Well, it's been six weeks of working 7 days a week (with 2 days off for my birthday), but it's finally over - for now. I got to sleep until after 8:00 this morning, AND take a 3 plus hour nap today - sweet. Not that work is going to be super slow, but hopefully it can be managed with just a few hours late here and there until things pick up again in January.
And it's good timing, as I've got some stuff coming up. Lauren's 2nd birthday is next weekend, and Margaret will (hopefully) be coming in for her birthday in three weeks. Then Thanksgiving, followed by the Tara High School Class of 1987 20th reunion. Although the status of that is questionable, I'm hoping to have a gathering of about 20 or so fellow graduates over here on the Saturday following Turkey Day - with or without the official event taking place.
But the fun doesn't stop there, folks! Beth is coming into town in mid-December and four of us are going to drive to Houston to see Third Day and Jars of Clay in concert. And then Christmas. And thanks to Governor Blanco, we'll be off two days each for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. I always did like that lady.
OK, now that I've bored everyone with my schedule through the end of the year, I'll go see about catching up on all of the housekeeping that's been lacking for the past six weeks. Yikes!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Motorcycle Musings
The weather has been beautiful for the past week, and T.S. and I have been roaming around a lot. On the way into work this morning, I was thinking about some of the "surprising" differences that I've noticed between riding a motorcycle and driving a car.
Of course, there's the obvious - you're on two wheels - duh! But what I'm really talking about is the enhanced sensations that you have (or as John Travolta said in Pulp Fiction, "It's the little differences"). Here's 3 things:
1) The Wind - OMG! When you're riding around on an asphalt parking lot in training class, with maximum speeds of about 18 mph, you have NO idea what riding at 60 mph is going to feel like. The first ride for me was a shock. The first stretch of Airline Highway where I got up to about 45 mph scared the crud out of me. I still don't have a windshield, but I'm considering getting one this fall.
2) The Temperature - Even though I was told that the temperature feels about 15 degrees cooler when you're riding, I still wasn't prepared for last winter. I mean, I got this information during training class, which was held on the last weekend in June on a tar covered parking lot. At that point, the concept of a 15 degree drop in temperature still equated to "hot as hell"! Flash forward 6 or 7 months to early morning rides when Diane Deaton is saying that the temperature is 36 degrees. There were many December and January mornings when I arrived at work not sure if my fingers were still attached. I've upgraded my gloves since then. The other thing about the temperature is coming across cool spots. It's really neat to be riding down the street and all of the sudden hit a small patch of cooler air. That happened this morning - although since the temperature was about 55 degrees to start with, I wasn't much of a fan of the cool spot today.
3) Smells - All that metal and those windows really block out a lot of the "fragrances" of the world around us. And sometimes, that's a good thing. Skunks and roadkill - nice. This morning, I was 2 vehicles behind a big garbage truck. It wasn't terrible, but every now and then, I'd catch a whiff of that unmistakable scent. Then I passed through an oily/gassy smell. A little farther down the road, I could smell the unmistakable grease of McDonald's. When I was almost to work, I passed by somewhere bread was being baked. I don't think I've yet to encounter the scent of a field of flowers yet - something to look forward to.
Of course, there's the obvious - you're on two wheels - duh! But what I'm really talking about is the enhanced sensations that you have (or as John Travolta said in Pulp Fiction, "It's the little differences"). Here's 3 things:
1) The Wind - OMG! When you're riding around on an asphalt parking lot in training class, with maximum speeds of about 18 mph, you have NO idea what riding at 60 mph is going to feel like. The first ride for me was a shock. The first stretch of Airline Highway where I got up to about 45 mph scared the crud out of me. I still don't have a windshield, but I'm considering getting one this fall.
2) The Temperature - Even though I was told that the temperature feels about 15 degrees cooler when you're riding, I still wasn't prepared for last winter. I mean, I got this information during training class, which was held on the last weekend in June on a tar covered parking lot. At that point, the concept of a 15 degree drop in temperature still equated to "hot as hell"! Flash forward 6 or 7 months to early morning rides when Diane Deaton is saying that the temperature is 36 degrees. There were many December and January mornings when I arrived at work not sure if my fingers were still attached. I've upgraded my gloves since then. The other thing about the temperature is coming across cool spots. It's really neat to be riding down the street and all of the sudden hit a small patch of cooler air. That happened this morning - although since the temperature was about 55 degrees to start with, I wasn't much of a fan of the cool spot today.
3) Smells - All that metal and those windows really block out a lot of the "fragrances" of the world around us. And sometimes, that's a good thing. Skunks and roadkill - nice. This morning, I was 2 vehicles behind a big garbage truck. It wasn't terrible, but every now and then, I'd catch a whiff of that unmistakable scent. Then I passed through an oily/gassy smell. A little farther down the road, I could smell the unmistakable grease of McDonald's. When I was almost to work, I passed by somewhere bread was being baked. I don't think I've yet to encounter the scent of a field of flowers yet - something to look forward to.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Happy Birthday to ME!
Yep - that's me - 39 years ago. Apparently, I felt that the delivery room nurse didn't sufficiently clean out my nasal cavity, and photography being what it was back then, retakes by "Nursery Identi-Foto" weren't an option!Some interesting notes from my baby book:
Mother said: "I'm glad it's another girl."
Father said: "Good." (Good that I was a girl or that my mother was glad? Or maybe the Cowboys had just scored a touchdown. Who knows!)
Shape of Head: "Just perfect" (sorry, Margaret)
Character: "very loud and strong" - who me?
Position: "Normal - only 3 hours of labor"
OK, the reason these two things are funny, is because they are under a heading called "Birthmarks" - as in, what is the character and position of any birthmarks? Mom got that one kind of confused, I think!
And then, being the second child that I was, it doesn't go much beyond that. Oh, well, those are the breaks, I guess.
But today, I had a pretty good day. I took off from work and went for my semi-annual dentist check-up, got my motorcycle inspection sticker renewed, saw Dad and sat with him while he ate lunch, ate a late lunch with Ray at Monjuni's (WAY off the diet, but delicious!), had some alone time with Ray this afternoon, and then swam a mile. I spoke to all 3 of my siblings and my Dad (and talked to Mom yesterday afternoon), and got an email from Brittany and Lauren, and one from Sylvia. And a special birthday posting from Beth on her blog, and a follow-up phone call. Best of all, I got a surprise phone call from Lauren saying "Happy Birthday, Aunt Susan." Precious!
Yesterday at work, I was pleasantly surprise by a beautiful fall arrangement of cut flowers from Mom. I can't get over how pretty they are. I'm not sure if the pictures can do them justice.
One other note of interest from my baby book: First Bank Account: "Plano Bank and Trust - savings". I WILL be calling Mom first thing tomorrow to check on that. I wonder how much 39 years of accrued interest amounts to???Monday, October 01, 2007
Now THAT'S More Like It!
T.S. is home safe and sound, and has made two successful round trips to work. Picked him up Saturday morning and rode him straight into work. Rode in again today, and so far so good. The diagnosis was a bad Crank Position Sensor (whatever that is). It was under warranty - hooray!
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