Year: 2002

I Don’t Mind Go Ahead

Last night I went to Mail Boxes, Etc. to print up the Aiken Bicycle Club newsletter. I was standing at the copier looking out the window when this woman pulls into the spot next to my car. I pulled into an end spot and all the way to one side, so no one could open a door into it, but I hadn’t prepared for this contingency. She opens the hatch of her Grand Cherokee and pulls out a big box. Now with her hands full she has no way to close the hatch. So she walks over to my car and places her box on my trunk! Closes the hatch, picks up the box and comes inside to mail it. As she is standing in line I walk up to her and say, “Next time I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t use my car as a box stand.” She replies with, “but your shirt matches the pretty blue of your car. Besides I didn’t have any where else to put it.” “You wouldn’t want me to sit on the hood of car just because it looked inviting would you,” was all I could come up as I walked away shaking my head.

Woohoo, Right Parts This Time

Box from J.C. Whitney showed up today. Of course they charged my charge card for the return shipping. I called customer service and after a 5 minute wait, the nice lady was apologetic and said they would reimburse my card. Wasn’t until I hung up and looked at the invoice that it dawned on my that it looks liked they charged my card for the item again too. I’ll just call tomorrow and see what has happened. Maybe I’ll just start with my credit card company….

Got one of the stone guards on. Looks kinda cool in a weird way. They are slightly convex so I think I hear it scraping these little rubber rain flaps as the barndoors go up and down. Not the end of the world, but probably not good for the pop-up motors or the stone guards in the long run. Will finish the project tomorrow night by mounting the other one and then seeing about trimming or removing the rubber piece.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 227

Members Of The Month

Up at work and down for the ride to the haircut and home. Only it started to rain, so I put it up as we were coming to a red light. The rest of the cycles came when we went out to try and take a picture for the Club newsletter, Donna and I are the Members of the Month for September. See the photo here: MOTM.

Started up, went down, went up, down, up, down, up, down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 225

Atypical Sunday For The Miata

First and weirdest was Donna drove to get some fresh bagels for breakfast and actually requested I put the top down for her. Donna doesn’t drive that much, she says that’s the only reason she keeps me around, and when she does she will drive her mom’s Civic first (the Civic was sitting right there.) Second, if she has to drive the Miata, she always wants the top up. Then we went grocery shopping in the Miata. Usually Donna and her mom go shopping in the Honda, but today Mom didn’t want to go, so we went. Donna asked, “Did we want to take the Civic?” I replied, “Only if you are driving.” I think she was worried about running out of room in the trunk (I guess she forgot the 11 years we used to go shopping when we only had a Miata to do it with.) $100 worth in 9 plastic grocery bags, a big bottle of laundry detergent, the boot and the cockpit cover fit in with enough room left for her to toss her purse in there too.

Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 217

Free Soft Drinks

Put the top up so I could wash the car in preparation for this afternoon’s Sno-Cap 38th Anniversary Cruise In. Meeting the Miata Club again today. The Sno-Cap has been an institution in North Augusta for, like well duh, 38 years. Each year they hold a party with a DJ, high school cheerleaders, games, contests and door prize give-aways. They invite all the local car clubs to come between certain hours and hang out. Free soft drinks if you wear your Club T-shirt. This year, like last, we were going to share the lot with the Corvette Club. They must have forgot or something as there were only 3 Vettes in attendance. We had 12 Miatas. Coincidentally that is the exact number of covered spots the Sno-Cap has. We filled them right up.

Started down, went up, went down, back up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 216

$345 Squirrel

The chimney sweep had to do some masonry work to extract the carcass of the squirrel that had somehow managed to lodge himself into a crack in some bricks. We think he squeezed past the chimney screening, fell down the flue and when he couldn’t climb back up he tried to escape via a loose brick and failed. So instead of the $150 he added another 50 for brick work and another 50 for the tighter fitting (and hopefully squirrel-proof) chimney cap. Add that the 95 smackers on last Friday for the pest control visit. We get one expensive squirrel. Should have had the thing stuffed, rotting looking skull and all.

Still some flys appearing on the living room window and dead on the floor in front of it. Donna asked me to put a black plastic bag over the fireplace opening for a couple days, hopefully whatever flies aren’t dead by now will be when we take the plastic off in a couple weeks.

Full Moon Rally

Down for the trip to work, but up for the trip back home. It went back down for tonight’s Master’s Miata Club Full Moon Rally. We had 10 Miatas and a convertible RX-7 that belongs to a member’s sister and brother-in-law. Nice little ride thru the back woods of Aiken County before ending up at Brusters for ice cream.

Started up, went down, went up, back down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 213