Just Like Camping & Sweet Send Off

Just Like Camping: Got the camper van back, nice and clean and fixed up. We took it for a drive to Chelsea and Dexter yesterday. Got carry-out in Dexter, ate in our clean van and took a stroll over to the big gazebo. Then home for a nap after the big excitement.

Bon Chance! Got a sweet send off from some of the folks on my team as I embark on my new exciting job as a technical product manager. Got a beautiful lucky bamboo in an elegant vase

and a beautiful clock with all sorts of great “carpe diem” type sayings including my favorite rallying cry, “Never give up! Never surrender!” Thanks, guys. I’ll miss you, too.

Camper Van Continued, Nice Try TruGreen, Happy DogMa Day

Mea Culpa: My promise to myself and my faithful reader was that I would post an entry once a week. My excuse for missing an entry last week was going to be that I was busy mulching, but I didn’t end up doing much of that, either. Spent the time I could’ve been blogging thinking up excuses.

Camper Van Saga: We spent some of our time last weekend moving the camper van project along. Put the van into the capable hands of Steve at Lloyd Bridges so that he and his crew could fix the damage inflicted by the dealership, summerize it, wash it and ............... clean the inside! Steve was great. He said he’d seen worse. Got a call that day suggesting that we drive out to see the level of damage before he put it back together. Later in the week, Steve called to say the house battery (is that like house cookie or house chocolate?) was dead and would we like that replaced. Yes, please. Then another call to say that the battery housing was so corroded that he’d need to get a RoadTrek part from a dealer. Sigh. Needless to say, we haven’t made any concrete camping plans till we get the van in our hot hands. It’ll be right as rain soon (perhaps not the best phrase to use when talking about camping).

Nice Try TruGreen: Came home to find a 22 by 5.5 inch flyer from TruGreen wedged between the door jam and handle right next to the detailed No Soliciting sign. “Want a great lawn without the work?” “Free First Application” “Call Us Today” “10% Off”. My response to them is ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! We’re just not the types.

Happy DogMa Day: Finally, I would like to wish all you doggie moms out there a Very Happy DogMa Day!

Camper, Innovation, Aachen

Camper Van Moving Along: We took the camper van out for a little spin yesterday. Stopped by Lloyd Bridges and Service Guy Steve said he could fix the bit of plumbing that got damaged at the dealership. No problem. We’ve got an appointment to get ‘er all ready in a coupla weeks. Took Coney for a ride around the block. Just like camping.

Innovation: Thomson and Reuters just merged into Thomson Reuters. The founder of Reuters got his start by sending stock quotes, via carrier pigeons, between Aachen and Brussels. Innovation lives on at Thomson Reuters. I pitched an idea to the company Innovation Board yesterday; however, it was decided that carrier pigeons would not be a part of any of the recommended solutions.

Aachen: Speaking of Aachen, way back in the 8^th century, the pope allowed Charlemagne to take cool architectural treasures from Ravenna since his dad, Pepin, chased the bad old Lombards out of Ravenna and gave the city to the Papal states. Charlemagne, medieval king and starchitect, used the treasures to build a wonderful rustic version of Ravenna’s San Vitale. Here’s a link about Charlemagne’s chapel at Aachen:

http://faculty.cua.edu/Pennington/Religion402/Topic%20Two%20Carolingian%20Church/LectureTwo/PalaceChapelAachen.htm

and here’s a link about San Vitale in Aachen:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/images/ravenna/san-vitale/san-vitale-center-c-paradox.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/ravenna-san-vitale.htm&h=498&w=750&sz=75&hl=en&start=1&sig2=LjqBX1GGVTiVCNDbxyqvmQ&tbnid=rHdADL0bHKFMwM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=141&ei=F2IKSIqWEIO4iAGO9-n7Ag&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSan%2BVitale%2BRavenna%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

"Spring", Camper Saga, & Brilliant Silliness

“Spring”: I’m sorry. My fault. It’s snowing out and I know it’s because I got the deck furniture out last weekend. It was a struggle. Had a fight with the patio table. One of the legs lunged toward my face and dealt a near-fatal blow to my glasses. Got quick out patient treatment from Bennett Optometry and they were glasses-shaped again.

Never Give Up! Never Surrender!: To paraphrase a former colleague, “Chevy Dealership—Idiots!” In the process of checking out our camper van, an Ypsi dealership broke a piece of it. We’re hoping that Lloyd Bridges will come to the rescue since he was so heroic on Sea Hunt. We’ll get there. We’re keeping this little set back a secret from Coney Dog, the true owner of the camper van.

And Now For Something I Think You’ll Really Like: Thanks to Drea for pointing out this brilliant musical piece of silliness:

http://www.rathergood.com/elephants/

On the Road (Almost), Dogs, Penguins & Bunnies

Hitch Up the Wagons: We’re getting the camper van on the road. Jump that battery! Pump those tires! Move it on into the Chevy dealer for a check up. Pinckney, here we come!

Dog Comfort: The ad for the raised outdoor doggie bed said, “Makes your dog feel as pampered as if he were given a place on the couch.” Ha! We’ve got four couches and I still have trouble getting a spot. First come first served and Coney has this uncanny ability to get to the couch first. We won’t even talk about the bed...

When Penguins Fly: Award for best April Fool’s joke goes to the BBC for their short video of penguins migrating to the rainforest for a little R & R, with Terry Jones doing good impersonation of David Attenborough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23qDl1aH9l4

Inspired Architectural Detail: Copying The Ann Arbor Observer’s "I Spy" monthly feature, here’s an inspired architectural detail:

Joe, St. Pat's Day, Dog Historic Marker, Like Camping, Pandora

Joe: Things are moving right along. To work in the Z. Home from work in the Z. An occasional detour to St. Joe’s for a diagnostic MRI or two.

St. Patrick’s Day Hoo Ha: In the early 70’s, the only place you could get a drink on St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin was at the dog show. Things have livened up since then. Read all about it:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E0DA153DF934A25750C0A9679C8B63

I treated the G35 to a car wash on Monday. I went for the premium wash since it was the same price as a regular wash. They squirted blue gunk and yellow gunk on the car (what is that stuff?!), added water and guess what! You have green gunk for a perfect St. Patrick’s Day car wash!

Make Your Own Dog Historic Markers: I inadvertently made my own Dog Historic Marker this week (see 2/24/08 entry). I pulled out the dog treat bag while on my neighbor’s sidewalk. It had a hole in it, so it was, “Every time it rains it rains Kibble from heaven...”. Coney and I check out this spot every day now.

Just Like Camping: Had a nice chat with Jim at the water treatment plant on Saturday morning after getting an automated alert about a water main break that affected our neigborhood. We had a precautionary boil water which felt just like camping. 1855 is a very comfy camper van.

Paean to Pandora: Try pandora.com, the window into the Music Genome Project that let’s you listen to and create music channels full of music you like for free. I love it. You will, too:

http://pandora.com/