Happy Hallowe’en 2024
That title might seem a little dramatic, but tomorrow ends daylight savings, which means that I’ll be leaving the office after dark. I always hate that, and I admit I never really get used to it. I’d like to either stay on DLS all the time, or lose it for good and shift all of life back one hour. Doesn’t matter what I want, though; I relearn that lesson every election season!
I hope y’all had a fun Halloween. I did, at night, when I threw together a makeshift costume from an old smock and a wig and went out bar-hopping in Old Towne with Jason, who-naturally-dressed as Link from the Legend of Zelda. We spent most of our time at a cool place called “Secret Level” which is a full bar equipped with dozens of 80s and 90s video games and pinball machines. Jason’s get-up was a big hit!
The day of October 31, however, was not fun, nor was the entire week, as work was insane with disasters to fix and fires to put out. Work has really been taking a lot out of me, and since the firm I work for is busiest at this time of year, I don’t expect this to let up until the end of the year. And that’s why you didn’t see a write-up of one of my best events of the season….
THE UNRUN RACE
The Muscle Car Monster’s Ball didn’t happen. I prepped for it, got all the Group A cars oiled and lined up for it and made up a spreadsheet for race times, but I never got around to running it. I just didn’t have the time. With all the craziness going on at work in addition to travel and spending time with friends, including those visiting from out of town, I’m afraid its going to be like this for the rest of the year, dear readers. The 1986 Muscle Car Monster’s Ball will have to wait until next year…
This lack of time is causing things to stack up in the queue. For example: the 3D printed carnival rides I talked about in this post, for which I paid hundreds of $$$ and waited over 6 months to get, have finally arrived…and I haven’t even done anything with them yet. A post is coming up very soon displaying these pieces because they are AWESOME, but so far they are out of the box but not much more. I hope to get to this sometime in November, but the way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes me until January to finish this cool new element of the diorama. I will finish it, but I want to do it right, and that takes time…something I’m very short on right now.
And that’s not all that’s short! There is good news in that, due to being a senior employee, I got the time I requested for X-mas vacation so I’m going home to be with family for the holidays! YAYYY! But, that also meant buying plane tickets and making travel arrangements, which cost me nearly another grand. BOOOO! That, on top of many other expenses over the last month, are leaving little scratch left over for toys.
And the new Cure album just dropped last night! So now that’s another thing I have spend money on! Oh, woe is me, indeed!
1:43 Diversion?
Even with funds being short, I’ve taken a little detour away from my 1:64 world lately to jump on some good deals on vintage Corgi’s that came up for sale online! This white Mercedes 220SE coupe had already arrived; purchased and en route for delivery are a quartet of Land Rovers, a lot of 5 ‘60s sports cars, and a rough but very cool ‘66 Mustang fastback. All these are “distressed” models showing a lot of playwear, but I got them cheap, and they will make great toys for my bears to play with while they hang out with me down in the toy room on Saturday mornings!
Time for an UPGRADE!
Lastly, I am out of space on my WordPress account; this post represents the last amount of space I have, so I now have to upgrade. The monthly rate doesn’t seem that bad, but that’s a panacea, because they want it all at once in a lump sum, which means that’s several hundred more $$$’s that have to come out of the toy money! I’m gonna do it, though, so by the end of this weekend I’ll have the capacity to do a redesign to my blog. As to when that will happen: I’m targeting the first week of January 2025 to unveil a new look. But don’t worry, dear readers, I won’t be changing things all that much, because I don’t believe in change for change’s sake. My brand of pragmatism may not in vogue in these days of technology that changes every week, but I’m nothing if not consistent!
But Wait, There’s More!
But that’s not all! There’s more vintage toy goodness right around the corner, and over the next few days I’ll be doing some more unboxing and presenting! Since I’m not finding the time for racing and building, buying and opening and planning is the next best thing: there’s some cool vintage Hot Wheels Redlines coming, and there just may be another addition to The Road Crew! So, all this “Adulting” I have to do is cutting deeply into my time with both my toys and this blog, but don’t dispair, dear readers:
That is harsh about the relentless work schedule and hope you are holding up in spite of the long hours. It’s awesome that your still able to get out and have some fun with friends and it looks like a great night and fab costume! The long awaited carnival rides is something really exciting and will look fantastic at Drag City! I know you have been eagerly awaiting them and they look great! I heard about the new Cure album too and looking forward to hearing it. The new additions, especially those trucks are great. I have a similar Mercedes in blue from Dinky which I think you have as well and this Corgi version is neat! I love the decals too, just lots to like here. I’ll be making my Christmas flight plans as well and know you’ll have a great time with the family!