**Mechanic's Blues
$1600 later, most of the things I should have done in maintenance to my Tribune over multiple years have been addressed. Except for new tires all around. Leslie guessed that I'd be able to put that off until the start of summer. If that's the case, I should be able to hold out until the fall, because once summer gets here, the car gets parked and the bike comes out. Funny thing is I'm thinking the tires on my bike are about due for replacement as well. But, at least it's a good thing to hear your mechanic say that your car has a lot of life left in it. And I must admit that the tranny is so much smoother since I've gotten it back. The new brakes, on the other hand, seem to be squishier that I remember, but after driving the Prius for a week (that is one smoooooooth ride), I may just be used to that car. If nothing else, I like how freakin quiet the Prius is. It's like a stealth car. Not that I don't like my Tribute. I actually have found that I like my Tribute $1600 more than I did earlier this week.
**For all my efforts of trying to get the aquarium back into shape, I have yet to see a huge amount of improvement. Some, yes, just not what I had hoped for. I'm thinking it may be time to post an ad on Craigslist. Anyone out there got a smaller bar they'd want to trade for a 75 gallon aquarium?
**Crossing The Equator
The folks are due back from South America this coming Tuesday, I believe. I have no idea when Gma Suchner will be released from interment in Florida. I was half hoping that the weather would be a bit an the arctic side for their return (after all, they got to be in Rio during Carnival), but since that would also mean I would be stuck in said same weather, I have decided to back away from that opinion. I will continue to believe that no matter what wonders they managed to see below the Equator, they will maintain the opinion that France is better. Guess I just have to come out and admit it: my in-laws are Eurosnobs. C'est la vie.
**A house with hot water heat and no central air? No, thanks.
**Say Cheese!
If you haven't figured it out, and if you care in the slightest, I will be posting any further pictures or whatever on Flickr instead of Picasa. This may also include, but is not limited to, any embarrassing pictures I may have left over from the '80s.
**The Real Wheal
I have worked in a hospital setting for 15 or so years, and have never tested reactive for TB. I am beginning to think that Dhawk's house is centered on the epicenter of some sort of mega-galactic vortex of cosmic weirdness.
**The OT Express
This past Thursday at work offered a glimpse into the bowels of Hell that I care not repeat. Ever. So, all I have to do is get through the next 51 or so years (I think I might be able to retire at 90....) without another night like that. Not too damn likely. That being the case, I guess I just have to say that it was what it was and I will, at some point in time, encounter just such an evening again. Or, I could just hide under the couch.
**Thanks to Dimples for the offer of sunshine. Be nice if I could find a way to take her up on it.
**Tease
The fifty degree temps have vanished as quickly as a campaign promise, and we are once again relegated to winter in Illinois. At least we were a degrees of two above freezing the other day, or we would have ended up with 20" of snow, according to the weatherman. Of course, there was no way for that much rain to soak into the frozen ground, so now there are frozen puddles all over the place. The whole mess just makes me want to hide under the couch some more. And why didn't anybody tell me that DST starts in 2 weeks?
**What's That Smell?!?!
The recent warm-up removed all the snow from the backyard, revealing just what the Thundering Herd had managed to leave behind throughout the winter. So, with all excuses finally exhausted, I finally had to spend over an hour outside prying frozen turd piles off the ground and scooping them into the crap can. (I so know how to rock the fucking hell out of a Friday, eh?) In the end, I not only managed to clean up the yard while getting a minimal amount on me, I also managed to create an unpleasant surprise for the garbage guy.
**Read an early review of "The Watchmen" that questioned whether or not this movie would be the first big bomb of the year.
**How Many Cubicles Make A Farm?
It has come to my attention that I get more paperwork done faster when I take it out of the office and down to my studio. Maybe it's time to get rid of her dad's old desk and get something more functional. Of course, with her now hinting around that she wants a laptop, the notion of moving the tower system downstairs for me does have a certain appeal. Except for that part where I have to fork out money I don't have for a laptop we don't really need. Considering the amount of backlogged paperwork I've managed to clear up in the past few days, I may have to take part of the office down into my space in order to be able to work more efficiently.
**Loandonation?
In the category of things coming around in a weird way, Lisa questioned me at work the other day as to whether or not I had room in my collection/basement for a couple more pieces of tikiana. One was a tiki that I had ordered from a guy in Florida and given to her at the height of her Buffettmania as a birthday present. The other was another artificial palm tree. I gratefully accepted both, with no notion of where either could be used. I can always find another corner that needs some greenery, and why in the hell would I ever turn down a tiki? The odd part about all this is the unknown degree of permanence of the arrangement. It's kinda like I'm providing storage with the chance to display the pieces all the while knowing that they could be reclaimed at any given moment depending on how quickly they manage to get their remodeling done, if at all. Oh, well.
For another degree of oddity, we must consider the tiki on loan itself. At the moment, it is the only piece in my collection actually made from a palm tree trunk. I guess that's only odd if you consider the relative frequency of palm trees in this area. Anyway, it is a surprisingly light material, consisting of stringy fibers with a softer sponge-like material in between. This particular piece was created with a chainsaw, gauging by the clean and even cut lines. Makes me wonder how this material would take a chisel. Given my less than tropical surroundings, I may never find out.
**Hope I can catch 'The Soup' when I get home tonight.
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