"Keep a Journal: How else are you going to get a good look at who you were?"

Sunday, April 21, 2002

Excitement this week: Fixed the Lawnmower. Number one on the top 100 list of Things To Do around here. Future projects will include a Post for a Laundry Line, Painting the Deck, and a New Fence. I'd LOVE to know where all the money is going to come from for this...

But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do...especially if he wants to ditch his SO and fly off to a neighboring province and attend a giant 3-day LAN party. I have to re-activate my BuySell.com account and put about a TON o' stuff up for sale. Profits from my personal property go to ME (and the kid's computer, if there's any leftovers...). Sales of the extra glass, doors, windows, steel roof panels and etc. from the reno go to the fence fund. So; I will be using the Fido account (while it's still 'nearly free') to take messages and get the goods unloaded in short order.

Speaking of buying and selling...I have been giving some thought to acquiring a new (used!) vehicle...but I need to see the wreck first. There is a Plymouth Voyager van about the same age as the Tracker currently floating around the 'beaters' section of BuySell. It's got a good Chassis, but the engine is "blown" - whatever that means. I could probably get it for 50cents on the dollar, if I offered to tow it away and never, never bring it back. BUT, I need to know if the engine damage is within my means and ability to repair. Wife will be off dancing for 5 days next week...hmmmm.

Colin and I went on a little road trip yesterday to pick up some parts for the IBM TP560 I'm trying to repair. On the way home we visited the Shelter Island Marina off Graybar road in Richmond. Man, if ever someone needed the services of a good bike mechanic, it's boaters...mebbe I should get some new cards printed...and get a dealership from a few 'folding bike' suppliers. Colin loved 'da boats' and I had to explain repeatedly that they were not 'bawoons', but 'bumpers' that he saw hanging off the various craft we saw moored at dock 'C'. For some reason (probably romantic fixation), I am attracted to that place, even to modifying my regular route to work just so I could pass by it every day. Colin and I also drove to the end of #8 road to have a look at the site for HBC Logistics new Super-DC. Only nine more months and I will be working there! The foundations have been poured, and I expect we'll see structural columns and walls going up soon.

Speaking of work, we just concluded the most successful Health and Safety week we've ever had in the history of the building...which is good, 'cause it's also the LAST we will have in that Building. This time next year, we will be well and truly moved into the new digs. High points of the week were a seminar on back care (dug it), and a live First Aid Response demo. There was also, as I suggested, a demo for OPR rescue, which turned into an exercise; and which management bumped up by one day, to take almost everyone (including me) by surprise. Exercise was successful, and a productive discussion followed. Glad I was not in charge...but equally glad I got to participate. Nice to know we can do it if we have to.

Thursday, April 11, 2002

Two items this week (and sorry I missed last week!). Spring Cleaning was a (literally!) smashing success and we got most of the dead computer junk out of the garage. Mannie (fijian next-door-neighbor) and I took down the blown-down fence last saturday and got the lumber to the curb, now all I have to do is borrow Father-in-law's truck and haul the kindling to the dump. Got to trash pick some more bike parts. I could probably set up a nice little enterprise in bike repair/restoration, if there were any money in it. Nah.

The other excitement in my life can be summed up in one word: FRAGAPALOOZA.

Donovan went and reg'd me for FP 2002 (happy birthday to me!) and tells me to reserve a seat next to him and Photon. I can just see us, three middle-aged gamers with LT optimice...clan "three blind mice". I will pack up my system and a bedroll, and somehow I gotta find the few hundered dollars this little expedition is gonna cost me. I shouldn't have much trouble getting a couple of days off around that weekend.