The Thread about Nothing....

Entering the final straight... plus curves, plus straights, plus curves...
I head down and across to Krabi today, then it should be a couple more days of riding to KL.
I’ve been loading up vid’s and digital photo’s onto a wireless HD from my iPad, and the photo’s appear as pixelated shite, hopefully because they are .DNG files, and the IOS App’s can’t understand them. If I download them to my ‘putter in KL, and they are still shite, the saving grace will be that I didn’t take many photo’s, so there won’t be much shite to be disappointed with...

I did, sort of, wash the bike, Classic - Just left some mud in place as a protective coating to prevent ingress of clay.

 

How many days since you started? Sounds like it's been a pretty epic trip. Enjoy the finish, I've always found the last few days of any adventure to be the most rewarding, when you're in the groove and aware that it's gonna be back to normality all too soon.
Oh and I got a giggle out of the phrase 'a protective coating to prevent ingress of clay', Clay being my exgirlfriends surname, and I do love her, but we're much better as friends.

And apologies for a drunken rant again, without going into details of the latest shenanigans I'm pretty much decided that I'm currently not cut out to be a government employee in general, and certainly at this particular RTO in it's current phase, but if I want a graceful escape and to not burn bridges I've got to see this year out, and suck it up and put in probably 100-200 unpaid hours in the next 6 weeks; or there'll be no chance of coming back to it again when I'm older and more decrepit and sick of being on the tools. Which is looking the far more attractive option again right now, despite the fact it'll financially interesting building my business back up from hibernation.
I was so pissed off with the latest chapter last night I thought my chances of lasting til the end of the year, fuck it even the week, without losing my shit, were very low. But what a difference a day makes. Thankyou firstly to friends whose support is golden and much appreciated, and secondly to tonight's student who were awesome and reminded me there is a carrot in the job amongst all the faggots (that's a bunch of sticks btw). Thirdly to a couple of other teachers who offered some commiserations this arvo, and fourthly, maybe, to an expensive bottle of Neurocalm from the healthfood shop, I've only had one so far, and the first three factors mentioned count much more, but it just might work. Who cares, I'll settle for a placebo right now, because it's gotta be much better than becoming a raging alcoholic instead.
Woot.
This RTO does bang on about mental health a lot though, while creating the causes of a lack of such in untold abundance, so I've decided to chuck a sickie on friday for said reasons, and I'll get a doctors certificate, and fuck em, I'll at least get paid for 7 hours of the marking and paperwork instead.

 

The agony and the ecstasy by Stephen Roche, with David Walsh, is on eBay atm for only $13. Normally it goes for way more.

It's a much better read than his more recent autobiography. Worth a look if anyone is interested. Roche does not lack an ego.

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com.au/ulk/itm/283633264459

 

Now back in KL. Foobarred shoulder was taking some of the pleasure out of riding, so I just carried on South. My digital photo's have been fairly crap, so lucky I didn't take many of them - Here're a few from Laos:
L009 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L010 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L011 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L012 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L013 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L014 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L017 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L008 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L007 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L006 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L005 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L002 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

 

It's a disgraceful way to treat a motorcycle. They should do something about it...
L034 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L031 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L033 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L032 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

This person is currently wanted for questioning...
L016 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

 

Where condoms come from...
L020 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L021 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L026 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L025 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L024 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L022 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L023 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L019 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

 

Following the greatly depleted Mekong up from Ban Mom to Xiengkok, looking across to Shan State, Myanmar...
L039 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

 

Brilliant.

I'm still having the day off though.

 

Indeed - Well done.

 

A few more:
Shan State, Myanmar, from Laos...
L040 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

Myanmar, from Thailand...
L051 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

Laos, from Thailand...
L047 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L049 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L050 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L044 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L043 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

Thailand, from Thailand...
L046 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L045 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L048 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L052 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

L042 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

 

Had a small moment of bizarrety on Thursday. I set off riding to work at 05:30 and, coming up from my Basement Level 2 car park, at BL1, there was a car parked near the wall, with a Chinese or Korean guy in a suit, lying partially beside / partially under the car between the rear driver’s side wheel and the back of the car.
He was on his back, looking decidedly dead or unconscious, and was lying in a collapsed kind of position, as opposed to a ‘I’m-feeling-tired-and-may-just-have-a-nap’ position. His wallet was lying on the concrete beside him, and further back were some bank cards, or something similar.
I stopped the bike and went over to him. I tapped him on the shoulder, and he suddenly woke up, quite startled. He sat up in an instant, and then got to his feet very quickly (probably faster than was good for him). I asked him several times if he was OK, and he replied several times that he was. He went to walk off, and I pointed out his wallet and bank cards to him. He picked them up and headed straight for the lift.
It was only after I watched him go that I thought about his startled face, and wondered if the fact that I was very close to his face when I woke him, and I was wearing a black open-face motorbike helmet, with a black balaclava covering all but my eyes, may possibly have contributed in any way to his startlement level?

 

NW Thailand...
L053 by Eoin Christie, on Flickr

 

It’s gone awfully quiet on TAN. Is everyone OK?

 

I have just returned from 3 weeks away. Love the photos.

Not sure what is going on with the others.

 

Hmmm that’s a weird one for sure, and yes - waking up to a bank robber in your face would be a surprise haha

 

And I suspect it’s just a quiet patch for the TAN peeps

 

How was your trip?

 

I don’t know if these links will work for you, but from up in Laos...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/49041849057/in/dateposted/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/49038287812/in/dateposted/

 

Went to Phillip Island for MotoGP. Weather was less than ideal (wind and rain showers) for the practice sessions and they cancelled qualifying for the MotoGP class on Saturday and ran it Sunday morning. Sunday the weather held off for all three races, which was a bonus. The racing was good. Spent some time in Melbourne, then came home long enough to grab a change of gear and head off to Hobart for a Wilderness First Aid course. Got home on Saturday and went back to work yesterday (Monday).

I'll only be at work for two weeks before I head off for another two weeks - doing the second half of the Great Victorian Bike Ride and visiting my newest great-nephew afterwards.