New Car Time

Momoko purchased a new Honda Fit this week. We got the Milano Red color that we wanted. Had to go up to a higher level of trim. That bumped the cost up almost $2000. But we are just loving this color. The higher trim had some other useful things like security system, arm rest, radio controls on the steering wheel, and so on.

It seems that the family is driving the new car all the time. Momoko tried to get me to drive the thing a few times. I did not want to. It is new. I don't want to be the first person to get into an accident with it. I drove once to pick up Little Kat from the pool. Then I drove Momoko to pick up her car from the dealership. That is it.

Luckily Kit Kat likes driving the new car. I vote that she do most of the new car driving from now on. We are a little cramped with parking. My truck is boxed in the back of the carport. Momoko's car is usually boxed in the driveway by the new one. I park out on the street. Time to look into getting a larger driveway paved for us.

Curse of Du Claw

Yesterday we drove Kit Kat to the airport. She needed to catch a flight to visit her dad. The airline only gave out 1 extra security pass. So Little Kat and I needed to wait in the terminal. Kit Kat and Momomoko proceeded to the departure gate.

There is only one restaurant in the terminal outside of security. It is Du Claw. We had eaten there before. The appetizers are really good. We had all eaten dinner. And Little Kat had a big snack before dinner. So we decided to split a snack. Little Kat chose the buffalo wings with fries option. It was tasty.

Since it was just Little Kat and I, he was able to order a soda. Momoko joined us a bit early. Apparently Kit Kat had boarded the plane. We waited until Kit Kat's plane took off. Then we went to the parking garage. Exiting was a nightmare. Everyone was trying to leave the airport. And you need to pay the attendants for parking. Luckily we parked on a level of the garage that had a shorter line to pay for parking. Good choice Momoko.

Park Surprise

Kit Kat needed to practice her parking. So Momoko planned to take her to the parking lot of the local park. Little Kat and I joined them. I packed the basketball, footballs, and tennis equipment so Little Kat and I could work out.

When we got to the park, Little Kat said he did not sign up for any tennis. He came to the park to play on the jungle gym. Wut? I had to sit on the bench as Little Kat had his fun. Some parts of the jungle gym were a bit tough for Little Kat. I guess he is not ready for Wipeout just yet.

I spied on the guys playing basketball. They were not that good at shooting baskets. Only 1 or 2 of the ten guys could make shots well. But they were all in pretty good shape. They kept running up and down the courts at full speed. Great exercise. I want some of that.

Downtown Meeting

My company scheduled an all hands meeting for our team. Food was going to be provided. But it was going to be held in the middle of the city at rush hour. Ouch. Everybody pretty much said they were going to take the train there. I had to buck the trend.

I made sure I left early to drive all the way into the city. The drive started out good. Then it slowed to a crawl in the city. I drove by where I went to high school. Then I missed my turn. Went around a couple circles, found the place, but missed the one parking space by the meeting place.

Well I circled around a couple blocks. Found a little VW Beetle leaving his parking spot. I did a quick U-turn, and claimed the spot. They had some weird way to pay for parking. You don't put coins in a meter by your parking space. You walk down the block to purchase a receipt to put in your window. What the heck? I only had 2 maximum of 2 hours parking. When my time was up, I snuck out of my meeting, then came home.

Snow Melt

Our high piles of snow are starting to melt a little bit. I am happy. Some people tell me their rain gutters are falling down (due to heavy ice). Ours are holding up for now.

I am ready for the forecast of rain. That might melt even some more snow. There is a problem that remains with the snow. There is nowhere to park. Normally we have two spots out in front of the curb. But the snow only leaves one.

Momoko and I have been playing musical cars in our one car driveway. Then things got complicated when my bro drove over with his truck. Had to park those cars tight.

We got this old couch in the basement. It is older than Kit Kat. The darn thing is just not too comfortable. Momoko would like a sectional sofa. But that sounds like $$$.

Value City has a sale this weekend for a 500 dollar sectional. Sounds like a scam, but maybe Little Kat and I will check it out. Right Little Kat?

Weekend Activities

This weekend was nice. I was able to do some shopping on Saturday. Nothing too elaborate just some basics. I went to Wally World during my spree and I was surprised to find a fence blocking my favorite parking area. I am not sure why it was there but they fenced off most of the left side, maybe they will be expanding.

On Sunday, I had started my wardrobe spring cleaning. I cleaned out my dresser. I saved a couple of things for Kit and I put the others in bags. I am hoping my sister might be able to use some of the things I am getting rid of. If not, I will donate the clothes.

Later, Black took me to a movie and a late lunch. When I got home, I was sleepy so I took a nap. Black was finishing up his work and when he completed it we split the leftovers from lunch for dinner and watched an independent movie, Blindness.

The Customer Building

At work, our customer is having some problems with our software. This is nothing new. However the customer informed us that these problems are critical. They can’t wait to get them fixed. My boss told them I would take care of this. I asked the customer to work closely with me so that I will not waste any time. One member in our customer organization is retiring this month. We were all going to be in the same building for the retirement party. I planned to meet somebody from the customer organization there to work with me on their problem.

Here is the chief reason I don’t like working at the customer organization. There is just not enough parking. If you do not get there early, you do not get to park. The traffic is crazy during rush hour around here. The day of the retirement party was no different. I got onto the highway, and found it to be more like a parking lot. Luckily I left really early in the day. I did end up getting a space in the parking lot.

When I got to the front door, I had to get somebody to escort me. I called one of the employees of my company who always works on site there. He was not there. But he promised he would call somebody else to sign me in. Nobody came. Luckily one of my actual customers came in and saw me detained at the front door. She signed for me. That got me in.

I had scheduled a meeting with the customer who was to help me around lunch time. So I had to get an early bite to eat. The problem is that because I am a visitor, I need an escort at all times. Everybody is busy. Nobody wants to escort me around. So I had to take a chance and sneak down to the cafeteria. I took along a folder that served two purposes: (1) It helped cover up the escort required badge around my neck, and (2) it contained a list of everybody’s phone number in case I was detected and escorted off the premises.

Attack of the Ducks

There is plenty of parking at my work. However by the time I get there, I have to park far away from my building. Normally that does not matter. A nice walk in the morning is good for me. That is all fine unless I am carrying my big bag with my computer. Then it is a chore to trek from the remote parking lot.

That is why I was excited when they built a new parking garage right next to my building. It seemed to take forever before they were done. Then it opened to the building residents. Things were great. There was always enough parking right by my building. Then the ducks came.

There always seemed to be ducks in the neighborhood of my building. That is no big deal. They stick to themselves. However one pair of ducks became annoying. Apparently the one ducks laid some eggs. She built her nest right on the walkway from the parking garage to my building. And daddy duck would attack anyone who came near. The construction guys closed off the walk between the parking lot and building. Then they started roping off more and more area around these ducks because papa duck kept attacking people walking from the garage. This darn dark even flew up at me a couple time. He seemed to wander around a bit, but kept thinking he needed to protect the nest. The nerve of these ducks. I tell ya.

Magic Kingdom Denied

Today we decided to go to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. While driving there, Mamma Kat thought she saw a sign stating that the park was closed. When we approached the parking lot, we saw all the cars turning around and leaving. The parking attendant told us that the park was closed. All we got were some coupons.

We rode around for a while then parked. The family decided against a trip to Disney Studios. Instead we returned to Epcot. The Test Track ride that Little Kat wanted to go on was still too long a wait. Therefore we visited the side of the park that we had skipped before.

After getting a fast pass, we headed to the Temple of Mexico. At first it seemed like a tourist trap with a bunch of stores. However the center of the exhibit had a boat ride. We then used our fast pass to jump the line at Norway’s Maelstrom. It was supposed to be a ship ride. The ship hit a dead end, went backwards for a long ride, then took a sharp drop down. Yikes.

Mamma Kat made us go to the German exhibit to eat some brats. I insisted we watch a patriotic presentation about the USA. By then we were tired, and took a boat ride across a huge lake to avoid a long walk around it. I rested as the cats did a lot of shopping at a number of Disney stores.

Universal Studios

I slept in a little this morning. Mamma Kat wanted us to get to Universal Studios early. By the time I got up, we only had time for a couple burgers for breakfast.

It was a total maze to find the official parking for Universal Studios. Once parked, we took advantage of moving sidewalks to get us to the entrance. We had to wait a long time in line to purchase tickets.

We opted for express passes which cost extra, but allowed us to skip long lines. My favorite attraction was a rock show headlined by Beetlejuice. This show featured a great singer playing the Bride of Frankenstein.

The rest of the family wanted to see Blue Man Group in concert. I just did not have the energy. However I did have enough energy to take the family to Golden Corral for dinner. Tomorrow I wanted to relax. But the family is talking about wanting to visit SeaWorld.