New Motorcycle!

2014 Honda NC700X DCT

I finally got both the courage and money to get a motorcycle.  I have been bouncing this around forever but never pulled the trigger.  Those who know me know that I do not get big-ticket items often or on a whim.  I have been researching getting a bike for a couple years, but only seriously in the last couple months.  On one hand, I was looking at a vintage motorcycle that could be bought outright with no payments.  And this is something I almost did.  However, while I may not have been making payments on the bike, I would have in maintenance.  And that was something I just didn’t know about.  I am no mechanic.  So, I opted for getting a new bike, as well as one that was going to be an easy commuter.

Enter the 2014 Honda NC700X DCT –  A motorcycle with a manual or automatic transmission.

Gonna geek out for a short spell

Yep, gonna play the part of a geek for a bit and discuss a game that is an escape.  I don’t play it a ton, but there are times where I just lose myself for the weekend and immerse in the World of Warcraft.  Yes, the same game that gets blamed for poor life choices of some extreme cases (parents ignoring children, 20-somethings who don’t bathe…)  Every few years, they release an expansion, which brings a whole bunch of new content, monsters, spells and useless achievements we just HAVE TO HAVE!

St. Patty’s Day-After

St. Patrick’s Day 2014

Survived another St. Patrick’s Day at the Irish Rover and am none the worse for wear.  I got there around 12:30 pm or so and met up with the usual suspects.  Spent some time with my ex-brother-in-law and his dad and step-mom and had some good conversation.  Yep, kept out any family issues and politics – it was a day to be happy and have fun and drink.  However, I have to question the sanity of someone who gives up beer for lent knowing St. Patty’s day is right in the middle.  As the day wore on and the beer was consumed, more and more people showed up and it was standing room only.  Local Irish step dancers came and entertained, more bands came and went, and more beer consumed.  I don’t know when I left or what time I got home, but it was a very successful holiday.  Counting down the days until St. Patrick’s Day 2015!

St. Patty’s Day ’14

As a resident of Louisville, KY who is not a fan of college basketball, March is a noisy month.  Both at work and at play.  You cannot go into a bar or pub or even restaurant without being blasted in the face with either Red or Blue.  For me, March is too long of a month.  There is only one day of the month that is even hospitable to someone like me; Match 17, aka Saint Patrick’s  Day.

Yes, I realize that we Americans have bastardized the Irish version of this holiday, but that is OK.  I don’t live in Ireland.  If the 17th falls on a weekday, I take from 12 noon to 12 noon off from work.  Gotta recover.  Since 1996 (or so) I have been celebrating at the Irish Rover in the Clifton area of Frankfort road.  They have the best party.  The entire parking lot is put under a tent and the bring in bands and talent from all over the region and beer and fish/chips are served in copious amounts.  There are people I only see on this day, yet we pick up where we left off from the year before.

And I am getting ready to head there in just 2 long hours.

As the days go by…

… and the last free weekend until late July goes past, I am forced to reflect on the last few months and just how quickly I have run out of time.

Death warmed over!

Overall, a good weekend.  Friday was killer, for two reasons.  It was a good night, but I was BLASTED and didnt get home till almost 7am Saturday.   Hung out with a couple friends, met new ones.  Saturday came and I found myself getting 4 new tires (in order to avoid a blow-out) which really put a cramp on my fun for this month, considering my search for a roommate has been tough, and I have no one to help with the May bills and such – ouch…  Saturday night was me on the couch watching bad movies and playing a little WoW (which I have not done in excess for a long time)

Gen Con 2007

Well, another GenCon has come and go. What a freaking good time, again. Went with 3 other really good friends, and met up with 2 more for a rousing good time of gaming, tokens, cards, movies and speaches. We finally got to stay at the site, within walking distance. A plus.

Loss

In March, Shadow and I lost 3 members of our family. My (ex) wife and her daughter moved out and we are getting a divorce. Unfortunately, they also took Miss T. Without getting into a whole lot of detail, I miss Miss T more than my (ex)wife, and I know poor Shadow misses his little partner in crime. For the first week or so after their departure taking Miss T, Shadow paced the house, mewing and whining, searching Miss T’s favored haunts. He took to brooding in high places, under furniture, biting ankles (well, he did that before, but more now) and being impersonal. This was a happy, carefree cat before the departure.

Princess Grace

Shortly after Miss T came into our home we began to notice how she was less coordinated than most kittens. She is bow-legged, and it hasn’t gotten any better with time. She is now 7 months old, and she isn’t getting any more graceful. She has learned to scale the higher objects in the house now, but she still lacks grace. We were reminded of her lack of grace this evening, when she decided to jump from our living room sofa to the bar area of our kitchen (probably 2 feet up and 1.5 feet over). She hit the top of the bar, skidded on the place mat and knocked the portable phone off the wall. This frightened her so much that she launched off of the bar, over the bar stool and across the living room, where she hid underneath our topiary turtle. She hid there for several minutes before deciding that it was safe enough to emerge and lick herself and pretended not to have fallen.

On Moving In…

Back in the last week of June, 2003, I added a new kitten into Shadow’s realm. Shadow had been a solitary cat living with a single guy for 4 years. Last year, I added my (ex)wife and her daughter into the mix. It took Shadow a bit to get used to them, but he took it in stride. They have been in the house now for a year and he was working well with them.