Thanksgiving weekend

I went up to my Parents for the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. Now I'm back here, at work. It was a good weekend with the family & friends that were there.

Just Cheryl came up besides myself, although she did bring her cat. The Lucas' were there, but they came & left at different times.
Daryl & Jake came up earlier in the week to do some hunting.... they hunted for 5 days & didn't have a single opportunity to shoot one. Hell, I saw more deer then they did, lol. Ruthy, Brice & Kelson all came up on Wednesday night & they arrived before I did.

I left Ames around 9:15pm on Wednesday. Since it was still snowing in Northeast Iowa, all along the road I was going to take across, I waited until it moved a little farther East so I wouldn't catch up to it on my way.... so after work I took a hour nap, then proceeded to gather all the things I was going to take with me, load up the car & prepair the place for my absence. The last thing I did before I left was put on my new bike rack... it took me an hour to put it on! The metal clips, the excess nylon straps, & getting the position of the bike just right caused me many problems. The trip itself went smoothly. I stopped once at the half way mark to fill up as I didn't leave with a full tank & with the wind catcher of a bike hanging on the rear I wasn't sure I was going to make it all the way on what I had in the tank. The clouds did break up enough on the trip to let the moonlight through... & that's produced my favorite driving conditions. After a decent snow fall & while the moon is high in the sky, a bluish gray light envelopes the world... it was bright enough even to drive without my headlights on, which I did for just a moment. It was very peaceful & tranquil.

Thanksgiving day was as expected... I slept in for awhile, showered, & greeted everyone. We ate around 1:30 & it was Delicious as always.... lots of turkey, potato's, & pie. The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house, taking naps & chatting with each other.
Friday was more of the same, good food & friends.... with frequent naps. As well as Saturday.... although the Lucas left on Saturday.

I did get out to ride my bike for awhile, but it wasn't great. The first time I just accompanied the girls on their walk, although I did take a few detours to keep my heart rate up & get some distance in.... it was really cold & the gravel made everything complicated. I tried doing some off roading on Friday, but it was a complete failure. In areas where there was snow I spun out, & where there wasn't snow it was pretty much just mud... so more spinning out. So I fooled around a bit on & around the driveway, but not for long.... as I almost wiped out several times from the gravel or dirt letting my bike slip out from underneath me. I don't think the extra time it's going to take to load up my bike & the extra gas it's going to cost me will be worth taking it up again for Christmas.

Snow

It's been snowing most of today, the first snow of the year that looks like it's going to stick around longer then a hour. Although I like snow, it made it a bitch to ride home on my bike for lunch... it was the first time that my face got really cold from riding. I will definitely have to ask for a face mask for Christmas. I like having snow on the ground, imo if it's going to cold we might as well have snow.... it's better then looking at fields of black dirt. It looks like it's stopped here, but I can't say that for South East Iowa, which looks to get everything we got & more.... hopefully now that it's stopped here the roads to Wisconsin won't be bad. I haven't decided if I'm leaving tonight or tomorrow, as I'm going to wait to see what the weather does.

I did get my hair cut yesterday, but I'm not 100% satisfied with how they cut it. I'm still in search of a place that will look past how I tell them to cut it & actually use some common sense to make it look good.... it looked well enough while I was in the chair, but now that it's been washed & had some time to settle I realize it's not cut quite right. arg

Bike Rack, Jordan's New TV, my hair

I bought a trunk mounted bike rack for my car last night. I can't wait to get onto the dirt up in Wisconsin!! Some really hilly, bush covered, forested area that will be a real blast to ride around in.... as long as I don't get mistaken for a deer, it being hunting season & all. At least I'll make it a challenge for the hunter, trying to shoot a weird shaped & erratically behaved target. I can already imagine myself peddling up through certain spots, up the trail my dad already has cut, off through the multi floral rose bushes that surround the trail, over sandstone outcroppings, bouncing over fallen trees, weaving in and out of all the trees.

Jordan has a X-Box 360 & today he is getting a 40" HDTV!! The boys & I have been playing over at Jordan's the last couple of days & we all have grown very fond of a certain game.... we all plan on heading over there tonight for a nice session on a big screen!!

I have to get my hair cut today.... if I don't do it today I know I won't be able to get it done until next week, after I get back from Wisconsin. I am liking it long like it is, as it also acts like a additional layer against the cold when I'm out riding.... but certain parts of it are becoming uncontrollable. I haven't found a barber/salon here in Ames yet that I'm really satisfied with.... it's trial & error over & over. I'm done with these Quick Cuts, Fast Cuts, type places. I'm going to go & find a place downtown right now & make a appointment for after work today if possible. I've let my beard grow in too, as it's a nice little buffer between my skin & the cold.... but I'm keeping it short. I cut it down to 2-3 days growth & then let it grow out for a week before I cut it again. At the week point it starts to get shaggy, uneven, & with "whiskers" that stick out.... which is why I cut it back again. I'm really liking the way it looks, now if I can just get my hair to look decent too.... & hopefully they can even up the bottom of my beard to get it symmetrical, as it should be easier from a third persons point of view.

Update

I know I haven't written awhile.... so, here's what's new with me....

I had to put Louie down a couple of weeks ago. It had been about 6 weeks since I had seen the initial signs that something was wrong.... I figured he would recover on his own soon enough. At first he had trouble keeping his rear end straight behind him.... & when he jumped off of any object, even just 6" off the ground, his back hips would hit the ground. By 4 weeks he could only get around by pulling himself using only his front legs, while his back legs laid on the floor.... when this started happening I took him in to get checked. They couldn't really diagnose what was wrong without going so far as to get a CAT scan.... but they were sure it was neurological problem, which probably couldn't be fixed anyways. So I took him home & tried to make the next 2 weeks as comfortable as possible. The night before I took him in was awful, he pissed on himself 3 times & I won't even mention his multiple bowel movements. I had to put him in a box that he couldn't get out of so he wouldn't create a mess anywhere else in the house... but the box made him miserable because he was such a free spirit. That night made me realize it was finally time to put him out of his misery. Putting him down went very fast & I could see by the look in his eyes that it's what he wanted once he realized what was happening.... but it was still a hard thing to do, as his mind & spirit were still strong but his body just couldn't keep up. It's been a weird adjustment not having him around.... although he wasn't really himself the last 6 weeks, his presence is still missed & the place hasn't felt the same yet. So now it's just me & Whisper.... it's been quite a adjustment for both of us, as she is now becomes the center of attention when I get home & when people come over. Although she likes it, she is quirky & doesn't get as much loving if she would let us hold her longer. I know I'll get another cat eventually to keep Whisper company, but we are going to get some 1 on 1 time in first.... hopefully we'll form as strong as a bond as I had with Louie.

I finally took my car in to have it checked for some vibration that I was experiencing at in the 40s & again in the 70s. After new tires, a oil change, replacing the tie-rod ends, replacing the washer fluid bottle, & replacing some vacuum tubes, it cost me $1,500! Good thing I just got my year end bonus to help me pay for it....

I got my year end bonus two weeks ago this Friday. WOOT!! Since bonuses account for a 4th of my yearly pay & I only get them twice a year, I have to live most of the year from paycheck to paycheck.... but when bonuses come around it's shopping spree after shopping spree:):) Although my car bill cut it all in half :(:(

The holidays are upon us. I'll be going home to my parents house in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving.... I'll be leaving Wednesday & coming Back Sunday some time. The whole family won't be there for Thanksgiving, but that's ok cause if everyone came (including the visiting family) I'd probably end up sleeping outside! lol I don't know if I should take Whisper or not. See, I originally got Whisper to keep Louie company when I took long trips... but with Louie gone I don't know if I should leave her at home or attempt to bring her with. I know that if I bring her with there will be problems.... she has claws & if she gets freaked while in the car; bye-bye leather seats, my parents house will be full of people & I don't know how she'll get along while she's there, my parents have another cat that is about twice her size that I know she'll be frightened to death over, & they have leather furniture too. On the other hand though, I know she'll get super lonely if I leave her alone for almost 4 days & I don't know of anyone that will be around to check up on her.

I still ride my bike to work even though it's cold.... so my car actually just sits there for weeks on end. I tend to wear layers once it gets below 40 constantly, so the ride hasn't been bad yet... but I know when it gets really cold I'm going to be suffering. I'm hoping to bring my bike up to my parents for some off road action! It'll be the first with my new bike. But I need to get a bike rack for my car first.... which I know is going to cost more then I want to spend. Hopefully it'll be worth it.

The video game market really starts to boom at this time of year, as everyone is spending more time at home in front of their computers because it's cold & dark. So there are a lot of new games out right now & I look forward to playing a few of them. The game I have been playing for about a year now (BF2142) I'm finally putting on the shelf in preparation for some of the newer ones. It's a sad occasion, as I've put over 200 hours into learning all the little aspects of this game only start all over in another game... but I guess that's how it goes & I can only hope that some of the experience will transfer over. Right now I'm going to focus on Team Fortress 2 (TF2). TF2 is a blast to play, especially with clan mates.... it's well balanced & very team oriented. We are already in a 7v7 competitive ladder & the division looks to get really kicked off this week with regular practices, scrims & matches. Call of Duty 4 (CoD4) has come out too & it alone is the reason that our team put BF2142 on the shelf.... 90% of the players from 2142 are shifting to CoD4 & we are picking up players for the division constantly. I'll be getting CoD4 soon enough so I don't get left too far behind! .... after a little TF2 action first though. Some of these new games look incredible! It's like I'm really shooting someone in the head! lol

Our weekly Heroes gathering at my place still happens every Monday that they air it.... it's the rare occasion that I get to host people, so I look forward to it every week. It gives me the reason I need to keep my place clean.

That's all for now.