May 20th through 25th (for Tina)!

This trip wasn’t so much a question of what we did do as a question of what we didn’t do. Fresh from a massive shopping trip to Ikea, Tina and I installed entire wall’s worth of shelving, worked on remodeling the bathroom, built CD and DVD racks, and organized books. We finished the birch wood ceiling in the living room. When I had to leave on Tuesday I took the opportunity to travel along the eastern, rather than western, side of Pyramid Lake. A hundred miles of well-maintained dirt a gravel roads separate Gerlach from Sparks; ideal conditions for riding a 750cc dirt bike at 55 to 75 mph (which I did). I also had a chance to stop off at the Wolfs Lodge Ranch to visit with Blackfish – not to mention the small tribe of Siberian monsters that live there with him. This was extremely enjoyable, as I hadn’t had a chance to visit with the international man of mystery since he’d gotten back from doing anti-piracy work in the Straights of Malacca. As is usual he was extremely tightlipped about what took place down there, the bonus being that I can dream up a far more romantic picture of what the man does (killing pirate scum with a cutlass) that the actual reality undoubtedly merits (training Tai soldiers to use sonar properly).

Unfortunately, due to factors beyond our control it took several days longer than normal for the next Hero book (Ultimate Speedster) to reach the warehouse. Tina had to stay out two days after I left. Fortunately, she had Snap with her for company and a Marlin rifle for protection. We kept in constant contact through MSN Messenger, so she wasn’t too lonely. Plus the weather out in the Black Rock Desert has been nothing short of wonderful. I doubt it was as terrible as all that.