DanaPellerin.com

I’m disgusted tonight. No, not because Obama won the election. Honestly, I don’t really see much difference between Obama’s presidency and Bush’s. I’m not paying more taxes, they haven’t taken my guns away, and I don’t have to salute the president or post a picture of him above my mantle if I don’t want to. No I’m digusted at people’s attitudes.

I’m sitting listening to all the whining and bitching and moaning about how the country is going to hell and our lives are going to be destroyed because Obama won the election. And what struck me is that most of the whining is coming from people who are what I would call well off. Home owners, nice cars, good jobs, and enough discretionary income to eat out often, drink good liquor and smoke fine cigars. People just like me. Yet these are the people most vocal about the state of our economy and most distressed about our future. I mean seriously, I’ve sat at a table and basically watched guys light $20 bills on fire and smoke them, while complaining about the shitty economy.

These are also the first people to say something like “I hope all the idiots get what they deserve” and “I’ll just trust in God now”. Since the bible says nobody comes to power without God allowing it, I’m sure God feels pretty good about being called an idiot and playing backup to the true savior of the world, Mitt Romney.

We live in modern day America which is still the most priveledged nation the planet has ever seen. Jesus lived in the Roman ruled middle east, which was probably the most unfair and completely brutal place a person could live 2000 years ago. Did you ever hear him complain about the government or bitch about taxes?

This country needs to get a grip and really take stock of who we are. All I see are spoiled children.

Today is me and my wife’s 24th Wedding Anniversary. I know, I know, that’s a long time. The sad thing though is that people react with either complete shock, or with a big pat on the back for the accomplishment. I think that’s sad. It’s sad that marriage in this country is in such poor shape that 24 years is the exception. It should be the rule. 24 years should be so commonplace that when you announce it, everyone should say “big deal, tell me when you hit 50″.

The second thing most people want to know is how we did it. Well, that’s not an easy question to answer. It’s easy to spew some psycho-babble about this or that, but here’s what I think. I think we chose wisely to begin with. Michelle and I both have very relaxed personalities, and we don’t get riled over little stuff very easily. We also have similar morals and religious beliefs so we’re usually headed in generally the same direction when decisions need to be made. And so I think we had a much easier time getting along all these years.

But the biggest challenges to marriage are that people change over time and people are basically selfish. Most people view their partner the same way they view a car or an iPhone. It’s something that makes ME happy. So when people change as they age, people get tired of the same old thing. They miss the rush of the new and exciting.  So they go out and find someone new to get that back. It’s a very selfish mindset. And I think everyone has entertained that mindset at some level if you’ve been married for any length of time.

But I think we made it through those challenges because of the teachings of Jesus. I know that’s going to sound lame and cliche to a lot of people, but the bottom line is Jesus taught a lot about serving others, putting yourself last, and being humble. And when the shit got rough in our marriage, it was those lessons that reconnected us and saved us. It was those lessons that kept us from just giving up and going to find something else. Because ultimately we’re talking about a relationship with another human being, and that’s not something you just throw away when it loses its luster.

So we’re 24 years in, and while our relationship is still evolving and we’re still working on it, and we always will be, it’s still good and I couldn’t imagine not being married to Michelle.

Happy Anniversary babe.

I’ve been a motorcycle owner since 2002. I learned to ride in high school on dirtbikes and  my brothers Honda Interceptor, but it took until 2002 to decide to get my own bike. Greatest decision I ever made.

For the last 6 years I’ve been riding a Yamaha Road Star. A big fat heavy cruiser. I loved that bike and it took me all over the country and even into Canada! That bike and I have seen a lot. But with 55,000 miles on her, she was starting to have problems. In the last few years I replace the stator coil, the fuel pump and the steering head bearings. I rebuilt the carburetor and I even had to have the rear fender subframe welded because it broke in half on the freeway. To top it all off, the bike just exhibited all the normal stuff you have to deal with when you have a carbureted motor. It takes forever to warm up in the morning, it performs differently in the mountains than it does in the desert, and when it gets hot, it just refuses to start.

So I decided I had had enough and decided to buy a new motorcycle. And here it is.

She’s a 2012 Victory Kingpin. 106 cubic inch, counterbalanced motor. Electronic fuel injection. 6 speed transmission. She’s 100 pounds lighter and has 30 more horsepower than my old bike. Modern technology in a classic package. This bike is amazing!

What floors me is that everything about this bike is so much more thought out and so much more advanced than my old Yamaha. First, there’s almost no maintenance on this bike. There’s no transfer case to service, there’s no need to mess with the valves. All you have to do is make sure the moving parts have lubrication and that’s about it. And you only have change the oil every 5000 miles. Simple, strong and reliable is what Victory is all about.

But even the way they designed the little things like how the rear fender is designed is amazing. My old bike had four bolts on the rear fender and those four bolts did everything. They held on the saddlebags, they held on the fender, and they held on the luggage rack and passenger seat back. And the passenger seat sat right on top of the fender which meant if you wanted to take it off, the fender paint was all rubbed or scratched.  On the new bike, the fender is held on by it’s own bolts. The accessories by another set of bolts and then the seat sits on a frame which connects to another set of bolts. What this means is that you don’t have to mess with taking off the bags, if you want to swap out the luggage rack or the seat. And the seat NEVER contacts the fender paint.

The whole bike was designed this way and you can see it just by looking at the motor. You won’t see any wires or tubes or emissions garbage mucking up the look of the bike. It’s all be designed to be out of sight.

So how does it ride? Amazing. It’s nimble, it’s fast, and it’s just a pleasure to ride. Honestly, compared to my old Yamaha, this thing rides like a sport bike. It’s just so smooth and even the braking is way better. I can’t get over how much fun she is to ride.

So she wasn’t cheap, I’ll be paying payments for 6 long years. But it was worth it. With the amount of riding I do, it’s money well spent. I’m looking forward to getting her out on the open road and doing some serious rides real soon!