An ice fishing virgin no more!

I finally got my first taste of ice fishing this New Year's Eve weekend, and I'll definitely be doing it again!

I went with 3 of my friends, all of whom I've been fishing with before. It was a cramped car ride, in crappy weather. Moosehead was a LONG drive away on greasy, slushy roads, with mixed nasty precip falling constantly.

Once we got there, though, it was worth it. In the first 30 minutes, 2 of the 5 tip-ups went off, so it made the rotten drive worthwhile. The lake was actually quite beautiful, with a little bit of fog travelling over its' frozen, snowy surface...I've never seen it in winter, only in the summer and fall, so this was all new to me.

The only casualty was the hand-crank ice augur. It drilled 5 holes into a foot of ice on Moosehead Lake before detaching itself from the crank and disappearing into the water. I believe Fester's exact words were "You've got to be F**ING SH**ING ME!!!!!" as he crouched over the 5th and final hole, staring down into the water helplessly.

30 minutes hadn't even passed before one of the locals very kindly informed us that we'd better get the hell out of there because, unbeknownst to us all, there is to be NO fishing on Moosehead before January 1st.

The absolute lack of other fishermen on the lake made sense then!!! So we packed up everything, trudged off the ice, and piled into the car for a soggy and crowded return trip.

Ah well. There'll be other fishing days, and hopefully not as ill-fated as this one!

THANKSGIVING 2008: Thanks A Lot!!

After seeing a friend's blog, I was inspired to write my own list of thanks. So here it is, in no particular order. This is not an exhaustive list, by any means; these are just the things that come to mind right now.

Thanks A Lot:

1. Steady employment:

I'm happy to still be employed (and working for a company that's GAINING business!) in this time of downsizing, Chapter 11, closings, and going-out-of-business. I'm also happy to have a boss I enjoy, and pretty decent co-workers.

2. My longtime and faithful friends.

I'm talking about the REAL friends, not the fair-weather ones who've called me only when they want to go out and drink, or when all of their fun friends are busy, or the ones who want, want, want everything from me and have nothing to give in return.

One friend in particular has outlasted all others to the present day. This person has been in my life since I had only a few gray hairs, (and relatively perkier boobs!), has been there for so many life events, workplace horror stories, volumes of inside jokes, vacations, bad decisions, dark times, gain and loss, deaths, happiness, sadness...the REAL shit. This friend has seen the arrival and inevitable departure of everyone I've dated or been serious with in the past 14 years, and hasn't flinched.

And since I'm sure I haven't said this enough (because I'm finding that you never can!!), I love you to pieces.

3. My health.

It's become even more important since finding out, in 2007, that I'm insulin-resistant, which means that if I don't watch myself, I could develop diabetes down the road. Insulin resistance runs in the family on both sides, apparently.

I've made some diet changes that I don't always stick to (because I'm human, after all), but I have seen results despite that.

4. Shelter, heat, and hot water.

I'm happy to still have a roof over my head, and to have good neighbors. They're not just my neighbors, they're also my friends, which is fantastic.

5. A simple life.

I have no kids, and have never married. This is by design. I'm independent, because I've had to be. And I'm glad. I'm not rich by any means, and some days I come up short. But that's life.

(Not that I wouldn't mind having someone special in my life, but I don't want all the attendant bullshit and baggage that can clutter it up.)

So until I meet someone who doesn't surprise me midstream with a bunch of unpleasantries (I don't care if it's really a word, but it works here!), it's just me, the houseplants, and the rabbits. Cool.


6. Good hair.

OK, I know this sounds kind of superficial, but I think I have my mom's genes to thank for this. It's naturally wavy, I've not dyed it since I was a senior in high school, and no matter how I've had it cut, it's always looked good and healthy. It's sprinkled with gray now, but still looks good, and I intend to let it GO gray without any bottled-up intervention.

When I think of how much money ppl spend on their hair, I feel lucky. LOL!!

7. My creativity.

It's kept me entertained throughout the years...a few of my hobbies allow for the liberal use of it: beadworking, cooking, photography, writing, etc.

8. The ability to read.

My mother taught me how to read, and had me reading the newspaper at 4 years old. To this day, I still devour books like they're Lindt truffles. I cannot imagine what it must be like not to be able to read and enjoy it.

9. Therapy.

If it wasn't for insightful professionals, I (and many others like me) would still be stuck in the same bad patterns, with no hope of breaking free and making life better. Getting help is the best thing I ever did to ensure that my future wouldn't be like my past.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone...today, and all days.

A$$hole motorcyclists who spoil it for others

OK, I've finally seen enough that I'm going to post a little bloggy-poo.

Just this summer alone, I've seen a lot of bikers who don't seem to understand that having a bike license does not entitle you to turn into an inconsiderate, oblivious douchebag.

Other people I know, who are experienced riders (15, 20, or 30 years of experience), are also getting pissed off about these things, because they say it makes the roads unsafe, even for the good riders. I agree.

Here is a list of things that, I think, might cause a general erosion of respect for folks who travel on 2 wheels:

--Excessively loud pipes. OK, there's factory loud, which is one thing. That's at least tolerable, I guess.

But then there's LOUD AS A BASTARD. You know the ones. Yes, we hear you. You're quite a showstopper. Now go put on some new pipes and stop being such a showboat asshole. I don't know ANYONE who's impressed by that, except other morons. And I don't really believe that those crazy-loud pipes "save lives", as much as they're designed to attract attention and piss folks off.

--Wheelies and other stunts that just BEG for a washout. I see this a lot, and every time, it's in the sportbiker crowd. (Not all sportbikers are like that, don't get me wrong here. But we always notice the ones who are.) These people deserve a broken collarbone, and should have to pay double for the ambulance to take their "LOOK AT MEEEEEEEEEE!!" asses to the ER. They're distracting other people, and creating an unsafe situation on the road.

Funny Pics and Myspace Layouts at pYzam.com

--People who hang their helmets on the seat. Let me say this: I think that if you don't want to wear a helmet, then fine, don't.

But don't bring it along with you and hang it on the helmet lock like it's some kind of magic talisman.

Although.....if you DO finally flip your bike, and in the wreckage they see that you've got a helmet available, at least they'll have something to scoop your brains up off the road with, chips-and-dip style.

--People who ride drunk. I don't even need to EXPLAIN why this is bad.

--Tailgating bikers. Once again, I don't need to explain why this is going to eventually create a problem. I see this a lot in traffic. So for these impatient souls: Unless you want to headbutt a trunk-lid when someone has to stop short, back the hell off and keep a space cushion between you and the vehicle in front. Remember THAT from your bike class? I do.

More Funny Pictures and Myspace Layouts atpYzam.com

--Bikers who pull out in front of cars, without even LOOKING. Yeah, this happened to me this summer, and I've seen it 4 other times since then.

I almost ate a guy on a Sportster (NOT wearing a helmet, either, mind you!!) with my front bumper. Friggin' moron. He was pulling out in front of me, and didn't look both ways when doing so. Only when I piled the brakes on, hammered on the horn, and shouted obscenities out the window did he look my way. And HE looked at ME like I was in the wrong!!

THESE are the people you read about in the paper who get seriously hurt, and someone always cries "Drivers don't look out for bikers, they need to be more aware of bikers, blat blat blat".

Not so much. In many cases, I've noticed that it's not the DRIVERS who aren't paying attention. So I'd say that's partially a crock of shit.

More and more I see stories of fatal accidents involving bikes. There are times that I wonder......what happened?? It's not always the guy in the minivan, you know.

I still haven't bought a bike, and I've had my license for 4 years. Part of it is because I have other things that I need to spend a couple grand on besides a bike.

But that's not all of it.

The other reason is because I keep reading the paper. I don't want to be the good rider who STILL ends up as road pizza because of a growing indifference to bikers which, I think, is partly because of the reasons listed above.