Dave and Teds 2014 Adventures

[TicketBait]

After my regular doctor got the results from the psychologist, we agreed to try medication and I can't really explain the difference that it made for me, basically night & day. Imagine always having 50 or so thoughts going thru your head all the time and with medicine having only 5 or 10, much easier to deal with, as you can imagine.

But medicine only helps so much, and routine and habbits also make a huge difference and that's where we come back to the near present and why we've been AWOL from our SpyderLovers family basically since the beginning of this year.

Those that have been following along for a while are aware that I got bumped from my department at work and ever sense my life has been in a constant state of ...... turmoil.
I had been in my department for the past 7 years and I knew how good I had it. Being one of only a couple single person departments in the entire plant, I figured I'd be there til the end of the product run, which is slated for next summer.

I'll be the 1st to admit, while I was in my own lil world, I didn't really pay any attention to what all was going on with the rest of the plant. Back in 2011, when GM & Chrysler filed for bankruptsy, the UAW was forced to renegotiate our contracts and the union gave alot of concessions in the hopes of helping the companies be able to make it and securing our jobs. Even tho Ford didn't have to file, since all 3 companies are represented by the same UAW, we also had to give concessions. One of which was that the company, at their descretion and if production schedules warranted, could impliment an Alternative Work Schedule

TBC..........

Can you believe it, All three of us are not at Spyderfest this year, All for different reasons, but I sure hope for a speedy recovery from the pain you are going through…….
….Here's to happier times



(L-R TicketBait, CyncySpyder,Teddy & Bob Denman)

[CyncySpyder]

Besides my back issues, what else could there be, one may think.

Remember the part where I mentioned I'm kinda like Chandler from 'Friends' & I get myself in situation after situation, well here's another. When I went to renew my drivers licence a few weeks ago, I was informed that my license has been suspended For 6 months til Aug. 10th

In KY our drivers license are good for a period of 4 years and I got a new license with my Motorcycle Endorsement when we bought our first Spyder back in May of 2010, so I thought they were good until May of 2014, but aparently I was somehow mistaken. I found this out on our Trip from Hell to Michigan a couple of months back.

TBc."..

A little backstory may help you understand.

Growing up in the 70's & 80's I never could sit still or pay attention. Back then, there wasn't anything like ADD or ADHD, at least in my world there wasn't, and I was brandished a "bad kid" that just refused to pay attention and be good, not knowing then that it was a chemical imbalance that could have been helped with proper medication. School and personal development & relationships were next to non existant and it was easiest for me to withdrawal into my own secluded world, learning how to adjust with change the best I could, never knowing life could be different.

It wasn't until I was 36 & I read an article in Men's Health Magazine describing the ADD/ADHD outbreak in Americas children and what can be done to help. As I was reading the article, I was getting all those "ah ha!" moments of recollection of my struggles as I read, as it seemed the article could have been documenting my own persońal life.

After reading the article I talked to my then persoal physician & relayed how I could Identify with the symptoms of ADHD & if he thought medication could possibly help me? Being a general practicioner, he referred me to a psychologist that specialized in ADD/ADHD...

TBC...

So I went to the Psychologist and talked with him about all my symptoms and I how I had to learn through trial and error to Keep my life somewhat manageable, but it was a constant struggle. I then proceeded to take a couple of tests to gauge the severity & type, either ADD or ADHD. At the end of our lengthy session, the Psychologist claimed that the tests dictated that I had almost ALL of the clasic symptoms of ADHD and that he was a little amazed that I had done as well as I had in life without any medication or other outside support.

He said that he wished that there were some behavioral habbits that he could share with me that would hopefully help me cope, but from our talk, he said that I had already learned and incorporared most of them into my lifestyle already & the only other option would be medication.

TBC...

After my regular doctor got the results from the psychologist, we agreed to try medication and I can't really explain the difference that it made for me, basically night & day. Imagine always having 50 or so thoughts going thru your head all the time and with medicine having only 5 or 10, much easier to deal with, as you can imagine.

But medicine only helps so much, and routine and habbits also make a huge difference and that's where we come back to the near present and why we've been AWOL from our SpyderLovers family basically since the beginning of this year.

Those that have been following along for a while are aware that I got bumped from my department at work and ever sense my life has been in a constant state of ...... turmoil.
I had been in my department for the past 7 years and I knew how good I had it. Being one of only a couple single person departments in the entire plant, I figured I'd be there til the end of the product run, which is slated for next summer.

I'll be the 1st to admit, while I was in my own lil world, I didn't really pay any attention to what all was going on with the rest of the plant. Back in 2011, when GM & Chrysler filed for bankruptsy, the UAW was forced to renegotiate our contracts and the union gave alot of concessions in the hopes of helping the companies be able to make it and securing our jobs. Even tho Ford didn't have to file, since all 3 companies are represented by the same UAW, we also had to give concessions. One of which was that the company, at their descretion and if production schedules warranted, could impliment an Alternative Work Schedule

TBC..........

The new department that I was originally placed in was a gearing department on the AWS schedule working from 5am to 5pm 3 days one week then 4 days the next. The tech. I was replacing had bid on a job posting & got it, but didnt like it, so he disqualified himself from the department, which meant he came back to his old job, which subsequently displaced me, making me available again & I was then placed in our plants main assembly department, which I could not stand. I knew that our Labor Relations department that makes our reassignment letters had to of made a mistake & that I had enough seniority to hold production with 14 years, but I was still placed in assembly. I promptly called my Union Rep & explained my situation, but he informed me that he thought it was done correctly. He said he'd look into it tho & asked me to give him some time to work on it, which I did. With no other choice, I reported the following week to assembly. The last time I worked assembly, I almost walked out and quit. Some ppl are fine with working in assembly, I'm just not one of them. Dont get me wrong, I actually like to work & stay busy, but you put me in one position& tell me I have to stay right there & do the same thing over and over again & I go insane.

TBC...

[MarkLawson]

So good to hear from you Dave. I hope you get it all worked out!

[CyncySpyder]

The new department that I was originally placed in was a gearing department on the AWS schedule working from 5am to 5pm 3 days one week then 4 days the next. The tech. I was replacing had bid on a job posting & got it, but didnt like it, so he disqualified himself from the department, which meant he came back to his old job, which subsequently displaced me, making me available again & I was then placed in our plants main assembly department, which I could not stand. I knew that our Labor Relations department that makes our reassignment letters had to of made a mistake & that I had enough seniority to hold production with 14 years, but I was still placed in assembly. I ghostpromptly called my Union Rep & explained my situation, but he informed me that he thought it was done correctly. He said he'd look into it tho & asked me to give him some time to work on it, which I did. With no other choice, I reported the following week to assembly. The last time I worked assembly, I almost walked out and quit. Some ppl are fine with working in assembly, I'm just not one of them. Dont get me wrong, I actually like to work & stay busy, but you put me in one position& tell me I have to stay right there & do the same thing over and over again & I go insane...TBC...

So I explained to the assembly forman that I was pretty sure I was placed there by mistake & that my Rep. Was looking into it & that I should hopefully be on next weeks reassignment letter to go back to production or gearing, so the forman, knowing I'm a hard worker but cant stand assembly was nice & kept me off the assembly line & gave me an off line job to do that week.

After talking with my rep. he once again stated that my placement was correct & that I was stuck in the assembly department. I knew once again that he was wrong & talked with another rep & asked him if he would look into it, which he did.

The next week, sadly, I wasn't on the letter to be moved & I was very upset to say the least. With having 2 different reps check into it & both tell me it was correct and that I was stuck, well......

I realize this may be hard for those of you that have never worked in a manufacturing plant environment to understand, but basically, I went from a 1 person department, being able to do what I wanted when I wanted as long as I had my parts completed by the end of my shift to an assembly line with 40 or 50 others and no control what so ever. Im no where near being a control freak, and as Ive stated before, some people love working assembly. I mean, its brain dead, repetive work, one piece after another and never ending. At that time, in my mind, it was like the difference of heaven & hell. With so many others to deal with & all of their different personalities, often times conflicting, its enou
TBC...

[Netminder]

Long time since there has been any post here! Dave, Teddy everything alright? Maybe just give us a little sign to know you and our favorite mohawked Spyder rider are well. Hope thing are getting straightened out for you and you guys can get back to what you enjoy!

[lookerjdc]

thanks for checking Dave

other than the assembly BS, how are you and Teddy doing?

do you think you will be able to get out of assembly?

[CyncySpyder]

Our self imposed exile will end on August 10th

Give us til the 12th to get recharged & hopefully back on track.

[Gray Ghost]

Our self imposed exile will end on August 10th

Give us til the 12th to get recharged & hopefully back on track.

It was nice meeting you and Teddy. Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures.

[PrairieSpyder]

I miss you guys. Hurry back!

[Peter Aawen]

It's a bit of a relief to hear from you Dave, & that you'll soon be back sharing the ongoing adventures of Teddy & Ted's Red Sled (& Dave the Chauffeur of course) with us all!

We were even a little concerned on this side of the world at not getting updates for so long!! My 4 legged 'Spyder Supervisor/co-Ryder' (Max, the miniature Maltese) was beginning to sufferer withdrawal symptoms and a loss of direction due to not hearing about what his Idol, Ted, had been getting up to?!!

Hope it's all working out well for you both & that we can look forwards to regular installments again soon. We miss them!!

[boomerkc]

Can't wait to hear from a friend and his human handler. Been missing you guys. I'm sure there will be a lot to tell.

[eddieshep999]

Our self imposed exile will end on August 10th

Give us til the 12th to get recharged & hopefully back on track.

What some great news - We are all waiting for the new BRP Lineup for 2015 for me this announcement is just as important and I look forward to both

[GloryRyders]

Our self imposed exile will end on August 10th

Give us til the 12th to get recharged & hopefully back on track.

ABOUT TIME....................CAN'T WAIT

[MarkLawson]

Have thought about calling to check up on you, but don't know your working hours and didn't want to chance messing with your sleep. I've worked nights before and know how frustrating it can be to have folks call and wake me up.

[KatLen0405]

I was just starting to hum "where oh where has my little dog gone, oh where oh where can he be?" Some of us will remember that song from childhood!

Sending you good re-charging energy your way!

[Netminder]

Our self imposed exile will end on August 10th

Give us til the 12th to get recharged & hopefully back on track.

Great to hear! Welcome Back!

[CyncySpyder]

20140709_124251.jpg

It was nice meeting you and Teddy. Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures.

[CyncySpyder]

20140715_005048.jpg20140712_141548.jpg

[MarkLawson]

The Prodigal Son returns!

[Bob Denman]

Back!!

[PrairieSpyder]

I'm glad you and Teddy are back!!

[Netminder]

Looking good guys! Welcome back!

[Oldmanzues]

Welcome Back. Hope things are going better for you two
Oldmanzues

[MarkLawson]

Dave, you are a big TEASE! We were told you'd be back on August 10th...

[ThreeFeet]

SOOOOO WHERE are you??