September 11-19 2012

 

Tuesday 11- nice day, a little hotter than yesterday…

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.

I decided to ride the scooter down to my mailbox on Border Ave. to pick up my mail. I got about four miles from the house when the engine died. I would try to start it but all it would do is idle and if you tried to give it gas it would die. I could hear the fuel pump pumping most of the time which I never noticed before. I checked the tank and there was still gas. I pushed it home most of the way, sometimes it would start running and I’d ride it a few hundred feet before it would die again. I saw Roger Smith on the way and he was kind enough to offer a tow line, but I didn’t think it would be safe. I finally got home and called Honda in Yucca Valley and talked to Chris there. I told him I’ve been starting it every day so the jets wouldn’t clog from the ethanol in the gasoline from being separated. I had just gotten the scooter back on Friday the 31 of August and was still running the fuel they put in at the shop. I told Chris that this scooter is a lemon and I can’t be pushing it all around town at my age. We got into the discussion on the ethanol put in gasoline in California. He said that Honda isn’t responsible for California gas law. I told him that yes they were if they knowingly put a product on the market that is incompatible with the gasoline sold in the state where it was sold and not notifying the buyer about the problem.

I’ve looked into the lemon laws for my state and I am prepared to take Honda to court they don’t rectify the problem to my satisfaction.

Wednesday 12- a nicer day than yesterday, temps around 96.

I did my stretches.

I was gone all day today taking my neighbor Kelly shopping. I got to her house at 1pm and didn't get back until a little after 9pm. First we had to wait 3 hours for her prescription to be filled- we got our flu shots while we waited. We had lunch at KFC and did our waiting there. We picked up her pills and went shopping at Staters Bros. to get supplies. Kelly likes to browse and pick up every item in the store. I just got back from shopping and I am pooped; especially after pushing that scooter 3-4 miles down the road.

Thursday 13- fine day with temps of 96 degrees.

I did my stretches. I’m going to rest for a day or so because of the last two days, especially pushing that scooter 3-4 miles on Tuesday.

Aston from the Honda dealership came by to with truck and trailer to pick up little scooter.

I rode the Harley to my mailbox on Border. The mailman wasn’t quite done putting the mail in the slots so I decided to take the Harley for a little spin. I got about a mile down Border when the Harley just quit and I came to a halt. There wasn’t any electric, everything was dead. I took the seat off and fiddled with the wiring harness connections for a spell, when finally it started, I got my mail and then hightailed it back home where I’ll give the wiring a good going over.

I got a lot written and edited today on my first book of scifi!

Friday 14- another nice day with temps of 94 degrees…

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran a mile and half.

I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.

  

Saturday 15- temps are around 94 with clear skies…

I did my stretches, lifted dumbbells, yoga, and ran a mile and a half.

My laptop’s roller stand broke and I had to fix it with these metal screw straps to hold it together. Now it won’t fall on the floor when I use it.

I called family and friends.

Sunday 16- temps of 96 with a little breeze…

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran a mile and a half. What a beautiful day!

I went for a walk with my backpack.

I worked a little writing filling in some history of one of my characters in one of my books.

I went for a night run.

Monday 17- a little hotter with temps around 104.

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.

I went for a walk with my backpack.

Tuesday 18- temps still around 104.

I did my stretches, yoga, ran one and a half miles, and lifted dumbbells.

I worked some on my book.

I went for a night run.

I got caught up with my astronomy reading.

Wednesday 19- temps still in the 100s.

I did my stretches, core trainer, lifted weights, punched the heavy bag, and ran up the hill and back carrying 5lbs in each hand.

After almost waiting a week Kelly finally got her prescription from her lazy doctor’s staff and we were able to go to town for shopping. Not having lots of money to spend on gas, being of an environmental mind, and living so far from town we try to do everything in one trip and usually go to town twice a month. We picked up our packages at the post office. I got a jar of Wild Plum Preserve from Carolyn Shaffer that she canned herself, thanks Carolyn! Our next stop was Rite Aid to get Kelly’s pills.

We went on to Yucca Valley trying to figure where we wanted to eat; we were both very hungry. We decided on Denny’s, but that turned into a very bad mistake. You every have a strange feeling when you walk into a restaurant that something is out of place but you can’t put your finger on it? At 4:30pm when there should be people sitting in booths, this place was empty. None of the employees spoke good English and our waiter didn’t know the menu and we had a difficult time explaining just what we wanted, but he was courteous. We ordered two hamburgers with fries. When they came I opened the bun to see hamburger meat that looked like it had been boiled, tomatoes that were wilted, and without any kind of condiments; Kelly’s was the same. We asked the waiter for some Thousand Island dressing and we were told that would cost 75 cents more. The Thousand Island dressing did nothing to disguise the odd taste of the burger. We both ate a quarter and quickly put it down. I said I can’t eat this, Kelly agreed saying it was rotten. I just wanted to pay the check and leave. The waiter came over to ask if everything was alright. I said, "no my over here friend says these are rotten meat that was boiled." The waiter went to the manager with our complaint and a few minutes later came back saying we didn’t have to pay. We left hungry to go to WalMart for supplies. That’s when the gas hit. I must have embarrassed myself a dozen times at WalMart and also at Stater Bros. with this gas that would rumble out as I walked down the aisles. Once at WalMart I thought no one was around and I let one slip just as a woman reached around me to put an item back on the shelf I was standing in front of. Kelly wasn’t doing much better.

Before we left for home we stopped to eat some Chinese food and felt much better afterwards, but I had a hard time sleeping because when I’d belch I could taste that lousy burger from Denny’s in Yucca Valley.

I dropped Kelly and her groceries off, but stayed for a spell watching a praying mantis eating flying bugs who would gather around the porch light.