Ugh, the Mudd-Dude gave me his cold, so I've been on the couch sniffling, sneezing, and watching girly movies all weekend. It's almost impossible to get pseudoephedrine in America anymore, which doesn't help at all.

I went to a dirt track speedway to watch some small town stock car racing Saturday night. It was a delicious slice of Americana, HURF DURF gasoline-eaters be damned. Watching Nascar on television is insanely boring and obscenely commercial but this was thrilling. Visceral.
The clear night, the crowd noise, the announcer’s constant chattering tinny over the PA, “gyet readeeey... for thirteeey... grinding, grueling, ground-pounding laps...” The rush of standing at the fence, 10 feet from these engines on wheels zooming by, vro-vroo-vrooomm, spinning out into minor crashes. One choice: Bud or Coors Light. Hot fresh french fries. Is it ok if I don’t feel guilty for enjoying the burning of fossil fuels this time?

I have a friend from Canada visiting me soon so I spent the weekend sorting out my bedroom, moving stuff around, giving everything a really good clean, including washing down the woodwork, vacuuming everywhere, even behind things, and taking my lovely lilac throw quilt to the launderette (laundromat to USians) to be washed. It's got cat-shaped marks on it where they've been sleeping and I want it all nice and clean for Margaret's visit. It's too big to fit in my washing machine.

The launderette I usually go to had a sign on it saying it had closed on 22 April. I was so disappointed. The lady who works there, Susie, is an absolute gem. She's in her late 70s, and you can tell that in her youth she was a beauty, she's still beautiful. She's a really interesting woman, and she has a pen pal who's a pilot in the US Air Force, so we usually have a good old chat about America. I'll miss seeing her.

So I drove to another place a couple of miles away, and they did a service wash for me, I went back a couple of hours later to pick up my nice clean quilt. I won't put it on the bed until Margaret's visit, to avoid muddy paw prints and cat dream-drool dirtying it.

I came home in a thunderstorm and settled down to watch the football. It's the last day of the Permiership, and my team has won the league but today's games would decide which team would be relegated. The game had just started when I got the dreaded satellite screen freeze and then lost the signal altogether. It happens in the rain. So, no tv, and it's still not back, but I'm watching a video about Wal*Mart and its effect on communities all over the world.

I'm tired, I was woken up yesterday before 6am by the scuzzball upstairs throwing his latest cohabitee out. All her clothes were piled up outside all day and they got soaked. Then I was woken up again at 2am this morning when she came back to collect them. He had another visit from the police today.

A busy week at work, I have a ton of stuff to get through before Friday, then I'm off for 11 days. Then I'm back for 5 days, then I'm off to NYC. Woo!

The family up and left me to go to a graduation two towns over. Gonna make Cincinnati chili tonight since nobody likes it but me. Mmmm...cincy chili. Watching a little football myself. Hoping for West Ham to go down. Didn't happen. Sorry to see Marcus Hahnemann got hurt. That guy is a rock. Reading had a heck of a season.

muddgirl - pseudoephedrine makes me feel like crap, so perhaps I should move to the US and you should move here (UK)?

I've been playing music and working. One was nice, the other is tiring. Monday morning deadlines smell.

My kitchen floor, which was old and gross, has been bothering me since I moved into my apartment a year ago. Last night I finally went to Lowe's and bought new vinyl tile, and with trepidation (having never laid tile before, and certainly not in a rental) I tore up my kitchen floor. Upon removing the tiles, I realized that the subfloor was still a bit damp from the time last week when I didn't close my fridge properly and ice in the freezer melted and dripped all over the floor. So, my kitchen is a torn-up disaster while I wait for the subfloor to fully dry. I'm just hoping that my landlord doesn't need to stop by for any reason before I get the tile down.

I wish I had remembered to take a "Before" picture, so I could show off how good it looks in comparison when it's complete. Regrets.

Today, my back is killing me from my floor-destroying escapade last night. But I'm off to pick up my grandmother for Mother's Day dinner with the folks.

I made beautiful tasty food at work all weekend...today is my "friday" So off to play wiffleball and drink copious amounts of beer and Jameson.

Perhaps the girly from STL will come visit, perhaps not...
i have my fingers crossed...

I sure would like to be able to sleep again...sometime this decade...

I've seen the Rome's tennis final in tv (seeing Nadal butchering Gonzalez was kinda healing, considering how I suffered seeing his match against our Volandri), all while deleting comments from a troll on Gamesblog.it, the thematic blog I work for. We use the wordpress backend and the moderation part is not good for high traffic websites. So I kept manually deleting comments, while reassuring myself that the other guy was wasting more energy..

Saturday I cleaned and entertained my kids and their friend. Sunday was good -- see Mother's Day thread. My sister and I wanted to see a movie on Saturday night, but nothing good is playing.

Weekend's not over yet. Somebody a few houses away is cooking with garlic. It's making me crave pizza.

Yesterday was "watch movies and not move off the couch" day. This afternoon is beer, beer, band practice, and more beer. I am a lucky man.

On Saturday the mister and I met up with three friends/co-workers of his to see Spiderman 3 (it was okay, 2 was better). We (just the mister and myself) went out for dinner afterwards. The mister played WoW, I surfed and watched Love Actually. *sniff*

Today has been fairly quiet. We had breakfast (we were up until 1 a.m.) and then a nap. The mister is now mowing and edging the front lawn (back lawn is done). Once he's done with that we're going to take a look at the flower beds and try to figure out which are weeds to pull and which are plants that stay.

Mum was supposed to visit this weekend but begged off. I left her a message earlier but haven't heard back. She's probably having (or had) brunch with Bro#1 and his wife and family. Had a nice phone call from Bro#2 (he lives in NY).

We actually got to go out sans offspring for a whole 3 hours friday night. We went to the local Tiki Bar because we wanted to enjoy the weather. They ring an annoying bell whenever someone orders a hurricane, but are blessedly Buffet-free on the musical front. Good times.

Hope you feel better muddgirl and hadjiboy.

Went for a walk yesterday and the pain in my leg from injuring it last weekend flared up again. So, I had to skip the zombie walk. Finished reading a book instead.

Today: rode my bike to REI to pick up a new helmet, then did some other errands. Currently making beer. It smells like a cow pasture in here.

Sat AM did Race For The Cure - a 5k at the astoundingly embarrassing pace of 11:59 a mile, which did still beat all my team-mates (some younger and to the eye fitter than I). And it was hot. And there were hills and shit. Ok, and I didn't prepare. Am sore. It was moving though, people of all types running and walking with pink signs pinned on their shirts "In Memory Of" and "In Celebration of" and some survivors running as well.

Slept.

Rescued friend from car trouble. Hope it works out ok - The husband lent him his work-use only Pick-Up truck. Please, down and out friend, get a car somehow and don't keep or break the truck, ok? Peace, brother.

Went to a party which was very nice, although The Husband and I were The Oldest Ones There. Sprinted for Liver Failure. Post party with Husband at home.

Slept.

Woke. Walked dog.

Slept.

Got taken to Denny's for Mother's Day (mom of pets only), and Husband picked up my tab at Walgreens too.


As a side note, I put my foot in my mouth pretty big time three times in two days. That's freaky. I mean, I do it sometimes, it's in my nature, but I've been on an embarrassing roll.

1 - Me: "I Look Like A Mom!!!" Other Person: "I'm a Mom. Of several people. What's wrong with that?"

2 - Get in someone's car. Radio comes on. Me: "What the Fuck kinda music is THAT?" Her: "The Religious Station."

3 - Partyguest I ASSUMED was called back for the play that I was actually call back for was NOT. Gah.

Meh.

weekend? bah. I have not had a weekend for like, um, ages. Too much work and other stuff. Other stuff at work, heh. I miss laying around and doing the one thing I effortlessly excel in: being lazy.

Oh, but I did a weekendy thing: I took out the summer clothes and stored the winter ones. Twice a year I look into a map to find a place without seasons changing to move to. Antarctica or Florida. Hmmmm.

Friday: Drove 3/4ths of the way to local theme park for free night hosted by my company, turned back due to horizontal rain and "end-of-the-world" style lightning.

Saturday: Gassed up and packed the camper for upcoming weeklong camping trip at a gorgeous spot in NW Georgia.

Sunday: Ate breakfast, fired up the camper- or tried to. No dice. Worked, fiddled, cursed, eventually cancelled the campsite reservation and called a repairman (who'll be over tomorrow).

Sunday night: drinking the beer and grilling the burgers that were supposed to be consumed on the first night of our camping trip, while we decide what we're going to do with the rest of our week.

We got the pizza. sausage, pepperoni & meatball. I think I can actually hear my heart slowing down.

Yikes, BP. Sorry to hear. Camping is one of my most favorite activities. But I have not been able to do for years. One of the best places I've been is primitive camping at st george's island in florida.

Jon, aren't you at Ditmars? Well, there is one excellent little greek restaurant there, called Agnanti. It has prolly the best greek food in Astoria. No shit. Maybe we need to organize a meetup there, or something.

Our neighbor's towering pine trees were hanging over our fence, and had dead brush and branches filling the first ten feet of each trunk, so I borrowed my brother's *electric* chainsaw and cut off all the dead stuff and filled our carport with it. The community spring cleaning dumpster comes this Saturday. We also have mountains of rose prunings, and I cut down two trees that were too close to the house. I'm ready to buy a chainsaw. This was our first house with pre-established, untended yard jungle. Nothing had been done on it for years. Oh, and our sprinklers broke over the winter so I dug up some timers and have to replace the release valves. I have no idea what I'm doing so I posted pictures on the plumbing forums and have been getting advice. I am also starting my shovelglove program tonight. That is all.

Jon, aren't you at Ditmars? Well, there is one excellent little greek restaurant there, called Agnanti. It has prolly the best greek food in Astoria. No shit. Maybe we need to organize a meetup there, or something.

Is that the one a few blocks from the park? If so, I agree, that place rocks.

yep, that's near the park. Their house wine that they bring in brass carafes is good too.

Went to a mandatory wedding in South Carolina.

Low point: Having airport security throw away my Extremely Expensive salon shampoo and conditioner on my way there. (I thought they had stopped doing that for some reason; I was incorrect.)

High point: Watching an okay movie (Music and Lyrics) and falling asleep on the way back.

Made arrangments for the appliances to be picked up next Friday (the insurance certificate still hasn't been approved by the building though)so the kitchen work can start, made arrangements for the floors to be refinished/cleaned and a "saddle" to be put at the service entrance (which the building owner should have done when he renovated--one of the reasons why I blew up at the spoiled prince last week is because he'd allowed millwork to be done outside my door when he has a 2000 square foot terrace {he could have put up a tent in cold/wet weather}), cleared away the office floor--now it's the master bedroom that looks like the Collyer brothers, glutted myself on movies and missed the meetup. I still need to sweep.

Had french toast. Saw a play. Worked. Had a banana blossom salad. Never figured out what the banana blossom was, but enjoyed the many cashews and artichoke leaves in the salad. Walked across a bridge and back. Noticed that the flax-seed oil capsules must be helping my mood somehow because I haven't felt this sad since December (when I started taking them) and this is the one week I skipped taking them. Yay for flax-seed oil!

i'm a week late on this...and oooh....hehehehe..rainbaby...i laughed so hard about your "i look like a mom comment"
ok, i'm a mom...but i know what you meant...but ..eeeee....hope they didn't pummel you for that one. still i'm laughing....
when i was in college, whenever any of us wore sweats or bad jeans (u know the kind) we'd shout loudly "IIIII'MMMMM A MOMMMMM!!!!" in an opera-esque singing voice. hehehehe...just reminded me & i am now smiling. ( and i am wearing Cut Off sweats today..damn...sooo looking like a mom today)