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Still alive, just busy
Aug. 17th, 2009 07:50 amSo much going on these days. Brief recap:
- Another good "marketing" event at a local winery where I served up appetizers for 100. Not profitable, but good exposure. I put together about 100 pieces each of 4 things - another business was providing appetizers as well, though they ended up not providing very much. Getting things assembled and plated in "real time" was difficult. The baguette chips with white bean puree, tritip slices, and pickled red onions were a smash hit but their three-step assembly process is especially annoying. I got everything put out in the allotted time, but there were periods where the table was nearly empty. Unfortunately some people interpret "appetizers" as "dinner" and did not graze in a particularly appropriate fashion for the event. This is not very classy but there is nothing to be done about it.
- After much discussion, we have bought an ATV. A practically new, 350cc Polaris model that had only about 100 miles on it, which we got for less than half the retail price. It has immediately proven itself to be essential, particularly for moving firewood. And it's a hella lotta fun - I'm exploring parts of the ranch that I've never even seen, because it's much too far to walk and rather unpleasant in any other kind of vehicle. I'm appalled to find ourselves with six vehicles among three people, but country life has changed us in many ways. This, of course, means that some day we will be a household with six broken-down vehicles that we can't bring ourselves to repair or get rid of. At that point, our transformation into grouchy mountain rednecks will be complete.
- Went on a huge poker run yesterday along with the Mendocino HOG group, starting in Cotati and ending in Petaluma. About a thousand Harleys in total. Unfortunately, I'm finding that I cannot get any traction with the heterosexual biker community. Everyone is polite but kind of distant. I wonder if it's me, or if that's the way it is for everyone; compared to the intense, passionate friendships I find among the queer bikers, it's kind of boring.
However, biker photography remains an entertaining challenge. Now, after a few years of snapping away, the fun part is trying to get the same hot studs on film twice. Here's a big (BIG) bruiser that I snapped while waiting for gas near the Arizona border in April of '05:
...and again yesterday...
Pretty sure it's the same guy! Unfortunately I only had my phone camera, I really must get a new reflector telephoto for the Nikon.
- In other domestic news: water problems. Bill has taken responsibility for water but unfortunately doesn't seem to quite "get it". The other day I found a hose directly connecting our source of (impure) water to our clean-water tank. I mean, WTF? He means well, but I'm starting to think he just isn't smart enough to plan and manage it all. We're down to only about a thousand gallons of potable water, and our collection is barely, barely keeping up with regular domestic use. I really don't want to lose the trees we've planted but I'm not sure we can afford the water to keep them going. Today he's going to work on the lower spring but there is an extreme risk of damaging it and losing the water entirely. And of course, we have six thousand gallons of non-potable storage below the house, with only about a thousand gallons of water in those tanks - again, lack of planning. He let our neighbor use it on the road and now it isn't replenishing as fast as he'd hoped. It would be embarrassing to have to get water trucked in but it's something I'm considering.
- The nextfew weeks week are all about planning for the Golden Gate Guards run and the Badger run, both of which involve substantial chef work. I swear every year I will get them planned properly, and am unable to get it together. Repeatedly. It's very annoying to have such an inconsistent set of priorities as to be forever regretting what doesn't get done. These things come up so fast that even without a regular full time job I'm having a hard time matching my ambitions to the number of days available.
- Another good "marketing" event at a local winery where I served up appetizers for 100. Not profitable, but good exposure. I put together about 100 pieces each of 4 things - another business was providing appetizers as well, though they ended up not providing very much. Getting things assembled and plated in "real time" was difficult. The baguette chips with white bean puree, tritip slices, and pickled red onions were a smash hit but their three-step assembly process is especially annoying. I got everything put out in the allotted time, but there were periods where the table was nearly empty. Unfortunately some people interpret "appetizers" as "dinner" and did not graze in a particularly appropriate fashion for the event. This is not very classy but there is nothing to be done about it.
- After much discussion, we have bought an ATV. A practically new, 350cc Polaris model that had only about 100 miles on it, which we got for less than half the retail price. It has immediately proven itself to be essential, particularly for moving firewood. And it's a hella lotta fun - I'm exploring parts of the ranch that I've never even seen, because it's much too far to walk and rather unpleasant in any other kind of vehicle. I'm appalled to find ourselves with six vehicles among three people, but country life has changed us in many ways. This, of course, means that some day we will be a household with six broken-down vehicles that we can't bring ourselves to repair or get rid of. At that point, our transformation into grouchy mountain rednecks will be complete.
- Went on a huge poker run yesterday along with the Mendocino HOG group, starting in Cotati and ending in Petaluma. About a thousand Harleys in total. Unfortunately, I'm finding that I cannot get any traction with the heterosexual biker community. Everyone is polite but kind of distant. I wonder if it's me, or if that's the way it is for everyone; compared to the intense, passionate friendships I find among the queer bikers, it's kind of boring.
However, biker photography remains an entertaining challenge. Now, after a few years of snapping away, the fun part is trying to get the same hot studs on film twice. Here's a big (BIG) bruiser that I snapped while waiting for gas near the Arizona border in April of '05:
...and again yesterday...
Pretty sure it's the same guy! Unfortunately I only had my phone camera, I really must get a new reflector telephoto for the Nikon.
- In other domestic news: water problems. Bill has taken responsibility for water but unfortunately doesn't seem to quite "get it". The other day I found a hose directly connecting our source of (impure) water to our clean-water tank. I mean, WTF? He means well, but I'm starting to think he just isn't smart enough to plan and manage it all. We're down to only about a thousand gallons of potable water, and our collection is barely, barely keeping up with regular domestic use. I really don't want to lose the trees we've planted but I'm not sure we can afford the water to keep them going. Today he's going to work on the lower spring but there is an extreme risk of damaging it and losing the water entirely. And of course, we have six thousand gallons of non-potable storage below the house, with only about a thousand gallons of water in those tanks - again, lack of planning. He let our neighbor use it on the road and now it isn't replenishing as fast as he'd hoped. It would be embarrassing to have to get water trucked in but it's something I'm considering.
- The next
