| Junk
Motorcycle and Challenge July 26, 1997 Chris Maus [RAMBLE INDEX] |
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| My Web Archive |
A
lazy Saturday and finally some time to write. The past week or so has
been fairly eventful. Since I wrote last, the company I work for was
purchased by Sprint and is now called "Sprint-Paranet". The site I work
at, Ameritech-ACI, reorganized some personnel and I now report to someone new. I bought 2 kittens on Thursday night and have been enjoying their company in my tiny apartment. All this has happened since my return from Minneapolis. The trip to Minneapolis was an adventure to be sure... I left Chicago at about 10:45 AM and arrived at Mary's around 8:00 PM. I made all the phone calls I needed to and then some before I headed to my old watering hole for a few. Very little has changed in the old neighborhood. It was almost disappointing. I had plenty to do the next day (Friday) before the "Minnetonka Challenge" (the 5 mile "swim"). First on the agenda was a license for the canoe. En route to do so I was informed that the tabs on my motorcycle were expired by a truck driver who was stopped at the light next to me. I almost panicked when he told me the cops would impound my bike. The fear of loosing my mode of transportation motivated me to make a stop at the license bureau prior to picking up the papers needed for the canoe. $13.50 was cheap considering the decision I made 4 days later. I arrived at Mary Ellen's with a legal motorcycle and got the form for the canoe license. We had a nice long visit before I headed back to the license bureau. She is doing well and enjoying her retirement. I suspect she will be busier now than when she was teaching. From there I went to get my favorite breakfast. A "Tex Mex" from "The New Uptown Diner" really hit the spot... Being on vacation didn't mean I could avoid computers. I spent some time at my friend Hook's computer fixing it so "Windows" would work again... My friend, canoeist and violin maker, Perry invited me to stop by his shop that afternoon and I did. It was a treat to see two of his instruments finished or near finished. The "gold medal" work he does is amazing to see. Shortly after I returned to Mary's, Mom, Dad and Matthew arrived. I was shortly there after working on Mary's and Dad's computers. Now Mary is reconnected to e-mail and Dad knows where his Juno install file is. Dick and I then went to Mary Ellen's to load up the canoe. Saturday I got up at 5:00 AM for the "Challenge...". The swim started on time. It took me awhile to get my bearings and swim straight. Shortly after I hit my pace and I felt I was on my way to the finish it got a bit too dark for an early Saturday morning. I paused for a moment to consult with Perry and Dick, my canoeists, regarding the weather. The patrol boat with the flashing red light showed up about the same time and told us to get off the lake... We guess I got about a mile and a half out and I would have finished had the thunder storm not rolled in. After I treated my canoeists Perry and Dick to an earlier than anticipated breakfast I went to work on Dick's computer... Sunday I went Roller-Blading around Lake of the Isles and then had dinner with Marilyn. As always, it was good to see her. When I told her I was taking her to Giorgio's she asked if we were going to talk about our relationship. (It "was" the restaurant where we always ended up discussing our relationship before we separated...) I responded with, "Is there anything for us to talk about?" There wasn't... We had a pleasant dinner and our customary walk to the refectory at Lake Calhoun for an ice cream cone for desert. We then went for a ride around the lakes on the motorcycle. When I took her home I got the "show and tell" of her latest projects. I'm glad she still takes the time for her crafts and reading. My agenda for this trip included a revival of my traditional Monday from the past 10 and 2 years... A couple 3 or 4 hours in the recording studio at Hook's and then beers at the 'bow with Perry. It was pouring rain when the bar closed and I think my leather jacket is still wet from the ride to Mary's from the Rainbow Bar. We put the finishing touches on a song in the studio and I've added it to the tape I've been handing out... Well, it was still raining Tuesday morning when I wanted to head home... (Yep, I'm beginning to feel like Chicago is really home now...) I got the bike all loaded up, rainsuit on and gear in garbage bags but the bike would not start... I called Mary and she was able to help me jump start it and I hit the road. My second stop for gas required a push to re-start the bike and I just hoped I would make it home. The bike stalled in the traffic jam from the construction in Madison and never regained it's spark. I called a towing company and asked that they dispose of it properly. I guess this was the summer I'd been expecting for the past 2 - 3 years... The motorcycle finally died after 66,000+ miles and 18 years on the road. I figured 10 of those years were mine and good ones. I was then rescued by the angel I lent my car to while I was gone. I finally got home at about 12:30 and checked my e-mail. That's when I found out about "Sprint" and I found out about my new contact at "ACI" Wednesday morning... Wednesday was a long day with a "Sprint-Paranet" meeting after work. And Thursday night I got my kitties. AND last night I went out with friends from Minneapolis that were in Chicago... I plan to take the rest of this Saturday and tomorrow to become a vegetable and get my house in order (so to speak)... I'm sure I left out a lot but if I'm bored with this I figure it's definitely time to stop writing... |
| Things to note... |
I got Squeaky and Isa on
Thursday July 24, 1997... I did complete the Minnetonka Challenge the next year (1998) |
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