Happy New Year! 2004 is nothing more then memories and pictures at this point. On the whole 04 was a good year. A lot of good things happened to/for me this year. Shannon and I moved into our first (and hopefully last) new house. Even though we ‘ordered it’ back in 2003, we didn’t actually get the house till 2004. New house, new cars (Shannons 04 Jetta TDI sport, and more recently my 03 GTI).
We have been fortunate enough to spend a great deal of time with our families and friends this year. Lots of get-togethers and parties. These are things you simply can’t do enough of. I was reunited I guess you could say, with one of my best friends, Kevin. We have since mended our fences, and have got to be very close again. I’ve missed having him around for the past 2 or so years, but now that he’s back it is like he never left. As for my other brothers, I don’t see them as often as I used to. With Alex, Adam and my schedules, its tough. Even though I don’t see them as often as I want, its nice knowing that they are always around if and when I need them. (and me for them!)
2005 promises to be a busy year. Jim_ and Alicia are getting married!; stuff to do around the house (basement, driveway, etc), and of course ongoing car projects.
Speaking of car projects, the beetle is slowly but surely coming along. Weather has killed productivity over the last month or so. Over the next month or so, I plan on sanding down the inside foot area in the front and painting it flat black to match the trunk up front. It will eventually be covered by carpet, so this is just to have a nice all over covering so it looks nice under the carpet.
The GTI has a long list of plans. Suspension, performance, body parts, the usual. This will be a project not unlike my Silverado. Allot of the same targets will be made with this car (low, loud, fast, sexy). Biggest difference will be time. Silverado was basically bought in the fall, and built over a summer. This project will be much slower. Money and other needs will slow it down. Also, I want to take the time to enjoy it. Last time I spent too much time trying to get ‘everything done now’, I missed out on the enjoyment I should have gotten from each mod. Mind you I was super happy when it was all together, I just felt like I rushed my time with it. That said, I have set myself to a monthly mod pace. For example, December, I bought a hatch spoiler, and January I bought a lower rear valance. February and March will likely be suspension and exhaust. Time will tell.
Shannon agrees this schedule is a good idea. However, She and I disagree about January. When I ordered something in December, and did not receive it till January, I consider the order/purchase date the actual date. She seems to think the date of receipt the date. Her logic finds me with 2 mods in January, where I see it as 1 in December and 1 In January.