Banks... Need I Say More Oct 26 2010

So I go to withdraw the full amount to purchase my motorcycle first thing in the morning. I assumed that 4 business days would be enough for cibc to get their stuff together but evidently not. So I was left $600 short, and I did not want to dink the guy with the bike around so I had t think of a plan b.

Plan b was to use my credit card, which I am always hesitant to use just because credit card companies are out there to screw us over with interest. The nice thing was that I had a car ride to and form the bank so I was not forced to ruin my board or get soaking wet. Neither option sounded too appealing at the time.

Over the next little bit I am going to work on my peak threshold endurance because right now even after sprinting 100 metres I am just toasted. My muscles hurt, and my heart is racing like a beaver. If I am going to get back on the track I need to fix that, and get used to my race bike again. I will save that for another day.

Nighttime came quick, which got me excited because that meant that it was almost time to go look at my first motorcycle. To put it in prospective I was not this excited when I got my car. It is similar to a few of my first Christmas memories… except not.

When dad showed up he handed me the visa slips from when was gone. Open the first one up and all is normal. I expected to see a $55 credit for the ticket I did not pay but put the money on my credit card for. So I open the next one and see that I am in debt close to $300. I hit the panic switch and think, “who used this”, “it was not stolen I have it in my wallet”. Even dad was baffled. It took us about 10 mins to figure out that they had combined both of out statements together into one. Thank heavens because that would have been a pretty nasty surprise.

Before I knew it there it was. A motorcycle that could be mine right in front of me. Now pitch black outside with nothing to see it but florescent lights their Ben Lee was. I never know what to do in scenarios like this I mean I do not know what the f I am doing so I am relying 100% on my dad and Ben. It is a strange feeling when you have no idea whets going on, and I very quickly came to the realization that I need to get my butt practicing a.s.a.p. In order to not die on public roads. The home depot parking lot is going to be my friend for the next little while.

The bike itself was a beauty. I love the look, and love the sound. Or lack there of. It has its issues but it is a bike that is as old as me. I know I have my battle wounds so it would be irrational of me to expect it to be a new bike. Still the better got of me and I walked away. Within seconds of coming home I was back on the classified sites looking and looking until my eyes started to water. Healthy I know. Then a second great learner bike came up, a buell blast. It says blast so it must be fun right…. I went to bed with thoughts of riding swirling in my head, it was like an addiction at this point.

Rain Rain And Puddles Oct 25 2010

So I wake up at 7 and know I have a meeting with Rhys at 9:30. I am not stoked for this because this means I am going back to work. I know it is a necessary thing but it is just like when I left. Where as on the road every day is a new adventure. Every road is new. I was like a newborn baby for 4 months is what it boils down to. Now life has to restart.

With rain pouring outside I was thanking the heaven that I had a nice waterproof coat, and boots to strap on so that I would be nice and dry. The only thing I was lacking was an umbrella. Still I was better off then the girl standing at the bus stop in a tank top just completely drenched. I did not feel bad because she clearly had the option of a coat but just decided not to put it on.

The bus stop always seems so far away when you are walking to it. As well my bus passes that have been in my wallet through 3 cycles of the washing machine are super smooshed. I always have this mini panic attack that they are not going to work then everyone one the bus will look at me as if im trying to get on for free. Because we all know the opinions of the people on the buss really matter right. Luckily this time they worked so I was ok to ride the disease tube down to Westwood cycle.

The meeting itself was a meeting. It is what I expected. It is comforting to know that in tough times like this people want you back. It is a bit of an ego boost. Afterwards I had to venture back out into the pouring rain. By this point my pants were fairly wet so I figured an umbrella would be a worthy investment. In BC you would think that would be an easy thing to find but surprisingly no. At the pharmacies they had them hidden behind the front counter. It was as if they were selling drugs from behind the counter because I had to stroll up to the counter in a big puffy jacket and go “hey man you got umbrellas?” Then the teller says “Yo essay I gots them umbrellas right here for you homes”. “I need one big one, high quality. I want it to last more then 2 weeks”. “I got just the one right here”.

After that weird situation I was on the road to find my motorcycles home, which was right near my work. Again I must have looked pretty legitimate skulking around and peering beyond underground parking lots staring at this motorcycle. But because it was a crummy day I just decided to walk away and wait for the call from my dad to go look.

On the way home I decided to treat myself to a hot chocolate to warm myself back up to temperature so that I could push out the last kilometre of walking. I had my house in sight when this a whole smokes this puddle at mach 10 on purpose and just drenches me. My pants were soaked, boots were wet, and I was happy as ever. Who does that really? What a skumbag move on that guys part. Just breath deep and enjoy the now watered down hot chocolate.

Does Not Get Any Lazier... Sorry Oct 24 2010

So today’s blog really does not have much in it because I was lazy. It was a stretch to even feed myself. I just did not want to do anything because I was not looking forward to tomorrow. I know most of my blogs are filled with crazy stuff, or i make the boring stuff exciting but today that was not the case. I have a lot on the mind because my future is quickly approaching. I have to jump off this bridge of adulthood and commit to a plan... which sucks. So I spent most of the day thinking about nothing. At what point can I be content with a career? When do I stop?

Not 100% Oct 23 2010

Today started with a bang. I saw a peering eye through my door so I said “im not up yet”. Mom says in response “I am leaving in 10 minutes to go to the dry cleaner. If you want to find a winter coat you have 10 minutes”. I was out of the bed like a rocket and in the shower getting myself de-smellied. I was out the door.

The first stop was marks work warehouse were everything was gigantic. I was getting the same feeling as last night. And was not feeling to positive about the outcome of this venture. After getting in and out we were on our way downtown to go to comor sports. Automatically when we walked in I got good feeling because it looked nice and they were playing good music (passion pit). Right away I made my way for the clearance rack and saw nothing in a small. Still not deterred I looked around and found a handful of smalls. After trying them on I took to liking this electric green number, but it was to small so I put on the medium. It fit like a glove. Using my thinking cap I looked for the last years model of that in a medium and found the exact one in black. I looked a bit like neo from the matrix but it fit amazing and was 40% off. I was sold.

On the ride back however things were not all great because I was not feeling 100%. I was hungry as a beaver ad my body was letting me know by making the roof of my mouth hurt. So within a few minutes we stopped at a local bistro in port moody. I had a breakfast wrap even though it was nearing noon. I do not know what they put inside of it but it tasted almost as good as ranch dressing on nachos.

Once home I phoned dad and told him that I wanted to see him. When he picked me up we decided to go look at some motorcycle gear. The first stop was this little one-man show, and the guy was just a huge wiener. He did not answer and questions and was super negative about everything. Needless to say he lost our business. The next lady at a reputable shop had no quality information. She simple told me “oo that ones road racy, that ones touring”. Thos are just words they don’t give me any information about the product and what to look for. Luckily after that we found cam at holeshot motorsports. He was kickasser. Gave me a ton of good information and was not pressuring me into anything. Knowing I was not buying today he even gave me the heads up on a new shipment of the jackets I want that is coming in next week. STOKED. It is something about putting on a full-face motorcycle helmet that makes you feel SO b.a. (Badass). The fact that they offer awesome protection also helps. I am kind of hoping that I can fit into some of my dads older gear though because that means I can either save some funds or invest it in the countless other things involved in getting ready to ride.

As you know my life is go go go so when I got home I was only in for a few minutes before kev was on my doorstep ready to ride. No hill climbing for me on the mountain bike today we had a car. I was expecting to feel like a puma climbing on my bike but it was not the case because I am so used to putting in huge efforts all day that a short high intensity 15-minute climb was not my forte. The downhill was a little scary. It was like being a kid again because it felt so foreign. It was loose, a little wet, and starting to rain things could not be any better for re-teaching yourself how to ride a mountain bike. Luckily I only had to pucker my butt three times, and kept up with kev for the most part… even though I think we was dialling back the speed.

Once home my throat was feeling a little sore and after a nap I knew that the plans for the Halloween part tonight just were not going to happen. But ce la vie.

Christina Lake... What A Memory Oct 21 2010

With my passport dry after going through the washing machine today was the day. Today was the day I get my motorcycle license. I got on my bike and went to the road test centre and got one of the books and raced home. Once home I put that book on the desk and promptly got distracted by everything else around me. I thought to myself ill just read it tonight and take the test tomorrow. I then looked at the weather network and saw rain for the next 4 days. For some reason that triggered me to get on my bike and go back to take the test right then.

At the centre I realized that I forgot 2 pieces of id so I had to go back and get my passport. On the way back I started to question what I was doing. The biggest question on my mind was “what if I pass”? When I stormed into the office and grabbed my passport I was surprised when I did not receive 20 questions about why I needed it.

Now back at the Centre I paid my dues and stood looking at a screen. A screen that determined whether I was fit on the road or not. Things did not start off well when I promptly go the first question wrong. After that things quickly improved. Really everything seemed like common sense as a crummy car driver, and a good cyclist. In order to pass you were able to get 8 of the 40 questions wrong, which I found amazing. Shouldn’t we be making sure people know most things about the road and not some of it.

Well I passed and was over the moon. Without ever starting up a motorcycle, learning the mechanics of one, or even cracking the learners manual I was now able to ride one. Kind of scary when I think about it. All I know is that I am ready to learn. Which intern means knowing my limits? Which as it stands now is everything. Luckily my dad is a great rider so I am trusting him to guide me down this path with a patient mind. I guess that means a motorcycle in the driveway is going to become a reality in the near future.

I could not contain myself so I had to share the good news with friends. So I went right over to Courts house. E-dawg and C-Donkey reunite for the first time in a long time. This time I was not on the doorstep on the brink of tears in serious need of a friend, which seemed like a common theme for the last 2 visits to her place. Court is simply an awesome person. It is strange how similar we are. She is like talking with one of the guys (if I had guy friends). We talked about everything from skating to girls. One of the funniest things is the fact that we have the exact same taste in women, funny how that works.

It is also funny to see how we have not matured. When I got back from the trip I was feeling all high and mighty about how different I was but really not much has changed. I am still myself and I still enjoy the same things in life. One of the highlights of the night was looking back on some of our favourite memories together. The best of which came in Christina Lake. The family and court made the 7-hour trek to the coldest tree lined lake in B.C. roughly 7 years ago. After 7 hours f my sisters putrid farts and the most uncomfortable gm seats in the world there we were staring down our home for the next 8 days. My sister and I had visions of a nice lakeside house; instead we had a 80’s trailer that reeked of shag carpet. Court and I talked about the things we saw and how little we did on this trip. About the only thing that stood out was possibly the largest argument of my childhood. It all started because of a remote. This remote controlled the air-conditioning that was turned off at the time the remote was lost. Apparently I was the last one to use it so I was the first to get yelled at by mom. For days this went on until I finally lost it. I remember that this was the first time I ever dropped an f bomb in front of my mom on purpose. Days later after the dust had settled someone found it in a pot that was below a well-placed pan. It was planted and I am pretty sure it was my sister because I remember she made Kraft dinner the night before the disappearance. Court and I still to this day wonder what my sister did t fill those days.

Massholes and Trivial Drama Oct 22 2010

After silencing my alarm 3 times it was time to get my butt moving. I don’t know what it was but I popped off the side of my bed instead of the front like I normally do. Apparently my gut knew something my mind did not because there in front of my bed was a stack of feathers, a wing, and a cat looking prouder then ever. Even though mom was working I yelled, “be on the lookout for a wingless bird”. To which I got a response of “where is it”. In retrospect I should have said her bed just to get a quick laugh but when I said in front of my bed I could hear a sigh of relief.

Next came a good workout. Few things are as fun as running in the rain and getting nice and wet. At least the wetness masks smell of sweat and Gatorade. The only unfortunate thing is my legs have been acting up. Even with stretching and enough tiger bomb to sink the Bismarck my calves are still hurting. Ce la vie though because I am not going to stop working out.

After that it was time to sit down and make some plans for the evening. Last minute as usual but by now everyone who is close to me knows that is how I roll. Thing were going good. My ticket that I tried paying 3 times finally went through. But now they want more money so I have to wait in a call cue for another 1.5 hours to get to someone and give them a piece of my mind. There is no way I am paying another $55 on top of my $50 ticket because there systems would not let me pay for a ticket. I will read off the confirmation numbers to them in series and tell them to pound it. I am not bitter at all. There is a reason they call them Massholes.

It was right after that ticket getting paid that I got a series messages that upset me. It is not very often I let people get to me but this did. When my mom asked “is something wrong”. I lied and said, “No, everything is fine”. Girl troubles I will leave it at that. I can hear my dad sighing saying to himself “o great”. I can already hear the onslaught of questions I am going to hear after people read this. But I would really prefer to simply drop it. When you wear your heart on your sleeve all the time eventually people will stomp on said heart.

That’s why I have friends. Within 5 minutes Kristi was at more doorstep to sweep me away for the night and it was needed. I was not down for sitting in her basement the whole night so we decided to go frustrate ourselves with shopping. My goal was simple a warm winter coat that is not size huge. First stop Winners. It was like a case of the three bears. One was two small, the other to big, and then the third to thin. What I found amazing was that there was only 3 winter coats in a size small in the entire store. The best part was Kristi’s shopping experience. She had this item that was missing a button so we were reasonable when we asked for a discount. What was not reasonable was the response we got. “Let me call my manager.” “Yea we can discount that by $1”. At that point we just walked out of the store. $1 that’s just an insult. Good luck trying to sell that piece of garbage top to anyone before it goes in the 50% off bin, and enjoy having that in you inventory forever.

After that we went to the mall where I encountered ore frustration. Every store had a wide selection of jackets for men but they were all shells or medium weight. Literally nothing that fit was a heavier weight jacket for the winter. If you did not want to wear 3 layers you had a few options, but they all started at $250 and up which just was not working for me.

Luckily we had a success story. Apple sider from this Christmas specific store. It came in this little package that was $9 but Kristi was not sure it it was the same mix from when she was a kid so the lady said, “here we have a package that was dropped on the ground and has a puncture smell it”. Kristi knew right away it was the right stuff and purchased one package of the stuff, but before it got rung through I said “hold on a second how about $1 for the busted package (that I saw was ¾ full)”? I expected a triumphant no, but was surprised to hear a “sure no problem”. Got to love shopping with a cheap ass.

Be Safe Oct 20 2010

So I am behind a day in blogs but I have been struggling to find time t breath let alone type. When I have a second to relax the last thing I am thinking about is “I really want to type about my life”. Tomorrow morning though I pledge to catch up to date.

After yet another late night I was stuck shutting off my alarm to catch a few more precious moments of sleep before the light started to peer through my blinds. When the light comes in that means that I have overslept and need to get my butt moving.

At this point I forget what I did to fill two hours but I can guarantee you it involved eating and reading the paper while I watched the morning news. You can never overdose on news so just cram it in. It seems like you can not get a positive stories these days so when the tri cities news contacted me to run a story in the paper I was thrilled because I am sick of reading about all of the junk that happening to our area these days. About 15 minutes after the paper called the newsroom gave me a ring. Unfortunately is as not around so I had to return the call to a guy who took all my information but I am pretty sure did not relay the message.

While shaving my hair down the the scalp I hear the doorbell. I forgot I invited my old friend Jamie over to do some rekindling. It is hyperawsome that she is living back in coquitlam because we here best friends back in the days of the old neighbourhood I really don’t remember what we spent 3 hours talking about but it was a good waste of time.

After that it was time to leave. Not before we found out Jamie left her lights on and killed her battery. So leans were put on hold while we waiting for bcaa to come give a jump because my cables are in my hot rod and not at home. After ben came by to help us out I was on my way to talk with Rhys about work and possibly get a smoking deal on some shoes at the shoe warehouse.

Again plans are only good if they work and these did not. Rhys was not at work, and the shoe warehouse had no shoes for 13 bucks like I thought they all said $25. Still I tried some on and found a comfy pair. I needed new kickers for skating and mountain biking so why not get two. When the lady at the counter said, “you total is $25”. I said in response “for 2”? She nodded and I paid her. Turn out the shoes were 50% of the clearance price just to get rid of them. With no room to carry them my old beaten up converses from an outlet mall in the states we went to 5 years ago to get my sister a bathing suit from a Victoria Secret that eneded up not having the suit she wanted laid there next to a garbage can for some homeless man to wear.

When I got back and was faced with 24 middle-aged women screaming I was ready to head right back out the door, but not before being a little social first. T was right then I remembered that I was supposed to be at my neighbour’s house to catch up with them and get the low down on how the rest of the family is doing.

After that visit I was back on the road again to go spend the evening with Megan and her brother Jake watching episodes of a web series called the guild, and looking at old photos. After a good dose of laughs sleep was starting to creep into my mind so I had to hit the road and start skating home. When I arrived back the last thing I expected to see was my mom and gay still up partying. I got in just as they were heading to bed and I remember very clearly something gay said. As my mom walked up the stairs she said “good night”. To which gay said, “be safe”. Which I thought was an odd thing to say because what was there to be safe about I mean a bed was only 20 feet away. Still I got a bit of a chuckle out of it as I ate my semi stale nesquik cereal.