Now, before you get your hopes up that I may, in fact, be talking about something other than motorcycles, you should know that you're only half-right. There will be some items on this list that will have absolutely nothing to do with motorcycles, motorcycling, motorcycle trips, anything vaguely motorcycle-ish, or dealing with (and I'll put this in terms Plato would have liked) the concept of "motorcycle." Mostly, however, this post is about what I'm going to do once I actually get two wheels back on the road.
The list will mostly be fun things I want to do, but it will also include a few mundane items. If this is supposed to be a blog about my adventures, why would I include the mundane? Well, all things must balance out, eventually, and in order to enjoy the fun things, sometimes the mundane just need to get done.
That, and:
Generally speaking, I'm somewhat stuck at the moment. My head is being pulled in two very strange directions. On the one hand, I just got access to Star Wars: The Old Republic, which I've been drooling about for years; and on the other hand, I don't have a motorcycle to ride, which is causing me to go insane ("go" insane? I probably passed that mile marker a good while back). I suppose one could argue that neither activity is anything to get excited about, but not everyone is a video gaming motorcyclist... I just hurt my own brain with that, I do apologize.
Anyway, the list that follows is probably going to be long-winded and meandering (like most of my conversations in general), so you'll just have to brace yourself as best you can. Which, really, shouldn't be that hard since you are, assumedly, sitting in front of a computer and not really going anywhere at all. Still, it is what it is (told you, and I'm not even into the list yet).
1. Clean my room: Seriously, the place is a mess. But, unfortunately, I don't have much space available to sort everything (or do I?) the way I would like to sort it (clothes notwithstanding). That said, I just have to knuckle down and do it; before it takes over my entire living space.
2. Visit the Northeast Motorcycle Expo: January 28th and 29th this year are the two dates that this show will be in Boston. I missed it last year. Granted, I wasn't quite as frothingly desperate for anything related to motorcycles then as I am now, but it should be a good time nonetheless. There is, possibly, another, secret reason for me going to the show. Everyone and their dog keeps telling me I need to "get out more" and "meet like-minded people" so that I'm "not so much of a crazy, loud-mouthed, obsessive shut-in" (okay, so that last part may have been the dogs in my head, but they've generally been accurate in their assessments so far). Honestly, it would be nice to be able to have a real conversation with someone who shares my passion for motorcycles and won't roll their eyes and mutter "oh God, not again" under their breath.
3. Get back to Boxing: I'm not really sure why I stopped in the first place. Boxing is a lot of fun, and I was able to purchase my own heavy bag for my apartment. While I doubt it will be as efficient as going to the boxing gym, it will be a lot more convenient and I will be able to listen to my own music while I work out (seriously, who can box while contemporary pop music is playing on the radio?). Now I just have to get the heavy bag and the correct size boxing gloves and I'll be good to go.
4. Visit family more often: I became kind of lax about this in the latter half of 2011. It always seemed like I had other things to do. Most often, the weekends that I wasn't busy doing something else, I generally wanted to myself. And, while it is nice to hang out with family, sometimes I just really want time to myself. And it seemed I needed more of that this passed year than usual. That said, with my new motorcycle I'll be able to make the longer trips easier, as the bike will be better able to handle longer rides (I certainly hope so, at least), so I will be able to combine riding and visiting family.
5. Visit friends in far-off lands: Can I truly refer to "Virginia" as a far-off land when it's on the same coast as Massachusetts? Certainly can! I have some friends in Virginia I haven't seen in a while and it would be nice to visit them. Again, it will also be a good chance to try out how the new bike will fair when it comes to slabbing it for a day. I also know for a fact that one of my friends down there may possibly maim me if I don't show up on the bike at least once.
6. Laconia Motorcycle Rally: I wanted to go to this passed year's event, but as a newcomer to motorcycles, and having just purchased my first motorcycle less than a month and a half before the rally, I figured it wasn't such good timing to try that ride, particularly when I hadn't really been riding on a highway before. The 2012 rally? That should be a fun time, now that I'm a little more seasoned and can handle a bike better. Also, it will help with that whole "crazy shut-in" thing I apparently have going on.
7. Motorcycle Road Trip: This is the big one. My feelings on this event are so split, I am kind of surprised I can talk about it coherently (are "wild ramblings filled with gibberish" considered coherent?). I am looking forward to this, without question. I still have dreams about it. However, there is another part of me that is a mixture of abject fear and anxiety about it. Most of the anxiety is really focused around how I'm actually going to pull it off, and will probably be allayed by careful and precise planning. Still, I would be lying if I said that the anxiety didn't add to the excitement of the whole venture. I just hope I can find someone to go with me. That would help a great deal. Current Route
8. Gain writing fodder around the New England Area: Actually, this is really more a continuation of what I was doing last year: riding around to various parts of New England, taking in the sites, then coming back home and blogging about it. However, the additional piece of this is to actually try writing articles to send to publishers. I realize that just jumping in and sending unsolicited articles to magazines and periodicals really doesn't work as much as it may have in the past, but I have to start somewhere. I would love for this to be the first steps in beginning a career shift to something I would actually enjoy doing for a living. Here's to hoping!
So, that's it for now. I didn't ramble quite as much as I thought I would, but some ramblings did occur, I'm not going to lie. All things considered, I am definitely looking forward to 2012 and what it has to offer. And, because I want to end this on a classy note, here is a small piece of advice from yours truly:
Memento Vivere
Your Momma is glad to hear you will come home more often!
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