Noobies VÜ

Guitar Paint Fail

2014-08-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

It's been ages since I've last posted on here. Actually I think most of my blog posts start out with: it's been ages, it's been a long time, etc.
My amazing brother passed away a little over 4 months ago and though I'm not quite ready to write about that at this time, (as Legolas says in LOTR, "...for me the pain is all too near.") he is the cause of this post.
After he passed and I spent time in GA for the funeral his gorgeous wife Robin was so kind as to offer me the choice of a couple of his guitars. After conversing with his son Cameren, I chose a beautiful Lake Placid Blue Fender HSS Stratocaster and a kit Les Paul he had been fiddling with. He had the LP body prepped for paint and all the parts but he hadn't painted it or assembled it.
Robin showed me a video online of how he had wanted to paint it. It was a nifty technique called "dipping" where you actually float the paint on the surface of the water and swirl it together. Man, it looks really easy on the video. But there are things they don't tell you which I will share later. Anyhoo, so I knew the technique and I also had the paints (red, white, and blue) that he had picked up for just this project.

This video makes it all seem so easy but there are some things they don't go into, ambient temperature outside, that the guitar is actually quite buoyant, and the paint will skim up very quickly; I assume this is more a result of the outside temp than anything else.
I tried to do it earlier in the morning before it heated up much, but I think it was still a bit warm.
A few things conspired to make this a fail in the making.
I had to get some Borax and it turns out it had likely been on the shelf for ages at is was completely solid in the box, it was like a 4 pound powdery brick. So I had to break it up a bit, no biggie.
I did the shaky thing with the paints Chris bought, but I clearly should have opened them all up and really looked at them. I didn't realize until I started mixing that the paints were very old and had partially solidified. The red and blue seemed fine but the white was useless. :(
I of course didn't realize that until after I put in the red and blue. This is when I also learned that the paint was skimming and drying on the surface. I had read of this issue with Testors paints but these were Humbrols which all the forums said were best for this and didn't skim up as much. Again, I blame the temperature.
I still gave it a shot though, perhaps in retrospect I shouldn't have. :( as soon as I saw the paint starting to dry on the surface I should have passed it. But I didn't. I gave it a shot anyway.
This is when I learned how the guitar is very buoyant, you actually have to force it down. In watching the above video I never thought for a moment that they were putting effort into it.
So after I got it dunked and cleared the surface I pulled it out and I think this is where the biggest problem with swirl dipping lies, the paint is not even. The paint will pool and congeal in areas and it makes for an uneven and tragic coat.
So I tried, it looks wretched and I will have a job ahead of me re-sanding and priming the body for paint. I don't feel terrible about it, it is a kit guitar and I know it had been sitting for awhile. I also like to think Chris would have been as gung-ho to try. lol He likely would have been much more successful but...
So here are the before and after (for now) photos of my debacle. lol

At best it looks like Jackson Pollock's drop cloth, at worst it looks like a damn blood clot.
Just hoping to find someone that can actually paint it for me. I'm personally not a huge red, white, and blue fan but I might see if I can come up with a graphic that can be done on it and get someone to execute it.
I have ideas in mind, but they are mostly black and blue with some ghost flames or graphics of some sort. I'd like to integrate my tattoo that's for Dad and Chris into it (hell, I need to get that done first. lol).
So anyhoo, I made the effort, and if nothing else comes of it at least I made a new blog post. :) Chris was often on my ass about not posting lately.

Kitchen 2.0!

2014-02-17T19:18:00.002-08:00

Hootie Hoo!
Got down to work again the last couple of weeks and redid my kitchen. I would love to eventually change the layout but until I have the moola for that I just have to update it when I can.
When I moved in the cabinets were tragic, you can check out my earlier posts about it here.
I have liked the black cabinets for a while now but I noticed that they show every little bit of dust as well as cat hair on the lower cabinets. I have no problem cleaning up after them but they never really seemed to come fully clean.
I also decided that they darkened the kitchen quite a bit and the appliances just faded into the background. I found a kitchen on Houzz that had grey cabinets and since that's a major color in my house I decided it might work out in the kitchen as well.
I didn't want to go the same route that I did in the rest of the house however as I was hoping to avoid having everything blend together. Plus, with grey cabinets I didn't want them to blend into the background as well. I found a really nice blue from Behr that was just gorgeous and complimented the french silver I decided on for the cabinets. At first I was concerned that they would be too light as they weren't quite the grey I had originally planned on. I also thought at first that they looked a little baby blue-ish but they did turn out a very light grey so I'm happy.
I also had to add some lighting as there was no light above the sink and I decided under cabinet lighting would be good as well. I am so excited about how it all turned out, throw in the Fasade backsplash and I am truly a happy camper.
Before
This is the black I had prior, also note the walls that hadn't been fully painted to the left and above the stove. It's true, we lived with that for at least a year. (as always, click on the pics to embiggen)

I still think the black looked good, very modern but still. Another angle. I also never finished painting the roll up door on the appliance garage.

And the last one, before.

During the process:

The ones on the floor are new. The 3 door cupboard is for the laundry room.
After painting, loving the blue and grey. Eagle eyed viewers will notice the new cabinet. Thou shalt ignore the messy pantry.

Another angle:

Looks much fresher, cleaner, and also brighter. The black cable is for under cabinet lights that I added.

Yay, let there be light!
And now for the full after, I added some Fasade panels for a fun and interesting backsplash.

If you look closely you'll also see an added spotlight above the sink along with a stainless steel panel I am using to cover the wiring for the under cabinet lights.
I moved the right hand cabinet to the left to align it with the window. This opened up a space between it and the corner cabinet. I decided to add a wine rack/display shelf. Thou shalt ignore the garage.

And now with just the accent lighting. It's funny that I used to think that the light above the oven was bright, now even with the under cabinet lights at their dimmest the oven's are still dimmer. There is no garage.

I even got my knives and magnetic knife rack installed!

I still have some plans for the future but it will be a while. I'd like to do a faux poured concrete counter top. I found a really groovy how-to on Pinterest that I am dying to do. It'll take 3 days though and I would have to remove the sink to do it. I'd love to one day align the sink with the window, right now it's almost a foot off center and it's annoying, but I would have to redo the whole floor plan.
I was being really stingy with the paints I used. I didn't want have a bunch to waste so I just bought pints. I'll tell you, it was a close thing. I could have saved myself a little bit had I not painted before I put up the backsplash but since I wasn't sure when I would be able to get them I thought it would be good just in case. Then I decided to paint the wall beside the fridge, I just barely had enough and when I say barely, I mean scraping the sides of the can like a jar of peanut butter.
This is what I had left:

Cheap Bastards

2013-06-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Once again I take up my hammer to try and make some improvements to my house. This one is gonna take a little time though, couple weekends worth.
My house is an odd house dear readers, it's kind of a stupid house, it's also unique and I do like it, but damn, every time I try to improve it I run into the idiocy of the former owners.
It gets wretched hot upstairs and I have a real difficult time dealing with it. It's one of those things that I find myself surprised that the people who lived here previously tolerated it.
I was dubious that there was any insulation on the rear wall and the outside sheathing is looking really bad so I decided to put up some vinyl siding. After an annoying experience with an asshat for customer service at Lowe's (apparently I shouldn't shop for things on Sundays- duh.) I wound up at Home Depot and I found some really inexpensive siding.
Just a little aside, Lowe's has a ton of siding on their website, but they tell you there are 4 profiles and 12 colors, I challenge someone to locate them. Home Depot on the other hand doesn't have anything on their site except for fixture mounts. WTF? This was the reason for my trip to Lowe's but look out! Lowe's doesn't carry siding in their stores, you have to special order (just don't try to look for samples on a Sunday). But Home Depot actually carries siding.
Back to the siding I found at HD. They had a single box of 4.5" double lap for $46! They only carry 5" double lap now I guess. I can also tell you a single box will help no one. Except me! I only have to cover the upper bit above the back roof and it's 32' x 32" and this is more than enough for that. Just FYI, a box of siding is normally $158.
Here's the tragic back of my house, don't judge me I have a budget. lol

I pulled off the old sheathing to take a look at what was under it; I figured if I was going to side it I should go the extra mile and address the insulation as well.
This is what I found...

Just so you know, that is my AC ducting. The silver bit is about the size of a stock pot. So, most of my heating and cooling has been going into the void. Sigh.

Here's another shot in from a different area. They really did just redneck everything in this house. sigh

Last night and early this morning I put in more insulation (The big wads shoved inside the voids really don't offer much I don't think) and secured the sheathing a bit more effectively. Next weekend I install the siding! Hopefully.

Master Bedroom Pt. 1

2013-06-09T11:04:00.001-07:00

All the projects I've done have been in other parts of the house but I finally decided I should do something in my master. Admittedly it's not like anyone else goes in there, but hey, I sleep there!
I've collected quite a few Egyptian objet d'art; papyrus, tiles, etc but no real place to put them. Then I decided I had a whole wall in my bedroom that I could put them on.
The only real issue I had was figuring out how best to arrange them. I'm still not thrilled with the end result, but it's a start. Next up, new headboard, book cases and perhaps a spot of paint.
Forgive the wires and stuff from the TV, I just installed it and the shelf so I hadn't really cleaned up.

I'll probably wind up rearranging them eventually. I'm not sure I love them all blown on one wall, but for now...

TV Stand cum Buffet

2013-06-09T10:53:00.001-07:00

Since I have moved my TV upstairs I had this fabulous TV stand that I got just gathering dust in the living room looking sad with no real purpose. It was too low to really display much on it and I decided I might have a better use for it.
I've needed more storage for some things from the kitchen and I didn't have any place to store my "fancy" plates. It was still a bit short for that purpose but then I remembered some hardware I had from my old bookcase that I made a few years back but had to sadly dismantle. So I grabbed the stainless uprights and my drill and some more lumber and paint from Home Depot and made a stand to put the TV stand on.
It's not ideal, but it's functional and I don't have a wasted piece of furniture. :)

It holds my pier one dishes, crock pot and the huge pot my beloved brother got me for making gumbo! I plan on getting some baskets and cook books to put below. Storage is always good!

Washer/Dryer Pedestal

2013-06-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

I have had my washer and dryer stacked since I got them a couple years ago. I have never really liked them like that but the cost of the snazzy pedestals that the manufacturer makes are stupid expensive. I've seen lots of how-to's online and finally decided I'd make my own.
The Supplies

(click to embiggen)

A couple of 2x10s (I wanted it to be as close to 12" tall as possible) a 5/8s" piece of plywood, wood glue and tons of screws later.

The view from the top

From the bottom (I went to town on the 2x10s- I wanted it as solid as possible.)

Then I added the stainless flashing (which you can also see in the above photos) and I grabbed my drill and a wire brush and did some fun swirl action on it

Next I framed it out with some 4" trim that I painted black. Hey, when you have a theme...

And, the final product, (ignore my poor tiles, and yes, I know I'm gonna have to move those heavy ass machines and pedestal all over again when I fix them. I just don't know how to do the tile yet and I honestly didn't realize how big it really would wind up being. I overestimated the size I needed but I figured it was safer to be too big than too small.)

And there you have it. I'm happy with them and all told it was about $100 a pretty good bargain if you ask me. Just one of those pedestals is $299. I don't have storage in this but I have a few shelves so I think I'm okay with that.

A YEAR! (almost)

2013-05-05T15:29:00.002-07:00

This seems to happen quite frequently, well, relatively speaking anyway, I have become so lax in my posting that a year can come and go and I don't even notice. The only reason I did this time was because I was trying to show a friend a video that I knew I had posted on here. Yeah, I also learned that some of my videos no longer work. Booo for that.
So, what have I been up to, you may ask. Or not. But who cares? I'm gonna tell you anyway!
I've been doing a few projects around the house, nothing terribly earth shattering by any means but they do make the house more to my liking. Ohhh what I could do with a real budget. Or at least pay someone else to do.
I think the biggest project this year (and one that still isn't complete) is the upstairs floor. Thanks to a certain feline's propensity for peeing on the carpet in the hallway (BAD KITTY!) I found myself having to step up my timetable on replacing the carpet in the house with some wood flooring.
Of course the flooring I wanted couldn't just come off the shelf, no, that would be too easy. For some reason Lowe's and Home Depot both refuse to carry black or black toned flooring beyond the Jacobean Bamboo. That would be fine but I was advised against it as my house is too dry and the floor would likely crack in a few years unless I used a humidifier. If you've ever been in my house you'd know that was folly. har har
I did locate a lovely dark toned oak that had blue-gray graining. I really like it.
I tore the carpet out (ew, BAD KITTY) and was greeted with a sad sad subfloor. I had hoped to change it out but it would have been a huge job (of course, ALL my projects at this house go from small to huge). So, I suffered on. I do wonder if I might pull it all back up before I completely finish and try to do something about the subfloor. It is sooo uneven.

Before (with BAD KITTY) Click to embiggen

The wretched sub-floor

You can't tell from the photo but every where there is a water stain the wood has swollen so it is uneven. I had hoped to just cut out the bad pieces and replace them but when I looked into it I realized just what that might entail and due to budgetary and transportation issues I had to forgo trying to fix it. A decision that will have ample opportunity to to cause me sorrow in the future I am sure.

The floor looks fab though. And I ALMOST ordered the right amount. It's funny I must have measured 4 or 5 times and I swore did the math at least that many times. But with this section and the section in the entry I managed to ~~fuck it up~~ make a mistake and wrote down the wrong figure. I was off by the equivalent of 1 box. If I had to I could probably complete it jigsaw puzzle style with what I have, but since I've decided to face the stair risers with the same stuff I figure I'll just order a couple more boxes.

The lovely floor :)

As you can see from the shadow under the trim there is room to try and at least put in a sheet of luan or something to try and level the floor. I might try to take up the floor and correct it using that technique, I'm just not sure that will make it much more level. I might have to get a large sander or something to knock down the high spots, then lay the luan and then the floor; love snap and click flooring. I can feel the floor flex when I walk on it and the other day I saw it when someone else was walking in front of me. It makes me worry about the longevity of the floor. Everything is cut, it's not like it wouldn't be a relatively easy process to reassemble. It's just a downer that I need to do it.
Well, thus ends today's (hopefully not this year's) entry and reviving of the ol' blog. Bear with me kiddies, I still have to finish the post I started last June about my new boat. I also have a couple of other posts planned for my bedroom redo, an ad hoc sideboard I put together, my laundry room redo, as well as a couple new things I've done to the bike and Jeep.

Confessions of a Bull in a Garden Shop

2012-05-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

I've posted before that I really love pretty, fragrant, colorful gardens. I've even been trying to achieve something close to that at my own house but it's a lot more difficult then I thought it would be.
I like to think of myself as capable of doing most things, then the reality of my limitations comes crashing down and I realize I need to stop drinking so often.
Last weekend my brother and I went on a garden tour with a couple of my besties in the hopes of getting some inspiration. Well it succeeded and failed. It succeeded on the point of introducing me to some plants and garden types that I really liked and could see modeling my yard after. It failed on the point of enticing me into thinking I could do it as well. Bastard gardeners.
I've been slowly working away on my yard; added some trees last year. And I've been planning on doing some more this year, but as with all things, I am lazy and I drag my feet. Thanks to an awesome ~~infuriating~~ neighbor I've found myself having to step up to the plate sooner than planned.
My next door neighbor's next door neighbor, on the other side, bought the house between us. This would be my next door neighbor, though they didn't actually own the house, they were renting from some apparently obnoxious person who lived their before but had moved into town and seemed to be subsidizing their rent by using the rent they charged on their house instead of paying the mortgage on said house. So, it became the bank's property and my neighbor's neighbor is now my neighbor and his own neighbor. Anyway.
Awesome fellow my neighbor², he has transformed the mediocre house next door into a gorgeous little bungalow type of hybrid. I give to you, exhibit 1

Click to embiggen (sorry this is off google street view)

And now look at this little jewel, (oh and don't think I don't appreciate the fence, I had been wanting to put one in for a while, neighbor kids kept going into mine when they played. -oh, an aside inside an aside, turns out the shady owner kept moving the property line. The chainlink fence in the previous picture was actually over 2 feet onto my property. nice. - this allowed me to cut my costs in half, more if you include the fact that he built the whole thing while I was at work!)
Exhibit 2 The after where my ~~damn~~ awesome neighbor has totally stepped up the game of making a jewel out of chunk of shit.

HUGE difference

So because, well I had planned on it anyway, but he did up my timeline a bit. lol

A couple of weeks ago Constance and I decided to at least try to add a little color to the front of the house, she of course, had totally planned on jumping right in with the planting and stuff, but hey at least I got her input. We I made window boxes! (in her defense she was busy holding down her bed and making sure the cats weren't lonely)

Connie's box (har har- wink wink)

Jason's, snicker, box.

There are some really fun flowers but I don't know how well they will do at this point. I can't seem to water them enough. I may have to move them or try other plants. They do seem to revive when I water them but still.

This week I attacked the front ~~yard~~ rocky area. Again I totally over estimated my skills. But I hope it'll turn out. I worry because I have no clue how to do it or what to put in, I just find pretty plants that will take full sun and cross my fingers. But I have definitely learned I am not very delicate when I handle plants. It's funny I give roommate Jason a ration of shit because he doesn't know his own strength, but something tells me he'd be more gentle at planting than I am. Sigh.
So here are the plants I just put in.

I really hope these grow

To break it down, in the front we have a Delphinium. So cool. unfortunately the tallest sprout thingy broke off on the way out to me jeep by a lovely gust of wind. Really?! sigh, then another one got broken while I ham handedly planted it. It would not be the only casualty.

Delphinium, sure I stuck the broken piece in the ground, there's a chance yes?

The next one has the neatest petals, the Dahlia!

Dahlia

The last in this section is a butterfly bush

"Butterfly Blue" Scabiosa

Behind these (I didn't take a picture yet) is a Tuscan Blue Rosemary. Oh man it smells sooo good! I ~~blame~~ credit my brother for this one. He pointed one out on the tour. I will post a pic once it blooms (fingers crossed)

I also put in some wild grasses. These were probably my most AHA! moment of the day as I have struggled with what I wanted to do I discovered hey, I should plant these every other and flank the sidewalk with them! I chose Regal Mist Deer Grass and Mexican Feather Grass, just don't ask me to tell you which is which.

back (I think) Mexican Feather Grass, front Regal Mist Deer Grass

In the front right planter I threw a couple of plants- one I'm really excited to see bloom (again, fingers crossed), Chapel Hill Yellow Lantana, and a Salvia, Burgundy Candles.

front, Burgundy Candles; rear, Chapel Hill Yellow Lantana

"Burgundy Candles" Salvia

I didn't get a pic of the lantana since it hasn't bloomed yet.
The last plant was one I was most excited about until my fat fumbling hands decided to wreck the damn thing. I guess I didn't pay as much attention when planting it as I should have. sigh. The three red spikey things are supposed to be attached to the other red spikey things but I managed to bust them off. Apparently I really shouldn't try to plant that type of bush. Felt like a total dumbass when that happened. Oh well, what do you do, I hope to get a couple more and maybe those I won't fail with. lol I figure it'll grow.

"Brakelights Crimson" Hesperaloe Parviflora

More plants to come, but hopefully practice will make me a better planter.

Unseasonably Warm

2012-05-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

I think I figured out why it has been so warm this winter. First, I'm not complaining about the heat, it is marvelous and allows me time to ride my motorcycle in comfort, but it has been really warm when compared to January and February of past years.
With my roommate's help this last weekend I think we discovered why.
On my continuing trials and tribulations of my home and the corner cutting and what-the-hell-were-you-thinking modifications by the previous owners, I have found one more.
We had some good rain last week (I love the rain, but I've grown to fear it lately) and I am aware that when it comes from the correct direction my roof tends to leak a little bit. Not a lot, but enough to warrant a bucket in the sunroom. I'm actually quite happy that it is localized in the sunroom doorway but it's still not cool. At all.
Well, imagine my surprise when I am sitting on my couch and there is this odd pop-pop sound coming from the cushion beside me. I glance over to see a receipt roomie had left on the couch jump slightly. I'm like... wha...?
Just as I start to ask said roomie, who was sitting on the floor- don't ask, he just does that, what he left on the couch that was making that noise I realize it is a drip. Holy shit. I've never had the ceiling actually leak in the main part of the room, but I look up and I could see water collecting at a seam in the drywall on the ceiling. Not cute.
Sigh. Fortunately, beyond a few drips that sectioned dried up quite quickly, then I could hear the bucket in the doorway start to fill up. Double sigh.
I had to resign myself that once again I was going to have to tromp up unto the roof that weekend and see if I could figure it out.
I am pretty sure the half-assed way that the a/c unit was installed had everything to do with it. I just have to wonder if the homeowners did it themselves, or if they paid someone to do it. Regardless, it is ridiculous. I can already tell I'll have to do something to correct it in the future. I just love when people half-ass things figuring they'll fix it later, or better yet, allow someone else to fix it when the house is foreclosed on. psh.
In my inspection of the A/C unit I discovered a nice gaping hole (try a good half an inch at its widest) beneath where the ducting ties in. I didn't think a lot of it, the ducting itself is flexible tubing so I assumed the square ducting was simply enclosing the other stuff, I had corrected some similar gaping above with some aluminum tape but I hadn't looked below. I should have. I can only assume due to the way they installed it, the unit has settled and caused the gap to open below. Well, roomie passed his hand underneath when the unit turned on to heat. Oh joy. One vent is the cold air return, the other, heat. Well both of them sucked and blew. I think we can pinpoint my house as the cause for the warm winter as I have apparently been heating the outside for months.
It's almost funny, I went upstairs to figure out a water leak and discovered another kind of leak. Well a bunch of aluminum duct tape later, hopefully that part of it is corrected. Now I still have to figure out how to correct the water leak. Pretty sure the 2x4s nailed into the roof have a lot to do with it. It just kills me 2x4s! Then there is a bit of flashing that they used that I assume was meant to direct water away, but it is so stupidly put in that instead it directs it under the 2x4's where it collects until it seeps into the house. Idiots.
I had hoped to post some images of it but I didn't think to take them until after I fixed stuff. We put some flashing around the the sides of the frame and thus far, almost 2 months and a few storms later, I can say that I think the problem has been at least mostly addressed. For now.

Memento Mori

2012-04-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

I just found out that a very dear friend has left this life. I say dear friend even though I don't think I have seen her in over 5 years, if not longer. It's so difficult sometimes to put into words the complex emotions that make up friendship. I loved her dearly and have always so cherished the relationship we had. But it seemed as I grew older and came more to terms with who I was and my homosexuality that I developed the habit of separating my life into two distinct timelines. BEFORE and AFTER.

Jackie was BEFORE. The irony being she was one of the first people I ever came out to.

I don't think this has been a conscious decision. I know that I don't make an effort though, to keep in touch with many of those from BEFORE. I don't know if it's because I really question how they will take me and the truth of my sexuality, or if it's just the simple fact of being reminded of who I used to "be" and the lies I told to protect myself from the fear of losing great friends over a revelation of who I really was. Jackie had never given me any reason to doubt her feelings towards me. She was always so accepting and loving. We never went through a parting of the ways other then when I moved to a new city. I don't even remember when it happened. It just seems that people grow apart over time, and when I returned it was just too easy to maintain the status quo.

I try and try to recall the last time I actually saw her. I can't for the life of me. But I can recall a lot of the wonderful times we did spend together. The ups and downs of both our lives, the birth of her beautiful daughter; my coming out; her brother's marriage; the trials and tribulations of her relationships... She always had a smile and a laugh to share. And it was wonderful. And so was she.

you can't see it, but she is gleefully tugging on a co-worker's hair. This was Jackie. :)

When I first found out about her cancer I planned on going to see her and catch up. I thought she was in remission but I was horribly lazy and ambivalent and just never bothered. When I was told that she was in the end stages on Friday I thought about trying to see her but I was reluctant. I tell myself it's because I wanted to continue remembering her the way I do; laughing and vibrant and full of life. I didn't want to be plagued with the images of her in the hospital with machines maintaining her life. But ultimately I worry that I was being selfish. That this was that one opportunity to let her know that I cared and rejoiced in the life she lived with me.

But I couldn't. If there is one thing in this life I have become very good at, it's distancing myself from most of the painful emotions that make up our day to day existence. It's a coping mechanism that I have developed over time, and it works quite well. But I am less for it I think. I just can't seem to break it. Being confronted with the reality of mortality in such an explicit way is a bit more than I can take. It would force me to address the issues I have with death and dying. There is a big history for me with this and it is a huge part of what caused me to lose whatever faith I once had. Seeing my grandparents die and visiting them in the hospital as a kid, most specifically my mother's mother, who had suffered through multiple strokes, it was just something I have been unable to face. When my own father was in the hospital I couldn't visit him, even though I knew he wanted me to. I was able to visit my mother after her aneurysm and I am surprised I was able to do that. But I have learned that I am getting really good at compartmentalizing; in many aspects of my life.

I think I am experiencing the first casualty of that division. I have lost someone that I had always assumed that I would one day see again. And it hurts. I think not just in the loss forever of her presence but also in having to confront some issues I have worked very hard to disregard. Ultimately this choice was taken out of my hands since as soon as I was off work I was headed to Vegas with a bunch of my AFTER friends and Jackie passed pretty much when we were sitting down to eat. I had no cosmic revelation that this had happened, no disquieting feeling that something was amiss; she went quietly into that good night and I was oblivious.

It always seemed like Jackie and I had all the time in the world to run into one another again. I know in my heart that somehow, somewhere we will meet again and pick up where we left off and all the pain of this world will have passed us by. I hope then I can thank her for being who she was and loving me for who I was, and ask her to forgive me for not being there all those times I may have been able to give her support.

To Jackie I can only say; I'm sorry for missing out on so much, but thank you for all that you selflessly gave to me. You will be missed. And once again you have taught me something I didn't realize I needed to learn.

New Paint!

2012-03-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

I finally finished painting the garage door! It looks so lovely. I do still need to finish the trim of the house and the front door but I feel so accomplished with making the door look complete. Now with having wired the garage and putting a door on the back as well as enclosing the eaves with a half-assed soffit and closing the gap above the second-hand door, I can actually use the garage for more than just storing the vehicles. Lights and more outlets were the big things. I'll be posting some pics of those later once I get it all finished up and looking prettier. But for now, feast your eyes on the goodness that is the garage door. ;)

Black Toilet Seats. YES! NO!

2012-03-14T10:06:00.002-07:00

A few months ago I was on a quest, a quest to make my bathrooms look fabulous and cohesive and tied together. Roomie Constance and I had gone to mucho trouble to repaint the cabinets and mirrors in our respective bathrooms an awesome modern black. They look really good if we do say so ourselves. And we do. Throw in some nice nickle hardware and those poop palaces look fabulous, see here.
One problem though, Roomie Connie's toilet seat was in wretched shape and she found herself either struggling to stay on the damn thing as it wriggled around under her, or got her delicate bum cheeks pinched by the broken vinyl cover. I decided I'd come to her rescue. I mean I do own the stupid house, it was up to me to replace that hazard we referred to as a toilet seat.
So began my quest, I didn't want just the run of the mill toilet seat, I wanted one that would match her decor, and damnit while I was at it I might as well get one for my bathroom, even though the seat down there was fine.
Well, success! I discovered a place on Amazon that sold Black toilet seats! Huzzah!
In truth I was hoping for a black version of what I had downstairs; a dark oak natural grain toilet seat. I was only able to locate gloss versions. But I was like, heck yeah, sounds good! So I ordered two of those bad boys.
When the seats arrived I ~~immediately~~ eventually put them in, a day or so later. They looked magnificent. So modern. So classy. Perfect.
Imagine my dismay when a day later I looked at the one in the downstairs bathroom just a little too closely.
SHOCK AND HORROR! What the hell is that?!
There, outlined on our perfect toilet seat was an ~~ass~~ bum print. Mine or one of the roomies' is not known, probably a bit of both, or all three if we're being specific and accurate. This could not stand. (fear not, no images are forthcoming)
I immediately grabbed my Lysol wipes and went to town cleaning it. Of course I then had to wait to take care of business as I was worried what the wet Lysol would do to my delicate parts.
Why I was surprised by this development is unknown, possibly because I just didn't do the math.
Whenever we use something with a glossy surface we leave a smear behind; just look at your cellphone for verification of that fact. It's not just our faces that are covered in oils and dead skin; it's pretty much our whole body. Ew. As embarrassed as you might get when someone sees your cellphone now imagine that feeling when you realize you do that to a toilet seat. Now realize that you do that to every toilet seat, not just the black ones.
I am struggling with not changing out the toilet seats with standard wood or white ones, just so I am not confronted with the visible evidence of what we all leave behind. It's still gonna be there, I just won't see it. I guess there is some truth to the phrase, "out of sight is out of mind".
I don't blame either of the roomies for this, keep that clear, we are all the same and they are both fastidious in their hygiene, but... damn.
So, I'm either eventually gonna get new seats, again, or buy some ~~ass gaskets~~ disposable toilet seat covers, a ton of Lysol wipes, or learn to ignore it. I just highly doubt it will be that last choice. Oh god. What have I done?

STREET THUNDER!

2012-02-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

My motorcycle is AWESOME! It now sounds even more awesome than it did before!
I love loud vehicles. They are AWESOME! :)
My prior motorcycle was somewhat enjoyable but god it was uncomfortable. (Please see prior posting I Present, Ezreal for more information)
Anyhoo, like that bike, I wanted to do some upgrades and pimping. Unlike that bike, this time I actually am!
Hootie hoo! The first mod, PIPES!
The bike was loudish before, mostly because as a poor man's pipe modification I simply drilled out the back plates on the stock exhaust. That actually allowed for a bit more sound. But then the good old Roomie had to go and get some AWESOME pipes, Vance & Hines Sideshots. OMG so AWESOME!
Once again, I was sold. I had to get some cooler, louder pipes. The thing with adding pipes is that if you also add a tuner (a cool little box that's like Captain Kirk to your motorcycle computer's Scotty, and it tells it you need more POWER!) you can actually get some nice performance gains. I haven't put on the tuner yet but I've added the pipes and oh my are they LOUD! Roomie's are probably louder at idle but I got him trumped under power. I almost feel a little bad for people I drive by. Almost.
I really like the looks of the pipes too.
A before shot with the stock pipes (as always, click to embiggen)

During the install (just looks kind of cool with no pipes lol)

And with new Cobra Dragster Goodness

I really think they clean up the look of the bike. Before there are so many conflicting curves that it looked almost messy.

I like the way the pipes follow the bottom frame and make it look a little more butch. lol
I find it interesting that they almost make the bike look shorter. hmm

Tonight I'll be installing my tuner, and then this weekend I'll be eliminating the back blinkers by intergrating them with the taillight. Next weekend the front "lollipops" will go when I put some trick blinkers on under the lower triple tree. (the bit that holds the front forks- pictures will make it all clear)

Thank you taxes for making this all possible. I wish some of the other things I wanted to get were less expensive (almost $200 for a side mount for my license plate?! really?) but it's a work in progress.

And since talking about the sound of something means nothing without the sound, here is a little video that kind of gives you an idea.

New Year, New Outlook?

2012-01-02T10:50:00.001-08:00

Welcome 2012!
TL;DR version: I don't make resolutions, blah blah blah but I'm gonna try to accept who I am and quit comparing myself to others.

I am not a big New Year's resolutions type of person but I think it would still be a good idea to reassess what's going on in my life. New Years is just a convenient date to do so.
I am grateful for New Year's Eve as that I got to ring in the new year with some good friends. I think that's a good thing. Sure I wish there were some other people there that I don't get to see, but I need to be more grateful for what I have as opposed to being bitter about what I don't. But isn't that the rub?
It is so much easier to lament the things we wish we had and envy those people that have them. I have always had a bad habit of judging myself based on those around me, to my detriment. I do try to stop those insipid thoughts that creep in and try to undermine what little confidence I do have but it is usually easier said than done.
So this year I am not making a resolution, I am just trying to be more aware and thankful for what I do have and to enjoy it while I have it. Not bring myself down when I wish I had more. I think I'm at peace with my solitude. Sure it would be nice to have that "significant" other but I am really just happy knowing that I have a bunch of friends that I can spend time with that I don't ever really have to worry about having a bad falling out with and losing that connection as they decide that they want nothing more to do with me.
But what of this society? Am I not just a result of what we are taught to expect? That sense of entitlement that we develop as Americans and as someone who identifies as gay?
As Americans we seem to think that we are better than people in other countries (though perhaps all countries have this arrogance?). As a gay person I am horribly aware of what the "gay male ideal" is and I know I am not, nor will I ever be, it.
These things cause me pause. I wonder why I am not extraordinary and I wonder why I was dealt the cards I hold. I am only now accepting the fact that there are things I can change and things I shouldn't even worry about changing. The problem is accepting the way things are so I don't have to go through the thought process of having to accept I can't change it. To me those are different things. There is a difference between accepting who we are, and accepting we can't change it. The former is an acceptance of the status quo, of accepting our uniqueness. The latter is trying to change it and finally accepting you cannot. You're accepting your failure as opposed to your success. We each need to be the best that we are able to be, without judgement or frustration. Other people judge us just fine and we don't need to be our "own worst enemy". This is my goal.
The folly of youth is the belief that the "now" is what is most important at the cost to "soon" or "in time".
I think we should all live in the moment, but we still need to be mindful of the future and what it has in store for us. Sure it's easy to figure that we'll face something when it happens. To me living in the moment is more about being thankful for what you have and enjoying everything around you. It's quite another to sacrifice what can be for what is. Cramming your foot into 6 inch stilettos because they make your legs look so great at 22 but then at 52 being unable to walk because of the damage those $700 Louboutins did to your feet. Or the insistence in tanning because you don't "look as good pale" and then dealing with the skin cancer at 40 or even younger.
Would I have this opinion if I was able to tan? Would I have continued with the sun worship if I could attain that "golden healthy glow"? I don't know in honesty. Just like I don't know the path my life would have taken had I moved to Phoenix or San Diego or West Hollywood instead of staying in Southern Utah. I just know that you really do reap what you sow. I've had an eyelid replaced thanks to skin cancer and I go through life every day noticing spots on my skin with a different texture than the skin around it and worry that it might also be skin cancer. But sharing these experiences with others means jack shit.
As much as I like to think that the "it gets better" movement is making a difference, each person has their own shit and their own demons that they have to face and, no matter what, no one can save them from them but themselves. But the nice thing with this type of movement... it proves that, though they may not be the exact same demons, people have been through similar trials and came out on the other side, not unscathed perhaps, most likely changed, but alive and kicking, which is much better than the alternative. The problem with this movement is it deals with the young. And as I've learned, the "young" will always stay young. They cannot see past their immediate future and their current situation. They think they can on certain levels, but when it comes to their gestalt and their very being, they cannot. Sure, we can plan for a future of owning a home or having a family or getting an education or a career. But when it comes to our mortality, or the repercussions of our actions in the moment... those things we are blind to in our youth. And those trappings fall away when we move away from our "youth" and move into our maturity. For each person that is a different time. And I think for each person there is an element of regret and a yearning to return to what was or a desire to change the decisions that we made. Some people refer to it as the "arrogance of youth" and I think that might be fair. But I think it might also be the ignorance of youth. That inability to understand mortality. Not just in existence, but in how we exist. Ask the fellow in the wheelchair how he feels after that split second decision to see just how fast he can take his bullet bike on a stretch of road. He still exists, he is still there, but he is fundamentally a different person so in essence he doesn't exist. He ceased to exist in his original form the moment his body hit the pavement.
Now it's not just the young that do these things. I have made plenty of decisions that in retrospect I should have known better. But I am definitely more aware of the choices I make now then I was at 20. Sometimes I worry about that, because I think I am not allowing myself to live out loud or to live completely because I might be hamstrung by something that "might happen" as opposed to what "will happen". But this doesn't preclude the idea that there are things we should be aware of and things we can do that will ensure we will have the opportunity to live long and well.
No regrets. I wish that were as easy to put into action as it is to type. I don't think for a moment that it is possible to live fully without regret. But I do think we can mitigate that regret. That is ultimately what I am hoping to do this year. To not judge myself based on other people and as a result regret only the things I didn't do as opposed to the things I did. I will take more chances, I will work on becoming who I want to be. But I'll do it for me, not for my perceived idea of how other people will experience it. I won't try to become more fit out of the idea that by doing so I will be more attractive to others. I will do it so I don't feel tired when I vacuum my damn floor, or move furniture around or just move through this world. In essence, I'll do it for me as opposed to "them", that invisible audience we all carry around in our heads.
So, going forward I am going to see where this road takes me and see what the future has in store for me and I will accept it and me for what it is and do my best in forming it in a fashion that makes me happy. I will not compare my home, or my life or myself on others' and just focus on being the best "me" I can.
Fingers crossed.

I Gots Gutters

2011-12-07T08:55:00.001-08:00

On this never ending quest of getting my house where it should be (IMHO) I got one step closer to the non-end.
Gutters! This ~~hovel~~ house is over 20 years old and none of the previous owners put on gutters! What. The. Hell? It doesn't make much sense to me the amount of corner cutting. I can be a ~~lazy bastard~~ corner cutter on some things, but on structural and energy efficiency I do my best not to. Now gutters are neither structural or energy efficient but they help keep water off the house. In the first year I lived in the house we had a BBQ out front against the wall. We had some pretty intense rain and it hit that BBQ and soaked the wall behind it. That wall was to the pantry and I could actually see that the wall was wet from inside. Even with the BBQ gone if the rain came from the north that wall would get a bit wet. It didn't get soaked through by any means but it just wasn't something I liked.
I checked out getting the materials myself and thought it would be a pretty easy little project that I could ~~not possibly screw up~~ do with few problems. On a whim I decided to price out the job with a contractor. Surprise surprise! It turned out the contractor was able to do the whole job for $30 cheaper than I could just get the materials for. To make it even better I didn't have to go through the whole speaking in tongues/throwing the hammer/drill in frustration part of the mod. Me likes that.
The only problem I had was that the guy I contracted with, though easy to talk to, had issues with his email and wasn't the best at returning calls. Took almost a week to get things sorted out. His crew also had a language barrier. Maybe it's just me, but I think it is useful to be able to communicate with people who are working on your house. Other than that, I think it worked out and I like the look of the gutters. It's not like I expected them to transform the house by any means, but I am still pretty satisfied with how it all looks.
As a result of getting the gutters done I actually ~~got off my ass~~ painted my trim a much darker color and I love it! Next up: rain chains and urn thingys.
Pics below, of course click to embiggen

with the old trim color, ick.

new trim color, "Stealth Jet"

with the gutters bad pic will replace tomorrow

Window Seats!

2011-12-05T13:38:00.001-08:00

If you are a regular follower of this blog then you are familiar with the continuing saga of my "improvements" around my house.

One of the things that has bothered me is the lack of storage. It's a good sized house and the rooms are somewhat large, but not in the right areas.I have been wanting to do something with the sunroom for some time now and I knew with as shallow as the room is (couldn't even put a standard sized couch along the wall) I was going to have some problems arranging furniture. I thought about putting in mirrors and a barre and make it a ballet rehearsal room but when I went from a plie into a tendu I kicked the wall. sigh I didn't want to simply put in a couch or loveseat and lose any chance of having some kind of storage. Plus the windows are quite high in that room and it's nice to have the light and it will give a phenomenal view of my carefully cultivated weeds. So it seemed to me that some built-in window seats would be the best solution. So someday (never) I had hoped on doing some work on the room. Well someday arrived.

Roomie announced she is going to throw a birthday shindig and I have been wanting to make my sunroom more of an entertainment space (I have put in a ~~crap~~ small bar I found and installed shelves on the wall behind it) so this weekend sounded like an opportune time to see if I could throw together a ~~cheap ass~~ inexpensive set of window seats.

I elected to make an L shaped window seat with the short section going along the plain wall and the longer going beneath the windows. I went to Home Depot with a simple plan in mind and priced out about $100 worth of wood and materials- not including the cushions. ~~oh my god!~~ Yikes.

My Jeep isn't the best for hauling lumber of any significant dimensions ~~but it gets me tons of action, uh huh dream on~~ so I was gonna wait and see if Roomie would be able to help me get some stuff to the house later. Her jeep is mucho larger with a nice fold down rear seat for ~~illicit sex~~ hauling things. As luck would have it I ran to ReStore and located some ~~hideous~~ old bifold doors and sliding closet doors. Around 24" x 79" and 30" x79". I realized that this could make the front and tops for the boxes of the seats. All I would need otherwise is the rear frame. $24 later I had the basis for my seats.

My good friend Shane was able to help me get the doors back to my house (THANKS! I was not looking forward to packing those bitches on my back.) and I started mocking ~~people~~ up. The only downer was I over-estimated the strength of the doors when ~~my fat ass sat on them~~ pressure was put on them. Those types of doors are hollow core and the skin is very thin; they aren't exactly meant to hold a bunch of weight on the face (shut up), though when used other than designed they are very effective at mocking one's physical dimensions. Thus I learned quickly that they would likely dimple and ultimately dent over time, if not relatively quickly. I remembered that I had inherited some 1/4" oak sheets when I bought the house ~~along with a ridiculous to heat and cool floor plan and an hvac and ducting system that makes hvac guys laugh out loud as well as an upstairs bathroom that dwarfs would have a hard time using~~ and realized I could face the doors with them and vastly improve their weight capacity. I learned that the seats were going to be a bit taller than I expected, being a combined 26" in height (24" for the height of the door on edge + the depth of the door used for a lid) which make the seats quite tall, but I was okay with that as it allowed for tons of storage beneath ~~and hours of entertainment when Constance tried to use them as well as a place to shackle cute guys that I abduct~~.

I ran to Home Depot and grabbed 6 8' 2x4s and ~~sustained multiple splinters~~ carefully put together the back supports. With Jason's assistance I ~~crookedly mangled~~ cut the oak, 2x4s, and the doors and then screwed everything up together.

I'm happy to say the oak seems to have done the trick and they easily held our weight without any kind of dimpling or caving. woo hoo.

I figured I could use another 2x4 ~~and splinters~~ and I wanted Connie to check out some foam for sale at Home Depot so we made another trip. Came back home with more wood and some foam for cushions.

The cost thus far for the seats, $24 for the doors, $21 for HD run #1 ($12 for wood + $7 for nails and $2 for brads I never even frickin used since I forgot I had a damn brad gun) and $44 for HD run #2 ($20 each for the foam + $2 for the 2x4) = $89. The most expensive portion so far being the foam. I still have to locate some fabric and make some covers. Then I'll want to get ~~raped for~~ some throw pillows.

But I think it's turned out ~~looking like a spastic monkey with bladder control made them~~ really well and I am digging all the storage ~~for boys~~! Most of the ~~shit~~ stuff that was stored in the room ~~cluttering it up~~ is still in the room just nicely out of the way. :o)

If nothing else the spiders should be happy for a new home.

Pics below 9click to embiggen)


Yeah that bastard in the middle, yeah it gave me the splinters. Hate it with me.

The full Monty, need to cover the foam.

Oh and you ~~buttholes~~ people that notice that the end is not covered I'm getting to it. Sheesh.

Leaf me the Hell Alone Old Man

2011-12-03T14:16:00.000-08:00

Well, I learned that neighbors can be neglectful ~~bastards~~.

The old guy who lives across the street, I call him Ray since that's what he told me his name was, is well, old. He also seems to be ~~a lazy damn ass~~ unable to do some of the more physical things necessary to keep his ~~damn~~ yard clean of all the leaves that have fallen off his trees.

Well he needn't worry any more! All those ~~fricken~~ glorious leaves are now in my mostly treeless yard.

Great. Awesome. Thanks so much man.

The irony is, I thought about going next door and see if I could help him prior to the ~~tornado~~ small windstorm we had this past weekend. But I ~~am also a lazy son of a bitch~~ wasn't sure if he was even home since ~~I couldn't be bothered to knock and see~~ he's got multiple cars and you just never know which one he's driving currently.

Well har har on me. The wind blew every damn one of those leaves into my yard, I think he even moved his car off the street since it apparently blocked some of them from migrating. Those leaves also found their way to my yard by day's end.

So I am stuck with a bunch of leaves now. So, I went out and bought a leaf blower and it is my dream to blow them all back onto his damn yard. But ~~since I am a sissy bitch~~ I will probably just vacuum them up (That's right, it has a vacuum and mulch setting!) and bag them. It may be possible ~~definitely~~ that I just love toys and this gave me a reason to buy a new one to play with.

So I will take care of those pesky leaves without a complaint ~~yeah right, this whole post is one big complaint~~ to him and try to be a good neighbor.

Though, I did see him today with a leaf blower of his own and I have a sneaky suspicion that he is helping nature along and blowing the last leaves that finally fell into my yard to join the others. If this is so, I may just ~~shove~~ use my new blower and blow the leaves ~~up his raggedy old ass~~ back into his damn yard after all.

Click to embiggen

Note my lack of trees. Thanks ~~ass~~ Ray

Drummer no more?

2011-10-24T16:59:00.000-07:00

It was a saddish Saturday this past weekend. I say saddish, because though I had been stressing out for a few days after I received the offer to purchase my drums (Honestly, I had put them on Craigslist assuming I wouldn't actually sell. I had simply assumed that by actually listing them I was making attempts at cleaning out the clutter of my house.) in the end it wasn't so bad. Beyond that stressing, once they were packed up and sent on their way, I felt only the slightest tug and sense of loss. It could be because I had dealt with it during the days prior, which I am wont to do.

I didn't sell my drums because I no longer want to play, I sold them because I didn't really have a place to put them and I was self-conscious the few times I pounded on them. When I grew up in Beryl Jct our nearest neighbor was at least a 1/4 of a mile away, the only time I had to worry about disturbing or annoying people was when there was a meeting down at the firehouse at the end of our road. This happened very rarely and once I moved them into the basement, even rarer.

When I first started looking for a house the whole reason I wanted one with a basement was so I could have a room to set them up.

Now, I can remember growing up and listening to headbangers like Motley Crue and Whitesnake and Queensryche, etc. They all had these monster double-bass kits, so natch, I wanted one just like them. I had to have THE biggest kit I could afford. After high school graduation I placed my order. I can remember waiting for the kit to arrive as that every damn week I'd find out it was on back order. Man you think it's rough waiting for shit to be delivered now, imagine being a kid waiting on his dream kit. I was getting pissed! It was supposed to be in within 6 weeks of ordering. It wound up being closer to 6 months! Why didn't I just cancel the order? I contemplated it for about 10 seconds, my dad much longer than that, but I was driven; I wanted my dream kit! So I got my dream-kit but little did I know how much space that bad boy would actually take up, about 10' square. Tearing those suckers down and then putting them back up took at least 20 minutes both ways. There were days I thought I should just use part of it, maybe retire a bass drum and a couple toms, but I couldn't.

I played the hell out of that kit and I joined a few bands, though sadly, nothing ever took off. But they were still so awesome to have and pound on. I can recall some awesome parties in that basement and the jamming sessions we had. It was so cool. The only thing that could have been better would have been to have 10k people watching us. I played at the Washington County Fair a couple of times, but beyond that... nothing much.

After not having played them in at least 5 years, at least with any kind of regularity, and after my mother sold the house and I no longer had the place to store them, I was faced with trying to figure out what to do with them. Sadly, this was the best option.

I think what stressed me out was this was like a closing of a chapter of my life. I defined myself as a drummer for many years; I've literally played over half my life. And I loved it. Now I no longer have that. Well, hopefully if finances permit I can get a groovy electronic set and bang away to my heart's desire. Until that time, I guess this is a eulogy of sorts. A eulogy of the teenage and early 20s me that still dreamed that anything was possible; that I could be up on stage in front of thousands, adored by other musicians and kids that responded to music, OUR music.

Reality is a frigid bitch.

I present, Ezreal! (what no cookies?)

2011-10-21T11:09:00.000-07:00

So, it has been a while since I posted and it's been a pretty good couple of months. I am really excited as I finally replaced my motorcycle. I have been wanting to get a new one for some time now but I was somewhat reluctant to do so since I knew I'd wind up with a payment. Well, thanks to the new roomie (yeah, thanks a lot Jason) I made the leap.
Let's back up a smidge shall we?
Yes, I have a new roommate. I was reluctant to rent out the other room since Corey left but Jason was in need and I had the space so I decided what the hell. (As always you may click the images to embiggen)

Well within a week or so of him moving in he bought himself a brand new Harley-Davidson Fat Bob. NEAT bike!. But then the bastard had to go and let me take it for a spin around the block. Big mistake. No, I didn't crash. I fell in love.
THIS was the kind of bike I should have been riding this whole time. Much better ergos and sooo much more comfortable than my Z.

I had to do some thinking and decide what it was I like about Pandora and what I didn't. The list of likes was 2 items long: looks, acceleration.
The dislikes: ergos, squeeky noise, horrible seat (even after getting a $400 custom one), sketchy clutch (sometimes it engaged really hard- could have been operator error), vibrations, horrible seat, noisy, horrible seat. The list goes on. But it's mostly repeats of the horrible seat. I mean this thing was like a medieval torture device. I was constantly pushing myself back off the tank and trying to maintain an upright position. But within seconds of shoving myself back, I was having to shove back again. Try as I might I could not maintain my position on the bike. I have long legs and they were tucked under me when I rode, my arms would get tired from pushing myself back all the time and the general riding position. This was a "sport bike" not to be mistaken for a bullet bike. It had a similar look but the riding position was much more upright. It was kind of a hybrid of a bullet bike and a cruiser of sorts. But it's like they took the worst of both categories and mashed em together.
Don't get me wrong, for the most part I loved the bike. You know what, scratch that. I have pretty much disliked that bike from the get-go. I had hoped to use it to tour the area a bit. That was an epic fail. One ride to Zion and another to Beryl and I knew I would never ride it more than 50 miles.
So for years I have wanted to trade it for a cruiser. Chubs (Jason's Fat Bob) was the final straw. Riding that bike I knew I needed to try and get into something similar. Hopefully without the 5 figure price tag.
Success! I found a Yamaha Raider, took it for a ride and I was done.
Now when I found this bike it was at the Yamaha dealer here in town. I was looking for a Stryker originally.

After kicking around the dealer for 20-30 minutes, chatting with Jason and his boss, the sales kid finally made an appearance. At this point I had discovered the Raider and though I knew it was a more expensive bike I asked about it. Well, it turned out it was an '09 and I could get it for less than the '12 Stryker and it was 500cc's larger! I kept telling myself I didn't need a bike larger than 1400cc or so, but this bike was beautiful and totally fit into what I was wanting.

Nothing is worse (when talking about owning a bike) than buying a bike and then outgrowing it within the first year or so; wishing it had more power, would go faster on the highway, was a bit larger in size,etc. This bike had a lot of promise and I didn't think I'd have to worry too much about outgrowing it. There aren't a whole lot of bikes bigger. lol
I was ready to sign on the dotted line right then, but I wanted to go through my credit union. Silly I know, but that's what I do. I also knew I needed to get a decent trade on my bike. Everyone tries to low-ball when you trade, it's annoying. My bike was mostly mint, only a couple of surface scratches and far less than the allowed 18,000 miles for an '06 model. Try 6k.
Well, Jason and I went across the street to drop off some business cards for his boss and what do I find? ANOTHER Raider, this one had 1k miles on it (apparently it was a demo of sorts) and it was $4000 cheaper! This was kismet. I mean what are the chances?
So long story not quite as long, I bought the "used" bike. The kid at the other dealer wouldn't even acknowledge my existence when I came in to pick up my deposit from the other bike. Really? You're gonna be bitter because I made a financial decision? punk.
Here's the thing though. The guys at Polaris/Victory were awesome. Got me into a great bike at a great price and have been hella supportive. But Jason got cookies. I mean it, he got cookies. A fabulous tin of Mrs. Fields. He also got a free (well with the cost of the bike anyway) membership to the Harley club.

I didn't get cookies. I didn't get a membership to a club. Sure, I know I am being petty (I checked out the club and I'm no longer too butt-chapped over that- Yamaha's club is kind of lame) but where I got a bike, Jason got a community. How cool is that? Granted I bought a used one from a non-Yamaha dealer so what can I expect. I just think it's pretty damn cool that he has gotten all these nifty perks for buying his bike.
I'm thinking a Harley may just have to be in my future. I mean, I want some damn cookies!

Doors Done! (almost)

2011-08-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

So excited, I finally have my barn-style doors put in! They aren't completely done at this point.
I was able to make a couple of adjustments this morning that I had an epiphany about last night, so that was good. But I need to put on the hardware (handles) and finish putting the trim on beside the uprights to make it look purty. So how did this all begin? Here for your viewing pleasure, the tribulations of putting in doors in a house that didn't want them.

The people who owned the house before (not sure if it was them or the builders or someone in between, let's just leave it as the PODAs -previous owner dumb asses), apparently put doors in where there weren't any or at least changed it up. In painting the sunroom I discovered that there used to be a door into the dining room. It seems that the sunroom might have originally been open to the outside and was enclosed and then the door to the dining room covered and the door to the living room expanded. Or something. God knows. There were a couple of mysteries, I have stucco on the inside of the wall of the living room (covered now with drywall) and they chose to use scrap lumber for the framing. And when I say scrap, I mean they rummaged around in some scrap heap and then cobbled the frame together out of their discoveries. Really? I re-framed the whole doorway with 2x6 lumber WAY over-built. It cost me a whopping $36. Again I ask, really? Whenever they framed that door originally, I can guarantee the 2x4 wood that they used would not have cost more than $20. Stupid.
As you can see evidenced in the image below, they didn't just frame up the doorway with scrap they also built it out a bit to make it so the drywall was flush with the interior walls. The way they did that is lame as well, it would have been easier to simply build the frame mostly flush (accounting for drywall) in the first place instead of having to "shim" it out.
(as always, click to embiggen)

If you can't quite make out the bits check out the image below for a clearer picture.

Once I tore into the wall and got the whole frame removed (doors and windows above) I noticed some disturbing stuff, a good (or bad) amount of water damage- gonna have to figure out where the leak is, and some mold. GAH.

When I started to tear off the molding and casing some of the paint went with it. In HUGE pieces as you can see to the right of the doorway below. sigh. While I can frame and do nifty stuff like that I cannot drywall though I'd like to learn. But at this point it wasn't in the budget and I was worried about bringing in a "professional". For 1, I'm sure they would have told me a whole lot more was wrong and I honestly didn't want to know. And 2, it would have cost a lot I'm sure, and 3. I would have had to wait for their schedule. So I did what the PODAs did and just pretended the problem wasn't there. Sort of. I am aware of it and I hope to correct it once my skills are where they need to be.
All the framing I put up was simply in the doorway and it isn't load bearing, so I'm not too concerned, and the way I put it up I can easily pull it back down when I know how to fix the drywall. So for now, (could be decades let's be honest, I am my father's son) this will suffice.
In the image below you can see how the opening looks.

I had to narrow down the opening as the doors that were there before were 6' wide. The doors I am replacing them with are barely 5' but they are 8' tall which is why I had to tear everything out.

I chose to orient the doors all the way to the right (so the window AC can still blow into the living room to assist in cooling) so I had to make up the width on the left. I really had to think about this one for a bit as to how to cover the hole. Again, I don't drywall. So, I latched on the idea of making this wall a feature and tie in the stainless steel I used above the fireplace. Once I figure that out, it was on like donkey kong.

I had a hell of a time trying to find some barn door hardware that I could afford. The sleek modern stuff I wanted was $2000! WHAT?!

Lowe's and Home Depot were busts, but I did a search (thanks Google) and guess what? ACE Hardware to the rescue. So $150 odd bucks later I had hardware for me doors!

As for the doors, fantastic deal I happened to locate at the local ReStore (Habitat for Humanity), I had been looking for some time for some doors that would work and I happened to see them and thought they'd be perfect. Nice wood doors full panel and quite sleek and contemporary. They were raw and unfinished which suited me fine. Figured they'd be costly, but oh no, turns out the guy there wasn't supposed to accept them and he quoted us $20. For both! Tanya insisted on buying them for me to repay me for helping her with her water situation and I strapped em to the top o' me jeep and took em home. Where they sat for months.

The image below is the trial fit of the hardware and doors. I liked it immediately! The other doors swung out into the room and with the new couch just made the room seem really confined and much smaller than it was.
So the doors fit and all was well with the world. I found some stainless steel flashing at Home Depot (not where I got the stuff for the fireplace- this is important), and had to buy a 50' roll. Holy god! I only needed 16' but I was too lazy to run across town to Lowe's. I should have. This flashing was crap. Scraped up and was no where near as shiny and sleek looking. Of the 50' I was just able to pull out about 20' that wasn't marred or otherwise unattractive. Then came the hard part.

I had decided to wrap some 2x10s that I got to help me cover the hole on the left and then match the look on the right (and frankly help cover where the drywall was damaged from the water and the paint peeling off). Bending aluminum flashing did not turn out as easy as I thought it would. sigh. I was a DIY version of the keystone cops. So many things went wrong I can't even number them all. Suffice it to say it was a travesty. As you can see from the image below, trying to bend it with my fingers along a straight edge a little at a time was not good. Buckling and denting and crooked edges do not a pretty wrap make. sigh.

I soldiered on and kept hoping for the best but the minute I put them up and trimmed around them I knew it wasn't going to work. They looked just fine with the doors open (and let's be honest most of the time they would be), but once you closed them. GAH!
Buckle city. Just horrendous.

So I yanked them down and went on a quest for what I could do instead. Well I went to my trusted Lowe's and found some narrower flashing that was 25' in length and much cheaper and of much better quality. I didn't bend it around the posts instead I got some aluminum L channel and used that to frame them and I think it turned out marvelously! So much happier!

As you can see from the pics below I think it turned out really well. Maybe not perfect, but I am rarely completely satisfied with my projects since I can see all the flaws.

So ultimately, this is the run down: I ran the flashing to the ceiling, not certain I am going to keep it like that I do have an old framed photograph that was my father's that I might put up above the window to see how that looks, but I might just bring them down to the top of the window. I grabbed my drill and wire brush and scuffed up the track for the doors, thought that looked cool. I thought about doing it to the flashing (looks really nifty) but I didn't since then it wouldn't match the flashing above the fireplace. Then I located a piece of glass to use as a transom above the doors. $3 ReStore. So for cost I am into it $150 for the track and wheels, $20 for the doors, $3 for the window, $41 for the crap flashing, $23 for the good stuff, $36 for the framing lumber, roughly $25 for the trim, $14 for the handles, and $14 for the metal pieces I had to use to cover the old doorknob holes. Total price $326 oh and $24 for the paint but I'll be using that all around the house so I didn't figure that in. If you take off the doors, since I didn't pay for them, and if I could pretend the first flashing never happened, I almost got it done for less than $300. I feel pretty good about that. Time invested: 3 weekends, about 60 hours.

The results below, comments?
Open.
Closed. I will be rearranging where I put the shelves, the doors are really pretty and I'd like them to be seen. :o)

Future bits to be done: I'd like to put in glass, preferably some frosted stuff or something so we can get the light into the room even with them closed (the sunroom gets a little cooler in the winter) and then I need to finish the opposite side. Other than that, for the time being, I am mostly done. lol

WARNING: House Under Quarantine

2011-07-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

It's true, my home is contagious!
I have the decorating bug, I've tried to find treatment but to no avail. Well (un)fortunately my roomie has found herself infected as well.
It started with painting her room; a lovely green shade, and finding herself a snazzy mirror to accent it as well.
It has since moved into her bathroom. The other roommate has moved on to greener pastures and with no plan on replacing him she took the opportunity to make her bathroom her own.
Originally she was going to go with a nice blue theme. But upon finding the following shower curtain everything changed! I present to you,
Symptom 1: A hideous bathroom. (as always, click to embiggin)

Treatment 1: a snazzy shower curtain!

Symptom 2: Ugly cabinet with uglier hardware and huge outlet gash.
Treatment 2: New color and hardware and snazzy outlet and cover!

Symptom 3: Hideous mirror (unseen light fixture) and cabinet.

Treatment 3: Fancy paint and hardware, and new clock, (unseen new fixture), more outlets and covers

Same Symptom as above, new angle more ugly

Treatment 3.1 New hardware for towels and the like!

I think the roomie did a fabulous job and I love the fact that she feels more comfortable now. It's always been my desire to have the roomies feel like they can dig in and make something more to their liking. Fortunately this is also to my liking. bonus all around!

But is it stealing?

2011-07-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a bit of thinking lately.
The other day I had a friend tell me that they stole something from a local restaurant, just a nifty little tool that they use there. Why did they steal it? Because they were dared and they thought it was "funny".

I'm really conflicted with this revelation. I do not agree with stealing. At all. BUT I have downloaded pirated movies and have a couple of songs that were likely pirated as well. I usually give my friends a total ration of shit about it when I know they do it. The irony being that one of them is the one that gave me a bunch of pirated songs. I have also got a few books for my kindle that were pirated. (Harry Potter and Sookie Stackhouse- I've even offered them to friends. Hypocrite much?) but I justify it to myself since Harry Potter is not available on e-reader yet and as soon as it is I am buying them. But I also realize that hey, I have all the hardbacks, so how fair is it that I can't just import those into my Kindle? I was able to rip my cds into my iTunes. But at this point in time there is no way to convert your existing library into your e-reader. sigh.

But to go back to what prompted this, I have friends that pirate a shit-ton of movies and music to the point of being quite proud about it and even to the point of having their internet blocked due to these practices yet they are still unrepentant about the practice.

The thing is, I could never imagine any of these people ever walking into Wal-Mart of Bestbuy and stuffing a dvd or cd into their bags, let alone a few hundred of them. But doesn't piracy amount to the same thing?

What happened to our morals as a country that such activity is so much more acceptable? I admit it, I would have a hard time being friends with someone who I knew was a thief. But I do know people who are. Does it make it so much different since it's digital and not physical? I mean I trust these people in my home; I'd never think they'd steal from me. But they do steal, on a regular basis. How do I feel about this?

I know, a ton of people will be like, well don't judge them. I judge, but I try to not to convict, if that makes any sense at all. I mean we all judge, it's what people do. But we don't always pass a conviction onto the things we disagree with. It's a "victimless" crime; it doesn't hurt anyone I know. But it still hurts society doesn't it?

Other than the "funny stealing" that my friend told me about, this weekend a couple of things happened that make me acutely aware of thievery and how it affects people. One I won't go into, my friends know what it's about and know what I am going through. But the other, someone getting my CC number and making a dupe card and clearing out my account. I should be really pissed. But I'm not. It's weird. Maybe because I don't know them, and they don't know me so I can't take it personally. Like I would if it was friend or family. It also didn't hurt that I was able to recover all my money within a couple days. But it still begs the question? Why take something that isn't yours? And can't this be extended to simple piracy?

It seems like a grey area to me at this point. I love and adore my friends that pirate and would never doubt their integrity otherwise. But it makes me think a little bit.

My Walls CAN Talk

2011-07-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

I have conquered my wall!
I was concerned that I had wasted money on getting my new speakers and after a couple weeks of thinking I realized that I could make it work without any real modifications.
As you can see from the pic below I had NO extra space between my studs for my speaker placement. The only other thing I might do is use my Dremel and make a couple small reliefs in the studs so that I can engage the little clamps that hold the speakers in place, but the hole is tight enough, I don't know if it will be necessary.

You can see the mostly finished product below, all I have left to do is paint, but since I am changing the wall color it'll be a little bit before I jump into that part of the project.

Unfortunately I was stymied on being able to run the wires behind my trim along the floor. Sigh, I don't know what size of sill plate they used but it's not a 2x4, so I'll have to think about that one again too. I'm thinking I might use a second piece a trim above the first a little ways, maybe make it look like it's architectural if I can. About the only thing I can think of.

My House Hates Me

2011-06-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

It would seem that every damn time I try to do something in my house I find some random thing that keeps me from doing so. Sigh. When I tried to mount my television on the wall I discovered that the studs were too far apart where I wanted to place it. I had to span the space between the two studs that were in the best place (read: closest to the center of the wall) so that I would have something to attach the mount to. So now I have these horrid lengths of 2x4 stuck on the wall. The tv mostly covers them, but from above (which you can see from the walkway upstairs) and from the side they are plainly visible. I realized that the studs were spaced farther apart then normal because of the AC vent that is in the wall. (for the uninitiated: most studs in residential construction are 16" on center- the two I needed were over 2 feet apart so the mount wouldn't reach).

After getting my new couch I decided that it is just too damn cluttered in the room and along that wall. I decided to de-clutter by replacing my current speakers (they are big floor speakers that had belonged to my father and sound really good but are a bit old, believe it or not I'm pretty sure they are older than I am- BIG EYES!) with some in-wall speakers.

Installing in-wall speakers does not concern me too much, cut a hole in the wall for the speaker and cut a hole in the bottom behind the floor molding to hide the wires and voila. Done. BUT my house had other ideas. First I had the studs I had to deal with to mount the tv, now I have to fight an over abundance of studs! My first thought was that the idiots were making up for the lack of studs in the middle of the wall. But then I thought that maybe it's to support the walkway above. I don't really know which of these is accurate. But regardless, I don't appear to have space enough (where I need it) to mount one of my damn speakers. All I need is 12" or so. Talk about frustrating. I may be able to get away with 8" but I am not even sure I have that. The speakers need to be 6-8' apart, (mine will be closer to 10' and the tv needs to be centered between them) so my options for placement are limited. the thing that sucks, the left hand speaker has plenty of space, the right... I have 4' to work with, and believe it or not, I have no option. there are that many damn studs or some other random obstacle. Sigh. Please see pic below for reference, the red are what I believe are studs.

I'm gonna see if I can squeeze out 8" since that is the bare minimum I can work with. We will see.

New Seating!

2011-06-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I happened upon a couch at Boulevard Home Furnishings (Blvd) that I fell in love with. This was kind of strange since I've always had a low opinion of Blvd based on three things, I felt they were overpriced, cheaply made, and almost exclusively traditional in style. But I was wanting to try and get a new couch or sectional and I hit all the other places in town (mostly with Connie in tow, poor kid. lol) and though I had seen some that I liked, none of them "spoke to me" shall we say.

So without much hope I surrendered and went to Blvd just to see what I might find. Most suspicions were borne out not long after walking through the doors. Most of the furniture was extremely traditional in design and style and the ones I did see that I somewhat liked were very expensive. (of course)

Then as I was walking down the main aisle I saw this vision of a dream, a sectional of contemporary design that literally stopped me in my tracks. I was like, oh. mah. god. I have found my holy grail. lol. Not quite. While it seemed to avoid two of the aforementioned expectations: cheaply made and traditional, it did not avoid possibly the most important, it was EXPENSIVE (to me.), $3000 for the set. *big eyes!

Since I prefer paying in cash, it was not gonna happen until I did some saving, and that was gonna take a while. With a sigh I surrendered the fantasy.

Then over the Memorial Day holiday I decided to see what else they might have to offer.

And voila, there is was and it was almost half off! Only $1700! To say I was excited would be accurate. I still didn't have the cash, but I decided to again leave it up to fate (it served me well thus far, eh?) I decided to go ahead and finance it. If I got financing so be it, if not, so be it. Well I got it. yay! 12 months no interest.

The only snag... one piece was missing (thanks a hell of a lot Fitness Ridge, you just had to make your set two couches instead of a love seat/ couch combo. psh) So, the good news, it was actually even cheaper(!), $1400, but bad news, it was not the coveted couch/love seat configuration anymore, it was more, love seat/love seat. blah.

But I decided to heck with it. I have the financing, I love the look and all things considered what were the chances I find something I like as much. (also, it matches my dining set.)

So I bought it and it was delivered on Tuesday. Two things occurred to me upon its arrival: it's massive (things are always so much smaller on the showroom) and I wasn't sure if the dual love seat thing was going to work for me. And maybe it's not quite as comfortable as I thought. hmmm

But after living with it for a while and trying a few different arrangements in my living room I think I like it. I really love the look, I wish it had armrests near the table, but meh...

So without further ado, behold the Square1... (click images to embiggen, as always)

oh, before anyone opines that I should check online for a source to get the missing piece, I have exhausted that avenue. Apparently Emerald Furniture (the manufacturer) has discontinued it so I am not able to locate any additional pieces. booo But I have told Blvd that if they manage to get another piece to let me know. I've also written the manufacturer to see if they can provide me with another source. *fingers crossed.

Thoughts?