Wordplay

I'll talk about Christmas later.  By 10 a.m. the 26th I was back to working, my partner's out of town and left me with a plate brimming over with work.  Sunday and today were no better (at least we got to ride on Sunday), and the rest of the week looks formidable. Sadly, I failed to stop the auction of a client's house today.  It's not my fault, I know, but I feel bad that I couldn't convince the lienholder to hold off another couple of weeks, at least.  FAIL. Then I got this in my email and it brightened my day.  I love words, I love our language, and I love a good pun.  Enjoy! ******************************************************************************        Two Lists of Definitions        For the most enjoyment........read them aloud with a friend. Don't miss the second list at the bottom.  It is even funnier.        Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are the winners:        1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.        2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.        3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.        4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.        5. Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.        6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.        7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.        8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the Person who doesn't get it.        9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.        10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)        11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right?  And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.        12. Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.        13. Glibido: All talk and no action.        14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.        15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.        16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.        17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.        The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. And the winners are:        1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.        2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.        3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.        4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.        5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.        6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.        7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.        8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.        9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.        10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.        11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.        12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.        13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.        14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with yiddishisms        15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.        16. Circumvent, n . An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Focus and lack thereof

Since my last post I've taken pictures and written in my head new posts.  Why aren't you seeing them?  Because my pictures wouldn't post, so I had a hissy fit and went away.  In this two-week span I've been ill, ridden again, ignorred an elephant in the room, and generally worked my patootie off in real estate.  I could write a book on that but I'll spare us all the gory details.   Suffice it to say that if it were easy, everyone would do it.

Last weekend we took a spin on the tandem and decided to train for the Solvang Double Century, March 27th, '10.  We love the Central Coast and its roads, but my desire to repeat the Century has waned big time after last year's underwhelming, crash-tastic, boring food-supported ride.  After on-line discussions with people who've done this double, and our own research, we committed to the Double.  Training and lifestyle changes begin 1-1-10.  I'm excited to have a new goal.   Chris is convinced that I'm trying to kill him for the insurance money.

My curiosity about what I can do on a bike parallels what I can do in my career.  This year I've written more offers than ever, and 90% of them were rejected, through no fault of my own or my partner's; it's just the buyers' circumstances v. the status of the properties they're offering on.  The market is shifting; prices are inching up slightly, and the all-cash buyers are calling the shots and getting the properties. 

So after being beaten up this year (and I haven't even addressed our listings and how the banks are abusing us) I need a new challenge, something that inspires both fear and hope in me.  A double century does that easily.  The Solvang Double retraces some of the roads we pedaled on our Epic Ride from San Francisco to Santa Barbara (read all about it at www.justaguyonlifesjourney.blogspot.com), as well as some of the century roads.  We know the area well, and have friends there as well, so we have options if we want to quit the ride.

So far I've not bailed on a ride. Not for thunder, lightning, rain, hail, or a broken wrist.

What's scary is that I'm already planning for 2 more doubles...Triple Crown, here we come.

Birthday Weekend

So the 21st is Chris's and Meave's birthdays.  She doesn't ride a bike so we rode without her. 

We started out in 40* and sunny weather.  Some wind came up, post-frontal, from the NW, and at times brisk.  The clouds blew through and when they blocked the sun I got chilled.

We rode to Davis and had brunch at the Delta of Venus.  When Meave lived in Davis we met her and her friends there, and enjoyed their cuisine frequently.  The Greek omelet has lost none of its pizazz.

We rode home through the orchards and mostly fallow fields, with more downwind than headwind, to arrive home after 57 and change miles.  Just right.  We cleaned up and went off to BevMo, where the wine steward has a vintage Tomassini frame he's trying to sell us.  We tasted 4 wines while waiting for him to return from lunch, and a worthwhile wait it was: He closed the tasting room and indulged us and 2 other couples in a fine Bordeaux flight.  We bought 4 bottles of 2 different types.  One we gave to Meave as her birthday gift.

Then we headed to Nugget to get the ingredients for dinner.  Lo and behold, Brian was having a rare Saturday tasting, featuring wines from their holiday guide.  Another flight of 7...we were enamored of a Spanish Garnacha and bought a couple bottles.

Nobody was hungry or interested in cooking.  No surprise there. 

Today we did as little as possible, by choice, and it was awesome to just rest, relax, and not be driven to perform. We ventured out to the mall to pick up my new glasses and that was it. Watched old movies (Good Fellas, Silence of the Lambs), a couple loads of laundry, made a pear/apple crisp for breakfast, and not much more. 

Then Chris got busy preparing dinner.  We started with an Anchor Steam Ale, Christmas '07. (pics aren't loading; sorry).   Then Chris made a deviled lobster dish with a side of spinach salad.  Holy cow!  I wouldn't have even thought to Google that, let alone followed through.  Amazing food!

I'm sure I packed on more calories than I burned.  Since it's the off-season, who cares?

Business As Usual

It's Wednesday and I haven't ridden my bike since Sunday.  That makes me sad, a little, because I had an opportunity this afternoon in 65* calm sunny weather, and I passed it up.

However, I made some phone calls and talked to people and got quite a few "chores" done on my list of work-related stuff to do.  Chris came home and we walked the dogs the usual 3-ish mile loop as the sun set.  Nice.  Not enough exercise but better than nothing.

Lisa and I took a new listing on Saturday; we spent Monday afternoon uploading the info and pictures into 2 MLS systems, and today got a call that it was being shown.  I'm happy about that; it's a really nice listing and we'd love to help these people move on with their lives by selling it.

My arms and chest hurt from yesterday's round of doing my age in push-ups.  Methinks I need to do this a couple times a week to keep the pain to a minimum.

Euphoria

Three rides, 131 miles, good times...thus is the off-season.  Every ride I did last week -- all 3 of them -- was enjoyable and immensely fun without pain and suffering.  Sunday I rode the tandem with Chris, Wed. I rode with Kameo (as a gov't. employee she had the day off; as a civilian I enjoyed the ride and went to work after), and Friday I rode a Gordon Valley Loop (45 mi.) with Kim.  Nothing enhances a beautiful ride like the right company.

Today we rode with a couple racers and non-racers.  It was 39* when we left at 7:45.  Very grateful for my alpaca-blend balaclava.  At Putah Creek and Old Winters roads we divided; Kameo stayed with us and we got in 50 miles in dead-calm and crystal-clear weather. We rode a long time with no conversation, yet we knew what to say when we did speak.  Another mark of a good friend: No mindless chatter needed.   No wonder I came home feeling like a million bucks.

After cleaning up and eating we bought groceries, walked the dogs 3-ish miles, then decided on this

I wasn't quite finished that cigar when my partner called and wanted help writing an offer for our 1st-time homebuyer clients.  This was offer #8 since Sept.  We hope it'll be accepted. Such a sweet couple; I really admire their patience and perseverance.

There's some drama with our daughter re her previous relationship, but nothing she can't handle.  If only she'd see it that way.

And that's the news for now.

Totally Delightful

Candy and Rick gave this to me today.  I was tew-tally dee-lighted by it.  In fact, my day, which was going really well, was made by this. I'm humbled by their thinking of me, and energized that they get me. 

Yay, my friends!  Candy & Rick rock!  Thank you so much!

The hard part is deciding what picture to put here.

A Thief in our Midst

Today our neighbor 2 houses east was robbed.

There's been a burglar about since the beginning of the month.  The neighbor that was hit today, and the neighbor between us, were scoped on the 5th of the month.  The perp knocked on Bobby's door for 20 min., including looking over his fence and in his windows.  His adult daughter was home sick and saw the guy and can I.D. him, but refused to answer the door.  The perp also looked over the fence of the folks between us.  He knocked on their door as well, but they were home (freak, random accidents left them carless; this perp targets the carless driveways).  When Alan answered the guy apologized for having the wrong house and left.

We as a neighborhood didn't know there was a problem until last week.  We have 3 kinds of cops on this street, withinn 6 houses of one another:   To our east is a BART cop, to the south a Suisun cop, two houses west is a Vacaville cop.  We're all Neighborhood Watch-trained as well.  This perp targets houses that have no corresponding vehicles.  I suspect he's cased the 'hood to know peoples' habits, otherwise, why would he come back to Bobby's house?  I also suspect he's stealing stuff he can fence.  Note to crook:  Bobby's guns are registered.  Try to pawn them, fool.  We homeowners can't wait to nail your scummy *ss.

We're all on high alert.  The first day this guy showed up was the day we left on our Epic Ride (report to follow).  He attempted a hit at Bobby's but his daughter was home.  He knocked on Alan's door; Alan answered and the guy apologized for having the wrong house. He skipped our house because we had a car in the driveway and a truck on the street.  Although the dogs and we were gone, he skipped us.  Stroke of luck.

This guy has robbed both sides of Brown's Valley and we're all alert, aware, and looking for his worthless  *ss.  Dude, we will find you and prosecute you and convict you.  You aren't that smart.

I'm as angry as I've ever been.  Last time I was this angry was when our underage daughter had taken with a young man of age; in the coolers of Sam's Club we let him know we'd prosecute him if he continued to carry on with her.  He broke up with her that day.  Mission accomplished.

Now to nail this fool...