California Vacay – Day 6. (NBPM – 5)

Happy Monday, NaBloPoMo’ers! How are things going? Keeping up alright? Dreading the next 25 days? Thinking it’s a breeze and want to go for a YEAR? Yeah, me either. But! That doesn’t mean I don’t have my Vacay Monday Recap for you – for I do… admit it, you’re DYING to know what a dongel is.. and why it is maroon…

Yeah, I know.

So, Monday! We knew we could sleep in again, and again I woke up before everyone else, thanks to Gimli’s oh so adorable attempts to get me to PWAY? PWAY? NOW? PWEASE? and Snoogans valiantly attempting to sleep on my chest. Because that’s comfy. For her.

So, eventually everyone got up and about, and we bagged up the Xbox which had a hardware failure and needed returned/exchanged while we were in Bakersfield, and after a coffee run, we were off! No, not to see the wizard, but to Mad Dog Tattoos. It was the big day – and I was only a little queasy about it. I forgot to mention that before bed, we’d hammered out the idea, TBF drew it up, I decided for sure where I wanted it, and thus we! were Ready!

Well, HE was ready. I was nervous nellying about all the needles, of course. I don’t like needles. Or pain. but LOVE tattoos. Go figure.

So anyway, shortly after noon, we pull up to MadDog tattoo, in search of a Giant White Guy named Zombie. Yes, his name was Zombie. He asked if we were looking for him, and I was VERY close to saying “Yes. We must organize before you rise…” because I am THAT much of a dork. I refrained. I think. I’m not sure if I thought it or actually said it – but either way, the thought was TOTALLY there. So anyway, Zombie, he finished off his lunch, and then took a look at our artwork (our meaning to be put on me, drawn by TBF) and declared it almost perfect, and made a couple of adjustments. While he was making those adjustments, I knew that it was FATE that he should do my tattoo – as my name (my real name, not Lessa) was tattoo’d across his hand. Sure it was probably not intended to mean me – but it worked none the less!

So, we got the artwork transferred and the colors chosen, and everything ready, and then… then it came time to submit to the needles. Zombie has a very light touch, and worked very quickly, AND he learned very quickly to rest his arm on my foot and then I wouldn’t flinch. I flinched noticeably once, can you tell where?

He also freehanded that celtic knotwork too. TBF was impressed with the fact that I didn’t pulverize his hand into nothingness by grabbing and hanging on. I did, however, count the dots in the ceiling tiles above my head (2,398), find a focal point in a variety of the artworks on the wall, and rediscover my Lamaze breathing. I never used it for actual childbirth, but it comes in handy for a LOT of things! Zombie chatted away, and discovered that I’d come all the way from Alaska JUST to have him tattoo me, and even made fun of my “OoooOOOOOOooooooooWWW!” and asked if it was my Alaska Mating Call.

Well then. A guy after our own hearts, for SURE!

And he was FAST. We figured it’d be about three hours, but no – 1.5 hours after sitting in his chair, I had my memorial tattoo. Kevin would be proud, and eternally amused by the whole thing.

It’s on the inside of my left calf, where I can see it and show it off easily. And complain about the itching. Two weeks later, it’s doing well, and there’s only a couple spots that really bother me (those damn STARS…)

So, we got wrapped up, I invited Zombie up here for a fishing trip, and TBF got a decent price quote on fixing his last tattoo that he let someone put on as ‘practice’. (grin) So! We headed out of there, and called Mamoo, and headed off to visit her and grab the paperwork for the great X-Box Exchange. We’d seen her on Saturday when she came up to the hill to see the jousting festivities, but since she’d left before the grand finale, we had a lot to fill her in on! Then we looked over the paperwork to be sure the Xbox exchange would work like it was supposed too, and discovered that Mom, she had a coupon! for $10 off a purchase! And TBF was all “Aw! I already bought Transformers!” and I raised my hand “I HAVEN’T!” and tada! I had me the means to get Transformers for just 10 bucks. AWESOME.

So we bundled into Mamoo’s “car” (a GIANT SUV for a very little, very cute woman) and headed toward Best Buy. There, we discovered that they were OUT of the exact brand of Xbox, and it was looking like the trip was going to end on a sour note, because if we went back to the wife without her beloved Xbox? Well, I wouldn’t have been alone, sleeping on the couch for SURE. While they talked to supervisor after supervisor, and tried to work something out, I decided I wanted to get a pair of headphones for Scooter, because I’d be working in public the next day and wanted to be polite and stuff. I was directed the wrong way, first, and decided while I was there, I’d get a wireless mouse, as I HATE to work in photoshop with the touchpad. Yeah, I know, I’m such a wussy.

But this is where I discovered the Dongle. You see, I decided to go wireless because it’s all the rage, and I found this beautiful little maroon mouse, with BUBBLES on it! So I had to have it. Because I’m all about the pretty! I even sent the helpful girl all the way to the back to find me that exact mouse! Cuz I had to have it! Then I went to the other end of the store, found my little cheapo earbuds, and then grabbed Transformers and rejoined TBF and Mamoo at the counter, where they had FINALLY reached a compromise, and we discovered that it would indeed be safe to return home to the wife, with an exchanged Xbox in hand. WHEW. That couch really wasn’t big enough for me, TBF, AND Snoogans!

I know, you want to know about the Dongle! Here we go – we went through check out, and headed to the GLORIOUS air conditioning in the car, while TBF went into the Pet Smart to get some goodies for the chinchilla. I opened the mouse package to take a closer look, and searched valiantly for the USB plug that would allow it to connect to my computer. That failing, I grabbed the instructions, and discovered that “replacing the dongle will turn the mouse off and save battery power.”

….dongle? wtf is a dongle? So we referred to the diagram and had a Light Bulb Moment ™! The USB port slipped into the mouse itself, and the USB plug IS the dongle!

Yes. My Mouse has a Dongle. Doesn’t YOURS?

So, after discovering that my mouse has a dongle, I giggled and shared the fact with Mamoo and TBF, and then we gave into TBF’s craving for fried chicken and hit KFC for some extra crispy delight. While we were there, two black men walked in and caused TBF to declare “I swear, if they hit on you I’m TOTALLY going to lose it!” Which meant we had to explain to Mamoo the whole sordid tale. I did not get hit on, so it was not lost, but there was much laughter in the telling of the tale. AND I got to eat TBF’s biscuit. *EG*

Ahem.

So we went back to Mamoo’s house, talked and giggled a bit, I checked in with the kids, and we visited, and then finally made our way back to the truck and head back to Frazier Park. We arrived to a VERY happy wife when she got her Xbox back, and we settled in to watch Transformers on Scooter. Who, we discovered, does NOT have very loud speakers! So out came the wires and the pieces and the parts, and the subwoofer from TBF’s old desktop computer. After a long moment, we had a fantastic sound system going and the neighbors could enjoy the sound with us. I’m sure they appreciated it! After the movie, knowing that TBF had to work the next day, and I’d be hanging out in the coffee catina with wireless doing the same – we called it a night, and thus ended day six.

Tomorrow – Coffee, Coffee and Alaska Glacier Water, LOUD table neighbors, and Scratch ‘n’ sniff business cards.