See? I TOLD you it was an occasional blog!
I don't have much to say, but I thought I owed you guys a blog.
First, It was great to see Dad and Peg at the station the other day! As Dad said, a company in my territory has adopted our station, and is remodeling a large portion of the living area. The company is Czarnowski Enterprises, and their business is setting up and handling special events for corporate clients (like Coca Cola). Their main function is exposition services - that is designing, setting up and taking down booths for their clients at trade shows. Frequently, the show is a once-a-year event, and the client wants a new and different booth each year. So, Coca Cola might have tables, chairs, video displays etc. in their booth, and at the end of the show, they just tell Czarnowski to get rid of it! Czarnowski began asking clients if they could keep the stuff instead of throwing it away, and they use it to fix up firestations all over the country!! That is their corporate charity... fire stations!
They came into our station because their office/warehouse is just down the street. They were about to go to New Orleans and refurb 16 stations that were still damaged from Katrina. They came to ask us what we as firefighters would like and would not like in our station. They took one look at our station, and told us that they'd be back after they went to New Orleans! They have treated us like kings... something we are not used to, thats for sure. Everything we ask for, we get - even offhand comments are quickly fulfilled as if they were wishes! It's getting embarrassing!
The second Item is that I've been riding the motorcycle - a lot. It's a blast!
Third... a two parter. First, Jason and I agreed that the Bronco needed a better name than O.J., and taking into account that it is completely Bad to the Bone, we decided that "Truck Norris" was the perfect name.
Truck Norris doesn't climb hills... He beats them into submission!
Anyway, I'm afraid that Truck Norris has too big of an appetite. 12.5 MPG just ain't gonna cut it at $4 a gallon. So, after I get back into town I'm going to look into trading him in on something a little less like Chuck Norris and a little more like ... Mini Me.
I have wanted a truck for years, and as soon as I got one gas goes through the roof! Oh well.
Last on the list... they are talking about moving Officers around again, which means that I might get transferred to another station in July. I'll believe it when I see it, but it's a cause for concern. I'll keep you posted.
Stay safe, and Be careful!
ME
Monday, June 16, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Ok, so I got off work at 5;00 today, hopped in OJ (the name for the Bronco) and drove home as fast as I could. This was my first chance to ride the new motorcycle. For those of you who ride a lot, I want you to realize that I haven't ridden a cycle of any sort since the old Suzuki 50! I got home, asked Tonya when dinner was going to be ready (Whenever you want) and hopped on for a little ride. I didn't go far, but rode for about an hour, and felt like a kid with a new toy (oh, yeah! I am a kid with a new toy). Some lessons I learned on my first ride:
1. There is no need to put a death grip on the handlebars.
2. When a car is following you, it looks very close, no matter how far back it is.
3. 45 miles per hour seems really fast on a motorcycle, until you get used to it.
4. I have to get used to turning off my turn signals after I turn.
5. Wearing a full-face helmet means not having to explain the stupid grin on your face.
All in all it was fun.
Hope everyone else had as good a day as I had.
ME
1. There is no need to put a death grip on the handlebars.
2. When a car is following you, it looks very close, no matter how far back it is.
3. 45 miles per hour seems really fast on a motorcycle, until you get used to it.
4. I have to get used to turning off my turn signals after I turn.
5. Wearing a full-face helmet means not having to explain the stupid grin on your face.
All in all it was fun.
Hope everyone else had as good a day as I had.
ME
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Wow twice in one day is hardly "occasional"
Ok everyone, I changed my permissions so it's open to everyone. try to get your Google feeds now and let me know how it works. I have found another way to tie all of the blogs together... its a site called bloglines and it lets you set up a page with the blogs listed on one side, and tells you when one has new content. I just set up my account, and made a link to my list from my homepage, one click shows me the list and tells me which ones have been updated. it seems to work pretty well.
The name says it all!
Well, at least I am honest! I apologize for not being more prolific, but at least now you've been warned!
I made the transition, now let me catch you all up on my topsy turvy life!
First, I guess most (but not all) of you know that my mini van got totaled in April. I was driving to work at Road Atlanta , doing about 50mph down Braselton Highway when a high school girl pulled out of a side street, and slammed into my passenger side. No one was hurt (thank God!), but if she had pulled out a second or 2 earlier I would have slammed into her drivers door, and probably hurt or killed her. The van was a '99, with lots of issues (Tranny going bad, Radiator needed replacing, severe oil leak, etc.). It was totaled because she bent the post between the front passenger door and the passenger side sliding door. I drove it for a week after the accident, but since the book value was so low, the insurance company just totaled it.
As many of you know, I have wanted a truck ever since I can remember. It just so happened that a friend at Road Atlanta was selling one, and I bought it. It's a 1990 Ford Bronco (OJ White). It's pretty big. It has a 351 in it, and it is strictly a work truck (4WD!!). Power nothing (except the motor!!). Needless to say, it doesn't get great gas mileage. My plan is to keep it for a while, and if the gas cost gets too bad, I'll get rid of it. The Truck belonged to my buddy's Father-in-law who was a mechanic, and owned a grading company. It is in unbelievably good shape for an 18 year-old truck, and I've already had 3 offers to buy it from me. I am really enjoying sitting up high and feeling "MANLY".
Here is a picture of me on my way to work:
Anyway... being he husband that i am, I couldn't resist turning this to my advantage... I told Tonya that in order to save money on gas, I could buy a motorcycle to ride when the weather is nice...
To my disbelief she said "that's a good idea". Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I called this guy I know who is really good with motorcycles (his name is Bill). We discussed what kind of bike makes sense for a beginner like me, and he steered me toward WOW cycles in Marietta.
I got a small loan, and went yesterday and got this 1992 Honda CB750 Nighthawk:
Bill also gave me a nice Joe Rocket riding jacket with pads in it to protect my back and arms, and a really nice full face helmet! Thanks Bill! You are a pretty cool brother. In exchange, I had to promise to take the Motorcycle safety course here at Road Atlanta. Fair enough... I am smart enough to know that I can use all the training i can get.
Hey, once I get better on this thing, let's get a ride together some weekend!
By the way... Jason has named the cycle "Hawk" since it's a Nighthawk (I had to talk him out of naming it Lulu or Alice...)
Other than these things, my life has just been plugging along as usual. Hope you all are doing well. I'm still getting used to the Blogspot page, but as you can see, I love the ability to add pictures to my blogs!
More to follow..... whenever I get to it!!
ME
I made the transition, now let me catch you all up on my topsy turvy life!
First, I guess most (but not all) of you know that my mini van got totaled in April. I was driving to work at Road Atlanta , doing about 50mph down Braselton Highway when a high school girl pulled out of a side street, and slammed into my passenger side. No one was hurt (thank God!), but if she had pulled out a second or 2 earlier I would have slammed into her drivers door, and probably hurt or killed her. The van was a '99, with lots of issues (Tranny going bad, Radiator needed replacing, severe oil leak, etc.). It was totaled because she bent the post between the front passenger door and the passenger side sliding door. I drove it for a week after the accident, but since the book value was so low, the insurance company just totaled it.
As many of you know, I have wanted a truck ever since I can remember. It just so happened that a friend at Road Atlanta was selling one, and I bought it. It's a 1990 Ford Bronco (OJ White). It's pretty big. It has a 351 in it, and it is strictly a work truck (4WD!!). Power nothing (except the motor!!). Needless to say, it doesn't get great gas mileage. My plan is to keep it for a while, and if the gas cost gets too bad, I'll get rid of it. The Truck belonged to my buddy's Father-in-law who was a mechanic, and owned a grading company. It is in unbelievably good shape for an 18 year-old truck, and I've already had 3 offers to buy it from me. I am really enjoying sitting up high and feeling "MANLY".
Here is a picture of me on my way to work:
Anyway... being he husband that i am, I couldn't resist turning this to my advantage... I told Tonya that in order to save money on gas, I could buy a motorcycle to ride when the weather is nice...
To my disbelief she said "that's a good idea". Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I called this guy I know who is really good with motorcycles (his name is Bill). We discussed what kind of bike makes sense for a beginner like me, and he steered me toward WOW cycles in Marietta.
I got a small loan, and went yesterday and got this 1992 Honda CB750 Nighthawk:
Bill also gave me a nice Joe Rocket riding jacket with pads in it to protect my back and arms, and a really nice full face helmet! Thanks Bill! You are a pretty cool brother. In exchange, I had to promise to take the Motorcycle safety course here at Road Atlanta. Fair enough... I am smart enough to know that I can use all the training i can get.
Hey, once I get better on this thing, let's get a ride together some weekend!
By the way... Jason has named the cycle "Hawk" since it's a Nighthawk (I had to talk him out of naming it Lulu or Alice...)
Other than these things, my life has just been plugging along as usual. Hope you all are doing well. I'm still getting used to the Blogspot page, but as you can see, I love the ability to add pictures to my blogs!
More to follow..... whenever I get to it!!
ME
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