Since almost everyone that reads this goes to X-E, you know the results.
If you don’t- well, to be simple, I lost the Die-O-Rama Contest.
Pretty badly, if I do say so myself.
I’d talk about it- but I’m not feeling very happy, or good about myself- and it involves lots of cursing.
So.
I’ll just leave it at that.
So last night i got to do the funnest part.
I GOT TO PAINT!
However, I didn’t have my camera so I couldn’t take pics.
Except i actually DID have my camera and didn’t know it.
So then I started debating if I should show you becuase it’d then be a sneak peak at my die-o-rama and I don’t know if releasing a behind the scenes shoot is really conducive to building the drama that will be my Scene.
I mean, I didn’t even want to TELL you guys about it for fear that someone would see how high I was shooting and aim higher.
That’s been one of my major fears- well, of my whole life.
I never shoot for the best, becuase I always know someone is going to be better.
For gods’ sake there are 9 year olds on the soccer team that I assistant coach that play better than me.
Crushes me sometimes, but hell. Not like I’m freakin’ Pele over here.
So, I try, but don’t go balls out.
But this time…
because I don’t know who my competition is and what they’re doing and I really want to win…
I AM GOING BALLS OUT.
So the idea that a competitor can see what I am doing and go “HA! I can do better!” becuase they’ve seen the competition…
that would totally cripple me.
I would be really damn hurt if I lost.
It does make me try harder, for sure.
But is my best good enough?
So I think maybe… I’ll show you the painted guys.
And some construction details of the diorama box.
but that’s it.
You’ll have to wait until tomorrow.
Can you do that?
I knew you could.
So, like I said, I went camping this past weekend. It was a little damper than I prefer, making Camp generally a bit less comfortable than I would have liked. But I didn’t complain. Go me!
Our big event of the weekend was our Hike trip. I was ambitious and selected a relatively long and challenging hike. It was a 4-mile hike that rises in elevation almost 600 feet in the first 1.5 miles.
The highlight of the hike was at our turnaround point. There was a small hike that was the furthest away from our entry point called the Old Mine Loop. Mines, huh? Sounds promising, right? The long hike combined with a looping old trail piqued my curiosity. So that was our goal of the whole crazy hike. To do the Old Mine loop and maybe see an old mine.
We were pretty bummed when we reached the end of the Old mine Loop. No mine. No rest spot, no ANYTHING. Not even a decent view. So we were ready to give up on our fruitless hike when I saw a patch of gray out in a valley beyond the barbed wire fence that was the boundary of the park. A bit of head bobbing and nosing about revealed it was a LAKE!
We consulted the map.
The map said it was “Land Not Open To The Public.”
Not “Private Property”, as that was coded differently.
That led us to believe that it was park property- but because it was so far back into the middle of nowhere, that they didn’t want gooney folks drowning in it, dirtying it up and doing bad thing way back in there.
Imagine also, if the word of a small swimming hole so close to home got out.
The place would turn into a trash dump.
Dying for a sense of adventure, I poked around the fence line, and found a well-worn path through the fence and in the general direction of the lake. I was amped, and yet really nervous.
When we reached the general area, we realized it wasn’t just a lake, but a lake with a boat-house like structure and a dock.
From the architecture style and its wood quality, it looks like it was built in the 80’s and had been maintained until about 15-20 years ago. All the rubbish we saw- which wasn’t much- was old, at least a few years old. And it was strangely devoid of graffiti. There was some, but nothing too big. There were glass panes in the building, and the fact they weren’t broken was a bit of a testament to the place. Whoever came here was respectful enough to keep the place intact.
We had to be careful of our step- every single step sounded so loud, and the wood groaned under our weight. I advised Rudy to walk on the nail lines- those would be the beams and would support our weight better than the straight deck planking.
It was really quite nice- quiet, secluded. I bet the lake had some decent fishing options in it- as someone used to give a crap about this place and probably stocked the lake a long time ago. I imagine duck hunting could be an option too, as we heard coots screaming at us from deep in the reeds.
We didn’t stay long, there wasn’t much to do but look and technically, we weren’t supposed to be there. But it’s been in my head for days. I want to know more about it. Who owns the land, what that place was used for. Stuff like this always haunts me.
I did find a guy who saw the lake and wrote about it, but didn’t get as close as I did.
But that’s all I have been able to find.
I’ll let you know more when I find out more.
Like my own little Advent mystery- only it’s not Advent.
Cool, huh?
I am going camping for the weekend.
Strangely enough, this is the third time I have gone camping this year.
Normally we’ve been pretty moderate with our camping. Once, maybe twice in the season. This year, we camped in Mid march (froze our asses off) and then again in May- as I told you the tale of the Shitty Winds.
Our desire to aggressively camp comes from our desire to be prepared. If shit ever hits the fan, we want to be sure that we can get up and go.
Rudy is worried about the end of the B’ak’tun and thinks it would be better to be prepared and ready to go out into the wilderness, than to be unprepared and wait for the inevitable if we stay in the cities. Cities are always the epicenter for major civil disruptions; so the further you are from a city, the less you will be affected.
I don’t want to believe that 2012 will be TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it), but I want to at least put up a fight if it is. My larger concern is population and our own sustainability. This earth can’t sustain us for much longer if we keep up our rate of consumption, so we should find ways to take care of ourselves on our own- without having to fight for resources.
Our goal of saving our asses is simple. We load up our gear, and Cash in the truck. We drive as far as we can into the local valleys and find a place to call our own. If we need to, we will ditch the truck and hike in further. Our gear isn’t light; by we’ve determined we can manage it. Besides, we live in California- our winters are moderate. Snow clothes will keep us more than warm in the just-above-freezing chill. Considering San Benito County is less than 100,000 people- many who are already able to take care of themselves- we shouldn’t have a problem finding a gully or creek we can hide out in. The lands just south of us are rough and rugged, and the home of ancient volcanoes- so the land is rich and rife with wilderness. Wild pig are plentiful, ground squirrel are easy pickings. We could always eat vegetation.
Cash has a decent prey drive; an empty belly will easily increase it- he can hunt his own food. He can also serve as sentry and guard. Pit Bulls are also known for being great pig dogs; he can help with taking down a variety of animals. If our ancestors used dogs, we can definitely benefit by his inclusion in our party.
Our preparation is far from complete. But by simply getting started, we are father along than a large portion of the population.
Are you prepared?
There are very few fears in my life that I can’t rationally explain away.
Everyone’s afraid of bugs but there are antidotes for near everything… Drowning is a real risk but if I don’t go in the water I can’t drown… Planes are safer than cars- as our last trip to Washington state proved… So on and so forth.
But the human element is something I can’t rationally grasp. There are so many aspects to the human mind that I can’t even begin to fathom- the desire to kill and murder, mental illness and self-destructive behavior… even the desire and need to be intentionally cruel to other people and living creatures. I imagine it is because I can’t do those things so I can’t grasp people doing those things. Fundamentally- we are all supposed to be the same, right? So how can we be so broad on the spectrum of human personality and psyche?
So, perusing the news I found this 5-part article at Slate about Animal testing, and the dog that sparked the regulation of the animal testing industry.
It’s an amazing article that really pulls at my heart strings and made me rethink my stance on many things.
But the part that struck a chord with me is about the dog that started it all- a Dalmatian named Pepper that was stolen from her 86-acre ranch in 1965. In ten days her life was turned upside down- transferred between three “owners” and sold to a research facility- and ultimately died at the hands of a doctor who was experimenting on her.
Personally- that horrifies me.
Firstly- that someone could just up at STEAL someone else’s pet. The only time I can conceivably endorse such a behavior is removing a pet from a situation in which it is suffering. But even then, there could be huge repercussions to the animal in something like that. Animals can mentally shut down, or not handle the stress- depending on their living style before their rescue. Sometimes, putting an animal to sleep is the most humane thing you can do if their suffering is deep and never-ending.
Secondly- the idea that Pepper’s life went from joyous country living to abject horror and disrespect- torture even- at the hands of creatures she had come to rely on to keep her safe, fed and happy. Even if her family had found her in the ten days she was missing, Pepper may not have been the same dog when she returned home. That crushes me. Some people see their pets as a part of their family and home. Taking that from someone is akin to kidnapping in some circles. And even if it’s just a day or two- that could destroy everything that pet is. Even just a day at the Animal Shelter can create physiological damage that may take weeks-even months- to repair for some dogs.
Thirdly, that people- in this case doctors and scientists- can just purposefully destroy an animal for their own needs. I understand the need for scientific experimentation- but I don’t have to like it. The idea that an animal is made less of a living creature and more of a scientific tool horrifies me. Doing that to an animal negates its existence- even more so in lab animals bred for such purposes.
I mean- at first I was complacent that lab animals were bred for testing. They are genetically similar across the board, making their tests results as uniform as could be. And being bred for testing- that would be their purpose in life, they wouldn’t know any better. That would be their life. As long as bad things didn’t happen, and they got their basic needs fulfilled, they would be okay.
Not like stolen dogs that had happy lives before thrown into a life of experimentation.
But because an animal is born into lab life, does that mean that we should sentence them to such a life? There could be an awesome pet born into that less-than-stellar existence and no one could ever know, and it would have things performed on it that could ruin-or kill- that animal. And just because their basic needs are met, is that REALLY a life? Is prison life really life, or just an existence?
What set me on the other side of the fence in this was sometimes; animals that are tested on are tested for the most mundane things. Master’s Degree Studies, Eye motion, electrical impulses in the brain, sometimes just to have a living thing to test in situations. Just to fuck around.
How is that any different than the neighbor kid tying a firecracker to a cat’s tail?
They’re doing it for the same results- just to see what will happen.
The only difference is that one of them has a degree and one doesn’t. There’s a certain kind of disjointedness, a lack of compassion when it comes to injuring animals on purpose. Sometimes we have to teach compassion. Sometimes we just have it in us from the get-go. And some people learn to suppress it.
I guess what I am getting at is pretty simple. Injuring animals in any form- from kicking strays to testing on monkeys- is inherently wrong in my book. And there will be a special time in purgatory for people who purposely injure animals. Even though the testing might benefit humans- as Pepper’s testing ultimately did- there’s still the idea that they are cruelly manipulating the lives of lesser creatures, and last I check that wasn’t a part of God’s master plan. We were meant to be Stewards of the lands and its creatures, not its masters.
Woo.
So… The day after I got back from camping, I was all kinds of wiped out, right? I guess that kind of bottoming-out brings out the illness in people. Becuase as I went back to work on Tuesday, I felt really lethargic and out of it. By mid-way through tuesday, I started getting a pain in my jaw, and knew exactly what it was…
I cursed myself and that damn Dentist.
About 4 years ago I got a pretty invasive and semi-emergency root canal. Emergency being “Oh man, we need to take that out. Come back in an hour. Go get some lunch-on me-and I’ll get that out for you.” They were really nice, and it was probably the least scared I had ever been. Up until the last 1/2 hour he was great. That last half hour he was just beating around my mouth in an attempt to get done before 2 pm.
I recall him saying “We got almost everything that was hurting you. We couldn’t get all the nerves, so you’ll most likely get some pain in the future. And you’ll probably lose that tooth. ” That kind of irked me. I just paid you $2000 and you couldn’t do your job 100%?! aaagh.
Whatever. The problem was removed, andI was desperate to get back to normal so I could go to school the next day. I was in my last semester of College, and this would be my last dental work under my mother’s insurance. So I didn’t care if he half-assed it. My tooth was fixed.
Fast forward to four years later.
The thing had been giving me some issues on and off since the work. Minor aches here and there- never anything that required me to think about going to the dentist without insurance. Since I didn’t HAVE insurance, a costly dentist trip seemed a bit frivolous and selfish when you’re struggling to make ends meet.
But this pain made me sit up straight up and go- “hm. Maybe I should get it looked at. We’ll see.”
When my face started to swell on Wednesday I said “FUCK THIS!” and called my boyfriend’s dentist. I called HIS dentist because 1) I don’t have one and 2) if you think I’m a coward about dentistry, Rudy takes the damn cake. So if Rudy likes a dentist, I’m gonna be on cloud fuckin’ nine.
I went in on last Friday. Got a few x-rays. In a roundabout way, was confirmed that the weird lump on the inside of my mouth is indeed a torii as the nurse kept jamming it with that damn paper biteguard. But that’s not all.
Somehow- I have an infection in the FUCKING BONE OF MY FUCKING JAW. That infection was infecting my gums and cheek, and making me fluff out. When I told him I had a root canal there, he seemed to nod. After I explained to him I was allergic to penicillin ( Why is it that when i say I’m allergic, they always say “Well, let’s try it again this time, and if you get an allergic reaction we’ll take you off..” and I have to practically scream “I BREAK OUT IN A RASH WHEN I TAKE PENICILLIN!”) and he gave me some other kind of antibiotic that ISN’T penicillin.
Anyway. The title referrs to this… *pulls out bottle* that is just wreaking havoc on my gut. All the antibiotics are making my stomach cramp up somethign fierce. Like- you know when you haven’t eaten for a while and your gut feels like it’s eating itself? That’s me… every twenty minutes. And I turn into a nasty,cranky bitch when I’m hungry. So this darrn crap is making me a MEGA-bitch and while I don’t like it, it’s supposed to make me feel better.
I have a few days left on the meh-meh-sin. Whew.
At the end of the month, I have another dentist appointment, so we can see how the antibiotics worked. The Dentist said that the Antibiotics are only to kill the infection in the soft tissues- the infection in the bone can ‘t be killed, it needs to be removed.
*gulp*
Bit it CAN be stabilized. If the antibiotics work and the infection doesn’t flare up again, I could be just fine.
these antibiotocs better fickign work- I mean, Lord knows I don’t want to lose chunks of my fuckin’ JAW. But also- this gut pain sucks ass.
Cash got into a heated battle with a golden retriever he knows at the dog park yesterday. Wasn’t just a short squabble. What seemed like regular horseplay escalated in mere seconds- we both didn’t spot the signs until it was too late. But to be honest, we really wanted our dogs to just get along and we should have recognized signs and taken our dogs apart before it got too far.
From what the owner tells me, her dog is actually much better off than Cash is- just a puncture in an armpit and on the neck. Cash has multiple punctures on and around his face.
A vet tech happened to be there at the time and told us both to just keep the wound sites clean and apply neosporin and they should be fine. But she didn’t get to see the one behind his ear or on his neck – we didn’t find thouse until a second, less adrenaline-fueled check-over at home as we were cleaning him.
So we’re going to the vet to see if he needs stitches. We think he might- not only that but we really want to avoid any scarring on the face- it’s bad enough he got into a fight, we don’t need daily reminders.
What I am trying to wrap my brain around was… could this have been prevented? Part of me says no.
But part of me says I should have known better. Cash is a PIT BULL! Maybe the media is right and I have a killing machine for my best friend.
Am I just being naiive and pretending that Cash is the same as any other dog?
Or do I really need to treat him like a super-max prisoner and never let him around other dogs again?
Is he really a “loaded gun”?
What is this going to do to his reaction with other dogs?
Will he never be able to go to the dog park again?
I mean- I guess it’s true that if Cash really wanted to, he could have torn Bailey apart.
But he didn’t.
So that says volumes for his personality and training. Right?
Still- there’s this black cloud over my head and I’m wondering if it will ever go away.
I’m really fuckin’ bent out of shape at the moment- at things beyond my control.
Well- they’re within control, but it’s hard to manage a situations when those that need managing refuse to heed good intentions and best-laid plans.
So USUALLY this is when I write a Music blog, but as I am listening to Iron Maiden, I can’t just very well write about them AGAIN. I mean, I could… but that could just bore everyone into disappearing. let’s just avoid that from happening, okies?
So! Other than that Sitch-a-mation, I will try and think about other things.
Like the fact that I WENT CAMPING! It was a short trip, only a couple of days, and was local- Coyote Lake. I will have to say, it could have been a LOT WORSE than it was. More people were invited than two sites could accomodate, the person that booked the sites neglected to recognize that they were RV sites and we were tent-camping, and had picked partial-shade sites… Partial Shade in TEN YEARS, as the trees in the area were just planted. Not to mention a Lake that no one could swim in.
However, as stated, I had an okay time. The fact that I had this-
-Made it quite bearable. He was a really good boy- no squabbles, no problems! The first night with him in a tent was a struggle, ’cause he coudn’t find the perfect place to sleep, so he kept moving. But the next night- after a day of walks and running and swimming (as pictured here!) he was a tired little man and slept like a rock. I fussed over him and fed him and took care of him. He was simply amazing.
On the way back from Camping, I got a call from the Optometrist- my glasses were in.
I used my Surplus check to purchase a new pair of glasses since my precription had changed… my eyes are apparently getting worse. It’s pretty bad as is- I’m not legal to drive with out corrective lenses- but it is kind of scary that my eyes are still deteriorating. Nevertheless… I got some pretty neat frames- they are Converse frames with Starsa on the stems, and I feel so sophisticated! lemme show you.
So, I’ll very well possibly be sporting my specs more often. The Camping trip with contacts was just a major pain- has always been. I do LOVE having contacts, though- so I’ll probably just be regularly swaping from glasses to lenses more often… neato-beeto.
And Lastly- the SUMMER MEGAPARTY has Begun! I’m really excited about Matty writing more- a whole two and a half months of DAILY pieces. Sooo cool! Today he wrote about Otter Pops! Yummie.
However… WaiterBot showed up in a couple of the pictures.
Which means…
*gulp*
Box 23 is alive and afoot.
Not COOL.
I mean, it’s cool, but it’s just that…well, As interesting and brain-wracking Box 23 projects are, they scare me really bad too. I can’t explain why. Maybe it’s the way its presented- as sneaking around and deciphering thigs that are “meant” to be hidden. Like… it’s just better to leave it alone, than to dig too deep. It could just be me- If I start something like this- I get too deep-I get obsessed- and my brain goes to hell in a handbasket. I tell ya I was drawing Hssxlllo all over the place last Christmas… and last Easter considering there was a small amount of Box 23 action around then too.
Anyway…
This is hwta I have for now. I’ll hopefully have some more interesting writtings to entertain you with in the next blogie post, but for right now, I’m in crap up to mk knees and need to pull my waders up a little higher. than usual.
*dances*
Mystie Sent Me a PACKAGE!
I was thinking she didn’t even know i existed- and yet… not only does she know I exist, she technically KNOWS WHERE I LIVE! And stuff that was in her house, is now in MY house! I believe I even have an item that is IN ONE OF HER ARTICLES!
*squee!*
Let me show you the schwag I scored!
Okay, i made individual notes of what the COOLEST items were, but some of the more mundane items included:
So that was the “normal” stuff. Some stuff warranted more than Bullet Points, so I took their individual piccies for in-depth discussion.
Hologram Kitty Stickers!
These are SO BLINKIN’ RAD! They’re like living LOLcats, only there’s no words. I kept thinking, how the HELL DID SHE KNOW I LIKED CATS?! And then I remembered… I’m Kittymao. D’er. Yo Soy Retardo. I don’t know where I’m gonna put them. I thought about carrying them with me and decorating random bathroom stalls I encounter. But that’s what Sharpies are for.
Awesome Party Favors Circa 1986
I saw these and the FIRST THING I thought of was- These are from Zorn’s! I just knew it! Well, on second though I’m not really sure, but I’ll pretend they are and be happy! Rudy saw them and remarked how he always thought Teela was hot. I didn’t tell him my thing for Man-At-Arms, and it’s probably for the best. However, the idea of dressing like a certain Serpent lady for Halloween has been rekindled…
DarkWing Duck Magnifying Glass
I remember this show, and I do diefinitely recall its dark, pulpy feeling to it. I enjoyed it, but was no mega-fanatic. I DO know, that Mystie has a major love of this show, and for her to give ME something that is so iconic of the series is a total sock-rockin’ experience. I will tell you RIGHT NOW, I will not disgrace this piece of functional plastic nostalgia by torching paper and ants. Nay- it shall take a coveted place upon my desk for reading particularly tiny price listings and perhaps inspecting the divots and dimples of my cheez-its.
Fairy Princess Magic Cookie Kit!
I LOVE to bake, but rarely have the chance to do it cause time is a commodity in my house that is not easily gotten. I saw this and just giggled like a little girl! I was gonna make COOKIES! I love when everything you need is RIGHT THERE, all you gonna do is put it together. Like an Edible 1/24 scale ‘55 Chevy Bel Air model. I am gonna actually make these either TONIGHT or TOMORROW, in celebration of my BIRTHDAY! Yep. On April 18TH, i TURN 27. kinda scary. But I haven’t even acknowledged until JUST RIGHT NOW, so I’m not like, freaked out or anything. Not yet, anyway. So… yeah. I am gonna make these. And I will take pictures for y’all ok? Oo, another niftynoodle bloggie post, Courtesy of Mystie!
Okay, this last one… woo. Skeery. For me, anyway.
I have no fucking idea.
I imagine this is some cute Chinatown trinket for the little white kid who won’t stop saying” Daddy Get me something!” and he grabs the first and cheapest thing he can find and then dreads the consequent electronic insanity that emits from it. Honestly, the picture does it no justice.
Ok, so imagine, you see this as you open the box (after dutifully readign the note written on JackSkellington Paper with that Beautiful Blue Moon-Sand color wehad discussed on an earlier thread at Mystie’s blog) and go Oo! I like peanuts, even if you don’t REALLY like peanuts. I only like peanuts because peanuts are weirdly shaped, and that weird stuff happens when peanut-shaped items come into play.
So I pick it up0 it’s got this plastic wrap around it with some chinese characters on it. I don’t know chinese so it means jack SHIT to me. I imagine it says “Lucky Peanut” or something. I then begin to make a connection- Lucky=Cricket. Cricket in a Peanut Shell.
And I slow down, Cause… uhm,. CRICKETS kind of scare me. I’ll rescue a standed cricket with a cup and paper, but I’m always scared they’re gonna bite. and they’re so BLACK. And there only so far from Cockroaches and Locusts. I pray the crickets in this peanut aren’t real.
So I try and open it, and it starts TICKING. I shriek, and look to Rudy, who’s looking at me like I just shat a cat or something. I open the lid a bit and the noise begins again. Turns out, as I finally open it, there’s two gilded crickets, sitting on leaves that are attached to the base of this GIANT PLASTIC PEANUT. There’s this terrible cardboard background that doesn’t correlate to crickets in the LEAST, and this elecrtonic, simulate ricket chirp noise is just driving me bananas. I press on the red thing, and the chirping stops.
Oh great. I need to either keep the thign CLOSED, or I constantly hold down the button. And it’s totally freaking me out. That picture was SO hard to take, hence the terrible quality. That Sound will make you want to murder babies, MUY PRONTO.
Again, thanks to mystie for bestowing on me a wonderful smorgasbord of girly-nstalgia goodness! You have given these items a good home and have taught me how to truly send a care package! Cause no package is complete without porn-page package materials.
uh-huh.
I take pride in avoiding dangerous situations- I try not to drive too fast, avoid dark alleys and don’t eat anything from a Roach Coach. And I am pretty good at doing so -it’s usually out of my control when shit hits the fan. One warm evening in June 2002, that’s what happened. That was also the day that, for a few seconds- I thought I had died.
It started with Rudy coming to pick me up. At that time, he lived out here in Hollister with his mom. I was living with my parents in ghettolicious South Hayward. We would spend weekends together- either crashing at friends’ homes or going home to his place. This weekend, we planned on going to Hollister- his mom was away visiting family in Washington, and I had just gotten my summer break from College.
At the time he had been riding his new motorcycle for a few months- a Triumph Speed Triple. He had bought it in February, but the rains had kept him off it until mid-May. He was also versed in how to handle a motorcycle- his first car was actually a motorcycle, and to get his license for the bike he too Iron Horse courses. To put it bluntly- dude wasn’t some ass on a rice rocket.
I jumped on the bike in South Hayward, bundled up in the safest riding gear I owned short of leathers. Dickies pants, a zip-up-sweater layered with a wool coat. We moved on with steady speed- we didn’t speed, and didn’t split lanes. It was late enough going through San Jose that we didn’t hit traffic. The Sun was starting to set, though- I urged Rudy to get us home before it got dark and cold.
We made it into town just as the sun disappeared. We took the turn to head into Rudy’s neighborhood. We made it about halfway down the street-
When a small Accord pulled off the curb and attempted to do a U-Turn in the middle of the street.
Rudy tried to swerve to the left to avoid him- but it was as if he didn’t see us at all. I started screaming as I realized an accident was inevitable- and tried to hold Rudy as tight as I could. The Triumph’s front wheel smacked the front left tire of the Accord. My handhold was tore apart and I lost grip of Rudy as I began my flight- I closed my eyes as I started to pass over the car.
I had a hard landing -My entire left leg made contact with the ground, while my waist-up was straight. I landed on my ass- my arms behind me as I tried to catch myself… and my head swung back and knocked the pavement. I recall even bouncing. My eyes were squeezed shut the entire time.
I heard screaming… I was conviced I was dead. People don’t live through Motorcycle accidents, I always thought.
It took a few seconds to realize it was ME that was screaming. And that if I was screaming, then I wasn’t dead. I started shouting for Rudy. He came running to me- he had been bucked too, but since his Motorcycle class had taught him how to fall he was much better off- he flew shorter and wound up with less injuries. As he ran to me he slammed his helmet to the ground- it was toast anyway- and started asking me how I was.
I told him I was fine, but my leg hurt like a bitch. My watch had somehow gotten damaged in the crash- i had glass embedded in my wrist, and burns from the leather strap. My palms were pretty eaten up too, and my leg started to burn.
As Hollister is a motorcycle town, the police respond quickly to motorcycle accidents- A fire truck, paramedics and two police cars were on site within 2 minutes. I refused to take my helmet off until the paramedics arrived- i knew that if any head trauma had occured, it was best to keep it on. They checked me out- made sure I had no concussion… but were worried about my leg. Nothing was broken, but there could be internal damage. They wanted to take me to the Hospital.
I agreed- i feared that since I had a ligament strain, the accident could have really botched my knee. And my Ankle was swelling. Rudy was fine- despite the flight we took, all he had was brusies and road rash.
I had a sprained ankle. The bruises started turning as we arrived-my whole left outside leg was truning greenish-blue and the road rash on my calf was yucky. My dickies did nothing to protect me. I was given some pain pills, one of those cheapie-sprain casts, and crutches. I stayed at Rudy’s the whole next week, recovering from the accident. And Rudy had his bike brought to his house, where he spent the summer rebuilding the front end and getting the bike repainted- apparently the car had so much momentum after hitting us he RAN OVER THE FRONT END.
The fellow that hit us was 17, illegal and had no license or insurance. His father and two uncles were also in the car with him. We demanded that the fellow pay us for damages to the bike- which he did. So we came out of it Okay. It taought us to take nothing for grated. We take no chances- full clothing, leathers and helmets, safe driving and deliberate movements.
That Speed Triple was cursed though. In 2006 that bike suffered irreparable damage as someone took Rudy’s right-of-way -He had to drop the bike at 30 mph to save himself from being a hood ornament. The insurance claimed it as the driver’s fault, but totalled the bike. They also paid Rudy for a ruined helmet (Wearing a helmet in an accident ruins its integrity, and becomes useless as a safety device thereafter) and thrashed leathers.
We sold the bike in October. We kind of wanted to part the bike to break the curse, but we just wanted it GONE. A kid bought it and claimed he was going to fix it. We just shrugged and said “Good Luck.”
