One down three to go

Finished up the first week, "got my paper and I was free..." Isn't that the way the Indigo Girls' song goes? Had a good week, learned a lot, and practiced a lot. Now that I am a "graduate" I can get into the graduate's section of the website and find all sorts of esoteric info that would otherwise take a lot of searching to locate, i.e. the torque specs on a 1957 Camapagnolo bottom bracket assembly. I also cruised the "help wanted" column and found a recent posting looking for a mechanic in Tucson, AZ. Bones & Simone, can I park my trailer in your yard?

After class, Joe and I went shopping for lack of something better to do. I was looking for a used clothing store to try and find some duds so that I wouldn't have to wash my jeans every other night. Found a NAPA store which sells used coveralls, and got a set of orange ones. Love that Orange, and I am going to customize them tomorrow by stenciling "Maine State Prison" on the back. That should get some respect from the instructors.

Then we went on a search-and-acquire mission for a bivvy sack. Joe was looking for a lightweight tent for his upcoming bike touring and I suggested a bivvy. He'd never heard of one so we tried a couple of outfitters. The second one had a very helpful young lady who offered to build the thing right there in the showroom so Joe could see it. So while she struggled with something she'd never assembled previously, and Joe looked on helplessly, I cruised the "end-of-season" deals, not wanting to poke a pole through some very expensive fabric. This was it- I'd started building the wish-list inventory that Joe was going to acquire with my "guidance". It wasn't long before I was startled to hear moaning and groaning from the other side of the showroom, and was surprised to find him thrashing around inside the bivvy, looking like a caterpillar learning to break-dance. The salesgirl was quite discreet in suggesting that maybe what Joe really wanted was a tent. So, I paid for the had-to-have (orange) shirt I found and we left bivvyless. After an unsuccessful attempt at guiding him to a tofu joint (Joe finally got his meat and potatoes meal) I dropped him off at his motel with plans to meet in Venice Beach in November to continue shopping.

So, It is back to the barracks for the night, a painkiller left over from the rotator cuff cutting and see what tomorrow brings. Probably Crater Lake if the snow isn't too bad up there.