Some motorcycle blog this is, you shit.

So I have looked at the blog and my recent posts. Some fine motorcycle blogging this has turned out to be. I start on one subject and then somewhere along the line I get totally sidetracked.

So if you were hoping for a biker journal when you put this in your bookmarks, I am sorry that I disappointed you. (OK, I really don't give a damn, but it sounded like the nice thing to say.)

So what the fuck does a guy without a motorcycle, and a motorcycle blog do? Well I distract you with shiny stuff to keep you happy and mollified. "Ooooh pretty...."

So link Number 1. A tribute to our friend Joseph Lucas.

And link Number 2. An actual blog where they actually write about motorcycles!

So until I have something to ride, tear apart, or bitch about that is motorcycle related, I give you this to keep my faithful fans happy.

A weekend of R&R. And a touch of warmth. Fuckin' finally!

So last Friday was the last day of school for the boys. Spring break is finally here. T and I have been setting up a visit for both of the boys. Her son is off to visit his dad and my boy is off to visit some grandparents.

So I got off the clock at 3 and we began to get things ready for the trip. Actually T got everything ready while I was still in the basement working. And I just helped schlep some stuff to the back of her Jeep.

The boys showed up just shy of 4 and after a bathroom run for everyone, we hit the road.

Luckily T's parents were willing to meet us in Vegas to change possession of the boys. Her dad enjoys to gamble and I think her mom wanted to just take a trip. So rather than 12 hours, we only had to spend about 5 1/2 on the road that night.

Now the original plan was to turn around the next morning from Vegas and head back up here and see what Salt Lake City has to offer. (Maybe not a lot, but hell we aren't even too sure where all the local grocery stores are.) But for the last couple of weeks we have had some truly shitty weather.

We were waking up to mornings like this.



Then sometime in the afternoon it would look like this...



We were simply tired of it. So we decided that we would stick to Vegas for a day or so. We made great time to Vegas and rolled in around 8:30 or 9pm local time. And pulled into Circus Circus. Now this place is one of the originals on the Strip. And boy it is showing its age. It could be that was because we were in the cheap seats and not high up in the main towers. But for all things holy, could they have just tossed a sheet over a chunk of plywood? I bet it would have been more comfortable to sleep on.

So that night. T, me and her dad, gave money away to the casino and then came back to get some sleep. In the morning we got dressed and went and had a truly horrible breakfast at the buffet. Do yourself a favor, if you want a real breakfast, don't eat at the buffet.

So after breakfast we all packed up. T's folks took the boys on into California and we went and gave some more money away to the casino. After that we decided we would wander north a bit. So onto the 15 and we stopped at Mesquite to give more money away and eat some more bad casino food. Well bad is an overstatement. It just wasn't good.

After lunch and gambling, we decided to keep heading north and wound up in St. George Utah. It is a neat older town. Now T has always wanted to stay at a bed and breakfast so we stopped at a Starbucks and checked a few of the local ones online. We decided on one call the Seven Wives Inn. It was getting late, but the room we wanted was open. So we decided to stay the night. That night we ate at some place that cost an arm and a leg called the Prancing Pony (?). Now the food was great, just pricier than my typical meals cost.



The next morning we got up and had this scrambled egg crepe. That shit was pretty damn good too. We decided that we would keep going north. Originally we were thinking about spending a night in Cedar City to take in another B&B, since we didn't have to be back home until Monday night. But, while better than the bed at Circus Circus, it was too soft for our tastes and we got to missing our bed at home.

Before we left we decided to head across the street to see the winter home of Brigham Young. T and I both get a kick out of turn of the century homes. And it was a free tour.



Talk about neat. This place had 18" thick walls and stuff. You would never see something like that now. But that may be because they have real insulation now. But it makes for really neat architectural features. And we found out that Young had a Romney that was an architect help design a part of the place.

Anyway after that we decided to start heading north. We wandered through Cedar Cuty and had some lunch. Then hit the road again.

As we wandered into Utah county I noticed this strange anomaly... It wasn't freezing cold. Quite the opposite, it was in the upper 60's low 70's. It was warm! So that night we slept with the windows open and wooke up to a nice warm morning.

Today it has cooled down and gotten very windy. But it was nice to get that taste of spring. And it looks like the temps are supposed to be improving some over the next week or so. It is about time. We are all getting sick of this weather.

And if it doesn't start staying warm soon, I may have to go into voodoo rituals or something...

A whole week?!

Good Friday! Well maybe not in the Jesus coming out of the crypt type of Good Friday. But it is a good one nonetheless.

Today, is the last day of school for the boys. And next week is Spring Break.

I can guess what may be going through some minds out there. "What the fuck is so great about that? A pair of boys running rampant through the house while you are trying to work? What are you sneaking huffs of the model glue again?"

Nothing like that. Nope, both of the boys are heading back out to Cali for the week. So it is a quiet week with me and T and a kidless house.

Aha! I bet the light has come on now. Well we don't get the week off, sadly enough. But we both are taking Monday off. And we have no actual plans for the weekend, except to relax and do whatever suits us.

I told you it was a Good Friday.

And as far as the weather report for Utah? It snowed three more times this week. Each time it melts off by noon. We may stick around Vegas for a day or so. Just to get some damn sun.

Spring is coming. I think. No maybe it left again.

Last week, the weather took a turn for the fucked up. Snow and ice. Not lots of it. But enough to make all the streets turn white and coat them in a good layer of ice.

Now since I have been an unemployed, lazy ass bastard, it meant very little to me. Except it sucks to smoke when it is snowing. Especially when your house porches are little slabs of concrete left out to weather. So when it snows, rains, gets windy, we stand on this little ugly slab out back. Or crack open the garage a bit. In the town I live at, it gets windy. That's kind of a half truth. It gets real windy in the section of the town I live in. We are at the base of a mountain, and in a pass like area.

But last week I was in training. For my new job. JOB! And I had to actually drive to another town. And it snowed one week, and coated everything in ice, the next.

So what is it like to be back at work? Gooooood..... Man I miss working. Well at least for the next few weeks. Until I get grouchy and bored. But really I can't complain about this gig. I am making pretty good money, I am right at home. I got some neat tools, and the work is pretty ok.

But right now I am looking in the classifieds for some cheap wheels. I really have gotten the itch to go riding lately. Especially since I can't work on the old Honda. It's just too damn far away. And it looks like they have all sorts of regulations in Utah. Sigh... Rules and regulations. They suck ass.

I should write somethin, shouldn't I?

Alright, getting further into this whole Utah move deal.

I am getting used to the new digs. The place is alright. Some things that are a bit messed up around here, but all in all for the price tag it is still pretty damn good.

The schools are damn nice here. And it looks like the boys are doing good so far.

And this week I went back to work. FUCK YEAH!!! I love this work shit. I used to talk about how great it would be to take of work for some undetermined amount. Now that I have spent a month sitting on my ass around the house without a job, I will say one thing. It SUCKS!

So what is this job, you might be asking? I am now testing software for a small company out here. First the pay is almost dead nuts what I was making out in California. I get to work from home. They gave me a kick ass Dell desktop with dual 24" monitors, my bosses are pretty mellow and I pretty well get to have full reign of my job. So long as I don't botch up, it looks like they will leave me be.


So now I get paid here soon. I gotta catch back up on my bills. But I am not swamped so that's a plus. And then I got to start saving up for a couple of things.

Three weeks in (Or therabouts)

OK, so I am big fat liar. It has been just about 2 1/2 weeks in.

So what have I observed about Utah in this period of time? Well, I wonder why they require mirrors on cars, when obviously no one uses them. Same goes for turn signals. I keep wondering if these mongoloids are stupid, or just don't give a shit.

But at least traffic is light. I can get on the freeway and lock it in at 80 and just go. So that is kinda nice.

Next week I start up at my new job. The commute will be hell. I will walk down to the basement and log in to the computer... Tough stuff. Well for the first three weeks I will be in three different places for training. And then they are going to let me go wild. What little they know. Hopefully I can stay motivated enough to keep myself out of trouble.

A couple of things I am trying to get used to though. The weather is fucked up. I mean seriously fucked up. Yesterday I was in a T-shirt. Today it has been raining, with some snow. WTF?!

And can a guy get some beer here that isn't watered down or cost a small fortune? I mean a 6 pack of non-thinned out beer is 12 bucks! 12 bucks, what the hell? I bought 5 bottles of wine for T at 5 bucks a pop, and a 6 pack of Negro Modelo for 11.80 something. It goes for 7 bucks back in Cali. Talk about a mark up. I mean bootleggers in Kentucky charged those kind of prices, and it was totally illegal there.

So the next time I am in Nevada or California, I am going to bring back enough beer to keep a frat house happy for a month.

And the bike scene here sucks ass so far. I have seen maybe 5-10 non-Harleys around here. There is a shit tonne of chrome travesty V-twins and of course a few of those beach ball, I got more money than good sense customs around. Seems like everyone is showing off to each other. Keeping up with the Smith's around here. I would use Jones' but I think there are more Smith's. It is Utah after all. And they say Californian's are bad about the whole image thing. These people have some serious self esteem issues here.

Otherwise it is not exactly a bad place. But it is definitely culture-shock. I am still trying to figure out the lay of the land. But so far there haven't been any deal breakers.

I'm Here!

I here! And I am... In Utah??

Yes! Yes, I am!

It is cold, it is windy, it is... not California.

We spent Friday loading up the truck. By the time we were finished, we had the truck to the back door and packed up my car on the dolly to the top. The only thing we left behind was the Honda. The poor chopper keeps getting the redheaded step-child treatment. I keep leaving it behind whenever I move. But it shouldn't be too bad. I have it stored safely and the next time I am back in Cali, I will pick it up and get her home.

So once packed up we said goodbye to our old place.



It was late when we finished. And all of us were exhausted.
Rather than try and hit the road that night. And since we like the idea of sleeping in beds. The four of us spent the night at T's folks place. They are near the freeway so it made it easy to get on the road too.

By 4:30am, we were trucking along the 215 and making our way north. Uhaul trucks are not known to be fast, but we did our best to make it work for its supper. Though 75-80 was all any of us could get out of it.

By about 10 we had made it to Primm, NV. If you haven't been there, don't worry. You really aren't missing anything. It is just the first town to gamble on the way to Nevada. I am not a gambler by any stretch of the imagination so Nevada is not any place I really need to be. Those of you that dig the Vegas lifestyle, my hats off to you.

We kept trucking along through Nevada, on through a patch of Arizona, and then into Utah. We had traded spots a few times, but all of us were getting tired of the road. Bad food, indigestion, and a good dose of monkey butt.

But towards Nephi, only a couple of hours away, the skies decided to welcome us to Utah. As the wind picked up and the skies darkened. We were treated to a freezing rain, slushy snow, and then a good dusting of the white stuff.



I was driving point in the UHaul and had yet to take a nap. So the snow wind and exhaustion made me decide that slowing down was a good idea. around 6:30 we made it up to T's sister's place. She had some Domino's waiting for us. After stuffing our faces and going over some basics, we followed her over to our new place. I still haven't taken any pics of the front of the place. But needless to say, it is a new box house in a "master-planned" community. Not all bad. But I never thought I would ever live in one of these things.

But this makes up for it.



That is the view out our dining room window. Our kitchen window faces the same area. That kinda rocks.

After this I bet you expect me to say I went out and began looking over the area, right? Like hell I did. Nope I was just kicking this bug that was going around in Cali. Well sleep deprivation, too many road miles and my typically great personal healthcare habits meant that it came back with a vengeance. A vengeance, a few buddies and hung out and kicked my ass for three days. It is finally going away, but I have to say, if someone had dug me a hole in the ground, I would have crawled in and let them toss the dirt on top of me.

So what's next? I need a job. I have a couple of things lined up. But man I don't do well without some structure. I don't know what I will do when I retire. I think I will need some hobbies or something.