Ducati Monster

The Ducati Monster 796 has given me such joy. I primarily use it for commuting to work and its been awesome. I've never owned such a beautiful piece of machinery. The power in the engine is something to experience! When I fired it up for the first time I felt the ground shake under my feet. The torque this Monster has is unbelievable. Leaving all the cars behind easily is incredible. I think I had to wait until I was mature enough to own such a fast machine because I'm sure I would have killed myself if I owned this baby when I was in my 20s.

I truly love this thing! Don't worry, I do wear my protective gear because I would much rather sweat than bleed any day. You have to dress for the slide, NOT the ride!

Almost done with the Bachelors Degree

I can finally see that light at the end of the tunnel! With 7 months to go I'm getting very anxious to finally have that elusive degree and maybe I will be able to make that career change I've always wanted. My IT Support degree should open the door for either gaining access to a better job or even better starting my own business.

I've been working on this degree at the University of Phoenix online since Feb '09. When those hard times hit we were the first to feel it in the marine industry. The day I filed for unemployment I also enrolled in school. After about a year of working 5 - 20 hours a week returning to work full time was quite difficult especially since I had to come home and continue working on my school work. The last few years have been extremely hard but I think the outcome will be well worth the extra effort.

Returning to school at age 40 was equally difficult but I think my level of focus on the importance of my education is far and above what it was when I was 20 something. I started college in '92 but dropped out due to lack of money. I had to pay the bills and online education was not an option back then. Thank god for the internet allowing me to get that degree from home on my schedule.