Focus on the Positive

So much crap has been going on lately, mainly having to do with work issues that I’m not going to talk about, and I need to focus on the positive things so that I don’t go walking around like Dark Cloud all the time.
First and foremost, congratulations to the Ratkowskis on the arrival of their new baby boy, Samuel Edmund!  Everyone is happy and healthy, which is great news.
We had a good weekend’s worth of activities.  We managed to hit Costco for some essentials, arriving just before they closed, so the lines weren’t awful.  We also bought a brand new grill from Lowe’s, which I am very excited about (especially since it was essentially free, thanks to anniversary gift cards and money!  Thanks everyone!).  Naturally, the box was too big to fit into our Intrepid, so I had to take it all out of the box to fit it in.  That probably looked a bit strange to the people in the parking lot.  The assembly was pretty easy, if you overlook the fact that the labels on the legs were switched, and the left leg was actually the right and vice-versa.  They had it wrong in the manual too, so I chalked it up to the fact that the grill was made in China.  We hooked it up to the propane tank from the old grill, and it fired right up.  We enjoyed steak and burgers on the grill the past two nights, and they were delicious.  With the 90+ degree heat of the past few days, it also helps to be able to cook on the grill to keep the house from getting too hot.
On Sunday morning, our baseball team rallied from a 9-2 deficit to win 15-11.  I had an awful day at the plate, striking out twice and walking once.  I made up for it though by scoring two runs (one in a pinch running situation for our catcher) and playing great in the field.  I played the entire game at third base, and finally felt really comfortable there.  I caught two easy popups, snared a sharp grounder to my left, and also fielded a grounder that turned into the old “step on third, throw to first” double play to kill a rally.
On Monday, we headed down to Alexandria to see the Godspeed replica.  The line in the 94 degree heat was way too long for Ellie though, so we just had to look at it from afar.  Pretty nifty ship though I can’t imagine sailing it across an ocean for 4 months.  We had a nice picnic in the shade and ice cream afterward, so it was a fun day.
Also this past week, I picked up some “Maibock” beer from Norm’s Beer and Wine in Vienna.  Maibock is a German tradition which obviously comes out every May.  They had a nice example from Victory Brewing Company that I enjoyed: very malty, and strong in alcohol, while not neglecting the hops.  I plan on heading back to Norm’s some time in the next week or so to pick up some refreshing Weisse or Hefeweizen for the summer.  All of this, naturally, comes as a nice side effect of being in the process of reading Michael Jackson’s Beer Companion.  I highly recommend it.
We’ve got a busy weekend ahead too, with a company picnic on Saturday, and a block party and baseball game on Sunday so there should be lots more positive stuff to come.

O Canada

I know, most people aren’t paying attention to hockey right now. I’m only watching the occasional Sabres game because MSU alum Ryan Miller is their goalie. But a couple of weeks ago, the Edmonton Oilers were playing the San Jose Sharks in San Jose. As is tradition, when a Canadian team is playing, both the US and Canadian national anthems are sung. Sharks fans booed the entire time Annmarie Martin was singing ‘O Canada.’ Seriously, how lame do you have to be to boo Canada? What a bunch of losers.
The response of the fans in Edmonton was admirable. They didn’t boo the US anthem in their next game. Presented below, for your viewing enjoyment, is a video of the fans singing at Tuesday’s game against the Mighty Ducks, the Oilers first home game of this series. When was the last time you heard US fans singing their anthem so loud?
Watch

Weird Repetitive Injuries

I swear, I get the weirdest injuries, especially ones caused by the repeated movements required by some sports or recreational activities.  For example, throwing darts.  How do you hurt yourself throwing darts?  Well, let me fill you in.  The motion of throwing a dart is different from other throwing motions.  This motion requires you to flick out your arm toward the dart board.  For some reason, this motion, after a few games, will cause my bicep to get really sore, so much so that I have trouble using it the rest of the day.  I also have thrown my arm out playing softball and baseball that if I don’t warm up properly, one throw can leave me sore for the rest of the season.
This morning, I discovered another weird injury while playing ultimate frisbee.  I’ve had a sore calf for a couple of weeks and couldn’t pinpoint what was causing it.  The weird thing was that it was sort of on the outside of my right calf, not the meat of the muscle itself.  Turns out it was throwing the frisbee.  When throwing it, especially long throws, I step forward, and plant my right foot sideways.  On a particular long throw this morning, I felt a tweak in the exact spot I’ve been sore.
So there you go.  I’m probably the only guy who can get a repetitive-type injury from throwing darts, and in his leg from throwing a frisbee.

Recommended

If you missed the Lost season finale, go watch it now.  It’s available on ABC.com, so you have no excuses.  Totally awesome, and I thought ten times better than last season’s finale.  Are there unresolved questions?  Of course, otherwise it wouldn’t be a cliffhanger.  But so much actually happens, it’s totally worth it.  My copy of “Bad Twin” just arrived at the library, so I’ll be busy reading that so that I can keep up with the alternate-reality game, The Lost Experience, this summer.
Also recommended, Hampton Bay lighting.  A long time ago, we bought a new light for our kitchen (the old one was bare fluorescent bulbs).  Not long after we got it, the glass just fell off the light and came crashing down onto the floor.  WTF?  I chalked it up to poor installation by me, and figured we’d call and order a replacement glass part.  A long time later, Lisa finally remembers to dig up the info, calls them up, and they say they’ll send out a replacement part, for free!  It arrived yesterday, extremely carefully packed in bubble wrap, styrofoam, a box, newspaper around that box, and another box.  I very carefully put it up last night, and it seriously looks so much better than bare bulbs.  Of course, the light is slightly dimmer with the frosted glass, but I think we can live with that.

Almost made it

Yesterday was a better day than I’ve been having lately, for the most part.  I got a lot of stuff done, including some stuff that I thought would take a lot longer than it actually did.  But then, around 4pm, it came crashing down.  I got a bunch of new work foisted on me, and it’s just annoying because it’s essentially work covering for someone else’s sloppiness, which is just a pain.  The worst part is that the bosses haven’t addressed the sloppy worker, and instead are trying to get me to make it so foolproof that the person can’t make mistakes.  And as Silvermoon’s law says: Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

Things I Missed This Weekend

The horror of Barbaro’s broken leg.  Poor horse.  Surgery was “successful,” but we have to wait to see how the blood supply is.
The first regular season Nats/O’s series.  Amazingly, the Nats took two out of three.
The Mets/Yankees series.  I caught the scores, and saw that Posada was hurt, but didn’t get to watch any of the game.
Any TV season finales from the past week (Amazing Race and Alias are the big ones I think)
What I didn’t miss:
Game 7 of the Pistons/Cavs series.  In HD!  The one great thing about staying at the in-laws: HDTV.  Amazing stuff.
The groom’s dad sneaking everyone a bit of hard alcohol during the wedding.  The wedding was held at the University of Michigan Student Union, and they only had beer and wine (not sure if the choices were driven by the venue or what).  The groom’s dad had a brown paper bag he was walking around with, so there was some hard stuff around.  When he got to me, he filled my water glass to the brim with Bacardi Gold.  The rest was for the dollar dance.  Give them a dollar, do a shot, then dance with the bride or groom.  Fun wedding.  Only a bit of a headache after drinking that whole glass of rum.
A total of probably 20 hours in the car.  Ellie was really good on the way up there, but the second half of the return drive was rough.  She did not want to be in that car any more, and I couldn’t blame her.
The DaVinci Code.  We actually got to see the movie the weekend it came out.  Like the book, the critics panned it, but it’s a huge success.  I thought it was pretty good, and I had read the book a while ago, so I found it entertaining to remember all the stuff from there.  I loved that they subtitled the French conversations, instead of just having them speak in English with French accents.
Did I miss anything else?

Things I Missed This Weekend

The horror of Barbaro’s broken leg.  Poor horse.  Surgery was “successful,” but we have to wait to see how the blood supply is.
The first regular season Nats/O’s series.  Amazingly, the Nats took two out of three.
The Mets/Yankees series.  I caught the scores, and saw that Posada was hurt, but didn’t get to watch any of the game.
Any TV season finales from the past week (Amazing Race and Alias are the big ones I think)
What I didn’t miss:
Game 7 of the Pistons/Cavs series.  In HD!  The one great thing about staying at the in-laws: HDTV.  Amazing stuff.
The groom’s dad sneaking everyone a bit of hard alcohol during the wedding.  The wedding was held at the University of Michigan Student Union, and they only had beer and wine (not sure if the choices were driven by the venue or what).  The groom’s dad had a brown paper bag he was walking around with, so there was some hard stuff around.  When he got to me, he filled my water glass to the brim with Bacardi Gold.  The rest was for the dollar dance.  Give them a dollar, do a shot, then dance with the bride or groom.  Fun wedding.  Only a bit of a headache after drinking that whole glass of rum.
A total of probably 20 hours in the car.  Ellie was really good on the way up there, but the second half of the return drive was rough.  She did not want to be in that car any more, and I couldn’t blame her.
The DaVinci Code.  We actually got to see the movie the weekend it came out.  Like the book, the critics panned it, but it’s a huge success.  I thought it was pretty good, and I had read the book a while ago, so I found it entertaining to remember all the stuff from there.  I loved that they subtitled the French conversations, instead of just having them speak in English with French accents.
Did I miss anything else?

Are You Kidding Me?

Great day so far.  Not.
We had to drop the Intrepid off at the shop.  It was a scheduled thing for an oil change and some other stuff, but it may end up costing us some decent money.  Plus, when we got home last night, we discovered that Ellie had been playing in the car, and one of the interior lights had been on.  All. Weekend.  Ugh.
My badge wouldn’t let me into my office.
There’s two notes on my desk again, so before I even sit down, I’m pissed off. 
Our rained out baseball game was rescheduled for the exact day and time as our annual block party.
I think that’s it, for now.  Makes me real glad I’m back from my one day off.

A Little Better

I’m feeling a bit better today.  We played Ultimate Frisbee this morning, which is always fun.  I almost didn’t drag myself out of bed, which would have been a mistake.  Of course, I’ve had this nagging calf strain that isn’t any better after frisbee, and it’s on my right calf, which means that driving for 8+ hours later today is going to be real fun.
The big reason I’m happy is that we went to the midwives at BirthCare last night and heard Baby D’s fetal heartbeat!  They couldn’t find it the first time, which had Lisa a little worried, but this time, there was no problem.  In case you were wondering, Lisa is planning on doing a home birth this time.  She was really ticked that the doctors induced her with Ellie, so she’s all about the total control this time.
Name suggestions are welcomed.  Right now, we’re leaning toward Evan if it’s a boy.  With Ellie, we were fortunate that she was a girl, because we had no boy names picked out.  This time, it looks like we’ll hope for boy, because we’re not coming up with any girl names.  Either way, it’s very exciting, and no, we’re not finding out the sex beforehand, so don’t even ask.

No, Really

This day could not possibly end fast enough for me right now.