THE GOOD BUCK

My last post I was a bit dismissive of the lunacy and I was just taking the pills to be on the safe side. I’ve had a rough ride since then. It has been bloody awful. So stressed that I’m shaking at work. I’ve been feeling so bad I just want to stay in bed, preferably asleep, all day. It’s the only time I’ve felt relaxed. I am so glad they gave me the pills. 3 weeks and I should be straight again. That’s 9 days more. Work is the worst time for it, so call it 6 more work days and I should be sane. I’ve not done anything except work, walk to the shop, and sit at home. No runs, not worked on my Harley, I have let a local (10 miles away) bike that I had my eye on get sold without even contacting them. I couldn’t face calling them, going to see it, collecting it, anything. This evening feels like the first sane and relaxed patch for ages. It has been bad. I’m basically writing December off and starting again in January. It’s weird to have zero motivation or drive. Normally I use one obsession to distract from another. A day off work where I’ve not ticked off a bunch of boxes on my to-do list seems like a waste of a day. Now I don’t want to do shit and I am not in the slightest restless or regretful having done nothing. Ah well. Get sane. Start again.

I’ve gone barking mad. The last few weeks I’ve been constantly scrolling on my ‘phone, head down, refresh, refresh, refresh, avoiding runs and bike tasks. Then I noticed I was feeling low and emotional, like I wanted to cry. Then my stomach started getting knotted up with anxiety and I had a panic attack. I realise now that the desperate fixation on my ‘phone was a distraction mechanism. I was willing to deal with it up until the last symptom. I have the experience and the drills to deal with constant anxiety and emotional distress, but I defy anyone to accept living with panic attacks. Too horrible for words. That was over the weekend. On Tuesday, my first day off, I rang the doctors, they gave me an appointment with a real GP an hour later, and she gave me full dose loony pills. Apparently they can ease you into them with a trial of 10mg for weeks, which do nothing, then 20mg, leaving you loony for 3 months until they give you 50mg. This doctor, gawd bless ‘er, cut straight to the chase and started me on 50mg. It’s a weird to-do. The morning I went to the doctors I was fine and thought I might be wasting her time, then it hit me again. No, I was right to go. I need the pills. Anything I want to do is an effort and even doing nothing is stressful. Some of the time. Then it goes and I’m wondering if I made too much of a fuss about such a small matter. Then it comes back and it’s everything. Ah well, not my first rodeo. At least this time they are finally treating me. I’ve been told it takes about 3 weeks for the drugs to kick in, so I’m basically writing off December. I’ve already decided to focus on delayed positivity. I’ve booked next year’s local half marathon. From January, it’s going to be new year, new me. I expect work will drop off a bit, so I’m going to smash my training. Maybe set monthly goals and such to give me things to work towards. I’m working on the assumption that my missing mojo will return with my sanity. And enforced resting from running always makes me itch to get back to it. I was about to say it’s not so bad, but that’s why I’m doing this blog. It’s been bad all evening. I’ve come up to go to bed because I’ve had enough of it, then it went away again. So I’m blogging because I don’t want to sleep through the sane bits. I’m still back and forth on which bike I should get. That is more distraction mechanism than actual joy at the moment. Plus I’ve not been getting the 5 and 6 shifts I was expecting so it’s taking ages to build up sufficient funds. Just made an executive decision. I think I’ll go for the SV650. If I don’t like it I […]

The last month or two, since Wendy told me I was entitled to a lump sum army pension, and I should spend it on a nice bike, I’ve been on a journey. I was desperate for a modern sports tourer, like the Triumph Tiger Sport 660 or the Yamaha Tracer 900. But I looked into the stats and it’s marginal gains over an old Honda VFR750 and multiple times the price. Then my Triumph Bonneville started acting oddly in the wet and I knew it was time to move on. I saw a one owner, 12,000 miles, 1997 VFR750 for £2,250 and another with 20,000 miles but full stainless exhaust, and I’ve been flipping back and forth between them, as to which would be the perfect bike to have for the rest of my life. The catch was I didn’t have £2k. I’ve spent about 2 weeks fixated on getting my perfect VFR. Then suddenly, a few days ago, I thought that once I’d got it it would just be a boring, utilitarian, workhorse. The bubble of my obsession burst. I don’t know. I don’t make the rules. If I understood I’d be able to actually see which is the perfect bike for me, buy it once, and be happy for the rest of my life. Anyway, because I’m not a quitter, I soon found a new obsession bike. The Suzuki SV650s. It’s not that pretty and it’s only a 73bhp, but it’s a V twin so the power is instantly available, it has a fairing, they are renowned for being ridiculously agile through the bends, it’s 40 kilos (88 pounds, 6.29 stones!) lighter than the VFR. And it has fuel injection. Another biggie. And literally half the price. There’s one for sale now, 2004, 22k miles, for £1,100. For that kind of money I can definitely give it a go. The real kicker is the sound. Just listen to this. This was a guy who had just fitted the exhaust that’s on that particular bike. Oh wow, indeed. It’s not without it’s downsides. The engine and all the nuts and bolts are very exposed, so in the winter, with salt on the roads, it can quickly go furry or rusty. I’ll have to clean it and replace what I can with stainless. It’s only good for about 125 mph or so. And the suspension is budget. (The latter is a cheap fix with second hand bits from full-on sports bikes.) I’ve already done Sunday, Monday and Tuesday this week at work, if I get Friday and Saturday (the days I’m supposed to be available) that will be enough for me to buy the SV650s. I’ll also need to buy a rack and box and some heated grips. This could be the bike I learn to get my knee down on! It’s supposed to an absolute hoot to ride. MCN love it. Exciting times.

That job fiasco was a fiasco. £24.95 p/h, full time, permanent. None of that was true. I decided not to risk it and instead told my current job I was available Fri- Mon inclusive instead of Thur- Sun, as I don’t seem to be getting shifts on Thursdays. Also, until January, I can work other days, apart from Tuesday. I’m trying to get some cash together to buy a spiffy VFR750. I’ve decided the only thing wrong with the VFRs I’ve had in the past is they were old and worn out. The engines were still going strong, but electrics and such. I’ve seen some advertised almost as good as new. One is 100% original, 12,000 miles, always garaged, one owner from new. That’s barely out of the box for a VFR. The downside to 100% original is the standard exhaust system. They rot through, and they don’t make the stainless steel replacement exhaust system anymore. So I’d have to keep my eye out for a second hand system. And fit a double bubble windscreen and heated grips and a rack and box. I’ve had a VFR that was about 50,000 miles and still on the original exhaust, so if there’s life in it I’d have time to look. Then there are three others around 20,000 miles, stainless exhaust, with some other desirable goodies. One has a red screen! Ughh. And they’ve all got aftermarket endcans, which are noisier. And none of them have a rack and box. So there would be some investment whichever way I jumped. But the thing is, a £2,300 minter VFR would run until I’m too old to ride. Even if I got all four days that would only be about 35,000 miles until I retire. A 12 or 20k VFR would laugh at those miles. I was looking at the modern alternatives. The Yamaha Tracer 900 or the Triumph Tiger Sport 660, or the new Tiger 800 but they are starting at £4, 5, and 9k. The gains are marginal. They’ve got fuel injection (OK,that’s a biggie) some are a bit lighter or a bit more power but the first two are both criticised for wind noise and buffeting from screens that just don’t work. The third is brand new this year, so real-world feedback is sparse. What I’m saying is, I can get a nearly new VFR, fit it with the few extras I want, and it’s done. For a fraction of the cost of the other bikes. And it will run forever. I can use the Harley for pottering about and posing on, the VFR for all the serious bikey stuff. The Triumph is surprisingly capable, but it’s a naked twin retro. I think a lot more effort went into making it look right than handle right. I was doing *cough* motorway speeds *cough* last night and the bike was weaving. It has a steering damper fitted, which straight away is an admission of defeat, in my books. Several times I’ve thrown […]

I’ve not been getting many shifts at work. The last few weeks have been 2 shifts, 1 shift, 2 shifts. I think Wendy is getting worried about the money situation so I had a look for another job. I wasn’t expecting to find one, but I may have landed a beauty. The agency advertised it as £24.95 an hour, full time, permanent. Hmmm. Agencies. They said it was for a parcel distribution company and gave a postcode. I googled it, it’s a Yodel RDC, 2 stops away down the M62. I applied on Saturday, they rang me back today (Monday) and sent me an application pack email, which I’ve filled in and returned. They said they could get me an assessment for Wednesday, start work on Thursday. It’s 4 on, 4 off, 04.00 or 06.00 starts, doing a straight run to Glasgow and back. Around 12 hour shifts. Apart from the start times that’s about ideal. The driving involved with my current job is so tough, it feels like you are an inch from a crash at most drops. This is straight trunking. I’d know the route by the end of the first week, then just tootle up and back every day. I’ve just looked, Yodel, Glasgow looks to be less than a mile from junction 5 of the M74. So M62, on to the M6, carry on until it turns into the M74, come off at junction 5 and you’re there. Hard to make it easier. The email pack has already made it sound like dodgy agency stuff. The email says the hourly rate is £18.54 for days. For nights it’s £22.25. He said on the ‘phone that there was a seasonal uplift in operation, so perhaps that makes nights £24 odd. Another thing is it says there is a 13 week period before you hit pay parity, which is what the email wages are supposed to be showing. Dodgy, dodgy agency stuff. I’ve just emailed for clarification. As I was asking about it, it occurred to me I’d better check something else. There’s a growing tendency for agencies to advertise the job £p/h, then slip in later that that rate includes holiday pay. So this £24.95 job could be £18.54 (after 3 months) minus £2 p/h holiday pay. If it’s less than that for the 3 months, it could be a £14 or £15 per hour job, in real terms. And overtime rate only kicks in after the 3 months, then it will be £27 p/h for over 40 hours. Roughing up the figures to see if this would be worth it. A whole lot of ‘if’ coming off the workings out, but IF it is £18.54, PAYE, holidays separate, and IF it’s 12 hours a day, and IF I can get all the shifts I want, that would be 40k for 4 on 4 off. Or, if I was to do 5 on one week, 4 the next, around £56k. The latter would definitely be worth doing. […]