whoo hoo! now after all the hullaballoo, we had many requests for tshirts. how many people want them? how many should we order? the seattle shop has our screen ready for more prints, it's just a matter of choosing sizes and colors and sending him money via paypal. just let me know.

i was also thinking that we should divi up the goods off the ship after kenna's party. rebecca's brother wanted a cannon. i think we should give one to jason as well. i was also thinking of giving something to beulahland if they wanted... a cannon or the crow's nest or something. does nancy want her bust back? we could hang her bust up in a bar if she doesn't want it back.

all just ideas... let me know what you think. also, what to do with the ship itself after this weekend?

Woo hoo!! Drunken Monkey Knife Fight took the trophy for Best Art Car. No way!

The competition was fierce. FIERCE, I tell you. I don't know how we won. Perhaps the devil is in the details: we had a port hole (sans actual hole), a rope ladder, waves, drunken monkeys knife fighting in the crow's nest, water balloon cannons, courtesy of my friend Howdy -- and don't forget the figurehead, a bust of the busty miss Nancy, most popular girl on the mountain. She had quite a few admirers that day, I can assure you.

But the other cars were great, too. The fly with disco ball eyes and insanely plush pimpin' interior, the Sandy Hut, the pirhana, the enormously long dragon, the big bottle o' scotch, the viking ship... So much work went into yesterday; it's a wonder we all pulled it off. Well done, everyone. Well done.

And it should be noted that Crystal totally rocks. She put in more hours than any of us and we wouldn't have had a car without her. Our trophy totally goes on her mantle.

Okay, the big race is tomorrow. We're excited.

We went on a test run yesterday and the steering BROKE. Holy cow! So, the amazing Miss Crystal, with some help from Brian of Smart Patrol fame, got the steering back in order this afternoon.

I'm still not sure if I'm going to drive -- I'm in a walking cast and the doctor said my broken leg looks good, even though it's broken, so I may try to drive anyhow. I'm playing it by ear. Safety and the healing process are, of course, my primary concern. Duh. (Though I guess if I were one to really really play it safe, I wouldn't have signed up to plummet down the side of a dormant volcano in the first place, but enough about that).

Drunken Monkey Knife Fight! Pillage! Plunder! Woo hoo!!!!!

So, there's good news and bad news. The good news is, I came up with an idea for how to secure the emergency brake so it doesn't slide around all over the place. The bad news is that I came up with this idea in the ER after breaking my fibula. That's the little bone in the leg. I twisted it apart down by the ankle while playing volleyball last night.

So, I can't drive the soapbox car. Crappiest. Timing. Ever.

Still, I'll just hang out with Chris and Becky and drink beer and take pain meds -- I'll be one happy camper. Also, I can paint my cast to look like a peg leg, so that'll be fun. (Crystal, I'm going to need some help with that). I'm going in for a permanent cast tomorrow afternoon. That's about all I know. I'm not in much pain, and Ransom's off getting me Motrin and crutches, so I'm in good hands.

Sadly, we didn't make it for our test run last night. We wanted to make sure that the emergency brake was working and by the time we cut out two tiny metal holes, it was getting dark. Foo. Stupid metal. My favorite part was when Kenna and I were mini-lumberjacks with the hacksaw blade and two pairs of plyers.

So, no test run, but pictures:

 

 

Okay, our arsenal will be mailed off today. The cannons will be delivered to me at work on Wednesday. Woo hoo!!

My, she's yar.

Okay, so our pirate ship is almost structurally complete. We didn't make it for a test run last night because the emergency braking system took longer than anticipated (and we were way more tired than anticipated). I think we'll all be happy when race day finally arrives and we can't possibly spend any more time on The Pretty Disaster.

BUT, we're planning to take her for a test drive down Mt. Tabor as soon as we can. We'll post photos and maybe even some video if my digital camera behaves itself. And she's a beauty, if I do say so myself. We've got gunwales and masts and, of course, our cap'n's wheel. There's booty and, oh yeah, the thing is HUGE. We took it for a test drive down the street yesterday and it's almost as wide as a small car. Very roomy (which is good because we'll need lots of room for the cannons). Also, the steering works really really well (yay!) and the brakes even worked like the champs that they are. We'll still want the emergency brakes, but it looks like things are in really good shape.

Oh, and starboard is right, port is left. Just so you know.

Okay, photos. Finally. Click for larger images. I'll try to get some more posted soon (I'm tired and going to bed now).


Drunken Monkey Knife Fight takes on Home Depot.


Ahoy!


Hammering away.


Boat of car!!!

So, here's the status: steering works, except the set screw doesn't like to stay put. We might have to drill a screw all the way through the copper tubing. Copper may look pretty, but it's not the sturdiest metal in the world. Brakes work if we tighten up the cables, which we did. Crystal and I devised a plan for an emergency brake that will be operated by the second rider/artillery woman. One side is almost completely on. Crow's nest is complete. Treasure has been hidden safely within the ship. I'm optimistic about our test run on Sunday!

They're HERE!! the tshirts, that is. Kenna tried her's on last nite and looked fabulous. Mine fit fine and Jason was happy with his as well. neat!

on another note: does anyone remember if we actually turned in our forms yet?