Sunday 27 May 2012

Page 29

Wow, time has literally flown by since my last blog post, I've been so busy with work and weekends filled with taking the bike out on the track! Everyone has been nudging me to keep the posts going, so I'll do my best to fill in the last three weeks worth without boring you all to tears!

Work is going really well, I've been moved up into the 'front room', where the printing machines are a little bit more complicated, a little bit faster, and a little bit more technical. Packing is still roughly the same, and I've been doing well so far to keep up with the pace of the printing machines (up to 1000 envelopes per minute!) so I'm really happy with everything on the job front. I get along really well with everyone at work, they're a cool bunch of people! One of the ladies celebrated her 15th year in the company last week, which I thought was absolutely amazing! She's not the only long-server either, some of the others have been there even longer! From what I see, the company really looks after it's staff, if they didn't I doubt the staff would stay so long. I'm still feeling really good about being back in the workforce again, being a productive member of society. I'm pretty quickly getting used to the 12 hour shifts, I think working all hours of the day and night when I was with the V8's helped me somewhat with that. Other than that, I'm still learning how everything runs, how the different envelopes are made, and how the rest of the company works outside of the manufacturing floor. I find it really interesting to see how the whole company operates.

Outside of work, I've been concentrating on getting my bike 'sorted' again, thanks mainly to my new flow in income. So far, I've fixed a couple of issues with the cooling cycle, as the bike was tending to overheat on longer rides, and give the motor a good all round servicing in general. Today, I went to a track day, with a couple of good friends, and only had one small issue where the bike started smoking quite a bit after I started using the top end of the rev range... Long story short, I inadvertently over-filled the oil when I did the oil and filter change, and it over-pressurized into the cylinders down the back straight. My friends quickly realized what had happened, and we dropped the excess oil from the sump. I was worried it might have done internal damage, but they said it 'should be fine', so I went out in the next session and let the remaining oil (in the cylinders) burn off by itself. After that, the bike was running better than ever! I was putting in some really good laps, reaching a really good top speed down the back straight, and getting more and more confident with my cornering. My best run was just before the rain set in, and as everyone else was packing up to go home, I decided to stay out for one more session to concentrate on my 'line' at slower speed before I called it a day as well. It was good too, on my last session I had the track all to myself! The flagmen were cheering me on from the start-finish line, which was really cool too. And, the other positive thing was that the bike didn't overheat once all day, so I'm really stoked that the day turned out so good in the end. Initially, when I saw all the blue smoke coming out of the exhaust, I thought I'd done major damage - maybe blown a piston ring, or a head gasket, or something expensive, so when it turned out to be a minor, I was so relieved!

While I'm on the subject, I'd like to say a big Thank You to the event organizers from today, it really was a great day, and I greatly appreciated the officials coming over to make sure I was okay after they saw my bike smoking so much! For anyone riding in the Auckland region, I highly recommend coming to the next event (in September I think), check this out for info: Pro Rider Website. If you do come, you'll definitely see me there!

Anyways, I'm buzzing that everything is still going really well in all aspects of my life, next up is to find a place to move into... The arrangement I have with the absolutely awesome people that are letting me stay here isn't permanent, I'm saving for a bond and looking at 'flatmates wanted' adverts online and in the papers. My only two requirements are: the house has to have a garage for my bike, and that it's relatively close to work. Hopefully that criteria wont be too hard to fulfill! Once I've got a fraction more money saved, I'll be ready. So everyone has to cross their fingers for me again, just this once last time! (Unless you want to keep them crossed for me to win lotto next weekend...? Lol)

Well, that's about all from me, next weekend is going to be a quiet one (at this stage), some of the guys I ride with are going for an annual meetup down south, but I've decided not to go so I can just relax (and save more of course!)

I do hope that everyone out there is doing as well as I am at the moment!


Until next time...

:-)

Friday 11 May 2012

Page 28!

Wow, what a week it's been! First off, I have the best excuse for not posting anything in the last few days - I have a brand new job! Yay! As well as that, I've moved all my stuff up from Hamilton, which makes life a lot easier, having more than three changes of clothes is nice! All in all, it's been a really good week, and now I've got the whole weekend off to celebrate! :-)

On the job front, I started on Tuesday, went through induction and found out what I'm going to be doing. The factory mass produce envelopes, which doesn't sound very exciting, but it's good work! They have a couple of dozen printing machines, operating 24 hours a day, and I've been rostered to day shift, 12 hours from Monday to Thursday. Fridays are optional overtime, and paid at time and a half too! My specific job on the factory floor is quality control, checking the product for defects, as well as packing envelopes, basically just keeping the flow of the machines up to what they're supposed to be. Yesterday I was working on a machine that was making over 750 envelopes a minute, which was pretty quick! It's pretty full-on, hectic paced work, but it keeps the time going, 12 hour days seem to be going pretty quickly in fact. I can honestly say I quite enjoy it! The other workers are really cool, everyone has been really nice and welcoming, and making me feel right at home. My friend who initially told me about the position has been keeping tabs on me too, he works in management, but has come down to the floor a few times to make sure I'm doing okay. I cannot say how grateful I am to him for helping me find work again!

I realized yesterday that I've been out of full-time paid contract work for over a year now! Since I was working at the pools, every job I've had has been 'on demand', or 'as needed', or only part-time or commission based. It's going to be SO nice to have a regular paycheck coming in again! As well as that, it feels so good to be back at work, where I feel useful, I can see how much work I've actually done at the end of the day, I feel like I'm finally being a productive part of society again. It's strange how that works, I didn't remember how good it felt for the time that I was out of work. But now I can say I go to work with a smile, and I finish work with a smile! Sure, we have laughs at work, I've found out pretty quickly who the more serious people are, and who aren't as much so, but everyone there is hard-working, and on the same page. I can see that it'd be quite good in a way, being that the work is so full-on and the day is so long, it would sort out the hard workers from the ones that can't hack it pretty quickly! I can see myself staying for quite a while though, I really enjoy the physical side of the work as well as the people and the environment. All in all, it's a really cool place to work. :-)

Last weekend I finally got around to moving all my things up from my old house in Hamilton, with the help of a few friends loaning me a vehicle and trailer and a hand packing and unpacking the bigger stuff. It was a fairly easy move to be honest, all my things easily fit on the back of the ute and trailer, and is now safely stacked away ready for when I find a more permanent living arrangement, hopefully close to my new job. I've already looked at rentals online, as well as 'flatmates wanted', and there are quite a few options not too far from the factory, which is good. Meanwhile, I can start saving for a bond, which should only take a few weeks. It'll be nice to have my own place, but I'll have to see how my budget works out once I've been working for a few weeks. Or, alternatively, a shared flat situation would be good too for the social interaction. In any case, I'll make a decision on that in a few weeks.

Other than that, there's not much else to report really! Oh, I was hoping to get to the next track day with my bike, in a couple of weeks, but it looks like that's not going to happen - I missed out on registration due to a lack of funds, and now it looks like all the groups are full. Never mind, the weather hasn't been the nicest lately, so guaranteed it'll turn to custard on the day (although I still hope it won't, a couple of my friends are going to be riding!) so I'm not too worried about missing out. I think I'm better off concentrating on work anyways, I'm hoping to pick up a few Fridays in the next few weeks so I can save extra for moving...

Anyways, now it's officially my weekend, so I'm going to go find some lunch, and have a relaxing three days off! It's amazing how much stress I've let go of in the last few days, I can finally relax properly now!


Until next time!

:-)

Thursday 3 May 2012

Page 27

Hey again, how's everyone's day been? Just a quick update tonight, maybe with a few extra thoughts thrown in at the end for good measure... Read on...!

Well, as you may have read earlier, I had a job interview this morning, at a Printing Factory, for a job as a Packer on the factory floor. The interview went really well, the guys seem really cool, easy going, we talked about a whole bunch of stuff from my past experiences to my future goals and what plans I have for my career... I went down to the floor with one of the Supervisors and had a look around, the place is freaking huge! They must have at least a dozen printing machines, plus a massive warehouse area for stock and bulk packages to be sent out. My job (hopefully!) will be working on a printing machine, packing envelopes into boxes, at a rate of about 700 per minute. That kinda tells you the magnitude of the operation! It's a pretty simple position, but I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to get back into work. Fingers crossed for the call back in the next couple of days! :-)

On a different note, I have been thinking lately about some stuff that I thought it would be okay to share... I'm at a stage in life - I'm not 'young' anymore, at 31 now (Lol I can hear some of you laughing at that from all the way over here!) and I think it's about time I finally look at settling down. I've seen pretty much the whole of New Zealand over the last 10 or so years, including some places not available to the normal civilian populace, thanks to my time in the 'services... I've loved being able to travel around so much, but now I'm finally back where I really do feel like I belong. Someone once said "It's the people that make a place", which I've found to be very true. And the thing I've realised is, the people here are completely awesome!!! They don't realise it themselves, but I have a lot of respect and gratitude for the people that have taken me in, looked after me, helped me get back on my feet, and pushed me in the right direction. Whether or not they read this, I'm gonna put it out there for the universe to receive it, they deserve a huge big thank you! And not just from me either, I think. The point I'm trying to make in a roundabout kinda way is, I'm gonna make an almighty effort to make the rest of this year (and of course the years to come!) the best yet - in some ways I can't wait for a certain someone to come home, but also I know I've got lots to do before she does, to get myself to a point where I'm ready for her to become more of a fixture in my life. Lol does that even make sense? Hehe... I know she'll understand, she always does! :-)

To look even further down the track, I have never previously seen much of a future for myself, having been such a 'lone wolf' up until fairly recently, wandering around so much as I have done... But for the first time in my life I can honestly say I do have an picture I'd like to see brought to life for my future self, even though it might sound corny......

I don't know how to put it other than this: I'd love to be have a family of my own, married, kids, the whole nine yards... Leaving for work in the morning with a kiss from the wife, helping the kids with their homework each night, mowing the lawns on the weekend, teaching my kids about cars (if that's what they're interested in?)... Does that sound corny? Me, the rough-neck, the boy-racer, the lone wolf, settling down? My mother wouldn't believe it even if she saw it with her own eyes! To be honest, I don't know if I would either, if I was looking at myself from a different perspective... Well, I guess we'll all just have to wait and see what the future may bring, but I think one step at a time is a good starting point. It might happen, it might not, you never know, right? :-)

One thing I do know for sure, I'll never give up being a 'biker'...!


Until next time...

:-)

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Page 26

I've just finished watching a movie called "Beastly"... Admittedly, it is kinda a chick flick, but I enjoyed it!

Here's the trailer, from YouTube:



It got me thinking, what would you do for love? Sometimes I feel like the 'beast', the guy no-one wants to be near, the guy that hides in the shadows out of fear of the 'normal' world... But to have someone truly appreciate me for who I am inside, someone that doesn't care about the things I've done in the past, but only sees the guy that I'm trying to be... Sure, I know it was only a movie, and things like that don't happen, but why can't it? Why can't we be hopeful for a miracle every now and then...?

The truth is, if I may be so bold, I do feel like there is someone out there that does understand me, she always seems to know exactly what's going on in my mind before I even say anything, and I wonder if she feels anything similar to the way I feel... Lol, just saying that might scare her off, knowing my luck! I hope not though, she really is an amazing woman, she deserves the very best in life, and she should know that there are more people than just myself that think so. Most of all I hope she is smiling lots! :-)



Anyways, it was something I was pondering over, and felt like writing about... Hope everyone out there in cyberspace is doing well, and I do appreciate the comments that people have been placing on my posts... It seems like I must be doing something right, because my reader counter thingee keeps going up!


Until next time...

:-)

Tuesday 1 May 2012

Chapter 3, Page 25

So it's been a while, but I've decided to change things up a bit after a long think about things. I've been through some shit lately, mostly of my own doing, but I seem to have landed on my feet - well, kinda, with the support and help of a few really really good friends!

Last time I posted was the video's from the rider training day, which was a really cool day out, I wish I had been able to ride it, but finances are still short so that's bottom of the list of priorities at the moment... Instead, the weekend rides that I've been going on lately with a cool group of people will suffice for now. The bike needs some money spent on it pretty soon to keep it roadworthy in any case, new battery, new tires, etc etc...

So, onto the new pace of things. I found that I was focusing on the bad stuff too much and not spending enough time on the better things in life! There are some pretty cool things out there to enjoy, even on a minimal budget like that which I'm on currently... Take for example, just getting outside and exploring, finding new treasures pretty much on your doorstep that you hadn't taken the time to see previously... I went for a short ride the other day (it's my only transport so any excursion out of the house is a ride - how cool is that though!?!) to visit a friend that moved up the country a while before I did, first time I'd seen him in a few years which was pretty cool in itself! On the way home I decided to go a different route, up the coastline, finding cool spots that would be really cool to take 'someone special' to at some stage in the future... I also stopped at a spot that I used to visit on occasion years ago when I lived up these ways last, a small park with a view over the city, which brought back some memories... It's nice to remember back to times gone past once in a while...

Things do have a tendency to change over time, as we grow up (or just older) we see things in a different light, and the world changes around us - sometimes in ways we like, sometimes in ways we might not so - but we are bound by life to change with the world. I might not agree with the way the world is changing at the moment, but there's little in reality that I can do about that, on my own anyways. All we can aspire to do what we can for the short period of time we are capable of, to influence the people around us in a positive way, and treat the world in a way that our kids would be proud of. For me, I've decided to make more of an effort in this regard, after thinking about some things the other night...

The 10th of each month does have a somewhat sobering effect on me, for reasons I won't go into great detail of, but it is a number that has changed my life a few times. It's really easy to focus on the negative all the time, but the flip side of that coin is this: where things have been tough, they've also been great! How hard is it really to recognize the achievements of others around us and say a quick "Well done!".. .? I do tend to be the kind of guy that responds best to compliments and praise, so for me something like that means heaps. But what about your workmates? Your spouse? Or your kids? Or even yourself...? We are a social race, we (mostly) strive for the appreciation of our peers, yet we forget to give out kindness even when we seek it from others so much. The decision I made was to compliment those around me more, to focus on their achievements, and not to worry about their errors so much. I dare you to do the same with your friends and family! That, and smile more! :-)

So, my plan for the new month, being May and almost half way through the year already, is fairly simple...
1. Continue to be positive about finding a new job,
2. Get my bike back up to spec once my finances are back on track,
3. Spend more time with my friends and show my gratitude for them,
4. Listen to more music, because it always cheers me up!
and
5. Continue my writing, because it cheers me up too.

As well as that, I'm going to decide by the end of this month if I want to go back to school and back my writing up with a Journalism degree...


So, until next time...

:-)