I am sitting in our local Panera enjoying a late lunch and some surfing. This is the perfect time to come to the otherwise “alternate reality” Panera as it’s between typical meal times and rather empty. I’m able to sit in a strategically placed corner and watch people, one of my favorite pastimes.
A rather handsome gentleman just came up to me and asked if my name is Ron. In the right circumstances, it could have been. It’s funny but I’ve never considered whether I look like a Ron or not. My mother wanted to name me Christopher John but my father thought it sounds too gay. He wanted to name me Wesley Walter. I’m glad they compromised on the easier to remember J.P. after famous foul-mouthed comedian Jaye P. Morgan.
The weekend has been a whirl of activity aside from sleeping at odd hours. Last night we went to Albany for their semi-monthly bear night. It was “Gear Bear” and I wore gear that would make a bear and hundreds of Village people fans proud while simultaneously making my family blush. We opted to not spend the night and got home around 3:15 this morning. We would have been home sooner but we stopped for a quick nap at the desolate “Pattersonville Service Area”.
Last night I met a few people that I’ve only chatted with online in the past, including fellow roadgeek Mike. The usual suspects were out as well, including the D-List bears from Albany. We’re rounding up a bunch of people for bear night on March 1. We tried to get Eric to tag along with us last night but he was busy being a homebody.
As I type my way through this blog entry I’ve just had a group of senior citizens plop down at the next table wear they are discussing the futures of this “new electronic mail”. They are apparently going to their country club afterwards because they’re all discussing the upcoming vote regarding women wearing slacks at club functions.
Our latest adventure at the house has been a leaky toilet. I just completed my third run to Lowe’s to fix it. I told Earl the next time we are looking for a place to live we are not buying a home that has trap doors installed in the ceiling under the second floor plumbing. We should have seen the signs before. When we are done with this toilet project we will have fixed all three toilets, the washing machine connection, three out of five sinks and the dishwasher connection since buying the house in December 2003. So much for good plumbing, considering the house is only 10 years old.
