Frankenstorm

So if you live anywhere on the east coast and you have not battened down the hatches; stocked up on cases of canned soups and other non-perishable foods; set aside no less than 27 gallons of water; then you are not ready for Frankenstorm.  What is Frankenstorm you ask?  I'll put it to you like this:  imagine if a hurricane, a tornado, a tsunami, and a dust devil all went out and got really drunk on water.  Then, after waking up very slowly, they stumbled around puking up rain everywhere they looked.  It would be a little more severe than that.  

While I have no plans to build an arc, I'm not counting that out as an option.  Schools in the area are already closing, refuse pick-up is already being rescheduled, and storm drains are being cleared in anticipation of the deluge that is about to ensue over the next several days.  The weather people are predicting significant rain and wind over the next several days and possible power outages for the about a week.  

While it's too early to tell what is actually going to happen, by tomorrow we should either be in the thick of it, or cursing the weather folks for convincing me that I needed to buy those 200 cans of sardines "just in case."  Either way, I'm hoping to survive the onslaught and make it through to next week with little water to bail out of my basement.  

The Greatest Place on Earth

So as I mentioned in my previous post, I spent last weekend in the 'burgh.  While it was a really great weekend filled with lots of activities, there was only one thing I was looking forward to doing while there.  I have been in the market for some new furniture lately so I figured while I was in a city of significant size, I would visit IKEA.  

For those of you not familiar with IKEA, first I'd like to say I'm sorry because you don't know what you're missing.  I'll describe it like this; imagine that some Swedish folks got inside your head and created furniture and living utensils that were exactly what you would design if you had a stitch of creativity.  Granted, they don't have EVERYTHING you could imagine but it's fairly close.  Most of it  comes flat packed with an instruction book that contains an adorable cartoon man to guide you through the assembly of your chosen piece of furniture.  

Anyway, so last weekend, even though I has mere minutes away from IKEA I was thwarted in my efforts to get there.  That's a story in itself but the bottom line is that I didn't get to go.  Instead, I decided to drive to Baltimore this past weekend and check out that IKEA.  While most people think that the SC is a hip an metropolitan town, it's really not.  Therefore it does not qualify for the type of location that would host an IKEA.  Thus, I drove to Baltimore and visited some friends and family along the way.  

The upside to the trip (besides having my parents treat me to sushi); I was able to pick out some sweet new pieces for my house.  The downside, I'm going to have to drive back to Baltimore to get it.  I realize that seems like a gigantic hassle just for a few bits of pressed wood that I have to assemble myself, but let's face it, those Swedes really have this whole home furnishings thing figured out. 

A Practice in Lists

So this post is a day late from my normal schedule because I was traveling this weekend.  I spent a few days down in the 'burgh with Jerry and Bunny just to unplug for a few days and enjoy some time away from the SC.  We rode bikes and talked about future plans for travel and did some sightseeing around the city (even though I've seen most of the sights already).  

One thing we discussed was the upcoming DD.  This came up because I've been a bit less than aggressive in my training for this little event.  In particular, before this weekend I hadn't been on a bike in about three weeks; since my wreck.  Because of this, I jotted down a few things that I need to make sure I take care of between now and then.  In no particular order here is my list:

1)     Ride - (although this seems obvious, I need to write it down just so I don't forget)

2)     Get my bike ready - (why you might ask?  See the reason above)

3)     Shave off about 10 lbs - (some might dispute the need for this but I think it will help)

4)     Trim my beard - (this may help with number 3)

5)     Prepare to suffer - (this isn't so much for the ride as it is for the entire trip)

While this isn't an all inclusive list, it's a start.  I have a few weeks yet to work at this so I'll try to balance this list with the growing list of house projects that has been accumulating.  Sometimes it's not getting the list completed as much as it's getting a few items removed from the list.  Ideally it will be items one and three from above, but I'd be okay with completing any of this little "to-do."

Under Reaction

So two weeks ago I wrote about a little digger I took on my mountain bike.  It was nothing out of the ordinary for me as I've wrecked on my bike before and intend to wreck again (although I don't try to make that the outcome of any ride).  I was sore for about a week but after that all was well, or so I thought.

This past week I was driving home from the office when my phone rang.  It was my mother.  She was calling because she read that post and was worried about how I was doing and wanted to make sure I was okay.  When my mother inquired about my current condition, I began to laugh hysterically.  To this, I believe my mother was taken aback.  

First, she asked if I had made the whole thing up.  When I told her that I hadn't made it up, she asked why I was laughing.  What I found so funny about this exchange was the fact that while my mother was worried, she wasn't worried enough to call right away.  Instead, she waited about ten days before being concerned enough to inquire about my well-being.  For some reason I found this really funny.  

Sometimes I guess it's the little things that really matter and this complete lack of concern while being incredibly concerned was humorous to me.  In other news, Sean and Lucy had their baby.  A sweet little girl.  So congratulations guys for your new bundle of joy.  While I'm extremely elated for the new parents, I might have just lost a reader.