New Year new hopes

A new year is upon me, in fact just six hours away at this writing. And quite honestly I can't wait.
The major even was my dad passing away. A year ago November he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The urologist performed surgery the day after Thanksgiving and then everything went bad. First he had a heart attack under anestetic, then a week later suffered a stroke. This was followed by a month in the hospital and two more heart attacks. Through the next eight months he never fully recovered. At 86 it was a hard road but all we, the family, could do was hope. My father passed away on August 23rd 2011. What followed were tmes of sorrow and pain. And I'm still not quite recovered.

Other events seemed minor by comparison. The October prior one of my oldest friends told me that because of her new boyfriend we could no longer be friends. Apparently he was very jealous and felt more was going on than said. Let me say that when something like this happens a feeling of being disposeable falls upon you. Well to me at least.

I really haven'y much to add, I think the first paragraph set the tone. So here's to a new year and may it go well.

I let a year pass and felt it was time to make amends with another friend. I tried calling for a year but no answer. I texted and only received the briefest of replies when I received a reply. I finally emailed my apology though I would have preferred a face to face. What I learned made me wish I had not tried. I felt I had done something wrong and had made this weird between us. A week passed and she replied that was not the case nor her intention for me to feel this way. Rather she had made a choce of those friends she would make time for. I did not qualify. Can you say disposeable?

Well those were the lows.

The highs were school was going well and I found subjects I very much enjoyed. A friend returned from life abroad.

knock on the sky and listen to the sound

What does this mean? As with most Zen sayings it means something different to each person. For me it means to take a moment, a sec, an hour and just look at something differently. This is something I do often. I hardly ever take anything at face value. Most times I will look at a situation and try to see the angles that no one else does. And in the same way people have to look at me this way. Don;t take me at face value because you will miss a lot.

The ugly truth

I read there are more motorcycles on the road today than ever before. Tha's great news right? Wrong. It's wrong for the simple reason that many of these riders have bought a motorcycle for the wrong reason and have an unreal view of what ownership will mean.
Why do I say this? I have several reasons and will now present them.
First, a newer rider reasons a motorcycle is cheaper to run. With gas approaching $4 a gallon, and well let's face it, that happened at $2 and $3 a gallon, they reason it's cheaper to ride a motorcycle. They will get tremendous gas savings. And they will be disappointed. Most will walk into a dealership with dreams of the cool cruiser, the hot sportbike or something else huge. These bikes get on average 36 to 45 mpg.  If they're lucky they'll get closer to 50mpg. If they are lucky. Fact is to get the massive savings these disillusioned people want they will have to get a smaller single cylinder motorcycle. Which let's face it is not comfortable on the interstate or really for any length of time in the saddle.
Second, they ignore the fact the average motorcycle gas tank is 4 to 5 gallons. Say they get 50mpg. On a 4 gallon tank they will be empty by 200 miles. If they are careful they can squeak out a few more miles, maybe enough to get to a gas station. Many of the smaller bikes have sub 4 gallon tanks, which translate to fewer miles on a tank.
The third item they forget is insurance. A bike will likely cost more to insure and if it's financed that means full coverage. The young pup who buys a sportbike is in for a rude surprise as their insurance have hit $3000 a year. Oh and don't forget this is a second or possibly third vehicle and they still need to pay for their car.
Maintenance is the fourth factor. Motorcycles use motorcycle oil. Which right now starts at $4.25 a quart and can climb, quickly, to $10 or more depending on the oil. Yeah, car car oil can be used but better not that first year. If there is a problem with the motor a factory rep can use that as a reason to not cover the bike since the prescribed fluids were not used.
This is a fun one that these riders forget, tires. I have heard countless tales of exasperation over a tire not lasting 2000 miles on a sport bike. I have had to explain that sticky translates to short life. The worst offenders though are the cruiser riders who think their bike should get 30,000 miles out of a set of tires. They freak when the truth is revealed. Here's the fact. A cruiser tire, will last at most 10,000 miles of a moderate weight machine. Heavy cruisers will not get this. They forget the motorcycle has two tires and a much smaller contact patch to deal with the road.
I could go on wth all the items these new riders have not factored in but I digress. I think I've written enough for now.
The fact is if a person wants to buy a motorcycle then it should be for the right reason. It should be for the simple enjoyment of riding a motorcycle. It's a pisspoor commuter. You can't haul a lot on it. It sucks when it rains. Forget about winter driving. If you want a motorcycle make sure you get it for the right reason.

Expecting a different outcome

Of late I've thought of the human condition of expecting a different outcome when performing the same task. This is evident in many activities but my thoughts were specific to relationships.
I knew this woman once who wondered why she wasn't meeting a good guy. When asked where she'd been meeting guys the answer was at a bar. I don't doubt its possible to meet a good guy there but I mentioned that after a number of failed attempts that maybe she should try something different. She didn't.
I am not immune from this. I have done the same act repeatedly and expected something different. I've tried different tactics but had the same result. Which left me thinking that maybe it's just me.

What do you do?

I've realized recently that something I have loved doing for years is now something I have no desire for.

It's just not fun anymore.

So what do I do?

The end of the language

Like, I am continually amazed at the , you know, degradation of spoken word. You know, how someone says, like, you know.

This drives me crazy.