I, however, am still in Austin. This will be the longest we've been apart in the 12 years that we've been married.

I'm not very good at being by myself.  I'm basically going to be as busy as I can with random crap.  House related stuff, etc.  My front yard, due to the record-setting temperatures and lack of rain, is dead as dead, so the yard work won't be too heavy.  But I have a whole shedload of stuff to do around here.

On the 21st I'm getting my motorcycle license, which will be interesting.  I'm looking at a few used bikes, the only new bike I am looking at is a Kawasaki KLR650.  What I really want is too pricey new (Triumph Bonneville T100 runs about 9200.00 out the door) and I've never seen one used.  I'm also looking at a post-2004 Harley Sportster...they can be modded with a few pieces to look a lot like the late 60s / early 70s standards that I like so damn much.  The factory example (again, way too pricey for my budget) is The XL1200N "Nightster" which I can't buy anyway because of the stupid goddamn name.  "Nightster"?  Really?  Really? 

The other bikes I like are all dead and gone (Norton!) or way, way too pricey (Confederate! Triumph!), or ridiculous (Kawasaki Versys, or one of those Ninja 650s), or stupid (anything by Ducati).  I can't own a sportbike, since a) I am old b) my back hates me enough thanks and c) I'd die in a week.  So, a one-cylinder dual-purpose bike built to outlast the cockroach with 20 years of engineering behind it, an upright stance, and a comfy saddle sounds like a plan....thus the KLR650 which for 2008 has been tweaked and changed for the first time in 20 years.

In prep for my trip at the start of July, I'm taking the dogs to a dog ranch to be evaluated for boarding.  It's a big place with A/C in the kennels, quite a bit of land, and a great reputation.  They want to make sure Kilo can be controlled....and sure, she can be but she'll still want to kill any other dogs that aren't Pico.  We'll see...I have a feeling they'll be boarded at the vet for two weeks, and that's awful.  But if it's the option, then OK.

Speaking of the Boston trip, I'm very excited.  I'll have been in Virginia for a week before then, which means I will have been sober, churchgoing, non-swearing, and talking funny for like seven whole days.  The bulk of our time in Boston will be vacation...I get reminded by Laurea that it is not a HuSi trip...but we'll still get together for various and sundry.

I'll post details when we get closer to the day.

In the interim, I am a bachelor.  What should I do?  My plans are listed on the poll.