Hello friends.

Christmas was fantastic. Just fantastic.

Only blip: I was forced to deal with the inconvenience of a canceled flight and, therefore, a 5 1/2-hour drive home. The flight would've gotten me home by 11, driving home right after work would've gotten me there by about 8 or 9, and driving post-cancellation got me home at about 2. But oh well. I actually returned home earlier than I would have by driving back to The Ring Fingernail on Tuesday. Though, of course, I left earlier.

The upside to this: On Tuesday, I was on hold with the Northwest (Northworst - Ha!) Airlines people for about 15 minutes, then let Dave the guy on the phone know that I wouldn't be checking into my return flight. I was driving home because of Friday's canceled flight, I explain, and when would I be getting my refund? I was on hold for about five more minutes, then Dave said, "It should be processed by the end of the week."

That was Tuesday, this is Saturday, and I still don't have my refund... but maybe it'll happen. That'd be totally awesome.

- - - - -

So let's recap, but briefly.

Saturday was Christmas on the farm, or in the vicinity of the farm. It's not about the gifts, but I came away from the grab bag with a 48-can cooler on wheels. Highlight: Santa presenting my uncle with a pair of boxers.

On the right leg:
Graphic: Vertical Arrow.
Text: "The Man."

On the left leg:
Graphic: Horizontal Arrow, directing towards crotch.
Text: "The Legend."

Uproarious.

Saturday, more importantly, was the first night I've ever had Chilean empanadas as prepared by Jenny's mom. I drank two Sam Adams at Jenny's house, and one Old Style at her townie bar. (Elgin natives are nowhere as attractive as Glenview's, for the record. They're downright ugly, in some cases.)

I'm really happy that Jenny's my friend. I was very, very tired when I arrived and very, very tired when I left, but those four or five hours spent with her were four or five of the most enjoyable hours I've had in a long time. Nothing earth-shattering or phenomenal, you understand, just extended time with a really fantastic person to spend extended time with.

Also, empanadas are better when eaten with one's hands.

Sunday, I think I slept about all day. I definitely fell asleep during the apparently-thrilling final Detroit drive. We had a fantastic dinner with the nuclears-sans-big-brother, and my fantastic aunt and uncle and cousins. I made an off-color joke that didn't go over well, but it happened in about minute 35 of a three-hour dinner, so I think it was forgotten by the end.

Then, The Boy and I drank a whole lot at The Glenview House, which is worth something. A few more high-quality locals, and beer paid for by people other than me, mostly my dad.

Monday was our second-straight truly fantastic Christmas, though, of course, they're always truly fantastic. Dave and Jeni and the dogs arrived at about 1, and the dogs were fantastically well-behaved, and we just kind of hung out. Gifts were wonderful but inconsequential, and I think I kind of sucked this gift-giving season (except for my mom's gift, Ring Fingernail-produced flavored coffees, an idea that produced swearing when I told The Boy about them and moans [!] of approval when consumed with dessert).

Unfortunately, I didn't win when we played Clue at the end of the night. Really, Clue's a pretty good way to spend a half-hour, even when your mom's falling asleep.

I got to talk about life with my parents for about an hour late-night on Christmas, and then The Boy and I got to talk about nothing for about another 90 minutes later that night. Awesome on both counts.

Tuesday, I ate two large meals in about three hours, consuming biscuits and gravy (mmm, biscuits and gravy) and a plate of hash browns at Jack's 24 Hour Restaurant in Skokie, then some onion rings and some soup and a chicken salad sandwich at Hackney's in Glenview, home of the legendary Hackneyburger. I felt ill for about six hours after meal number two.

Anyway, meal number one was with Deedz, the first time I've seen her since Nemo's wedding, and it was super. I wish I talked to Deedz more, because there's almost too much 'catching up' and not enough 'let's talk about dumb shit' conversation. But it's important to learn things like, hey, the wedding's in August (if you want an invite, you better speak with her in the next month, and you probably want an invite, because it'll be bitchin'), and, hey, the A-Train is already in the CHI.

Meal number two was the traditional near-Christmas meal with the parents and The Boy. Packed at 1 on a Tuesday, but I guess that's because it's a lot of people's traditional near-Christmas meal. They all got burgers, but I couldn't handle one.

The drive back to the parents' house was also awesome, because, as I stopped for gas, The Boy and I witnessed a teenage girl pull up the pump, stop the car, and realize that the gas tank was on the other side. She then took the car to the other side of that 'pump island' but, again, parked on the wrong side. She then took the car to the other side of the gas station but, again, parked on the wrong side. At this point, she backed away from the pump and appeared to make a phone call; The Boy and I were gone before we could see any resolution.

- - - - -

So that's the fringe-mandatory Christmas recap.

Should I do a fringe-mandatory look-back? I guess, but quickly.

- - - - -

My 2006 really started in December 2005, when I decided to leave The 'Port. That was a pretty big, and a not-regretted-at-all decision.

Companies that have paid me since December 2005:
Team 1
The Radio Station that carried Team 1's games
Bullshot's sister's former company. Yay HR, kind of. Or, rather, yay money!
Team 2
Current

Locations that have received magazine subscriptions under my name since December 2005:
The 'Port
My 'View
The R/DS' place. Pour out some beer for your homie.
Current.

So, a volatile year, but I'm pretty sure I'm happier today than I was last December 30. Certainly, while my life is no more settled, I'm 100 percent happy with my out-of-baseball decision, and I'm mostly happy with my current employment decision. Maybe it's depressing, in a way, but I'm understanding now that it's okay to have a 'job' that is just a 'job,' and not a 'passion.' I've got a 'job,' and I enjoy my work in general, and I enjoy the people I work with, and I enjoy our volleyball games, and I enjoy our scrappy Texas Hold 'em games, but I certainly don't feel passionate about my industry. I'm just happy that it's a pretty good place to hang out, and they give me a paycheck. Most people just work for the paycheck, right?

Probably the night with the most impact on my life was December 14, 2005, or right around there. That night, I did some website reading and determined that I'd order The Hold Steady's Separation Sunday for The Boy. Had I listened to any sound clips, I wouldn't have, but I didn't and I did, and now I realize that Craig Finn is the greatest.

Anyway, I met some great people this year, which is nice, but I also became a lot closer with a lot of people that I really care about, and that's a lot more important. The four months I spent in my parents' basement were about the most fun I've ever had in my life, seeing them a lot, and seeing Gurs a lot, and seeing The Boy fairly frequently. I got to see my sister as a grownup in the city. The Tigers-related trips to Detroit/Ann Arbor allowed me to see a lot of Nemo and Carrie and were, in a lot of ways, 'about the best' weekends I've had. Even though I didn't feel completely comfortable making an ass out of myself during Mags' walk-off homer against the A's - sadly, Nemo couldn't make it, and I didn't want Mr. Nemo to think poorly of me. Ha!

I generally liked the people I worked with this summer, and generally didn't mind the people I worked for this summer, though I've kind of lost contact with them already. I'm excited at the fact that I work with a much wider array of people at my current place of employment, with an actual age range (other than 'first year out of college' to 'I finished four years ago,' which is what it is in baseball) and people with far more varied backgrounds. Though we're all nerds, which is okay.

Also, I dropped about 20 more pounds this year and, two jobs removed from my life as a fat guy, people are now incredulous when they hear that I experienced 15 years as a fat guy. Since I began running in late April, I've advanced from a starting point of 1.1 miles in about 11 minutes to an outdoor distance of about 7 miles in about an hour. My longest outdoor run was 8 miles; on the treadmill a few weeks ago, I did 10. So dumb, really. I can conservatively estimate that I've run at least 80 percent of the days since I started running, sometimes twice a day during the summer and now for about an hour or so after work. Agian, so dumb, but really nice to have found something that relaxes me, energizes me, and gives me an outlet to listen to really loud music while watching the ESPN bottom line ticker with the sound down.

Related to the post-fat guy life, and I'm comfortable that I won't return to the fat guy life, it's neat to be able to eat ice cream or a cookie and not feel nervous about it. Though that's how one returns to the fat guy life, perhaps.

So, things I'm proud of from 2006:
I found a place of employment that's nice
I found an area to live that's fantastic
I've got some great friends
I really like my family
It's not about the money, but I've got much more today than I did at the end of 2005. Though it's not about the money. And, to be honest, it's not like I've got much.
The 'chops. A joke at first, though now I kind of like them. So does my mom.

Things I'd like to accomplish in 2007:
Get a haircut. My barber shop closes on Saturdays at one, I learned today. So I'll have to shoot for next week. That'll be my first accomplishment.

Buy a bed. It's never come up here (why would it come up here?), but I don't own a bed. The R/DS' place was 'fully-furnished,' which is to say there was a futon mattress to sleep on. When I moved in September, I also purchased an air mattress. Since mid-November, that air mattress has had a hole (now two holes), and electrical tape isn't particularly effective. So, since mid-November, I've been sleeping on an air mattress for two hours, and the floor for the rest of the night. So a bed will be a good investment, I think.

Move. Maybe alone, maybe with a roommate, maybe in The Ring Fingernail, maybe closer to work.

Avoid arrest. You never know.

Avoid traffic tickets.

Maintain friendships, and form new ones.

- - - - -

That's all I've got. Be safe, and we'll see you next year. Ha!

Gosh. A week from Christmas. I've had extensive conversations with both of my brothers about gift-giving in the last 20 hours alone, and, between the two, I lectured my mom ("Dammit, Mom, we're adults. We don't need boxes and boxes and boxes") about the stupidity of gift-giving.

But, yeah, I think I'm starting to look forward to it a lot more as I get older, which is probably normal. There's much less going on now than there used to be - about 12 relatives from two sides of the family in two days, rather than 25 or 30 from just my dad's side over four days, and about eight or ten from my mom's side the week before - but that probably makes it more fun, in it's own way.

My crazy mom was talking about the possibility of wearing a suit for Christmas Eve. What a silly she is.

- - - - - - -

Suffice to say, the office Christmas party was a blast. On the upside, I drank far too much, and I wasn't the only one. I think we're not an office that judges, and I should probably be grateful for that. On the downside, I didn't make it past about 12:30, and I hear that much of the fun continued until the casino closed (closed!?) at two or so.

Much is foggy, but that's kind of the point, I think. Or maybe it's not, but I'll go with it.

I did purchase a four-dollar Christmas sweater from the Salvation Army before heading out to the party. I thought it would stick out for its dressiness, its guadiness, and its Salvation Army-ness but, when it comes down to it, it wasn't that gaudy, it smelled fine, and everyone else was dressed up.

There were several highlights to the night, most of them unrepeatable here. The most incredible part of the night came when we drew numbers and got to pick a package out from under the tree. I was stunned to unwrap a portable DVD player which, while not as expensive as I actually thought it was, was really pretty out of this world.

Waking up hungover Sunday morning, I started talking to the coworker that I shared a room with. "Hey, so what did you get last night?" I asked. A generally slovenly guy who speaks in a slow, slow cadence, he responded, "An ice cream maker. It could be pretty sweet." The enthusiasm was palpable.

I've pontificated to friends how much I've regressed in the past few years. I didn't really drink that much in college, and I drank like a certifiable adult - one or two or three and head home - for the first few years of my adult life. But now, pretty much, I get pretty much smashed. Maybe I'll re-grow up again, I'm not sure.

- - - - - - -

Willie's Destroyers are in the BARC fantasy football money! I've been playing fantasy football for a decade, and this will be my first shot at any money since my ten-dollar entry pool in the 1997 season. I got Terrell Davis with the final pick of the first round, and Curtis Martin with the first pick of the second round. I drafted a little-known receiver named Terrell Owens in the final round.

That's not the nerdiest series of sentences I've ever written, but it's close.

The R-Josh and I had a great email string as his combination of Reggie Wayne and Adam Vinatieri nearly came from behind for the win.

The final: Willie's Destroyers 90.81, The Hooligans 88.04.

I'm the better team heading into the championship next week, but fantasy football offers no guarantees. Should be scintillating.

- - - - - - - -

Harper is coming back in next week. He'll be shooting a coda to the video of me he shot this spring. I think he came to tape because smarmy bastards who pontificate about themselves make easy doc footage. I sense that most of this footage will include me saying, "Remember that stuff I said in mid-June? It wasn't really true. This is where the action is."

- - - - - - - -

The real reason for this post is that Pitchfork is publishing their Top Whatever of the year on Tuesday, I think. I'd like to beat them to the punch.

I bought a lot of music this year.

First, revisiting my top one list, 1998-2004:
1998: Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
1999: Wilco, Summer Teeth (The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin)
2000: Modest Mouse, The Moon and Antarctica (The White Stripes, De Stijl)
2001: The Strokes, Is This It? (The Silver Jews, Bright Flight)
2002: Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (The Mountain Goats, All Hail West Texas)
2003: The Postal Service, Give Up (Nothing else that I really love)
2004: The Streets, A Grand Don't Come for Free (Brian Wilson, Smile; The Arcade Fire, Funeral)

Revisiting 2005, in top ten form:
(Including last year's rank; OBU=Owned but unranked; UO=Unowned)

1) The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree (5)
2) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (UO)
3) The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday (UO)
4) Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary (1)
5) Bloc Party, Silent Alarm (3)
6) The Clientele, Strange Geometry (2)
7) The Decemberists, Picaresque (5)
8) The Silver Jews, Tanglewood Numbers (8)
9) Sufjan Stevens, Illinois (7)
10) The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema (9)

Now, 2006, Top 15 (Remarkably, my legally-acquired list of CDs numbers nearly 40 this year. Remarkably.)

1) The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
2) The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
3) Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
4) Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
5) The Thermals - The Body The Blood The Machine
6) The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
7) The Futureheads - News and Tributes
8) Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
9) Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat
10) Rock Plaza Central - Are We Not Horses?
11) Islands - Return to the Sea
12) Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming
13) Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor
14) Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That
15) Rhymefest - Blue Collar

Most (not at all) interesting personal music development of the year for me:
Mountain Goats Mania!!

I bought six John Darnielle albums this year. "Cubs in Five," "Woke Up New," "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton," "Fall of the Star High School Running Back," and "California Song" all moved from "I've Never Heard This Song" status into "Top 100 ever." He rules.

Next most interesting personal music development:
The Hold Steady. I hadn't heard them until I gave The Boy Separation Sunday for Christmas last year. I was hooked immediately. Incredible stuff. Now, only if I could track down that allegedly-exists Lifter Puller discography.

Other 2006 music things...

Things I liked and I feel bad not listing, kind of (in no order):
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
The Walkmen - A Hundred Miles Off
The Arctic Monkeys - Whatever You Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Things I'd probably like a lot if I listened more:
Swan Lake - Beast Moans
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Oxford Collapse - Remember the Night Parties

The most incredible package - liners, lyrics, haunting voice, fantastic cover art - of the year. The music ain't so great, but it's wild, which is good.
Joanna Newsom - Ys

You know, it's pretty late, and I'm kind of tired, but I've also been energized by my second fantastic conversation with my friend Jenny in the last less-than two weeks, and I figure I might as well get one of these before the effect wears off. After all, I've written but once this month, and we're halfway through, and at least five days at the end of the month are certainly kicked in terms of posting possibilities (I'd imagine, the 22nd through 26th - travel days, or back in the 'burbs), so let's just sail on, sailor, and get one of these done.

Probably the highlight, and I'm not kidding, since my last post came this past Thursday morning at work. [So, for reference, that's Thursday the 7th. This is completely boring, by the way, but also completely hilarious.] So anyway, at our weekly department staff meeting the day before, my supervisor had mentioned that he wanted more specific notes on our clients every Friday morning. Numbers, and strategies, and things of that nature.

I sit in the same general area as said supervisor, who is really just a fantastic dude, I think. Middle aged-ish, and a dad of college graduates, and he likes Wolfmother and he used to be a ski instructor. So that's my supervisor.

And he turns to myself and my ... podmate ... and the following occurs.

Supervisor: "Hey. You know that report I was talking about yesterday?"
Podmate: "Yeah?"
Me: "Yeah?"
S: "You know what we're calling it?"
M: "What's that?"
S: "I'd like you to call it your Target. Performance. Summary. Report."
M: [instantaneous belly laughter]
P: [almost-instantaneous belly laughter]
S: [reactive belly laughter]
M: [belly laughter turning into complete guffaws]
P: [belly laughter turns into slight hyperventilation, but with a smile so we know she's still healthy]
S: [knowing smile.] [thought bubble: "Oh, those effin' kids."]
All: [Lose smiles. Return to work.]

Was that hilarious or what?

Dude, if you have to ask, you'll never know.

- - - - - - - - -

That was a bright, bright spot in a rough, rough week, which explains the lack of posting. I was sick. Quite sick. Hacking cough started on Monday of last week. It followed a sore throat that revealed itself the previous evening during conversation with the parents. The nose, it was a-drippin'. As someone who hates blowing his nose more than anything in the world (I mean, I just think it's disgusting, and I have to do it in private), I had several trips to the restroom and several full, full tissues.

After a miserable Monday, followed by a 2 1/2 hour post-work nap and a full night's sleep, I was miserable Tuesday. Post-work on Tuesday, I lamented, and I bought drugs. Sweet, sweet, wonderful drugs. The best part, besides the fact that, over time, the crap actually worked, is that it's fun to take. Have fun, and get better!. It truly was pretty badass, though I wasn't truly recovered until this past weekend.

All told, I probably napped a total of 10 hours after work Monday through Thursday. The roughness was exacerbated by the fact that I do work in the coldest office in the world, and the fact that I was absolutely miserable due to some frustrating client dealings. Also, the fact that we were blanketed in snow - driving was treacherous at least two days last week, and we were on ice just about all of them.

But, gosh, work is boring to write about.

And, not to worry, all those frustrating client dealings have shifted for the better in two days of work this week. After leaving stressed and sick five straight nights last week, I've left happy and healthy for two in a row. But I may have just jinxed it. Also, we've been snow-less; it seems to be melting after a few days in a row of rain and 40ish-degree temps. To be honest, I could get used to this, though I shouldn't expect to.

- - - - - -

Let's talk about ridiculous sideburns maintenance. It's difficult.

I'd estimate that, when I first shaped the chops two months ago (two months ago!), they extended approximately two inches from jawbone towards mouth. (That is, vertically down from the ear, right angle at the jawbone. A curved 'inner' portion allows each individual chop to come to a point some distance from the side of the mouth.)

Well, I've got no facial hair trimmer, nor do I want one. (Seriously, Santa, there's no need. Stay away on that one.) But with my work environment being what it is (casual), and with the sheer force of my engaging personality clearly doing enough to convince the ladies to ignore my failings in appearance, I often find myself not shaving for three or four days at a time.

Well, by that fourth day, more facial hair has emerged towards the tip of the chops, and it's muddled up the end point. And what do you do in that situation? You certainly don't want to make the chops smaller, so you inadvertently lengthen them, just a bit. And this keeps on happening, and happening, and happening.

So let's say that you (me) have repeated this process for two months. Well, the end result is chops that actually end below the mouth, with no more than inch-and-a-half between endpoints. Illness had precluded me from shaving for the full week, and there was just no real end to shave to. So I didn't choose an end.

And, basically, my chin is all that separates the two chops at this point.

An older, very funny gentlemen in the office commented that I was definitely going for "the Martin Van Buren" look, though, clearly, I'm going for better (far, far worse, considering the times and ready availability of easy-to-use facial hair maintenance products) than that.

- - - - - - - - -

I'll be honest, I'm really, really looking forward to our office party on Saturday night. No Yankee swap, so I won't get an iPod out of it. I also won't get an oven mitt out of it.

But there will be lots and lots and lots of booze served. I know that I'll probably make an ass out of myself, because that's kind of how I operate. My goal is simply to not be the first one to make an ass out of himself, because everyone always (vaguely) remembers the first one with the lampshade on his hat. After that, party's on, and nobody cares. Or so I'm hoping.

I'm also hoping that nobody sends me a dry cleaning bill. Huh?

- - - - - - - - -

Had a great chance last weekend (that is, with all the snow on the ground) to hit The Ring Fingernail with my podmate (a local) and some of her friends and another coworker who started the same day as me, though in a different department.

He was fascinating. A non-drinker. A non-TV-owner, though mostly financial, it seems. More interestingly, a beatmaker. An MC. Gospel Rap. No joke.

He brought in his CD for me early last week. I finally got through most of it tonight. Shit was bumpin', and I got to throw my hands up for The King. Not Ali. Not Martin. Not Ralph. Not George. Just The King. It was pretty badass, when it comes right down to it.

So, um, yeah, I guess I can legitimately now claim to be a resident of Northern Michigan. Um, yeah.

A brief timetable (for the record, these timelines always are longer than planned):

Thursday
8:53 - While watching The Office ("Pwison is haaahd. I should know, I'm Prison Mike."), I see word of a "Winter Storm Warning" across the bottom of the screen. This is expected. We had heard since Sunday night that huuuge storms were expected for Thursday and Friday. Thursday had been a precipitation-free bust.

11:24 - The not-very-good weather forecaster informs me that I should expect large amounts of snow overnight. "Leave some extra time to get to work."

Friday
2:15 - I fall asleep reading.

6:08 - I wake up to my alarm, press the snooze botton, turn off my bedroom lights, and return to sleep.

6:42 - Out of bed, I look out the window. No snow.

7:18 - I depart for work, about three minutes earlier than usual and about 14 minutes earlier than necessary. On the way to work, I'm crusing. Hold Steady on the stereo, a traffic-free curvy road, and it's just awesome.

7:45 - I arrive to work and, on the way in, have weather-related small talk with a pair of coworkers. "My mom said they're expecting up to 16 inches in Chicago." Coworker: "That's really funny."

8:45 - A coworker says, "Looks likes the snow's coming." It is.
9:30 - The snow's still coming.
10:12 - Snow's still coming.
11:04 - Still snowing.
11:48 - Still snowing.
12:15 - Yawn.
12:23 - I get nervous about the half-hour drive home. In the snow. In the dark.
12:58 - A coworker returns from his lunch. "It's, like, waste-high out there." But he says it with a smile.
1:10 - During lunch, I say not much of anything. I'm transfixed by the snow. When asked about my confused stare, I say, "The first snow's kind of beautiful, isn't it?"
1:56 - Still snowing. Duh. Quickly.
2:14 - I have a call with a client in Indianapolis. They insist that they dug themselves out of the snow explicitly for our call. I kind of doubt that, but play along.
2:26 - Office second-in-command comes out into the main working area: "Get out of here. Go home. Safely. Now." But there's still a bit of work to do.
2:42 - We get word that the FedEx truck is stuck in the parking lot.
2:44 - We get word that he's gotten out.
3:02 - I start to brush off my car. A coworker makes fun of The Hold Steady's "Citrus" ('Hey whiskey, hey ginger, I love it when we come together.'), but he doesn't know how awesome it is in context.
3:10 - I finish brushing my car, quite efficiently, I'll add.

And then I drive, sloooowwwwwlllllyyyy. Crack 40 for only one awful moment, stay mostly in the 28-32 range. I got out of the parking lot without real incident, and I got home about 4:05. It was snowing the whole time, and I never saw a speck of pavement. I guess everyone's been through this, but that doesn't make it less-harrowing.

I made it up the hill to my apartment complex and everything, which is kind of awesome.

At about 4:30, I called a coworker (the "waist-high" coworker): "Hey, pal, just wanted to see if you made it home alright."
"Dude, this is nothing. Welcome to Northern Michigan. Why do you think we all have Subarus?"

Oh.

- - - - - - -

6:02 - I've just returned from my slumber, drifting in and out during the various local newscasts. (My roommate left work at noon, and has been doing the same.) By this time, the snow's basically stopped.

My ears perk up when they mention local snowfalls:

"Ring Fingernail: 10 inches"

That snow, friends, came down between the hours of 8:30 and 4:30, approximately. About eight hours, about ten inches. Incredible.

I've been told not to hope to see any grass until March. We'll see...

- - - - - - -

I shouldn't write something like this here, but my BARC fantasy football team is totally fantastic. I've won six in a row, have scored 37 points more than the second highest-scoring team, and 96 more than the third highest-scoring team. This despite the general miserableness of Jake Delhomme. I'm starting David Carr this week.

Playoffs start next week and, if you're lucky, I won't give any in-depth analysis.

Also, despite the awesomeness, I started 2-4 and, with the fantastic-ness of Carson Palmer and TJ Houshmandzadeh on Thursday, I'm in a big hole entering Sunday's action. A loss could drop me to the fourth seed, which would be annoying.

This league would be totally more exciting if Gurs and Rico sent me their 25 bucks. It's just 25 bucks, after all.