While everyone else on the staff here at Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords magazine has had the opportunity to go to the SEMA and PRI shows many times over, as the newbie here (though I have been here almost 2 years counting intern time), I sit here at a hotel room desk in a suburb of Los Angeles, California on the eve of the MPMC show. Okay, I must admit, I could have gone to the SEMA show this year, but something (like my nuptials) got in the way. Oh well, maybe next year. I have to admit, it was a bit unsettling getting ready for this shindig. If I am going to a local shop for an install or traveling to a race, I know exactly what to bring and expect. After all, I have done both of those things numerous times. When it came time to pack and prepare for a trade show such as MPMC, it was a whole different ball game. Throw in the fact that once I got off of a plane 6 hours after I would step onto it in Newark, New Jersey, it would be a different climate. Talk about a different world. When I boarded the plane for LA this morning, it was a mere 25 or so degrees at 6:00 AM. LA at 12:00 noon? Try a balmy 50. Time to break out the shorts! Either way, while I miss the wife, this is an exciting time not only for myself, but for all of you Mustang lovers out there. For the next three days, myself and Associate Editor Steve Baur will be sitting down with representatives from companies such as Aeromotive, Nitto Tires, and other high-profile aftermarket companies to get the 4-1-1 on some hot new items and ideas. Hopefully we can score some tech article ideas at the same time and put these hot new products to use. After all, how are we going to know how good those new set of CNC heads are if we don’t test them on the dyno and at the strip, right? Well, time to sign off. Still on East Coast time and ready for my midnight snack, even though it’s only 6:30 PM out here. My internal clock is going to need lots of caffeine in the morning, but it’s all good. Now if I could only figure out the time zone thing correctly so I don’t wake up the missus at 3 AM Eastern time…