the honda rebel sissybar arrived today. i helped my father install it (it really did take less than five minutes!) and then took the motorcycle for a ride, me sitting as passenger. definitely a lot better with a sissybar, no need to cling onto the driver and no more helmet collisions. next motorcycle purchases: a decent half-helmet and some riding goggles. the shoei wine red large rj-air helmet will be reserved for the passenger. that helmet fits perfectly on the backrest.

graduation ceremonies. those are examples of ceremonial milestones. you come to an important measuring point in your life, there should be some sort of celebration, some sort of recognition. that's why i think we should have "graduations" for other important moments in one's life. imagine everyone who was turning 30 years of age this year would all get together and have a big "turning 30 celebration." everyone would get a special certificate, there'd be a guest speaker, family and friends would be in the audience with camcorders and cameras. i just think that'd be cool.