Me:
I am
me. Nuff said.
My House:
I bought a house in March 2000. I am very happy with it, and it has kept me very busy. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I have about 10,000 words worth at the bottom of
ChrisWorld. Go look.
My Hands - Deadly Weapons:
My hands are deadly weapons. So are my feet (when I take off my shoes). I am training in Tai Chi and Kung Fu (
1,
2) at a school called
Silent Dragon. Watch out, I'm a dangerous man!
My "pet" Charity:
I am an Operation Leader in a group called
Disaster and Wilderness Ground Searchers (DAWGS). We use dogs to search for lost or missing people. It is a lot of work, most of it in unpleasant weather, but it is rewarding and they are a great bunch of people. I am also the treasurer, which reminds me - the group is organized as a 501(c)3 organization, and is recognized by the IRS as a non profit charitable organization. So make a tax deductable contribution. Now.
My Job:
For the last 14 years I have been working with mainframe computers in one way or another. First as a COBOL programmer, then as a DBA, then as an Endevor Administrator. Currently, I am supporting several 3rd party OS/390 application packages, both administratively and as a systems programmer. And I am doing storage administration, working with ACS routines and all that good stuff. I love this stuff, and I get paid for it. Who knew!
Why I like Halloween:
Oh sure, having children - and sometimes adults - dress in
imaginative costumes and ring my doorbell OVER AND FREAKING OVER to get candy is fun, but more fun for me is carving
a frightening jack-o-lantern, illuminated not with a dinky candle but with
a mighty road flare, so that
it's eyes light up bright red, smoke pours forth from its mouth and eyes, and a horrible hissssssss noise emanates from within. Why is this fun? Because it scares the bejesus out of women and children, and makes men envious! The day after,
the pumpkin isn't looking so great. The teeth are curled in from the heat and the eyes look like a cheap hooker's after getting stuck in the rain. Uh, I imagine.
My bike:
I have owned the following bikes, in this order:
1980 Yamaha XS650-G. There is nothing like a first bike, is there? This thing was a mess when I bought her and was always breaking down. The ergos were lousy, as was the handling. But I often find myself wishing I had kept her for the occasional ride. Why did I sell it? So I could afford to upgrade to a larger displacement bike with a fairing and luggage so I could travel. Who did I sell it to? An international dealer who trucked it away.
1985 BMW R80-RT. Motorcycles can have radios? Great! Bought from an older gent in Orange who claimed he rode it only on sunny Sundays, slowly. Based on the condition and mileage, I believed him. This bike took me on my first big motorcycle ride - to Wisconsin with the guy who got me started with riding, Perry Pausig. This bike also made several round trips to Miami. She was a trooper. No matter how hot or cold it was, I was always riding this poor thing, and she handled it, well, ah, let me put it this way. I bought jumper cables for the Yamaha, but they paid for themselves on the R80-RT. The charging system wouldn't charge under 3500 rpm, it wouldn't start in the cold, and it would overheat in city traffic. Ok, and it burned what oil it didn't leak. I REALLY miss this bike. So much personality, and I finally had her ergonomically just right. Why did I sell it? She was due for a top end and possibly more work than she was worth. So I rode her out to Lindner Cycle Sales in New Canaan to check out a lead on a used bike. The R80-RT's read tire belw out a block away from the dealership, so I guess I was motivated to make a deal. Fortunately, the bike I went to see was a beauty, and I would have bought her anyway, flat tire or no. Who did I sell it to? Lindners. Aren't you reading??? They are nice guys. Traded it in for the next bike, who I absolutely fell in love with.
1990 BMW K1100-LT. Bought it at Lindners. Fast, fun, and comfortable (once I bought a Russell saddle, that is). Much better radio. Always fired right up, started easily in the cold, didn't overheat. This was a fun bike - a "shout in the wind, whoop with joy" kind of bike. It really brought out the kid in me. In 1996 went to Florida on her, in 1997 went cross country on her, out to California and back. Why on earth did I sell her? I really wanted a more upright riding position, more knee room, and a better radio. Who did I sell it to? A private buyer from NY. He severly underbid me, but since I was still rehabilitating from a non-mc wrist injury, I couldn't ride it anyway so he got a great bargain.
1989 Honda GL1500 w/1995 Champion Escort 1, 2. Bought this bike 3 months later. Wow. Comfortable is the word. Sure, I bought another Russell saddle, but it was already pretty good without it. And what a great radio! The Wing is my current bike, the hack is a lot of fun. Went to Ohio in the summer of 2000 with my riding buddy Eric for the Honda Homecoming on the Wing (sans hack).
Here are some pictures of the trip. There are more pictures of the bike
here. Go look.
