Day 3419

The goal these days is to keep moving. I went to the gym much earlier than usual. The place was surprisingly busy. Who knew that so many people liked to exercise early on a Sunday morning. I did my usual workout fully intending to take a nap when I got home. It wasn't meant to be. It was such a nice day that I decided to go ahead and take my usual three mile walk anyway. I really need to find something I enjoy doing or I'll be walking all day by the end of the Summer.

I keep waiting for something to find me. Today it was an auto show. I'd completely forgotten about this annual British and European Car Show. It is often held during the Spring in the park when the weather is nice. I used to go frequently when I had a cool car myself, but I haven't been in years. There is was today, right in front of me on my regular path. I enjoy looking at cars, so this was an unexpected treat.

I ended up talking with the owner of a Noble M400. I'd never seen one of these cars in person before. Only about 200 of them were ever imported into the United States. I remember a review once that said "Don't buy this car to impress girls. Only guys are impressed." The car certainly impressed me. The spectacular mid-engined supercar was lighter than a Mazda Miata and faster than a Ferrari Enzo. The owner was only 22 years old. Somebody asked the guy how much it cost to insure a car like this. "Nobody will insure this thing," the owner said. "I had to get my Dad to put it on his homeowners insurance." Then he smiled and added, "Technically, I'm not allowed to drive it."

There were no French cars at this years event. I used to enjoy looking at well preserved Citroëns. I've owned several, including a beautiful silver 1972 Citroën Maserati. I had to sell the car when I ran out of mechanics who could work on it. Body parts were in extremely short supply as well. As the car got older and older I began to realize that keeping a rare old car on the road was a rich man's pursuit. Buying vintage cars is one thing. Restoring them and keeping them running is another thing altogether.

My Fitbit was impressed with me today. I can't say the same for my feet. I shouldn't have changed shoes when I went walking in the park. My feet had swollen and the boots didn't fit like they usually do. By the time I returned home, I could barely walk. I have some excellent shoes I wear when I'm at the gym. I don't like to get them muddy though, so I changed into a pair of boots before I went on my walk. Bad move. I guess I'll know better the next time I do something foolish like this.

I probably should have gone outside and looked for meteors last night. I woke up to go to the bathroom right about the time when the Eta Aquariid meteor shower was supposed to be at its peak. I thought briefly about going outside and then went back to bed. I've seen meteors before. A short little trail of light across the sky wasn't enough of a temptation to lose any sleep over.

Bunny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1610

I sold the Citroën SM today. It would have been nice to see the car one last time, but the aircraft hanger where I've been keeping it for all these years was too far away. The buyer, a nice young Dutch guy who seemed very excited about restoring the car, just came over to the house and gave me the money in exchange for the car's title. I think the old non-running Citroën Maserati will be packed in a shipping container and be loaded on a boat to be restored in Holland.

I was always hoping to restore the car myself, but it just wasn't meant to be. The car has been moving from one mechanic to another for almost fifteen years now. These increasingly rare mechanics, the ones who were familiar with working on Citroën automobiles, kept retiring, downsizing their life, or just losing interest before they ever got around to fixing my car. When my current mechanic admitted that he'd probably never find time to fix the car either before he retired himself, I finally realized it was finally time to give it up. Citroëns belong in a museum now. It's a shame. The SM is still one of the most beautiful cars I've ever seen. It was Motor Trend's Car of the Year in 1972. Those were the best of times. We were still going to the moon back then and I was one of the youngest creative directors in Seattle. I drove the car to work every day in the early 1970's. Those days are just are a distant memory now. I know I took photos, but I can't even find a picture of the car anymore.

Dot did really well during her physical therapy session today. I'm a little concerned that she's losing interest though. She used to be really excited to go for her acupuncture and water therapy, but now she seems reluctant to get in the car. We've slowed the pace down a bit, but I still worry a bit that the exercise might be hard on her. It's got to be helping though. No other Dalmatian I've ever had has been anywhere near this healthy and active at Dot's age. It doesn't matter if you're an old Dalmatian or an old ad guy; exercise and a good diet are essential cornerstones in maintaining a healthy life. So, even though Dot and I would both prefer to be eating and sleeping, we'll continue to stay as active as we can.

A cold front passed through town along with yesterday's rain. It must have been 40 degrees cooler at our house this morning. I even had to turn the furnace on again. The dogs loved the cooler weather though and took one of their longest walks this month. This won't last long unfortunately. It is supposed to be back in to 90's again before the end of the week.

I have a feeling that much of what currently resides in my storage warehouse will eventually suffer the same sad fate as my cherished Citroën Maserati. Like they all say, you can't take it with you.

Haley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1606

This is the time of year when thousands of tiny sweet ants join forces for an all-out assault on the house. All it takes is a tiny crack for them to get in and once they're in, they're everywhere. I started noticing these ants yesterday, and today there seemed to be twice as many. Sweet ants are hard to get rid of unless you can find where they're coming from. My guess is that they're getting through small cracks in the window sills, because that was where they were swarming today. I went outside with a bottle of ant and roach spray and tried to seal off any potential entrance. We'll see how that works. Usually, nothing works. Luckily, these little critters are just passing through. They come every year about this time, and by the time I've come up with a workable plan to get rid of them, they're gone.

I got an e-mail today saying that the yearly rent for my storage warehouse is due again. I can't even remember how long I've had this storage space. Suffice to say, it's been a very long time. It has occurred to me occasionally that what I've paid in rent over the years is probably quite a bit more than the actual value of the contents. The longer I keep this stuff, the more I tend to forget why I stored it away in the first place. At some point, I'll come to my senses and either start selling things, or just toss it all in the nearest dumpster. It's doubtful that I'll reach a tipping point this year. I'm sure I'll just renew the warehouse for another year, take a quick look inside, and continue to wonder what is in some of the unmarked boxes.

My mechanic called today and told me that he had a buyer for the non-running car he never found time to repair. Since he and I are about the same age, I don't think he'll ever find time to repair the car. If I had unlimited resources and a younger mechanic, it would be fun to fully restore the old car and drive it around occasionally. That's not going to happen though. I reluctantly agreed that, even though the offer I received was not great, it was probably time to sell. It took me a long time to remember where the title to the car was. I transferred the title when I moved to Texas in 1977. Eventually, I found the document, but it wasn't where I thought it was.

I though I was going to have an easy day, but somehow it didn't turn out that way. The ants took a long time to kill. The title took a long time to find. And unfortunately, I tried to balance my checkbook. Since I do all my accounting using Quickbooks Pro, I start to think that these are the real numbers, forgetting that I occasionally type things in wrong. Every six months or so, I try to reconcile the Quickbooks entries with my bank statement and usually fail. After three tries today, I was still off by $2.88.  I finally just made a journal entry for $2.88, under the heading of Miscellaneous Stuff.

I still haven't gotten the water from Thursday's torrential rains off the roof. Since it was hot today and will be even hotter tomorrow, I'm hoping that it will just evaporate.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1450

It was 80 degrees today. It is supposed to be 20 degrees tomorrow. That's Texas weather in a nutshell. All the TV weathermen in town are predicting a monster storm this weekend that will coat the roads with a sheet of ice and knock out power lines throughout the region. Hopefully, none of these alarmist reports are true. Weather reports in Dallas tend to be sensationalized because there are plenty of people like me who freak out at the thought of bad weather. Bad weather equals good ratings. Even the hint of a Winter bad storm will send people to Home Depot in droves to stock up on batteries, kitty litter, generators, rock salt, and snow shovels. Needless to say, most of the snow shovels never get used. Grocery stores are equally busy before a storm, although I don't know why. If the power goes out, a lot of food in the refrigerator isn't going to do you much good.

Although anything could happen tomorrow, I certainly can't complain about today's weather. It was nice all day. With blue skies and mild temperatures to cheer me on, I got quite a bit done. The breakfast networking group liked the website I'd developed for them. This is probably one of those sites that will never be finished, but at least there weren't any major snags when it was unveiled for the first time this morning.

Dot did great at her physical therapy session today. She walked over half a mile on the underwater treadmill and had no problems with the 60 second bursts of speed that are part of her interval training. I'm really proud of Dot. Not only is she visibly stronger than she was when we started this, she actually seems to enjoy the therapy as well. Hopefully, Dot has many good years ahead of her. One of my neighbors has an old dog and it's sad to see how quickly a dog can go downhill as they approach the end of their life. One day they're active and a few months later they can hardly walk.

All the dogs in training class seemed a bit on edge tonight. I think they could sense the cold front that is headed our way. As the wind picked up, Dot and Dash made sure to let us know that they were ready to go home. I couldn't blame them for wanting to get back inside again. By the time class was over, the temperature had dropped ten degrees.

I found out today that my mechanic is losing the lease on his garage and as a result, I'll probably have to take my old Citroën Maserati back again before it can be restored. This is definitely a big disappointment. There are very few people in the entire country who still work on these things. The car has sat for so long that I'm sure it will need some serious work before it runs properly again. Even if I can find another mechanic, I'm not sure I'll be able to find the parts I need. Certain parts have already become almost impossible to find. I'm not sure what to do with this car now. 

In retrospect, I should have started the restoration last year. It was always easier to just postpone things though, since my mechanic was usually busy with other repairs anyway. Now, it might be too late. I have the same sinking feeling I had when I failed to sell my Lucent Technology stock and watched it slide from $70 a share to $4 a share. There is a time and a place for everything. I just don't always know when that time has arrived.

Camp is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1368

I wish that UPS could get their Customer Centers on the same page as their website. For the third time this year, I drove over to Mesquite to pick something up at the UPS Will Call desk when the website told me it was ready, only to discover that the package hadn't even arrived yet. The woman at the Will Call desk told me that the website was never right and that I should wait at least four hours after the website said the package was ready before driving over to pick it up. Oh, well. So much for the wonders of modern technology.

Breakfast was quite tasty this morning. My resolve to maintain my strict diet is slipping a bit. I've noticed that meat and cheese are creeping back into my omelets. It's not that the veggie omelets were all that bad. A little sausage just make a meal more satisfying. I know I should be resolute, but I tend to rationalize things. I tell myself that I've earned this sausage, since I'm working out now at the gym. This is probably a poor excuse for my backsliding behavior, since I'm not working out that much.

Even though it was Friday the 13th, nothing bad happened today. I eventually got my package, even though I had to make two trips to the UPS Customer Center. I got caught up on the week's website and writing assignments. I even had time to drive up to the Land Rover dealer later in the afternoon and do a little window shopping for new cars.

There is no rational reason why I'm so loyal to Land Rovers. These cars are in the shop more often than they're on the road. I probably like them for the same reasons I like Olympus cameras and Dalmatians. Some things just feel right. If I do get a new car, I don't think I'll have a problem finding something I like. The difficulty will be finding a decent Land Rover that I can actually afford. At least I will get a good trade-in on the Defender. These cars are still so desirable that somebody came up to me in the Land Rover parking lot today and tried to buy my Defender while I was walking in to talk to a sales guy.

In my younger years, I would have just kept the Defender and gone ahead and bought an additional new car. I've learned the hard way however, that having a bunch of cars is a giant nuisance. At one point, I owned three cars. I could never find a place to park them all at night and the insurance payments were ridiculous. I've finally gotten over my Gemini penchant for having multiple copies of everything. One car is plenty. Astute readers will probably remember that I still actually have two cars, if you count the non-running Citroën Maserati, but I haven't seen the SM in nine years. It ceased being a viable second car years ago and now is just a pleasant memory.

It's finally starting to get a little cooler. The dogs are starting to enjoy their morning walks again. It's still going to be a while before jacket weather arrives, but I think the worst of our Texas summer is about over.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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