Well, Readers, it's here again. Yep, in just under 72 hours, I will be biking my way across the hills, valleys, and backroads of Western PA doing the MS150: Escape to the Lake, 2012. What is this? Simply put, it's a bunch of crazy nutters like myself riding 150 miles in two days to raise money and awareness of MS. Their slogan is to "join the movement." and so, having done this ride last year, I'm doing it again. I'm nervous. It's a tougher ride than last year. My training hasn't been what I'd hoped it would be, though I've done some really good stuff this year, and should be able to do this with little to no problem. I'm looking forward to it. Why do I do it? 1) I love to ride my bike. 2) No, I really do LOVE to ride my bike. 3) events like this are worth it to me - it is an act of giving that has a purpose. It is important in building community and maintaining that community. It promotes community health. There are other events like this for all sorts of things. I would encourage you to find one that matches your interests/desires, etc and then volunteer to do it. At some point or other, we have to start taking care of ourselves again....the government cannot do it for us. Events like this are ways in which we can become active in our lives and communities.
Speaking of moving...I'm in the middle of one, and like all moves, there is both pleasure and pain. The house I'm going to is in need of some updates, though, and so there are some general repairs and upgrades that need to be made. This is always expected - the "perfect house" doesn't exist until you make it perfect, after all. One of the bonuses of this new place is that I get my own workshop, which is a concrete bunker under a porch about the size of a single car garage. It's nice. It's dry. It will work. BUT, half the walls are underground, so, in the interest of keeping it dry, I bought a can of dry-loc and painted the walls. Now, they were white, and the dry-loc was grey. So - in a concrete bunker that is a woodshop - there was a two-tone paintjob. Why? Because it doesn't exatcly matter, that's why!!!! It could be purple and I won't care. It could be bare block and I'll be ok. Because it's a workshop. It's not about the shop looking pretty, it's about it being functional and making pretty things come out of it! But wait: As this is my roomie's house, enter Mother.
"It looks unfinished."
"It's a workshop in a concrete bunker. It's going to be covered in sawdust."
"But it's wrong."
"There are better things to spend money and time on at the moment, plus, it doesn't matter."
"But it's two-toned."
"So what? It's not an entertainment space. It's a space for me to make a mess."
"But that would bother me."
"But you're not going to be using it. It doesn't bother me."
The conversation ended there...or so I thought (cue the overdramatic music)
It seems Mother went home and did nothing but moan and gripe and complain to her husband about how it...get this....HURTS RESALE VALUE.
1) ummmm...Concrete bunker/workshops under porches DO NOT SELL HOUSES. Kitchens sell houses. Yards sell houses. School districts and communities sell houses. Concrete bunker/workshops are bonuses that are kind of like gravy, but they do NOT sell houses.
2) really, there's nothing better to do with your time then complain about a paint color? I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO glad that THIS takes precedence over anything else. I mean - I was getting worried there for a while! First-world problems.
3) WHY ARE WE THINKING ABOUT RESALE VALUE???? The house was just bought! OK, think about resale value when redesigning/updating the kitchen (see point #1about kitchens selling houses) but really??
Enter Father - who is now mightly purturbed that Mother will not shut up about this, nor will she let it go. He just doesn't want to hear it anymore. I don't blame him. I would cure it with a "Oh well, what's done is done, put your big-girl pants on and deal with it." This is not his solution. His solution is to tell roomie that the workshop needs to be repainted. And roomie does it.
Now, if a man's home is his castle, the workshop in the home should be considered the chapel. You do not mess with it without written permission, unless he asks you to. It is sacred. It is set up so that he can work in it the way he needs to. My shop was already in place. Tools were already hanging on toolboards. Storage had been created and was being used. My workshop...my chapel...was defiled. Roomie lost a day of productivity. I lost several hours, and will lose more when I put it all back. I am not pleased. In fact, I'm well beyond angered at this moment...and this happened a couple days ago.
Luckily, I received some of the oddest news ever yesterday, so I simply must share with you all. MY father, the Map King of the East Coast....has purchased a GPS device for use when traveling. Now, this is a man who taught his children how to read maps using topographical maps. Not only did we know what turn to take, we knew that it was around that bend and over that rise. It was rather difficult when I went to school, because I was asking where the hills were, and the teachers had no answers for me. But my father never goes anywhere without a road atlas in the car. Every route is thoroughly vetted, explored, and known before he gets in the car. Weather patterns of the area are watched like a hawk eyes a foul wind - wary and concerned about the "just in case" factor. Always alert and aware. I have watched him look at maps at highway stops so he knew where we were - EVEN THOUGH WE HAD NOT TURNED OFF THE ROAD! In short, the man lives by his maps. He's a civil engineer - this makes a lot of sense. Buying a GPS system??????
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On top of his superior internal guidence system of map-reading that comes pre-loaded with the engineer, the man HATES - and I'm talking about with the heat of 1,000 suns here - absolutely HATES to travel. His wanderlust got lost. He plans trips around town counter-clockwise so he never has to turn left! On top of that, he's not really a "gadget guy." If it's a tool with an actual purpose, ok, he'll buy it and use it. BUT, it's rarely without weighing it out on his head whether there's an actual need or not. My father travels known routes to visit his children or other relatives, and he does that only rarely. There are only two possible reasons I can come up with:
1) THIS is his midlife crisis purchase. Which, if it is....OK, there are a lot worse things he could do!
2) This is some newly-formed sadistic ploy to keep everyone around him guessing while he just laughs and snickers quietly to himself.
OR SECRET OPTION 3) He's buying his granddaughter a car when she turns 16 next year, and it will come equiped with a GPS system. I really hope my niece is reading this!
My father using a GPS?? The terrorists have finally won.
All Right. That's all from me. I will have a few people post some updates for me while I'm gone this weekend, and of course, I shall blog all about the epic awesomeness of the ride afterwards - for it will be epically awesome. Take care, everyone, and of course:
Thanks for reading,
The Fat Kid
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