i finally took the time today to fix my car’s side skirt which had come off during last Friday’s storm. it ended up being much simpler than i had expected but still every big as annoying as i had to zip tie the skirt down to prevent it from coming off again.

some idiot had his car alarm go off about a thousand times last night. you know how car alarms are typically relatively smooth, rhythmic affairs? well, this particular one sounded like there was a man trapped inside the car with mustard gas seeping slowly in through the vents, spitting cobras coiling around his legs and jungle cockroaches dropping from the ceiling.

however, after a few minutes of frantic honking, i would hear who i assumed to be the owner go downstairs to blip his key fob and stop the alarm. things would be quiet for about 20 minutes before the alarm started up again. it went on like this for about six hours.

and then again this morning.

i was supposed to pick up some of my friends at O’Hare last night but the entire airport decided to shut down because of a little rain. okay, it wasn’t just a little rain. rather, it was a real “sinners in the hands of an angry god” kind of thunderstorm complete with rampant flooding and extremely limited visibility.

Beka and i actually made it to the airport on time. on time for my friend to call me and say that their flight had been rerouted to Milwaukee but that they would catch a bus to ORD. seeing as how it would be at least a couple of hours before they would arrive, Beka and i decided to head back home.

on the unanticipated hour and a half drive back, we were turned around several times after having encountered flooded roads before one of the side skirts on my car came off and began dragging on the pavement, forcing me to go out into the pouring rain to secure it with bungee cord. by the time we got back, my clothes and hair were soaked, my elbow was bruised from working on the car and my bad hip was throbbing like crazy from the extreme changes in air pressure.

they had to take a cab in the end. ugh.

every race weekend, i wonder how the majority of North Americans could overlook something as incredibly exciting as MotoGP or even AMA Superbike in favor of watching a bunch of mouth-breathing yokels drive big, heavy cars in an enormous circle. it’s like sitting down to a gourmet dinner and only tasting the spoon.

now this is what i’m talking about: the Honda Integra Type R, and the rare four-door version to boot. i spotted this little charmer in Hong Kong last November and had to do a double take, checking the lug nuts and such to make sure it was the genuine article. well, it is (as far as i can tell) and i’m pleased to say that it’s the first Integra Type R sedan i’ve ever seen in the wild.

getting fired up for Spain versus the Netherlands tomorrow. also, Chrysler mercifully ended production of the PT Cruiser yesterday. what an exciting weekend this has turned out to be.