Dead Man's Clothes

I'm going, going downtown
In a dead man's clothes

We are having the annual Community Wide Garage Sale on March 16th.   I'm going through a variety of clothes and other items, trying to decide what to keep and what to lose.   What to sale, what to keep and what to throw away.  

I hate to throw anything away, I'm not a pack rat but I am a clothes horse and that old concert T-shirt from 2004 means something to me.   Right now for example I've got an old CD from 1998 playing through the lap top speakers.   A song or two jump out at me, bringing back warm and fuzzy memories but the album as a whole doesn't hold up well all these years later.   Still though, I copy it to the memory stick labeled "Rob's old music" and place the CD in the "sell cheap" box.  I'm making space, clearing things out. 

There is a lot of sentimental value that I've attached to certain items.  T-shirts, CD's and even this old electronic blog that no one reads anymore.

I still have some good stuff from my motorcycling days, and as much as I hate to say it; I don't see myself getting back on the bike anytime soon and am therefore selling it.    If any of you read the post back in December of 2016, then you know my reasons that I stopped riding.   If not, while I made a promise to the woman I love. 

So in a way it's interesting that I kept the gear that I did.   I have an old open face helmet, my heavy "winter" riding jacket, some gloves, my Frogg Toggs (which I would keep regardless),   It's been over two years now and there really is no reason to keep this old gear.   It's taking space up in the closet.

Giving up on this equipment means that I am goodbye to biking.   Keeping it meant that I was planning on getting a new bike, to return to biking.   It was a way of me keeping "in touch" with the part of biking that I loved.

Now, if I do get another bike, I would need good equipment.   A good jacket might cost me anywhere from $150 dollars and up.   It's worth the price.   Good gear is always worth the price.   The gear I had was "decent gear" but it did the job well for several years.

My only question is should I try to sell it at all?   Padding breaks down over time.  Things get old.

A full face helmet is, in my humble opinion, not a question.   That could run from $150 to $700 depending on make and model.   I could see myself dropping an easy $250 on one.  My brain is worth it.  Gloves?  $50 to 100 bucks.

I've spent $300 to $1,000 dollars and I've not pulled out of the driveway yet on my imaginary bike.

I keep seeing video's about those motorcycle air bags.   Damn straight I would consider one.  Of course, I would want to play with the stupid rip cord to "test it" the first time too.  Just to make sure it worked when I went down the next time. 

However the point remains.   If I'm not comfortable, or at this stage willing to get back on a bike then looking at gear or having gear really does not make any sense.

There maybe someone looking for an affordable jacket, I've been there.

I also know there are riders that have suffered a whole lot worse than me, yet get right back up on the bike.   I knew a guy named Jim when I lived in Pittsburgh for example,  he lost a leg in a bike wreck.   Yet somehow got back on.

Maybe if my current job didn't take me all the way across town, where I don't have a choice but to use the highways, it would be a different story.   However that is an excuse too.   I'm not ready, nor am I willing to get back on a bike.

It's time to sell the old equipment and move on.  

A complete surprise to me + Happy New Year!!

On of the reasons that I've always maintained a blog or a journal or something along those lines is because I enjoy writing.

So imagine my surprise when I found myself waking up about 5 or 5:30 every morning for the past couple of months to write a novella, or a short novel.

It all started as a bit of a joke.   I was talking to a friend of mine that actually has written several romance novels.   What we we talking about doesn't really matter but I found myself challenged to write better than half the hacks in that particular field.    So I managed to write a 2066 word short story that got some good feedback not only from them, but from the general public as well.

I'm friends with several writers in fact so I felt that if they enjoyed the work I was doing, then I was on the right path so to speak.

The only problem was that I didn't think I was done with "Emma", the main character in the story.  Could I, a guy, write something from a women's point of view that would make sense to women?   How does one write a particular type of scene if you've never experienced that yourself?

The Emma character story started to grow.  Different chapters were written.  She started to grow into a monster of slightly under 15 thousand words.   Then when that story was finished...I looked back and said, "How did you get into this predicament Emma?   What drove you there?

So the prequel had to be written with the intent to unit both stories into one coherent whole.   That took another 15 thousand words.

I wrote a novella.

It was finished just a few days ago and now, it sits in the hands of five or six trusted friends who will review and edit it, helping me hopefully improve upon it.   There is still a lot of work to do because I'm sure there will be a rewrite or two in some areas, a couple of changes to be made.

Then I intended to see if I can either self publish it, or get it published the more traditional way.  However I'm rather proud of myself.   I managed to write something that may never see the light of day, but I still managed to do it.

That's a pretty cool feeling.


Now as far as 2018 goes!

Honestly the year was not a bad one, other than a costly mistake on my part (I owe about 6K now sadly) the year as a whole was not a bad one.

One of the reasons that I was even considering becoming a truck driver was I liked the idea of a more steady income, something that was recession proof (drivers are always needed) and that I could see the country...and write about it.    After all, this blog was originally designed with adventures in mind right?

I will also admit that I missed writing, I was not doing much of it before October.   I could not really figure out how to back up the tractor trailer properly.   If you can't back up properly your going to cause a wreck.   It really is that simple.

So lucky for me I was able to take advantage of the Annual Enrollment Period in Medicare and keep myself and the lovely Sue from starving in the month of November.  In December, I swallowed my pride and went to a headhunter resume in hand.

By the middle of December I was offered a position with New York Life in their call center.  The pay was acceptable but not great.  The benefits however were amazing!!!

Matching 401K up to 6%, then they would match at 50% up to an additional 4%.   In other words $8 out of every $10 I put into the 401K was matched by the company.   You don't see that anymore.  Pension plan!!!   Also something you don't see anymore.   A medical plan with no copay's?    WHAT!

While I'm not happy with where I'm starting out, I'm told this is the way NYL does things.   At 52 years old I'm swallowing my pride and will do what ever is needed to be done.

You want me to clean toilets for those benefits?  DONE!

Did I mention I was vested as of day one as well?

No wonder it's so hard to get a job there.

The only thing that I don't like about the job is the commute.  It takes me about an hour both ways to reach my destination, which can be longer depending on traffic.   Even though gas is relativity low now, we all know it will not stay that low forever.

Suddenly a motorcycle for the comment starts to make a bit more sense.   Although I would have to ride the freeways again, something that does not appeal to me.  It's also been two years since I've ridden a motorcycle. 

The last time I did, I was gun shy to be honest.  I would hate to buy another bike and be guy shy again.

Sue, when she pushes for a bike at all, wants me to ride a three wheeler.  She just feels that they are more stable and that I would be less likely to take a risk since they are a bigger bike.   Plus, as she points out to me...two of the three accidents that I were involved in were not my fault.   True...but still. 

I have to admit that the Can Am's are fun to ride. 

Although they are not cheap.

Oh well, Happy New Year everybody. 

I got to get back to work.