First, an update on the battery: it works! For now, at least. It wasn't quite as charged as I would have liked this morning when I picked it up from the shop, but hopefully it will be enough for the bike to do the rest.
I woke up nice and early to go pick it up, and immediately tested it out - confident that I could start up the bike and move it, I started taking a look around at the rest of it, since it had been sitting all day the day before.
First thing I noticed: low coolant. Guess I'm not getting out of town as quickly as I thought.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Roll With It (x3)
Alright, whether or not I get this battery stuff figured out and get out of here "on time," I think I can consider the trip officially started.
One of the big themes from my 48 states trip in 2011 was to roll with it. I left myself the ability to always say yes to things and alter my plans, and in return it seemed like amazing things just sort of fell into my lap. From a yacht on a lake in Seattle, to a jam band in Minneapolis, to either a backyard concert or a college concert, opportunities just seemed to pop up all over the place. Not always, but more often than I expected.
And last night was yet another one of those.
One of the big themes from my 48 states trip in 2011 was to roll with it. I left myself the ability to always say yes to things and alter my plans, and in return it seemed like amazing things just sort of fell into my lap. From a yacht on a lake in Seattle, to a jam band in Minneapolis, to either a backyard concert or a college concert, opportunities just seemed to pop up all over the place. Not always, but more often than I expected.
And last night was yet another one of those.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Out the Door
There's always a little bit of prep to get ready to go out the door. Making sure you've got your keys, phone, wallet, maybe you need your sunglasses too. Maybe you're going to a party and need to get some food out of the fridge, or grab a sweatshirt to return to a friend. Once you've got everything you need, then you can head out the door.
Thing is, that's pretty much never how it happens for me. Here's how it usually goes for me:
Thing is, that's pretty much never how it happens for me. Here's how it usually goes for me:
Monday, September 21, 2015
Breakthrough
Arriving at the school was slightly painful... the teachers don't speak English at all. I could understand the hand gestures and a few of the words well enough to get the general gist (you're going to take a test, then meet the host family), if they spoke really slowly. And then I met the host family and found out that while the husband speaks a little bit of English, the wife speaks none.
It was a little daunting. I did find that I didn't need the crutches as much as I used to think I did, but I still found myself in the deep end trying to swim. Suffice to say it was a quiet first couple of days, outside of the English that I was occasionally speaking with the Canadian and the Dutchman who were also staying there.
(And I still felt guilty about much of that - Diana would cook us dinner and then sit quietly while the three of us rattled on in English, which she doesn't understand. I've been the one who can't understand anyone else, and it sucks.)
But today was a breakthrough.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Crutches
[For clarity, the crutches part is a story from 8 years ago. I'm not on crutches now, I'm fine.]
I was given a choice: I could stay on crutches for three weeks, or I could use crutches for a week and then use a cane for a few weeks afterwards. So I immediately headed over to fashionablecanes.com and picked out a pimpin cane.
It would have been easier on my knee to be on crutches. Less work, less painful, faster. But crutches always come with their own difficulties: stairs, doorways, carrying bags, etc. With the cane I was not far off from how mobile I'd be fully healed.
I've found that other crutches in my life are similar. While they're easier at the time, the experience you get with them has its own set of difficulties. And thus I find myself, after 24 hours in Ensenada "on my own," being more comfortable here than any other time I've been in Mexico.
I was given a choice: I could stay on crutches for three weeks, or I could use crutches for a week and then use a cane for a few weeks afterwards. So I immediately headed over to fashionablecanes.com and picked out a pimpin cane.
It would have been easier on my knee to be on crutches. Less work, less painful, faster. But crutches always come with their own difficulties: stairs, doorways, carrying bags, etc. With the cane I was not far off from how mobile I'd be fully healed.
I've found that other crutches in my life are similar. While they're easier at the time, the experience you get with them has its own set of difficulties. And thus I find myself, after 24 hours in Ensenada "on my own," being more comfortable here than any other time I've been in Mexico.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Planning
It's been a whirlwind past couple of weeks. Months, really. But this past month was... overwhelming, to say the least.
In retrospect, it probably wasn't the best idea to stack up leaving my job, a 3-week trip to see family, Burning Man, departure on a six month trip, getting rid of everything I own, and getting a new motorcycle running.
But with a few stumbles here and there, I've successfully made my way to Mexico for two weeks of Spanish immersion courses.
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