Finally, I get my van back

Today I got it back. 4 days shy of 1 month! Man, I was dying to get rid of that Hyundai! I caught it a bit from the Boss over being in this situation in the first place. He did it without really chewing me a new one, but the underlying threat was very clear " IF YOU LIKE WORKING HERE, THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN". So, I think for the next couple of years Tim WILL BE OBEYING ALL TRAFFIC LAWS, NO EXCEPTIONS! If you are behind me and beeping your horn, TOO BAD! I am not going to speed.Period. I will try to get into the right lane to let you pass, so please don't tailgate. It was a long day. I drove to the Cleveland burbs, got the Caravan, then continued on to Youngstown, OH. I did my work, left, and continued on to Buffalo, NY. I really kind of like this place, it has a lot of heart. All these Great Lakes cities do! Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Erie. I just don't know why they are not thriving. I go to North Carolina, Denver, a lot of other places and they are hopping, even though I think they have less resources as far as climate, water, forests, etc. Even down south, in Florida, they don't have the space, etc, but everybody goes down there. Yes, they don't have winter but it is murder in July! Okay Fla. people, I like your state, just not in July! You should come north in July. We have FRESH WATER beaches waiting for you. If you are in Buffalo, you must go to the home of the original Buffalo Wings, the ANCHOR BAR It is a treat. I'm doing some work tomorrow here, and then heading back to Detroit though Canada. I wonder if they will give me crap when I go through. Last year it was smooth, but I hear they are tightening up because "SINCE 9/11" (God, if I hear that one more time I will puke!). If only they would have tightened up the Afgahnistan border two years ago and caught OSAMA BIN LADEN, then maybe I could go in and out of Canada like I used to since I was 6 years old. Now, they are talking passports. Not only that, but they want to force states to make you present 4 pieces of ID to get a driver's license! When I was a kid, it was only your birth certificate! Oh, let's not forget about seeing what books you have read at the local library! "If you choose Security over Freedom, you will have niether" said Benjiman Franklin. Why do they keep using "SINCE 9/11" to take away our freedom? Why are they after US and not OSAMA BIN LADEN? I think we should have stayed out of Iraq, and sent all those soldiers to Afgahnistan to finish that job. But what do I know. In 2000 I said if GWB got in, we'd be in Iraq. My Republican friends said "Yeah right". Well, here we are. Oh yeah, the insurgency is on it's last legs: IRAQI INSURGENT VIDEO. How much longer will we be misled before we begin to see the truth? (Breath in... Breath out... sorry, didn't mean to get political, but I really hate this war).

Summer is here!

Summer is here! The Caravan is in the shop again, this time from an accident in the Cleveland burbs. I got hit by some guy, and I get a ticket! Man this is burning me up. I got a lawyer and am fighting it, but I'll bet my chances of winning are low, because I am from Michigan and an out of stater. Not much going on of late, but a lot has happened since my last post.
I've been to Minneapolis, Syracuse, Cleveland (see above), Myrtle Beach, SC. and Wilmington, NC. When down there I rented a new 2005 Ford Mustang and all that I can say is this car is BADASS! I drove 70 miles up to Wilmington, and then back to Myrtle Beach (140 round trip), and it was the best driving experience I've had in a long time! I get to drive a lot of different cars when I travel for my job, and so far this was the best! I did finally get a new windsurf rig, and am lovin it! Forget the Bic Techno, this is the one! I got a STARBOARD GO 180 liter, and a 7.8 square meter Aerotech sail (mine looks just like the yellow sail in the picture, but the slash mark is red) and all that I can say is SWEET!, I am a 43 year old blasting around on the lake like a kid ( I even had a couple of women trying to get me to give them "lessons" until they found out I was married). I got all this gear from Surfingsports.com, and I'm telling you what, Warren (WARDOG) Thomas, the owner there will really set you up right! He spent the time with me over the phone to make sure everything was right before it was shipped, and I was totally satisfied with the price and the gear. Go there if you need anything for wind/kite/surfing. Let's see, what else... Got my driveway redone and had part of my yard hydroseeded where it was ripped out for a new septic field last year, and painted my living room, bed room, and stairway before getting new carpet (which will be probably st the end of this month). Still have to get to Youngstown OH and Buffalo NY this month, which will be next week after I get my van back from the body shop. I'm driving a Hyundai rental car for now ( I hate it but my wife and kids think it's great).