The time is come, that I open up my laptop and begin clicking and clacking my fingertips on my keyboard. It has been a while since an update. Actually 8 months since the last update. I have decided to come back home to writing. I love writing and showing progress on the Snake Shaker. I feel about writing is it has to be the right time. I can't force it. It felt like a voice that I had that I could summarize into few words and relay a huge message upon emotion. Something that I have to dig deep for.
A lot is changed since my last post. I had started on the XS650 project. However, as the tides of life that constantly change, I realized the project just wasn’t for me. It just wasn’t the right place and the right time. It totally saddens me to even say that because I don’t like admitting that I’m giving up on a project, but I had some other influences on my life happened.
Number one, I lost my job a week after I bought the XS! (I have since gained an incredible employment opportunity that makes me happy like nothing else) At the time though, without the funds I could not continue the project. We did get the engine fixed and repaired the broken valve with used parts Cal had laying around, but I started to feel my heart falling out of it the XS project. It was so hard for me to admit that because the building the Snake Shaker was an incredible journey and I wanted to experience that again. I remember being so excited and being super pumped to get into the garage and actually start working on it. I also had this incredible guilt that it sat in my basement. Every time I would go downstairs to do laundry, I felt like I had eyes watching me. Almost like I was leaving an animal at an animal shelter or abandoning a child at a bus stop. I know that sounds incredibly dramatic, but it was just a hard really hard decision to come to. I felt really frustrated about it. However, without the money it was going to be an incredibly hard project to try and finish. I still had all these ideas I wanted to fulfill with this project, creative juices were flowing hard with this bike. Selling the project was a really hard decision to make.
As time went on, most of you know that I’ve become engaged to Cal. The one thing that I truly wanted, (and yes this is a girl part of my brain) was I wanted to feel good for our wedding day. I decided to sell the XS650 for the dress. (That was a tough decision.) I can assume that most men have stopped reading by now, which yeah, it’s sucks. Or maybe I could tell myself that that’s a sexist view, and those who really truly know me, could understand that was an incredibly hard decision. But I knew in my gut was telling me it was the right decision. I am a BIG believer that things are recycled in this world for a reason. I also self-reflected and knew that this was the thing that I wanted the most. The dress that I picked out for my wedding is incredible and gorgeous.
My thinking was also reframed. It made me realize what I have, which sits in my garage. The Snake Shaker. I LOVE that motorcycle. It is a part of me because I built it from the ground up. I know that bike and I know how it rides. I am comfortable on it, I built it exactly for me. Building the XS had the potential to be a bike that wasn't comfortable for me. We had ideas for "konging" the frame to lower it but what if it was still top heavy? What if I couldn't handle a long front end on it. It honestly started making me depressed! I wanted so badly to go to the next level of chopper building however, I felt sick thinking of spending so much time and money on a build. A build that I would pour my heart and soul into and it not be something I could ride devastated me. Yes, you can learn to ride anything or get use to it, but I'm also a big advocate for safety. My gut started to tell me otherwise on the XS build. I say listen to your gut, always.
Then one morning Cal and I were sitting at a diner talking about the XS and the Snake Shaker. Out of no where ideas started flowing about the Snake. It seems obvious but it hit me like a ton of bricks. Why not take all the creative energy and ideas I had with the XS and apply it to the Snake?? I suddenly no longer felt upset about the XS. It never really occurred to me to change up the Snake because it had such a classic look and it fit me perfectly. I've had it the same way for 3 years now, so why not change it up?
With that said, I have decided to do some serious modifications to the Snake Shaker instead. I can't help but think how amazing it will look for the wedding too. Oddly this kind of balance is some justification on spending money for the dress. I want to have the bike as a full chopper on my wedding day. I could only imagine now how beautiful the Snake Shaker is going to be parked by the aisle. Representing the milestone of where I’ve been, who I am and how I’m about to marry the person who has helped me, taught me and created with me. We get to create a beautiful life together and maybe in the future, there will be another build, but the RIGHT build.
I feel like Mundy and Snake Shaker go hand-in-hand. It’s a part of my personality and it makes who I am. When I think of my accomplishments in life, it makes me feel whole and I don’t think that there’s any problem with sharing that. So, I decided to come back to the blog and document the next version of the Snake.
Getting back into the hobby of writing and updating the progress on the Snake Shaker feels right. I also want to get back into photography. My uncle gave me a killer camera and I plan to be more creative with my outlets. I most certainly believe that creative workings of the mind are connected to a higher power. These are the connections to the good around us. I want to go to EVERY event this year and document everything. I want to feel connected to community. It could be the wintertime blues setting in, but I feel the urge to create and post new blog entries. So, here is to a new year and a promise to myself to stay connected to the things that bring me joy, and to let go of the things that no longer serve me in the universe.
