A day in the life of me and my Miata
Up for the way to work and down for the way home. Put it back up once we pulled into the garage because it had rained in the afternoon and the top was still quite wet. At least the rain was thoughtful enough to stop longer enough for us to take a little roundabout way home before starting up.
No ticking this AM, but I still need to change the oil this weekend. Warmed up to the upper 50s for after work, so the top went down, well at least I thought it was a nice day. After the workout at the gym I made my trip home and for the second time in 2 weeks what should pull up behind me at the first red light, but a new dark gray BMW Z4. This time his top was up. The next three miles went exactly as before, we made our right at the yield sign onto US1 and blasted up to speed, mine 55 and his 65 so that he passed me once again. I just watched him go by, I tried a wave the first time it happened and was ignored, so this time I look at the car and not him. The car actually looks good with the top up too. Now I catch him at our left turn and end up following him up the hill for a mile or so until he turns left and I continue on straight. When I first saw the magazine picture I was horrified, that was one but ugly car. My feelings were reinforced by quite a few of the car magazine writers as well. But now that I have seen one in person, I almost like it. And if my salary were to jump by 75% next review period I might look at buying one (of course that depends on whether it comes in a nice looking blue.)
It's Sunday what did you expect. I went outside early to get the 2 morning newspapers and in the beautiful 60 something degree weather went for a couple miles on rollerblades. Sitting on the stairs in the garage removing my wheeled shoes I couldn't help but notice that the car was pretty dusty. So I took the California Duster to the dash and then the outside of the car too. Less dusty and it will have to do until a couple more weeks. No drive today, so the Miata will "reward" me with some lifter tapping tomorrow when I start it up for the ride to work. It is time to change the oil and I'll try and remember to get a filter when I'm over at Rader using the postage meter to mail the Master's Miata Club's newsletter on Friday. Which reminds me, I better get busy writing that sucker.
Put the Short Shifter Kit in today and it went surprisingly well. The upper boot was not torn so that was a relief, but I'm still running on the old turret oil....maybe at the Club's Tech Day in February. Lowered the height by about a 1/2" looks good and if it affected shifting effort I don't notice and for that matter the shifter throw doesn't seem any shorter either. Worth the $120? Not really.
Went to SamGoody this evening to return the M*A*S*H mistake. Since I have no receipt, I have to accept a gift card. Whilst the manager is helping others (he has to OK the form) I wander the store looking for stuff I might want. I find nothing, for three reasons; a) I'm particular (some might say peculiar) in my tastes, 2) I live in a small town so we have what amounts to a 3/4 scale store and III) it is 2 days after Christmas so everything is pretty well picked over (the shelves were full of empty patches like a cat with the mange.) Good news is that the gift card is good at SunCoast movie stores too, of which they have one in the Augusta Mall, so it seems like my Saturday has developed a plan. Almost as an afterthought the manager tells me that I can use the gift card online....wait a minute, I don't have to drive to Augusta at all, I can shop for movies in my underwear! I burned up all but $2.04 of the card's value by buying M*A*S*H and Ronin just a few minutes ago. :-)
Picked up the Short Shifter kit today. Opened the box, looked at the parts and then closed the box back up. I may wait a while to put it in, as I think I need to change the upper shift boot again. When I replaced the original in September I didn't push the boot far enough down the shifter shaft leaving it already stretched, with not enough left for the shifting movement, so I think it is torn. Plus, because I didn't do it back then, I still need to change the turret oil.
One plan worked, the Miata hasn't moved.
The Miata never left the garage today, kind of like a Sunday for it. I'm shooting for no movement tomorrow too. It will be Christmas day and I hope to be watching the DVDs that were on my Wish List. :-) Supposed to be cool and windy anyway. But if it turns sunny in mid-afternoon, you never know.
Put the top up for the drive to work because it was upper 30's. The top went back down for the lunchtime drive to town for the annual Fabrication Engineering Department lunch at The West Side Bowery because by 11:45 it was in the upper 50's and climbing.
Started out as a typical Sunday where the Miata would just spend the day in the garage, but at 3:30 PM when my wife returned from grocery shopping with her mom, she came inside and said, "It's a beautiful day out, let's go for a drive." So we did. A little 30 mile drive in the low angle sunlight of a winter's late afternoon. No heater required, but by drives end it was nice to get back inside the warm house.
We went out for breakfast and to finish up the Christmas shopping. We left the house at 8 AM and we were done and heading home by 10:00. The sun was bright enough that we drove the half dozen miles home witht the top down.
It had quit raining so we drove the work with the top down. It was 63 degrees and the day's predicted high. It went back up while at work because there was still a chance for more rain. Even though it was cooler by quitting time, we put it back down for the ride home. It went back up for tonight's trip to the mall. It was time for the annual Christmas shopping trip. We each make out a list of goodies we would like and give then give it to one another. At the mall and enter in the middle, where she goes left and I go right. We then meet up at a certain place after a certain amount of time having bought what we could off each others lists. When we get home, it is off to separate rooms to wrap.
The Mr. Lockergnome Head sticker went right onto the trunk lid. Just couldn't make it work on the bumper, maybe if the Barndoor Fan Club sticker wasn't already there...but that one ain't coming off.
I just bought a Lockergnome sweatshirt last week. They were closing them out and $9 for an embroidered XL sweatshirt was too good to pass up. I also bought it because it was forest green and just last month I decided to retire my green Hartford Whalers sweatshirt. It was over 15 years old and the cuffs were fraying and it had a couple spots on it (it'll make a nice waxing rag for the Miata.) Along with my sweatshirt they threw in a CD from Gnomedex 2002 and a bumper sticker that reads, "Geek used to be a 4-letter word, now it's a 6-figure one." Cute, but it won't get on my car. What might is the Chris caricature that adorned the left side of the sticker. I trimmed all around it and think I'll stick it on the back bumper for now - then move it to the trunk lid with the rest of my stickers in a couple months.
Ordered a couple of my Christmas presents to the Miata tonight.
Back from a weekend in Hilton Head. Once a year we get the run of a 2-bedroom condo down there for free. Well actually it is in payment for doing the owner's web page (man, I hope the IRS isn't reading this) he owns a couple and manages a lot more. I did the original page a ways back and do a couple of updates to it yearly to keep the units and their photos updated.
The sun and 60 degree weather didn't arrive as predicted. The clouds were hanging heavy overhead all day and I bet it didn't get out of the lower 50's. By quitting time it was already too cold to think about putting the top down, drat it all. I'm sure tomorrow's weather will be absolutely correct because they are calling for rain....
Damn, came this || close to dropping the top today. At about 2:30 PM the sun broke through the clouds and for a while it actually looked and felt nice. Donna and I took a nice walk around the perimeter of the parking lot at work. I was already imagining the way the warm air would fell on the drive home....about 25 minutes later the sun disappeared not to be seen again for the rest of its transit of our sky. By 4:30 it was chilly and darkening fast so we just kept the top up.
It did rain some today, mostly on the way to work. I hate the cold. Not just because I don't like being cold, but because it produces a whole symphonic range of buzzes and rattles from the plastic interior parts in the Miata. From 1500-2000 RPM there is a rattle behind the lower left dash area. From 2000-2500 the instrument hood buzzes and from 2500-3000 RPM there is an ugly rattle from inside the console near the radio. Above 3000 RPM the engine is making enough noise to drown out any of the other noises.
Went out at lunch to go to the Post Office and start the mailing marathon of Christmas packages to far flung family. Today, Connecticut, tomorrow, Texas. The weather was so lousy that I left the top up. Tomorrow it is supposed to be raining so I guess it will be up again then too.
It is Sunday and as usual the Miata hasn't moved from the garage. The only Miata related thing done today was to put away the CB radio that was used on last night's Light Tour. Unhook the head unit and tuck it back into the spare tire in the trunk and remove the magnetic antenna from the rear fender and tuck it in the other corner of the trunk....
Had high hopes of the dropping the top for the drive home, but they were dashed when the sun never materialized and the temps never made it into the 50's. I guess I have lived too long in SC as I'm now getting colder at a much higher temperature...
Another cold day, at 4:00PM for the ride home when we sat down our behinds puckered because the leather seats were COLD.
The ICE STORM OF THE CENTURY never did materialize. It was cold and it did rain/freezing rain a bit around here. Apparently 30-50 miles north of here got it pretty good, while we escaped unscathed. But I guess in some sort of sympathy move they closed the local schools 2 hours early. I wonder which weather forecast they were watching?
Well another work week has begun, man I gotta win the lottery. Top stayed up for the morning ride to work, but made it back down for the trip home. Soon even the simple pleasure of the evening commute with the top down will be gone, as winter is here. Wednesday they are calling for freezing rain. Geez, it is only early December and that mess, if we did get any of that type, shouldn't be for another 6 weeks.
It's a typical Sunday so the Miata hasn't budged from the garage where I left it after yesterday's washing. Actually, yesterday's driving trip was out of the garage into the driveway and then right back into the garage. Total mileage for this weekend 1/10 of a mile! Heck I myself was only out of the house once today - a trip to the end of the driveway to retreive the local Sunday papers, The Augusta Chronicle and The Aiken Standard. And you thought you led an exciting life....
