stripethree

Hooray Ikea!

Monkey, Llama and their Christmas gift from my parents. Also the first video I shot, edited and threw to YouTube completely from the iPhone.

For more practice, Andrea and I went to the 4th Ave Street Fair. Shooting people, especially strangers on the street, has never been something that I have been super comfortable with and thus, I don’t have much practice with it and probably have a lot to learn to do it well.

Winter 2010 4th Ave Street Fair

So, Volkswagen of America is apparently going to make me eat my words.

If I may, a small excerpt from about 15 months ago…

I could go on and on about exactly what it would take for me to even consider [buying a new Golf R] – $30k price tag, no sunroof, 6 speed manual for starters – but the reality is that as good as it looks and as good as it will perform I just know that Volkswagen of America will chicken out, again, as they have done on many things of late, and not provide the complete ‘enthusiast’ package.

I dare the them to prove me wrong. Until then, I’ll keep beating the snot out of my overweight, transmission destroying, five and a half year old money pit. At least it makes a fantastic noise.

Well, they are doing it. It will have a 6-speed, the ‘base’ package will not have a sunroof, and it will even be available in a four door. Price won’t be $30k, likely closer to $34k, but that was a stretching what was reasonable quite a bit.

Meanwhile, in the 15 months since the Golf R was introduced I have been beating the snot out of my R32 and it hasn’t been taking it all that well. It’s nights like tonight that I wonder if it is time for something new. It sits, broken again, this time a motor mount bolt gave way.

The irony being that at the last Tucson autocross event this past Sunday, I took a different approach. Autocross – and the car hobby in general – had lost its luster, its fun factor a bit, and well, my motivation directed towards both has been at an all time low. The GTI has sat almost but-not-quite roadworthy for over a year, coilovers for the R have been occupying a spot on my floor for three months, the list goes on. I have instead directed attention towards other things – dodgeball, kickball, house projects – while the car projects gathered dust.

So for last Sunday, I threw street tires back on the R32 for this event so I could drive to and from and not worry about the effort of changing tires at the event. It worked, for at least, a little while, since I was a bit more relaxed and had a bit more fun (and ran over a few more cones…once you get race tire crack, you really can’t go back). I was planning to get back to the track in March when Audi Club goes to Spring Mountain, get back to a Solo National Tour in April in San Diego, hell, planning to get the coilovers on the R32 this Saturday with the help of friends who were tired of hearing about them sitting on the floor. Then, like clockwork, something else breaks and again I question if I can trust this car anymore to do what I ask of it.

But we all know how this story goes. Every time I think about moving on from this ride, it never happens. It will get fixed, I’ll beat it up again and will be back here again to discuss how much I love to hate or hate to love this thing. It’s paid for and the expense of all the nonsense in the last two years doesn’t come close to half of what I would have paid in car payments over the same time. It’s like stray dog you feed and let in your house one night and then can’t bring yourself to get rid of.

The flip side is that I did get in touch with a sales rep about the Golf R. It really looks like it could be a hell of a fun ride. It will have a bit more power, a bit less weight, a chassis with 8 more years of development, and might just handle better without (literally) a ton of weight over the front axle. Somehow, even if one ends up in my garage, I don’t see it replacing the R32. After all, there is one more garage spot to be filled.

Done!

I went with teak oil as the finish and I think it did wonders for the look in addition to adding a protective layer. The trim is all pine and the teak oil was applied to it as well. I definitely have to work on my caulking skills, the areas between the trim and tile could use some improvement. One of the several lessons learned.

Last step is to accessorize it and I already started some of that; you can see in one of the pictures the towel ring that was added behind the bar. I have a feeling Keg Works will be hearing from me very soon to take care of the rest.

Time for a drink!

I haven’t picked up my camera much lately, which is sad. So yesterday I went on a impromptu shoot with my friend Andrea to get back in practice. She is a pro and wanted to do something out of the studio so we drove up Mount Lemmon to look for some interesting subject matter. The Picasa gallery below has my favorites.

Mount Lemmon Shoot

The top of the bar is tiled, grouted, and sealed. The tile is 1″x1″ glass that came in 12″x12″ mesh backed sheets. The tile job is by no means perfect, but I am really happy with how it came out given that this was my first shot at any tile work.

I picked up some some 1/4″ think mahogany ply from Woodworker’s Source as the final outer layer. It looks good and I’m debating whether or not to apply a stain, however it will at least need some sort of protective later. Last construction step is trim is various places and staining various pieces, the mahogany possibly included. Almost done!

I also laid out the area rug since most of the bar work and the mess it creates is done. I got it at Bobby Joe’s Rug Works, it was in the vast selection of carpet remnants they had for sale. They bound it on all sides and two weeks later, I had an inexpensive, simple 8′x11′ area rug.

Over the weekend was another trip to Home Depot, this time to learn about tile and start picking up tools and supplies. What is pictured below is a practice go at laying down some glass tile and staining a piece mahogany.

The grout on the tile has been set for about 4 hours in the picture on the left. Final decision may be for something a little darker. The tile is mesh backed and comes in 1sq ft sections. It’s easy to work with and with the squares I can avoid cutting tiles.

On the right, sections of red mahogany stain on a mahogany board. Three stages, though you can’t see the third since it did not really make a difference over the second. The local Woodworkers Source sells large sheets of 1/4″ thick mahogany that I think will work well for the front and sides.

I like this combination, using this tile with two coats of stain on the wood. The decision comes with the cost. At $10 per square foot, this would not make a cheap endeavor; 8ft long bar top that’s about 2ft deep… well, you do the math. On the flip side, I know if I mix in larger, less expensive tile, it may look great but I’ll just keep thinking what it could have looked like.

With cooler weather finally coming around unwanted to have the windows open. This is not a good idea with two curious cats and no window screens.

My first attempt at building one from the Home Depot kits did not go well, is not pictured, and will soon be in the trash. Whoops. Take 2 yielded much better results.

With the fiberglass, pet resistant screen material I choose, the cost per window is less than $20. The plan for now is to just take care of the three side by side windows in the family room. Building these things is a bit tedious and I think after 3 I’ll have exhausted my patience. I’m happy with how this one came out, even though it took a throw away trial to get it right.

Update: done! And I was able to salvage the first one. It doesn’t fit perfectly but will serve the intended purpose. This project’s lesson: to pay someone to do this next time. It was painstaking.

Got more work done on the bar this weekend. Making long cuts with a circular saw was challenging but I am satisfied with how things look.