Cool it!...

or so Mother Nature seems to have said to the air masses over the Midwest this week. The temperature has dropped nicely, at least for the time being. The heat wave of July is almost, almost a memory.

I had my regularly scheduled eye exam with my eye guy last week. He says my retinal tear healed nicely. It was a small tear, but worth fixing nonetheless. Even better, he says I should try to push back my retinal specialist's one-year exam another six months, since he has just now seen me. Somehow, my glasses prescription changed slightly for the better and I am shopping around for new frames. My eye guy's optical shop didn't have much to interest me and since they don't take my vision insurance anymore, well, thanks anyway!

Redecoration update: All eleven doors painted. The six closet doors installed very smoothly. However, the three bedroom doors, well, they gave my dad and I much difficulty, to put it nicely. Dad took them home to his shop and he assures me that he can make them all work. I got my new duvet cover cleaned and pressed because it came out of its package all rumpled up and it was bugging the heck out of me.

The parents and I met my brother and sister-in-law for dinner at Chuy Arzola's for dinner last evening. We hadn't seen them in over a month so it was good to re-connect for an hour or so. I ordered beef and cheese burritos served enchilada-style with chili and cheese. Delicious! Bro and sis-in-law are doing well and staying busy. They've got a vacation to Puerto Vallarta planned for their first anniversary in a couple of months.

Have to mention the Mark Lowry podcast again - his Wednesday edition (#79) features his two dogs, Beau and Stanley, wrestling it out in his living room. I found it very funny!

Cardinals update : The team's really struggling lately. Our starting pitching has holes in it and our relief pitching has been anything but a relief. Jimmy Ballgame is seeing more stars than fly balls lately and we're seriously bidding for 900-year-old David Wells to help us limp into the postseason. Desparate times call for desparate measures, I guess. It would be a shame for our brand new stadium to go dark this October.

Ah, but football season fast approaches and off I go to compete in Madden 2003! Yes it's old and out of date but I love it! : )

Interesting...

On his latest podcast, Mark Lowry interviews noted Christian speaker and retired college professor Tony Campolo. Mark asked him a question that a viewer had recently asked. The question had to do with Jesus' statement "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?". Tony offered an interesting explanation that I haven't heard before. Basically, Jesus wasn't wondering where God was, but simply pointing people back to Psalm 22. Psalm 22 prophetically described the crucifixion in great detail, including the triumphant resurrection at the end. If people read it all the way through, they would know that the crucifixion wasn't the end, but they should wait for Jesus to rise again. Has anyone else heard this point of view?

View the interview (podcast #74) here. It comes after the song.

...................

Jazz trumpeter and bandleader Maynard Ferguson has passed away at the age of 78. His trademark was his stratospheric trumpet solos that would often feature high notes that no one else could reach. He is perhaps best known for his contributions to the "Rocky" soundtracks (Gonna Fly Now). I saw him and his Big Bop Nouveau Big Band in concert at a local high school 10 years ago and was very much "jazzed" by the experience.

Weekend update...

Well here we are again, Sunday night in mid-America. I had a pretty good week, I suppose. I managed to engage in physical activity four nights in a row, which I am proud of. I worked out Monday and Wednesday nights, biked on Tuesday night, and played sand volleyball on Thursday night. Tuesday was my day off; my new blinds were installed in the morning and I did handyman stuff the rest of the day. I changed two old electrical outlets and labeled the breakers in my electrical panel (after six years of living in the house, I know!)

My redecorating is coming to a close right on schedule with summer. All the wall-painting is finished and the blinds are up. I am really pleased with the blinds, especially in my bedroom. The final phase is eleven (11!) new six-panel doors that I bought on Friday night. They will be painted to match the baseboards this week. My dad got most of the baseboards installed on Friday and he and I will get the doors hung after I paint them. Pictures will, of course, be forthcoming once I get everything in place, I promise.

Lunch was especially nice with my parents today. Ribeye steaks, potatotes, and hot bread make for a perfect late-summer meal. Later, as my dad and I were watching the Cardinals/Cubs game, my mom brought us a tray of warm cookies and milk. After she left, I looked at my dad and said something like 'my, but she's a good woman!' He agreed wholeheartedly.

Headline of the Week...

From the lead photo on my.yahoo.com, Saturday afternoon

Israeli raid in Lebanon strains truce



well, yeah, I suppose that would do it.

Five on Friday!

Return to Sender

1. How often do your letters/cards come back to you?

Once in a blue moon, or pretty much never.

2. If you buy something that turns out to be defective or broken, how likely are you to return it to the store or manufacturer?

very likely, since I paid good money for it!

3. Describe your own personal "return policy" for items you've purchased or received as gifts.

If I bought it and don't like it, then it goes back, regardless. For gifts, it's only happened once, and I returned it, after waiting much longer than I should have.

4. When you borrow library books, do you return then on time?

usually, though it's been more than a year since i borrowed a library book or CD.

5. What is your opinion on Elvis? Do you think he's really dead?

Quote from Toby Zeigler, speech writer for President Jed Bartlett:

"I want to make it clear: I could give a darn."

Friday's Feast!

Appetizer
What color is your car?

RED! - not fire-engine red, but a darker, crimson red

Soup
If you could wake up tomorrow with full training in another occupation and a job in that field, what would it be?

Jazz pianist!

Salad
How many times in your life have you had the flu (or something similar)?

probably only 4 or 5 times, that I can recall.

Main Course
What is something that has happened to you this week that you didn't expect?

I've taken possession of a new flat-screen LCD monitor for my computer at work, which I didn't expect. My boss ordered some to try out and he said I could have one!

Dessert

How old were you when you had your first kiss?

you mean other than mom-kisses? never!

John...are you still alive?...

...was the question asked as comment #4 in the post below, by kmom. : )

Well, yes, folks I am still alive; I slacked off on the ol' blog this week. A bit of review:

Monday night, my mom and dad came up to help me with more work on my bedroom. Mom made "Taco Soup" for supper (in my kitchen!)

I was off Wednesday, so I got in a good workout at the YMCA then my mom came up and helped me paint my family room. It ended up getting some redecoration along with the bedroom; new paint and vertical blinds for the sliding glass door. My dad came up later and installed new baseboards in my bedroom.

Wednesday night was the mock terrorism/disaster drill at Busch Stadium. It was an interesting, if underwhelming experience. I was a 'dry/evacuation' volunteer, which meant I did not get to be 'exposed' to any 'contaminants' and therefore needed no hosing off and was only evacuated from the stadium. I was sent to one of the party roooms (which are VERY nice, by the way) with 3 other people and we waited for the signal, then evacuated down to the street and out of the way of responding emergency agencies. Incidentally, while we were waiting to be briefed before the drill began, the actual Cardinals vs. Reds game was broadcast on the big screen. The assembled crowd of volunteers watched the game as if it were taking place in the stadium! : )

My cousin J. drove up for a visit on Friday. My parents and she met me for dinner at Tucker's on Friday evening, then we took in the IMAX 3-D version of "Superman Returns" at the local mega-plex. I can't recall the last time I saw anything in 3-D. It was a thrilling experience!

Don't look now, but another week is upon us... : )

Roasting By the River...

So it's early August and it's been like, really, really hot for a long time now. Thankfully no more storms have descended from the plains so my power has stayed on and my A/C has faithfully churned cool air througout my house.

Perhaps it was the heat, or maybe some subconscious desire for change. Either way, I directed my barber to give me a SHORT haircut last week and he obliged. The back and sides are crewcut-length blended up to a short and spiky top. I love it because I can style it with my fingers, with no need for comb or brush. Yes, I'm now using 'product.' : ) Well, I actually have been since last fall but now more than ever. No pictures just yet, since my glasses broke again and I'm currently wearing my old pair. I'll post a new user pic next week.

Still working on my bedroom. Blinds have been ordered from 3 Day Blinds. I decided on faux-wood venetian blinds for both windows. I also ordered new vertical blinds for the sliding glass door in my family room. Baseboards have been bought and painted. I also bought 2 new rugs for the room. I was pleased that both the bedroom blinds and the rugs were on sale!

I volunteered to take part in a mock disaster drill at Busch Stadium next Wednesday night. Should be interesting. Mother Nature actually got a bit of a jump on the stadium when the Thunderstorm O' Doom rolled through on July 21. : )

A disaster is already in the making at Busch! The Cardinals are exasperating fans with their less-than-stellar play as of late. After getting beat down in 4 games in Chicago, they've relocated the beatings to Busch with the Phillies in town for 3 games. Something's gotta give soon if we want to make it to October.

MyTunes updated today.