Happy 4th!

I am rarely on the sales floor, but it finally hit me that the music playlist on Pandora was rather limited. I was hearing the same songs quite often, although they weren't from the same "station." I have all 100 stations filled. I merge them all together, which explains the very eclectic mix of music our customers have become accustomed to. Yet, that mix had become rather vanilla. I had attributed this to just my lack of time on the floor... I have been listening more to Pandora at home, and I realized that something was wrong. The songs at home were from every genre under the sun -- why was there such a difference? I decided to take a look at the settings at the shop. I don't know what it was set to, but it certainly wasn't the 100 station mix! One click of a button and BINGO! Amazing music at the shop again!!!... Too bad I have to wait for the damn Tour de France to be over before I can actually enjoy it! I fixed the problem just in time for the start of yet another scandal-filled Tour. Let the doping games begin! Make sure to eat only the approved meat this time, Contador! What a joke...

This week was probably the most insane since I have opened! WOW! Tom ordered a Santa Cruz Nomad, we performed dozens of repairs, and basically kicked butt all around. I had made plans a few months ago to go visit Joe in Colorado -- it would have been an incredible blow-out! I was basically going to be given the keys to an H1 Humvee for the visit, for crying out loud! However, I knew that it  was just going to be too difficult to pull off without a true back-up mechanic. I decided to put the trip off for now -- I wouldn't be able to relax knowing that Nick and Alan might be in over their heads. It was a judgement call, but it appears that I made one of the smartest decisions I have made since opening the shop -- it was plain crazy! Holiday weekends can go either way, since many of our customers are out of town on vacation. The insanity began Thursday (a "Friday") for many people -- it never let up until we closed the doors at 4PM on Saturday. It looks like Nick and Alan are having a break today, which is to be expected, since tomorrow is the 4th.

I don't have any real plans for the 4th of July. Ali is running the Peachtree, but I decided that it might be a good day to ride one of my bikes. I mean, I only have a dozen or so, right? We will meet up afterward to hang at with her family at the townhouse her brother just moved to -- should be a very relaxing time! Just what my brain needs!

What I have been doing other than working? Not much, and certainly not complaining! Bo started on the construction of the new "garage" in our new warehouse -- I can't wait! I have been parking at least one of the Rovers in the space, but that takes up very valuable real estate.We are going to build a deck above the parking space so that I don't lose any storage. The lower part will be a separate unit for parking a truck, storing my personal bicycles, and a working on motorcycles. It is going to be a great investment -- even that one added parking space for customers is beneficial! Plus, I will have another play room! HAHA!

Actually having two days off is allowing me to clean my house and tackle some of the projects I have been putting off. I decided to see if the Furminator would clean out some of the undercoat in Baco's fur -- I found another cat!!! HA! Damn that thing works!... I wanted to clean one of my nano cube aquariums. I have been dreading this day forever, since it was overrun with coralline algae. That stuff is rock hard, and I knew it would be a pain to remove. After a quick Google search, I discovered that filling tank with vinegar would break down the algae -- worked like a charm! When I decided to actually use the tank again, it will look brand new! In the meantime, it will go into storage with my other dozen tanks! HA! No sense getting all of my aquariums going until I decide where I will be moving. I will have one or two at home, then start back up with the hobby when I buy my next house. I feel like I actually accomplished something today, though!

That's all for today. Heading out to grab something to grill with Ali tonight. Have a great 4th!