Best weekend ever.

Almost a year

No good excuses, unfortunately. To make up for it, here's a picture of my awesome cat. MR2 build log will come soon.

I love you, summer.

Please hurry! We're waiting!

Never thought I'd say this...

...but I am SO looking forward to snow. It's going to be a great year.

Valley of Fire

I love it here.

Never give up!

Today...is a good day.

Ah yes...

...summer is coming. We all know it exists, however elusive and rare it may seem. It has been quite some time since my last update (well, DUH, right?), so I thought I should come up with something.

I got my motorcycle permit today, and promptly put about 40 miles on the bike - it is an absolute joy to ride. I still need to find a new seat; duct tape just doesn't do it for me.

My practical test for my motorcycle endorsement is June 10th; hopefully the weather will cooperate and it will be a beautiful day.

In other news, I'm back in school this Spring/Summer. Not surprisingly, I'm enjoying it about as much as I was when I was in before - i.e. not a whole lot. I'll be done soon enough, though, and I can move on to something more interesting. With the exception of my photography class (because I will take pictures whether I need to or not), I could think of many other ways I would rather spend my time (and money!)...but if I follow my current pace, I should have my AA degree in September.

I took some photos of the 2 the other night- she needs new paint very badly...looks great from a distance, but not so hot up close. Maybe next year, when I don't have classes to pay for. I did get a lot of work done during the last couple of months, though - we're rocking adjustable Koni Yellow shocks, new ball joints and sway bar end links all around, and axles capable of 700 horses. Good times are coming!

It's almost March

Finally. Summer is coming- eventually!

I'm housesitting for a friend...this is what I did yesterday afternoon. This is the first time I've been able to play with a sled in years. I might have to buy one this year...it's too much fun.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Why?

The eternal question.

Caution: Impending novel.

I drove to Florida a couple of weeks ago.  It was a great trip, I didn't wreck the car, and Southwest Airlines didn't even lose my guns on the flight back!  However, I did have the pleasure (note: extreme sarcasm) of staying at the Traveler's Inn in Petersburg, Virginia.  Also note that I said staying at, not sleeping at.  I had the absolute worst night's rest I have ever paid for.

Why, you may ask?  Well, this calls for a story.  I finally find a reasonably priced hotel ($110 seemed a bit high for a Holiday Inn; in retrospect, it would've been a bargain)- Travelodge for $61/night.  How bad could it be?  Hahaha...ha...ha.  Continue reading.

The front door is locked, so I have to stand outside at the little window and wait for the receptionist to notice me.  To be fair, this was sometime after midnight, so I can understand the security precautions.  Eventually I decided I was tired of watching the receptionist yammer on her cell phone, so I knocked on the window.  Fast-forward, I give her my ID and a credit card, and she does some data entry into the computer.  Apparently everything was fine because, eventually, she gave me a key card for room 503.  It could've been a different room, but I'm pretty sure it was 03, and it was definitely a 5.  I remember this because she was kind enough to tell me what floor it was on- after only a brief moment of research.  C'mon lady, it's not really that hard.  Honestly, I could've figured it out myself.

Inward bound, to the elevator.  Hmm...this place doesn't look too great inside, but it should work.  All I need is a bed, right?  ...

Yeah.

Upstairs, into the room.  Almost surprisingly, the key card works and I'm able to go inside.  It's pretty dark, so I flip the light switch, conveniently located just inside the room.  Now, I'm a fairly logical person, so I would think that a "light switch" would control a "light" of some fashion.  Apparently this one didn't.  After trying the non-light switch and finding it to be an utter failure, I fearlessly proceeded onward.  Ah yes, the obligatory bedside lamp.  It looked like something out of the 80's (not that there's anything wrong with the 80's), but it did have a switch.  Well, that one didn't work either.  This could be called a few things: pattern, coincidence, laziness-on-the-part-of-hotel-management-or-employees, or epic fail.

Fortunately, there was another lamp on the table.  Defying all logic, this one worked!  By my newly found method of illumination, I was able to use my stellar investigation skills and technological prowess to determine that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Switch #2.  In fact, Switch #2 was rendered useless because someone, or something, had unplugged the lamp from the wall socket.  After placing the plug in its proper home, the lamp worked! Woohoo!

However, that also brought a downside.  A well-lit room will show itself much better than a dark room and in hotel accommodations such as this, the darker the better.  There was no plate covering the electrical socket.  This bothered me.

I pulled the covers down to reveal the wrinkled fitted (I use this term as a descriptor of the type of sheet- it is not intended to describe the sheet as actually fitted to the mattress) sheet over the mattress.  Said sheet also had a hole in it- a rather obvious hole near the middle of the bed and there was no mattress pad.  The mattress had a perceptible sag in the middle; it was one of those beds where you feel like you should roll yourself into the middle.  Maybe that's better than the opposite- at least I didn't end up on the floor.

The alarm clock.  I observed the rather unpleasant sensation of sticky buttons when I set the alarm.  I also had to adjust the time; for some unknown reason, it was two hours off of the accurate time.  I don't even want to know why the buttons were sticky.  Some things are better off not learned.  It didn't stop there- the switch to set the alarm / radio / etc was also broken.  So, I left a message with a friend to give me a wakeup call...but since I couldn't sleep, that turned out to be unnecessary anyway.

Eventually, I went to sleep, with the intention of resuming my southward travels around 9am.  Well, due to the fact that I could not stay asleep, that didn't happen.  I got up and decided to take a shower, only to discover that the water temperature would not exceed that of lukewarm.  I tried the sink, too, just in case there was some issue with the shower...nope, that didn't get hot either.  Now I don't know about you, but one of the best parts of staying in a hotel is the long, hot shower in the morning.  I decided I'd rather skip the shower than freeze.  After getting dressed, I walked back in the bathroom and noticed that the floor possessed an alarming characteristic of the clock- the property of "stickiness."  Needless to say, I was unimpressed to a significant degree.

It is also worth mentioning that this is the only hotel I've been in where I actually considered moving my firearm from the table to the nightstand for easier access.  It was that bad.

I skipped the advertised "breakfast."  After having the unfortunate experience of having a physical presence inside their facility, my desire to partake of anything they provided was entirely nonexistent. 

When I left, I advised the receptionist of my dissatisfaction with the water temperature and condition of the sheets.  She appeared to be genuinely concerned, and I asked for a comment card so I could give her a list.  I then learned that they don't have comment cards, and if they did, management wouldn't pay attention to them anyway.  Way to go, Travelodge.

To illustrate the fact that I have not been the only unfortunate traveler to fund the Enterprise of Fail that is Travelodge, I shall share with you some topic headings from TravelPod.  When referring to the fine establishment (again, please note extreme sarcasm) that is the Travelodge of Petersburg, Virginia, some individuals had the following things to say:

• Sleep in your car
  
• This place is a Pit!!!!
  
• Complaint to the Attorney General's Office
• Yucky hotel
  
• King of the Dumps!

And the list goes on. 

Winter: Day 2

It's pretty cold around these parts.  Really.  Ever try fixing a snowthrower when winds are gusting to 22mph?  Well, I did...and, unfortunately, it's still not cooperating.  The Sears manual says to replace / adjust the belts.  Well, we did- no go.  Had we been thinking thoroughly in the beginning, I suppose we could have pulled the belt cover off and watched to see if the old belts were the problem before we replaced them...but I guess it won't hurt to replace them anyway.  Anybody have a spare friction plate for a 13hp Craftsman snowblower?  We might need one.

We have a low of -1f forecast for this Christmas Eve Eve Eve evening (how 'bout that?).  In layman's terms, that's "pretty darn cold."  Don't worry, I'll be sleeping, and you should be too.  Incidentally, flannel sheets are a fantastic addition to any New England bedroom.  Do you have any friends or family still suffering through cold winter nights with cold-to-the-touch sheets?  You still have two shopping days before Christmas- seize the moment!

I will digress for a brief moment to address the people who drive in West Lebanon, NH.  For the love of all that is holy, intersections have signs saying "DO NOT BLOCK INTERSECTION" for a reason!  Just because your light is green does not mean you can go!  If you think that I'm going to patiently tolerate your intrusion into MY green light just because you didn't feel like waiting for the next cycle...well, I guess you're right.  Until "what are you, STUPID!?" looks can kill, you're probably safe.

Until next time!

The breakfast of champions.

Then I am going to sleep.

I thought winter wasn't here yet!

So here I am at ~8am, shortly before I left to get my new rear tires mounted (good thing, because I was practically running slicks back there...no wonder she was tail-happy on wet roads!).  As you may notice (and as evidenced by the spiffy sunglasses), the sun is up but there's still significant frost.  I checked the weather when I went inside, and per our friend Weather.com, it was a frosty 24 degrees Fahrenheit.  C'mon...that's ridiculous.  Maybe I need to move somewhere warmer.

I have captured the sun.

Well, close enough!

More photos

Now that she's presentable again, I'll post a few more photos.  I might not be the best in the 'ideal color match' business, but I do like the contrast with the leaves and the car.

Just a quick snapshot I took while on Greensboro Road in Hanover.  Enjoy!

Hey, can you pick up 1.5 quarts of ice cream on your way home?

Just doesn't have the same ring as 'half-gallon', does it?

Remember when the 6oz cat food cans mysteriously downsized to 5.5oz?  "Hey," you thought.  "They look shorter."  Congratulations, you were right!  Of course, most people probably didn't notice due to the lack of a price decrease.  Again, perhaps you noticed the more recent decline in size of our beloved family-pack frozen dessert: the traditional half-gallon ice cream container.  They went on a diet and downsized to 1.75 quarts.

But wait- with people crying about the economy going down the tubes, apparently big corporations have to save money somehow...which must be why Breyers slashed their size yet again to a meager 1.5 quarts!  The traditional half-gallon of ice cream just isn't what it used to be.  Fortunately, Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry's have not yet succumbed to peer pressure...hopefully they'll be able to hold out for a while.

On another note, apparently there are certain corporations that would rather have you use their websites or favor their competitors. I went to Sears to pick up a new regulator for the grill.  Well, the gentleman at Sears kindly looked up the part and quoted me $32.99 plus $10.99 shipping, with an estimated arrival time in approximately ten days.  What is this, the Pony Express?  And hang on a second- isn't this a retail store? I thought one major selling point of retail stores was instant gratification, not to mention the whole "no shipping" thing! Fortunately, he seemed to understand my frustration with his employer, as he recommended that I check Home Depot instead. Voila- for $16 and change, I had a new regulator. Thanks Home Depot!

More pics from the Kanc

Here's a bit of deja vu...we've already heard about the trip on the Kancamagus Highway, but as I still have photos to post, you get to hear about it again!  This would be what you don't want to see while driving a sports car down the Kancamagus Highway- or any twisty road, for that matter.   Not cool...but fortunately, the road opened up again shortly thereafter.

There's one particular stretch of the Kanc that I absolutely love.  If you're wondering what I'm referring to when I mention yellow signs, this is it! The time is coming to put the 2 to bed for the winter; I'm hoping to get another 4-6 weeks with her before the snow flies, but your guess is as good as mine. Hopefully I'll be in good shape for some autocross runs this spring...still waiting on the harness bar that I ordered in August. They allegedly started shipping weeks ago...

Elections...

So I listened to the debate today- the first that I've listened to this year. From the moderator's (repeated) comments and specific requests, I've come to understand that each candidate agreed to debate terms involving time restrictions (being 60 seconds per answer). Now, my question is this: If neither candidate is able to follow the simple rules that they agreed to adhere to prior to the debate, how exactly is either one going to run a country? Hmm.