First Day of Spring
*UPDATE*
It took awhile, but I drilled out the gear-shift lever to 1/4", got a 2" bolt and a nylon locking nut and so 1/4" ID tubing and made myself a shift pedal. My bike is now 'commando.' Tony loved it.
I got a frame slider from Tony at SF Moto on closeout that actually is for the first generation SV650 (1999-2002) It's a bit too big, but too big is okay. Tony also fixed a longtime problem with my brake light (It was always on). It came down to a faulty brake lever. He swapped it out for free.
Next Wednesday I have an interview with a spec writing consultancy. A guy I know from my days at F+K. Next Thursday I'm getting my bike a whole lot of love and attention.
**ORIGINAL POST**
I feel better now.
Spring - days getting longer. Bike costing more money. I dropped it last night, first time in 15 thousand miles. A drop is a petit motorcycle accident that involves only the bike. You're sitting on it, and then, because of slippery pavement, or too much front brake with the wheel turned, the bike falls away, becomes heavy, crashes to the ground between your legs. A drop is always stupid and freakish, and it happened right in my driveway, the scene of my very first drop so long ago. Broke another shifter pedal, but I think I'll do the drill and bolt routine for now, drilling a hole through the lever and threading a nut and bolt to improvise a pedal by wrapping the bolt in some rubber tubing. It'll have to do until I get some work (which may be sooner rather than later). Also, I managed to crack off a frame slider, and that I'll have to replace. Shit.
Funny, but it's little things like this that make me smile. It's like, hey, shit happens, you're still alive and how about that? It's stupid, random, unnecessary - but it makes you realize how small and intricate life can be, the nuts and bolts of it - and the tiny parts that all make up the larger machine.
Saw Nancy Anderson, author of "Work With Passion" this past Monday at Graceworks. Graceworks is a job-hunting networking group supported by Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco. She got me thinking (I have her book already) about what kind of personality I am. Actually have a copy of my Myers Briggs test:
As I remembered correctly: ENTJ. Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking and Judging. My strongest indicator was Intuition, which makes sense. I'm a problem solver, and I see patterns from pieces. I like to see the connectedness of things, make cognitive leaps, arrive at new conclusions.
I am currently unemployed, but I have a unique set of skills. I'm educated, but mostly auto-didact; I grew into an industry that, while currently idle, has tremendous upside in the not-too-distant future. Because I'm unemployed, I spend a lot of time alone - and yet I'm slightly more extroverted than I am introverted. I need people, good people, to get energy from and to keep me upright. The symbol of my life is a motorcycle, a vehicle designed for one, but that can accommodate a second person. That could mean a partner or room for a spiritual journey.
Maybe unemployment is the jolt that puts me back in the world the way I need to be. Maybe the emptiness I'm feeling lately is the signal that I've ridden too far by myself; maybe it's time for that second person, or that road less traveled.
As we say in our closing meditation at Graceworks, "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be." I'm alive, lonely, but also grateful. I think there is a force larger than us, that gives me energy when I need it, that supplies a solution - to fix my bike, here's how you do it - rather than lets me sink into despair. I feel alone right now; but yesterday I heard from friends both near and far away - each one asking how I'm doing, caring, talking me through. Bless Elisabeth, Elizabeth, Vivian and Jae.
It took awhile, but I drilled out the gear-shift lever to 1/4", got a 2" bolt and a nylon locking nut and so 1/4" ID tubing and made myself a shift pedal. My bike is now 'commando.' Tony loved it.
I got a frame slider from Tony at SF Moto on closeout that actually is for the first generation SV650 (1999-2002) It's a bit too big, but too big is okay. Tony also fixed a longtime problem with my brake light (It was always on). It came down to a faulty brake lever. He swapped it out for free.
Next Wednesday I have an interview with a spec writing consultancy. A guy I know from my days at F+K. Next Thursday I'm getting my bike a whole lot of love and attention.
**ORIGINAL POST**
I feel better now.
Spring - days getting longer. Bike costing more money. I dropped it last night, first time in 15 thousand miles. A drop is a petit motorcycle accident that involves only the bike. You're sitting on it, and then, because of slippery pavement, or too much front brake with the wheel turned, the bike falls away, becomes heavy, crashes to the ground between your legs. A drop is always stupid and freakish, and it happened right in my driveway, the scene of my very first drop so long ago. Broke another shifter pedal, but I think I'll do the drill and bolt routine for now, drilling a hole through the lever and threading a nut and bolt to improvise a pedal by wrapping the bolt in some rubber tubing. It'll have to do until I get some work (which may be sooner rather than later). Also, I managed to crack off a frame slider, and that I'll have to replace. Shit.
Funny, but it's little things like this that make me smile. It's like, hey, shit happens, you're still alive and how about that? It's stupid, random, unnecessary - but it makes you realize how small and intricate life can be, the nuts and bolts of it - and the tiny parts that all make up the larger machine.
Saw Nancy Anderson, author of "Work With Passion" this past Monday at Graceworks. Graceworks is a job-hunting networking group supported by Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco. She got me thinking (I have her book already) about what kind of personality I am. Actually have a copy of my Myers Briggs test:
As I remembered correctly: ENTJ. Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking and Judging. My strongest indicator was Intuition, which makes sense. I'm a problem solver, and I see patterns from pieces. I like to see the connectedness of things, make cognitive leaps, arrive at new conclusions.
I am currently unemployed, but I have a unique set of skills. I'm educated, but mostly auto-didact; I grew into an industry that, while currently idle, has tremendous upside in the not-too-distant future. Because I'm unemployed, I spend a lot of time alone - and yet I'm slightly more extroverted than I am introverted. I need people, good people, to get energy from and to keep me upright. The symbol of my life is a motorcycle, a vehicle designed for one, but that can accommodate a second person. That could mean a partner or room for a spiritual journey.
Maybe unemployment is the jolt that puts me back in the world the way I need to be. Maybe the emptiness I'm feeling lately is the signal that I've ridden too far by myself; maybe it's time for that second person, or that road less traveled.
As we say in our closing meditation at Graceworks, "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be." I'm alive, lonely, but also grateful. I think there is a force larger than us, that gives me energy when I need it, that supplies a solution - to fix my bike, here's how you do it - rather than lets me sink into despair. I feel alone right now; but yesterday I heard from friends both near and far away - each one asking how I'm doing, caring, talking me through. Bless Elisabeth, Elizabeth, Vivian and Jae.