I’ve currently got the following on my white, kidney-shaped Herman Miller dotcom desk:

• Four quarts of 20W-50 BMW Engine Lubricant
  
• One quart of ‘Special Performance’ 80W-90 Hypoid Gear Oil
  
• One BMW hinged oil filter kit, in a white box marked “ein satz/made in Austria”
  
• One K&N High-Flow air filter
  

This particular collection of parts (UPSed from Bob’s BMW) marks me as a newbie, especially since I checked the back of the BMW-brand oil and it’s made by Spectro, so I’m paying extra to get my regular oil in a blue-and-white container. But I’ll know for next time, and meanwhile the collection of stuff on my desk is a welcome change from Matrix action figures and other standard-issue cube accoutrements. It’s nice to have a reminder that it’s actually possible to do things in the real world, like with your hands.

I’ve been invited by Snuffy Smith to ride out to the Ephrata meet this Sunday morning and meet a local Eastern European motorcycle guru, who cooks pastry. It’s something of a command performance, actually: Bob usually is politely reticent with the invitations, but this time the request was straightforward, and I understand that I’m to appear on time with new petcocks installed to stop the fuel leak from my left-side float bowl. If I want to hold my head up straight, that is.