Thursday, April 05, 2012

The Journeyman's Speedball

I know, I know.  I've been MIA awhile now.  No excuses.  Been busy .........Damn busy.   The bike shop has not been this active in......well, I guess it has been long enough that I just can't put my finger on it.  I am certainly not complaining about the serious uptick in business.  Now I just complain about being a beat, dog tired, tuckered buckaroo 24/7.

The image represents what has been keeping my candle flickering at both ends.............the poor man's speedball, Caffeine and Papst Blue Ribbon Beer.  One to keep the engine revving and one to take the edge off and keep me from red lining.

Apparently I was in the throes of a deeper funk than even I realized.  For several years I guess, I was lost, down, pissed, and hating my business.  I blamed the economy.  The economy certainly did not help matters.  It's tough to bring a smile to work when I knew the door was not going to open much.  But to be fair, we make our own way and I had made mine.  I lived down to my expectations.  Can't make much progress that way.

I won't bore you with the details, but once again, I look forward to the daily grind at the bike shop.  I used to love to work.  Apparently I still do.  I just had to work through some mental, emotional, private, don't even know exactly what it was stuff.  I can't say with any certainty the black dog is behind me for good.  He is at least on a tighter leash now.  Seems I have regained some control of the rowdy bunch inside.  Or maybe they just got tired of complaining.

My little friend above is one of the many beetles we have here in Maine.  I have no clue what beetle gang  he hails from.  He just showed up the other morning clinging to the side of my shop near the back door waiting for the Sun to turn the corner and warm him up enough so he could continue his journey from wherever it was he was to wherever it is he is going.  I hope he makes it.  His actual size is maybe 1/4 inch.  He certainly cuts an imposing well dressed figure when blown up 30 or 40 times. 

Anyway, just a short note to let everyone know who cares I am still here and will post as I can.

Later..............................

13 comments:

jadedj said...

This is good news for the rest of us. I hope you have things worked out, or at least, on the leash...and I'll drink a Pabst to that!

Jim Marquis said...

Ditto.

BBC said...

Bizzy is good if you are making money but I'll know you're doing well when you switch to a better beer.

Randal Graves said...

I'm sure your business has nothing to do with training this army of Maine beetles to do your bidding, via bikes, in preparation for the coming collapse of society.

yellowdoggranny said...

I care..about you..about that fucking beetle..not so much..
do you know how to make a bike into a 3wheeler?...they are so popular around here..I don't know how much they cost to make, but the cheapest I could find is $250...seems you could make one less than that and sell it.just wondering.

BBC said...

$250 is a decent price for a three wheeler but I made my 35 speed three wheeler for next to nothing. It worked well but was just an interesting experiment, three wheelers aren't generally fast unless unless you put a little gas motor on them.

The Blog Fodder said...

Missed you. Will play Tom T Hall's Rednecks, White Sox and Blue Ribbon Beer in your honour.
Good that the bike shop is keeping you hoping and that you are out of your brown funk. Next time go get some help. It is a disease, not a personal problem.
REad what my friend Bear has to say, please.
http://chrome-on-the-range.blogspot.com/2012/04/d-is-for-depression-and-digging-out.html

Ol'Buzzard said...

It is spring time in Maine - almost. missed your post.
the Ol'Buzzard

BBC said...

You must be pretty darn busy.

BBC said...

Moderation?

PipeTobacco said...

Sir:

I miss your writings.

PipeTobacco
http://frumpyprofessor.blogspot.com

The Blog Fodder said...

Where are you? Still working your ass off? Spring has sprung and the bike crowd demands your services while we blog readers must wait on the paying customer?

susan said...

I'm glad to know everything is going well for you. I just hope things slow down enough to give you some riding time.