A week and a half at home

So it has been eleven days since we returned from the Arizona/Texas trip and I here I sit on the eve of our next departure for North Carolina.

As typically happens, I am not very motivated after I return home and I pretty much just sat around for the first week. Not that there weren't things to do, but I have an innate ability to ignore tasks I am not interested in doing.

One thing I did do was call Bushtec Trailers in Tennessee to order a trailer hitch for the bike. It was to be sent to my dealer, J&R, in Stayner Ontario. I will need this before I can pick up the trailer in Omemee, which we need for the beginning of June.

We went out to The Shop in Copper Cliff on Tuesday looking for new textile jackets to replace our heavy leather. We found a new design, the Joe Rocket Alter Ego jacket, which consists of a Dry-Tech rain liner and ballistic material outer layer. The unique thing about this is that a large portion of the outer layer unzips leaving a mesh jacket similar to their Phoenix design. We bought one each, although mine had to be ordered and was picked up on Friday.

Last Wednesday was the date with Dr. Villa, the maxillo-facial surgeon to get my two remaining wisdom teeth out. We arrived at his office at 8:20 and was immediately given a dose of Halcion, a sedative I had opted to be given to ease the process. I was then sent back to the waiting room with to sit with Sandy, my designated driver, while the meds took hold. At 9:20, I was in the chair although, thanks to the wonders of modern drugs, things were somewhat hazy. I remember the doc making cuts along the gumline on the first one and then a shiny pair of bent pliers. Pop, and the first tooth came free. Then the second. No breaks, no problems. They packed the wounds and sent me home. On the way, we stopped at Blockbuster for some DVD's and the grocery store/pharmacy to fill a Tylenol 3 prescription and get some nutritios fluids. I really don't remember those stops at all. I came home and immediately fell asleep for several hours. Later that day, we attended an OPP Veterans Assoiation dinner and, while I didn't eat, I was in remarkably good shape. To-date, there has been no bruising or excessive bleeding although I do experience the odd twinge in my jaw. I have an appointment with Dr. Villa tomorrow morning for a follow-up exam and I expect I will be able to start eating real food (which I have been avoiding out of a paranoid concern about contaminating the sockets) very soon. On the plus side, I was 213.6 pounds the day of the procedure and I am now 204.7 pounds.

Friday, Leo Laframboise came over to help me service the GoldWing. Oils and filter changes were easy and we checked the crankcase vent tube as per the manual but found nothing in it. To access this tube, it was necessary to remove the left side cruising pegs and head cover but we rerouted the tube a bit so it is now accessible without removing anything. We also adjusted the angle on the Ergo cruising pegs I bought in Tempe from Mel. After adjusting them the way I was told to, I found the pegs were not even and discovered an easier way to adjust them in future that allows me to make them even and can be done with tools in the Wing kit.

Saturday, I used the trailer to help Norm Hein move his 1978 Harley Sportster from storage back to his house. Maybe someday this bike will run again, but I'm not betting money on it. Then I came home and washed the bike.

Friday and Saturday I also posted all my bills from the last trip in Quickbooks, paid my current bills, Netfiled our income tax returns and paid the government what we owed them. Money is now officially tight again.

With all going so well, I knew that there would be a monkey wrench somewhere. While checking my bank stuff on line, I noticed an entry posted on April 28 from a car repair company for $648.70. I was pretty sure I never incurred this, so I called Visa security who informed me that there were several more unposted transactions I did not do. It is obvious someone has obtained the numbers and is making a fradulent living out there somewhere. My main credit card is now cancelled and they can't get me a new card until Wednesday, by which time we will be in North Carolina. Luckily, we have backup cards. I don't expect to be out of pocket for these charges in the long run, but the inconvenience factor is substantial. I also have to call anyone like Bell Mobility who charge bills to the card automatically and make them aware of the situation. I believe I will review my credit card strategy and will get a separate, low limit card for on-line and phone purchases. Of course, this might not have had anything to do with on-line purchases, but every little bit helps.

The other wrench is that I did not see a charge from the hitch company. This is critical, so I will call them tomorrow and see if there was a problem. If the hitch hasn't been shipped, we will be in their vicinity next week and can possibly drop in and have the hitch installed there.

So we are leaving tomorrow for Heather's in Cambridge and will head south Tuesday morning. I expect we can make Beckley, West (By God) Virginia Tuesday night and should roll into the SEVROC spring reunion in Lake Lure, North Carolina midday Wednesday. Stay tuned to see how this works out.