I need to post a quick HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one tarinfirepelt. I've known Koz for ... something like ten years now, and can't think of life without his ability to deliver devastating puns and embarrassing sketches of Feren's ass. Happy birthday, m'friend.

Friday night was dinner with ottr, roho, enveri, wyldekyttin, lady_curmudgeon, datahawk, foxish, Devin and Vlad. We went to BD's and had beer and vast amounts of Mongolian stirfry. Afterward, Data, 'mudgeon, Devin, Ottr and myself went to Safari Land for bowling. It's an indoor kid's amusement/theme park (I dare you to guess what the theme is) but when you get there at 10PM there's not a lot of kids, and we adults enjoyed the bowling alley. We chose that alley because of the theme park, and because it has the lanes rigged with radar guns that tell you how fast the ball is rolling (in miles-per-hour) when it strikes the pins. I average somewhere around 17 m.p.h., which is a damn shame compared to the peak speed of 22 m.p.h. that Ottr was able to achieve. We had a lot of fun. The only real disappointment that evening was the alley closed earlier than the rest of the place! We closed down Safari Land, chatted outside in the rain for a bit and then went to our respective homes for well-deserved rest.

Saturday we all slept in, finally getting up around late morning. Data and Ottr joined 'mudge and I for a meal at a local family restaurant. The plan was for Ottr and I to head down to Mega Sports to get some time on their gun range. It wasn't until we were about to leave for Plainfield that it was discovered that we could also bring 'mudgeon and Data along with us! Everyone piled into my truck, I tossed the Bag o' Fun in the back and we hit the road. The afternoon was full of uncertainties! Data had never handled a firearm before, nor had Curmudgeon. I had never been to this particular range before, so I didn't know what to expect either. All of us were pleasantly surprised by what we found. While almost double the cost of the Outdoorsman Sports Shop that Roho and I have gone to in the past, the experience was well worth the money. Datahawk and Curmudgeon were instructed/"mentored" by Ottr and myself as we were responsible for their time on the range. As mentioned, neither had shot before but both were willing to give it a try, which I think made Ottr and I both quite happy. Curmudgeon spent most of her time with my S&W Sigma SW9VE 9mm, and decided she liked that one best. Data liked both my Taurus PT-1911 and the S&W 9mm, which Ottr and I both own and are generally disillusioned with. Ottr fell in love with both the Taurus and what Roho has dubbed the "Hand Cannon," my Ruger Blackhawk .357 magnum. All told I think we were there for almost two hours. Everyone had fun, and we topped the evening off by travelling back to Ohana for a really nice steak and potato dinner.

Today was another day for sleeping in late. I mowed the front lawn, trimmed the boulevard tree and cut down some saplings that were growing in the flower bed. I'm planning to take the rest of the day on a minute by minute basis, relaxing as much as I can. Tomorrow I'm back at the office and I already have a day full of work waiting for me.

Tags: 2009, birthday_wishes, friends, guns, weekend
Current Location: Bolingbrook, IL
Current Mood: lazy