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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

24 Hours!

Ever watch the brilliant film "The Paper" by director Ron Howard?  Wonderful film about a small New York Newspaper (remember those things?) starring Micheal Keaton and others that depicts one day in the life of a reporter seeking out an exclusive and the impact it, and his pregnant wife have on his life, proving that things can change dramatically in no time.
Such has been our lives.  OK, maybe not SO dramatic, but with the impending Skype call with the production company and the realtor coming in on Friday we have been running around like little headless chickens trying to get our ducks in a row!  Wow!  Now that's a "foul" string of metaphors!  (AH, HA!) Anyway.  Once we got the call about the house going up on the block, we took a look around the house to ensure that it would show well (and make us look good) and it was with that fresh perspective we came to realize just how much "grubby" kids can do.  On Sunday we initially set out to wash grimy hand prints, and sticky off the walls but quickly realized soap, water and Mr Cleans STRONGEST Magic Eraser wasn't gonna cut it!  So break out the touch up paint!  Well, in the boys room "touch-up" meant a full repaint!  Once the kid's rooms were done, dry and the little ones in bed for the evening, I tackled the main living areas.  Unfortunately half way through, I realized the color I THOUGHT was the LR color was in fact Mom and Dad's Bedroom color.  Very similar in shade but JUST far enough off to make it appear I was knitting a quilt!  ARRGH!!! 
SOOOO, after Elijah took a trip to the hardware store, with paint chip in hand, we had a fresh gallon in hand and repainted the entirety of the main room last night, not to mention the front hallway which was originally a darker yellow then the touch up can of yellow we had, which honestly I have NO idea where that one came from!  The upside is, the house looks better now then when we moved in!  Just have to fix a couple things in the kitchen and a strip of border trim on the sunken media room and we are done!  Oh, wait, theirs the exterior face of the front of the house as well!  The kids play ALOT in the front yard and have no qualms about using it as a "base" or "backdrop" or "target" and it shows! 
ANYWHO!
After all was said and done, and having taken a shower AND a bath, Angi and I retired, tuckered out, to bed.  Only, a scant few hours after that it seems that the stomach virus that struck the kids on Sunday and Monday lingered and lashed out a Angi.  I was awoken by her plaintive cries from the bathroom a little after 4 am, and.....well, I'll save you the details.  Suffice to say, she is in rough shape and HOPEFULLY resting as we speak.  Unfortunately this means she will not be joining me today on the Skype, so I am going to have to wing it without the one thing that actually makes me look GOOD! 
On to business!  Yesterday was more of the same sweet saccharine goodness!  Repairs a plenty!  And thankfully we were able to get most in and out same day.  The only hold out was an unfortunate young mans road bike.  He was rammed by a truck and did some serious damage to the classic Free Spirit he bought from us a few months back.  Fortunately, though the driver of the vehicle was VERY kind and apologetic and brought him and his bike here (she knew the way as, it turns out, she is one of our regulars too!) paid for the entirety of the repairs then brought him home.  Thankfully he wasn't too badly injured, more road rash then anything else!  We had to order a new set of rims for it, and they should be in today.  Manged to get through only one of the new builds (I know, scold me if you will) as we were blessed with MANY new faces yesterday and some returning familiar ones!  The wonderful lady with the GREAT sense of humor (not to mention brain surgery and short term memory loss) unfortunately had to return the ride she picked up a few days ago.  Seems the aforementioned afflictions were not her ONLY problem as her sense of balance is gone as well!  Very sad, as I applaud her desire to get out and exercise.  We had a good talk, however, and I think I got her sold on the idea of visiting her local community center and getting on a stationary bike to stretch her legs! So, with all that schmoozing my attentions were split.  How today goes, is any ones guess!  After 72 hours of little sleep, and more work then I have done in a coon's age, I be a wee bit draggin'!
I will, however, PRESS ON!
So with that, as the butterfly's start dancing in my tummy, I must prepare for my brush with stardom (at least my prerequisite fifteen minuets!)
See ya soon!

UPDATE!!  OK, seeing as my internet is going wonky on me it has taken half my morning just to get the blog finished.  In the interim I did the Skype call.  As it turned out, due to my moody internet, it was interrupted three times and we had to end it in the traditional way, via a phone call.  Not a problem though, as Emily (now identified as a developer) feels we are a good fit for what they do.  REAL people doing REAL jobs, NOT drama-induced Kardashians or the like.  She's taking the info she gathered to her team and plans on doing a soft pitch to the folks at the DIY network, pending their approval.  From there, if they are interested they'll come down, do a follow around for a day, and come up with a three minuet pitch piece.  We'll keep y'all posted when and if things progress!
MEN'S 26" DUAL SHOCK MTB!!
ONLY $75.00!!!

6 comments:

  1. Hey Steven - Joshua here (the guy that bought that Dahon folder). Sure enough, that fixed gear is nice but really gets me huffing and puffing up hills. Do me a favor and let me know when you get any hybrid or cross-framed steel bikes that can take wide tires and at least 3 gears. I'll likely buy it outright instead of trading the Dahon, I love this little thing even if I can't tackle a small hill with it.

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  2. Joshua first: So maybe lower the gearing on the fixie? Sheldon Brown always said road fixies need to geared at about 70 inches. Do the math and see whatcha got. Get it down to 70 and try again before you do anything else. Mine, at 70, climbs the tall bridges like demon on caffeine. No, wait, that's just me. But geared correctly, fixies CAN climb!

    Steven: Fingers crossed for the TV show! Makes it tough to type, but worth it if it helps.

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  3. Chippie - there's a good chance I'm just out of shape, but I'll bring it in to Steven and have him take a look at it one of these days.

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    1. for clarification. What you have is single freewheel, not fixie, believe me the diff is worlds apart. Second, to focus on hills, you'd have to decrease the size of your chainring which would be BAD for you would loose your top end, and be peddling like MAD on level ground and get nowhere. You could convert to a three speed rear for it, but the cost may be prohibitive. You may want to heck out the Jamis we just put out. Six speed, HONKIN' sturdy frame, WIDE tires! Not sure if it's TOO tall, but swing by and give her a peak!

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    2. Thanks for the clarification Steven. Yeah I really like the output on minor hills and flats with the bike as is, I just attempted a real "hill" yesterday and could only manage about 1/2 a mile before I had to turn around and coast back. I might check out that bike, although I am loving this one...

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  4. Ok, yeah, a single speed is not a fixie, and even though they are both just that one single gear, they are worlds apart.

    Joshua: If you'd like to try a fixie, you are welcome to take the legendary Queen Anne's Revenge for a spin around the block any time. I own a lot of bikes, but my fixie, Queen Anne, is by far and away the most addicting ride I've ever owned.

    In the meantime, here's the drill to find your gearing: Divide the number of teeth on your rear cog into the number of teeth on your chainring. Multiply that number by your wheel size and you get your bike's "gear inches". A fixie is best geared at 70 inches, but I tend to zip around town on a single speed geared at 54.

    Your mileage may vary.

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