I am having sooo much fun riding my motorcycle. I've been trying to ride it anytime I don't have to carry anything besides my purse with me (I carry my big one around, and bungee it to the passenger seat), and it's above 50 degrees. Any colder than that, and it's just too much windchill to handle, even with the riding clothes I've managed to put together. I'm getting more and more comfortable, and I've even learned to stop pretty well. Stopping was something I had the most trouble with in the class. All that "both brakes while downshifting" required coordinating entirely too many limbs doing different things at the same time.

I'm not sure yet about trying highway speeds. I may just wait until next spring before I try that.

Reason #4 I Am My Father's Daughter:



I can't pass up a sale. They had family-sized boxes of Grape Nuts 4 for $10, after last week's sale of regular sized at 2 for $5. I now have enough Grape Nuts to last me approximately six months. This reminds me of the time Dad bought several gallons of ketchup at Sam's because it was cheap, and we spent the next two years refilling squeeze bottles from our "supply".

I think I'm on my last symptom. It's all moved into my chest, and I'm taking expectorants to try and clear it out, since I tend to hang onto coughs. Even more hopefully, I'll be well and ready for Beer Fest this weekend. I'll also be more than ready to go back to TKD. Between being sick, and work, and a funeral visitation, I haven't been able to go all month.

Now to stop whining and actually post something worth reading.

I had a continuining education seminar in Des Moines on Tuesday, so I took the opportunity to hop the extra thirty miles to take my brother out to dinner. I finally got to see where he's been living: he's renting a room from his friend Aaron and his wife Tina in a tiny town just north of Huxley (of Riley Finn fame). They've replaced all the windows and siding, so Lew's hoping he won't freeze again this winter. They're in that camp that keep the thermostat way down to save on heating bills. Lew was all like, "I will pay you extra for a few extra degrees."

We went for Mexican, and it was really good. I've been craving it since the last time I called home, Mom and Dad were heading out the door for it. There are just some really good Mexican restaurants in this state. I don't know how places like Carlos O'Kelly's or Taco Bell survive when there are so much better options around.

I also managed to stop by Hobby Lobby and pick up supplies for gifts I want to make. I found a pattern for a cute flower pillow that I'm going to make for Nora and Malea. I'm going to do one pink with purple petals and the other purple with pink petals. They'll adore them. I'm going to have to figure out what to do for Ben, though. I give something to Calvin for Christmas every year since I'm his godmother, so I'm not too worried about that, but I don't want to send something to Nora without also sending something to Ben. But I'm not sure exactly what to do for a nine-year-old boy. As Annika recently noted, there's just not much out there for boys.

I also picked up supplies for a baby gift for Cletus the Fetus, but since his/her mom reads the blog, I can't say much about it. Which reminds me...Em, did you receive the box I sent?

It seems this, whatever it is, insists on one symptom at a time. It's in my head now, and it's just not comfortable. Yesterday I was feeling pretty good, actually. I cleaned my house while listening to/watching the football game, getting more done in the first than the second half, since the second half was actually pretty exciting. To no avail, though. I am so very tired of losing to Iowa State.

It must have zapped everything out of me, because the only thing I could manage to do today was lounge on the couch and read. Even television was too much stimulation.

And last on the bandwagon, as usual:

Rules:
1. Go to Career Cruising, www.careercruising.com
2. Put in Username: nycareers and Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top twenty results.


1. Money Manager
2. Certified Public Accountant
3. Research Analyst (Financial)
4. Customs Broker
5. Purchaser
6. Auditor
7. Insurance Underwriter
8. Personal Financial Planner
9. Bookkeeper
10.Electronics Engineering Tech
11.Electrical Engineering Tech
12.Avionics Tech
13.Optical / Ophthalmic Lab Technician
14.Industrial Engineering Tech
15.Logistics Specialist
16.Motorcycle Mechanic
17.Mechanical Engineering Tech
18.Engineering Tech
19.Automobile Mechanic
20.Diesel Mechanic

I took this once before and got a lot more things like tilesetter, plumber, mechanic, electrician. Now for the second time around, those spots are all filled with engineering stuff. I'll leave that to my brother.

So did I get the results I did because I do them, or do I do them because of my aptitude?

I think I was awake maybe six or seven hours yesterday. It was basically a pattern of awake two hours, sleep two hours all day, plus twelve hours of sleep Wednesday and Thursday nights. Wow. I tried to eat some soup in the afternoon, but I guess it didn't agree with me 'cause it got rejected. I at least feel rested today, which I didn't all day yesterday. But my appetite hasn't come back yet, so I'm going to miss out on free burritos at the Chipotle ribbon cutting later this morning. What a crock.

So now I'm seeing how long I last at work today. Good thing I haven't got much planned for the weekend.

Fourteen hours of sleep and counting. I finally caught the crap that's been going around. I think if I'd have rested this weekend, I might have been able to fight it off, but I've been going, going, going, and stressing so much about work, my body said, "That's enough! If you won't slow down, I'll make you slow down." So I'm finally listening.

I've been awake long enough to eat breakfast and check in at the office. I think I'm ready for another nap.

I took my inaugural ride to the Children's Museum event. It was everything I remember it being: the freedom of just being out there on the road with nothing between you and the wind. I love it.

The event was a really good time, too. There was so much for the kids to do and see, I think they were a little overwhelmed. There was more than just equipment to play on, there were crafts and booths and events...Calvin's favorite was making salsa. He went back three times, each time trying to make it hotter. He also placed third in the pedal tractor pull. They didn't actually keep track, each kid got a certificate, but we did.



I think Malea liked her little purple buddy the best: they had kids fill socks with dirt and grass seed and put faces on them, and eventually they'll grow grass for hair, like a chia pet. We were waiting in line for the horse and buggy ride while the kids did that, but you might be able to see the buddy in this picture with me and the kids by the helicopter.



Or maybe not. This is another really good one of the kids:



We all just had a really good time, though I think Matt was the one who was ready to leave by the time all was said and done. The kids liked the crafts more than anything, and I was very impressed with the whole set up. It was very organized and the lines for things weren't too long and when they were there was always something nearby to keep the kids occupied while they waited. It was a really nice day for it, too. We'll have to go again next year.

I am so tired. I think I'm either fighting something off, or my sinuses are taking more of a toll on me than I realize. They were hurting something awful last night, and I tried to go to bed early. I came home from the Nest, got ready for bed, and my brother called. He's trying to put together a short beginning motorcycle rider course for the motorcycle club he's in, and wanted to pick my brain on the course I just took. He had taken it, too, once upon a time, but didn't remember it, and he's such an expert now, he wanted the basics broken down. So I gave him all the great acronyms we learned, and the first exercises we did, and then we talked UFC. There are lots of great fights coming up, and I filled him in on the interview I heard with Tim Sylvia on Dywer & Michaels. I was pretty pissed at the excuses he was throwing around about his loss to Randy Couture. Paraphrased: "If it had been a real heavyweight fight, they would have stood us up" and "I went in with an injury, and I had back surgery right after the fight". Whatever. Excuses are just excuses. And whaddya mean "a real heavyweight fight"? Did they weigh you wrong? Or do you think that because Randy doesn't normally fight at heavyweight it's doesn't count somehow? Last I heard, you no longer have the heavyweight title, so I'm thinking it was a real fight.

Anyway, we talked for almost 45 minutes, and I ended up going to bed at the normal time instead of early. It's going to be a pretty full weekend, what with the first home football game tomorrow and then Sunday I'm taking Calvin & Co. to the Iowa Children's Museum's Move It! Dig It! Do It! fundraiser event. It looks like it's going to be really fun, and Calvin's going to have a ball climbing on the construction and farming equipment.

While Doug and Amy drove to Brooklyn to pick out their new puppy, Jamie and spent the afternoon together. We played with his toys, and then played "Amanda carries Jamie where he points". That led outside, and pointing to every tree in a three-house radius. We visited Kate and her dog, and played with the neighbors' hillybilly golf game, and visited my house, and played in the dirt, and best of all, mommy's car. I told Amy she should check all her controls before she drove anywhere, and her clock was now at least four minutes fast.

The best thing about other people's kids is being able to give them back. How exhausting!

There was an unexpected visitor at church today. I'm kinda particular about where I sit, not just because I'm Lutheran, but I'm pretty insistent on sitting on the end of the pew, because the center aisle is the only way in or out of the church, and sitting next to the walls makes me claustrophobic. So I sit on the outside of the pew, which means when the church fills up, the only empty space is next to me, and thus the only place available for late people. Service had started, and someone walked up next to me, and I started to slide out of the pew to let them in when I actually looked at his face. Shock of all shocks, it was Drew.

Drew was the first guy I liked that ever liked me back. I can't really say that he was my boyfriend, because it never really got that far. Suffice it to say, he was the first in the line of guys who left town before anything could get started. He transferred schools way back in 2001, and I really haven't seen him since. Thus the shock. Didn't really get a chance to talk to him much either, as he left suddenly after the service. Just long enough to learn he had just gotten back from doing two years of missionary work in Africa and told him I was still working for the same place I started at after college, and I turned my back to leave the sanctuary and he was gone.

Which really pretty much pissed me off. Not even a "I've got lunch plans, but it was really good to see you again." Or something. I spent the entire service wondering what I was going to say afterwards for nothing. Maybe he did, too, and didn't come up with anything, so he bolted. I don't know. I suppose at this point, it's useless to get worked up over it. Disconcerting is all.

All in all, this has been a pretty disappointing day, given that it's only 11:00. The DMV is closed for Labor Day, and the helmet I wanted isn't in stock, so they have to order it. I was really looking forward to riding today.

I may just get it out anyway. Throw safety and legality to the wind!


Update: Yes, I did it. I threw safety and legality to the wind, and practiced going up and down my street for about an hour, trying to get used to the clutch and the handling. As one is apt to do while learning a new clutch, I killed it a few times. Once too many, in fact, as I killed the battery. So I got to learn how to take the battery out and charge it. I've got a while before I can learn how to put the battery back in, but I'm learning things! So exciting!

And, oh god, am I so not ready to be out on the streets on this thing.