life teeters on a scale of good and bad. both sides rise and fall interchangeably, each having its own turn in the dirt. the one that kicks the hardest spends the most time airborne, while the other looks up the board, watching as the other has its fun giggling and laughing. it takes a strong kick to get the balance to reverse, but one never NEEDS to reach the ground, if its strong enough to catch the fall.
i need thirty seven stitches to keep the pain in.
as each turn of happiness shines its dear face, the dark side of the sun creeps itself into view, and it becomes overbearing. so as life is standing now, i have moved into a much more comfortable environment. and more importantly, a position where i can state i AM officially on my own, as i now have an apartment with a friend. a lease with my name, bills in my name, no longer part of an older sibling's home, paying a meager amount of the total rent, and none of the utilities. i know i was not looked at as someone just being under their roof, but it was still a feeling i couldn't get over. and something that was undeniably uncomfortable. one thing i purely despise is being dependent on someone else. so i moved.
i now live a mere 6 miles from school, versus the 35 i used to. thus dropping my weekly driving mileage to and from school from 350 miles to 60. conserving gas, oil changes, and tire rotations. and my tires at 260 a pair (cheapest i could find, i mount them myself) are not cheap. and the gas savings will be extraordinary. after the rent and utilities difference, ill be saving money. which means i can get my happy ass to take my required motorcycle course and fix my zzr600 and start riding again. and then save even more money on gas. enter dark side of the sun.
car started riding like pure shit the other day. i thought my MAF went out, and luckily i managed to get my hands on a mass air flow sensor from an audi that was a direct replacement for mine, and installed it. fixed the MAF problem, but that was not the source of my rough ride. after i ran a diagnosis on it (which actually made me happy seeing as how my computer had only one fault code on it) i found i had cylinder misfires, and decided to check the coils. found it. corroded coil for cylinder 6. and badly, fouled out my plug too. turns out, my under engine cover missing has done some damage, allowing too much water to enter the compartment and leak a couple drops into the spark bay. oxidized, and fucked that all up. time for pricing.
go volkswagen, my spark plugs are no crap things. premium iridium plugs from NGK from the factory, these plugs run about 12.40 a piece. and i have 6 cylinders. holy non cheap plugs. heres what worried me though, how much is a coil? well i was happily surprised to find that they are a mere 25 dollars, however they are on backorder. so who only knows when they will be in. so im without my baby car until i get them.
positive side of situation. at least i got my move done, so i can just ride to class with my roommate, and its really not a money blaster. more importantly, this is officially the ONLY electrical problem with the car, which with as many electronics this thing has, is awesome to know. and i know how to fix this easily in some random apartment parking lot. and i caught it before the catalytic converter took a severe hit from the non-burning of the fuels.
so im looking for new furniture to fill this place. we have some things that are sufficing, but we are definitely looking for some good stuff. my roomie is cool, we've been friends since day one at school, literally. nice, responsible guy who knows how to support himself. he doesnt drink, but does go out, so i may have a bar buddy now. his girlfriend is nice, too. i am now the entertainment of the house, apparently.
so thursday, i went to a metal show. when we arrived, me and my kid friend alex (age 19) were upset to hear that the show had been sold out. heres the urgency. one of the bands was august burns red. now, i went to high school with most of these guys, and loved their music for almost a decade now. and i havent seen them since they left my hometown. so this opportunity to hang out with cool guys and see them play again was a must. found another kid from class, who had befriended someone at the door, and we got in for 20 a person. funny thing is, the tickets were 24 each. so we saved money. unfortunately, this was an all ages show, so there were early teens everywhere. ugh.
scored some beer and shots of jameson, but was handed another whole round right away from one of my buddies. needless to say, there was a lot of scotch whisky and beer that night. so i was wandering around for a bit as the other bands played, and started to feel the loving affects of the alcohol, granting me a feeling i have not felt since my days in the army. drunk, and i mean that level of durnk where your not stupid, but you know you are not coherent. that feeling of...... free. after sweating in the crowd for awhile, i downgraded to shirtless, allowing my non tan body to reveal my non muscular form and tattoos.... and apparently some sort of stance that was intimidating? according to alex, when i entered the pit, some people just left.... probably because i had already been punched several times with no apparently reaction to the feeling.
then i met someone at the bar, accidentally. isnt that how it ALWAYS happens? when your not even trying. well, talked to her for a bit, got her number, been chatting ever since. seems cool enough, not really standing out in anyway that entices me, but still, someone i could have fun with.
worst part of the night. upon leaving, alex informs me that he cannot drive stick, and we are definitely not in a nice area of town. fuckin a. so i get behind the wheel angry (and making sure he knows it) yet apologetic for not being responsible enough to be sure of things. i got pulled over. no dwi, just a massive speeding ticket. however..... he gave me the speeding ticket because he respected my previous soldier status, and knew i was drunk. i knew i wasnt speeding, my cruise control was set to 80, not 96. so im debating on whether or not i should fight it.
well theres the brief update. got a motorcycle, my helmet and riding jacket. need to take the mandatory riding course, and then after awhile, start my search for maybe a gsx-r750. single, and reaching the point where i can start to enjoy it again, independent, growing happier slowly.
my good feet have stopped a fall into the dirt. and its time to push off with every bit of courage and strength to get back into the air again, and to stay there as long as possible.
i need thirty seven stitches to keep the pain in.
as each turn of happiness shines its dear face, the dark side of the sun creeps itself into view, and it becomes overbearing. so as life is standing now, i have moved into a much more comfortable environment. and more importantly, a position where i can state i AM officially on my own, as i now have an apartment with a friend. a lease with my name, bills in my name, no longer part of an older sibling's home, paying a meager amount of the total rent, and none of the utilities. i know i was not looked at as someone just being under their roof, but it was still a feeling i couldn't get over. and something that was undeniably uncomfortable. one thing i purely despise is being dependent on someone else. so i moved.
i now live a mere 6 miles from school, versus the 35 i used to. thus dropping my weekly driving mileage to and from school from 350 miles to 60. conserving gas, oil changes, and tire rotations. and my tires at 260 a pair (cheapest i could find, i mount them myself) are not cheap. and the gas savings will be extraordinary. after the rent and utilities difference, ill be saving money. which means i can get my happy ass to take my required motorcycle course and fix my zzr600 and start riding again. and then save even more money on gas. enter dark side of the sun.
car started riding like pure shit the other day. i thought my MAF went out, and luckily i managed to get my hands on a mass air flow sensor from an audi that was a direct replacement for mine, and installed it. fixed the MAF problem, but that was not the source of my rough ride. after i ran a diagnosis on it (which actually made me happy seeing as how my computer had only one fault code on it) i found i had cylinder misfires, and decided to check the coils. found it. corroded coil for cylinder 6. and badly, fouled out my plug too. turns out, my under engine cover missing has done some damage, allowing too much water to enter the compartment and leak a couple drops into the spark bay. oxidized, and fucked that all up. time for pricing.
go volkswagen, my spark plugs are no crap things. premium iridium plugs from NGK from the factory, these plugs run about 12.40 a piece. and i have 6 cylinders. holy non cheap plugs. heres what worried me though, how much is a coil? well i was happily surprised to find that they are a mere 25 dollars, however they are on backorder. so who only knows when they will be in. so im without my baby car until i get them.
positive side of situation. at least i got my move done, so i can just ride to class with my roommate, and its really not a money blaster. more importantly, this is officially the ONLY electrical problem with the car, which with as many electronics this thing has, is awesome to know. and i know how to fix this easily in some random apartment parking lot. and i caught it before the catalytic converter took a severe hit from the non-burning of the fuels.
so im looking for new furniture to fill this place. we have some things that are sufficing, but we are definitely looking for some good stuff. my roomie is cool, we've been friends since day one at school, literally. nice, responsible guy who knows how to support himself. he doesnt drink, but does go out, so i may have a bar buddy now. his girlfriend is nice, too. i am now the entertainment of the house, apparently.
so thursday, i went to a metal show. when we arrived, me and my kid friend alex (age 19) were upset to hear that the show had been sold out. heres the urgency. one of the bands was august burns red. now, i went to high school with most of these guys, and loved their music for almost a decade now. and i havent seen them since they left my hometown. so this opportunity to hang out with cool guys and see them play again was a must. found another kid from class, who had befriended someone at the door, and we got in for 20 a person. funny thing is, the tickets were 24 each. so we saved money. unfortunately, this was an all ages show, so there were early teens everywhere. ugh.
scored some beer and shots of jameson, but was handed another whole round right away from one of my buddies. needless to say, there was a lot of scotch whisky and beer that night. so i was wandering around for a bit as the other bands played, and started to feel the loving affects of the alcohol, granting me a feeling i have not felt since my days in the army. drunk, and i mean that level of durnk where your not stupid, but you know you are not coherent. that feeling of...... free. after sweating in the crowd for awhile, i downgraded to shirtless, allowing my non tan body to reveal my non muscular form and tattoos.... and apparently some sort of stance that was intimidating? according to alex, when i entered the pit, some people just left.... probably because i had already been punched several times with no apparently reaction to the feeling.
then i met someone at the bar, accidentally. isnt that how it ALWAYS happens? when your not even trying. well, talked to her for a bit, got her number, been chatting ever since. seems cool enough, not really standing out in anyway that entices me, but still, someone i could have fun with.
worst part of the night. upon leaving, alex informs me that he cannot drive stick, and we are definitely not in a nice area of town. fuckin a. so i get behind the wheel angry (and making sure he knows it) yet apologetic for not being responsible enough to be sure of things. i got pulled over. no dwi, just a massive speeding ticket. however..... he gave me the speeding ticket because he respected my previous soldier status, and knew i was drunk. i knew i wasnt speeding, my cruise control was set to 80, not 96. so im debating on whether or not i should fight it.
well theres the brief update. got a motorcycle, my helmet and riding jacket. need to take the mandatory riding course, and then after awhile, start my search for maybe a gsx-r750. single, and reaching the point where i can start to enjoy it again, independent, growing happier slowly.
my good feet have stopped a fall into the dirt. and its time to push off with every bit of courage and strength to get back into the air again, and to stay there as long as possible.
(: