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A Good Saturday, Indeed.
Aug. 18th, 2002 03:06 amMmmm. Dim-sum. Well, okay, I don't like most of it, but at least Ming's makes enough of those steamed (and baked) pork buns to make me want to keep going back. Lunch with Paka, Es, Devi, Frang, Farix, Revar, Sassinak, Jon-Ra, and one of Paka's buddies (my usual crappy name memory fails me, as always) was quite fun. Having 10 folks also makes it stupidly easy to divide up the check.
For the first time since I began it, I violated my 'no food after 9p' rule. However, it was done because I was invited to dinner at Frang's. He went to great effort to prepare the meal; it took past 9p to get things finished was all. I'm not going to dis- a friend by going "ding! It's nine, sorry, can't eat your food now," after he had gone to all that effort, so for tonight I ignored the clock. I felt that I'd not violated the spirit of the rule, which was designed to keep me from grazing pointlessly in the evenings. Frang's cooking was exceptional, so I'm glad I partook.
( Between the two food-related events, a little bit of motorcycle-themed shopping took place. )
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What surprised me about the day, however, was my reaction to an honest comment. As the nice gentleman at the counter was off doing evil things to my debit card in exchange for this new helmet, I recognized two guys who had gotten into line behind me. Both were older, one a black fellow who rode a gold wing, the other a long-bearded white-guy who rode a V-Rod. I don't know their names, but I recognized the faces -- we'd talked at length about each others bikes, on an earlier Road Rider shopping trip. The neutral-ground aura the store carries often makes for such casual meetings, where customers end up seeing each other more than once and wave a friendly 'hi'... maybe giving each other updates on their bikes or rides they've done. I remember both of these fellow riders being curious of the mods I'd done to my GL1800, some four or five months ago. A brisk "oh, hey, hi!" was exchanged, before my attention was diverted by the clerk returning with a credit-card receipt that needed my scribblings-upon.
The 'wing rider of the pair put his stuff on the counter as I was making to leave, new helmet-box in hand. Quite casually, he offered a compliment. "Hey, it looks like you've been working out. Are'ya doing the gym thing? You look a lot better." The comment didn't really register with me at the moment, so I just grinned/nodded, and parted with my usual biker-to-biker comment: "Have a good ride, guys!" I followed Revar back to the car.
It took me about 5 minutes before it sunk in. Someone I'd only met maybe twice before, but hadn't seen in 4+ months, saw enough difference in me to offer a compliment as to my physical condition. A true, honest, no-hidden-subtext statement from a member of the public, that I looked healthier/more-fit than I did back earlier in the year.
My own reaction to this realization still surprises me. I was downright elated! I spent the ride back to the house all jazzed-up, probably annoying the heck out of poor Revar. Having a happy-Tug bouncing around in the passenger seat of a VW New Beetle has got to be a bit distracting, if not just plain hard on the suspension. :) I let myself bask in the feeling for a while before returning back to reality. While I know for a fact that any headway made is only minor, and just one step of many that I need to continue taking in my battle to lose weight... it was still just so cool to get noticed. I'll stop babbling now, and just grin like a blue idiot for a while.
For the first time since I began it, I violated my 'no food after 9p' rule. However, it was done because I was invited to dinner at Frang's. He went to great effort to prepare the meal; it took past 9p to get things finished was all. I'm not going to dis- a friend by going "ding! It's nine, sorry, can't eat your food now," after he had gone to all that effort, so for tonight I ignored the clock. I felt that I'd not violated the spirit of the rule, which was designed to keep me from grazing pointlessly in the evenings. Frang's cooking was exceptional, so I'm glad I partook.
( Between the two food-related events, a little bit of motorcycle-themed shopping took place. )
What surprised me about the day, however, was my reaction to an honest comment. As the nice gentleman at the counter was off doing evil things to my debit card in exchange for this new helmet, I recognized two guys who had gotten into line behind me. Both were older, one a black fellow who rode a gold wing, the other a long-bearded white-guy who rode a V-Rod. I don't know their names, but I recognized the faces -- we'd talked at length about each others bikes, on an earlier Road Rider shopping trip. The neutral-ground aura the store carries often makes for such casual meetings, where customers end up seeing each other more than once and wave a friendly 'hi'... maybe giving each other updates on their bikes or rides they've done. I remember both of these fellow riders being curious of the mods I'd done to my GL1800, some four or five months ago. A brisk "oh, hey, hi!" was exchanged, before my attention was diverted by the clerk returning with a credit-card receipt that needed my scribblings-upon.
The 'wing rider of the pair put his stuff on the counter as I was making to leave, new helmet-box in hand. Quite casually, he offered a compliment. "Hey, it looks like you've been working out. Are'ya doing the gym thing? You look a lot better." The comment didn't really register with me at the moment, so I just grinned/nodded, and parted with my usual biker-to-biker comment: "Have a good ride, guys!" I followed Revar back to the car.
It took me about 5 minutes before it sunk in. Someone I'd only met maybe twice before, but hadn't seen in 4+ months, saw enough difference in me to offer a compliment as to my physical condition. A true, honest, no-hidden-subtext statement from a member of the public, that I looked healthier/more-fit than I did back earlier in the year.
My own reaction to this realization still surprises me. I was downright elated! I spent the ride back to the house all jazzed-up, probably annoying the heck out of poor Revar. Having a happy-Tug bouncing around in the passenger seat of a VW New Beetle has got to be a bit distracting, if not just plain hard on the suspension. :) I let myself bask in the feeling for a while before returning back to reality. While I know for a fact that any headway made is only minor, and just one step of many that I need to continue taking in my battle to lose weight... it was still just so cool to get noticed. I'll stop babbling now, and just grin like a blue idiot for a while.
