The Goddess of Strife and the Big Blow

Hello, friends.

I took Sunday off because it was simply too nice to be inside.

I'm posting late today because the weather here in CO was a big blow. There's a personal weather station up the street (that posts its info on the InterNets)which was showing gusts of 30 mph and sustained winds of 20. We've had brown-outs around here often enough that I dared not have the computer on, in case we lost power. I had a UPS but that failed just last week.

I think the other reason I've been lackadaisical about posting is the WAG #23 I put up the other day. Part of it was the fact it hit close to home, being that the dear husband and I are motorcyclists. The other part was the inspiration of the story, which was someone on Facebook who I feel takes too many chances.

The world is a dangerous place, and I am sometimes bothered by my relative safety. I have at least three friends (possibly more) who have had issues with stalkers. Granted, they're all better looking than I am, but this has never been something I've worried about. Do I put a big social shield out? Perhaps I exude a sense of "Don't Fuck With Me?" that keeps all but the nastiest people away?

The Dear Husband and I were discussing a news story he saw about the Colorado Preppers. One of the members was boasting how he and his family had enough food to tide them over for a year, in preparation for a disaster. It seemed a bit excessive, while at the same time, we have enough food to hold us over for at least two weeks, should we get snowed in. We have our own well and a generator and headlamps and sleeping bags and a tank full of LP... I guess we're preppers too.

Rebel preppers, cuz we don't hang out with other preppers.

Is it the motorcycling that has made us into such cautious people? On a bike, you can't trust other people to behave properly behind the wheel, and when they don't, YOUR safety is in your hands and your anticipatory paranoia.

The years of being cavers certainly have driven us towards self-sufficiency. When bad things happen in a wild cave situation, it's easy for the situation to go pear-shaped really fast. That's the time when 'self-rescue' is the hope and 'full-rescue' is the nightmare. The Texas Region caving community (for a while) was listing the phone number of a funeral home in case of emergency.

Okay, that was just an asshole thing to do... but it did kinda sum things up.

Anyway, we're of a self-sufficiency bent, and part of the process is to anticipate what can get you into trouble. No, we don't lock ourselves in the house and never leave - we do like to enjoy life, after all - but we have gotten into the habit of not provoking trouble. The Goddess of Strife is a mean old bitch, and she'll get you whenever it pleases her.

Well...I've rambled enough. Tomorrow is Suesday, writer's group, lunch with a fellow writer, trip to the grocery store, human interaction. Hope you enjoy it, too.

Graphic distractions

Sorry to have not kept my promise of posting every day, and I might as well admit now that my idea of Motorcycling Monday will not be developed as stated (simply because it's a case of "Well, you just had to be there" regarding the adventure stories).

The reason I'm been so lax in posting is that I've been collecting fonts and graphics to enhance my ability as a graphic composer. Apart from the Graphic Worm I'm participating in, and the flyers I do for the state park, I'm also trying to work up something interesting for my website www.SusanOShields.com, whether it be background or 'signs' or whatever.

Any way you slice it, I'm learning lots and making great strides to releasing my creative tendencies.

But you'd like to see more writings, no doubt. Excuses be damned! My distractions will be overcome.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Posting

I've been wearing myself out as a couch potato the last couple of days. My husband put on the DVD for Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman. When it was done (nine broken hours later), I had an urge to watch Long Way Down.
It reminded me so much of the different adventures David and I have had on our bikes and makes me want to get on them and take off. Life is too short to always play it safe.
If possible, I'd like to post a motorcycle themed entry on Mondays, just to get the week started out with fun and excitement. We'll see how that goes.