coastal cruising

An awesome day yesterday. We had a relaxing morning just chilling together, then we geared up and took the new bike out. We headed south down 17 to Santa Cruz, up Highway 1 along the coast, lunch break in Half Moon Bay at one of my favorite places, then back along 92 to 35/Skyline to 9 [the classic route]. Ended up putting about 120 miles on the bike, and it was a blast...while it's definitely the biggest sub-four-wheeled vehicle we own, it is surprisingly maneuverable and brilliantly made for cruising, with serious power to vroom and pass and hit the twisties [which is quite interesting on a huge bike like that]. Though for folks who've seen the CHP do amazing things on their R 1600 motorcycles [the less-commuter, more-business version of ours], that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise... :^)

We've even managed to fit Will's car and all five bikes into the garage in a way that requires minimal shuffling to get something out when we want to, at least until January, when everything is thrown into chaos again and the game of Tetris to fit things in becomes more challenging. Crossing fingers the second garage gets finished in good time...

additions to the stable

Been a busy few weeks for the two-wheeled part of the Lawton stable...traded in one for another and added two new rides.

The trade-in just happened today: we traded in the Ducati Diavel Strada for a BMW K 1600 GTL Exclusive edition [basically a package edition with bells and whistles included]. It's a beastly big thing, but is awesome for two-up riding [as we found out today, and will confirm tomorrow :^) ].

The new rides are "300cc Italian bikes"...aka Vespa scooters. Breaking my ankle again caused some permanent soft tissue damage in my left ankle, so I'm kind of screwed when it comes to shifting or trusting my ankle to support me and a bike at stops [it gives out randomly, sadly]. That left me with the option of retrofitting a paddle shifter to an existing bike, going with a CVT/automatic [like the Honda CTX700], or getting a scooter. I'd ruled out scooters entirely; I need to be able to hit highway speeds, which pushed me towards the 500-600cc range [BMW, Bergstrom, etc.]...and those were too wide for me to flatfoot comfortably with my bad ankle.

Then a friend told us that Vespa had a 300cc sport edition with an 80mph top speed, so we checked it out...and ended up with two of them, one for me, one for Will [who had been looking for a smaller-engined bike to go with his others, something that he could ride all the way to the edge and just go nuts with].

Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport SE
[vroom vroom]

Things are getting a bit cramped in the garage right now, so "Project: Second Garage" is in the works, with "Project: Remove Cabinets in Current Garage to Make Room Until Then" ["Project: Make Room" for short] scheduled to happen some time in the next few weeks. We've got one more trade-in/trade-up coming [which is why the new garage is needed, so everything that should be sheltered can be], but that won't be happening until January-ish...we don't think the new garage space will be ready in time, but absolute worst case, a couple of the motorcycles can take a place of honor in the game room in the house until it is. :^)

Now I just need the weather to cool down a bit so I can get out there and get some miles on the scooter...

our first commissioned painting

Back in June, Will and I headed to Vegas to have dinner with Scott and Ken of The Crystal Method and some of their close friends and family, before we all headed over for their show at Drai's, celebrating their 25th year of doing what they do. It was an awesome time, with Ken's mother, father, wife, and brother joining the group at dinner, along with their manager and some close friends and collaborators.

During the various conversations of the night, we found out that Ken's brother Frank was an artist who had done some paintings for the band and their album inserts in the past. We kept in touch with Frank after the event, and I talked with him about helping us commemorate that awesome evening...ideas were traded back and forth, inspiration struck, and then it was time to wait and see the finished product.

It arrived today:

Original oil painting, 24"x48", Artist: Frank J. Jordan, 2014

Around the table you'll see me and Will at the front right and left, Ken and Scott [next to me], Ken's wife Janine, their manager Richard, Ken and Frank's mother and father, their management rep, some of their close friends and collaborators, and the artist himself playing the waiter.

Serious thanks to Frank J. Jordan for the patience, talent, and time he put into this...I can't think of a cooler way to commemorate an amazing night.

that wasn't the cat shaking the bed

Fairly good size quake [6.0] about half an hour ago...time to watch the Facebook feeds blowing up. :^)

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/nc72282711#summary

[Will's going to be bummed that he slept through it. <grin> ]

dragons and dwarves and zombies and soldiers

Hanging out with my people in Las Vegas for SOE Live...first time here, having a lot of fun. It's very cool to meet people in person and put a face to the screen name, and the panels and gatherings are chock full of good info and upcoming stuff to get excited about.

Ooo, and freebies. Geeks love their freebies.

a good way to spend a day

Spent the afternoon at a Porsche event, driving a 911 Turbo S and the upcoming 918 Spyder on Sonoma raceway.

The camera angle doesn't do it justice. That engine bay behind the seats is sex on wheels.

Fun. So much fun.

that was fun...

Will and I just had an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience: we had dinner with The Crystal Method, then got to hang out with them behind the scenes at one of their gigs. And party with them. Lots of dancing and partying.

It ended up being a last-minute thing, with about a week's notice...we were on the list to hang with them for "a Vegas show", but no idea when it would be [we were crossing our fingers it didn't conflict with any of the copious travel Will has been doing for work]. We get a call last week, saying there was a spur-of-the-moment show happening in Las Vegas, could we make it? We had about a day to decide/arrange things, and we were already burning our "dog/house-sitting" credit with a friend for a trip coming up in a few months, so it was looking like we were going to have to say "thanks, guys, but we'll pass on this one and catch up with you a bit later on". Then Will saw an article online about this show being their 20th anniversary celebration in their home town of Vegas.

Thus began the scrambling.

Long story short: we found someone to watch the dog and the house, and we headed to Vegas Tuesday afternoon. The flight was a good one, one that could have been so, so much worse...we were seated next to a woman holding her five-month old baby. But she was awesome company; we shared stories about traveling and the Louvre and Paris and Normandy, and her little one was amazingly well-behaved. The two times he started to fuss [take-off and landing, when the change in air pressure bothered him], she soothed him quickly and he quieted down almost right away.

We lucked out. Big time.

Got into McCarran with no troubles, and grabbed a cab to the hotel while exchanging texts and emails with Sadaf, the seriously awesome woman who was wrangling everything [crazy respect for her...what she does a tough job, and she rocked it]. We were staying at The Cosmopolitan...I'd not stayed there before, so I had no idea what to expect. Interestingly eclectic decor, like they were trying for a New York "urban couture" fashiony kind of feel...like the wallpaper in our bathroom:

Subtle.

The band were staying in the same hotel, so dinner location was easy: downstairs. We headed to The Henry and met with Sadaf, then hung out for a bit waiting for the rest of the gang arrived. We had no idea what to expect, but it turned out to be even better than we could imagine...the group ended up being Scott and Ken [aka The Crystal Method] and Sadaf, a few friends of the guys, and Ken's wife, mom, dad, and brother. A much more intimate and personal gathering than we expected, and we were lucky to be a part of it.

It was a fun, chatty, interesting, and relaxed dinner; everyone was just so frickin' cool and genuine and down-to-earth. Ken was a brilliant host, making sure to introduce us to everyone, telling them we were "with the band". Lots of good conversation with Ken's brother Frank [a musician and artist] and his parents, interesting talks with Scott about Fantasy Island plots and how the EDM scene has grown and changed over the years. It was truly mind-boggling to be in the cab from the airport and see billboards for Tiesto and Avicii and Benny Benassi...dance music is now not only a club staple, but DJs and musicians are *headlining* huge shows. It's an awesome thing to see.

We had to actually reign in the dinner fun to head to the club, since it was getting late...we peeled off in twos and threes and headed over. A surprisingly short walk for Vegas [where distances are really deceiving], and ten minutes later we were in the guest line, watching a poor guy stressing about not being able to find our names [seriously, he seemed like he was going to get in trouble for the confusion...I guess there were some troubles with the list that night, so some high-power people were getting really upset].

It all cleared up with minimal fuss, so up we headed to the rooftop to Drai's Beach Club. Palm trees, a swimming pool, and waitresses in skimpy bikinis and sailor's caps [the guys working there were in less revealing attire, a serious double standard, I think]. Can I just say how cool it is to be the ones going behind the ropes?? I could definitely get spoiled by it.

The aforementioned bikini and sailor's cap.

A fuzzy panorama of the view from the Beach Club.

And so the party began. Many bottles of vodka, tonic, cranberry, and tequila were consumed, and copious limes were sacrificed to the tequila gods. The opening acts were excellent, there was much dancing [and drinking] and mingling [and drinking] and a surprising number of good conversations were had [and drinking]. A very large number of very genuine and fun people...it felt like a big family, and they were all going out of their way to make sure we were a part of everything. Phone numbers exchanged, email addresses traded, hugs given, and much dancing and bouncing and swaying and complete enjoyment of the music.

Our hotel, The Cosmopolitan, "just down the street" from the club.

Caesar's Palace across the street [that's Ken in the lower right and Janine in the spangly headband].

The Bellagio. We had some amazing views of the water show from up here. Bonus shot of Will trying to avoid being photographed. :^)

I'm sure it goes without saying that Ken and Scott's set was AWESOME. A mixed set of some of their own stuff and some DJing, some old, some new. It is always cool to watch a DJ do their thing, and these guys worked hard while making it look easy. High, high energy from them and from the crowd, and they were crazy interactive with everyone...you could tell they love what they do.

Scott on the left, Ken on the right.

It was hard to get a good picture of this...that's Janine on a raised platform on the side of the stage, dancing and absolutely owning a hula hoop. She rocked it.

Really good crowd, very high energy.

Another DJ kept it going after Scott and Ken were done with their set, and the party lasted until about 4:30am...we were going to go out with Frank and some friends after, but it meant he would have had to drive us to and from our hotel and we didn't want to cause complications, so we begged for a raincheck and made our way back to the hotel. Before everything ended, Janine grabbed us for a photo with Scott and Ken:

I love how it looks like Scott is photobombing his own picture.

And so we all said our goodbyes, with us thanking them many many times for such a terrific time...then Will and I made our way back to the hotel, to try to grab a few hours of sleep before we headed back to the airport and back home. It was an experience that we will remember for a very long time...and one not without its aftermath:

Tequila is a cruel and wicked master.

An absolutely awesome time that we would do again in a heartbeat.

a day well spent

Spent a long day at the hospital yesterday...my friend had their surgery to [hopefully] remove the cancer, so I spent the day waiting with their spouse and then got to be with them when they came out of recovery. So far, so good...a long road ahead to climb back from the pretty serious slicing and dicing that was done, but they are inspiringly strong and surrounded by much love and support, so here's hoping it goes well, goes smoothly, and most importantly, goes quickly.

If everything lines up and the proper criteria are met, they will be discharged today [which is a mind-boggling thought], so I'll be heading to their home after they get settled in to hover and fuss and distract and do what little I can for someone whom I love dearly. A tiring time, but nothing approaching the exhaustion they are facing...

saying goodbye to an early influence

Found out that my Aunt Joyce died recently...she was an awesome example of how to stand up to life, spit in its eye, and still find a thousand ways to laugh at the absurdities. She was a force of nature with a big personality, and a part of who I am today.

an unexpected compliment

Was caught off-kilter by Will last night...out of the blue, he told me that he "appreciated that I can fight my own battles". He went on to say that "among all the other things he appreciates about me" [dawww], he likes that I don't come running to him any time something happens to ask him to intervene with his friends or co-workers or whoever to make things right.

Not really something I ever thought about. Of course I deal with it myself...it's *my* problem. Never been able to do it any other way. So it was an awesomely unexpected compliment to receive from my closest friend, one that's going to stick with me for a very long time.

curling up into a little ball

I mentioned earlier that I have a love/hate thing with this time of year. Love the weather and the season, hate the amount of drama and pain that has been crammed into these cold months in recent years. And it continues to pile on.

That close friend who was diagnosed with cancer? They found out that the initial treatment didn't work...the cancer has grown and is now in more than one spot, so it's on to more drastic treatment. Fuck.

Earlier this week, a pair of close friends (they were two of the ten we had with us when we got married) had to take their not-quite four years old son to the ER with stomach pains; he's been in the hospital since then. Tonight, they were told that he has leukemia. He starts chemotherapy tomorrow. Fucking shit.

And just to keep it interesting, the news of my friend's diagnosis came on the anniversary of the day my dad died. And tonight's news? It's the anniversary of the day my mom died.

Buh.

an afternoon visitor

This is one of the reasons we don't let the dog run loose in the backyard [click to view bigger]:

And a blurry video of the itchy fellow in motion:

recovery time for the pup

[Got delayed in posting this...it was meant to be posted Friday afternoon. Added an update.]

Darwin is out of surgery and starting his recovery; we pick him up tomorrow [and then Will leaves for the airport for his business trip]. They had to completely remove his left ear canal; the cyst was further in than it first seemed, so that was the only choice. There was some worry about damaging the major facial nerve that runs by the ear canal, but they managed to avoid it. His anal glands were removed successfully; there was a little difficulty on the side that had ruptured, but they were able to get everything out cleanly and [deja vu] avoid the major nerve that runs right under the anal sacs, so no "diminished wink reflex" to deal with [after years of Bean and her own wink reflex problems, I am *extremely* relieved not to have to deal with another instance of it].

So tonight is a quiet night, while Darwin recuperates at the vet. Tomorrow is hectic and full: pick up Darwin, get any supplies needed for his after-care, Will finishes packing, and then off he goes to the airport. Fun times ahead.

-----

UPDATE [Saturday]:

Darwin is home and resting. The surgeries went well; he has a drainage tube on the right side of his bum, incision in front of his left ear [which looks *amazing*, they did an incredible job], lots of meds to be given twice a day for two weeks, follow-up visits scheduled for drain removal in a few days and suture removal a week later, have to put cold compresses on both incisions 3-4 times a day for two days, then warm compresses for the next 10 days. He needs to be contained and supervised, no free roaming for the next two weeks, limited walks and mobility allowed. Going to be a long few weeks...

it's the most wonderful time of the year

I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I love the cooler weather, greyer days, and autumn/winter smells...but there have been too many years with too much death, drama, and depressing crap during these colder months, so now they are tainted for me. I was hoping to break the pattern this year.

Nope.

A couple weeks ago, on what was already a rough and weird day for me, I talked with a very close friend of mine, someone who has been with me through thick and thin for double-digit years now. They've been having hard times, fighting an annoyingly unfair number of illnesses and ailments...and they were just diagnosed with cancer. Fuck. Another good friend is having to jump on a plane tonight, racing time to try to make it to their grandfather before he dies. And just recently, Will's dog Darwin ruptured an anal gland [joyfulness]; during a follow-up visit for that, the vet noticed a lump/cyst in his ear. Took him to a specialist, and boom: he goes in tomorrow for surgery on his ear and his bum...and to keep it interesting, Will has to head out for a week-long business trip the day after, so I am on solo convalescent care for the poor violated pup.

I really fucking hate this time of year.