Type Three Invasion, Day 1

Woke up this morning and had a Kahlua & Creme latte with a croissant breakfast sandwich at Ava's Rosteria with my Sweetie and The Boy. Packed up my clothes for the trip, said g'bye to the family, and started my journey to the Type Three Invasion.  About 3.5 hours later I was at my buddy Brian Fye's house.

My baby ran fine and got a lot of looks, including one long one by a Marion County Sheriff...  At the 1/2 way point on the fuel gauge I was just over 150 miles so my mileage is okay.  My speedometer & odometer are off because I am running lower profile tires and thus they read higher than what they should.  Oil pressure was fine and no red light flicker from the low oil pressure idiot light when coasting down the off-ramp at the Fye exit.  Oxygen sensor was running a consistent 12.5 which is a bit rich for my tastes but that means she won't be running hot and there's no black smoke out the exhaust so my mixture isn't too rich I guess.  Handling wasn't as bad since I had a full thrust alignment done to her but she still requires attention; a little too drifty-wandery for my tastes.

Brian needed an accessory 12v outlet in his car so I installed the one he had.  Now he can charge his phone in the car and also use his cool lambda meter.  Tomorrow we plan on leaving after 8am and head towards Ontario, Idaho.  Let's hope for an uneventful trip!

It's that time of year again...when it's an even year, that is!

It's been a while so I'll just jump right in:

Antonette's mom moved in on May 30th and things are going very well.  It's really nice having her here, especially helping with the kids.  A week prior to her moving in, all her belongings from Georgia arrived in a 55' hauler (her load was 800 cubic feet).  Two guys unpacked the trailer while Antonette and I guided and helped some.  One of the guys was real young, probably 19 or 20, and while walking through the house to see where to put stuff mentioned that our house was big.  Huh.  Later that day his comment made me reflect on my life and that I've been blessed to be able to afford a nice place (with lots of help from my Sweetie!) with plenty of space and that I'm able to have work that pays well.  There are times when I feel trodden upon, over-whelmed, and I remember what that kid said and I don't feel so bad...my life could be much, much worse!

My contract with a major shoe design company ended early due to budget cuts but after a break I got a contract for an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping utility customers benefit from saving energy and generating renewable energy.  Wow!  I like them more than the previous contract; they're organized, using up-to-date software and hardware (I was disappointed with the shoe company...Windows XP on a small laptop, really?).  Office 2010, quad Intel processor with dual, hi-res LED monitors -- NICE!  The people are friendly and on the ball.  Oh, yeah, I'm working in the finance department tasked with building/automating some Excel budgeting workbooks.  They even let me take my two-weeks for the Invasion!  Of course, that means I have four weeks to do six weeks of work...no stress...

Right now I'm updating the "kid's" laptop in preparation for the Invasion.  I think it's been a couple years since it was last connected to the internet!  That laptop is used to power a "computer keyboard" toy for the kids...Learning Years or something like that.  Anyway, I'll be using that to once again blog about my trip.  It sure is taking a looooong time to update!

So, yes, it's time for another Type 3 Invasion; the whole impetus that got this blog a rollin'.  My Squareback has been cleaned, maintenance performed, and packed up with a full tank of fuel, ready for Saturday morning to head out to Fye's house.  Brian will be driving his purple Notch but I think with a different -- or at least improved -- motor.  Cigars are nestled in my humidor, ready to be packed up Saturday morning and enjoyed at the end of each day.  If we have the time.  And we're not exhausted.

This will be my last Invasion for some time, at least for any Invasion that is more than a couple hundred miles away.  It's kind of expensive, with 91-octane gasoline being the biggest expense, and it's hard to take a couple weeks off from work AND from family.

Okay, time to log off and get away from a computer.  I've been doing 11-hour work days this week so as to not get behind schedule at work.  See ya on the road!