As I'm riding home on a Friday evening I transition from the 405 south to the 710 north. The long sweeping two lane ramp gives plenty of time to build up speed as one attempts to merge with the 710 traffic. Well, today, as I'm casually going along at about 80 mph, having been held up on the ramp by slower automobile traffic, a 710 northbound 18 wheel truck decides to merge to the right into my lane (which actually ends another 100 meters up the road). The truck, the BIG truck, is going along with the flow of 710 northbound traffic at 40 mph. I take evasive action by cutting across the one foot gutter on the freeway and am now riding on the shoulder of the road - an 18 wheel truck to the left and a train overpass coming up which squeezes MY shoulder down to nothing. Seeing that I have no time to brake and merge in behind the truck, I hold the throttle WFO (wide f%@&* open) � the rear tire spinning wildly on the dusty shoulder from recent construction work - and get the bike straightened back up to finally beat the truck back into traffic. Having become intimately familiar with 9 of the truck's 18 wheels on my left and a train overpass abuttment on my right.
Sidebar: During this trip to the Frat House I concede that I have become mainstream. I keep hearing this one song and find that I like it. When I ask who sings it, I find out that it is Madonna. After 16 years in the business, Madonna finally has a song that I like. (But only because the words used, "dangerous", "stranger", "taste for danger", "my world came tumbling down", "tears", "devil in disguise" and "if I'm smart I'll run away", have been so appropriate for my life lately.)
We jump ahead to Tuesday where a meeting takes place regarding Fokker solar array test-tuned models. And now it appears that somebody may have to go visit Fokker Space near Amsterdam to "help" them out. As the program staff looks towards me, I say "Well I don't think that I can go to Amsterdam in the short term because it takes longer than that for me to get approval of the trip from my parole officer".
After thinking about the appropriate people, it is decided that the best person to go to Amsterdam and "help" with test-tuning a model is Dr. Steve Kuritz. Seeing that he is now a manager, we decide that next best is Lori Sakamoto. Seeing that she is up to her ears in 072, we decide that next best is Paul Ready. Seeing that he's booked solid, Dr. Chris Folley's name comes up and is summarily dismissed because he is no longer in the correct organization. That leaves Joyce Northup as the person to go to Amsterdam and help with the model. Seeing that she has a long-standing hair and nail appointment that just cannot be broken, we decide to decide later as to who goes to Amsterdam. David Priem's name also comes up, but when it is explained that he doesn't have a valid passport (minor detail) and doesn't keep his passport with him at all times while working (MAJOR problem � just in case a meeting doesn't go well you can get to the airport and leave the country quickly)...Well, you can see the dilemma.
Thursday sees me babysitting the kids. As John and Scott finish their homework, I open the 7th grade history book and scan through it. "Hey Scott, look, there was once a dynasty built on a breakfast food drink".
"Look, right here. In 660 in China there was the Tang dynasty that lasted for 300 years".
Between the Tang dynasty, the evolution theories, and the "life is an experiment" belief, we'll see if Mom and Dad still want Ray to babysit in the future.