Weekend Review {10/31}

FRIDAY

I found out on Friday that I will definitely be going to DC!  YYYYYAAAYYY!!!!!

I left work around 2 after completing some final documentation changes.  I had ridden Mike into work and I wanted to get in some riding since the day was gorgeous.  I decided to head to Total Wine to pick up beer for Teh German and some minis to give to adult trick or treaters.  Also, I wanted to try the honey whiskeys/burbons, so I got one of each that I could find.  #notsorry  Total price: $18

As I was on my way home, I remembered that we might have doggy trick or treaters so I decided to stop by the pet store to get some "good" treats for our 4-leggers.  Total price: $26

Total price I paid for candy: $30
If that doesn't tell you my life priorities, nothing else will.

I arrived home a little before 4.  I dried off (because while it's not 90 outside (80something, actually), it's still hot with the sun beating down on me in all my gear) and relaxed some, waiting on Teh German to come home.  He got home a little bit before 5.  Originally, we had planned to see Hocus Pocus with Company, but Roux's Humom suggested we go to Magnolia Plantation for their scare-night and see how it was.

Before Mr. Golfer and Roux's Humom picked us up, I conned Teh German into helping me take measurement for the outside slabs that we want to be laid so I could complete some of the estimates this week. 

We had made dinner reservations at Al Di La (an italian place) at 5:45.  Dinner took longer than expected because our server disappeared towards the end of our meal.  It took forever to get our check and for him to come take our dessert order.  Instead of asking if/how we wanted to split the check (we were obviously 2 couples), he just brought 1 check and for simplicity sake, we just split it in half.

With dinner complete, we headed to Magnolia.  We immediately got in line for the ghost train tram first.  What I didn't know was that the event was catered to children.  There were several small children in line with us, despite signs that said the ride wasn't recommended for children.  Grand.  We were able to split away from the annoying children that had been in front of us, only for them to be replaced by different annoying children that were behind us.

I say annoying because I don't tolerate high pitched screams well at all.  It hurts my ears very much and having been told for most of my life that I have very good hearing, I believe that I'm extra sensitive to sound and you will often find me plugging my ears shut with my fingers if something is too loud for me to handle.  Call me a wimp, call me smart, call me sensitive, don't care.  I can tolerate unruly children, I cannot tolerate the high pitched screams of children that aren't in immediate danger.  That includes the little boy that sat behind us at the Stingrays opening game.

One of the kids that sat near us on the train was absolutely petrified.  He was probably already afraid of the dark and the first time something jumped out at us, he immediately started bawling and hid his face in his dad's side.  The entire ride, his mother was cooing to him how brave he was and how much she loved him.  Seriously?  As a parent, you didn't know your kid was going to react this way?  The siblings were fine, but this poor kid.  I tried not to be annoyed, but I was.  I'll be honest.

After the ride, we walked around the stands.  There were a few food places set up, some games for kids, a "graveyard" with a hearse, a pony ride stand, a hay bale maze (which would have been right up my alley), a large pile of hay in the middle of the area, and a firepit nearby.  There was also a "mad scientist lab" that we went into.  Ironically, the children from in front of us in the ride line were in the lab with us.  Before the guy could even start, the lights in the "lab" freaked out the kids and they were crying and screaming and they had to leave and find another group to come in with us.  Since we were adults, the "scientist" left us in his "lab".  Being the adult I am, I decided to scare the group that was coming inside and hid behind one of the pieces of the scene.  I jumped out and screamed but it was so dark that I'm not sure if I really scared anyone.  The "scientist" just looked annoyed.  He asked for a volunteer for his project but none of the kids were willing, so I just said I would flip his power switches.  Each switch had a little different action, but the goal was to "revive" the dummy on the gurney.  The scariest part of the lab was the loud popping noise of "electricity" which was really more loud than scary.  Additionally, you could hear it from outside the "lab" so ya know.. you knew to expect it.

Kid didn't even pay attention that we were trying to get a photo.
MY FACE though.

Us in the "Lab" with the "body" that the "scientist" was supposed to revive.

oooo scary.

After the lab, we took some photos and then we left, mostly disappointed.  Live and learn.  At least we had gotten to hang out with Roux's Humom and Mr. Golfer and dinner was delicious.  We headed back home and went to bed soon after we got home.

Hearse kisses.
The tag says "Dig Up"

SATURDAY

Saturday morning was sleep in morning! WOOT!  I got up and fed the dogs around 0745 and then ended up getting side tracked uploading photos to my computer.  I had planned to go back upstairs and get in bed, but Teh German came downstairs and started his coffee.  I did some photo editing of shots of Phil and Meri from earlier in the week.  We eventually decided on a game plan to go grab breakfast and go to the carpet place to see about getting a runner made for the hallway.

We measured the hallway to see how long of a runner we would need to go from almost door to door.  This is me mitigating Phil's slippery floor problems and while he may not have cost me very much in vet bills the past few years, the fact that I'm about to have a runner made just for him because he's afraid of the floor more than makes up for it.

Since we were going on the bikes, we just had to throw on clothes and brush teeth and get out the door, which didn't take too long.  We were on our way when Mike Wazowski started giving me problems.  He was surging when I was in high RPMs.  I immediately told Teh German and we pulled over and he took Mike on a short ride to see if he could figure out the problem.  We weren't sure the issue, but neither of us felt comfortable with me riding Mike, so we turned around and traded in the bikes for Teh German's car.  Fortunately, we were only 5 minutes from home and I wasn't hurt, but it was still scary.

Mike Wazowski has never passed Teh German's safety standards.  I've always said that Mike is a beater bike.. remember that one time when Franken-Mike was a thing?  Money put into Mike after initial purchase is more than half of what I actually paid for him.  Teh German and I agreed last year that if anything happened with Mike, he was going to be replaced, not fixed.  The time had come.  Instead of going to the carpet place after brunch (at Charleston Cafe), we went to Charleston Powersports and checked out motorcycles.  I explained that I wasn't brand loyal and sat on quite a few bikes in different styles.  I did learn that I'm not much of a naked bike lover.  I need that windscreen.

Just my size!

I ended up liking the Ninja 300 the most of all the bikes I sat on.  I explained to the sales guy that I was worried I was liking the Ninja because it is what I already had and I was biased.  Also, I was a little worried that we had only looked at one place.  Granted, there are only 2 places that sell sports bikes in Charleston and they are affiliated, so shopping at one is the same as shopping at the other.  While they were running the financing info, they sent us home to fetch Mike.  Teh German drove his car just in case [new bike] wasn't coming home with us.  While we were home, I also went on a hunt for the title.  It only took me 15 minutes of searching to find it (while Teh Dad harassed me about my record keeping skillz).  We headed back to Powersports with me on Mike.  There were no issues with him this ride, although I kept the RPMs low because I didn't want to deal with that again.

When I pulled up, the salesman met me outside and another employee went crazy over how awesome Mike was.  Teh German and I just looked at each other like the guy had some sort of contagious crazy.  Apparently the body style was like that from the late 90s but he was still in awe of the bike.  Unfortunately for my sales guy, that meant that I realized that Mike DID have some value, how much was the question.  Of course, my sales guy didn't want to throw out numbers for how much they would give me for Mike.  We all looked up the Kelly Blue Book on Mike and it said that Mike in good condition was worth ~$1450.  Teh German and I were shocked.  But Mike isn't in good condition.  I'd say more like fair to poor.  He's got a broken gauge and fairing and he's pretty dinged up.  When the sales guy went away, Teh German and I agreed that I'd ask for $850 for him, which I felt was high.  They didn't drive Mike, which helped.  When the sales guy came back, I told him $850 and he said that was fine, even though there was damage.  I said that the KBB estimated at almost $1500 for good condition and he himself had said that Mike wasn't in as bad of condition as Teh German and I had made out (at least he wasn't disappointed).

Essentially he was giving me the sales guy hustle.  $850 was probably less than they would have given me with how quickly he had said ok.  At which point I realized I should have asked for $1000.  When Teh German and I had discussed it on the way home to get Mike, we had agreed that even if they offered us nothing but were willing to take care of Mike, it was still worth it so we didn't have to deal with getting rid of the bike.

I had also asked the sales guy about a military discount and he had agreed that they could give me some incentive.  When I inquired about the military discount after he agreed on the trade in price for Mike, he said that he probably wouldn't do a military discount since they were giving me $850 for a trade in...  I was not pleased.

When the financing manager came in to speak with me we agreed on terms and the final piece was that because the bike I was getting was new, it wasn't built yet.  Which meant that the bike wouldn't be ready until Monday.  This was disappointing for me, but while the financing manager was with us, I said I'd take the bike on Monday, IF they honored the $250 military discount.  You see, what had happened wassssss... while the sales guy went to talk about the trade in value, he happened to leave his laptop open on the Kawasaki page.  His mistake.  While I was clicking around looking a models and options, I noticed that there was a link for offers.  At the bottom was the military discount offer.

When I challenge them with this, the sales guy said he wasn't sure if the $500 off promo stacked with military discount.  To bad, so sad, for him, the financing manager was a veteran and was happy to honor the military discount for me.  I could tell he was definitely not pleased at me for this turn of events.  Nonetheless, I got all the discounts I felt I could get, I got way more than what I thought Mike was worth, and we had an agreement.

So, I bought a brand new 2016 Kawasaki Ninja 300.  While they were drafting up the financing paperwork for me to sign, they let me test ride a floor model that had been lowered.  It was a little too low for me, but was still more comfortable than me having to stand on my toes to balance the bike.  IT WAS AMAZING.  I felt silly at how thrilled I was to have such simple things.. like the ability to touch the ground fully, digital gauges, smooth acceleration, not having to let the bike "warm up", being on a bike that had zero flaws.  It was like a constant girl scream of awesome in my head.

The sales guy had told me the loop to take, but yeeeaaaahhh right.  Since the place was right by Shitty House, I drove through that neighbor to get a better feel for the bike.  I was sitting more upright, which means less elbow pain and the clutch/brake are easier for me to reach.  I actually have a headlamp and bright light that people will actually be able to see, rather than Mike's light which I always had on bright because normal was scarily dim.  I did a few fun acceleration bits on 526, then completed the loop he told me to take.  I was smitten.  Teh German had guided me, but I had chosen well.

When I got back, I ordered lowering links, a fender eliminator kit, and frame sliders (for just in case) and signed the papers to officially replace Mike.  All of the parts will be installed by the dealer so I don't have to worry about it.  They closed at 4 and we ended up leaving a little after 4:15.  Mike didn't come home with us, which was bittersweet.

TL;DR: We went shopping for a rug, but instead I bought a new motorcycle.  Oops.  #notsorry

When we got home, I was exhausted.  I was excited, but exhausted.  Teh German and I ate a small dinner, I went upstairs and laid down for a few minutes.  We had Halloween parties to attend.  I got up around 6 and started getting ready.  Teh German didn't hear the shower turn on, so he thought I was still napping until I beat on the shower wall to get his attention.  I keep it classy.  He came up and started getting ready.

We arrived to party #1 and were blown away.  The hosts had went crazy with the Halloween spirit!  Even the light switches had "blood" dripping from them!  It was crazy awesome.  We hung out for a bit and socialized then we departed after telling our hosts goodbye and thanking them for inviting us and headed back home.  A neighbor down the street was having a party and we wanted to go to that.  Additionally, if we got drunk at the neighbor's party, we didn't have to worry about driving home, WIN.

All photos by our Host.

All photos by our Host.
There was even a stormtrooper!

We ended up getting home a little after 0130.  We let the dogs out, I prepped doggy breakfast, and we headed to bed in a drunken giddiness. 

SUNDAY

Sunday morning I woke up at 0730 to feed the beasts.  As soon as I stumble-wandered downstairs, I downed an entire cup of water and ate a nut ball.  I wasn't feeling woozy, but I wasn't feeling completely sober either.  Once the dogs had finished their business, I headed back upstairs and fell back into bed.  By 10, I was ready to get up and do things.  I was feeling fine, no hangover, just some serious irritation at Teh German for being as loud as possible when he'd groan because of his hangover.  BTW, I had several shots + jello shots and I had filled my Nalgene with "adult juice" (1/2 of said "juice" was a mix of vodka, rum, and Malibu black).  I figured if anyone was going to be worse for the wear, it would have been me.  Wrong.  Teh German had stuck mostly with beer and had only done 2 shots.  You'd have thought he was dying.

Feeling fine, I had told him to drink water and he had refused.  At which point, I started being a bitch, I won't lie.  I'm not going to feel sorry for you if you refuse to do the things I suggest to make you feel better.  He did get up at one point to go to the bathroom and went downstairs to get food.  He came back with nut balls and pretzel bites.... to eat... in our bed.  I almost lost it.  Instead, I made a very determined effort to keep my sassy mouth shut, as long as he didn't get pretzel crumbs all in the bed.  Not that I don't need to change the sheets, but principle.  He still was refusing to drink water.  /roll eyes.

We had been invited by our across the street neighbors to brunch.  They had wanted to have us over, but also they had friends coming in and their parents were with them and the parents only spoke German.  How fortunate to have a German right across the street!  Brunch was supposed to start at 1.  At noon, I finally got out of the bed and started getting ready.  Actually, I started doing chores. Laundry needed to be done and then I got ready.  I had to harass Teh German to get out of bed.  Finally he did.  Of course, when I wasn't ready at 1255, it was his turn to harass me.  We arrived at the neighbor's house at 1:05 because "our directions were confusing."  Looolz.  Their other guests hadn't arrived yet, so we chatted while we waited on them.  Once they arrived, we sat down and ate (praise Allah).  The food was delicious and perfect for whatever lingering alcohol was still in our systems.

We got a tour of their house and then Teh German offered to give their friends a tour of our house.  I think this was to keep the German parents entertained mostly, but also because homes in Germany are very different than homes in America.  They are constructed differently so they cost much more.  Around 4, Teh German informed me that he was supposed to skype with his mom, so we left.  While Teh German chatted with his mom, I bought my plane ticket for DC.

After his Skype date, we sat and watched HIMYM for the rest of the evening.  I generated some draft blogs for my MWF schedule and some extra prompts in between.  I considered writing for the not-challenge challenge, but I was too distracted by HIMYM to focus.

Teh German suggested that we order pizza for dinner and I acquiesced because that meant I didn't have to think about dinner even though it might not have been the cheapest or healthiest choice.  I concocted a pizza (mushrooms, spinach, bacon, pepperoni, extra cheese) that we hadn't had before and even put it on thin crust, since that's Teh German's preference.  We were pleased at my life choice and delivery was totally the way to go.

Around 9, we finished an episode and we did bedtime prep and headed to bed.


___________________________
This weekend was full of unexpected awesomeness.  Mike got evicted and replaced!  I have a name in mind for [new bike], but I'm waiting to see if it feels right once I get it.  Spoiler alert: We did NOT order a new rug for the hallway.

Today is actually Halloween, so this evening will be spent handing out candy to children/teenagers, airplane bottles of liquor to adults, and treats for dogs!  Phil and Meri will be baby gated inside the house, but they will not be participating.

[New bike] pick up is up in the air right now.  It will either be this afternoon or Weds.  Since I leave for DC on Thursday, I'm not-secretly hoping that I can pick it up very soon so I can at least get some time on the bike before I need to go home and start handing out candy.

Tuesday we are headed to the fair with Roux's Humom and Mr. Golfer.
Wednesday, I should probably pack for DC.

While I'm in DC, I'll be spending the weekend with Teh MD-AR and we're running the Across the Bridge 10k in Annapolis!  Suplize runs are always the best.  I'm going to see if I can improve my time on this one.  Training?  Nahhhhh.

I'm hoping that this crazy busy schedule doesn't cause programming interruptions, but you never know.

Happy Halloween, Gentle Readers!

PS.  There aren't photos with actual [New Bike] yet, but here are some teasers in the meantime.

Matte black, win.

Same color, but not mine since this one didn't have ABS brakes.
We made do for photos.