New Years Resolution

I decided today that I would pick an old favourite book I have had for 20 years or so and let it unleash it's power over me. No, I am not talking about Lord of The Rings. It's A Course in Miracles. It's a daily lesson over a year that leaves you with a sense of peace, calm and balance and an 'all is well in your world type attitude'. Until I actually start it on Thursday I will indulge in my impatience and intolerance and kick butt when ever I need too...just like today!

My friend and I thought we'd enjoy a movie. Cheep Tuesday is off my list from now on. We sat at the back as my friend is rather tall and she likes to consider others. Shame others didn't have the same idea. On the way out the usher asked how we enjoyed the movie fully expecting a 'great', 'wonderful', 'beautiful story,' 'well acted etc etc.' Instead he got a barage of 'shocking, dreadful', a general rant and rave. "It would have been better if we didn't have to endure the continuous coughing the incessant sniffing and the persistent mutterer behind us" we chimed. I actually got up and moved as glaring at them did not seem to bother them.

We had a chuckle about our indignance once outside and thought lets go and get lunch.
"Good idea."
We made our way to a local shopping centre near by and found a table, ordered fairly quickly....didn't want to make big day of it. Out came my eggs with a hair arranged delicately across the top with the bean sprouts. Not mine nor my friends I pointed it out to the waitress who then picked it off and said "Look ...it's gone," dropping it on the floor (the hair not the eggs). I refused to eat it. Please comment on whether you think I should have! My friend ordered Zucchini Quiche. The menu didn't say it was bacon and zucchini and she is allergic to anything pork, so we sent that back too. Mind you it was looking pretty sad bacon or no bacon. It looked like last months leftovers and I told them so. We reordered and all went well in the end. The nice man didn't even charge us the extra $5 for the change of mind dish. We were happy enough but we probably wont go back.

Fairly confident that nothing else could go wrong we parted our ways...me to the supermarket and my friend home. I only had 10 items in the trolley so I stood in line in the quick exit checkout. I totally ignored the sign that said 'NO TROLLEYS' however the goody goody two shoes checkout chick next to the one that was serving me said in a very loud voice 'WE"LL HAVE TO MAKE THE SIGN BIGGER' and muttered something about me being blind. Not happy with that she apologised to her customer in a loud voice for MY BEING ANNOYING . I have to tell you at this point that I was conscious that the trolley could be in the way and had it pushed up into the corner. The people could move behind me and I have kept my docket to prove I only had 10 items too in case you think I have not been quite truthful! By the time I got home I was phuming. Yes PHUMING! So I rang the nice manager at the particular store and let it rip. Gee it felt good. I wont go into it in detail...lets just say that he was cranky in the end and was about to kick butt as I rang off. He has apologised but I am not appeased...not even a bit...well not till Thursday when I do my first lesson that is. Until then I will enjoy swathing a path before me with my wrath ...after all it is my right... I am a grumpy old woman.

How I came to be alive and on the edge.

It was 15 years ago when I was NOT having a midlife crisis when all I wanted was a holiday on a Harley with nothing but a toothbrush in one pocket and a change of knickers in the other. My forthieth birthday came and went and with it the notion of such a holiday becoming only a good yarn for dinner partys. My fiftieth came, along with extra weight, failing eyesight and a lot less confidence but I ended up with our neighbours old Kawasaki EL250 with the encouragement of the man in my life. I was wrapped. I did a Top Rider course and rode around the town not game enough to venture out on the highway much. About the same time our son bought a dirt bike and a few months up the track wanted to get rid of it. It had hardly been used but he couldn't sell it. It was my husband (bless his soul) who suggested that to get rid of our boys bike why don't I trade his and mine in on a bigger and better one for me? We where driving back from a visiting a friend up north at the time and I couldn't think of a reason why I should. I got a fit of the Too's Disease; too fat, too old, too blind, costs too much! That put that idea to rest.

Back in our office our manager had received an email from her daughter who was training for the winter Olympics. Her letter was full of her busy days training and what it was like to go tearing down a mountain at 160k's head first with nothing but a thin board between you and the ice! She finished her email with her signature, 'If you are not living on the edge you are taking up too much space."

After reading the account I grabbed my husbands hand and said, 'Come on, we are going.'
'Where are we going?' he asked.
'Around to Honda, where else!'

I knew what I wanted straight up. I had my heart set on a CB750 from my early days of dreaming but they didn't make them anymore. The Shadow VT750 was an option but, oh my ...it was so big! I'd never ride it.

I went and upgraded my licence within the week and was back down at Honda test driving the VT750. To my surprise I could handle it better than the smaller bike and so the deal was done. Two bikes and some cash and I took possesion of my pride and joy. It took me a while to really get some miles up. I did a round trip Townsville -Herveys Range-Charters Towers, Mackay and back for a weekend but that was about it for longish journeys, however in my head I was putting together my first Big Ride. I'd Google maps every night counting the kilometres for every different way you could go to Melbourne and back. I always wondered if I'd really do it; if it would only be a dream that never gave birth, when one morning on the 'no shit chanel' I saw the story of Gaby Kennard the first woman to fly solo around the world. With regular inspiration from 'The Long Way Round' and Netriders online I thought to myself, 'I only want to ride down the highway. It can't be that hard,' and so in January 2008 I set off with an overnight bag carrying less than 10 kilos of clothes and a laptop. That's it in the photo! A bit more than the original plan but not much! The speedo read around 5000k's when I left. When I pulled up in our drive a month later it was 14500k's. I had done 8500k's round trip...alone. I have to say that I had the time of my life. It has etched a memory that will still be a part of me in my next life I reckon! Smile? Like last weeks division 1 lotto winner!