When Nerds Collide

What you're seeing here is what Stephanie refers to as "Nerd Olympics". For the record, she used to say Magic Tournaments were the same thing. What you're actually seeing is a LAN Party. A bunch of truly geeky guys get together, hook up their computers, and play games all night. The game in question was Call of Duty 2. I haven't played it since the last LAN party I attended, so I was a little rusty. These guys started around noon and we finished around 1 AM. Hardcore, right? Due to my crazy sleep schedule, I was only able to get there after 6, but it was still fun. I also brought along my Xbox 360. Eric, the host, just purchased an awesome new 50' LED projection television, and wanted to see the stunning Gears of War in HD. Needless to say, everyone was blown away. It was a good time.

Time for New Shoes

Wow, what a morning. I actually painted cars today. I work at the paint shop at BAP, but until today I had never actually seen the painting process. Believe it or not, I can't get into specifics about the process. I can actually lose my job for divulging "trade secrets". Security is pretty tight there, and you're not even supposed to take cameras into the plant. Try to tell your 3500 employees not to carry cell phones. Good luck! They're really paranoid about information leaking to competitors.

The process is pretty amazing. Without getting too much into specifics, the majority of the painting is done by robots. It's pretty cool to watch them work. I was actually doing touch-up work inside the doors. The robotics system is new to the plant, and they're still trying to iron out the kinks, so they have sprayers hitting the spots the robots miss. It was difficult to get the hang of it at first, but after the first couple hours I picked it up okay. I've worked in nearly every area in the Paint Shop now. The only casualty of my new experience was my old shoes are pretty much destroyed. Oh well, it was time for new ones anyway....

Geek-O-Riffic

This is shot of my "bedside table". As you can see, my interests lie in the realm of total geek. Before I got to bed, I usually read a little or play my DS Lite. I'm playing a game called Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and it's brilliant. It's basically an interactive novel where the player takes on the role of a fledgling attorney, fresh out of law school. You have to interview suspects, obtain evidence, and question witnesses in the courtroom scenes. Very unique, and very interesting. Anyway, this has been my idea of reading lately. Not to mention the comics.... I highly recommend Civil War to anyone. VERY good. Since I' a day sleeper, that mask comes in handy. I look like some kind of rejected super hero, but it works. I told a guy at work I used one and he said, "I thought only women used those!" Yeah.

All Things New

Okay, I know this is kinda lame, but I was at a loss of what to shoot today, the Kitchen isn't quite done yet, and I'm not feeling very well. I know, excuses, excuses, excuses. These three things are the major additions we made to the kitchen, besides the cabinets and the counter tops. I'm really happy with how the microwave and the recessed lighting looks. The lighting is really great, and the micro really fits in well. I will be posting a completed picture eventually, but I want to wait until everything is put away and all the touch-up painting is done.

Brrrr!

Holy crap it's cold. We've been hit by the tip of the big storm that just swept through the Midwest, and luckily, we only got about two inches of snow. That doesn't make me feel any better about the temperature. As I write this at 7:45 am, it's 9° with a wind chill of -2°. That's damn cold!

As I said yesterday, hopefully the kitchen will be finished today. I'll update you all tomorrow. I also wanted to say thanks to everyone leaving comments and visiting the blog. Yesterday I set a high with 23 unique users with 57 page loads! I really appreciate your interest and all the kind words.

Day Nine: Plumbing and Finishing Installation

Well, I knew this would be inevitable. Since we removed the soffit, I knew it would only be a matter of time before these two would be enjoying their new lofty perch. Punkin, internet celebrity, is on the left, and Chloe is on the right. Both usually can't stand to be in the same room as each other, but they seemed to have resolved their differences for the time being so they can explore the new cabinets.

It was a short day today for the contracers, and the finished putting in and leveling the cabinets, installed the microwave/exhaust vent over the stove, and got about 1/2 done with the plumbing for the sink and dishwasher. He thinks he may get it completely finished tomorrow, but since he has another job to do on Wednesday, it's more likely to finished on Thursday. I'm really ready to have this done. I'm kinda sick of eating out of a box!

Day Eight: Installation

We're getting there! Okay, I heard that sigh of relief. I know that you're all probably bored to DEATH seeing all these pictures of our kitchen, but this is pretty much consuming all our time right now, so photo opps are few and far between.

As you can see, they installed most of the cabinets and the counter tops today. The room is really starting to come together. The dishwasher isn't plumbed in yet, and neither is the sink, but those things should be done tomorrow. There is also a little more painting to be done, and the molding has to be put up, but it looks like it will be finished tomorrow. The hanging lights will be recessed lighting, and there are three of those along the counter. It won't be long now! Oh crap, what am I going to shoot after this is over? Have you seen my office? Just kidding... :)