Dangerous Business

The following is an account of a trip from the small town of Ellijay, GA to the happenin’ city of Panama City Beach. Some of the following may be unsuitable for minors due to the intensely graphic nature of the crash scene. If you start feeling dizzy or nauseous, please step away from the monitor and take a deep breath. It will be okay.

Our morning started out at roughly 7:00 AM (Eastern time). Slowly we arose and got busy doing the things that people do when going on trips. This however, is no ordinary trip. That’s right… this is a motorcycle road trip. Four hundred miles in one direction, and the temperature was below thirty. Yes, my children… it was cold.

I spent the last few minutes of my warm life, talking on messenger to Rachel. I told her that the plan was to leave at 9:00 AM (Eastern time). Slowly the clock counted down to that dreadful hour. Finally at about 8:30 AM (Eastern time), I shut down the computer. We were almost ready… However, somehow it took us nearly another hour to get out the door (after sweeping and doing those things that my dear mother deems necessary).

9:30 AM
We head out the driveway.
9:36 AM
We pull into the Gilmer County Bank parking lot, and readjust all our gear.
9:45 AM
We pull out of the bank parking lot, and hit the road for Florida!
9:51 AM
We stop again. My hands are freezing, and I have to change gloves.
9:54 AM
We hit the road again…
9:59 AM
We stop yet again. The vents on my helmet are pouring cold air in and hitting my forehead, making my brain and eyes ache.
10:02 AM
We’re off yet again. The wind is bitter cold. Within minutes, all my vital body parts are shutting down. We’re not going to make it.
10:17 AM
My father pulls off in Jasper, Ga. reconfirming my belief that there is a God. We stop for Starbucks coffee, and all is well with the world.
10:45 AM
We finally leave Starbucks, dear sweet Starbucks. We resolve to not stop until Canton.
11:05 AM
We make it to Canton and stop at Motor World to buy better gloves.
11:30 AM
Time to hit the road again. It is decided that we’re not stopping until the other side of Atlanta.
12:30 PM
Passing through downtown Atlanta.
12:58 PM
My balaclava and glasses are causing a bunch on my ear, causing it to hurt tremendously. I try to get dad’s attention, to no avail.
1:15 PM (130 miles)
We finally pull off at an exit, looking for sustenance. We miss our turn and stop in a subdivision. Before dad can make me leave, I shut down the engine and yank off my helmet. My ear is mauled and bleeding… from the feel of it. It however, is just red and sore. After jogging around for a couple minutes to get feeling back in my legs, we decide to head back to our missed turn and get something to eat.

1:25 PM (Content advisory)
I gear back up… but I forgot to put on my glasses. I left them sitting on the “dash” of the bike. We start heading down the road, and as I round a corner they slip off the dash and clatter onto the road. My heart jumps into my chest, and my life flashes before my blind eyes.
I quickly pulled into another subdivision and turned the bike around. Mom followed me, not knowing what was going on. I slowly drove back down the road, looking for them. I saw them and pointed it out to the car behind me, hoping they wouldn’t hit them. Luckily, they didn’t.
As I parked the bike and climbed off, dad pulled in. The car behind him swerved to go around. That’s when I heard it. The sounds of ultimate doom. The bane of my drive to Florida. It was the demolishment of my glasses. I stared in horror as the next car hit it as well, and the lens went flying down the road. This was going to be a very long trip.
Though I have been told to never leave a man behind, I had to turn my back upon my dear friend.
Good bye, you will be sorely missed.

1:36 PM
We arrive at Blimpies for lunch.
2:04 PM
After eating a bag of chips and drinking a Pepsi, I pulled the bike around to get some gas. Dad does the same, at which point a man approaches us. Dad and him get talking, and it turns out that he is from the CMA (Christian Motorcyclist Association). After chatting a little, he prays for us, and we head on our way once more.
3:12 PM (180-190 miles)
Arrived in Columbus rest area. Met a couple riding Harleys, and chatted with them for a little while. Also talked to the grounds keeper at the rest area, who was very interested in mom’s scooter. He asked lots of questions, and thought it
was quite interesting.
3:45 PM
Left rest area.
5:02 PM
We stopped in the “hood” of Eufaula, Alabama for gasoline. Snickered at the signs on the door.
“No shirt — No shoes — Low pants — No service”
6:05 PM
Stopped in Dothan and scarfed down a big mac and coffee. Stomach ache ensued.
6:46 PM (85 miles to go)
Changed shield on helmet to clear (because it was dark), and hit the road again.
7:22 PM (44 miles to go)
Stopped for a while to warm up. Core body temperature had dropped significant amount. Disorientation setting in.
7:40 PM
Headed out again.
8:10 PM (21 miles to go)
Stopped again to warm up. Core body temperature getting quite low. Disorientation getting a little worrisome.
8:32 PM
Headed out once more.
9:04 PM
We arrived in the Panama City outskirts, and stopped for gas. I could not control my hands, and when I could feel them, they would have pain shoot through them.
9:16 PM
Headed out for the last 10 mile leg of our journey.
9:46 PM
We arrive at our destination!! Cold, weary, and sore.
10:00 PM
I take my first walk on the beach in three years. I call my friends to let them know I have arrived safe and sound. Only took twelve hours, when it was supposed to have only been about seven. Overall, it was a really good trip. A good bit colder than I was hoping for, but still a good one for my first long trip.

R.I.P.
Glasses…

Tips for the long distance biker:
Order hot drinks at stops. Ice is not your friend.
Get a mouth guard. Don’t chew on your tongue.
Hug the engine of your following car, whenever you can.
If you don’t have a car, hug the exhaust pipe on your bike.
It is interesting, the amount of heat one can glean from a street light
Don’t worry about looking like a fool doing jumping-jacks in a parking lot. They’ll never see you again.
Don’t irritate the woman in the car behind you. Even if she is your mother.
Downing a Big Mac in less than 30 seconds is not advisable, no matter how hungry you are.
If you wear glasses, get a nerd cord.

Well, today is that depressing day for single people everywhere. They are either are depressed that they don’t have someone to share the day with, or they are depressed that they lost the person they wanted to share it with.
Who’s bright idea was it to have Valentine’s day in the first place?  Even the history of Valentine’s day is a bloody one… why celebrate it? Of course, all this is coming from a single guy. I am sure if I had someone, I wouldn’t mind so much. Who knows.

Goodness, I have no idea what to make a post about. My life has been pretty dull lately… I haven’t been working, so I don’t have my job to complain about. I guess I could start complaining about not having a job. Complaining just isn’t productive though. So, I guess I’ll pass on complaining for now.

I got my motorcycle license on Thursday. So, I finally got that “Under 21″ off my license… Which might seem like a small thing, but it is nice to not see it there any more. It makes my initiation into adulthood, final.
Later on Thursday I drove down to Berry for a Valentine’s dance. It was only slightly uncomfortable. It hardly seemed Valentinesey at all, so it was pretty good. Had a good time, but I was slightly disappointed with my dancing skills. Compared to the last dance, I didn’t do all that well. Though, I did learn a pretty awesome new move this time… it’s a type of “around the world”. I really need to get Clint to come take pictures one of these times…

And then today, I went and got a reflective shield for my motorcycle helmet… so now it looks creepy when I look at people.
I also stopped by Barnes and Nobel and picked up a copy of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Aw jeah…

Okay, well… I’m out of here again. L8r… as the kids say.

Yes, I am posting this here too… I am too lazy to make a real post.

Traits:
1. I have a very poor self image, and I am very hard on myself. Even to the point of hating myself, a good part of the time. This is my worst trait.
2. I have a problem with how all these things are centered on me. I hate being the center of attention.
3. I have OCD on certain things. I actually arranged all my facts into groups. Which, you can obviously see.
4. For some reason, a lot of people come to me for advice.

Living:
5. Some day, I wish to live on a sustainable farm. Complete with bee hives.
6. Given the opportunity, I would move to Ireland… right now. I could be packed and ready to go within 10 minutes. Which is sad, never having been there before.

Dying:
7. I am okay with dying, if it is my time to go.
8. I almost wasn’t born (don’t worry, not abortion).
9. I very nearly drowned when I was 17.
10. I watched my horse die. He died with his head practically in my lap.
11. Some of the hardest moments in my life, came before I was 21. Others around me, who have seen 30-40 more years experience than I have, agree with that statement.

Religion:
12. I once made the mistake of asking God for patience. Not advisable.
13. I have toyed with the idea of going to a monastery/abbey and completely devoting all my time to God. I don’t know if I could quite handle it though. God made my heart desire a family.
14. I have a habbit of when I pray, it turns into an actual conversation and I refer to God as “dad”. I worry sometimes that that’s not a good idea.

Misc:
15. I have four good friends. Two of which are brothers that I have known for 15 years, and two that I met through horses.
16. If given the choice, I would be nocturnal.
17. I am addicted to wikipedia. I don’t ever edit it, but I read it constantly. I love to study random things, all the time.
18. I have a CCP and CCW.
19. My three favorite smells are: Freshly cut grass, rain, and books.
20. Fox hunting is my lost passion… I wish I still could.
21. I want to learn how to play the violin, and the bagpipe.
22. I almost had a brother, through adoption.
23. I have trained horses for the Police Dept. for use in Marti Gras in Mobile, Al.
24. I once had a headache appear so quickly and so forcefully that it knocked me to the floor. It then persisted in staying around for a couple weeks as a massive migrane.
25. I have ridden horses casually/for fun with an Olympian or two.

Well, I am finally making another blog post after a couple of weeks of absolutely nothing. My life has been slow lately, as you might have guessed from my last entry. I have been spending my time working on XHTML and CSS. It’s been slightly frustrating, but luckily Kyle is there to call me an idiot and put me back on the right track if I mess up.

So, last weekend my buddies and I got together and watched Jurassic Park here at the house. Kyle, Clint and I decided that Rachel had to see it… She wasn’t too keen on the idea, as she doesn’t like scary movies. So, we strapped her down to the couch and pinned her eyelids open. She only jumped out of her skin a couple times.
Of course, that started Kyle and Clint and I on our quote spree, like we usually do. We don’t talk… we quote.

Speaking of movies, today is a great one. I think I might go put it on the netflix “watch now” list and watch it.
Nothing like Bill Murray living the same day over and over again… Man, that would be awesome. Be able to do anything you wanted to, without consequences. What would I do?
If anyone is actually reading this, leave comments with what you would do.

So then this weekend, I went down to Berry College and went hiking for several hours. Then we went swing dancing at the Ford Dining Hall. That was just fantastic, man. I danced the best I have ever danced before, I do believe. I also learned a new move or two, if I can remember them. One of them is a finishing move that makes onlookers gasp every time. It’s awesome making everyone think I dropped my partner from a height of about three feet… onto her back.

Of course I had two Starbuck’s coffees and couldn’t sleep at all. So I wound up skipping church on Sunday. I know, I’m a heathen… especially with dancing all night. Then I even skipped church on Sunday night, because I felt sick. Even this morning, I am still not feeling all peaches and cream. On top of that, my muscles are now killing me from hiking and dancing so much. Weeeee…

So… that’s a quick run down of my last couple weeks. Nothing too exciting, but not bad.