IntrinsicTina

My image will live on in a promotional video (DVD) for the Seattle Cossacks. In 1995, I was very active in the motorcycle community, particularly the Harley Davidson motorcycle community. It was just before I bought my first Harley Davidson Sportster. My boyfriend was a mild-mannered, tech-saavy, patch-holder in an outlaw motorcycle group. Whenever my boyfriend was too busy, I got shifted to his long-time friends, a successful, motorcycle-riding, married couple. I enjoyed this lively couple, logging many miles together when I finally took the plunge and bought my own ride. I was their third wheel for quite awhile and wouldn't you know, Rita, the wife, and I are captured for posterity flanking our Cossack friend, long-time bottom man, Dave Eady. We were attending the Sun and Surf Motorcycle Rally in Ocean Shores, Washington, viewing the ever popular Seattle Cossack's stunt riding performance. Afterward, we behaved like groupies, chatting up several team members, but Dave was...

My daughter's visiting from out of state, again. You know I'm happy!! She is my happy pill. I get more energetic. My days and my nights get sorted out. Everything's just better when she's in town to see me. This visit she and I spent all Saturday watching home movies that my husband had transferred from from VHS-c to DVD. Afterward, we watched the Seattle Cossack's DVD. This copy was purchased in Sturgis at the 75th anniversary of the Black Hills Rally.I have been memorialized forever as a groupie of the Harley Davidson motorcycle trick riding team along with my girlfriend, Rita Cook. I can live with that. Additionally, we watched me skydiving. At 30 years old, I was facing divorce and life as I'd known it. I had met a paramedic who told me of the exhilaration of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. One day, I awoke with skydiving on my brain. I drove over to the airfield and signed up to jump that day. I also paid for the video package, which gave us som...

I love my husband. I know that I bag on him a lot and, frankly, he deserves it. Everything I post is the truth. I would not ever, knowingly, post a lie. However, if this the only source of information you use to form an opinion of my husband, then you're not getting a true picture of the man. The man that I fell in love with, fell for me first. He spent a whole night buying me "drinks". (Orange and cranberry juice over ice with a splash of pineapple juice) He was chagrined to learn that he paid alcohol prices for non-alcoholic cocktails, or "mock-tails". He was amazed at how well I handled my Harley and danced after so much alcohol consumption. (Clearly, he was accustomed to a different kind of girl. The kind of girl I was determined not to be ever again.) This man matched me dance for dance though he was clearly outmatched. He gave it Hell though and he was cute doing his damnedest in his unique custom leather chaps to "More Human Than Human " by Co...

I was called a free spirit by a woman who bothered to get to know me. I was shocked by her assessment. At that point in my life, I had "I don't know how many" jobs. I was a food service worker, cashier, bartender, typist, chiropractic assistant, rental assistant, real estate personal assistant, busgirl, administrative assistant, executive assistant to the president of an aerospace company, a business owner, a Mary Kay representative., need I say more? I was unemployed and looking with a newly-acquired accounting degree after 40. I was Alcoholismworking on my second marriage, blending-in my beautiful daughter, making amends, staying sober. Which implies that I was a drunk at some point in my life. On closer inspection, following a bad break-up of my marriage to my daughter's father, I got kind of wild. I attempted suicide, fell in hero worship with my paramedic and learned about skydiving. Went skydiving and had it videotaped for posterity.  Started hanging out with ...

The sun broke through as we wound down back country roads of rural western Washington.  Called my 87-year old uncle to catch up on the past month as my husband drove us (in the Subaru) to the Abate Swap Meet in Monroe, Washington.  Two birds...one stone.  I got to learn all about his seven children and bunches of grandchildren.  All of whom I've never met, including my uncle.  Another blessing of my ALS diagnosis...I guess people want to meet me before it's too late. This was my first public motorcycle event since my diagnosis.  I figured that I'd be in too much emotional pain over not being able to ride a motorcycle anymore.  Fortunately, it wasn't so bad.  We had an agenda, I'm selling my 2006 Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe and I had flyers to deliver as well as family and friends to socialize with.  My brother and sister-in-law are very active in the motorcycle community and we have mutual friends.  This was also my first outing u...

March brought serious surprises to my life. Although I haven't mentioned it, I've been struggling with an increasing disability.  Since late last year, I've been plagued with an unstable spinal condition. What started off as a troublesome pain in my neck (October/November) has deteriorated into diminishing control over the fingers in my right hand (January) and arm (February).  This condition left me without any other option but to file a claim with our state's department of Labor and Industries. (March).  The tenacity of this condition coupled with the state's lethargy to diagnose and treat my condition, spurred my employer into cutting me loose (April). Unfortunately, because of this relentless deterioration, I've had to give up many of my preferred activities and pastimes: personal computing (blogging, social networking, learning new programs). Digital photography (capturing, uploading, captioning, classifying, and printing), knitting and crocheting, p...

Our wedding clothing adornment cues were taken from our wedding topper, secretly purchased by Rod within weeks of our meeting. This wedding topper is two skeletons in top hat and veil next to a tombstone inscribed with "Love Never Dies". Our cake was chocolate and the guests were encouraged to ride in on two wheels. My veil was handmade by our dear Virginia and the flowers were designed and assembled by Rod's daughter, Angelique.