A very productive weekend

June 2, 2008

I had a great weekend last week, this time it was largely productive, which was a good thing, in my case.  I got a lot accomplished at work on Friday, and so I asked to get out of there a bit early, and with that extra time I took my car to a place to get the alarm removed.  That thing has never worked properly–the sensitivity was too great, it auto-armed and there was no way to shut it off, and it offered no tangible benefits save for a few bucks off my car insurance.  So, I paid a local place $40 for them to yank it out.  Hanne and I spent the rest of our evening dining at a local restaurant we both enjoy (EastBurn, 18th and East Burnside) and drinking cocktails, and then after a shoirt wine tasting we sat out in the evening sun and played Connect Four and Gin Rummy drinking a bottle of one of the wines we had.

Neither of us had been through a particularly stressful week, but it was our way of celebrating Hanne getting the full-time summer job she had been up for.  She’d been the intern for them for the last couple of months, and though it was natural for them to give it to her, they at least had to go through the dull diligence motions.  But she got it, and so she’ll be earning a paycheck for the first time in two years this summer.

The reason for removal of my car alarm became eveident on Saturday when I took my car to the DEQ to get it tested and the registration renewed.  Last time I took my car to the DEQ, the alarm went off after testing because it had auto-armed and the keys had been left in the ignition, so there was no way I could get back in the car without setting it off.  I have to tell you, setting off your own car alarm is a bit embarrassing, which is one of the reasons why I also haven’t gotten my oil checked since sometime in late 2006.  That’s scheduled for next weekend, incidentally.

Hanne’s Dad came over on Saturday to help us build some shelves in the space where I keep my brewing equipment, and I think it’s going to be a lot more organized now.  As a thank-you for all his help (as well as my Dad’s for bring over the needed power tools), Hanne and I served some homebrew and fired up the grill for dinner.  For the third time in a row we’ve entertained with our grill, we managed to avoid the rain that started not long after the last guests had left, so I considered ourselves very lucky.  Three weekends in a row!  I just wish the weather would make up its mind what it wants to do, because I’d like to fire up that grill more than once a week.  I’ve got a bunch of beer in bottles, just waiting for the carbon dioxide to accumulate and carbonate my brews, and I plan on sitting out back, drinking my own beer, grilling things with fire as often as possible.

On Sunday, I gave in and went with Hanne to IKEA.  I’m not a huge IKEA fan, clearly.  I don’t like how they treat you like cattle, I don’t like how crowded it is, and I don’t particularly like the quality of some of their stuff.  However, being on a limited budget and needing furniture and already visiting a number of furniture stores, I relegated myself to an open mind.  We ended up walking out with a small folding table that can be used when we’re either out back or on our front porch, a couple of non-folding chairs marked down to $15 from $50, and a bar table for the corner of our kitchen, which gives us a little more surface area for food prep as well as a place for someone to sit while the other is cooking.  Throw a bar stool under it and a nice coaster on top of it, and you’ve got a nice place to sit and look out the window and keep the chef company.

Hanne’s taking my car and going back for the dresser she wanted that they were out of stock of as well as a new entertainment center that I think will work very well for what we have.  Since I’m using the same pine shelves I got at Freddy’s when I first moved in with my sister as our entertainment center, yeah, I think it’s time for something a little nicer.  I’ll be paying about 1100% more than what I paid for what I have now, but since I dropped maybe $12 on the in-use pine shelving, I’m not too worried.

Next weekend Hanne and I plan on breaking in our deep-fryer, and I’ll make beef cubelets on my own for the first time.  Watch out, Dad: I might be able to do it better than you.

Posted in Beer, Family, Food, Geekery, General, Hanne, Work