hooked on another......

.......program. It is the fall, and it is also the season for the new series and shows. Old favorites are back, new ones emerge and our Tivo is getting full.
I decided to give the show "surface" a go and see how it was. Its hoakey, but not hoakey enough to turn me away. in fact, after the first showing, I reluctantly muttered "im hooked " . After the second show this Monday, I confidently proclaimed, IM HOOKED.
It could really turn out to be a bomb, but just the hint of scifi and world destruction by giant lizard mammal water creatures was enough for my imagination to fill in the void, and decide to tune in until I get bored.
I saw another great movie last night, "Schultze gets the Blues"
This was such a good movie. Very random scenes, and a story told more in pictures then in dialogue. The main character is soooooooo lovable, and it sucks you in fast.

brooding?

This is my cat, and like my cat, I sometimes too have this look. It is a look I get while trying to figure out just why I blog. is it for the fact that I am writing crap that no one really reads but me, or is it because I am an exhibitionist, or because I want to keep the few that do read it informed of my goings' on inside my head.
Whatever the reason, I keep doing it.

all said and done

Well, in 6 days, I went from never touching a motorcycle to getting my license. Today I took the written test at the DMV and passed. Yippee! So, dont you all feel safe now that you know it has taken me only 6 days to do this? yeah me too.

I learned something today.......experience far outweighs written comprehension.
So, as I mentioned earlier, I went to the DMV today to take my written motorcycle test. In filling out the paperwork ( and much to my surprise, the clerk was very friendly) The clerk asks me if I have taken the written test for driving a motor vehicle within the past 12 months. Of course I hadn't and she tells me that I will need to take half the test again, and gives me a handbook, and says you "might want to brush through this".
Being that it's DMV, I figured I at least have an hour or so to read up on the latest "rules of the road", but oh no, not today. No sooner did I finish signing my name on the application, did she say, ok, go to window 20 and they will take your picture and then you can start your test. EEEKs I thought. so on my walk around to window 20 from window 14, I rapidly thumb through the handbook looking for ANYTHING slightly unfamiliar.
This might prove to be an embarassing day, I might get my motorcycle permit, but fail the regular test.
Then what do I do I thought...I've had my license, and been driving for 20 years, and now it might go away? How would I get home? Would I have to break the law? Because I am certainly not going to leave my car there.
Rest assured, the test had not really changed since 1984 when I last took it, and the same stupid questions are still there.

So, with a sigh of relief I am finally legal, and can ride my motorcycle that I havent gotten just yet.

afternoon thunder

I had to make a post because I m soooooo excited. Here it was a sunny day in California, like it has been for the past 3 months, and then around lunch it started getting dreary. then about 2 ish, it started to rain, thunder and lightening. Now, about 4 people in the office were like "ooohh, it's earthquake weather" which comon people, there is no such thing!
Back to my delight, it's thundering, thundering as I speak and I am getting chills, I miss storm so bad living out here. I miss the musty smell of a good storm brewing and the low groans and bellows that mother nature can unleash.

1 step away from the road

So this weekend was mostly spent in the hot sun with a helmet, gloves, boots and a long sleeve jacket. You might be thinking why??? well I took my motorcycle safety class this weekend, which I highly recommend to anyone thinking about riding.
There was about 8 hours of theory and a written exam, and then 8 hours of riding instruction, followed by a riding exam. Now I have wanted a bike for a long time, and wanted to ride a motorcycle, the only problem was, I didnt know how. I had never set foot on one. I was quite petrified at first, but by the second day, I found myself becoming more comfortable with going faster and turning quickly. It was a challenging test, because they make you do these tight figure eight's within a small bounding box, then there are cornering and swerving techniques that are evaluated, including proper speed, not too fast, but not too slow. You learn a lot more about bikes, and I also have a newer understanding of motorcyclists that go inbetween cars when traffic is slow or stalled. It is much harder to control a bike going slow or in 1st gear behind traffic, then if it can go quickly between a tight spot. You also develop an awareness for all the things in and on a road that are hazardous to a bike, that you would never encounter with a car. I am happy to say I passed, and my score was pretty good considering I had never ridden a motor bike before. There were 4 excersizes we were judged on, and I aced 3 of the 4. My fourth one I had points taken off for rolling off the throttle slightly while I was in my 130 degree turn, but over all, I think I did pretty good, especially since 1/3 of the class already rode motorcycles and had their permit, but were going for their license, and I scored slightly better then them. little kudos to myself there. I am just so happy. I want to go out and get my bike tomorrow and start riding!! But.... there is one more step, so it's off to the DMV to get my license first, then I will get my bike!
I will also point out the importance of good riding boots. Mine were not. They were soft leather, very soft leather and after 2 days of riding, I have a little bruise on the top of my toe because of all the shifting.

Sunday Sunday........

I had this song running through my head, and it is Sunday afterall, ending yet another wonderful weekend. Saturday was spent mostly relaxing at home and watching a movie. This morning started out with a drive (in the mini) to Twist cafe for some breakfast, (eggs, potatoes, and toast if you are curious) and then it was off over the hill to Santa Cruz for the Mystery Spot. I had been a few times, but Laura had not been, and well, you just cant really explain it, so it's something you need to experience for yourself. It made me dizzy, like it always does, but it also makes me laugh and boggles my mind. It's a place where laws of physics, gravity, and your sight do not agree with eachother. Things roll uphill, and you can lean at a 45 degree angle without really falling.
Next it was off to the Boardwalk and Wharf to take some pictures with the mini. It was a beautiful day, and a really fun time.

paying more attention

So Iv'e had the game Splinter Cell Chaos Theory for some time now. I took a summer break from playing it, just because of moving and troubles with my DVD /CD ROM, and time in general. So I picked it up again and have been playing almost nightly. There are objectives/opportunities where I need to hack into a computer, and before I get to the terminal, there are screen savers running on the computers. On the screen savers are various adverts for movies or show's, most of which I never pay attention to because I thought they were just put there for effect, meaning nothing. BUT how wrong I was, because much to my surprise, the screen saver was for Transporter 2, opening September 2nd. The other one was a billboard in a green house up on the wall, and it was for Supernatural on the WB. Both of these I now know are real show's, because I have seen the adverts for them. I was surprised, and on a new mission, to pay very close attention to the background of my games to see what else I may discover. If I would have really been paying attention, I would have know months in advance of a fall show coming to the WB. There have also been adverts for AXE soap. All of these I have found to be an interesting way of marketing and I will now be looking between the lines to see what else I can find.

wheeeeeee................................whoa!

This past weekend I spent riding my bike up by Lexington resevoir. I hate biking up that hill and the Dam, and truth be told, I dont ride up it, I walk my bike because it's just too darn steep for me. BUT, I do ride down the hill and that is the fun part. Now to the avid mountain bike fan, 31 mph might not seem like much , but to me, it's really fun. There is something very cool about being able to go over the speed limit of 25mph posted for the cars on the road, but be on a bike.
So I was riding back, barreling down the path, when I came across this cute guy and almost ran over him. I had to hit the brakes and swerve to the right in order not to run over the little fella.