On Sunday I attended the 4th Annual Rotor Fest with the Central Florida Rotary Crew. Wow! What a turn out! Dozens of rotary powered cars of all years, makes and models! For those who don’t know, the Orlando rotary scene is predominantly Puerto Rican. So I’m generally one of the few white dudes in attendance and certainly the tallest person! The Central Florida Rotary Family is such a great group of people and I always feel very honored when I have the opportunity to spend a day with them!

This was my first year attending Sibling Rivalry 6 and as I drove up in my beloved FD3S RX7 I wondered how I would be treated at an event that was primarily aimed at Toyota owners. I’m very pleased to say that no one on the staff batted an eye and throughout the evening no one had anything negative to say about a Mazda being in attendance…on the contrary a number of people complimented the car as it was the only 3rd Gen in attendance.

Where to start? Apparently the Sibling Rivalry car show began at a local dealership and outgrew the location. For the last year or two the event has taken place at a private garage in the heart of downtown Jacksonville. Being at the top of the garage surrounded by cars, enthusiasts and other activities while backed by the Jacksonville skyline is a experience to be had!

As noted, Sibling Rivalry 6 is a car show but also a celebration of what many consider the tuner lifestyle. There were vendors and break dancing and DJ’s. The event came across as very well organized and the staff seemed to be on top of the varied needs of the attendees…they even had free food…which elicited a long line as temperatures dropped.

The vast majority of cars in attendance were “show” cars. Cars with crazy paint, tv’s, flashing LEDs and more. Not my style but I can appreciate and respect the time and money put into their vehicles. Probably 20% of the cars in attendance were what I would call performance cars. There were some nice Supras and old school Toyotas but I was very impressed by the MR2s in attendance…some serious HP numbers packed into those little cars.

Overall this was the most impressive and fun car event I’ve attended in a long time. Due to the warm reception by everyone in attendance I’m very excited to attend the event next year and hopefully bring along some more of my rotary brethren.

After a few hours of poking through car parts, I headed to Orlando. My friend Tracy had some things going on over the weekend so the only day I thought we were going to be able to hang out was Thursday. We had a great time hanging out and laughing. Tracy’s Mom showed up for the weekend to spend time with Tracy and we all went out to Tijuana Flats…which is kind of like the Mexican Mellow Mushroom.

On Friday I headed out to lunch with Rush at the Mellow Mushroom and we caught up on life and business and such. That evening I went out in Baldwin Park…the nice area with Tracy lives for dinner. I sat outside and looked over the lake and just…relaxed. I really love the area she lived in and I’d love to be there. I think it would be great to relax and work on the porch or look over the lake and have things to do.

Saturday morning I woke up and headed to a big RX7 parts meet in Orlando. I met a lot of great people and sold a few parts. It was a loooooooong day! I went back to Tracy’s house and crashed for about 30 minutes. I woke up to fresh Chicken and Dumplings cooked by Tracy’s Mom and decided I was awake enough to head back to Gainesville…so I did.

Each time I go to Orlando I really have a great time. More and more I feel like I need to live someplace different and leave Gainesville. I’m just tired of being here after 14 years. I guess we will see what opportunities come around in 2011 and where they take me.

Unfortunately I also am very practical and could not see paying the going rate for one so eventually I found a deal…quite simply it might be the cheapest peice ever on one. The exchange of course is the car is in very rough shape…but part of the joy for me is taking something that should probably be scrapped but is very rare and restoring it with my own hands.

Continued to strip down one of the RX7s today. Only engine, tranny, rear end, and brakes to go!

Headed over to Shawn’s to watch the fights tonight. I’ve been so weird the last week, I actually WANT to be around people. Generally I’m not concerned one way or the other. I think it might be a combination of wanting to GTFO of Gainesville or at least move in with my friend Josh. All of which will probably become a possibility in the next week along with a great new many possibilities opening up.

I’m excited about being in Orlando next week and doing the Surf Expo plus seeing Rush, Tracey, Todd, and Dawn. I’m getting a little nervous about my technology talk. Apparently it is going to be one of the largest crowds they’ve ever had and they might have to move to a larger conference space to fit everyone in! Yikes! Guess this is a topic of interest! I’m bringing my A-game!

So after a week I finally have all my backups and such reinstalled on my backup machine which is actually nicer than my primary machine (but I just like my little toasters).

In the meantime, during the past week, I had a client back out of a NICE project at the last moment, the girl I’ve been training in kickboxing for the last 2 months…who I finally had thought regained her confidence…is apparently speaking to the guy who has made her an emotional wreck over the last 18 month again. After staying away from him for 4 months. It sucks as this person has been my friend for ten years but I can’t train or be around someone who has such little respect for themselves or lack of confidence.

Somehow I can do shrugs or deadlifts at the gym with hundreds of pounds at the gym no problem but sitting down in my chair I manage to pull my back.

Um…I think that is all for right now…I think there was something else however.

Hopefully things are turning around as today I ran into my old kickboxing coach at the gym which was cool…maybe I’ll start that up again. I also managed to get the aluminum hood on my car (although I still need to paint it) so that is like 20 pounds lighter than my old hood! I might actually get my replacement fender on this week as well!

July 4th started off with a bang…literally! Megan, her family, friends and I drove down to Orlando for the US Open Karate Tournament. Now I have to admit, I hate traditional martial arts since 99% of them don’t teach you anything useful. As long as you go every month and pay your dues, you get your black belt in a couple of years.

Megan was doing a “continuous fighting” match which isn’t too tough but it isn’t as pussy as point sparring is. I genuinely wasn’t worried about her winning as for the last two months I had been training her as a kickboxer…not the chump ass karate styles she would be facing. Furthermore, due to her height, Megan had a natural advantage over most competitors.

When it was time for the fight, I was about ready to throw up. I think I was more nervous than Megan was. I was truly worried she was going to get DQ’d for being a “fighter” if she beat up her opponent too badly. Well…Megan did everything I taught her to and dominated her fight. I think she got hit twice! It was awesome! I did feel sorry for her opponent though who got knocked out.

That night I went over to Jenny’s house (Kyle…as in Megan’s brother…girlfriend) and we had a big bonfire/cookout with Jenny’s family, the Pratts, and other friends…it was a great time!

Saturday morning I woke up and Cris invited me canoing spur of the moment. It was a fun three hours heading up river, visiting with naked Ed, seeing tons of turtles, and just relaxing. The Springs felt GREAT after paddling in the hot sun. I love spending time with Cris…one of my favorite people on the planet!

After the canoe excursion, I went back to the Pratt’s and began bodywork on my convertible. I tool off the damaged passenger fender and front bumper for replacement or repair. That night I watched UFC with Megan and Brian.

Sunday I woke up, headed over to Cris’s for a little bit, and then came home to do so cleaning. I did manage to fuck up my work computer something awful and I still haven’t recovered everything yet. Oh well!

I had a restless night of “sleep” and didn’t go to bed until about 5AM. I woke up at 9AM, washed the convertible, and met up with Tory to go the Tampa Racing Mazda BBQ. I was a bit disappointed by the turnout as I expected around 30 – 50 cars and I think there may have been 15 and only about a 1/2 dozen 7′s. We get more than that at the meets I setup in Gainesville. Still a good time.

After the meet I drove to Orlando to hang out with Dr. Smith who I hadn’t seen in 2 years. Between Tracy and Rush, I’ve now got a great reason to keep visiting O-town (even though I agree with my sister that it is kind of ghetto, but less snobby than Tampa) plus Ikea!

Tracy and I went out for Sushi and caught up and enjoyed or usual mutual humor. Highlights included me confusing a story of frozen iguanas falling from trees with a story about some of Tracy’s Hispanic clients and ending up with Mexican lizards. Later on Tracy referred to “The Holy Land Experience”, a religious attraction in Orlando, as “The Ned Flanders Family Park” which was a good Simpson’s reference. After dinner we met up with one of Tracy’s friends who was annoying but that really didn’t damper my fun. We went to an Irish Pub at Pleasure Island and hung out for a couple of hours listening to music.

Sunday (wow today) I woke up, had breakfast with Dawn, and went to Ikea to buy a bed. God Ikea is great for people like me who are poor but like nice looking furniture. While leaving Ikea, my sister Karen called and said she was in Orlando and had my Christmas present with her…which was an Ikea gift card…thanks ass…a month too late.

Utilizing creative packing, I managed to fit all of the bed components into the convertible with top down. One small problem…the forecast was rain. On the Turnpike between Orlando and Ocala it started to rain. I pulled into a gas station for gas and a Good Samaritan offered me some plastic to cover the bed frame parts.

Surprising note about the ‘vert. Almost no rain got into the car with the top down, even when pouring. The only reason my head got wet was, well because it sticks up above the windshield a bit! God I need to get a roll bar. So…I got a little extra bathing action plus countless bemused looks from other drivers on my way home. Once home it took about an hour to assemble the bed upon which I am currently residing comfortably as I type this. I’m hopefully going to Tampa in 2 weeks for Kim’s birthday and Gasparilla!

A very nice weekend!