Motorcycle ride

Got the bike out for the weekend and it was great to ride to Lake Wister in southeast Oklahoma. This was the first time taking a trip with Kim as a passenger, and it went smooth, no problems at all.

We took our time and the journey down to the lake took about five hours and we also took an hour for lunch.

There are cabins at the lake, and we got to stay there for free since Kim got some coupons that we could use to pay for it.

The V-Strom ran in tip top condition, nice and easy, plus the weather was beautiful without much wind, and it stayed cool throughout the morning.

I was a little worried about how Kim was going to be as a passenger, but she absolutely loved it.
We ran into some road construction on the way and talked with a road worker for about ten minutes while waiting at a stop. His name was Hector and he was really fun and making the best of working out on a hot day.
We rode from Norman to Lake Eufaula and then southwest through some small mountains that had a beautiful view. The mountains were not tall, but the thick trees were gorgeous and I can imagine it's even better in the fall when the colors begin to change.
We made it to the lake and were ready for a rest. The cabins were nice with furniture and a little kitchen. We enjoyed hanging out and watching hi-def television. The show we got hooked on was "Locked Up Abroad" and it was interesting to watch the stories about the crazy stuff people get wrapped up into in foreign countries.
The lake was nice but there wasn't too much else to see around the area. We rode over to Poteau and grabbed some groceries for the evening.
I really wanted to get back before dark, so we hitailed it back,
settled in and watched some world cup soccer. We don't know too much about soccer, but we watched it anyway while we made dinner.
The next day, we walked around some of the area and it's really beautiful with forest and hills in the distance. The tallest "hill" in the world is apparently in the area, but our interest was not peaked enough to go check it out. We thought we saw it in the distance while riding to Poteau, but not sure if it was the actual hill or not.

The ride back was a more heat and sun. But we took breaks often and I tried to stay cool pouring water all over my shirt and jacket.
We stopped at a little service station near Holdenville and I thought it was the coolest thing ever to use the old style gas pumps we grew up with.
We rode on to Krebs for an Italian lunch at Rosanna's restaurant, then made it back home by four o'clock. The ride stayed safe and fairly uneventful. I remained very cautious and slowed down when anything in front of me look uncertain. Even though it was over 90 degrees out, the ride was easy going and felt good, with the bike running smooth with no troubles.
The southeast part of the state is very nice for riding because of all the hills in the area. I look forward to going back down there soon.

Help for Wildcare Wildlife

Wildcare Wildife Rehabilitation in Norman.
Since my recent volunteering at Rocky Spot Dalmatian Rescue, I've come across many opportunities to help animals, people and facilities involved in animal rescue. Pepsi is donating up to $250K to projects people vote for. This is one a friend of mine recently sent to me.

http://pep.si/9xtK3y

Follow this link here and you can sign up to vote for Wildcare in Norman, OK and help them get the money that would greatly expand their facility. The best thing about this is you just donate of few moments of your time per day to vote. What's easier than that?

Volunteering at the dog rescue

I kept watching episodes of The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan. I love seeing how he works with dogs and how he gets them to behave with their owners. Even more amazing was how he approached the rehabilitation of dogs that were traumatized in some way.

I love dogs. I've wanted to have a big dog for years, but where I currently live, it's small and there is no fenced yard. Thus, owning a larger breed would be a bit of a problem.

So I got to thinking, "Okay, I can't own a dog. But is there a way I can be with dogs." My friend Stacy had been volunteering with rescue organizations and I thought maybe this would be something I could do as well. I had never worked with any animal rescues before, but after attending A Black Fur Affair in Norman, which promoted the adoption of black animals, I knew that this could work for me. I emailed Stacy and she referred me many different options, one of those being Rocky Spot Rescue.

Rocky Spot Dalmatian Rescue is located in Newcastle, OK and only five minutes away from where I live. They rescue these amazing spotted dogs and had a few beautiful Dalmatians that hopefully will find a good home. It is supported by volunteers and donations to keep the facility running and are always needing any help for feeding, vet care, and medications. Their website is rockyspot.org. I got in contact with Sue by email and was scheduled to get a run through the kennels in a week. Putting it mildly, I was excited, yet nervous.

Let's face it, big dog's can be intimidating. Since I was going to be working around many large dogs, I knew it would be best to get a little more education, especially how dogs behave in packs, since this would be the first time in my life to be around a group of larger breeds. Usually, I am a little skittish around the big dogs, not know their temperaments, and the uncertainty of aggressive behavior and possible attack.

I watched lots of Cesar's shows and read his book, Cesar's Way. This guy connects with me. I already love psychology and what makes people do what they do, and so learning about what makes a dog tick (no pun) was very interesting and exciting. The way Cesar explains what a dog is, gelled with me perfectly. His explanations are simple and effective to get the point across and I think that he is a true gift to the world.

Armed with a new knowledge of dogs from Caesar, I felt much more comfortable and confident to be around the large canines.

On Thursday morning, Sue met me at the facility to show me the ropes of how to feed the dogs, clean their cages, pick up after the dogs and prepare the next day for other volunteers. The dogs were going crazy barking and excited when I first entered the kennel. I did my best to stay calm at all times and be relaxed, so not to intensify their excited state.

As I got shown the routine of how the rescue was operated, the dogs were wonderful to be around and I had a great time being there plus helping them stay healthy and clean. Thankfully, there were no incidents with any of the dogs, and I felt so much better knowing that reading Caesar's book and watching his show made all the difference for me to be a "knowledgeable dog lover."

After two hours, my pants were muddy, I smelled like dog poop and I had an awesome time. Sue was fantastic and was fun to talk and work with. I thank her for letting me get involved with the rescue. I look forward to going out and meeting the other volunteers and playing with the pups again soon.

Be who you are, my friends.

Motorcycling is beautiful

Went motorcycling on a beautiful evening. It was about 90 degrees out, but after 6pm it started to cool down and become very comfortable. It reminded me of why I wanted to learn to ride. I had ridden small motorbikes as a youngster and always thought it was so fun. I knew when I grew up that I wanted a motorcycle of my own and go ride.

Two years ago when I decided to finally take the plunge, I researched the bike I wanted exhaustively (way too much) and signed up for a safety course. I learned as much as I could, reading books and safety reports on the web. I got all my safety gear that covers me from head to toe in case of a crash. Just being out there on the road for hours feels amazing. There's no way to really describe the words. Bliss keeps coming to mind, a very high state of being, heightened awareness, sensory acuity, the beauty of the world comes into focus and it's wonder is clear. I don't think I ever felt that as a kid riding along the railroad tracks.

Creating a kind of life that is yours is a great thing. Being who you want to be and taking risks in life brings a sense of aliveness. Living my childhood dream of owning my own motorcycle has been worth it.

Take risks my friends.

Simple Lifestyle Design

Design can be applied in a seemingly infinite variety of forms nowadays. Lifestyle Design has been something very intriguing to me since reading The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris. I've been experimenting with different forms of lifestyle design described in the book and one that I keep coming back to is simplicity in the home. Getting rid of (or letting go of) the stuff that you really don't need in your life.

The thought entered my mind last week that I would "get rid of all my books." I own under 100 books, so it didn't seem like a big deal. The weekend went by and I hadn't even touched a book. I would look at the bookshelves and think "I need to get rid of these," but nothing would happen....until....

Enter the Life Zero podcast that can be found on iTunes. I'm always looking for interesting things about people and somehow randomly came across this website last year. This tech guy shares his life and ideas about simplicity, travel, philosophy and programming on his website and podcast. I sat in bed and listened to a recent podcast (I don't think I've listened to one since last year) and he talked about downsizing his library of 1500 books down to 20.

The simplicity he used was the arbitrary number of books to pick. He picked 20 books for himself since maybe he reads 20 books a year, and if he gets a new book, one out of his 20 has to go, so he only has a collection of 20 books at one time. A-HA! There was a new way of looking at "getting rid of books." Instead of trying to eliminate, look at what you want to keep. I don't read many books, maybe a few a year. So 10 books is my number. That sounds so tiny. But I immediately went to the bookshelf to pick my 10 books to "keep." Some are one's I've always planned to read, some are one's dear to my heart, some I'd like to re-read. But finding those was a cool and fun treasure hunt, and the rest I threw in boxes ready to take to the used book store or give to friends.

An insight from the zero guy (I can't find his name anywhere) was that he used his library to impress friends and to feel comfortable about his home surroundings. His bookshelf had no "use" to himself or anyone else, other than prop up his ego. That insight allowed him to let it go because it wasn't really valuable anyway.

On another note, something I noticed in Taiwan was the simplicity people there lived in. A small apartment with very few interesting things. Very simple and uncluttered. Not everyone lived this way, but when I stayed with families stayed simple, the energy of the home was very relaxing and comfortable. It seemed the more money they made, the more simple the life. Millionaires hardly had anything in the home. It was an eye opener.

So simplicity can be a matter of perspective and it's certainly very personal to each individual. What do I really need here? What am I really using? Do I intend to used this or just feel good about buying it? A piece of wall art or sculpture may not be useful like a fork or refrigerator, but added to the home in a simple way, can create a very nice space to live in.

I find these kind of experiences fun and interesting. Tiny experiments that can keep life flowing and not stagnating.

If you have any of your own stories, feel free to comment and leave feedback!

Designing with light

A very innovative approach to interior design by simulating sunlight on walls. This guy uses led technology to create the illusion.

You can check out the complete article here. The photos of what the interior looked like before the rennovation is quite startling.

Life