I'm so tired. I never have time. And dang...just remembered Cody has a baseball game tonight. Ugh.
I think I need a pillow in my office.
Gail's off to Tampa today. Actually, she's already in Tampa, she just called me from the motel they are staying at. The place they are staying at sound pretty nice, and they (they, being Gail and her friend Marcia) rented a Mustang Convertible.
Sounds rough. No kids, hot car, sitting by the pool. I'm sure she's just going to hate it...uh huh.
So it's the kids and I this week. Gail was apprehensive about leaving us. It's not like I can't take care of the kids all by myself. I mean hey, I can make a mean PB&J Sandwich when I put my mind to it. And no one makes a better bowl of cereal than I. And laundry? Heck, I used to live on my own, I can do laundry. Although, I have to say, since I've been married, none of my socks or underwear are pink anymore...
I've started working out again. Helps when you have someone to go with, so my friend Heidi and I are going during lunch now. It's a good time to go: It's not crowded, and I feel energized for the rest of the afternoon, which is when I'm most likely to start feeling drowsy. We'll see if I can keep it up this time. I managed to do the elliptical machine for 45 minutes today. Wish me luck!