Fun Friday

I'm really pleased with how good I've felt about everything lately. I feel good physically, but I also feel good inside, too. Overall, I'd have to say that I'm really happy with how life is going these days. A lot has changed for the better in my life over the past several months, and now I'm reaping the benefits. And now I'm working on keeping the good times rolling. Surely there are many more good times ahead.

Today wasn't a day for working, and besides, it turned out to be a warm and sunny October day. I spent the first part of the morning taking care of business around the house before Dad picked me up and we went to Arlington for lunch. On the highway, Dad and I talked about various investment opportunities and our plans for the day. We also talked about how the new Yokohama Avid TRZ tires on the van compare to the original equipment Michelins. It's hard to compare the tires back to back, but my feeling is the Yokos provide a softer, quieter ride, and should last for about 80,000 miles with proper care and rotation. The Michelin Energy LX4s were noisy and shot by 35,000 miles. So far it seems the Yokohamas were a good choice. Dad was reluctant to replace the tires at first, but now I think he's at least as pleased as I am.

Lunch was good as always and we had a nice drive to Sioux Falls after that. Ordinarily we would travel from Brookings to Sioux Falls via Interstate 29. But since we were west of Brookings today, we took Highway 81 to Madison. From there, we hopped onto Highway 34 and headed about 20 miles east to I-29. Dad and I proceeded to Sioux Falls from there.

When we arrived in Sioux Falls, I first steered us downtown to Phillips Avenue via 12th Street. I didn't have a specific mission for the trip to Sioux Falls today, but I did hope to visit a few bookstores and make some more sales in the process. I first wanted to try Zandbroz in downtown Sioux Falls, but couldn't find a place to park. I didn't give up, but I then resigned myself to the thought that I can call the various bookstores and make some sales that way.

We gave the Odyssey a bath before stopping at Best Buy to check out some potential good deals on electronics. Normally I would wash the van myself. But the weather is starting to get colder, and I wanted to make sure the van gets a good cleaning inside and out before winter hits. That reminds me ... I'll probably put all of my wash hoses and materials inside the garage over the weekend. The weather is getting progressively colder and soon it will be too cold to wash the cars in my driveway.

Dad and I didn't find much in Best Buy, so we didn't spend much time there. I did find a cool book full of photos taken of the band The Police over the years but didn't buy it. I figure if I decided I want the book I can always order it at Amazon. I always seem to get really good deals by ordering books and such things from Amazon.

The one place where I spent a fair bit of time today was Guitar Center. While there, I visited with my friend Boyd, who manages the store. And he was very attentive to me when I was in the drum area. More specifically, he was very helpful in letting me try out various models of cymbals. There was a DW drumkit set up there, and its cymbal selection included a ride cymbal and a few 18-inch crashes that were used on the drums used for the Guitar Center Drum-Off. I was pretty well sold on the crashes right away, but I wanted to try a few various ride models. In the end, though, I think I like the original ride cymbal I tried best, and I may pick up those crashes and the ride cymbal sometime next week. In the meantime, I'll figure out what cymbals I have now I'd like to trade and then figure out how much I can expect to pay after the trade. Plus I have a punchcard for 15 percent off purchases. Receiving the card was one of the perks of competing in the Drum-Off.

Before leaving town, Dad and I filled up the Odyssey's gas tank with $2.50-per-gallon regular unleaded. Dad originally wanted to get gas in Volga, but I advised him to wait in Sioux Falls thinking it would be cheaper. And I was right. Once the gas tank was full we headed north to Brookings on I-29.

I spent a few hours at my house cleaning up the place and moving my drums around in the living room before heading over to Dad's. By the time I arrived I was pretty hungry, so I fixed some sharp cheddar macaroni and cheese for the two of us. The supper was good, but I'm surprised each of us was only able to have one portion before it was gone. No matter, though; our meal satisfied us and I don't expect I'll be hungry again until the morning.

Before I left to head over to Brian's for a bit, Dad and I discussed investments some more. I also ordered some aftermarket shocks, springs, and sway bars for the Miata from an outfit called Shox.com. My guess is the parts will be at my place sometime next week and I'll have the parts installed the following week. I only hope that I can get all the work done before the snow flies. And I'm looking forward to seeing how much better the Miata performs once all the parts are installed.

It's getting late now and I'm plenty tired. At the same time, though, I feel really, really good, and all seems well in life. There are always things I need to work on, of course, both inside and outside myself. But life truly is fun and sweet, and I look forward to each coming day. And I make the most of each day I can.