I Love The Third Of The Month
I know today is the fourth…but that doesn’t change the fact that the third of each month is so much fun. Because that’s when our credit card statement rolls over to the next month’s billing period, and we start with a clean slate. December 3rd is always extra fun, because several gifts still need to get bought (fortunately we already picked up a few during November), given that Christmas is coming and all. Last night I ordered presents for my friends Pooch and Ex-Reaper (as Pooch seems to be calling him lately), as well as something really cool for my dad that was my mom’s idea. Still plenty left to buy, though.
I was having some work done to KITT’s engine this week. Actually, it started this past weekend but didn’t get finished—turned into a bit of a nightmare, actually. I was quoted 4 hours of work on this particular application, but it turned into 12-14. The situation seems to be working itself out rather nicely now, though, as I found out yesterday I won’t be charged for the extra hours, and the mechanic himself seems to have done a good job. I just got freaked because I couldn’t understand the guy—he doesn’t speak any English—and he was doing some truly scary things to my car that involved hammers and drills. I haven’t had time to examine all of his handiwork yet but I plan to go over it real closely with a flashlight. One good thing about all this is that I’ve got a whole ton of new screws in my intake…
In other news, the boffo who bounced a check for some work I did for him has finally agreed to pay the full amount (both of my invoices, plus a penalty fee) and to do it by certified check. He says he’ll have the check for me today and will call me about picking it up. Hopefully he will decide to pay both open invoices at once, because that would net me a quick grand.
Found out that the Gale Banks exhaust system I was going to order for KITT has just dropped out of production—and if you’re lucky, one might be fabricated and produced on a made-to-order basis if you request one. Shitty news. But good news as well: Banks has decided they want to rekindle interest in the third-gen F-body exhaust kits, and have redesigned their venerable cat-back system. Now it includes dual outlets, one on each side of the car (the previous kit was a two-on-the-left design) with rectangular tips. This is great news, as I’m not much of a fan of the two-on-the-left thing. The question now is, will this kit make it to production? I hope so. But in the meantime, I guess I won’t be getting my exhaust. Crappy Flowmaster has to drone its way around for a while longer. So, I’ll focus on getting my suspension and brakes fixed up.
Meanwhile at home, game mania continues. Deus Ex 2: Invisible War came out on Tuesday, and I’m going to get a copy in a couple weeks. I’m also looking for another game to buy…just don’t know what to choose yet. Could be PC or console.
Last night I played through another couple hours’ worth of Silent Hill, the original game. Made it to Alchemilla Hospital and am almost finished messing around in the “alternate version” of said locale. That is, I’m almost done putting the stupid “Plate of Cat” and “Plate of Queen” things in the door in the nurse’s station. Just can’t figure out the pattern behind which plate goes where. I figured out the piano keys puzzle without cheating, though. That was nifty. Also, I just found the emergency hammer. What a weapon! Screw that steel pipe—this hammer rocks. Beat the baddies in the head, and they die after one or two hits. Suddenly those nurses don’t seem quite so scary anymore. I must say I was much more creeped out by the hospital in Silent Hill 2…but then, maybe I haven’t seen anything yet…
I still haven’t gotten KITT back from the mechanic, because he wrecked the head of another screw while finishing up the job and needed to replace it…and then his dad suffered a heart condition yesterday, so he had to break an appointment to finish up the car. (Hey, I understand that. I’m certainly not complaining.) He said he’d get back to it on Friday, so I could pick up the car after work on that day. Fun! I’ve already got a plan to take the roofs off and go cruising. I’ve not driven the Formula with the roofs off yet. I want to take some new pictures of it, too. I wish I could just throw rationality to the wind for a minute, drive down to Circuit City and buy the new radio I wanted for the car…it’s turned into a birthday present now instead of a Christmas present. 
Anyway, that’s it for now. Actually got some work to do this morning!
Categorized as Life