Final Reflection

     There is no doubt in my mind that a major struggle that I nave noticed and that I have encountered would be that  I tend to get distracted and ultimately end forgetting that the ride is happening. I get to working and remember that I am missing the proper tools work on finding a new tool that I am already loosing track of what I am doing. I tend to be distracted rather easily. Though I can not say that I completed this assignment, I can say that I have grown as a writer from day one with a blog until now. I have increased the speed which I type, as well as the speed which it takes me to form a story or a piece of writing. If I was given the opportunity to redo this assignment I can say that I would change the way in which I approached the assignment. I seemed to put the assignment off to the side while i took the time to finish everything that I wanted to before even thinking of doing my home work. I would make sure that I took the time to type a blog post daily so that I could watch the change in my skill and flow day by day. Overall this assignment was still an effective one, though it seemed I tried to do everything that I could to ensure it wasn't.

I Braked Things

     I am curious to know who has broken as many phones as I have. It has become a major problem for me honestly. I have been known to have a new phone at least once a month if not multiple times a month for quite a while. Because I have a history with breaking phones many people think that I do not have any phone cases. This is not the case... See what I did there? Bad jokes make my day. Moving on, I have had Otter Box's, Griffin's, and several cheap and flimsy cases. All of them seemed to be alright for normal people. Too bad for me that cases for regular people seem to be comparable to wrapping my phone in a plastic bag. I had one phone that was in an Otter Box, this phone may have taken flight from my truck while a few friends and I had found a mud hole that we were tearing up. When the phone took flight, so did my anger. I knew that there was no way the phone would survive the trip it had just begun. The phone had met mud, When I retrieved the rogue phone I noticed that it was not on, and it wasn't coming back on. At this point in my life, my anger issues were not as well attended to as they are now. I proceeded to make sure the phone was a waste and became unusable, once I had made the final decision that it was a waste. If it wasn't destroyed yet it would be when I was finished. I figured I had to go big so I took the old faithful baseball bat out, I took a few swings on the bat, each time driving my truck over top of the phone. Once I began to feel as if I had done as much damage as possible with the baseball bat I moved to the trusty Beretta 1911 pistol from my hip and proceeded to add a healthy dose of lead into that sucker.
     

Helmets Made Me Skip Homework

     Since I bought a new motorcycle I decided that I also needed  a new helmet. You can never have too many helmets. Safety First!!! You also have to have a helmet to match your bike or you just do not look right. Anyways, I decided to buy a new one. I usually head to a motorcycle dealer and buy my helmet direct from them when I buy a new one but I have been experimenting with Amazon here lately. I recently downloaded the app to my phone and decided to test online shopping out. I had only ever bought a shirt online, one of my favorite shirts to be fair. This one has an American flag on the back and says "Stomp My Flag, I'll Stomp Your Ass", just a classic. My experience with online shopping has been limited so when I misguidedly downloaded the Amazon app while I was attempting to do homework I easily became distracted. When I realized that I could order motorcycle helmets off of Amazon, well my homework went untouched for a week... and now I am here. After several days of looking and debating over a wide variety of helmets, all different styles, brands and colors. I finally decided. I purchased the IV2 Bio-hazard helmet. This helmet should pretty closely match my bike which is black and neon green with purple hand grips. The helmet is a matte black, with super vibrant neon green writing and emblems. The helmet is covered with writing, all saying Bio-hazard in a variety of sizes. The helmet should be showing up on Wednesday and I will let who ever does not care a full review of the helmet. I am becoming rather fond of shopping on Amazon, it means less time that I have to waste driving around town to find the things I am looking for. I do however buy more things and spend a ridiculous amount of time searching Amazon to see what I do not know about yet. Amazon may kill my grades,This is a very real struggle that I am noticing.

Shame and Safety

     I feel slightly ashamed, yet at the same time proud. I know that this is an odd combination of feelings, but just imagine this for a moment. You have been riding motorcycles since before high school. You had become infatuated with them, met many people with a great deal of experience that you could learn from. You had never been pulled over on a bike because you either never had been caught during the early stage of your riding; while you became much safer and cautious as you progressed in your riding. It did not matter the kind of motorcycle or the size, you can ride them all as if they were your own, yet you still remain wary when it comes to riding another persons bike. People come to you with questions now, whether it is in regards to fixing their bike or what to do in situations that could pose life or death consequences. This has become me. I love riding almost as much as I love fighting, it helps me to level out. Feeling the wind against my body, knowing that I am an integral part of the bike I am riding. Knowing the limits and making sure that I stay within them. Feeling a sense of responsibility and confidence in my ability to make split second decisions and movements in traffic when needed that the cars around me couldn't dream of. The feeling that my life is in Gods hands with a hint of my own support as I glide around curves and find myself in traffic, which rarely checks for motorcycles. I know that my parents hate the fact that I have grown so fond of traveling on two wheels. I understand their concern and take it into account every time I start a bike. If I begin to feel that riding that day isn't right I do not think twice before grabbing my car keys. All this being said, I failed my motorcycle permit test. I talked to several of my biker friends after this occurred. I wanted to know just what the hell happened. I was met with a unanimous welcome to the club. In my asking around, 9 out of 10 bikers that grew up around motorcycles failed the permit test at least twice. WHAT?? How can the safest bikers I know have failed a basic safety test? How could I? Thinking back to the questions, and the ones that I missed, I began to understand. The book and test that we take is for beginners, it is to teach them basic safety and ways to stay alive, sometimes at the expense of their bike. The safety methods that we conform to as experienced riders differs from that of a beginner. The things we do are second nature and are meant to keep us from ever getting into the situations that we teach beginners about. We have seen what happens, the experienced riders that fail this test are some of the safest people to ride with. And yes this may be sheer speculation but just watch and ask around, I am willing to bet that you will find the same results that I have.

I'm Getting Another

     For anyone who may care, and even if you don't, I recently decided to purchase another motorcycle. This one is a bike that is pretty dear to my heart and I could not see it go to some random person. My best friend bought this bike after high school before he joined the army, the bike had quite a few issues though which meant that we spent some good time fixing her up. I know with certainty that before he shipped off to basic he rode the bike a maximum of three times. His father had been taking care of it while he was gone. Had been. Once a friend of his fathers had been killed in a motorcycle wreck, he stopped and thought about his mannerisms while riding. He was able to point out several back roads, famous for deer and other woodland creatures running in front of unsuspecting motorist, when pointing these roads out he would explain how he hit 120 mph down this road with ease on the bike. My friends mom made the point to look at him with distaste and claim that it was a good thing he has a wife that works for the hospital because he may find himself there soon. It was always a fun jest however when he thought about this in light of his friend being killed while on a motorcycle his mood seemed to change toward the subject. He began riding it less and less and at this point has not started the bike in a year. When I had gotten word that the bike was going to be sold I felt that I had to intervene,  this bike had been a project for over a year. There were countless hours and long nights spent working the kinks out of the motorcycle that brought my best friend, his father, and I even closer than we had been previously. Call me sentimental, or a pansy, or just say that I wanted another toy; but I could not stand to watch the culmination of all of that time and bonding go to someone who could not appreciate it. I am also a very safe and experienced rider. I used to have my stupid moments on bikes a few years back but I have seen first hand what can happen, and how fast At this point in life I would say that I am wise beyond my years when it comes to riding and safety. Maybe the rest of my life can catch up to that.

Animal Crackers

     Animal crackers and peanut butter may kill my grades. Have you ever tried to do homework while eating the two? It is damn near impossible, if you disagree you are lying to yourself. Let me explain, when I do my homework I like to eat. The main thing that I eat when I try to do homework is chocolate animal crackers. Anyone who is well versed in animal crackers knows the struggle. It is animal cracker law that you must play with animal crackers. That tasty, fun treat can keep me entertained for hours and I am in no way ashamed to admit it. Once you open the cookie jar, the world begins to burn. All of a sudden the crowd begins to grow, the people know, they have a six sense about it. Crack the peanut butter open and the crowd breaks the line, they rush in and that was the last that you saw of your animal crackers. The problem escalates when your nephew shows up and realizes that there are now no more animal crackers. This nephew may only be four years old and have a serious love for animal crackers. When said nephew notices the lack of animal crackers, Chernobyl begins again. The break down that ensues is an utterly destructive force of nature that makes most tornadoes look like a cool breeze. Between the crowd and the antics that accompany them the melt down of a toddler, no work gets done. Even tonight, I brought the animal crackers out, and the lack of work began. The friends that I had over made haste to get in on the animal cracker hook up, then the talking began. Once the talking began it did not take long to have another four people in the house making an animal cracker party. I just hope that my nephew doesn't realize the lack of animal crackers in the house tomorrow.

Do I Really Need A Title?

Well yet again it has been about a week or so since my last posting. I swear I will get better at this stuff. I can never remember to post these. I'll just be going about my week and suddenly remember that I haven't posted for quite a while. So as an update, work is slow, fantasy football is killing me, I'm still trying to get used to school. I understand that by week six I should be well into the swing of it. School never managed to keep my attention for too long. I always manage to get off track and have a difficult time finding my way back on track. I will get there, honestly once I motivate myself to get back on schedule and get used to living without alcohol and chew I will be back on top. Yes I have decided to rid my life of alcohol and chew. It always seemed like I find quite a bit of trouble when I drink. I cannot afford more trouble in my life. I also have noticed for about the past six months that my gum line has been receding, I'm happy about that at all. I have taken up something to help with my transition to a life free of those horrid and destructive habits. Before anyone calls me out about jumping on the band wagon for taking this hobby up now, it is something that I have been watching and itching to join for a couple of years now. Without holding out any longer, the hobby that I picked up is vaping. I just figured it out. I am going to start posting about the things I do at work as well as a lot about my journey into vaping. You may think, "What kind of journey can you have into vaping?". Well let me tell you in my next blog post. That's right this is going to become a legit, underground vape and vehicle blog. I am now inspired as hell for this. Check back regularly and tell your friends. This will become amazing as I begin to make my journey through vaping and chasing clouds. I also forgot to mention. I went into the best local vape shop that Springfield, Missouri offers, Titan Vapors, and met the owners. Let me tell you how amazing these guys are. To be honest, I am a cage fighter on somewhat of an extended sabbatical. I am trying to make my way back into the scene and become a large name. When I went in I began talking to the owner, whom I will keep anonymous until I clear the plug of him and his shops in this, he is one of the most laid back and cool person that I have ever met. After talking with him and his brother I have the feeling that this is a place that I can just walk into and chill without being judged and have an amazing time with a great community of people. We began talking about what I do and what I'm looking for and he immediately started getting more and more excited. He is huge into MMA and loves to watch. This could be the beginning of a great hobby with an amazing support group for the things that I wish to achieve in my life.

Thanks for reading as always, I will be back much sooner next time!

MIKEY OUT