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April 2nd, 2010So much to say, so long since I’ve posted.
November 9th, 2009Firstly, I’ll have to say that Colton is doing excellent in school. His teacher really likes him, as does the staff of the place where he goes for before and after school care. They all speak highly of him, and I’ve noticed a pretty huge behavioral change. He’s not thrown a tantrum in a looooong time. His behavior has done a complete 180 from where he was, and he tends to listen to direction a lot better as well. All and all, I think he’s a pretty damned smart kid, and very well spoken for his age as well. We’ve done several school activities with him. There was the Ice Cream social where he ran around the multipurpose room with a bunch of his classmates. The school carnival was a blast. Michelle and I made a booth for his class. It was a bean bag throw. It came out pretty sweet. I had to put to use some of those old stage craft skills that I used to use a lot. I also made a flat that was a landscape with a bunch of scarecrows on it. It was titled “Sackl’s Scarecrows” and all of the kids made their own pumpkin face on the top of a scarecrow. Then just last week there was the book fair. We went to the school and listened to several teachers read one of their favorite childrens books while the kids sat on the floor in front of them, and the parents tried to look comfortable in those itty bitty little chairs. I think we s pent around $120 on books last week between the fair and the evening reading.
Not sure if I had commented on it, but Mendocino was a blast. We went on the Skunk train, which actually made for a very nice day. The train wanders off into the woods amongst some old logging communities, and then stops at an old base camp where you can have lunch and enjoy the woods. There is a narrator/guide along the way who describes the surroundings and gives you bits of info as to how and when logging took place, and interesting information about the railroad itself. If you’re into trains, or would just like a nice leisurely thing to do during the day while you’re in the area, I recommend it. There are refreshments and snacks for sale as well as a bar that serves beer and wine if memory serves me correctly.
We decorated the house pretty extensively for Halloween this year. We heard from reliable sources that we get a lot of trick-or-treaters, so we wanted to be ready. Fairbanks brought over his coffin that pops open and screams when people approach the front door and we set it up. The neighbors thought it was great, and we had a lot of visitors to say the least. I think we went through around 8 pounds of candy or so. We had a party, but not as many people showed up as we thought would. I think the fact that it was Halloween night and also a Saturday night probably made it difficult for some people to come because they needed to take their kids out. We still had quite a bit of fun with friends and family though. Paul and Kelly shows up, and Chris and Laurie came. Alex came as Bender from Futurama. It was a costume he made himself, and it was really frigging cool! His girlfriend came as a Lego brick. Gotta admit, I don’t know anyone who has come as a lego brick, so I think that’s quite original. All of the neighbors I invited came over and hung out with us for a bit. I really do enjoy my neighbors and I’m glad they took us up on our offer to come over. It’s nice to live next to people you get along with well. We’ve got plenty of leftover beer from the evening, but there is little to no Tequila or Rum left. I finished off the night after everyone left outside next to our new fire pit enjoying the warmth while texting Shad describing the evenings events. At the end of it all, it was a lot of fun.
The only room left in the house that needs to be unpacked is now my office. The rest of the house is looking pretty damned good. My office is a bit of a nightmare though. I’ve got a fair amount of organization I need to take care of so that things will fit as I want them to. Hopefully I’ll get it done in the next few weeks. The rest of the house and the yard are in pretty damned fine shape though. The back yard is cleaned up and landscaped to our satisfaction. I’ve left part of the yard to actually plant with grass, but I’m going to wait until after new years to take on that project as I’d like to plant a small garden as well and I want to get the area where I want to plan grass and the garden graded properly for drainage first.
Michelle and I are now the proud owners of a tent trailer. Oh crap, that reminds me that I need to go to DMV and get the title transfered. Her boss wanted it gone as she no longer uses it and offered to sell it pretty cheap. It should sleep 5 comfortably and has a stove built in. I’m really looking forward to using this coming summer. I think trips to the mountains as well as Laguna Seca are going to be in order for sure. Paul and Kelly have already said they’d join us for sure. We’ve got to get a few more camping supplies, but I think we have a fair amount of what we need already. A new lantern is going to be in order I think, but the rest of the essentials are pretty well taken care of. I’m going to need to rewire the trailer lights, and get a new tail light lens for it, but other than that, it’s ready to go. Michelle and I got it home and set it up in the street in front of our house before we backed it into the driveway. I think the neighbors were a little concerned at first, but then they realized we were just checking it out and not actually planning on living in it.
The holidays are rapidly approaching and that means one thing. Christmas shopping nightmares. Michelle and I have made the decision that we’re not buying each other anything as we’re taking a trip to Mexico with Paul and Kelly right after Christmas. That makes life a little easier. I know we both can’t wait to get the hell out of town and sip fruity drinks full of alcohol next to the beach. It better be warm damn it! Colton sat down with Michelle this very evening and went over the list of things that he’d like Santa to bring him. I just hope he remembers that Santa likes peanut butter cookies a whole lot! At least I know there will be no bike assemblies needed as he got one for his birthday this year! Whew!
Along with Christmas comes my birthday. This year is a big one too. I’m turning 40. I’m not really sweating the whole turning 40 thing, I just want to do it in the company of friends and family. Not a huge party by any means, but to hang out with people during the weekend and enjoy their company while telling tall tales and reminiscing about fun times is, I think, the perfect way to bring on the 40th year. Being that everyone hates shopping for me, I’ve also been told that I need to give them a list of things that I’d like for my 40th and/or Christmas. I’ll do that tomorrow as I’ve not the energy in me this evening.
More to come tomorrow….
Keeping busy
August 31st, 2009Well Colton started Kindergarten last week. He’s in an afternoon class that requires him to go to before and after school daycare, but he’s in there with another 5 year old from around the corner that he appears to be developing a nice friendship with. He really seems to be having quite a bit of fun in school so far, and the two days I’ve picked him up from after school care, he’s been having a grand time with Zach, the boy from around the corner.
He house is coming along nicely. I still have a spare bedroom full of things that I need to go through, and much that I may end up tossing in the trash, but the living spaces, the yards, and the garage have all come along nicely. I think it’ll be a high on the priority list to get the spare bedroom taken care of once we get back from the 3 day weekend. I’ve got a fair percentage of the garage organized, I just have to go through a few more bins, build one more small workbench, and organize my workbench and I’ll be ready to get started on the cars again. I picked up a used engine from a guy in Walnut Creek this weekend for the 2002. He says he was told it only had 30k miles on it before he pulled it from his car. I’m going to do a leakdown test on it and see what the engine looks like compression wise before I put it in William.
We didn’t make it to the Monterey Historics this year. Porsche was the marquis car this year and there was quite a showing. I just didn’t want to spend the money on the event knowing the William is sitting there wounded and not able to run. Shad grabbed me a poster, so I’ll be looking to get that framed. Am I disappointed, yea a little bit, but in the end, I’d much rather be able to drive William than go to an event. Paul and Kelly gave me a gift certificate for some driving events, and those are kinda burning a hole in my pocket too. So getting the car running is pretty important to me right now.
Paul and Kelly seem to be settling into the area nicely. They’ve rented a house not far from Michelle, Colton, and I. Pretty spiffy place it is too! I like the layout of the place and it’s got a 3 car garage! Penny seems to be adjusting pretty well from what I’ve seen. I’ve not had a chance to see the cats much, but I assume they’re doing okay. We’ve had dinner over there and hosted the two of them here as well. It’s so nice to be closer to them so that we can do more together. I really did miss being able to just cruise over and hang out once in a while.
We still get comments from random neighbors walking by about how good the house/yard look. Many say the place hasn’t looked this good for more than 20 years. Michelle and I’ve have done a fair amount of work on the yard to spruce it up and make it look nice. We’ve added some new shrubs and potted some plants around the yard. We laid down some fresh bark here and there, and have cleaned up the existing foliage. We really wanted to make it feel like home, and the end result was the neighbors have all loved what we’ve done, and they all let us know. The day we had our garage sale Paul said that no less than 4 of our neighbors commented to him about how good the place looked since we moved in. My neighbors are incredibly nice as well. They have all been very kind and hospitable. Chris said he’s lived in the area all his life and gets no respect from his neighbors and has to deal with rude people living next to him constantly, whereas I move into the area and get the ideal neighbors.
My parents, Paul, Kelly, Colton, Michelle, Mary (Michelle’s Mom) and I are all cruising up to Mendocino this weekend for the 3 day weekend. It’ll be nice to just get out of town and relax for a weekend. There have been several weekend where we’ve told ourselves we were going to relax, but in the end, we find some task that we feel we must accomplish. This past weekend was no exception. In the end, I’m glad I got some things done around the house, but this weekend is going to be strictly relaxation and celebration. My Mom turned 60 in June, and we weren’t able to celebrate because we were moving, and my cousin had a wedding the weekend of her birthday. Michelle got her some beautiful flowers in lieu of a celebration, but now it’s time to celebrate her 60th, and take in the relaxing ambiance of Mendocino. We’ve rented a house and will be planning some trips out to the beach and maybe even some horseback riding. We’ll see. My goal is to do as little as possible during the weekend, but spend as much time as I can with everyone.
Well, time to get some more work done today. More later.
New Diggs in San Ramon
July 30th, 2009It’s been quite a while since I posted anything. Sorry for that. The truth is I’ve been moving. I started packing last month, and am now moved into a house in San Ramon with Michelle and Colton. I despise the process of moving, but am happy where I’m at now. We’ve managed to put an above ground pool in the back yard, we setup Michelle’s small SPA, we’ve put shelves up in the garage and started sorting garage stuff, and we’ve done a lot of landscaping in the front yard. I really like our house and am settling in nicely. Colton just got bunk beds yesterday (not too hard to setup), and we’re having a garage sale to get rid of the plethora of extra stuff we have between us. Who needs a total of 4 fridges? 7 TVs? Man, we had a lot of overlapping stuff.
Days before the whole move, the 2002 started to whimper. Poor William sounds like he spun a rod bearing. There is a knocking that started to become very pronounced as I was leaving Michelle’s old house one night before our move, and I just turned it around and crashed at her place that night. I’ve not driven William since, and I haven’t had time to investigate the problem. I’ve got a line on a new bottom end though for pretty cheap, so once I see what my finances look like tomorrow, I’ll probably be picking up a bottom end for William and maybe attempting a swap before the end of next month. I miss driving it sooooo bad, but I was putting a lot more miles on the car than I ever intended to. My 74oiL is running really well now, so it’s again my daily driver. Once I get William fixed up again, I’ll try to make sure I keep it that way.
Because William needs attention, Michelle and I will not be making it to the Monterey Historics. She and I felt that it would be better to spend the money getting the car running rather than going to see other cars run. In the end, I think it’s a good decision. I’ve not missed the Historics in 4 or 5 years now I think. I’ll just have to ask Shad to get a poster for me.
Paul and Kelly also moved to San Ramon as of yesterday. All of their stuff was emptied out of their house in Petaluma and they are once again East Bay residents. I’m happy they’re closer and we’re talking about doing a BBQ once a week at one of our houses. Colton was excited to see Penny and though she was pretty nervous the day of the move, she looked happy to get the attention.
As I said we’re having a garage sale this weekend, but hopefully we’ll be organizing the garage a little better as well so I can setup my work benches and get the space organized. I’ve gone from a one car garage to a 2 car garage and I have 2 old cars sitting in there wanting attention. William will get fixed before Rummy or Chimera, but in the end, it will be nice to turn wrenches again at my own leisure.
Well, gotta run. Need to get things done! I’ll write more again soon. Hope everyone is doing well!
What’s New? Well a whole lot is new!
June 9th, 2009Paul and Kelly got married this past weekend. It was quite the celebration. A bunch of us made our way up to Jenner, CA for the wedding on a bluff overlooking the ocean, then we made our way back to a house they had rented with a wonderful patio for the reception. I think a great deal of fun was had by all. There was a lot of work to be done to make it happy, but for the most part, I think everything went pretty smoothly. There were small delays here and there, but in the end, it was all worth it, and I’m sure no one was inconvenienced or even noticed it. As soon as people get me links to photos, I will be sure to share them. Being that I was the best man, I was able to take no photos. I was running around helping with this or that or just trying to make sure I was putting my feet one in front of the other without stepping on someone elses. But really, it was great fun, an awesome celebration of Paul and Kelly, and a spectacular weekend.
Before Michelle and I went up to Jenner last Thursday, we put in an application to lease a house together in San Ramon. We had no cell reception in the areas where we were needed most in the Jenner area, so we were sure that we were being left voicemails saying “call us or we’re giving it to someone else”. As luck would have it, we got back on Monday to news that we were only needed to come down and fill out a lease agreement, leave a deposit, and the place would be ours. We’re pretty exicted and can’t wait for the process to get underway and be over. We both hate moving, and both of us have the philosophy that it’s best not to do too often. We will be living close to Cal High School in San Ramon on a street that doesn’t see a lot of traffic. We really wanted someplace where we could sit in the front yard and watch Colton ride his bike around without fear of him getting hit by a car. This street seems pretty quiet and is close to Iron Horse Trail, so we’re looking to get on our bikes somewhat regularly and use the beautiful parks, trails, and open spaces that the San Ramon area has to offer. I love the area, and I am so looking forward to this move. I’ll be able to spend much more time with Michelle and Colton now without having to drive 20 minutes there or back.
Not much going on with the cars. I did go to the LSR Charity Invitational last week and saw some specacular racing by all classes of historic cars. There was an incredible showing of sports racers and Porsche Prototypes. I think my blood just needs to get a little bit of disolved race fuel vapor in it once a month or so to help me feel normal. The weather was incredible and I managed to coat myself in a nice golden brown tan. I’ll post pictures of the event here when I’m done sorting through the photos.
More later, bye for now.
Keeping busy.
May 27th, 2009Got a lot going on these days. Michelle and I are looking for a house to rent and are looking to move in the next two months. We’re looking for a place where Colton can play without us fearing that some car is going to come whipping around the corner. Her current place isn’t bad, but it’s kinda small, and the landlord is less than honest. He has said that he’s been making payments on this house, but public records show it’s now in foreclosure. He’s a real estate guy and says he’s working some deal to get a loan modification on it, but he’s been unable to get this done for people Michelle knows. It’s a pretty lame deal. So we’re looking for a house to rent in San Ramon or Danville that is on a circle or a dead end street.
Paul and Kelly’s wedding is in a week and a half. I think for the most part everything is in order and there aren’t really any issues that need to be addressed. The photo booth that we built exceeded Kellys expectations. I believe Paul has finished the tweaking of the cameras and printer. Michelle and I will be heading up to Jenner Thursday afternoon to see what we can do to help out on Friday. I’m looking forward to it. My parents will be heading up this weekend and heading to Pauls probably on Wed I think.
Not much going on with the cars at this moment. With everything else going on, I’m not anticipating that I’m going to go to a track event for a few months. I may go to a couple of events and take some pictures, but not much more than that. I’m looking forward to the Monterey Historics this year. Any day at Laguna Seca is a damned good day.
I’ll try to write more again in the next couple of days. Need to get back to work right now.
Laguna went well, and it’s party time this weekend!
April 17th, 2009So on Monday I was out at Laguna Seca with the 2002. The day went pretty well, but I still wasn’t 100%. I really wish I could shake this cold once and for all, but I still have a bit of a cough and am a bit fatigued. My best time of the day was an unofficial 2:04. I don’t have a timing transponder, so I don’t know the exact time, but I think a 2:04 is pretty good for me considering it’s only my second time on the track, and I’m running a vintage car. Along with this time I also had 2 offs during the day. No damage to the car or anyone elses, but in both cases I was more concerned about letting people pass me than I was about my own driving line. Not a mistake I think I’ll be making again anytime soon. Again, fatigue played a part in this, and hopefully I’ll not be sick for future events.
This was my first time out on fresh R Compounds and it was an odd feeling. I’ve used street tires up until now for the most part, and they tend to make a bit of noise just before you lose grip on them. These R Compounds don’t rally do that, and it’s an oddi sensation to suddenly feel the back end stepping out on you in the middle of a turn. I like the amount of grip I get from them, but the full lap of warm up it takes them to get to operating temps is also something I’m going to have to get used to. I hope the tires at least last the rest of the years planned track events for me. It’s a pretty penny to shell out.
This weekend we are celebrating Michelles 40th birthday. There are a bunch of people how have replied in the afirmative that they are going to attend. The plan is mexican dinner and margaritas, and then hanging out at a bar/brewery drinking and having some fun. I honestly can’t wait to go out and cut loose a bit. Having been sick so much lately, it’ll be nice to go out and have some fun with people over some drinks. Looks like Saturday night will be a bit of fun and chaos celebrating her Birthday, and Sunday will be a bit of relaxation for us.
Next weekend we’re going to be up in Petaluma celebrating Paul’s birthday. It’s kinda funny that Paul and Michelle have birthdays so close to one another, and Kelly and I have our birthdays very close to each other. Weird coinkidink.
Well, I’m gonna go grab a late lunch and start getting ready for the weekend. More in a few days.
Sick as a dawg I am…
April 10th, 2009Well, I’ve gone most of the year without getting very sick. I went to the SCCA Vintage Classic at Laguna Seca this past weekend and as of Saturday night, I could feel it coming on. I started getting that tightening in the back of my throat and knew I was starting to catch that horrible cold that just about everyone I know has had. Man it sucks. Coughing, weezing, sneezing, aching.. All of the ings..
I was really hoping to be better by this weekend so I could spend some time with Michelle and Colton Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday for some Easter fun. I heard plans of a nice yummy BBQ on Sunday. I sure hope I’m better by Sunday at least. I sure could go for a nice BBQ right about now. Spending the entire week in the house is starting to make me go a little stir crazy.
Monday I’m supposed to be at Laguna Seca for an NCRC track day. My first time driving Laguna in over a year. I need to get my R compound rubber mounted before I head down. I really hoped to get it done this week, but I’ve not felt up to leaving the house for anything but more OJ. Loading tires and rims into the car just hasn’t been in the cards for me.
Racing season is here now. F1, ALMS, GP2 will be here soon as well. Lots of things going on locally as well. Buttonwillow has the British Extravaganza coming up, We just had the SCCA Vintage event at Laguna Seca, and then theres the Monterey Historics and Oktoberfest later in the year. Many fine events to choose from. I hope to be able to make it to a good number of them. We’ll have to see how the funds hold up though.
Well, it’s late and I’m sick. I need to get some rest. I hope no one else has what I’m fighting right now.
April is here!
April 3rd, 2009I’ve always enjoyed April because we get to celebrate Paul’s birthday. Last year and this year I also get to celebrate Michelle’s birthday. Should be a good end to the month. Michelle has party plans that include tasty mexican food and drinks. I am not entirely sure what the plan is for Paul’s birthday, but Michelle and I will be going up to Petaluma to celebrate it with Paul and Kelly.
I have a track event at Laguna Seca on April the 13th. I love the track and am so looking forward to getting my car through The Cork Screw. This will be my first session on a brand new set of R compounds. i’ve never driven with fresh compound tires on my car before, so I’m really hopeful that I’ll see an insane amount of grip compared to the all weather tires I’ve been running on in my sessions.
I’ve not had a lot of time to work on the CS in the past week and a half, but I’m hopeful that I can put some time into it after work this coming week on days that I work from home. I really want to be done wth the rust preventative paint by the end of April so I can concentrate on other things like the roll cage and cutting the trunk space up in preparation for a fuel cell.
I’m planning a Bachelor party for Paul for the month of May. It looks like we’re going to spend a weekend down in Monterey and have some fun there. I am hopeful that everyone I’ve talked to about it will be able to make it. There is a bar there called Bullwhackers that usually has some good live music in the evenings, and I’m thinking about talking to another Bar owner about letting us have a party there. I’m thinking perhaps a quick 9 holes of golf for everyone to act silly on, and some other activities.
Gonna run for now. I’ll write more in a week or so.
A marvelous weekend at the track.
March 25th, 2009So I just finished up a whole weekend at Thunderhill raceway up in Willows, CA. It was another NCRC event and I had a blast. I think I improved quite a bit, and after watching my in car videos this afternoon, I see a few areas I can definitely still improve on. I had 5 sessions on Saturday and 5 Sessions on Sunday. The car performed very well and at the end of each day I was exhausted. Saturday night after dinner, I went back to my hotel room, turned on the TV, and I can’t honestly remember what was on. I fell asleep so fast I didn’t even absorb what I was watching.
Michelle was thinking about coming up for Saturday afternoon/Sunday morning, but she fell ill and ended up resting at home. I was pretty bummed, but I think it was a lot better for her to rest rather than show up and sit in the wind and cold. She and Colton have both been sick a bit lately, so it was better that she take the weekend and recouperate.
Looks like we’re going to be celebrating Michelles birthday in the east bay. Should be a blast and I know a lot of people have already replied that they’re coming. I know she’s looking forward to it, and I can say I definitely am. Still don’t know exactly what I’m going to get her, but I have a few ideas brewing in my head.
I’m going to keep this one short as I’m pretty beat and I need to be to a client site early in the morning. I hope everyone is doing well and that the economy isn’t beating up on anyone too bad. Hang in there.