It's Been A While

Yes, it has been a while since I've posted, hasn't it? I've been too busy. Riding, getting my new bike painted...twice, doing homework, working, etc.

Paul and Linda's wedding reception was a blast. We got to spend some quality time with some quality people and the open bar was a definite plus! :)

We went to Too Broke for Sturgis last month. (My header picture here was taken on the ride up there.) Three people were killed, one critically injured. It was apparently a disagreement over food....drunken assholes and guns don't mix. The shooting was about 150 feet from our tent. Daryl said, "That was just fireworks." I said, "Look up...do you see any fireworks? That was definitely a gun." Swat team and ghetto birds all over the campground all night. Fun times. Some people went home Saturday morning, since the rally was cancelled. We decided to stay and make the best of it. You can read all about the incident here if you're interested. (Yes, that is Daryl on the portable stripper pole at Too Broke!)

I bought a '97 Road King in February this year. She's gorgeous, but I didn't want a black bike. So, I had her painted purple with lavender flames. The paint job sucked. I was pissed off. The guy who painted it said he knew it sucked, but he knew I needed the bike for a run that weekend, so he put it back together for me and said he would repaint it in a few weeks. He did much better the second time around. Now she's midnight purple: she looks black in the shade and sparkly purple in the sun. No flames now, which is fine with me. She is perfect. All I need now is a windshield. Yes, a windshield. On the ride back home from Too Broke I realized that riding in 110-degree weather on the freeway at 85mph is just no fun without a windshield. I'd like a quick-detach windshield so when I'm riding around town I don't need it. My birthday is coming up, so maybe Daryl will get me one. :)

I also got a Maltese puppy in February. Her registered name is Boston's Good Golly Miss Molly...but we just call her Molly. She is quite possibly the cutest dog I've seen. :) And she ain't no purse dog, either! Once I get a tour pack, she will begin her HD passenger training. :)

School has been great, really. Until this last class. Statistics SUCK. Just sayin'. I got through the first class with a C+, and this week I start the second class. I just want to pass it and be done with it. After that, it's all management and HR classes. The next year should go by pretty fast. And I know I said I would NEVER go back for my Master's degree but....well you know how it goes. I can't stop now. After my Bachelor's is complete, I will only have about a year or year and a half to complete my Master's. Seems silly not to do it. I may take a break for a while before I start it though.

Vicki started 8th grade at a new school this year. Arizona Conservatory for Arts and Academics. It's a charter school, which is free in Arizona. But she did have to be on a damn waiting list to get in, and then had to take placement tests before she started. We had a bit of a rough start with the administration, but now that it's all worked out I think it will be a great year for her. She's taking Drama, Choir and Visual Arts.  I'm hoping she lets me post some of her drawings here...they're really good.

I also wanted to let you all know, I have been reading (stalking) your blogs, but never really have time to comment...and I can read them from work but cannot comment from work, so if I get a minute to read them on a quick break, I do. Rest assured I am keeping up with your lives. I will try to blog more regularly, but I can't make any promises until October, when Statistics class is over. :)

Happy blogging, and ride safe!

My New Ride

'97 Road King. Needs nothing but maybe a few flames. Let's ride!

More Animal Fun

For our friends that enjoyed defiling taxidermy in Williams, I was thinking of you all last night...

How Do I Manage?

I have been asked several times how I manage all the aspects of my busy life. I work full-time. I am pursuing my bachelor's degree in business management. I serve on a Board of Directors. I have a family. I ride a motorcycle, etc, etc, etc.

I've been thinking about it and I'm not exactly sure how I manage everything. I try to devote time on the weekends for homework, but sometimes my Board duties take precedence. In that case, it's homework on my lunch breaks (when I take them) and weeknights. Thursday nights I have class from 6-10 p.m. I am usually up at 4:30 a.m. so I can work out and get a little Facebook time in before I go to work. Housework and laundry is done either on Friday nights or the weekend. I try to carve out some family time on weeknights, but homework must be done.

I ride to work almost every day, and that is my therapy. If I didn't get to ride the bike, I would be certifiable by now. I often find myself worrying about things at the beginning of my ride, and by the time I reach my destination, my worries have all but melted away and I am ready for whatever challenges lie ahead. That is how I manage. I wonder how the hell I managed before I rode my own? I must have been certifiable. :)

Unhappy Anniversary

It's been 6 years today since Dad passed. It's one of the unhappiest anniversaries ever. Love you and miss you lots Daddy.

The Forgotten Blog

I think it has been close to a year since I have posted anything on my blog. I would be surprised if I get any comments on this. School, work, BACA and other things have kept me extremely busy over the past year. None of that has changed, however, I do miss blogging. I will try to post at least weekly this year.

In November, Daryl, Vicki and I had a wonderful vacation in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We stayed at the Riu Palace Mexico, a stunning all-inclusive resort. Played on the beach for a week, took a day-trip to see the Mayan ruins at Chichen-Itza, and ate and drank like kings and queens. It was a great Thanksgiving week! Here are some pictures:

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Until the next time, ride safe and be good to one another.

Too Broke For Sturgis 2010

Too Broke for Sturgis was epic this year! Good friends, good times, great ride and laughs! 

The ride up to Mormon Lake, AZ on Friday morning was great. It was nice and cool after leaving the heat of the valley and it was clear nearly the whole way. It rained the last 40 miles, but it wasn't that bad. What was bad was freezing our asses off Friday night because us flatlanders aren't quite accustomed to the damn cooler mountain air! Some of us were drunk by 2:00 Friday afternoon and some of us were not. :) I was actually part of the latter group for once! I actually got to meet the Fryed Brothers on Friday night! I knew there was a chance to meet them so I wanted to stay sober so I'd remember it, and I also didn't want to make a complete ass of myself. :)

Friday night, there were some karaoke nutjobs in the campground. They had their karaoke BLASTING until 5:00 a.m. on Saturday! And I do mean BLASTING! It was horrible. But you don't piss off 3,000 bikers without getting some payback! At 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, about 40 or 50 bikes lined up outside the karaoke jackass's trailer and started revving the engines with their exhaust pointed at the trailer. There was a huge crowd around and everyone was cheering them on. Finally, they told said jackass that he had 30 minutes to get his shit packed up and leave or his trailer would be trashed. He got out pretty quick! I love revenge!

Saturday brought us beautiful sunny weather. It was about 80 all day...perfect. After a lovely breakfast courtesy of the Christian Motorcycle Association (BIG shout out to Brad and Patty from the CMA...they take care of us every year), Raven and I went to hit the showers. The showers are coin-operated and kind of nasty, but we needed showers. As we were waiting in the women's shower line, we kept watching the damn men's showers....it was like a revolving door! WTF? So I finally said, "Fuck this, I'm switching teams!" Raven jumped in the men's showers with me, too! We walked in and announced that we were going to shower together with the curtain closed and that there would be NO show. Sorry guys. The guy who was in the handicapped shower stall actually gave us his stall and went into the other open one so we would have some room. The two guys in there were VERY cool. They made a good point...they didn't know who our old men were, if they were M/C, wrestlers, gunslingers, etc. so they better not fuck with us. LOL! Good point! 

The other highlight of Saturday was the weenie bite. It was the big event! There were the slow races and road kill, too, but the weenie bite was the big one. I was on the back with Caveman, Raven was on the back with Hagrid, and Missy was on the back with Lucky. Missy and Lucky were first up. The rules were explained to them and they  said they understood. Off they go. Missy realizes she's not going to get the weenie so she grabs it with her hands. Then Lucky takes off. Missy does a back flip off the back of the bike! She lands on her face in front of 3000 bikers in the arena. But credit is due here because Missy jumped right up and ran to catch up with Lucky, jumped on the bike cowboy-style and off they went out of the arena! Missy's new road name: Flipper! LMFAO!

There were many good laughs Saturday night. Most will stay at Too Broke. :)  The ride home Sunday was nasty. It always feels like we're descending into the bowels of hell when coming back into the valley. It was no different this time. We all had a bit of heat stroke when we got home, but it was worth it. 

Hopefully the pics will help tell the story....

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Oh yeah, and when we got home, Caveman said he can't ride a sporty anymore (because I rode the Dyna all weekend) so I bought myself a '96 Washington State Police Bike. :)