Ugh

Ugh. The less time I spend thinking and writing about this, the happier I’m going to be. So this post will be short and there is nothing sweet about it.

About four weeks ago I went out to move my motorcycle to the other side of the street and saw that it seemed to have been jostled. One handlebar end was poking out through a small hole in the cover, and the front of the cover was partly underneath the front tire, meaning that the bike had rolled forward an inch or so. I started it up and started to pull out of my space and squeezed the front brake and the lever pulled all the way to the handlebar with no tension and no stopping power. I checked the bike and cables for signs of damage but didn’t see anything. I squeezed the brake lever a few times and eventually the lever developed some tension, as though it had needed to be pumped a few times. However, as soon as I rolled the bike a couple feet forward, I was back to the no-tension situation.

I rode partway down the street and could hear the brake pads alternately rubbing and then not rubbing on the wheel. I also noticed that the handlebar was turned several degrees to the right even when the bike and front tire were facing directly forward.

I parked again and saw that the front end of the bike – fork, fender, wheel – weren’t aligned with each other. I knew that I’d been parked behind a navy blue Forrester and I found two of those on my street and left them notes (“Were you parked at the top of the street earlier this week? Might you have hit my motorcycle? If so, call me!”), called Ol’ Dad with my tale of woe, and then told it to Geico.

They sent out an adjuster, my deductible is $1,000, the bike needs a new fork and a new brake rotor and maybe a new wheel, and I lost my helmet because I took it out to the street with me when I met the adjuster and I left it on the sidewalk. I hate everything about this story and I’m done telling it.


Actually, no. I'll throw a happy-ish ending in here. I got the little bike fixed too and it's running now, my mechanic thinks he'll have the Mean Streak done by the weekend, and I bought the 3/4 helmet with the nautical star on it that I liked a few months ago. And which is an XXL that is too tight on my head and I need to email the store to see if they'll take it back and give me an XXXL. Which is just fucking ridiculous. I was right the first time. I do hate this post.

Running Diary of Meatloaf Dinner Night

This post is dedicated to Kate Murphy.



"From these ingredients, there will be meat loaf."

6:14: I am home, and I have ingredients. Very excited about the meat loaf (meatloaf? I'm unsure). Excited enough that I would be listening to a Meat Loaf CD if I had one. Since I don't, I am going to buy "I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" on iTunes and that will be the soundtrack for tonight's cooking. As an added bonus, I'll own a song that I would love even if the video DIDN'T prominently feature riding motorcycles in the house. Which this one does.

6:38: Peppers and onions are sauteing with salt and pepper. Garlic will go in momentarily. Meat Loaf song has been purchased and is about to go on the stereo.



"Veggies in pan."

6:40: Veggies are cooking and smelling nicely as Meat Loaf rocks the apartment. It is shaping up to be a great meal. More of an experience than a meal.


"Some days I just pray to the Gods of sex and drums and rock n roll." - Meat Loaf

6:44: A piece of green pepper fell on the floor and I picked it up and ate it under the provisions of the 5-second rule. I spent most of the weekend mopping my floors, so I didn't hesitate. Funny enough, I told Anno earlier today that the kitchen floor was so clean I would allow Lyla to eat off of it (one reason that I should not babysit all that often). A few hours later, there I was...eating off it myself...kind of. Moving on...

6:46: That song is awesome. One Loaf song isn't enough so I've added "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" to my music collection, turned up the volume, and added the garlic.

Side note: I remember having a pretty strong adolescent male reaction to the lady ("Mrs. Loud") who sings with Loaf on "I Would Do Anything..." I have just made a mental note to find the video and see if I still think 1993 Mrs. Loud was way hot.

6:49: What was that about a Cracker Jack box? "Two Out of Three..." may not be as lyrically strong as the last song. Veggies have been transferred to mixing bowl, where they await the ground beef and sausage.

6:57: I'm mixing meatloaf ingredients together and I'm out of Meat Loaf...

6:59: And now the 1977 album "Bat Out of Hell" is downloading to this very computer...

7:01: Oh yeah. So much Meat Loaf.

7:16: Everything's been mixed and ready to press into the pan.

7:18: Going into the pan:

7:22: Ready for the oven.



7:25: It's cooking in the oven. This is minute 1 of 90. So I have some time to upload the pictures I've taken so far, get a new beer, clean my dishes, and keep my eyes on the prize by enjoying my new classic (came out in '77, as did I) rock album...

7:46: Dishes are done. And I am eating cheese for an appetizer because my friend is a cheese salesman and he traveled to NYC last weekend. He is a traveling cheese salesman.



A few cheesy rhymes notwithstanding, this Meat Loaf CD is phenomenal. Rocking, heartbreaking, epically theatrical at times, and all very well sung. Loaf has a cool and distinctive voice.

7:47: An absolutely amazing thing just happened. I was sitting here typing up some notes for this entry and listening to Meat Loaf and watching TV with the sound off. I was watching "Wedding Crashers" because that's what I do whenever "Wedding Crashers" is on, and I looked up and saw Owen Wilson talking to Will Farrell and I realized that what was about to happen was absolutely amazing and I grabbed my camera and snapped this picture just in time:



"MOM! The meat loaf!!! FUCK!"

7:52:


"Paradise by the oven light."

7:58: Potato is stabbed and baking.

8:33: Looking good. 20 minutes left for the loaf and the spud. Time to start the spinach.



9:01: Oh yeah.