The shift key is broken

so a few days ago on a whim, i decided to take out a personals ad on craigslist. lets just say it seems that 50% of the worlds shift, apostraphe, and return keys are broken. when did it become the fad to write without using the shift key? i understand forgetting the shift key when you are iming with someone, but in a blind e-mail what were you thinking? i think capitol letters serve a very important purpose. they give a break between sentences. they allow the eye and mind to reset and focus on the new sentence. now im not the best when it comes to grammar, but i like to think im not bad. i wont criticize you for missing a comma here or there, but not using capitol letters in a blind email is just downright dumb. now wasnt this post difficult to read? as for my responses, i think i may have met a cool girl, but thats probably jumping the gun.

Matt you rock.

This past week has pretty much been a week from hell. I worked 10 hours Wednesday, 12 on thursday, 16 on Friday, spent a few hours there yesterday, and I still had to stop in today. It's had me all tense and worked up. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to change the situation. I really wish I could say more, but I can't (darn those confidentiality agreements). I can't remember the last time I had to tell someone, "I'm sorry, but I just can't do that". This time I've had to explain that to my second line manager, who will probably have to explain that to my fourth line manager. Needless to say it has had me pretty worked up.

Today over lunch, I asked some friends for ways to relieve tension. Matt suggested I take a drive out on Lime creek road. So after putting a few quarts of oil into the Miata and picking up my friend Ali that's exactly what we did. Driving that road was exactly what I needed. Focussing on the pavement and trying not to die has a miraculous way of taking my mind off of the things I have no control over. I found myself smiling for perhaps the first time all week. It was definitely what the doctor ordered.

New wheels for the miata

A co-worker thought these would go great on the miata.
http://customwheel.com/pimpstar.html

Great Southwest Lindy Fest

This past weekend I headed out to Houston for the Great Southwest Lindy Fest. On the way there I stopped at Arby's for a Dr. Pepper and some curly Fries, which resulted in an arrival time of around midnight. Where I hit the dance for about 2 hours. Unfortunately I had forgotten how much caffeine affects me, and I didn't sleep at all Thursday night. Normally this would only be a minor inconvenience, but Friday night was the American Lindy Hop Championships Regionals. Additionally, I somehow hurt my knee during the classes on Friday. I was getting these sharp-shooting pains, almost as if I was pinching a nerve in my knee. So I decided to bail on the competition, and instead went to sleep (for a good 12 hours). I'm actually quite glad I didn't compete. I would've sucked, and would probably be pissed at myself for doing poorly. I don't dance well when I'm tired. In order to dance well I have to be able to just listen to the music and let my body express it. When I'm tired that just does not happen.

Saturday on the other hand was a completely different story. I had more fun dancing last weekend than I've had in almost 4 months. There were a few times on Saturday where I never left the floor. Girls just kept coming up to me, asking me to dance. I only asked 3 girls to dance that entire night, but I rarely left the floor. I also had this awesome dance with Dawn Hampton, who is one of the originals. Someone even started filming the two of us dancing. I hope I find the tape someday, so I can share it with all of you. I had so much fun this weekend that this morning I found myself looking up what event I'm going to next (London or even Spain). That's a pretty big change compared to the beginning of the year, when I was telling myself that I was going to not travel to dance as much.

Wish Me Luck

I'm heading to lindyfest this weekend, and Jennifer and I are going to compete in the American Lindy Hop Championships Regionals.

I don't expect anything more than to have fun.

Why the miata.

Why a miata.

1. Cheap. It's a third of the price of an S2000
2. Rear wheel drive
3. Super charge it and you get 220 hp and a relatively flat 180 lb/ft torque dynoed at the wheels (much more than a stock S2000).
4. I wanted a go-cart, but that really doesn't fit two.
5. Cloth top.
6. Lots of aftermarket for the car. If anything goes it will be relatively cheap, to find a new or used replacement.
7. I have lots of friends that have Miata's and I can pull from all of their experience.
8. Oh yeah and it's 2300 lbs. So do the power/weight ratios and then get back to me.

I can finally stop all the obsessing

For those of you that are wondering why I'm buying this car, here they are.
1. I can't drive stick well, and frankly I can't honestly consider myself a car guy unless I can drive stick (well).
2. I've been slowly building up my car repair skillz, and there's no better way to learn that than to fix a beater yourself.
3. My Front wheel drive six is great, but being front wheel drive has a bit of an understeer problem.
4. In order to fix #3 I'd have to start messing with the 6, and frankly I can't afford having a broken car at this point in my life. Additionally it's still well within warranty, and frankly I'd prefer not to void that before I have to.
5. For the sheer fun of it. I rarely do anything that is completely dumb. I'm young, I'd be kicking myself for years to come if I didn't jump at this opportunity. My dad did this when he was young, now it's my turn.

That's enough of me talking myself into purchasing the car (mostly necessary because of #5).

Dave.

Here's the original posting

And here's the pictures ganked from that posting for posterity's sake.

It's electric

So I finally got around to installing an outlet next to my vanity. I first attempted with my original spade bit, and apparently it was a bit dull. Then my Ryobi drill got an attitude and needed a time out, and a recharged battery. So after a trip to Home depot, four separate excursions into the attic, a lost screw bit, and a total time of 2 hours on my stomach in a space where I had about 3 feet headroom (1 ft nearer where I needed to drill) the deed has been done. In the end, it works, and so far nothing is burning. Both are very good signs.

Edit: My elbows are itching something fierce, and I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt.



So here's a recap of my list from January.
1. Reorganize/clean out the garage. The people who had the house before me left me a lot of stuff. Some of it good. Some of it hideous.
2. Install an outlet for the master vanity
3. Replace the Fan in the master bed
4. Replace the exhaust fan in the master bath (possibly both baths).
I will probably just let whoever I get to add insulation do this.
5. Possibly install recessed lighting into the Living room
Unnecessary, and I can't decide how i would place the can lights.
6. Possibly wire the opposite wall in the living room so that the room can be reversed. (preferably before the additional insulation)
I like the wall that it's on.
7. Possibly add a radiant barrier to the roof to help with the summer heat.
I'll let the insulation installers do this (maybe)
8. Re-insulate/seal the ducts
Insulation guys
9. Replace roof turbines.
These look like they'll get replaced when I replace the roof, but by then I'll probably just put in a ridge vent.
10. Install additional insulation in the attic.
I'm tired, praise God I got a refund this year.

So there you have it.

Oh and for your veiwing pleasure, I call it, "underpaid."