When is time really ours?

Hello out there. I haven't disappeared, but I have been wandering.

It seems unusual to not make my first post of 2015 until the newness of February. It's been several years since I've missed an end-of-the-year post, let alone the start of a brand new year. However, I've learned that sometimes it is best to say nothing until the time is right than just something to fill up an empty space. I hope that in this train of thought that's been cobbled over the last couple weeks that I will make some sort of sense and that I am not doing what I was hoping to avoid.

So here I am combining multiple locations to finish these thoughts, whether I am sitting in a park in Mar Vista, Eleanor facing me in a random parking lot waiting for me to return, or in a familiar corner of Culver City where a pumpkin spice chai changed my way of thinking for the better several months ago. I attempt to say something meaningful between now and when I saddle up and deliver food to the masses. This whole motorcycle courier gig, my current major source of income, has been an unexpected circumstance I've found myself in but one I have been prepared for since the loss of my full-time job in April 2014. Every time I ride, I celebrate over 12 years of riding motorcycles through hell and high water, and based on where I have been on my solo trips, that is not far from the truth.

I will say, still being in a constant state of financial unpredictability can take some of the wind out of the sails of modern life's momentum. But then again, this last year has been one of survival and triumph. Instead of charging forward at all times, I've learned to step back a little to gain a different perspective of what I have earned in the place of the stereotypical daily routine that brings home a consistent paycheck: the gift of time.

In my own life over the passing of these last few months, it has been a mix of hellos, good-byes, be wells, and what the hells. Many of these stories I must keep in the silence of my own heart, but be assured that I have learned many a positive thing from them. Somewhere in the mix I was traversing that land somewhere on two wheels transporting whatever I could fit on Eleanor from point A to point B, trying to seek some sort of stability in my own monetary needs so I could then focus on my mental ones. It has been a delicate balance that I still see teetering from one side to another but I have been successful in making this all work. Some moments of time I am warned with another possible sudden life change but I am ready for it, if and when it decides to rear its head.

In the last month and a half, I've had to say goodbye to a loved one, a friend, and a mentor who exemplified the true appreciation of time, a person who never wanted to waste a single second of the gift that had been given to him. While his departure has caused a gashing rift in many parts of my world, I stand in front of what has fallen apart and honor his legacy by continuing to live my life in the best way that I can. I have learned that in this quest to live on, I can't please everyone and will probably pay a price for it. But I hold my head high and wish for the pain causing the falling-out to subside and be replaced with understanding, communication, and forgiveness.

But why such a conversation about time? Recently, I had a chapter in my not-so-distant past return to my line of sight. In its surprise and in its simple requests, it brought me to beg the question, "Can we claim a stake in time, even just for a few minutes...to allow nothing else to matter than what is in front of us right now?" In my moments of contemplation, I've found that it is possible to achieve that ability to 'freeze' time. In some cases it requires one to be a bit selfish. For a person like me, that can be difficult to do; I have a service-oriented mindset where others needs are put ahead of my own. It's just who I am.

Perhaps I need to remind myself even more that it is okay to want the greatest things for myself and not always be in a downright giving mode at every moment of my day. As I've discovered, when I can achieve those moments, they are amazing in so many ways.

So my new resolve is to own my time again at every possible moment that I can. There are many things I can't control right now and I am okay with that. I am a survivor and always have been, and ultimately, I am in control of my own happiness in between those ups and downs. It's doable, but man, do I need to muster up all the strength I still have. As I've learned during the lowest moments, I have more of that than I think I do. Now to put these thoughts into practice.

Tales on the Motorcycle Courier Shift...how this all started.

After throwing on a few screenshots of my motorcycle courier shift status updates, I realized that I didn't share how this all started. I have to say, it was a bit of a learning curve, trying to figure out how to manage the streets of Los Angeles while managing my time in between dispatches. Practice made perfect, and fortunately I have the right bike for the job, complete with luggage and multiple places to strap things down.

Not every delivery was perfect. Sometimes, things would spill in transit or an order would get screwed up. It happens. I have to say though, one side effect of being able to order delivery was the large amount of customers who indulged in certain herbal products. I was so glad this kept them off the streets.

The convenience of getting "anything anywhere anytime" made delivery dispatches from the richer (and more isolated) areas of LA more commonplace. Because of this, I frequented mansions who would often order hundreds of dollars worth of food without blinking an eye. However, lots of the "normal" people utilized the service as well, even for little things...

Okay! Now back to normally scheduled programming.

The Two-Wheeled Tourist is back home with a vengeance.

I was once told by a very skeptical person that when I left California in 2009 to take a chance, start a new life in Ohio, and explore new roads that once I left the Golden State that I would never return.

I say to this person and those who believed the same thing, talk to the hand because the face isn't listening. And while I'm at it, I still got a finger that works.

The 2013 SoCal Holiday Excursion Recap: Part 2

**This is a recap of my vacation back to Southern California from 12/28/13-1/9/14.**

It was nice to wake up to this morning view again. I had woken up to many mornings like this when life was a lot less complicated. It was 48°F the day I took this shot, and I was out in my shorts and flip-flops. For the normal Californian this would've called for Ugg boots at the minimum, but the Midwest life had hardened me enough to not bat an eye at the calm breeze nipping at my legs.

Today was a cruising day with me and my dear friend, Veronica, so it was a lot more on two wheels and a lot less with the camera. Somewhere in between all this, we had old ladies in minivans waving at us on Pacific Coast Highway and the men wondering what these two women, one on a cruiser and the other on a sportbike, were doing riding together. It was like old times when we'd just hop on our rides and travel the familiar roads of home, for no apparent reason than to appreciate the natural beauty that we had access to day in and day out.

I did get to watch the sunset from a familiar point in Redondo Beach and spend some time clearing my mind. Sometime around dusk, we even made young boy smile as we let him sit on our motorcycles while his parents snapped pictures. We even revved our engines high before we left the beach and that little boy was super excited over that. He even got to wear Veronica's helmet in the process! It's always fun to entertain the kids, and they get a kick out of knowing that I'm a girl on a bike.

This Triumph stays "in the family," and that's an order. Yeah, my personal cheerleader, I'm talking to you.

Another day comes to an end, and that the sunset continues to remind me that it's time to rest, reload and give life another go tomorrow.

The following day was New Year's Eve, and to bid farewell to the last day of a tumultuous 2013, I had an impromptu skating session at Toyota Sports Center. The sheet of ice that TSC had set aside for public session turned out to be where the roller hockey rink once stood. I had played there many years ago, and found some of the best teammates I've ever played for there. It was a bit strange to take those turns on what had once been a sport court surface. As a bonus, I had a couple old teammates stop on by and say hello as well. After a decade of playing in this building, it's a place that will always be a part of my life.

It's nice to see a Stanley Cup banner in the NHL rink nowadays.

Even the drinking fountains were water bottle friendly!

After skating, it was back up to the house for the annual New Year's Eve party. This was the first time in five years that I was able to enjoy this family tradition in California with the people who are important to me. By the time this day came around, I was so tired due to the jet lag that I had to duck out for an hour and take a nap during the party, but I was alive enough later on to welcome in 2014 with everyone else. Also, it had fulfilled a personal promise I had kept to myself for several years that, when it mattered, I was not going to be in Ohio on New Year's Eve. I have my family to thank for that as well.

So I'll rest here with the warmth of a fire and the skyline of Los Angeles in my midst. For the first part of 2014, I can start a part of my life over again and find that energy I need to push on toward a new goal.

I'll see you next year, Ohio.

It was an unexpected gift from the people in my life who I can truly call my family: I'm leaving Ohio for the remainder of 2013.

Okay, so that's not a long time, but it is definitely enough time to be able to recollect my thoughts and try to start 2014 on a brighter note despite the weirdness and unexpected life changes that had haunted me through these occasionally somber holidays. With that being said, I'm heading back to my childhood home, and you can follow my travels via GPS by clicking the "Where Am I?" link at the top of this blog. If things go as planned, I will be riding a motorcycle all over my old stomping grounds of Southern California. You'll be able to follow my route and collect stats on my travels.

As I heard from someone out here, "May the best of 2013 be the worst of 2014." I hope that will be the case.

Stay tuned on Two-Wheeled Tourist for photos and reflections as I kick off a new (and hopefully much improved) year from a very familiar place.

Feeling kinda dumped? There's a song for that [thought process].

This a left-field post for all of the people who have experienced being dumped in a relationship.

A long time ago, in a previous life, I would create a "Tribute CD" series to run through the emotions that one goes through whilst knee-deep in difficult times related to another person. I had done several of these for quite a number of reasons. Many situations had underlying circumstances behind them and one song may be more relevant than another.

Since CDs are so five years ago, I'll throw in a short music video montage that applies to my current state of mind. Maybe more of these will pop up in another thought experiment here on this blog. Enjoy your weekend, people.

In my ideal thinking, I would hope that this is the case.

In my own raw mind, this is what it feels like.

 But in my own heart, it feels like this.

So tonight, this sounds pretty appropriate.

[The Bittersweet] SoCal Refresher Course

In the beginning of March, I had the impromptu chance to go home to Southern California for a few days for a job interview. This was a trip I had to keep under wraps until I knew what was going to happen, so if this is the first time you're ever hearing about this, don't feel so bad...I feel better enough to talk about it now.

With the company I was interviewing with paying for the flight, the only thing I had to arrange was lodging and a motorcycle to ride. Fortunately I have an extended family and good friends to help me out. Leaving at 6AM EST on a Thursday with a stopover in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (which, in ironic fashion, is the only time I've ever arrived there by air), I reached LAX by 9:30AM PST and proceeded to have a nice lunch with my aunt (a.k.a. one of the only biological relations I have that hasn't disowned me yet). After that, it was some relaxing and motorcycle riding before my interview the following day.

This was the first time I've returned to the area in two years (to read about that 2011 adventure, click here), so I did what I could to make the best of it. Here are some photos of the places I still call home.

Two-Wheeled Tourist is on the move...

So anyway, I know I've been a bit incognito in the last few weeks. I've had a lot of stuff going on.

After a little over a year and a half at Independent Motorsports, I've picked up stakes and moved on to a new position in Mentor, OH, about 150 miles north of Columbus near the shores of Lake Erie. I'm now at Premier Cycle Accessories, an online retailer that specializes in sport touring and adventure bikes as well as long-distance riders. I couldn't pass that opportunity up! And it's a nice fit for me and I'm hoping to stick around for a while.

Of course, the consequence to this is a bit of a move. Since Matt's job is still treating him very well (and it would be absolutely absurd to move up here without securing something else), we're now in two different parts of Ohio until further notice. Considering that other opportunities could have put me back in California (would've been nice but a heck of a lot more expensive and complicated to move) or in farther states, this actually works out pretty well. It'll be a bit of long distance commuting to see each other and chats with the webcam, but we'll make it work.

There was quite a bit of prep involved, however. I had to go through a lot of things in the apartment and figure out what needed to go with me to Mentor and what just needed to go. After a week of total cleanup and mass recycling, donation, and shipping, I have a lot less unnecessary crap laying around to deal with. Of course when I still had the stuff it was important and relevant to what I was doing, but time can render things useless, especially if they have to deal with a video editing business that's slightly in hiatus. I'm still working on that...

All this (and then some) used to be filled with stuff!

More to come from my new digs as things change. I'm still waiting on my new apartment to be readied for move-in so I'm in an extended stay hotel for a couple weeks. I have to say these places are actually quite nice and chill, definitely a great option when you're in a situation like this. At least I'll have more time to think and write about things. Running, running, running.

Midwest Road Ramblings in Indy and Peoria - Part 1

For many a motorcycle racing fan, last weekend was the Indianapolis Moto GP races. Thanks to an long string of events, an old California buddy acquired luxury suite passes for the entire event and as a result, I got to meet her for dinner and another friend of mine received free passes to the races (isn't it fun when things work out like that?).

So after work on Saturday, I jumped on my bike and barreled west on I-70 to meet up with my friend at Dick's Bodacious BBQ located in the main square in the middle of Downtown Indianapolis. Mind you, this is the first time I've ever been down to the city during Moto GP weekend, so the tens of thousands of motorcycles that lined up the plaza and the surrounding areas was amazing. It was a sea of machines with a variety that I had never seen before in a single place. Thanks to the event security (ran by volunteers of Indiana ABATE), I was able to park Eleanor within walking distance of the restaurant.

This was the tip of a very, very huge iceberg of bikes.

A strange time to be super busy...!

January was quite...busy? What happened here?

Unlike last year where I had way too much time at home to think about things (thanks to my former employer's desire to be more economical with my paycheck), this year I'm finding myself happily knee-deep in motorcycle industry-related work. As a result, I'm not churning away at my blog like I traditionally have been during this time of the year.

To add to the bonus, we've had a freakishly mild (and relatively snow-less) winter out here in central Ohio. Thanks to that and a surprise influx of customers anticipating good riding days, I've found myself working quite a bit more at the motorcycle store and planning/scheduling bike events for what seems to be a warp speed course to the spring "riding season." Ice-less days and temps over 30°F have reduced car usage this season to next to nothing so daily commuting on the motorcycle has remained relatively normal. If only every winter in Ohio was like this EVERY year...I might actually like living here.

This was definitely NOT what winter looks like in Ohio right now. It was raining right after this short snow dump. Seriously.

So yeah, I'm not completely gone from the radar!!! Mind you, there's quite a few motorcycle journeys slated for 2012 so stay tuned for that. Eleanor's aiming for 150,000 miles on the odometer for this year and she's well on her way to that goal. She and I have pulled off more than 3000 miles since November alone, which is far from my traditional California numbers but a lot more than what most "riders" in this area will achieve in the warmth of summer. I'll be throwing in more out-of-region food reviews and other random rants as well. I'll be able to, eventually, free up more time in the schedule to contribute to the online fodder of this blog.

Don't forget, you can always follow some of my misadventures on my "alternate channel," my Twitter feed @2wheeledtourist. That's updated anytime during the day or if I find something strange to share. You can also see my tweets to the right of this blog entry in the Twitter window.

I'm still here, just running around with a smile on my face. And my head on fire.