Ugh...


It's 1am Monday night, and I've been in my pajamas for at least the last 36 hour straight, cause I'm sick. Again. I was getting the sniffles on Thursday and Friday, but it didn't really kick in until Saturday evening.

***

On another note, I broke up with Suzy on Saturday afternoon, and by "broke up" I mean "sold". And by "Suzy" I mean my motorcycle.

Yup. No more bike. Now I'm a 31 year old single male who drives a minivan. And nothing else. Just a minivan...that I sometimes call "Herbert".

I saw this one coming for awhile. Suzy needed a good amount of work done that I don't have the money for, so I rode her down to the local shop; they gave me an acceptable offer; I asked them to find her a good home; and that was that. I actually got a little choked up. It really was like breaking up. I even had a real brief, crazy idea to go buy her back today.

Like I said, I did this on Saturday afternoon. By Saturday evening, I was passed out on the couch having feverish dreams and occasionally waking up to sip theraflu.

***

Recently, though, I've decided that I am currently sick of wearing a helmet. I've also been bothered by how I've developed a disturbing lack of visceral response to riding in Los Angeles. When you have daily near-death experiences on the freeway, you start deadening a necessary survival instinct. And I've also realized that having a bike is not as inexpensive as I had originally believed. Any amount of money I've saved on gas has easily been negated by registration, insurance, and repair costs.

***

I don't think I'm materialistic in the general sense. I am attached to my "things" but mostly because of what they represent. For example, I've always doted on my computers because they are usually an emblem of my productivity at the time, and I try to get as much use and life out of each one that I own.

I got this motorcycle - a blue, used, 2001 Suzuki SV650 - on the day of my 27th birthday. It was my quarter-life crisis present to myself. I hate that term, but that's really what I was having.

The bike was very appropriate for me at the time. Motorcycling is a predominantly individual pursuit. For the most part, there is only one rider per bike. Bikes may travel in groups, but they are not a group so much as they are a set of individuals riding together. Even in these groups, the standard of one rider per machine and a helmet usually brings this point of separation home. Riding is an individual thing. Not necessarily a lonely thing, but an alone thing.

Within six months of getting the motorcycle, I took a week-long road trip up to Seattle and back, by myself. I mention this to a lot of people, but I rarely tell them a lot about it. Not that there is that much to tell. For the most part, it was a week alone. It was exactly what I needed at the time. Describing it would be trite, and, really, the experience was not remarkable. But for me, at that particular time in my life, it was profound.

***

These days, I haven't been riding much anyway. I don't ride up the PCH on weekends. I don't take road trips anymore. I don't comb my hair down because that's the only way you can style it when you wear a helmet everyday.

Instead, I drive. I listen to the radio. I return messages on my cell phone while I go from place to place. Occasionally I load up the extra 6 seats in Herbert and take people places. Can't do that on a motorcycle.

***

davidjlee.com is taken (no big surprise.) Gonna stick with the ol' trickstergod domain. New site will be going up soon, and then it's goodbye iBlog...


Posted: Tue - February 14, 2006 at 01:59 AM             |

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