Thank You, Recession

I would like to say thank you to this horrible recession. It's due to this recession that it's looking like I'll likely go two years with no bonus or raise (as will almost all of my co-workers). But you know what? That's okay. My wife and I are able to live more comfortably than many people in the United States. And we're grateful for that. Could we live with less? I'm sure we could. We were blessed to be born into the families and means we were, but we've also worked hard to get to where we are.

The fact that I'll likely go two years without a raise or bonus has made me question the value of putting in extra effort and time at work (*gasp* - will potential future employers see this!?). Two years ago I was happy to stay 2+ hours late most nights of the week. I was happy to come in a few hours on Saturday or Sunday. Or take my laptop home for the weekend and spend a few hours working. Now? Screw you, corporate America. I'll work my hours through the week. I'll do my best to produce a quality product. But my evenings and weekends are for me, my wife, our family, and our friends. As I've heard a fellow employee say (who heard it from another fellow employee): "[insert name of employer here] will not be coming to my funeral".

Do I love my job? Definitely not. I find my field interesting, and I work with engines, which I've wanted to do since I was a pimple-faced kid in the late '90s driving a '67 Dodge Dart GT (pretty hot 360 small block with 727 TorqueFlite and 3.55 Sure Grip, for those who care) with a non-functional fuel gauge and laundry list of electrical demons. So, I'm grateful to be doing what I am - you could say it's my "dream job", but every day is not fun.

I saw an article a few months ago detailing results of a survey that indicates 55% of Americans are not satisfied with their current job (read article here). At the time I read this article I was considering seeking employment with other companies (because living 3 hours away from your wife is not cool). But according to this study, I have roughly a 50/50 chance that I would be satisfied in a different job with a different employer. Personally, I interpreted this as proof that indeed the grass is often greener on the other side of the fence, and perhaps a large portion of the 55% who are not satisfied with their jobs just need to work on their attitude.

Then a few weeks ago I came across this article (read article here and scroll down to "$60K a year can make you happy") that referenced a psychological survey/study (I think this is the report from the study here) which indicates that happiness increases with annual income, up to ~$60,000/year. Above that, it's diminishing returns. And people who are happy have time with family and friends to thank for that.

So, thank you recession. And my message to corporate America: I'll work hard enough to get my paycheck (and maybe even a tad beyond that), but I will not give you my soul. I'll give my soul to my family and friends, who are my true source of happiness. My elders probably could have told me that, but would I have listened without going through the past year?

Going the Distance

I took my first long distance trip on my 2007 Ninja 250R yesterday. 177 miles at an average of 65 mpg. Here's a breakdown of the experience.

Preparation - New Grips: I knew I'd need better grips than the stock ones or this would be a very long trip. Based on recommendations from the Ninja 250 Riders Club, I ordered some Oury Road Grips. They required some modification to get them to fit over the bar ends (didn't want to bother with taking the weights off) - I had to cut a hole in the end of the left hand grip and cut the right end off of the right hand grip to keep it from binding the throttle when released. I cut the stock grips off with a utility knife (cutting up as not to scratch the throttle tube and handlebars) and initially tried soaking the new grips in dish soap and water for install. The left hand grip would still rotate a little once dry, so I decided to give hairspray a try. Hairspray seems to be the way to go! The grips slid on much easier than with the soap/water method, and the hairspray appears to be just sticky enough to help hold the grips in place once dry. The comfort of these grips is much better than the stock grips. I'm glad I made this upgrade before yesterday's trip.

Preparation - Luggage: I also needed a way to haul some of my stuff on the bike, of course. I came across some luggage on clearance, and after taking some measurements I found a tail bag I thought would hold my laptop and saddlebags that would fit without interfering with the rear turn signals and exhaust. I got the Fieldsheer Compact Saddlebags and Fieldsheer Expander Tail Bag. I had to get a smaller "sport" laptop case ($20 at Wal-mart) to get the laptop to fit in through the opening in the tail bag, but now it slides right in no problem. The saddlebags fit-up fine, too. With both tail bag and saddlebags installed I initially felt a bit crowded when sitting on the bike, but once I got settled in I was fine. The luggage stayed very secure the entire trip.

Luggage installed and ready to roll

The Ride: At first I was nervous and I had a bit of a death grip on the throttle. Anyone who rides knows that is a good way to make your hands tired very fast. I remember thinking to myself after just 11 miles: "This is going to be a long trip with lots of breaks!". A few more miles down the road I think I relaxed a bit and felt fine. I felt so good that I decided to forgo my initial plans of stopping for a break every 60 miles and decided to wait until I was past the halfway point before breaking for lunch (85+ miles). I found about 80 miles seemed to be my limit for comfort. That's about when my butt started to get sore, I was starving, and needed a bathroom break. Plus, I needed to get the bugs cleaned off my helmet visor - it was getting difficult to see clearly! After the break and lunch I felt good again. But then I ran into some pretty strong wind (even stronger when riding 65 mph!) and my death grip on the handlebars returned. I think the last 30-40 miles of the ride wore me out more than the first 140. By the time I got to my destination my butt was sore, my right hand was sore from the death grip, and my neck was sore from wind buffeting. But I had arrived safely without any problems (this part of course made my wife's day)!

Stopped for lunch - my visor was caked with bugs

End Result: The bike and I are now both safely where my wife is living (and I am living part-time). I'll put the bike in storage for the winter here. I calculated up the gas mileage for the 177 mile ride: 65 mpg. I've heard of people getting 70 mpg on Ninja 250Rs. Maybe if it hadn't been so windy and the luggage hadn't been on the back I could have gotten closer to 70 mpg? In any event, it was fun and I'm glad I did it, but I don't think I'll be taking rides of this distance on a regular basis. Based on yesterday's experience, rides of <100 miles shouldn't be a problem on the Ninjette, though.

Window Shopping

I took the motorcycle safety course last week and passed.  That means I now have a little card that I can take to the DMV to get the motorcycle endorsement added to my license and I am legal to ride on public roads.  The question of whether I will be getting a bike is currently a point of contention in our household.  It's very tempting to just go ahead and buy one before my wife gets back from her three week trip to Japan, but I figure that would be a bad idea.  So I'll wait, but there's no harm in looking.

I have yet to go to a bike shop and actually try sitting on some different bikes, but I know that the Honda Nighthawk I rode in the safety class was a little small for me.  Looking around online I find myself drawn to the looks of the standard/"naked" bikes.  And I've been told several times that if I have any self-control to go ahead and get a bike in the 500-600 cc range because I'll get tired of a 250 cc very fast.  So here's some of the bikes I'm interested in at the moment.

Suzuki GS500E

Yamaha FZ6

But I also find myself drawn to some of the older bikes I've seen on Craigslist...

1984 Yamaha Seca 550

1974 Honda CB750

What do you think?

Exception

I ordered a new power supply for my computer last weekend.  It still hadn't shown up by Wednesday, which I thought was strange (the expected delivery date was Tuesday).  When I checked the tracking status, the UPS website showed "THE APARTMENT NUMBER IS MISSING OR IS INCORRECT. UPS IS ATTEMPTING TO OBTAIN THIS INFORMATION. / A POSTCARD HAS BEEN SENT TO THE RECIPIENT REQUESTING THAT THEY CONTACT UPS." 

Easy enough to correct.  I contacted UPS and provided the apartment number.  But funny...I never did get that postcard.

The Object of My Affection

I'm tired of the calculator I have at home. Nothing annoys me more than the "click-click" noise its buttons make, and the fact that even if it "click-clicks" it doesn't mean I've pushed the button hard enough for it to have registered. I have a fancy graphing calculator, but I long ago realized that it is far more than I need...if I need to graph something it's way more easier to use a computer. I love the scientific calculator I keep at work. It's a Casio fx-260. I think it cost all of $8. I think I need to buy another to keep at home.

Report

My wife is convinced that our dentist has a difficult time getting along with his hygienists.  Every time she goes to the dentist she tells me about how well he appeared to be getting along with the hygienist who helped him that day.  Typically her report is that the dentist was less than pleased with the hygienist's performance (because he throws his latex gloves in the garbage rather aggressively or is very short when speaking with the hygienist).  However, today was different.  Today's hygienist was accurate as well as quick at her work.  My wife's proof that Dr. M was pleased?  He was happily humming as he was working.

I have to admit, I've never really noticed any indication that Dr. M was pleased or displeased with the hygienist's performance when I go for a visit.  But I'm a guy.  And an engineer.  What do I know about people skills?

How Do You Revert From Rotten?

Up until last July, I had spent the previous six years living by myself.  That of course means I did all of my own cooking, cleaning, and laundry.  When my wife first moved in I was pretty good about continuing to help with all of these things, although she said she is more than happy to handle the bulk of it since she's currently not working (plus I tend to be a bit more particular about the way I clean and fold my laundry).  I find myself slowly doing less and less.  I find I'm not nearly as particular about how the cleaning is done or how my laundry is folded when someone else does it for me. 

We were just discussing what to do tomorrow.  I suggested cleaning.  After a bit more discussion, we came to the conclusion that she already took care of all of the cleaning during the week.

Well, I guess I better enjoy it for now since she'll be back at work this coming fall!