Thread Drift

Kitsune06 · 09-07-2006, 08:05 AM

WOO! Goin' camping, and bringing Miz Cakes and DGF's so-far unnamed bike. see y'all Saturday night...

**Pax** · 09-07-2006, 08:28 AM

FINALLY finished negotiating with my new/old place of employment...got all the stuff I asked for AND 20 days of vacation!!!

**mimitabby** · 09-07-2006, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by Queen

FINALLY finished negotiating with my new/old place of employment...got all the stuff I asked for AND 20 days of vacation!!!

Is that better than what they gave you before?

**Pax** · 09-07-2006, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by mimitabby

Is that better than what they gave you before?

Yup, they called me here in AZ and asked if I'd consider coming home to IL for a job. As the discussions unfolded the position moved up a couple of levels and the pay increased by almost 30%. It put me in unfamiliar territory (having skills someone really wants), so I did some negotiating instead of just saying ok to the first offer...very fruitful experience.

**mimitabby** · 09-07-2006, 08:39 AM

Originally Posted by Queen

Yup, they called me here in AZ and asked if I'd consider coming home to IL for a job. As the discussions unfolded the position moved up a couple of levels and the pay increased by almost 30%. It put me in unfamiliar territory (having skills someone really wants), so I did some negotiating instead of just saying ok to the first offer...very fruitful experience.

Far out!! so not only did you get a way better job, you got to see parts of the west!!

congrats!

**Pax** · 09-07-2006, 08:44 AM

Originally Posted by mimitabby

Far out!! so not only did you get a way better job, you got to see parts of the west!!

congrats!

Thanks!

Of course now I have to go shopping and start buying a more professional wardrobe...Liz Claiborne here I come!!

**Lise** · 09-07-2006, 08:50 AM

Wow, Queen! Great work! 20 days of vacation--very sweet. They must be really happy to have you back.

Kitsune--have a fun time camping!

beta--I love the new bike (and the "old" bikes, too) (and the pup, too!). What do you know about the Pista? You got it specifically for a winter commuter? What makes it well suited for that role?

It's a good morning--I am on VACATION as of 10 AM today!

I even had a pretty quiet night on call. Did some work this morning, and on the way home I went to the library and picked up three mysteries by my new favorite, Stuart Kaminsky. He's a prolific writer. I've only read his Abe Lieberman books so far, and not all of those. Lieberman is an older Chicago cop, whose partner is an older Irish cop. I really enjoy the personalities, and the story lines are complex but not silly. It's fun to read about Chicago and have it mostly be "right". I dated a Chicago cop for awhile a few years ago, and I kind of see Tom in Abe Lieberman. Kaminsky has series about other detectives, so I picked up two in the Russian series. You know you're on vacation when you can pick up three mystery novels at one time!

Then I went by On The Route, my LBS, to return the Terry Fly. I was dreading it--it's the third saddle I've returned. John, who's helped me in other ways, hasn't been too helpful on the saddle issue. But today Dennis was there, the shop owner, who sold me the bike. He was fine with me returning the saddle. I was talking about how much I like the WTB saddle on my Larkspur, but that it's too wide to ride with the Bianchi. He had a WTB Deva saddle on hand that he loaned me for a test ride. It's the women's design road saddle from that company. Wasn't that nice? I didn't even think to look at that line. Here it is: http://www.wtb.com/saddles_deva.html

Came home and the cats had an epic battle on the dining room floor--puffy tails, rolling around, hissing, and then...it's over! Lots of fur to vacuum up. I watched them, laughing as silently as I could, because if they hear me laughing, they'll stop and both look at me. They are such wonderful little beasts.

**DebW** · 09-07-2006, 09:10 AM

Nice pics, Beta. Does the Bianchi have bolt-on wheels or QR? With rear-facing dropout, you'll have to break the chain to fix a flat, right? Unless the dropout is long enough to slide the wheel forward, slip the chain off the chainring, and then slide the wheel back and out. Make sure you know the right amount of slack to leave in the chain when you reattach the wheel. I read Sheldon Brown's "dangers of working on a fixie on a stand". Be very careful.

Your Trek reminds me of a superhero with cape flying in the wind.

**Nanci** · 09-07-2006, 09:14 AM

Lise, it's WTB- Wilderness Trail Bikes. That was the saddle on my MTB when I got it- I liked it alot until I got a prettier saddle. Someone here rides that and likes it. There is a thread about them.

I think the little snake will be ok. Did I already tell you guys the owner says he was the second prettiest Cali King at the largest reptile show in the US? He might be faintly yellow (banana) instead of pure white. With tiny hatchlings like this, you can handle them with rubber gloves- like surgical gloves- if you're afraid of bites- that's how tiny their teeth are. It's just startling if you don't expect a bite- not painful. Poor little guy- the last choice of the three my friend bought (both some kind of tri-colors- milks or something.) He's just in the snippy hatchling phase (I hope!) I think I get him Sunday.

He's eating pinkie mice (frozen thawed.)

Salsa- Cornsnakes are super easy. They come in a million colors. Google Sunglow Motley- that's my favorite, though Bloodred is gorgeous, too. So, for an adult, which is roughly 3 feet long, you need a 20 long tank, with a secure cover, an under tank heater, a rheostat or thermostat to regulate it, and a thermometer to check the temp- mine records max and min and humidity. It was about $20? No overhead light needed. Aspen bedding. A water crock. Maybe some plastic vines. Two hides, at least, as simple or fancy as you want. (Maizey has a hollow stone, a half log, hollow, real, a fake half hollow log with little leaves and mushrooms on it. So- $30 and up for the snake, depending on how fancy. $150-$200 for furnishings. One-two food items every 7-10 days- $1-$2. If you buy a hatchling, they are kept in sweater boxes or 5-10 gallon tanks. I'm not sure how you'd heat a sweater box- but cornsnakes.com has a huge forum, kind of like TE. Cornsnakes are the most popular snake, because they are so agreeable, easy to care for, easy to breed, don't get to an unmanageable length like boas or pythons. Kings are the second most popular. Also a manageable size, but not as predictably docile as a Corn. Similar requirements. They live 15-25 years.

I'm not even thinking of a name till I see him in person.

I printed out my route sheet for the 200k Saturday, and color-coded the turns and laminated it! Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough to laminate two sheets back to back...thought of it too late. But still!

Queen, that's great! Promotion, even!

Sloane sure is good looking. You should post a pic of the Brooks, just in case someone here might like it.

**Nanci** · 09-07-2006, 04:25 PM

I finally got my August SS stuff boxed up. It has a long way to go. I think it is my masterpiece- the best SS accumulation ever! I hope customs doesn't tear it apart too badly. (I don't think SS reads this, but who knows...) As a final touch- there's this whole color theme- they were selling these adorable little zipper pouches at work today- and I bought one to keep my bike computer in, but it matched the other things so perfectly, and in fact, the whole theme, that I sent it to SS instead...But I got to keep the three most beautiful custom pillowcases in the world!! What a relief. Now to start worrying about September...

**KnottedYet** · 09-07-2006, 07:35 PM

Yeah, Beta, please post a pic of the Brooks, and if you can read any numbers on the skirt (model number or other info) please post that, too.

(the Brooks cult is salivating)

**DrBee** · 09-08-2006, 05:02 AM

Hey there all! I've made it back from my trip to SF! What a great trip - tough to match. Meeting the TE SF crew was fantastic! They are quite the tour guides and hosts!

I made it to the airport on time (navigating BART) and I had good flights home - all on time! Then... I'm driving home from the airport (in a bad part of town) and one of my rear tires blows out. I couldn't stop where I was, so I limped to the nearest Walgreens. There, a really nice security man helped me change the tire. The tire looked like someone shredded it. Not pretty. I finally made it home around 10pm. Long day, but so good to be home. The fishlets were in bed. It was so wonderful to see their faces light up this morning when they saw me.

And it felt so good to hug and squeeze them!

Now - finish prepping the house for it's debut showing tomorrow! Lots of work ahead!

**Nanci** · 09-08-2006, 05:08 AM

Glad you had a great trip! The pictures were so cool.

I saw my toad last night.

**betagirl** · 09-08-2006, 05:14 AM

Nice pics, Beta. Does the Bianchi have bolt-on wheels or QR? With rear-facing dropout, you'll have to break the chain to fix a flat, right? Unless the dropout is long enough to slide the wheel forward, slip the chain off the chainring, and then slide the wheel back and out. Make sure you know the right amount of slack to leave in the chain when you reattach the wheel. I read Sheldon Brown's "dangers of working on a fixie on a stand". Be very careful.

You mean the pics of the missing finger tip?

It does have bolt on wheels. I'm not sure yet about changing out the back tire and chain situation. Once I get the chaing put on correctly (LBS is doing that), I'll practice taking it off/putting it on at home. I've learned not to start the learning curve while out on the road. The hard way of course.

I'll put up a pic of the brooks. I don't know how old it is. It just looks that way. The guy I bought the bike from said the guy who he bought it from put it on there. So there's 2 degrees of separation in what I know about it. I'll look for a model, etc.

**betagirl** · 09-08-2006, 05:15 AM

I saw my toad last night.

Did you lick it and get a buzz?

Is that a total urban legend?

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