Me love the motorbikes

I left work early to enjoy the nice weather and work in the garage. I changed oil/filter and brake pads on the VFR, also finished installing the wheels with the new tires. Boy the front stand is handy for that.

I started the VFR after changing the oil to fill the filter. Mmmmm, love that smell. I missed it so! Now if I'd just get the last part, I could get the bike inspected and RIDE!

Next, fun with the CBR. I'm so happy :)

I want four-day weekends

It was a mixed weekend, some parts went by quick, some were very enjoyable, some had me yelling and throwing things.

Friday night, Maura and I went out for a couple of drinks and had a wonderful time. Got in later than we expected and then Saturday morning came pretty quickly. Actually, we got back home Saturday morning; wake-up time came quickly.

Maura jaunted off to NJ for some house cleaning with her family and I putzed around the house. Didn't get much done until I went to the motorcycle shop for my parts I'd ordered. The part I *needed* hadn't arrived, but I did get new wheel bearings for the VFR. I stopped at John's to try some single-handed tire changing. Blech, cold tires and only two hands left me with 2 tires, three-quarters changed. Call it a night.

Went home and the phone rang as I was removing my boots. John wondering if I'd injured myself and that's why the tires were half done. Nope, just incapable.

Saturday night was slated for some live music in Blue Bell, but Maura came home feeling poorly, so we went to sleep by 9pm. And slept until 8:30am - something isn't right there. After some oatmeal, tea and starting some soup, I went back up to John's to finish tire changing and Maura went back to sleep. The wheel bearing change went smoothly and I reattempted my single-handed tire changing.

There's a good reason, boys and girls, that you shouldn't pry towards your face with a tire iron. Let's leave it at that and all be glad I still have my teeth. Yikes.

With John's help we got the tires popped on and seated. Then we jawed and had a couple of beers while he reinstalled the tire on his Sabre. Always fun to hang with John and his family. Thanks again for the tire help, dude.

Back home, I found Maura dozing in bed with Lily. I decided that sounded good and slept on the couch for a couple of hours. Then crawled in with the girls and slept another hour. Wow. We were low on sleep.

I finished the soup (split pea with carrots, tofu, and toasted mustard seed), we watched some Sunday evening TV and then Maura went back home for the night. Good thing, too, as I read (couldn't sleep) until 1:30.

Now, it's Monday morning, I'm getting my coffee in me and going to get back to compiling results. One of the finer things in life.

To all of my Chinese friends, gong xi fa cai! 恭喜發財 Happy New Year

And (in Cantonese)

dinner with friends and the weekend ahead

It's been a somewhat busy week - I guess that makes it a typical week - though it seems like it's lasted longer than it should have.

Maura and I went out to eat with Trevor and Erin last night. Nice to see them after about 2 months :p It's been hard keeping up with friends. About time to swing through Philadelphia and visit others (and get my CDs back!). As March is beginning to look like a solid month of travel, I'd better get down there soon.

This weekend is supposed to be mild weather. Good time to finish the VFR up and get it back on the road. Whee! It'll be nice to be on two wheels again and to get Maura out with me. First we have to overcome her claustrophobia of a full-face helmet. It's mandatory with me, so I hope she can adapt.

Lily had her checkup and shots and is doing well. Her new collar has a bell on it, so her latest nickname is "Jingle". Maybe I mentioned that before. I think she's decided Maura is ok (much better than ok, actually) as she is content to be held and played with for hours. So is Maura :)

One of today's Ruminations (www.ruminations.com) fits fairly well:

Word to the wise: NEVER give up on love.
Somewhere, some place out there,
there's a pervert who's actually
looking for a freak like you.

Fun weekend to all.

We must rebuild. But who will lead us in the rebuilding process?

It's time for the Friday "week in review" and "weekend ahead" post. How was the week for all you childrens? Everyone accomplished much? Deserve a nice weekend, hmm?

I had a great week. Well, it started somewhat crappy, but it just kept getting better. Feeling good about work, good about Girlfriend (that's Maura, ya know) and good about life in general. I might feel a little better if I hadn't had 36oz of coffee today, but whatchagonnado?

The weekend is going to be fairly quiet. Saturday is birthday party for two in Maura's family and then some wrenching at friend Wally's house. It'll be nice to see Wally since it's been, like, a year or something. Wow. And to think we were inseparable as children.*

Sunday will be devoted to some house cleaning, filing (where are my medical reimbursement receipts?), and shirt ironing. Many in the know will realize that's my typical story, but it's true. Perhaps I'll get out into the garage, too.

Had a good teleconference last night with China. The upside is that the bosses really think I'm useful. The downside is that they think I'd be really useful in China. Well, that's up and down, as I enjoy the travel, but I hate to be away from Maura, Lily, and motorcycles. At least this time I'll take my cell phone and we've got the webcam all set up. Hurrah for that.

Also booked two tickets to Europe for March. Fun, fun! Some of it is a repeat for me, but new for Maura. We'll also be going to areas new to both of us. It'll be easy in an area with lots of trains and everything is pretty close together.

Enough for now. Enjoy your weekend and be sure to hug someone at some point.


*not all of this paragraph is true. But it is funny.

No subject. None at all.

Past few days have been kind of blah. Stupid domain name isn't forwarding correctly (so no one will even see this), other stupid stuff going on. Then I get the expected e-mail this morning (yes, I had predicted I'd get a reminder from Becky two days before I can sign the final papers).

It would have been a good day to call in sick.

My new pet

adopt your own virtual pet!

this is the week that was

Bathroom update:

the painting and wall tile is done, shower is complete, floor tiles set and will be grouted today

Girlfriend and I (girlfriend = Maura) went to Bed Bath & Beyond (B^3) and picked up a new shower curtain and bath rug. Gotta change the color scheme and theme slightly to go with the new look.

Left to do: floor grout, toilet, sink, vanity. So close!

Tomorrow is work on the VFR day. My chain tool should arrive today, so the new chain can finally go on after a 3-month wait. Maybe I'll bug John for a little tire changing this weekend, too, as I have the new tires. Then the VFR will be ship shape (motorcycle shape?) and I can start working on the CBR. Oh, the love of wrenching and dreaming of riding.

Maybe I'll finally get Maura on a motorycle. Over 3 months we've known each other and she's never seen me on one, more less ridden with me. Odd given how much motorcycles are in my life.

Also, Lily got a new collar with a bell on it, so her new nickname (added to a long list of previous nicknames) is "Jingle".

Time to start the weekend

After the last two party-intense weekends, this one is scheduled (loosely) to be a little more laid back. Tonight, Maura and I plan to go to the gym, replace a closet rod that fell at her apartment, get Horst's mail, and perhaps hit Brittingham's for a beer and some music.

Saturday might be a little hiking, maybe some garage work (motorcycles? where?), and movie watching. Since I met Maura, I haven't been keeping up on my Netflix list. That is, in general, a good thing, but it's $20/month whether I watch the movies or not. Used to be I could watch 8 DVDs in a month ($2.50/DVD) and I was in good shape (economics wise). Now I'm lucky to get through 1 in a month.

I guess traveling for 2 of the 4 months since I met her didn't help, either :) Whatever the cause, I need to watch some movies.

That last paragraph triggered a calendar check on my part. Maura and I met 14 weeks ago tonight. And I was out of town for about 6 of them.

Hmm, I did a quick Google search to figure out what to call being together for 14 weeks. "Fourteen weeks" brought up mostly references to pregnancy and professional wrestling. I guess there's a lot in common between the two, though neither has anything to do with us. I guess I'll stick with 27% anniversary.

And now that reminds me of something (the connection is "geeky thoughts"). At the gym last week I saw a news item on the weather in CA. Gusty winds. The on-line text had a confusing moment, probably meant to say "50 to 60 mile per hour winds". Instead, the phrase "50 to 50e6 mile per hour winds" set me to laughing on the treadmill. "The wind is somewhere between fifty and fifty million miles per hour, Jim. Might want to let the cat in."

Deal of the day: found Oliphant Vodka (Dutch. Good? I hope so) at the state liquor store. Regular $14.99 on sale for $9.99. And a $4 rebate. Uh, $6? Ok!

Sexy Name Decoder

It's true, really.

Oh, it's one of *those* days

It's Monday, well, Tuesday but first day of the work week, and all is as can be expected. People wandering in to work after the long holidays, trying to remember where they sit, what they do, to whom they do it.

Then I lose my main Verizon alias, so vfmatt doesn't know where to redirect to (from?). Don't know if I can get it back, but I'll switch to mosbornepa22 anyway for consistency. Long live dennis.vfr - just don't e-mail it no mo'.

Tonight is a nap (maybe) and then the gym (definitely). Then the 9pm conference call (blech) and see how much progress the landlord made. He started on the bathroom renovation one month ago tomorrow. How time flies when you don't have a shower :p Not so bad - I've only slept in my own bed once in the last month. My other places were hotels in China, Singapore, or Philadelphia and with Maura and the kitty at Maura's place.

New Year's Eve/Day was great. We spent two nights in downtown Philly (3 actually, but only had a hotel for 2 of them) and had dinner and drinks with Melanie and Chad. Or Chad and Jeremy - ha! inside joke. The chili stew with pork was delicious as were the margaritas from scratch.

Time to get back to work. Everyone enjoy the rain (if you are on the East or West Coasts) and other weather.