Sorry for the long absence

I don't know if anyone is even bothering to check this blog for updates anymore. Quite honestly, I haven't had a lot to write about.

I'll start with an update on the whole car situation. I decided to hang onto my Crown Victoria. Reason prevailed over emotion in this decision; it makes little financial sense to unload a perfectly fine automobile just because I want something else. So, to make the best of what I have, I am in the slow process of "mercurizing" my Crown Vic. So far I have procured, but not yet installed, a rear reflector panel and tail lights from a 2009 Mercury Grand Marquis via fleabay. The last part I need is a rear bumper cover, painted Silver Frost, which is surprisingly difficult to find at an affordable price. My plan to go to the local scrap yard last weekend was thwarted by adverse weather. I may end up having to spring for a custom-painted replacement part for over $300. I plan on keeping the Ford emblem, if only to avoid being stopped by a feeble-minded lawman who believes the Grand Marquis in front of him has a stolen license plate from a Crown Vic.

Just today I received the Grand Marquis tail lights I had ordered, but to my dismay found that they will require some modification, since they're made for 2 bulbs and my '98 model uses 4. Cutting 2 extra holes is far easier than rewiring, and I'm hoping I can accomplish this with tools I already own and not have to shell out 40 bucks for a Dremel tool.

I have succeeded in installing a new grille which bears a passing resemblance to a Lincoln Town Car, with its vertical chrome slats. It definitely does not have the "oh shit is that a cop?" factor of which I had grown so weary. For the time being, I have enhanced the rear end with some inexpensive chrome molding, tastefully placed around the reverse lights. The Wrightsville Beach sticker and Scottish royal standard decal signal to others that I am a gentle-man with a noble pedigree who summers in a respectable locale, and not one to be confused with undesirable individuals who bring disrepute to the vehicle.

I continue to pine away for the '90s. I recently added several playlists to my iPod, one for each of the years 1991-1999. Each list includes songs that were popular or at least new that year. So now I can pick a particular year. Do I want to go back to 1996? How about 1999? Of course if I wanted a truly authentic experience I'd go back to using CDs in my car. Someday I'd like to convert an old '90s cell phone into a bluetooth receiver. I've seen examples of similar projects online. How grand it would be to pick up a clunky old handset and hear a friend's voice!

This Thanksgiving week my wife and I will travel to her godmother's home in Virginia. I long to live her life. An heiress who has toiled not a day in her life, she spends her days driving her fine automobiles from one home to another and worries not a moment about grocery prices, medical bills, job security, or even what time she has to get up the next morning. That's what I want out of life: not so much wealth and privilege, but to be able not to worry about the future and to live on no one's terms but my own. I'd be fine living in my little townhouse for the rest of my life if I didn't have to leave it except when I wanted to. Fate did not deal me such a winning hand; I am, at least for now, doomed to stare at a computer screen all day and make money for someone else, in a world that doesn't recognize the true value of what people like me do. Oh well, at least that week I get to drive her Lexus.