first real ride of the year

yes i know its August already and i SHOULD have many good rides under my belt but ive got lots of things going in my life...

a bunch of guys at work (started as 11-12) decided to go for a ride up into the thumb of michigan. we ended with only 6 but we met about 1045 this morning and ended up putting about 167miles on (MY total for the day +/-)...

the 750R ran like a champ even if it was the oldest and smallest bike there. we had a pair of 100th anniversary harleys (1200 sportster and nighttrain softail) a pair of 2000 kawasaki zrx1100s, an '08 CBR1000RR and me...

i think it was probably the loudest bike in the pack and we made a bunch of stops along the way. we ran through a lot of farm land and through some twisties and down the shoreline along lake huron and the st clair river...

the 750R didnt love to start up when warm, it needed some coaxing of the throttle but when cold it took the enrichment circuit just fine. i didnt begin with any choke (when warm) but once it started running id put just a bit on till i got a good smooth idle...

i met up with BigFitz for a little bit while the guys were all assembling and WOW his 81 550R is WAY nicer in person than any picture. itll run too!

overall, i DONT want to go to work tomorrow but i want to stay home and tinker with the bike and ride it some more...

 

I hear that! Glad you got some riding in today, too! It's a good sunday for it, even if it is hot as all get out. I'm thinking... forget work. Yep. Office Space style: "I don't really like work... so I don't think I'm going to go anymore."
What about bills?
"You know, I never really liked paying those, either."

 

yeah, luckily i dont have to wear 16 pieces of flair...

unfortunately, Uncle Sugar has imposed some draconian attendance and tardy procedures for us a Chrysler in exchange for accepting billions of YOUR money. 7 absences equals dismissal. vacation, personal days, bereavement, jury duty or short term military (guard/reserve) are the only days you can miss. DONT GET SICK because sick days count as 'chargable' absences unless you are admitted to the hospital. that wont help me since im not sick...

i added up all of the little bits of travel and it totaled about 182 miles. it was such a good day...

 

It always amazes me who gets the real short end of the stick in these situations. Like you are somehow responsible for the bigwigs running the place into the ground - Have more policies to prevent you from trying to obtain a life!

My boss owes me over 3 weeks on comp time (accrued in less than a year), plus a week of vacation I HAVE to take by the end of the year. No one else can/wants to do my job, though... so I have no coverage (and it's a state contract, so someone has to be there). I finally get a day off that isn't my normal day... tomorrow... but only because we have to bury my 16 year old cousin. I think it a bit ridiculous. Is it good work ethic, or susceptibility to being taken advantage of?

 

yeah but....wait for it....

its all the UNIONs fault. dont you know that? now ive not been a big union guy in the 15yrs ive been there but i do know that they are needed sometimes... what should have been happening is more 'police yourself' going on. but i agree, i didnt make the decision to sell to daimler or to cerberus or to fiat. i didnt decide that we need x type of car when everyone else wants y type car or make decisions that affect the quality of the part we buy from a vendor through a vendor directly above them...


anyway, thanks!

 

Yeah... I never understood how unions were faulted for any of that. I've never worked in a union, and I've put up with a fair amount of things that I wouldn't have if I had a union backing me - for near minimum wage, I might add. It might go overboard sometimes, but employers should always realize they are nothing without employees, and treat them as such.

Same is true of other institutions...
Just like "V" said, "People should not fear their government, a government should fear it's people."