I went ahead and did it – I cut up my second-to-last credit card [that is, of the ones that will go away – we will be keeping one Amex and one Visa just in case] – the Discover. We never used it and it was a rather tempting card since they would let me do large volume cash advances. So, I called the number and out came the scissors.
Chop, chop! One down, one to go! MBNA, you’re goin’ next!
2012-01-08 23:29:27
If only it were a wee bit warmer, I’d be able to ride my bike. If only I were a whole LOT richer, we’d be able to afford a house in Northern Virginia.
Soon, we will be debt free – a process that began once I realized how much money I owed. Laura has been patient with me and we’ve finally made it to the point where once we pay off the last credit card, it gets cut up and cancelled.
I know – this post is not coherent. It’s a bit stream of consciousness. But, sometimes, that’s me.
Now that I have the motorcycle back from the shop, I’m aching to ride it. It’s been so cold, I’ve even been freezing in the car. Maybe it will thaw just enough for me to get on the bike in the morning. One can always, hope, yes?
Now that we’re going to pay off our consumer debt, we can start the long process of saving for a house. Maybe we can save enough to buy a house up here in Northern Virginia, yes?
If Only…
After a week without the bike, riding it home today in the high-40s temperature was wonderful. Taking it in for service fixed one minor nuisance issue [like my battery not lasting long enough] and one very large one. It seems that some time in the last few months, a small “rodent” [of what type, I’ll never know] either crawled or flew into the airbox where the air filter is and lodged there for a while. I doubt the creature survived the sub-freezing rides I made all winder, but it was certainly affecting my gas mileage and the smoothness of my engine. It left some kind of nest in there with hair/feathers or whatever it was. It was restricting the airflow substantially. Now, the engine can breathe the way it was intended and feels like it did when I first bought it.
I only recognize this now after the shop has cleaned all the mess out. “Oh, yeah – it rides much better now. Thank you!” Now, I’m back to 43+ miles per gallon.
So much for my observational skills…
Okay – so I’ve not posted for a while, I know. I’ve been a bit busy with other things and haven’t had a chance until now to post.
I’ve been bike-less now for a week since I took my motorcycle in for service. The one thing they needed to replace is the battery – and they had to order it. Aparently, that particular battery is only used in my model of motorcycle and none other, so it’s not all that common. I just called them and it’s ready, so I’ll get a nice mid-day ride today – especially since it’s not real cold today.
You know, I bet you they didn’t wash it… it’s probably still very dirty.
I am certainly enjoying the weather today – even with the wind. It’s a balmy 55 degrees outside and PERFECT for riding. As long as the rain that’s supposed to come waits until late evening, I’ll be great. Of coruse, after today, it’s supposed to get freezing again. Now that all the snow is gone, I had hoped for a few more days of False Spring, but it looks like tomorrow the chill begins again. After that – more snow.
Of course, what I really want to do is ditch work, take my new camera and go take some pictures. I guess that will have to wait…
Here I am, up late again taking pictures and posting them. I’ve gotten my new Canon EOS 5D and it is truly amazing. There are tons of features to play with and much to learn, but I’ve already had some fun with long exposures.
Looks like I have a whole new set of photo editing tools to learn. I think I’ll sleep now.
So I missed a day in my postings – big deal! Okay, I guess I’m feeling the pressure from family to keep the posts coming more frequently. And, no – no pictures today.
Anyway, today, my new camera gets delivered. I’m totally hyped. I keep refreshing the UPS Package Tracking page…
I will try to post a review on the camera, but I can’t guarantee that it will be as detailed as some I’ve read.
I can’t believe I was so excited about shoveling snow. Well, I had my fix for a while. I had to shovel perhaps for about an hour even in my short driveway. Part of that is because the plows came into our neighborhood and plowed the streets… which meant that the plow pushed a huge pile of sludge [not that light, powdery stuff which was in the rest of the driveway – but that heavy, wet, icy goop that is very, very heavy] at the end of our driveway. It was almost as if the plow driver was saving it just for me.
So, I trudged through the shovelling process and finally got it done. It could be that I just don’t know the techniques or my shovel is too small, but my back is killing me. I’m sore all over. At least I didn’t need a workout!
I have finally posted my film pictures for the snow day in the directory you can get to by clicking on the picture in this post. Most of the roads are clear, except for ice in spots [this morning it was very bad, but it’s getting better as the sun is out longer]. I should be back on the road tomorrow.
Here are some pictures [in the same album, but in daylight] from this morning once the sun was up. I’ll still be going to the store later to get my film developed. And now, I get to shovel the driveway! Yee-haw! Hey – I’ve never done that before, so it’s kind of exciting. Mike, you’ll forgive my naive excitement over something you most likely came to dread growing up, but I can’t help it. Snow is still such a novelty to me that it’s all so exciting – even shovelling.
Out into the snow I go!
2012-01-08 23:29:25
Here it is: the first big snow of the year. Yes, I know it’s 3am, but I’m still awake and you can get some great pictures at night if you have the right camera – not to mention the fact that with all the snow outside, it looks almost bright even so late at night. I’ll have some better ones tomorrow when I develop my latest roll of film [hopefully my last]. It started snowing around 1pm and hasn’t stopped yet. I can see about a foot of snow on the ground in places and the streets are covered. They have cancelled church so I will be sleeping late – a good thing, since I’m up at 3am! The first few pictures are from my pocket digital and I will have some better quality shots from my film tomorrow.
I mentioned above that I will be developing my last roll of film. That’s not entirely accurate as I will still need film for specialty shots such as infrared and other things. But, I have just ordered my new professional digital camera. I’ve been saving up money from my bonuses at work and just received a portion of my inheritance from my grandmother [Thanks, Grandma! And, no, it’s not junk! – She knows what I mean… :-)] so we put in an order for a Canon EOS 5D. That’s 12.8 Megapixels of wonderous digital photography. No more film scanning, nor low-res picture taking on a camera without manual control.
Now, I just have to wait. And as Inigo Montoya says: “I hate waiting.”
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