So, I guess it's been too long again. It's odd that it's so long between posts, because sometimes I think I'd like to write things, and then there's never enough time. Seriously. I'm oddly busy, though not really.

But, I came to this realization on, say, last Thursday, when I was impressed with my perfect willingness to go to bed (not sleep, which would come after 45 minutes of reading) at 11: I'm going to sleep at 11. If I fell asleep right now, I'd still only get 7 1/2 hours of sleep. And that's because I showered earlier this evening, and because I hurry hurry hurry through my morning routine, which sees me out of bed around 6:30, and out the door by 6:50.

The second realization: That's freakin' early.

I've been on extended summer hours, which are certainly worth the (every other three-day weekend) tradeoff, but which really take their toll, like, all the time. It's a 7:30 to 5:30 day and, adding in the commute, that makes for a 6:50 to 6:10 day. That's a long, long, long day, when it comes down to it.

Sadly (and, really, scarily), our extended summer hours come to an end just two weeks from now (two weeks from now!), after Labor Day. This will mean closer to a 7:15 to 5:45 day. A month later, our office moves far closer, which will mean a 7:40 to 5:25 day, which will be, just, well, totally awesome. (The reason the front and back additional times don't seem to remain consistent is because they reflect the obligatory time I feel like staying extra, perhaps, during these times.)

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So, really, if I'm trying to come up with significances of the past two weeks between entries, the list if pretty short. ("Significances" doesn't cause a misspelling red flag, which seems weird. I guess it's a word.)

I've kind of been looking kind of into maybe doing some graduate-level business school stuff. Salary-bumping stuff. Full-time, perhaps, next year. That's news.

As part of that, I went to an info session for a local school that offers one of those part-time programs last week. I kind of made it clear that I wasn't necessarily interested in getting any sort of degree from this local school, but that I might be interested in taking a few classes and getting some transfer credits and what not. So I apologize in advance to the admissions person for being "a bit crass," and I point to her recruiting materials and, specifically, to the mention of their "regional" goals, and point out that I'm not necessarily committed to here and I want to potentially continue schooling somewhere else a year from now and - "you want to know if we're a real school, right?" she interrupts. "Exactly!"

And she assures me that they are, so I hand in my application, fee removed because I showed for the info session. A good tradeoff, whatever the resolution.

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The other significance is related to this as well. When you live in somewhere as remote as The Ring Fingernail, and when you can't really carve out a four-hour block during a Monday through Friday, scheduling a test is a bitch. Closest testing center is about two hours away. Next one? Also, about two hours. Then, say 2 1/2 hours. Tough to do it.

The upshot? I'll be taking a GMAT on homecoming Friday, in the 'burbs. It'll be an afternoon exam, so I'm sure I won't miss any festivities, but it's still quite an inconvenience.

I had grand plans to take the test the third weekend of the college football season. It'd've been perfect - a Friday night drive. A Saturday morning test. A Saturday afternoon drive home, with the Irish and Wolverines providing the accompaniment. A Cats destruction of the Blue Devils that night. Now, I'll just settle for the latter two.

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Did I mention that I'm totally geeked for college football season? I am, even though the only reasonable expectation for the Cats is 5 to 7 wins. I guess, though, that when they shared the conference title, the only reasonable expectation was 4 to 6 wins.

Andrew Brewer's probably out for the season, which sucks.

I think I'll aim to have my season preview ("entirely wrong or your money back") up, say, by the Wednesday before the season starts.

There's certainly a lot returning for NU this year, including all-conference contenders at four spots on offense (QB, RB, OT Thiry, C Rees) and four more on defense, at least (Wootton, Kadela, B. Smith, Batman). They lost not-that-much, which is nice. And their coach, you know, can be a coach this year, rather than a counselor-PR guy-voice of a generation. I think he should grow a beard or a gut, though, so he didn't look so, so, so...22 years old.

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A few significant other sports notes:

- The Tiges called up Cameron Maybin, who homered against Roger Clemens in his second big league game. I think he's going to be awesome.

- Brady Quinn made his preseason debut.

Here's the problem. Both are projected as stars, I'd say. Do we want sports heroes named "Cameron" and "Brady?" Hell no we don't. Parents, name your children well. You never know when kids might start looking up to them.

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The first-place Chicago Cubs. Sweet.

Thursday has fantastic awesome potential. The Cubs play at 3:35 EDT. I might - might - be able to catch the last few innings when I get home from work. Just like elementary school. It might - might be so freakin' cool.

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I like getting mail.

Here's what I've gotten recently:
1) A purple Northwestern hoodie. I should've ordered an XL but, alas, I ordered the not-bulky-enough (and I knew this the moment I ordered it) L, which should serve the purpose.

2) A Northwestern media guide, free, from AD Mark Murphy. This is because I emailed him, looking to buy one, and noticed they weren't on the school's site. (Also, more importantly, there wasn't another contact email address, and his was the only one I had. So, why the hell not?) Awesomely, he wrote back within a day, offering a free one. I ended my "Here's my address" email with a note about "Thanks for your commitment to the department and the school," something schmaltzy, and his response began with "You're welcome." It was mostly in response to "Thanks for the media guide," but was still pretty funny.

3) The most incredible CD ever.

It came from my sister, who is one week into a year-or-so journey overseas. She made it for the entertainment of her siblings and friends. Also, because she was unemployed and, presumably, needed something to do.

The concept: Accompaniment free karaoke, a.k.a. Tone-deaf a capella!

The method:
She wears headphones.
She prints a song's lyric sheet.
She plays the song in her headphones.
She records the vocals into her computer.
She distributes to, hopefully, six or fewer people.

The tracklist:
"Wouldn't It Be Nice?"
"When I'm Sixty-Four"
"Crazy In Love" (opening line: "Things are so crazy right now.")
"I'll Make Love to You" (that's Boyz II Men, friends)
"Everyday" (Buddy Holly - I don't know it.)
"Tiny Dancer"
"Grand Central" (Gillian Williams)
"Carey" (Joni Mitchell. Amazing. "Oh, you're a mean old daddy but I like you, I like you I li-ike you.")
"Hounds of Love" (Kate Bush. Pure obliteration on my sister's part. Amazing.)
"Brandy" (Kenny Chesney)
"Country Grammar" (that's the "Down down baby" song, featuring the word "nigga" 16 distinct times in a single verse. Record-breaking.)
"Young Folks" (though she didn't try to do the made-it-a-semi-hit whistling part)
"Fit But You Know It" (The Streets. Appropriately, it ends the mix with her saying, "Fuckin' Hell.")

My sister's pretty cool. I won't see her at Christmas this year. Probably won't see her until next September or so. That's a bit sad, but we'll deal with it.