What a day...

So, I haven't posted in a while. My life has played out in a series of truly boombastic errors and calm, smoldering victories. In sum, here they are:

Errors:

Purchase and follied restoration of a BMW 535i. Sold last week. Good lesson, financial loser.

Packed new car too tight, shattered rare rear window. Big Loss, but convenient for moving large things that now stick out the window-hole, where the glass should be.

Forgot crucial light fixture parts at ikea, for the second time in a month. Just sucks

Not an error, but sucks: BMW started today - had to call Matt to see if the megagallons of white smoke pouring out of the crash-side cylinder were normal. He assured me that it was routine, and that they "smoke like banshees" after they spend on the sides. No engine damage, bit the tank and headlight shell are dented, valve cover is chewed up, and turn signal is busted off. Good work ahead.

My cat, Rudy, has some funky brown shit in his eye, might have to go to the vet. Ugh.

Victories:

Now a homewoner - bought a nice duplex bungalow with my mother in bayview. Good move, but the last 10 days of moving myself, and mama out of her dirty lair have been a bit much. My girl, Sonja, has an uncanny talent for packing, unpacking, organizing, junk removal, and taskmistressing.

Got a 1990 Mercedes Benz 300te Wagon with tons of miles. Needs work, but already the best car I've had. I can really really fit in at my cousin's shop, Black Forest. Plus, a whole new marques' worth of t-shirts and ephemera to buy.

Got some used Milwaukee power tools - all worth it.

Have a nice kitchen, finally. Pics to come soon.

Have a nice garage, pics to come soon.

Puch still runs, and soon, there will be time to mess with it!

Cheers, all...More moto content on the way.

Non-moto, heavy metal

Getting ready to leave DC. Next week, I move. I also have the huge opportunity to put the kitchen together - it's an empty shell with some period cabinets and original cast iron sink (ca.1925). So, I decided to get this:

Picking up in Madison on Sunday. It's got history - real pro stove, everything works for $100. I want to either find or make some matching knobs after I clean it up. I'll put a Wok ring on the burner with no grate - PERFECT!

My favorite part of the movie RATATOUILLE was the kitchen hardware:

I think I can get that dirty old stove closer to what you see here (if it weren't digitally generated)....stay tuned, and prepare for a meal cooked on a proper stove!

Crumbling!

The Setup:

I'm in Washington, DC for work. This city holds no magic for me. Little charm, humidity, and an attitude that just prods.

My phone isn't working well - a situation that's irksome at VERY best....

I left my hotel this evening after a really long day bathing in fluorescent light to go to the nearby CVS (which of course, closed early). I needed ibuprofen, for my WRECKED back and leg - each a result of awkward time spent working on the 535i last weekend, and a failure to stay in shape this summer - a whole other point of discussion and soul cutting source of angst.

The Hit:

The door slid open, and I heard a string of about 8 little "dings" from my phone - a backlog of txts! As I inhaled my first breath of moist, superheated DC air - I made out a message that I never want to see...

From my mother:

8.07pm:

Found Motorcycle tipped over on side when I got home. What should I do?

8.40pm: (a long ass time later):

Neighbor got it up and put in garage. Was laying in some gas little paint nibbled right by cap and tip of handle bar disconnected (that's the turn-signal I finally got secure, wired, and working last weekend)...

ONLY GOOD PART:

He (neighbor) wants to buy it 'cuz it's pretty.

That's the grain of sugar on a major shit-crepe. The flattery did go a long way to quell my sadness. I mean, my bike, AFR was on it's side, and who knows for how long. Just RESTING on the whole engine lobe. And I can't see it, touch it, fix it, do a thing about it until I hack my way through another day at our office here, spend another night of poor sleep at a hotel, and get on a little toy plane. ARG.

Here I sit. In a hotel room. Tomorrow, I'll sit in a office, do everything asked of me and not accomplish a thing. The fact that my particular work is wrapped up in fighting for values that I hold dear only complicates the matter.

I dive into bikes, cars, art, hopeful evenings because I need to build, create - a thing; change a rusted hulk to a solid piece, a memory, a good joke - that's my wake. But to make my living (paycheck), I have to troubleshoot and manage people struggling through difficult lives, relationships and assignments. I twist language and circumstance to justify and forge solutions that I feel might as well be random. I don't know if I believe that what we're doing it getting anything done - I know it's not the best way. Still, I'm afraid to let it go - it's hard to walk away from praise and accomplishment - even when you know that it's an oily little film on what's deeper...

I'll swallow it a while longer - I can, and I don't mind that much. The good in my life has always vastly outweighed the nast. Before long, I'm going to finally have to make a decision that's always crept just below the surface - that this little career of mine has run it's course, and it's never a course that's moved me closer to actualization.

When I get back to AFR - I'll see what's going on. Then, I'll take every little piece of it apart. I'll clean, rebuild, repaint, recoat, rewire, and restore it beyond what I could have fathomed when I first saw her in a dark Rockford garage.

It's been busy.

Since I last posted, there hasn't been a lot of Puch action. I've been riding the shit out of the things, which is unusual for me. Typically, my vehicles live in various states of repair and disassembly, adrift in a timeless world of hope, aspiration, and longing to be completed. The only problem with the lil' Puch is that the battery will occasionally fly out of its compartment. That always leads to a shameful trek, retracing the ride until I find the severed battery in the street...back in the bike, ride off, falls out again...ass.

The next thing I'll do is fix the 'effin latch.

Just because I've been screwing around "riding" a bike doesn't mean I haven't been busy in the garage. AFR begged for attention.

A calm night meant for a simple front fork seal replacement turned into a front end tear down, re-wiring, and fabrication and installation of all types of crazy shit.

That very week, I took a welding workshop with Frankie Flood at UWM - he's a master metalsmith, teacher, and motoguy. I chose a project to fill a void in my relationship with AFR - the troublesome space between the rear frame loop and the pert little tailsection:

Some 22 gauge steel, MIG time, body filler, heart break and some LEDS - and a couple of weeks later, we had something to work with, just in time for ROCKERBOX!

Cardboard Model

The Steel, handcut; Tempered by passion and love.

Detail cuts, shaping, and the first welds. No pipe, so we bent some steel around iron. It took hole saws, a jeweler's saw, snips, and a LOT of filing to get the cut-outs right.

I actually enjoy wiring. Welded in a bolt to act as a STUD in the LED retaining system.

MOCK UP!

And there you have it! Also added new rear turn signals, and a flashing LED brake light to the top tailsection so people in truck or SUVs see me...at least I hope. With new seals, oil, and other parts in the front end, the BMW really is a joy to ride. The PUCH/BMW experience is polar, each balancing the other. It's a happy collection....

That just got one bigger:

Stay tuned....I'm almost done.