Wild February Re-cap

So much has happened since my last entry! Something trivial that would have been funny to post about in the moment but I just didn't open the Blogger app on my phone and do it. Others were huge and will get only a fraction of the attention they deserve here.

COVID19. The Kung Flu. Wu-flu. Corona virus. Whatever, it is pissing me off. People are wwwaaayyy over reacting and it might cost me a trip to Italy in a few weeks. It's not 1918 any more people! Wash your hands, don't touch your face and move on! Big freaking deal if 4 thousand people in the whole damn world have died from the virus. The "regular" flu has already killed 14, FOURTEEN, times that many people this year. The global pandemic of the Spanish flu killed millions 100 years ago. This is dumb!!

FB. I am no longer posting to FB. I'll lurk a little but not dumping stuff there any more. It is a huge time suck, messes with your brain and not enough return for what it takes from me. Also, while not as easy, everything it does I can do other places. Effort to communicate, you know how we did before 2005.

Riding. I sold one motorcycle, the adventure bike, and went back to having a sport bike. I like it!

Nuke 'em. I quit the bird catching job and am re-entering the nuclear medicine/health physics job arena. It has been a tough process but I am doing it and I think will find it quite fulfilling. And have some extra cash!

Oregon. I went back to Oregon for the first time in 20, yes twenty years. That's almost half my life I've been away from where I was born, went to college and where at one time 90% of my family lived. Drove all over the place looking at things, ate nostalgic meals at the few restaurants still in business and saw family in person I hadn't seen in those 20 years. Some I hadn't even talked to in that amount of time! It really was a great reunion tour. Plus green trees, mountains, real scenery. (Sorry Texas but you're a solid 7 in looks)

Suicide. You felt the gears change there, didn't you? Multiple members of my family have committed suicide. Still more have truly struggled with depression and seriously considered it. It was still shocking when my brother's oldest child took his own life at age 20 last month. I made multiple trips out to see their family and support how I could, being there within 24 hours of learning about it. Couple things I'll say about this publicly. One, you never know what someone else is going through just from outward appearance. Two, if you're feeling those types of thoughts, please talk to someone. Anyone. Third, I've never seen anguish on this level before. EVER. Heart rending beyond what I could comprehend.