Sooooothing At The Speed of Life
And no, I have no earthly idea why I just titled today’s entry after the slogan for Mylanta. Anyway, if any of you have been wondering where I’ve been the last few days, I’ve been….away. Seriously, my wife and I have been on vacation. We took a drive up to Orlando and had a great time up there. Plus they have the nation’s best Thai restaurant right there on International Drive, close enough to Sea World for you to hear the little kiddies screaming as the roller coasters plummet onto Shamu’s head. Well, that last bit doesn’t really happen, of course. Huh? No, we did not go to Sea World.
Anyway, we did a lot of shopping, dining and general fun-having, and now we’re back. But ssshhh, don’t tell anybody. I’m supposed to be “incommunicado” from all the various freelance blowbutts who have hired me until next Sunday, so I want to keep the air of silence going. “You idiot,” you may be saying, “if you want to keep it a secret that you’re really back at home, why are you posting on your website?” Because, you insufferable gimboid, none of the aforementioned people know I have this website here.
During our vacation I picked up some nifty toys and other goodies, most of them from the halls of the really-quite-extraordinarily-large Florida Mall™. First of all, I bought some SilverStar headlights for KITT—they’re regular sealed-beam halogens, but they burn at higher temperatures which gives them a more HID-like, pure-white appearance. KITT’s old headlights are so dim (plus one of them is cracked and letting moisture in), I figured I’d dump them. The SilverStars are used by tons of other third-gen owners, all of whom are happy with the product. I’d install them today, but I need a flippin’ Torx driver to take the headlamps apart. Torx…it’s like the magic skeleton key for your General Motors vehicle. “You should get one,” says the T.J. Maxx lady.
What else did I get? Let’s see. I bagged Call of Duty for the PC, and almost got Max Payne 2 as well…but the guy at EB told me that if I wanted to get out of bed at 6 a.m. on Friday and get down to the mall when they open, I can get a brand new copy of MP2 for $19.99. Killa! Since I don’t work on Friday, I’m going. I’ll probably get flattened in a crowd of soccer moms and screaming children, but I don’t care. Max Payne 2 for a twenty? Sure, I’ll take that.
Also, after many months of searching, I finally found a used copy of the original Silent Hill for the PSone. I’ve always wanted that game. Well, okay, not always. Only since I played Silent Hill 2 last year. The store obviously knew what they had, though, because they charged me $25 bucks for the friggin’ thing. I think that’s more than I could have bought a brand-new reissued copy for on Amazon. But I don’t care. When you’re on vacation, and your wallet is full of cash, you’re apt to spend a few extra bucks for no reason other than convenience. (And if you’re not, then you really need to see a psychotherapist. Or drink a cappucino. Loosen up, pal.)
What else? Oh, yes. I drove approximately 20 miles out of my way, going so far as a few miles from my old apartment in Winter Park, to buy an intake manifold gasket set for KITT’s injector swap. <laughs> Am I pathetic or what? …Don’t answer that. At any rate, my injectors and the gasket set are here now, so we’re ready to do the swap. I’m hoping to have it done before the weekend, so I can actually take KITT out and not look like the local high school kid drivin’ his hoopty to the skate park on Saturday night. The Formula’s even freshly washed and sitting in the garage right now. Just waiting to be “motivated forward.” Well, backward really, since I don’t fancy driving through the wall of the house.
Since our hotel room had a DVD player, I decided to buy a DVD. (I mean, come on! It’s vacation!) At the local Virgin Records store, I actually found Red Dwarf on DVD. For the uninitiated, Red Dwarf is a 1980s British comedy that’s sorta like a slapstick version of Blake’s 7. (Not helpful? Well, read here.) I was always curious to see Red Dwarf since some of the (few) people on this earth who have read my Genia 16 Space Stories blather have remarked that it reminds them of RD. So I checked it out. Well, there aren’t that many similarities, but I can say this: I love Red Dwarf, and I want more. “It’s a smegging garbage pod!”
In the meantime, I’ve got the rest of the week off. So aside from catching up on some car maintenance—waxing the paint, changing the oil, yada yada—I plan to do some story writing, some game playing, and some general slacking off. And yes, I will enjoy it.
Categorized as Life