What did you do this weekend?

Checked the weather on Thursday and it said this weekend would be a downright pleasant 90F/32C, so the guys and I decided to go on a junkyard run.
I did not check the weather before the weekend arrived.
It was not 90F, it was closer to 100F/38C with zero wind.
The cold front that was expected this weekend is slated to arrive tomorrow.

Junkyard run happened anyway. During which I discover some bad news, my absolute favorite junkyard closed down during COVID and was sold. New owners have a larger yard a couple of miles away and are bringing cars from the original yard over "a little at a time" which means not at all and only to be crushed to make way for newer stuff. The old junkyard was full of interesting and old imported cars, the stuff that people like me love. The new yard is typical boring 10-15 year old American cars that get stripped of parts over a short period then crushed to be recycled. Tis a sad day for junkyard parts.

Between the three of us we have about a dozen cars (not including things that are just commuter cars for driving around), we also all modify the cars in various ways with various parts from various different makes and models (one of my projects-in-progress has 19 major parts from 14 different models and 8 different makes, so far). A lot of junkyards want to take an order at the counter, like an auto parts shop, go pull the part for you, and you leave. We like to walk around the yard as it's fun to us, we see lots of possibilities for what can be done with parts that were never meant to be on a different model, just talk about cars or whatever else, and we happily bring our own tools to remove the parts ourselves. So going to a new yard there's always the first question of whether it's a counter order or pull-it-yourself yard. One of the problems with counter order is that the yard's inventory may not be up to date if they have an inventory book/computer at all. So many times I've asked about a specific car and the guy just thinks to himself and says yes or no. He's often very wrong.

So the first stop was closed, we went to the new larger yard and they had nothing of interest and it wasn't organized.
Second stop was a make specific yard that has changed their hours to be weekday only. I didn't have high hopes for this place as they're well known to buy up enthusiast cars and sell parts for way too much on ebay and the like, but they've clearly changed policies/hours to not be for the DIY car enthusiast.
Next stop let us walk around and was the only place we actually picked up parts. Found a 1996 Pontiac Bonneville with oddly low miles (90k) in great shape, with GM's 3.8L V6 and a nice M62 supercharger sitting on top. About 25 minutes of wrenching and $50 later it was mine (good for $300-400 if I sold it/had to buy it from someone else). No project in mind just yet, but it'll go on the shelf to await one. While cooling off in the shade, because the Bonneville was one car away from being under a tree and was facing the sun, I noticed a turbocharged Cobalt that had the engine removed, but the aftermarket front mount intercooler remained. Another part for the shelf to await a project and a good find at $40 (runs $350 new, $250 used).
Last stop of the day was a yard we didn't know existed until we were in the area and it popped up on the map. This place had initial promise, that turned out to be nothing but frustration. First the place had this massive amount of incredibly fine dust everywhere. My shoes were a different color when we left. They had some things we all wanted, but everything we asked about was either owned by someone that wasn't there (this lot was odd, one person owned the property, but several people used sections of it as their junkyard business) or we were told "not for sale". Not sure how they run a business when nothing can be purchased. There was a very sweet junkyard pup there though.
Called it a day and went to lunch and got boba tea from a place that makes their boba in house and it's just amazingly flavorful.

Sunday went for pedicures with the wife and headed to my tattoo artist for our next session, only for him to call me to say we'll have to reschedule as he drove all the way to the shop, an hour one way for him, only to find he left the keys to the studio at his house. He's a great guy, great artist, great attitude, but, like a lot of artists, not well organized. Doesn't matter to me, just feel bad for him having driven all that way just to have to turn back around and go home. It also messes with his headspace and he very much likes to be in the right frame of mind when he's tattooing (can't fault him for that) and throws his whole vibe off.

I saw Armand Hammer and Open Mike Eagle, with The Alchemist, and it was a great show. Akai Solo opened, and while I can't say I'm into his stuff he's a great performer.

The main show was amazing. Open Mike Eagle played a bunch of great stuff like "The Processional," "Legendary Iron Hood" and "No Selling," and Armand Hammer ran through their "Haram" album with some of their individual tracks. I can't tell which ELUCID track it was because I apparently missed his album, but billy woods did his track "Spongebob" off of "Hiding Places." I always felt billy's delivery was "aggressive" on his albums, but what really clicked was he's giving the same energy on the album that he gives on stage, which is great, as not many artists do things like that. OME is an example where his albums tend to be more laid back, while he's very amped up when performing.

Around the concert I busted my ass on school work because I've been constantly behind from my weekends being kind of busy. I'm finally getting all organized and caught up.

I went to an art museum and listened to their audio tour on their app. It's amazing what each artist choses to focus on and I got to notice small details in each piece. I wish their audio blurbs were longer. But I guess that means that I can't wait to go again!

Had my “stag weekend” before my (now postponed) commitment ceremony. We rented a farmhouse in the Virginia mountains, rode bikes along the river, and played a game called We’re Not Really Strangers. All-in-all a great weekend with friends doing things I enjoy doing.