Cable Modem Internet: The DSL experiment is over and I’m back at the old provider at a way lower price. I’ll never badmouth cable-provided internet…for a while. My tech experience featured a polite Irishman from a Texas-based call center. He kept inviting me to enjoy a cup of coffee while he pushed buttons on the other end. It’s too hot for coffee.
Upstairs Neighbors: My face to face contact with the folks who occupy the apartment above mine is minimal. Not much beyond a hello or a nod. That’s enough to trust each other with packages and mail collection. How do they know I won’t root through their bills?
Movie Theaters: Every time I attend a movie, I say “We should do this more often.” Then we’ll do it again…twelve months later.
Sweating: It’s not terribly humid these days, but it seems like I can’t cross the street without perspiring. It doesn’t appear that I’m out of shape; nor do I lose my breath. Growing up sucks.
Playing Outside:
I spent many summer days during my youth running around this forest and swamp. We went from exploring the paths to playing with fireworks and from there we would video tape our genius idea.
That made running around this forest all the more fun. No fireworks, though. We’re too smart for that.
All star break + Vacation means there isn’t too much to look for, but we’ve got plenty of catching up.
Week in Review: Since the break, the Crew is 4-0 on the road and at the start of play today will need only one win to be .500 on the road. Much has changed since the last update with the acquisition of CC Sabathia and Ray Durham. The Sabathia acquisition so far has paid dividends with his 3 wins; two of which were complete games. Being only 2 games out of first place with games against St. Louis Houston and Chicago over the next ten days means this is a great opportunity to wrestle away the division lead.
What Opposing Telecasts Tell Me: Having only seen last night’s ESPN game, it appears that Steve Phillips really wants to be a GM again.
Good Week: Rickie Weeks may or may not always be a “he’s go potential, just wait” guy but 6 RBI’s since the all star break to go along with an .OBP higher than season average might be a sign of bigger things to come.
Scufflers: I can’t find a goat during this winning streak, so I’ll preemptively predict a terrible start from Jeff Suppan tonight. He has somehow found himself as the weakest link in what’s currently a solid rotation.
The Week Ahead: Three more against the Cards before heading home to face the Astros and Cubs. Big week…big week!
…and finally.
If I could teach myself to throw whiffle balls like this, I would…broken shoulder and all….
Ruby Wilder: My friend Brooke wrote and directed the play which runs now until August 10th. It’s dark, it’s clever, it’s funny, and there’s a gun!
Salad: After a marathon vacation where diet isn’t always the best, I’ve successfully consumed salads on a near daily-basis. I’m starting to grow weary of eating salad at lunch or dinner, but what I do know is that my body appreciates the bird food.
Chicago Fire Soccer: A long trek to seldom visited Bridgeview, IL featured two fubol squads battling to a 0-0 tie. Whew. Much to my surprise, a riot did not ensue. As for the quality of the game, it seemed like more goals should have been scored…like more than none.
Redbox: So you go to the grocery store, press a few buttons and a dvd pops out. There’s something really impersonal about renting a DVD from a vending machine, but it seems popular enough to not be routinely vandalized by teens.
Zappos.com: Sure, you take a chance ordering shoes that might not fit you, but with free shipping in both directions it’s worth a shot. I ordered a pair at 4:45pm last Tuesday and the shoes were on my doorstep by 1pm Wednesday. Enjoy it while it lasts, folks. Seems too efficient to be true.
