Monday Wrap Up
Ah, you've gotta love a weekend that starts with road rash, pedal cuts and sticks jabbed through arms.

And actually, I was far less sore than I thought I would be which isn't any testament to my physical condition but more likely due to luck and the hard acquired ability to fall well.

Saturday was expensive day. Shopping trips to CostPlus, PetSmart and Ross made for good sized dents in bank accounts. But it was all for good things that we needed, mostly. And Ross was a return trip though I did end up picking up a cool stainless steel Cuisinart sauce pan.

Nope, we now have a table and chairs for our patio which has really gone a long way to improving the utility of our concrete jungle that serves as a backyard.

Which reminds me, who would wish for concrete over grass? I understand why things are as they are but that doesn't mean I have to be overly enthralled with them, do I? Its alright though because we're still having a good time with our plants and are expecting a rather large crop of tomatoes from the plants we've got going (as long as they don't die of thirst one day when they haven't been soaked enough in the morning or before the automatic watering system arrives and can be installed).

A new small fish tank for the kitchen fish, this one with a small filter system and a light so the plants and fish can stay up late watching me play on the computer better. Or something. Its a nice little tank though and I like it. Next up is an upgrade of the living room tank, bigger and lower so that its a more interactive space. But that can wait until a good deal presents itself.

Saturday afternoon was spent putting things together, replanting some flowers, strawberries and basil (purple ruffles, sweet, thai and cinnamon). And then off to a small barbecue at an old housemate's new place. The skinny on the new place is that its an distinct upgrade from the last place but my sense is that its a bit too expensive. But he's got a yard with a passion vine growing over one wall that had some of the most amazing flowers I've ever seen. Pics to follow but the pics only capture a tiny bit of the dramatic beauty of the flower. Oh well, with some luck the cutting I took will toss down some roots at my house and we'll have some of those same plants going to town at home.

Side note, the landlady for the old house I moved out of several months ago had a legitimate complaint about the house. And I need to go deal with it some more. But basically, she'd called me to tell me to make sure that no cars were parked in the driveway on Friday. No problem, I went down to the house and told half of the house members about it on Wednesday giving them plenty of time to get the truck out of the driveway. Friday comes and the gardeners couldn't get to the garage to pull the vines off as they were supposed to. And the landlady is pissed off, threatens to evict me (neverminding the fact that I don't live under her roof) and then threatens to kick everyone out which would be just fine with me now because it would break the lease and I'd be free and clear of that place forever. The main problem is that the landlady is not willing to put any money back into the place to keep it in shape. Its going to start having some serious issues with termites, leaks and other symptoms of rundownism.

So, the little land lady pitches up at the house on Sunday morning to give the boys a Whatfer (an old east coast term for a serious lecturing and don't ask questions, just listen). I can only imagine how that went, this tiny little white haired lady scolding Scott, who's either using steroids or is putting on muscle faster than any human in history, he's gotten much, much larger since I lived there. Whatever, its not me, not my body and he's never going to listen to me anyway so why waste my breath?

Sunday was gorgeous out and we got to spend some of it working in the backyard, I went down to the beach for a bit to check in with my volleyball pals. No game for me as the idea of bumping on my arms causes me to wince, the hole in my arm would not withstand playing very well at all. But it was good to see people, catch up with some friends I've not seen in a few weeks.

And then P and I got our gear together and went for a drive up PCH 1, from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay. Our first real drive in the new car and it was nice. Had lunch at Cameron's which wasn't quite as good as I recalled from my last visit there. But it was still nice and fun and a good time to have alone with P. Its too easy to get caught up in projects and forget to be with each other when we can.

And the best thing about a drive? The opportunity to play around out on the road which leads to speedy drives home and hurried hustles into the house to fully satisfy those hungers that get awoken by such play. Now we'll see what happens when we start to get out on motorcycle rides!

We also watched Donnie Darko which would bear a few more watchings before I can really say I know what its all about. But it was entertaining in a dark sort of way. We also watched Adaptation which was alright. I didn't really like it overall but it had its moments. And it also had one of the best lines I've heard in a movie in a long time and is an excellent life lesson to take away from the movie.

"You are what you love, not what loves you."

And that one line redeems any other failing of the movie.

Its a beautiful sentiment and one that should be taken to heart by everyone.
And this week will be a good one. Lunch with my old boss tomorrow, a new LCD monitor arriving Thursday, tickets to the Giants game on Friday (club level with free parking!), Jay and the family visiting this weekend (my first chance to see his new son, Lex!) and other various assorted Ebay goodies I've picked up over the last week or two. And an order of bike parts from Nashbar to help get my Szazbo into shape, the new forks are still on their way and I'm sooooo looking forward to dropping weight off the front end!

Which reminds me, I've gotta go Ebaying for some leg armor today. Or might just go and hit MTBR to see what they've got going on.

If you need a painful but funny story from the weekend, go and have a read of Rambling Rhodes to see what happens when you don't pay attention to where you're running and are looking at cuties instead.