Rochester, Lake Ontario, and Niagara Falls were a few stops on this weekend's road trip. It's been quite a while since we've gotten away together and it's been 15 years since I've been to Niagara Falls. Some things are just as I remembered them and some I don't remember at all. I assume the casino, Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood development wasn't there and it takes up the whole block across the street on the Canadian side. It's super touristy and not as romantic as it used to be I'm sure, but it's still quite breathtaking. Rochester, NY is a whole lot nicer than I ever thought it would be. Downtown reminds me of Durham, NC for some reason. Instead of tobacco roots though, it has photographic roots.

This is Duncan making his way down the street after our four to six inches of rain Friday. Today, we ate at our new "big burrito" joint. Sure it's a chain but it was pretty darn good anyway. We've been looking for one of these places since we moved here.

Yes, there's still a lot of work to do, but did I mention we're finished with all the painting in the kitchen?

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My first attempt at bodybuilding. Not really, my brother would have never let me do that because bodybuilding was for fags, he was a power lifter. I tried working out a few times but it was something that I really never could get into. That's ashamed because it would have given me a reason to hang out with him back then. He won a lot of competitions back when he was younger and still works out to this day but doesn't compete anymore. I wouldn't mind being a buff dude with a six pack or even a two pack. If I knew I was a big homo when this picture was taken, I would have been working out this body every day.

On the boring kitchen news, all the painting is done, the doors are up and it looks freaking good. Just a few things to do, including a floor, and it's done until the next project begins. It's raining again.

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One of the quirky things about me is I eat candy bars from the top down instead of from front to back. I don't know why, I just always have. I tried to change the way I did it the other day but I think they just taste better that way. Maybe because you get each individual taste of each different layer rather than having them all mixed up the way they're supposed to be. Of course, a regular Hershey's bar can't be eaten that way but I never eat those. Snicker's is my choice.

The first story I saw this morning on TV were the profiles and pictures of the London bombing suspects. They showed a picture of the former apartment of the guy who attended NC State and it was a few blocks from where we used to live in Raleigh. I just thought it was kind of bizarre being in New York.

I got caught in a thunderstorm and heavy rainfall in the Jeep this afternoon. It was kind of fun though. It was warm and made for a good diversion after a miserable trip to the post office. This old lady just wouldn't walk away from the window. She just insisted on asking stupid question after stupid question. Is it really so hard to fill out a change of address form? You know the old address, you know the new address, some dates and a name and you're done. After she finished asking stupid questions, she then went on about her weekend plans. The friendly agent really tried to get rid of her and I understand that she couldn't be rude or she could get in trouble but I almost lost my patience which I have plenty of. 10 minutes of my day.

Our garage door sucks! It's always something. Last weekend, one of the springs broke. I didn't realize it had actually bent the track and tore up the harness it was hanging on so I thought I could go ahead and close it. It came off the track. I fixed the harness and the track. That door is heavy and Duncan is out of town. I ordered the springs (2) so we can install those this weekend, hopefully without killing ourselves.

FYI: Good Times marathon this weekend on TV Land.

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What a great day this has been. After an absolutely awful week, today has been a complete turnaround. Not only did I get off work early today, the weather is beautiful, I have nothing pressing to do, and the Jeep is waiting. I also got to do some picture scanning for my never to be finished Schenectady site that I have been working on since we moved here. Maybe in the next couple of weeks I can get out and take some pictures. I won't be doing that today. Duncan will be home tomorrow after a week out of town and the rain is waiting on him. We've had almost 6 inches of rain this month and it's not half over.

This article on memory loss really has me excited. I know all this is preliminary, but every step closer to preventing Alzheimer's disease and dementia makes me think I won't have to go through such a thing. I'm not so scared of things like cancer or heart disease, (I'm sure that would change if I were to be diagnosed with one) but when I see my dad whose condition is mild compared to others who are much younger than him, I just don't won't to go that way.

The Jeep is calling my name...my bike is not. I haven't ridden this year.

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I hate entertainment news. I don't watch shows like Entertainment Tonight or Extra. I don't read People. I've never gotten the whole Tom Cruise thing but he makes me extra sick lately. That said, the oh so HOT Jesse James has married Sandra Bullock, both of whom I love. What a cool Hollywood couple. Did I mention Jesse James is HOT?

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Happy Birthday baby. I love you.

...and last night's dream.

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Today I replaced the springs in the garage. It wasn't the big scary ordeal I'd heard it would be but I did end up getting freaking filthy. Grease and dirt build up a lot over thirty years I guess. Truthfully though, I like being dirty. I guess it goes back to being a kid because I usually played outside in the dirt building road networks out of mud. When they needed repaving, a new layer of mud was added. We built little houses and I remember a few of them burning down. Hell, I guess it was a preamble to living here. Houses go up like matchsticks all the time around this city. Always remember and never forget, mud is good. I've even had a few sexcapades involving mud.

So long Scotty.

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After such a hectic week at work, it was good to have the weekend off to just ride around and do some exploring. No work on the kitchen or yard or anything like that though we did go to look at some flooring. We've been messing with this room since October. After this, no more big projects for a while.

We're watching "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" on ABC tonight. That guy Ty may be the most annoying person I've ever seen on TV.

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