Spring Fever?

Spring is lazily approaching after a LONG winter. I was ready for winter to be over around November 1st. That makes for a LOT of chilly nights in anticipation. Despite (or maybe because of) having lived in Indiana my whole life, most of my hobbies involve warm weather in some shape or form. I love to golf, walk or run outside and of course, I salivate at the thought of riding around the country on my motorcycle.

This year we've planned to attend a few motorcycle rallies. I've never taken my cats with me on any of my trips, (that would just be weird I think) but I would really like to take Sasha (the dog) with us this year. Once I know for sure that she'll always come back to me when I call her and doesn't feel the urge to bark at every leaf, squirrel and pedestrian to cross her path, I think she would have a great time and be a great travelling companion. I know I've seen several other rally attendees with their little dogs, but I decided to do a little web-browsing to if there might be any way to take along my big(ger) dog. Hold onto your butts, ladies and gentlemen. Before you know it, you'll be laughing them off at all the great motorcycle gear I found for my precious pooch! Apparently I am not the first one to want to take man's best friend on a motorcycle adventure!

Does your dog think safety is number 1 and wouldn't ride anywhere without a helmet? No problem! The good people at Zoomer Gear can fix your dog up! They claim that the helmets can even accomodate dogs with non-floppy ears, but that I would like to see!

If you're safety conscious, you don't want to forget about those adorable puppy eyes. Aerostitch makes the perfect doggles (yes, that's right! doggy goggles!).

Beast Riders Limited makes plush, fuzzy carriers that fit on the pillion (passenger) seat so that your dog can ride behind you and feel the wind in his fur. You know how dogs love to do that!

...But hands down, by far, my favorite doggy motorcycling accessory HAS to be this pink "Born to Ride" motorcycle jacket. Yes! That's right! It's PINK! I'm certain to make a name for myself among the biker crowds I frequent and I'd bet all the money in the world that Sasha may never forgive me, but I think she just HAS to have it! She's just adorable already and would be traffic-stopping outfitted in this lovely jacket. Besides, we'd match! Ha Ha Ha Ha

Books #16 and #17

#16. "A Single Thread" by Marie Bostwick - Cheesy, but a very quick read and it'll make you feel good.

#17. "The Man Who Planted Trees" by Jean Giono - Very short and sweet. It'll make YOU want to plant trees!

I am simultaneously furious and floored!

What gives? As a student of human behavior, I am often completely dumbfounded.

For instance, every day commuting to and and from work, I take the same routes. Both the inbound and the outbound routes basically consist of a 4-lane, one-way road that is a) quite busy during the rush hours and b) poorly lit at night or in the early morning. To make it even more complicated, there are several school zones and the more-than-occasional car darting across the road from one of the adjoining neighborhoods. The routes are about 5 miles long and pass through some questional areas where there are often more houses boarded up than occupied. This is obviously a place suitable for only the quick and the nimble. Then why is it that at least 5 times a week I encounter pedestrians who are wearing jackets with large hoods pulled up over their heads, stepping out into traffic without looking and then MOSEYING across the road as cars barrell at them at over 40 miles per hour?

The cherry on top when I encountered one of these people on my way in this morning was his response. Did he quicken his pace as he heard the press of the cars? No. Of course not. Even though his foot was still on the white lane line and I had to swerve into the other lane a bit in order to miss hitting him, he didn't show me that courtesy. Instead, as I had to brake and honked my horn at him, he stuck the cigarette he was holding into his mouth, turned toward me, stepping BACK into the lane and the path of other oncoming cars and raised both his arms (and middle fingers) at me. I think he was also yelling something at me, but by then I couldn't hear and didn't really care what he had to say.

So, here's my question? Why does one feel compelled to act in such a way? I don't see this happening in my neighborhood or some of the more suburban areas despite those roads being LESS dangerous. Do the people who act this way have such little regard for their own lives? Or is it that they truly think they are so important that the universe revolves around them and that we should feel obliged and obligated to patiently wait while they mosey their asses across the road?

Unfortunately, encountering this kind of behavior so often is leading me to become cynical. I hear on the news about a pedestrian getting hit by a car and I often wonder who really is at fault.

There's no simulator in the game of life.

After a 3 week blog entry hiatus, (actually I was just way too busy, but a hiatus makes it seem like I was vacationing on some tropical beach), I am back to post my thoughts and opinions on everything under the sun. I'm sure most of you were beginning to experience symptoms of withdrawal without my witty repartee. Well, at least these are the things I tell myself before I float off to sleep at night.

Recently it occurred to me that there are a great host of things in this life that we, unfortunately, only get to learn while in the process of actually doing them. This occurred to me while I was trying to shimmy my car down a snow-laden street in my neighborhood. As a life-long resident of Indiana, (well there were those three months in college, but everyone has to experiment, right?) I have driven on my fair share of snowy streets. In fact last winter I got my car stuck - REALLY stuck - across the street from my house. It took hours to get it out. I've learned my lesson and now I'll be parking in my garage until May!

After 19 (egad!) winters of driving in snow and ice, I feel like I've finally figured out the finess and just the right touch it takes in order to drive safely in bad conditions. But that wasn't always the case. I'm sure there were times that I drove too fast or pounced on the accelerator too hard only to find that all that did was spin my tires and, often, dug me even further into my icy auto prison. I came out of my learning period pretty much unscathed, but that's not always the case for new drivers or at least drivers new to the conditions. Unfortunately, (at least to my knowledge) there's no icy road driving simulator. The only way to learn how the car reacts is to actually be out in those conditions driving. That means danger for the driver as well as all of those in that driver's path. I don't have any children, but my heart goes out to the parents of new drivers who are out there driving in the snow for the first time. I'd probably worry myself into old age pretty quickly every time that my son or daughter walked out the door.

That's how life is though, huh? Parents don't usually get a dress rehearsal or try-out before they start raising their children. Couples, even those that live together, don't really know what marriage is going to be like until they're in the thick of it. Often times if we choose one path, there isn't really time or an opportunity to take another if it doesn't work out the way we planned. There are too seldom do-overs in life.

After riding a motorcycle for 4+ years, I am in awe every time I get on it that I didn't seriously and permanently hurt myself or others while I was learning. Sure, I broke my arm, but that's practically as good as new and I rode thousands of miles with very little experience under my belt. Now I look back and think, "Wow! I didn't know anything about riding and they let me on the road." ......and I'm sure in another 4 years, I'll look back on now and think, "Wow, I thought I knew what I was doing, but in reality I was clueless!"

So life is dangerous and scary and most of the time we're playing for keeps. Why, then, do we not treat it as such? Why aren't we more careful about handling our cars, our bodies, our tongues and the hearts of those we care about most? How can we be reminded of the fragility of these things before we are confronted by damage or injury or disease?

I don't have any answers.

I guess that's why I'm asking the questions.

Things are seldom what they seem.

(Make sure your speakers are on and the volume is up to play the video)

When I adopted Sasha, I was looking for companionship, but also for a bit of a deterrent to any ne'er-do-well who might want to harm me or my home. I knew she was a mutt and I was perfectly fine with that. In fact, in my opinion, mutts often make some of the best dogs. They generally have better health and fewer temperament issues than purebreds do. The lady from the adoption and rescue place said that her father was a 90 lb German Shepherd and that the mother was a shepherd/something mix. That sounded fine to me because I knew that German Shepherds are a larger breed of dog that are generally smart, loyal and protective. Perfect!

Unfortunately, it seems I may have been sold a bill of goods. After talking to the owner of one of Sasha's litter mates after training class the other night, it looks like the mother may have been (at least part) Shiba Inu. While these dogs, of Japanese origin, are also know to be intelligent, they are SIGNIFICANTLY more petite than German Shepherds. For instance, a German Shepherd averages between 49 and 88 pounds. A Shiba Inu often weighs in between 17 and 23 pounds. It's gonna be hard to frighten an intruder with a dog that they could just kick to the side. On the bright side, I might have a few additional years with her. The life expectancy of a German Shepherd is 7 - 10 years and a Shiba Inu is around for 12 - 15 years.

At this point, all of this is pure conjecture really. I guess I'll have to wait until she's about 1 year old before I can really have an idea of her eventual size. It's not looking like she'll be all that big though based on her paws and ears. They aren't exactly huge.

Here latest conquests? She's learning more skills. She's mastered "sit" and "lay down". We're working very hard on "leave it" (I can't wait until she responds to that one better!) and we're even working on some tricks! In order to keep her occupied and exercised, I'm thinking about working on agility training with her using a homemade apparatus once the weather is a little warmer. The trainer I go to is even going to teach a class in flyball in the spring that I think we'll try. I think Sasha will have a good time with it!

I seriously have the cutest dog ever! I might be a bit biased, but not much. ;-) This video was taken the other night on my cell phone (hence the poor quality). It's Troy and Sasha playing their favorite game of "fetch". Troy spins the tug around his body while she chases it. It's funny to see her really turn on the speed when she gets close enough to catch it. Troy discovered this is a great game to play because while she gets exhausted, he doesn't. When a puppy has as much energy as she does, this is a good thing!

Last Tuesday Sasha and I had our first obedience class. There were 4 dogs total in the class including one of her litter mates that the family (mom, dad and 2 boys) named Ginger. She's adorable and somehow even more wriggly than Sasha. They've had her 2 weeks fewer than I've had Sasha so they haven't worked with her on obedience much yet. I sometimes get frustrated that Sasha isn't learning things as fast as I would like, but it was amazing to see that all of my hard work really has paid off so far. She was a star pupil. She knew her name, focused on me even when there was an intentional distraction from the instructor and didn't jump up. Yeah! She also knows that if she wants ANYTHING (food, to go outside, love, to play, etc) she has to, at a minimum, sit. That was our assignment for this last week and I was thrilled that she already knew that one! Sweet. This week we learn "leave it". I can't WAIT for this one. Perhaps then when she grabs my dirty socks or wants to chew on yet ANOTHER stick, I can dissuade her more easily. Wish me luck!

Tell them what we've got, Johnny!.....

...It's a BRAND NEW CAR!

Ok, so brand new may be a stretch, but it is a new car to me. I did it. I took the plunge. I went car shopping with my dad on Saturday, December 27th and had no intention of actually buying one, but the steering is starting to feel a bit wonky on my old one, so I thought maybe it was time to at least go look. I think I smelled desperation wafting over from the car dealer as we drove through the lot. He was practically salivating at the fact that there was actually one potential customer on the lot on the Saturday after Christmas. Needless to say, I was the only one there. Later on in the day, he actually had the kahones to say that, despite what the media was saying, their business was doing really well. (Insert crickets chirping here) Sure, mister! That's why you all are condensing your business from 3 lots down to 2. It's because business is really booming! Please.

Anyway, I was fairly proud of my negotiating skills. When I bought my first car 8 years ago, I didn't do any of the negotiating. I basically let my brother and dad do all the talking and when they were finished, I asked how much I owed and where to sign. This time I had done some research (thank you, Consumer Reports) and felt better educated about what cars were out there that were well made and would fit into my price range. Besides, I didn't HAVE to buy a car and I'm pretty sure he REALLY wanted to sell one.

It was interesting to see my dad's reaction when we were talking (just the two of us away from the sales people) and I said I would consider paying $X. He said, "With tax and everything?!?!" I said, "yep!"

It's a unique experience to see these sorts of negotiations from the stand-point of another generation. My parents are children of people who came of age during the Depression. My dad was laid off for much of the 80's due to poor economic times. My parents have, until recently, both worked at least 2 jobs EACH. They are the kind of people that aren't going to rock the boat. When I recently told my mom that, after doing some research, I felt like I was underpaid and that I had asked for a raise, I think she was simultaneously shocked and unnerved. I've been telling her for years that she is underpaid and that her company should show that they know her value by giving her more money. She simply shrugs it off and says things like, "In this economy, I'm just happy to have a job." In this economy I'm thrilled to have a job as well, but that doesn't mean that my skills are any less valuable.

I think for my dad, these negotiations brought him that same unnerved feeling. I think he thought I was crazy basically asking for the moon. I figure, I'm gonna start with the moon, if I only get the top of Mt. Everest, that's still pretty good. After all, as I said, I didn't HAVE to buy a car.

So, I negogiated and got pretty close to what I told him I would consider (with a few perks thrown in) and when we were all done, he said, "I think you got a really good deal." While I was seeking his approval in my decision, it was nice to know I had it.

Even though I didn't expect to actually get it crossed off the list before next July, every time I fire up that remote start and hop into a warm car on a cold Indiana morning, I'm thrilled to have a new car.

.....If anyone's interested, I have a car payment due January 26th. I haven't had one in over 5 years and I'm not enjoying the prospect of having one for the next 4 years. Ugh.