March 10, 2007 15:43

Wow. It's an absolutely gorgeous day here in Atlanta. My Firefox weather tracker gizmo is telling me that it is currently 67F (19.4C) and sunny. I must add, though, that it is quite hazy out there, as well. But it is wonderful for me to be in shorts and t-shirt and my doors and windows wide open. Spring is most definitely here.

Alas, so are the dogs. It turns out that the fence that was being built at the back of the building behind my apartment was for a new doggie day-care center. The yapping started before 8am this morning. Not good for a Saturday morning. Fortunately I was not in anyway impaired and had been coming into wakefulness for a while, but if it had been a late night last night, I might have felt rather annoyed.

As it was, I actually did have a late-ish night. Jen M. and I went to see 300. It was really really good. While being relatively aware of the historical event, I had not read Frank Miller's graphic novelization from which this movie was adapted. It certainly had the look and feel of a graphic novel, in much the same way that Sin City had, but tailored again for the specific material. Many of the scenes had the look of frames from a graphic novel. The use of colour was amazing, and the costumes and effects were great. On the downside, some of the dialogue seemed like it was taken straight from the graphic novel, which meant it came across somewhat oddly on film. Nevertheless, both Jen and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Prior to the movie we had dinner at Avra Greek Tavern, a restaurant around the corner from where John and I lived. It was really nice. We had Greek wines. We started with a selection of spreads served with grilled pita. The tzatziki was awesome; the taramosalata (Greek caviar mousse) was unusual; the revithosalata (humus) was good; hte htipiti (pureed red peppers and feta) was strong. Jen had stuffed eggplant for her main course and I had lamb chops. The lamb was awesome - juicy, rare, melt-in-the-mouth. Our lovely waitress explained that the meats were marinated for 24 hours. Simply delicious.

After the movie we stopped at the Highlander for a Guinness with Will. We had bumped into Will when we got to the theatre so we all sat together and then raved about the movie afterwards.

Thursday was the only other night I went out this week. Amy from the 300 building sent me a text message to see if I wanted to go to the hockey game. I, of course, said yes, and we had an enoyable time as the Thrashers beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-2. I also met another of her friends, Maggie. Maggie had previously been to NZ, so we talked aobut that for a bit. After the game and post-game celebrations, Amy and I went to Atkins Park for some food. And then it was bed.

The rest of my week had been fairly sedate. Work is busy right now, and I'd had a fairly crazy weekend before. I also had a rude awakening on my taxes - we had covered my social security and medicare taxes in my quarterly estimates last year, so I have a very large tax bill to pay on April 15th (actually April 17th, as the 15th is a Sunday and the 16th is a holiday in DC). On the positive side, this should not happen next year. But it means things are going to have to be low key for a few months.

Anyway, what have I done today? I started reading Thomas à Kempis' THe Imitation of Christ. I had a haircut and shower. I changed my sheets and towels. I had brunch with Lauren and Matt at Radial and then went to CostCo with them. After they dropped me home I swiffered the kitchen and living room, emptied the dishwasher, washed my dirty pots and pans, took out the trash, did laundry, and generally did Spring-like things. And then I wrote this up.

February 23, 2007 20:49

I realized I promised that I would explain my lack of blogging in January. Danya actually reminded me about it the other week. So here it is. January was a month of abstention. I abstained from drinking alcohol and writing in any of my web forums. I also abstained from exercise, but that was less by design.

I now have a new laptop. I picked it up last Thursday. It is quite nice and shiny. I was, at first, dubious about it being loaded with Vista, but so far it's worked out okay. It is quite pretty, and looking more and more like a Mac OS. I don't have a problem with that; Mac has always had the better looking OS.

I'm somewhat of a power user, so I very quickly found that I had to disable the Windows Protection thingy that pops up an alert when you install anything, or want to change a setting, or even scratch your butt. The Mac advertisement with the blocker is not kidding. It would be nice to be able to migrate to Mac, but it is just not feasible in my work. Never mind.

Also with my new laptop I got some noise-canncelling headphones. I had to pay extra for those, obviously, but it seemed like a good deal. Unfortunately, it seems that they don't work well with my laptop. They work fine with my iPod, but gave me difficulty while watching the episodes of Edge of Darkness that I had acquired and was watching on my plane ride from Richmond back to Atlanta. However, having said that, I've just done some playing with them, and it appears that one of the connectors was a little dodgy. Now they are working beautifully.

Yes, I went to Richmond, VA, last weekend. I flew up on Friday night and was met by Rachael at the airport. We dropped my stuff back at her place and then went to the Village Cafe for dinner and a couple of beers. Dinner for me was the barbecue plate, and the beer was Yuengling, a great beer that unfortunately can't be found in Atlanta. On Saturday we drove up to Washington, DC, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. We grabbed some lunch and spent four hours or so wandering around, checking out planes and rockets and spacecraft and generally feeding our brains and our cameras. It was a lot of fun.

Then it was back to Richmond. We had very tasty sushi for dinner and then went to McCormack's Irish Pub for beer. That was a lot of fun. I made some new friends, acquired a T-Shirt, and got quite drunk. On Sunday we had breakfast at Hollywood Bar and Grill - very tasty steak and eggs, with a mimosa and a 12oz PBR. And it was very cheap. We went there with Lisa, who regaled us with tales of her previous day/evening and then we went back to her place to hang out until it was time for Rachael to take me to the airport.

This week has been busy with work. This has been mostly good. I got a bad phone call from my accountant, which put a bit of a downer on Thursday - a larger sum than planned for is owed to the Feds. It turns out that the estimated taxes that I paid on a quarterly basis did not take into consideration the employer taxes that I owe as being self-employed. A little frustrating, but I do have the money to pay it. It just means that I can't do with it what I had originally planned.

This weekend has football (oh yeah, yay for Liverpool beating Barcelona at the Nou Camp on Wednesday - I managed to catch the second half) on Saturday morning and a Whisky Tasting on Saturday afternoon. Sunday has an Oscar party in the evening, and possibly a visit to the Fernbank Museum earlier in the day.

Not sure what my plans are for this evening. I've just watched episode three of Edge of Darkness. Last night I finished season three of Blake's 7. I'm not sure that I want to go to the pub. I've got whisky, whiskey, vodka and beer (I picked up some Shiner Bock last night). Hrm. Dunno. We'll see.

Oh yeah, one last thing. Dinner tonight was steak and brocolli and cauliflower and it was really tasty.

Sorry, one more last thing. I got Skype on my new laptop. If you use Skype, let me know.

February 14, 2007 14:35

The word of the day is: Frustrating.

I seem to be having difficulty focussing and maintain concentration on anything. Look - shiny object. I've got some work done today, but I just don't seem to be able to keep at anything. I have a pain in my back which may be contributing to my distractability. I installed some new software - GIMP, VideoLAN, FileZilla. I'm also waiting for my new laptop to be delivered. Hrm.

I have not been up to much this week aside from work. That, at least, has been fairly busy. Evening-wise I've been reading (Satan: A Biography) and watching a couple of TV shows (24, which has been ignorable; CSI: Miami, whichi continues to be cheesy but pretty; House, which continues to be enjoyable). Tonight is Lost, which I have only picked up on relatively recently, and which I shall probably miss the start of since I may be playing Trivia tonight with Lauren and Matt at the Local.

I say "may" because the cold may force me to stay in. Having said that, though, I haven't got any food out for dinner, so I would be forced outside anyway. Hrm. But cold it is. When I checked at lunchtime, it was still 32F (0C). It has now increased to 36F (~2C). This is not acceptable for what appears to be a beautiful sunny day.

I paid for my DragonCon pass today. I'll hold off on booking my hotel room for a couple of weeks, so I can put the deposit on a clean, new, credit cycle. I'm heading up to Richmond on Friday night for the weekend. I'm looking forward to that, and you can look forward to pictures when I get back.

Yay! Just heard from John that my laptop has arrived at his office. I'm not going to get a chance to do anything with it until next week so I'll pick it up from him when we do lunch next week.

February 11, 2007 11:33

So far, and I realize that it is only the middle of February, so far, 2007 has been pretty good overall.

January was slow, work-wise, but that allowed me to get many other tasks accomplished that I had been "putting off 'til tomorrow." Among the items that fell into this category was: getting my car repaired, rolling over my Marconi 401k into my IRA, paying off the last of my debt from when I was unemployed.

I also spent the month abstaining from alcohol. This meant that I spent more nights at home rather than out. In this spare time I did a good amount of reading, including four Kurt Vonnegut novels. While I was sick over the Christmas-New Year period, Liza loaned me season one of Lost. During the month of January I borrowed season two from Joel and watched that. The new season of 24 started, and Amy R joined me for the season opener. She had not seen 24 before and she went out and bought the first season as a result. I also acquired the complete four season run of Blake's 7, and started making my way through those.

In spite of my abstinence, I made it to several football games at the Brewhouse. January was a pretty good month for Liverpool in the Premiership; not so much in the English cup competitions. I also visited Jenny and George to watch the NFC playoff game, which was one by Chicago. Hockey was also on the sporting agenda, as Jen M and I attended the Atlanta vs Montreal game, which, unfortunately, we lost.

Tim and Kris had their housewarming party the same weekend as the NFL playoff games, and I stopped by there for a few hours with Lauren and Matt. I also took a couple of pictures with my new phone (which I may bery well upload later).

Work did pick up towards the end of the month, with trips to Athens and Philadelphia. I actually had to go out and buy a new coat prior to the Philly trip, because it was COLD there. As in the teens Fahrenheit. I don't do well in such temperatures, as many had heard me testify to before. And VMSL and Jafa Consulting renewed their business arrangements for another six months.

I got to one movie, Pan's Labyrinth, which I thoroughly recommend. It was at times beautiful, at times shocking, but always engrossing. Very moving and very enjoyable. And one weekend I pulled out my bag of collected souvenirs - tickets stubs, playbills, tourist guides, postcards, birthday and Christmas cards - and sorted them all out. I have lots of ticket stubs - concerts, sporting events, ballet, opera, movie. I have definitely done quite a lot in my nine years here. That same weekend I did a purge of my cloest, donating out six bags of clothes and one of shoes to Goodwill.

February started with a return to my relationship with alcohol. I was joined for my re-entry into the hazy world of beer by Liza, Lauren, John, Katrina, Amy R and others. It was a fun night out. I continued in similar fashion the following evening with Falcons Amy and Russell from Fado, and several of Amy's friends (and later with Lauren and Matt), although it was brought to an early close due to Liverpool's early game the following morning. Saturday night was Yo La Tengo in concert at the Variety Playhouse, and what an awesome show that was, followed by restraint in madness at the Local (by which I mean I was restrained in the madness that progressed).

That Saturday I spent the day following the football with Kris. I kidnapped her so she could help me refill my newly shrunken closet contents. We did good. I have now earned the moniker, Shirt-Whore. But there some really good deals that meant that it was foolish not to buy up large. In addition to the shirts I got some jeans, a new woollen hat, and jacket. It was a good day of consumerism, and we concluded at PF Chang's for a tasty lunch. Wait, actually we made one more stop after lunch (yes, more shirts).

The Sunday thereafter was Superbowl Sunday. And fun times were had. I set up the projector. Daniel provided free fried food. Steve supplied the steak tartare. We had a great bunch of people and I took photos. They'll be up soon. And the night went on.

Monday was Lauren's birthday. She has reached the big Three-Oh. A tasty dinner at Rathbun's, enjoyed by Lauren and Matt, Boyce and Jeanie (Lauren's parents), Craig (Lauren's brother), and John and Holly. It was very tasty, and I would recommend it. I had a very tasty Carolina mountain trout.

Tuesday I met up with Liza and Amy R at the Highlander for dinner and a couple of beers, but called it quits early. I had been suffering from a chest cold for several days and it hadn't gotten better. I had decided earlier in the week that if it hadn't improved by Wednesday I was going to go to the doctor. On Wednesday I made an appointment for Thursday. On Friday I was popping antibiotics. I'm feeling a lot better now, but going out into the cold does seem to aggravate it somewhat.

Speaking of cold, it has been cold. No snow, but it doesn't need to snow for me to be cold. Currently it's 45F, which is about 7C. I guess that's to be expected for February, but I don't have to like it.

Anyway, I did not go to the Brewhouse yesterday (nor out on Friday night), in the interests of avoiding coughing during last night's ballet - The Great Gatsby - to which I was accompanied by Jen M. We dined first at Baraonda, which is always very tasty. The ballet was a lot of fun; the music was all from the 1920's, and the costuming and set decoration was outstanding. And I feel suitably embarrased that I have not actually read the book. But it was enjoyable to watch.

That should catch you up for now. The cough is on the mend. Flights to France for the The Smithsonian) is less than a week away. Yes, I have to say, in spite of this chest cold, 2007 is working out very well for me. Oh! And I won $7 in the lottery on Friday night.

Talk to you soon!

January 02, 2007 12:27

Happy 2007 to everyone out there on the interweb.

December 01, 2006 10:59

It has been busy. But it always is. The night before Thanksgiving was awesome. I got to hang out with one of my favourite people that I have not hung out with in a long time. Sure I saw Myra at Fado the previous weekend, but we hadn't done the trivia, Clermont, MJQ thing in years. And I still have the same feelings for her that I had back then. Alas. No matter. We had an absolute blast and I enjoyed seing out with her a lot. Thanksgiving itself was a fun day. It started at the Brewhouse's annual England vs the Rest of the World football game at Candler Park. England won, 4-1, but it was a good game and I had a few free beers. Then I stopped by Garry and Poppie's for hors d'ouvres and beer and American football prior to heading over to Jolie's for my first turkey meal of the day. There was a good crowd there and it was good to catch up with the black-wearing crowd.

After Jolie's, I went over to Manny's, where there was a huge crowd for more food. And again, it was great food. It's amazing how all the American holidays are based around food. I was stuffed. So stuffed, that when I went to the Local afterwards, I was incapable of having my regulation turkey sandwich and incapable of drinking beer, So whisky it was.

I had a couple of obligations on Friday after turkey, but only made it to two: Wolves vs Sunderland at the Brewhouse and pre-birthday drinks at Susan's. Once again, both were a lot of fun, and apologies went out to Liza. After Susan's we all wandered up to the Local.

Seeing that I am a sucker for punishment, I was up early on Saturday to go to the Liverpool game at the Brewhouse. And, well, I got Sharonned. I had a great time hanging out with Tiffany (sigh), and with Mike and the rest of the crew but I felt the Sharonnedness coming on so I decided to get out while the getting was doable. I stopped by the Local on my way home and was dropped home from there. Bed before 9pm is probably a good thing once in a while.

I was awake early on Sunday. but didn't really do a lot, from memory. Oh - now I remember: I went to Casino Royale with Tim, Kris, and Joel. It was a good flick, but it dragged a bit towards the end. Probably the best Bond film in a good while. Then I went home to watch the end of another poor Falcons performance at home. In the evening I met up with Amy at the Local for a couple of drinks. After she went home (she had other commitments) I had dinner and then met up with the crowd for Susan's birthday.

Monday was work, but work has been patchy lately. More of the hurry up and wait. I have to be available but there's little to get done. In the evening we celebrated Mike's birthday, starting with pizza at Camelli's, then strange drinks at Model T. Not that the drinks themselves were necessarily strange, but the environment. For the unaware, Model T is a gay/transexual/transvestite bar. Very interesting. Then we went up to 10 High for Metalsome Monday. I think I fell in love no less than three times on Monday night. Ah well.

This week has progressed as most have recently. I did pop down to the Highlander on Wednesday night and caught up withy Stacie and Heather and Chason and Ray and Joe and a bunch of the other dressed-in-black crowd. It was good. And last night turned into an unintended late one at the Local.

This weekend I have a bunch of commitments; I hope to touch all of them, but I'm sure I will fail somewhere. Today I should be getting my car seen to: oil change, emissions test, bumper repaired. But that's simply not happening. I've done a couple of hours work but I've answered some of the open questions and need responses from NZ for the rest. I guess I'll throw myself at the shower now then think about what I'm going to eat today. I think tonight I shall stay in, unless someone bribes me to come out. And they'll need to bribe me well.

Happy birthday, Bev.

November 21, 2006 18:34

Hi world. How's it going? Things are moving along with me. Weather is definitely on the wintery side. We had snow flurries last night. Snow flurries. Crazy shit, man.

Anyway, since I last wrote, I've seen The Twilight Singers at the Loft (not a great show, but okay; Greg had a bad throat), Bloc Party and Panic! At the Disco at HiFi Buys Ampitheater (Bloc Party were good, but their set was short due to their drummer not feeling well - he was in hospital with a collapsed lung later that night; Panic were pretty much unimpressive, in spite of the MTV crowd who were screaming through most of the show; good cover of Killer Queen, awful cover of Eleanor Rigby), She Wants Revenge and Pretty Girls Make Graves at the Loft, (good show - PHMG were very cool, SWR were almost as good as the last time I saw them), Kasabian at the Loft (fantastic, that's really all I can say, fantastic).

Liverpool are continuing their good run at home and their terrible run on the road. I think we can safely kiss the Premiership goodbye. But there are still opportunities in Cup competitions. I went to Fado this past Saturday to watch the All Blacks beat France again (23-11). Not the spanking that the previous weekend was, but still a good victory. Also on the good side was that I ran into Myra at Fado and we talked about getting together on Wednesday night to relive the days of Trivia, Clermont, and MJQ. Keeping with the sports theme, the Falcons are doing very poorly after getting off to a pretty good start to the year.

I saw the Borat movie with Craig and Karen. Very funny. I thoroughly recommend it. I hung out with Amy a couple of times - a tasty dinner at Sala followed by a couple of beers at Hand in Hand, and she persuaded me to head up to 10 High for Metalsome Saturday last weekend. Metalsome Saturday (and Monday) is metal/rock karaoke with a live band. And it's a lot of fun.

This week is, of course, Thanksgiving. Most people I work with have already finished for the week. As I mentioned above, Wednesday night is shaping up to be a crazy one. Then on Thursday I've got a lot on my plate. And not just my dinner plate (ha! ha!). First up (if I make it) is the Brewhouse's annual England vs the rest of the world football match at Candler Park (beer supplied by the Brewhouse). Then Thanksgiving dinner at Jolie's. Then Thanksgiving dinner at Manny's. Then Thanksgiving chill-out at the Local. Sounds like a good day to me.

November 07, 2006 15:45

Yes, I know, it has been two weeks since my last entry, and, yes, lots of stuff has happened in that time. I won't go into too much detail (because I'm basically lazy) but here's the quick and dirty rundown.

Christy's birthday dinner at the EARL was a lot of fun and then Tiffany and I had a good time at the Social D show. I missed both The Decemberists and Mojave 3 because I went over to Susan's for drinkies and then it was too late for (and I was too drunk to drive to) either so I went to the Local with the crew. The next morning, Liverpool beat Aston Villa, 3-1. Then Halloween weekend was upon us. I took Jennifer M to the ballet to see Giselle and then I went to the Local. I was also sucked into MJQ where I shook my booty for a few songs then headed back to the Local and then it was poker back at my place. Ugly.

Needless to say, Sunday was a write-off. I did have brunch at Manuel's with Susan, Manny, Mike S, Manu, Stefan, and others. The afternoon was spent on the couch watching American Football, starting with a Falcons victory. I made my way up to the Local for dinner and Sunday night drinks.

Tuesday was Halloween and after going to the Brewhouse to watch Liverpool beat Bordeaux I went to Michael Rollin's wedding. It was a bit of a hike up to Roswell but it was a very pleasant wedding. I returned to the neighborhood, didn't bother changing, and went to the Local. I looked good in my suit and it made for several potential costume descriptions. They were doing Scary-oke, which was quite enjoyable. Lots of drunk people. Highlights included Colleen and Craig performing (and I do mean performing rather than simply "singing") Journey's Don't Stop Believin'. So, another late night.

Wednesday night was The Cult at the Tabernacle, to which I went with Susan, Manu and Stefan. They played everything I wanted to hear, so I was happy. On Thursday night I had dinner with Jenny and George at Figo Pasta in Decatur, stopped by the Local for a night cap, and then when I got back to the apartment I ran into Kris and visited her and Tim for a couple of hours of TV.

Friday night was the usual at the Local; Saturday was another Liverpool victory, this time over Reading. Saturday night I went to the Local for ribs and watched the Thrashers beat the New York Islanders. I went home and watched The Exorcist with Lisa. Sunday was slow, and involved watching American Football and ordering pizza for dinner.

Last night I stayed in and finished off the pizza. Tonight I shall stay in again, but I did go shopping earlier today, so I actually have real food - salmon and vegetables.

The weather is very wintery. It has been cold. It warmed up a little, but today we've had fog and rain. I think it's supposed to get a bit better by the end of the week, but I'm not really expecting too much. Tomorrow night I am going to The Twilight Singers with Ashe; Thursday I'm going to Bloc Party and Panic! At The Disco with Susan. Next week I've got She Wants Revenge with Susan and Kasabian with...with...with...I don't know yet. If new Amy is feeling up to it (she's still recovering from her surgery), I think I'll take her. I'm pretty sure I won't have any problems finding someone to take.

And now you are up to date. Work? Oh yeah, that's been rolling along. A little slow, sure, but moving along.

October 25, 2006 14:17

It has gotten cold in Atlanta. Very cold. When I went out to my meeting on Monday morning, it was 45F (7C). That's just wrong and evil and bad. Especially after the wonderful weather in Brunswick. But let's start with Thursday.

Thursday night was John's bachelor party. And it could go down as the gayest bachelor party ever for a straight guy. But it was a whole lot of fun. Amy Woodward, John and I met up at Sarah and Alice's house in Grant Park (so we had a starting 40% gay factor) and after a beer went to Agave for dinner. Agave is great: fantastic margaritas and awesome food; I was very pleased with my stuffed mountain trout. After eating we went to the Tabernacle for the main event of the evening: The Pet Shop Boys. We got in a little late and missed the start of their first set. This was a pretty slow set and where we were standing, the sound was pretty muddy. When the crowd broke at the end of the first set, we moved forward to get better position and better accoustics. This was a brilliant idea, because the sound was so much better for the second set. The highlight was probably It's A Sin.

After the show we stopped in at Side Bar for a drink and chat. From there, we went to Six Feet Under for more drinks, and for Alice to get some fried green tomatoes. Doug also caught up with us there. Eventually we were kicked out and I dropped everyone back at Sarah's and Alice's place and then headed home via the Local.

I had a fairly productive day on Friday, writing up the notes from my Athens trip on Thursday. But then it was time to pick up Amy, Steve and Vanessa and head south. The traffic was a bit of a bitch, and we finally got in to our hotel around 11:30pm. I called Stacy to find out where the action was and then called Amy and Steve to let them know. We all met up at Murphy's, which was a great bar. It seemed to be more of a locals bar, cash only, with darts and pool tables. John was also there. Tim and Kris turned up a little later. So we had a merry time catching up and drinking and generally enjoying ourselves. After we all left the bar, Vanessa and I continued drinking with Stacy and Dill at the pool (they were staying at the same hotel) and then in their room. I think I got to bed around 5:30am.

On Saturday, Vanessa and I got up and headed out for breakfast. We woke up Stacy and Dill on our way out. It was a gorgeous day and we had breakfast on the patio of a cafe. Tim and Kris joined us and we had a good feed and natter. Amy and Steve also turned up at some point, and we all sort of wandered around the beachy area and the pier. Everyone wanted to head out to Fort Frederica, but there wasn't enough room for six. I did need to go do some shopping (I had brought the wrong shoes and no belt) so I caught up with Stacy and Dill and we went shopping after first getting food (for them) and margaritas (for all of us) at a local Mexican restaurant. Stacy and Dill had left their wedding clothes at home, so we went first to Talbots, where Stacy did her shopping and then we went out looking for somewhere for menswear. We spotted a JC Penney and decided to hit that. I bought shoes and belt and socks for the wedding, and another pair of shoes and a shirt. A well spent day, if you will. When we got back to the village we saw that the others were back from Fort Frederica and that Ben and Laura had also arrived. We stopped by the liquor store to stock for after the event and also ran into Doug. Next it was back to the hotel to get ready. Vanessa and I got a taxi with Stacy and Dill.

The wedding was very pleasant. John looked very smart in his tuxedo with red vest and tie, and Holly was beautiful. The ceremony was over very quickly (well done, John) and we all made our way over to the courthouse where the reception was going to take place. The reception was fun - the beer was good (Warsteiner), the food was tasty, and the company was great. I got to catch up with the Louisville crew, the Decatur girls, John's parents, Barry and Jenn, and Doug and Tom. I also met more of John's family and Holly's family. It was a lot of fun. After the reception we headed back to Murphy's Tavern where more drinking ensued. Tim and I played some darts and then played doubles against a couple of girls. They were very good (and also a lot less alcohol-encumbered than us). I ended up chatting to them for a lot longer and also played with one as a doubles partner. Eventually we all meandered out. The Local contingent and Louisville contingent (including John and Holly) went down to the pier to try to get a good look at the meteor shower that was due. Unfortunately we only saw a couple of trails, only barely better than nothing, and then it was back to the hotel and bed.

The next day was a bit rough, as not enough sleep had been had over the previous couple of nights. But we got up, checked out, and headed out for breakfast, where we ran into Ben, Laura and Amy. Steve joined us later and then we began the trip home. The journey was a lot quicker than our journey in - we got back to Vanessa's in under four and a half hours. I then dropped everyone off and spent the next couple of hours on the couch. Liverpool had lost at Manchester United, and Wellington had lost at Waikato, but the Falcons had beaten the Steelers in overtime. I went up to the Local for a couple of drinks and then came home and was in bed by 9:45.

On Monday night I ended up meeting up with Lauren and Matt. Lauren had a very successful three-day walk (she did the three-day breast cancer walk this weekend). And then we got drunk. That's all that really needs to be said.

And now it is Wednesday and still very cold. It was 35F (2C) when I woke up this morning. Not good at all. Tonight I'm going to the EARL to have a burger and beer for Christi's birthday and then Tiffany and I are going to Social Distortion at the Tabernacle. It should be a fun night.

October 18, 2006 10:31

I went out for dinner last night at Cafe Alsace with Jennifer M to talk about her trip to Prague and Vienna and Budapest, and to help her destress a little from the sudden responsibilities incurred by her recent adoption of a puppy. It was a great meal (I'm definitely going back to try other things on their menu) and the conversation was good. Unfortunately, when we went back to my car afterwards my battery was dead. It had sufficient juice to operate lights and basic electricals, but not enough to actually cause the starter to fire. I called John to see if he could come down and give me a jump. While we were waiting, another person offered to help, but the best we could get was some clicking out the starter solenoid. The same thing happened with John's car. As we were trying that, a mechanic and his girlfriend came walking through the parking lot and offered to help. The third car was also no good. Graciously, they offered to drop us back at Jen's (since she lives relatively close).

Back at Jen's, I gave Allstate roadside assist a call while she took the dog outside. A tow was arranged and Jen dropped me back at the car. The truck turned up within about 10 minutes and he used his super starter to jump my car - success. We left the car running while he did all the paperwork and then I drove home. I backed my car into a parking spot, just in case. I turned the car off and then on - nothing. A new battery was going to be needed. Fortunately, Joel was in the parking lot when I got home and he offered to help me out in the morning.

In the morning, Joel brought his car around and, unsurprisingly, that failed to start my car. So we pulled the battery and went up to Goodyear. $90 later I had a new battery, and, once installed, my car was back in business. A pain in the arse, but success nonetheless. Now I have to run some chores and then go out for meetings this afternoon. But I thought I would share, first.

Oh yeah - new links-bar on the right hand side. What do you think?