last night i went out for drinks after work with some current and former cow-irkers.  it was a fun time.  plenty of laughs and all of that, but the time between when i left work and getting to the bar was filled with roaming.  see, i get off work earlier than most because i go in earlier than any.  first in, first out.  it's a good way to live.  but when you have about 2.5 hours to kill, what on earth does one do?

recently i gave up the pillar to post wandering coffay shoppe ways and settled on the local branch of the public library.  dammit if that place isn't crowded.  with kids!  who read!  wtf?!  then again, given the climate, there isn't much hell to be raised when it's just outside.  the library is a great alternative.  there's free wifi and comfy chairs.  i need nothing more.  but yesterday when i showed up...there were no seats.  none.  zero.

so i wandered off to the next closest landing spot: the bookchain cafe.  again...not a seat in the house.  i finally settled in at one of the newer coffay shoppes with nice couches.  but when i went to buy my coffay (or wifi tax...whatever) they couldn't charge my card.  i don't carry cash.  afraid of upsetting me, the chicky at the counter just gave me a cup on the house while she tried to figure it out.  i stopped back at the register on the way out to see if i could pay, but it still wasn't working.  free coffay!  score!

while i was burning time, i shopped for djembes.  this is fun for many reasons.  allow me to explain.  first, i need a djembe.  simple.  i hate programming drum lines and canned drums sound kind of like ass.  they are far less ass-like if there is a live drum in there somewhere.  so i tend to thrown in a bodhran or some talking drum with my fake djembes and weird percussion instruments and it sounds ok.  but i'm so lazy.  i'd rather spend 5 minutes recording a drum that i'm actually playing than hours translating my head to a part.  i guess i'm one of those silly musicians who like to play an instrument.  so the acquisition of the djembe will be a contributor to my studio.  a good thing!

next, this was "found" money.  it basically fell out of the sky as a thank you from a v.p. for doing something magical at work.  i like doing magic.  i'm good at it.  in a lot of ways i'm like that level 20 wizard that you keep around just so he can call down a storm of fire on the approaching army.  he can only do it once or twice a day, but it's worth it when you need it.  that's me.  though i'd rather be a druid.  the point being that i got extra cash for doing something that takes time away from what i love doing, so why not apply that to my avocation that wants to be a vocation?  a fine rationalization indeed!

but perhaps the best reason was my wife's response to the idea of yet another instrument: a simple sigh.  we had full disclosure.  she knew what she was getting into.  but it's so cute to see her roll her eyes at the thought of yet another noise maker in the house.  i know that it doesn't really bug her, but it's fun to do the dance.

it shipped this morning.  now all i need are about a dozen smelly hippies and i can get a drum circle going.  who's got the hacky sack???

i'm hoping to mow the lawn tonight and still feel like biking 'round the neighborhood a few times.  it's hard to rate the odds on that.  being up at 5 makes putting in that kind of effort later in the evening difficult.  but i will take a good stab at it!  my bike rocks.  it's like being 10 again.  if only i lived in a place that didn't actively hate bicycles.  meh.  i'll find adventure soon enough.  we have a huge weekend coming up and with any luck, part of it will be spent on the trail or doing something fun like that.