Minus Ten Review- 49

The Gravel Grinch: Since there was no picture this week ten years ago.

This week ten years ago there were no images.........again! Big surprise, eh? I guess my camera game was not strong then. Not that it is so much now, but I can post a picture these days with the best of 'em! 

Amongst various topics, the one thing that hit me now, and is an oddity these days, was that I played some "blog tag". There were various forms of this coercive, chain-letter-like diversion happening back then. You see the same droll, meaningless tripe on Facebook now. You know the ones, "If you like this, post it on your timeline. I am betting many of my friends won't do this, but.....", and variations on that theme times 1000. Besides the fake news site links, Facebook game requests, and this, Facebook is pretty cool. (<===HA!)

Anyway..... Here is a modification, brought up to date, of the blog tag game I played ten years ago dubbed, "Name Six Interesting Things About Yourself Others May Not Know About You", or something like that. Here goes....

#1. Guitar Ted: Yeah, that's probably the #1 question I get asked: "Where did this "Guitar Ted" thing come from" Well, it's a long story about heart ache and the loss of God and all, but it has something to do with Ted Nugent and my love of guitar playing. If you really want to know, I think my very first blog post tells the story. Now....off to the archives with you! (NOTE- I finally capitulated and tagged the original post under the current header. See "Guitar Ted? What's Up With That?" )

#2. And about that guitar playing....: Yes, I do indeed play guitar. I own several, and I also already posted about that. Now....off to the archives with you!

#3. Trans Iowa: Yep, you guessed it! Now, off to the archives with you!

#4. Okay smarty pants! What about something we don't know!: Okay, okay! I'll try to play nice! How about this: I used to design and make jewellery for a living for ten years. I repaired jewellery, set stones, and graded diamonds. Yep! I even wore $500.00 suits everyday and wore out at least two of them a year, since I practically lived in the things. Laundry services, shoes, ties, etc.....it all cost me a lot of $$$. And you guys thought cycling was expensive?.......psshaww!

#5. You? In a suit and tie?: Yeah, hard to believe, isn't it? I went from that right into being a bicycle mechanic until the shop I worked at went under, and then I spent five and a half years working for The Darkside as a car mechanic! Greasy, grimy, gritty, and generally unpleasant, I still am thankful for the owner and the guys I worked along side of. They were great! But I am glad that part of my life is behind me now!

#6. And now you're back in a bike shop?: Yep! And lovin' it, for the most part. While the pay for a mechanic stinks and the work hours get cut in the off season, I still love working in a bike shop. Sure, I could make more money doing something else tomorrow, if I wanted to, but for right now, this is a good thing. Who knows? Maybe I'll be doing something else a year from now. Besides, I love bicycles and being around that, so a shop is a good place to be, right?

UPDATE: So, in the past ten years I have been in and out of Twenty Nine Inches as a product tester and editor, and now I am doing RidingGravel.com as a part owner and reviewer/editor. I still work in a bike shop. Other than that, you probably know all about me from reading this blog!