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Note to self: Raspberry Fruit & Grain Cereal Bars == gross

My MP3 player was dead this morning. I didn’t have NPR or music during my morning commute. I was basically lost in my own thoughts, which really isn’t a great place for me to be when riding through rush hour traffic. I can spend hours just thinking about ‘stuff.’ I guess that is why I do what I do. I could have gotten an masters in Philosophy, but I ended up writing software. It is an exercise in self-disciple, curiosity, and hard-headedness. I sit in front of a keyboard, typing (just like I am right now) for hours and hours and hours. There are days when I really would rather be somewhere else. Riding. Swimming. Lifting weights. Working with my hands. Getting laid. Sleeping. But here I sit… typing, solving problems, thinking about ‘stuff.’

Anyway…

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. I’ve been spending a lot of time alone. Even when I’m around other people I’m buried deep in my own thoughts. Here are the top 10 contemplative thoughts of late.

Top 10 Contemplative Thoughts:

1. My birthday is in a week or so and that has got me thinking about accomplishments and the lack of. It has been a long road. I am happier now than I can ever recall, but that still doesn’t mean I am satisfied. I want more. I want to do more, be more, see more, learn more. Still, choices must be made. I will do this and not do that. I will learn this and ignore that. I will go here and not go there. Time seems to be limited and choices have to be made.
2. I hate getting gifts for my birthday. I always feel weird about it. I guess it that whole ‘obligation’ thing. I don’t like owing anyone, anything. I usually don’t mind doing things for others, but I hate having people do things for me. It makes me uncomfortable. I am sure there is some kind of childhood damage that can be attached to this topic.
3. I’d like a new motorcycle, something a bit smaller, easier to commute on. A DRZ seems about perfect, but I normally hit 70 during my morning commute. This morning I was behind a Jaguar that kept popping over 80 coming down 26. I wasn’t trying to keep up with him, but I would look down and notice that I had rolled up to 70 without realizing. The DRZ is supposed to top out around 70 and I don’t like the idea of pushing my bike to the max every day just so I avoid getting run over during my commute. On the other side of the coin, my trip home is full of twisties as I cut through the hills and drop down on to the St Johns Bridge to take Columbia or Marine Drive across the north side of the city on my ride home. I skip all of the stop-n-go traffic this way and still get home in 45 to 60 minutes depending upon my exact route. So it is a toss up. Power for the ride to work vs. flickablity for the ride home. Then what are my choices? DRZ-400SM is a proven bike with a bullet proof motor. I’ve never had a single. What’s that like? A Dorsoduro looks very interesting. Right now, it is a 750 and the projected cost is about $10K. The bike is available in Europe with (possible) US availability for the 2009 model year. But I am already seeing posts online that a 1200cc version coming for 2009 as well. (link) Do I want a brand new engine on a fairly new chassis? What about the cost? The Ducati Hypermotard looks really cool, but is it any better than the Dorsoduro at $6K more? I have learned a lot about the Ducatis this last year. First, slamming one into the back of a Corolla on the freeway is bad. (link) Second, they require a lot of ‘comfort tuning’ to get it to feel right underneath the rider: levers, slave cylinder, mirrors, suspension settings, etc. Third, they are jumpy Italians! Dry clutches are grabby when cold, but there isn’t anyway to warm them up other than thrashing the damn thing. (I miss Italy.)

   Do I really want to buy a new bike? (Duh.) Do I want an Italian bike? (<Shrug>) Can I afford a new bike? (No.) Could I find a used bike in good shape? (Maybe?) The FJR is a great bike, but it is hard to push through rush hour traffic. I guess what I really want is a Hypermotard S, in Black , with carbon Termignoni Exhaust System. The carbon silencers would be nice or the whole race kit. Either way, I can’t seem to get the Hypermotard out of my mind. I really like the dual spark Ducati rumble coming from the signifiant other’s S2R.

4. The FJR has been acting up a bit lately. It needs an oil change. The shifting has started to suck, which means it wants fresh oil. My rolls-on are lagging a bit and the off idle sound isn’t quite right. I ordered a new K&N air filter and a set of plugs on Saturday. I should have everything to give it a quick tune-up by the weekend. Time is the only real issue. Will I have the time to do it?
5. The Indy MotoGP is this coming weekend. The plan is to be out of town, so I will need to set the DVR. Thinking about another American MotoGP race reminds me of how much I enjoyed being on the FJR for two-weeks last year. Traveling by bike is so different than traveling by car. Everything is right there. I actually enjoy the weather changes so long as I can adapt to them and keep going without too much effort. Last summer’s trip was an incredibal experience. It only rained on me one evening. I was about 25 miles from Lee Vining, CA. The road had been closed due to a forest fire and hundreds of cars were queued up. I was sitting on the FJR, swapping text messages with friends and it started to rain. I put away my phone, put my helmet back on and reclined to wait it out. How can you have those experiences locked in a car?
6. I wonder if the weather will hold long enough to go camping in a couple weeks? We haven’t managed to go camping this year. We have had plans every weekend for months and months. Camping would be nice.
7. Why am I always tired these days? It could be because I am not sleeping enough. I’m ramping up my hours and it is hard for me to slow down after the stress/intensity that comes with writing code. It is very hard to be hyper-focused on code then come to a full stop and reset. I lay in bed at night seeing the code in my head, replaying solutions, considering new options to resolve the current obstical.
8. Why is my head hurting? I need more caffeine, at least until I don’t. That’s the rub.
9. I want to get back to playing my drums. First, I need to get them set up! The Roland/Tama kit is ready to go, but I haven’t feel like playing pads. I want to feel the sound waves slamming into my body as I slam through a few bars of something heavy. Megadeth? Something more blues-based? Techno?
10. There is so much to do on the house…

And once again, it is time to saddle up and head home. I could use a break then back to my code through the office VPN. No rest for the wicked.