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.