I mean, I know you didn't really notice, but I've basically been away for two weeks, and the last full-length post is three weeks old. That makes me sad, but it's perfectly understandable, kind of.

I've been doing three things, primarily:
1) sleeping, earlier than usual
2) following the Cubs
3) studying

Let's talk about sleeping. I refocused on it last week. I spent last Sunday overwhelmed by my first real foray into the world of test prep, and, as a result, spent last Monday working until about 2 to make up for that overwhelmed feeling. Then, well, the rest of the week, I, well, slept. I was in bed by 11:30 last Tuesday through Thursday, which is essentially unheard of for me. I was asleep before midnight, I'm sure, on Wednesday or Thursday, though I think Sports Illustrated-reading kept me up past midnight on Tuesday. Still, though, I was pretty dead come this weekend anyway, but not that dead.

Now, on following the Cubs, the sole subject of my last post. Sure, they've been infuriating, of course, but, ultimately, pretty awesome. I'm pretty excited for the postseason - excited in a "holy crap, we're in the playoffs!" kind of way, but also excited in a "Zambrano and Lilly and Hill sure match up well against Webb and Owings (?) and Doug Davis and any other no-name we might see, and Soriano has certainly shone on a big stage previously, as has Lee, as has Ramirez (I seem to remember), certainly more than Conor Jackson or Eric Byrnes or Chris Young or Stephen Drew or Mark Reynolds - gosh, are these guys really all starters for the D-Backs? - have done in their careers" kind of way, too.

I doubt I'll have a chance for a full preview [ed: Well, read on. You got one.], though I'll probably follow most games with some immediate reaction, because I'm sure there won't be much of that on the web. But let's just say that, as green as some key contributors might be on the big stage - Theriot, Geo-Soto, Hill, Dempster, Marmol, Kevin freakin' Hart, probably - this really is a veteran team loaded with guys who have been there before. (Have they won anything before? Lee has. Not Kendall, not Jones, probably Floyd, I guess not Eyre or Howry. Marquis wasn't even on the Cards' roster last year, right?)

The Phillies are probably the best team in the National League, though their scary lineup (I mean, Rollins-Utley-Howard-Burrell-holy crap) is mitigated by their equally scary pitching staff. The Padres can't hit, it seems, and the Rockies can't pitch, perhaps.

Now, we know how well it went last time around, but I've planned the meal schedule for the week around Cubs playoff games, and around 2003's "lucky meal." I won't call it the lucky meal again, but I also won't audible if game one doesn't go well. The lucky meal can't be abandoned over one shaky effort, you know.

One 'quick' additional Cubs note:
Wednesday is dollar-pint night. I'm a regular at dollar-pint night, probably hitting 10 of 13 between June and August of this year, and a few drop-bys in September. I'm a devoted consumer of one-dollar beers on a Wednesday, it should be said.

Well, last Wednesday, the Cubs were on TV. I don't even recall the result (research indicates it was a 3-2 win, and now memory dictates it was Lilly on short rest and Howry pitching the final two frames), but I recall being riveted. Often this year, I've gone out when the Cubs were on TV on Wednesday, paying attention to the game if inside, but generally ignoring if we were drinking on the patio.

So, I had had a post-work round of par-3 golf with a friend, and announced at that point that I'd not be showing up for Pints, owing to the Cubs game. Another friend, also a coworker, was not golfing, but would be drinking that night. And Thursday morning, say 10 a.m., I was asked, with a smirk, "How was the game? [chuckle chuckle]" and, let me tell you, I was a bit offended. I stewed over this.

Finally, about 3:45, I sat down at this coworker's desk. "You asked about the game, dude. The game was great. A win, and first place, and I'm happy I watched it." "Whoa, man, cool." "And you know what?" "What?" "I don't appreciate you making fun of me. Pints are fun, but I love the Cubs, man, and you've just got to understand that. I mean, I really love the Cubs. I probably love the Cubs more than some family members [ed: This may or may not be true], and it's important that you understand that." "Hey, that's cool." "And you know what? I'm not going to Pints next week either, because the Cubs are on TV again. [note: This was actually not a televised game, though I listened to Pat and Ron.] And, if they make the playoffs, I'm not going to be at Pints if they're playing."

So, as infuriating as they can be, I'm sure happy the Cubs are good this year. And I'm sure happy I get to watch them play in October.

Just for fun, let's come up with my conception of what the roster should be for round one:

Starters (4)
Zambrano
Lilly
Hill
Marquis
There's talk, perhaps, of keeping Marquis off the roster, or going with Trachsel instead of him. If need be, you'd go with Zambrano-Lilly on three days' rest for games four and five. I don't want Trachsel; I don't want Marshall.

Relievers (7)
Dempster
Wood
Marmol
Howry
Eyre
Wuertz
Hart
Arizona has one dominant lefty hitter in Tony Clark, who switch-hits. Therefore, no need to carry another lefty besides Eyre. We don't really need to adjust the staff for Stephen Drew, I don't think. Hart has been awesome, though I'd go to Marmol or Wood or Howry before I'd go to him. There's not really a long man in the group, however - that'd probably be Marquis in his non-start. I don't think it's worth keeping Marshall or Trachsel for that possibility.

Catchers (3)
Kendall
Soto
Blanco
I'm carrying three, which undoubtedly won't happen. But I'd like to be able to use Geo-Soto as a pinch hitter if Kendall starts. I would be completely unsurprised if Kendall started game one. He & Z certainly did the job on Friday night.

Infielders (5)
Lee
Theriot
DeRosa
Ramirez
Fontenot
No surprises here. Maybe Lou goes with Cedeno? I don't think his great glove outweighs his non-batness, as the regulars are all pretty good at their spots.

Outfielders (6)
Jones
Soriano
Floyd
Ward
Monroe
Fuld
Matt the Bat - Murton for Certain
Maybe it's silly to go with Fuld over Pie here, but Fuld's just awesome on defense and seems to run just as well. Or maybe I like him due to the 'scrappy white guy' factor. For what it's worth, Fuld is older, but Pie's won at every level before this and is a more-experienced pro. Lefty Doug Davis will presumably start game two, and Monroe was strong in the postseason last year, so I'd envision him starting that game with Jones in reserve. [Ed: One day after writing this, your author realized that he left Matt Murton off the list. Your author loves Matt Murton. He loves the bats of Murton and Soto more than the speed-defense combination of Fuld or Pie. So consider the Fuld-Pie argument moot.]

Now, studying. I totally dissed Jenny last Sunday, told her not to come up and everything. I'm proud to report that I've gotten quite a bit done in her absence, and I feel that I know a lot more today than I did a week ago. My mind's working in ways it's not in years, and I'm kind of enjoying the challenge of 'beating the test.' There's something a bit exciting of thinking in the abstract and using skills and theorems that I've not used in 12 years, and of looking for subject-verb agreement. I'm kind of a nerd, I think, though I'd also be a hell of an SAT prep instructor.

I've got 12 days until the test, and I'd imagine that I'll have to get some heavy-duty studying/drilling Monday or Tuesday, and Friday, which are all non-playoff days. Friday will almost certainly be a four-hour practice test night, which makes me beyond cool. Then, well, we study according to the Cubs schedule.

- - - - - - - - -

On the Northwestern Wildcats, briefly:
Obviously, my preseason prediction of, what, 8-4, is wrong. Quite wrong, really. But, at this point, I'm only one game off of what was expected.

Saturday's game against Michigan State becomes the biggest of the season, a chance for NU to either fold and drop their fourth in a row, or to build on the somewhat-positive aspects of Saturday's home loss to Michigan and come up with a road win over a better-than-we-thought Sparty team.

I've only seen bits of Sparty. I know they run the ball a lot, with Ringer and Jehuu. Saturday's game, in which Hart was absolutely bottled up, gives me confidence that NU can slow them. The insertion of my-guy #41 Davie, along with Arrington, gives me confidence that NU can slow down Kellen Davis, who is supposed to be a pretty good TE. I've got limited confidence in NU's corners, sadly, though I thought McManis played okay. The real problem is that NU's not doing a thing in terms of forcing turnovers.

Defensively, Michigan State is going to come with pressure, and lots of it. NU's job is to a) protect Bacher, which they didn't do in the final 25 minutes, and b) stay with the run, which they essentially abandoned in the second half. As well as Conteh did, I think Roberson's really fast, and I'd like to see him in the game for some option running. Of course, I'd prefer 30 carries from Sutton, but I think that might be wishful thinking.

I don't think NU will win Saturday. I hope they do.

In other news, is anyone in the Big Ten any good?

Here's my B10 power ranking, strictly off the cuff:
1) Ohio State

2) Purdue
3) Wisconsin
4) Michigan State
5) Michigan
6) Penn State

7) Illinois
8) Indiana
9) Iowa

10) Minnesota
11) Northwestern, ranked below the Gophs only because the Gophs didn't embarrass themselves against the Bucks.

I watched a bit of Illinois-Penn State at the bar on Saturday, and they ran the coolest play ever, though it didn't actually work. Still, I like coolly-developed spread option plays, so I'll briefly explain in typed form. (There's nothing else after this trope, so feel free to stop reading.)

Juice Williams in shotgun, Rashard Mendenhall to his left. Kyle Hudson motions from the right slot into the backfield, to Juice's right. Snap, fake to Mendenhall, running off right tackle. Instead, option play develops left, with Hudson. Juice pitches, intercepted by freshman receiver Arrelious Benn, who had been lined up left slot. Benn tackled after a gain of six, but it was some cool freakin' misdirection.

Really, a pretty standard option-reverse, but the fact that Mendenhall essentially became a lead blocker was cool, and the fact that, as always, it wound up in Benn's hands was also cool.

I'd just like to write that the Chicago Cubs are the greatest team in the history of the world. Or, the greatest 79-70 team. Or, the greatest 79-70 team that I've ever supported, anyway.

They're super. Just awesome.

When Aramis ripped his two-run, game-tying triple tonight, I'm pretty sure I heard Ron Santo whistling. Whistling. He's properly impartial, I'd say. (Of course, there's no part of any Cubs fan who wants impartial. We want blabbering and cheering and living it just like we are. Lord knows he is all of those. Gosh.)

Anyway, they won another game tonight they didn't deserve to win which, by my count, makes about four of those in the last eight days.

This list includes:
Tonight - The 7-6 win over Cincinnati in which Mark DeRosa goes 5-5 and the Cubbies score three runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Sunday - The 4-2 win over St. Louis in which they manage to somehow leave 14 men on base.
Saturday afternoon - The 3-2 win over St. Louis, won on Fonzy's eighth-inning homer (by the way, are that guy's wrists amazing or what?)
Friday - The 5-3 win over St. Louis in which Dempster decides, Hey, why not allow two homers in the ninth?
Thursday - 6-2, over Houston, but it featured Steve Trachsel. You don't deserve to win when you run out Steve Trachsel.
Wednesday - The 3-2 win clinched by the improbable 3-6-1 double play. Field your position, Dempster! Sweet, and the day after blowing one.

Six of seven, and seven of ten, and this team is sweet.

Tonight sounds like it was one of those awesome games where everybody just kind of stands, and takes it in, and stands some more, and applauds for no real reason, because they just don't want to leave. There's something magical about sitting in an uncomfortable chair with 40,000 others who are all pulling for the exact same thing.

I was at one of those once, at Wrigley. It was 1998, and the Cubs beat Robb Nen. I started yelling "Bring on the Yankees!" though, it was August, and I should have been more worried about the Braves.

I was at three of those at Comerica, last year. They were pretty sweet.

- - - - - -

You've been spared a semi-tearful post about Northwestern's loss against Duke, and a semi-joyful but tinged with sadness post about Charlie Weis, and Notre Dame's pathetic failure of a season. (I think Ty Willingham was fired, primarily, because he's black. His record after three years will undoubtedly be better than Charlie Weis'. It seems that Charlie Weis' biggest accomplishment in three years will be losing, at home, to a team that didn't even win a national championship. Ty, meanwhile, is steadily improving a program that was in the pits, and he's doing it with dignity and class. Charlie, meanwhile, is doing nothing to improve his program, and he's doing it with a side of chili cheese fries.)

Is there one no-gray-area rule in football? It's tough for there to be a no-gray-area rule. But, Never Take The Points Off the Board might be that rule. NU's 2-1 because their head coach is the only idiot so short-sighted as to ignore that no-gray-area rule.

Oh well, losses like this just make wins over Ohio State that much more joyful.

Because they're probably the thing in life I'm most passionate about (perhaps this is a damning characterization of me, or a statement of the awesomeness of being a fan of anything, really), let's start with the Cats. The 2-0 Cats.

The 2-0 Cats should, without a doubt, be the 1-1 Cats. They were not the better team on Saturday. Outside of their bookend drives (the game-opening TD pass, and the game-closing TD pass), there was no semblance of rhythm. For the second straight week, they seem committed to not giving the ball to their best player (and when they got him the ball, of course, he got hurt, sadly.) They couldn't really stop the run, and they didn't really stop the pass. (541 yards of offense allowed.) CJ didn't really find his rhythm all game - I bet he didn't complete more than three passes is a row on the day.

The good things that developed:
1) Quentin Davie played more.
2) Brandon Roberson proved what we've suspected for years - that he's fast enough to get outside.
3) Ross Lane is officially a go-to guy. As clutch as they come.
4) The kicking game is strong. And Sherrick made a fine return.
5) CJ picked his spots, and did a great job scrambling when the spots were there.
6) Oh yeah. They drove, what, 79 yards in, what, 74 seconds. That was awesome.
7) CJ's got his first totally awesome win.

The bad things:
1) NU wasted a timeout that could've cost them the game, after the bonehead decision to give the ball to their fullback who never touches the ball on fourth-and-inches. This is a coaching mistake.
2) Clearly, Roberson or Conteh or Woodsum or anybody else is not an inside running option.
3) Sutton's hurt - perhaps hurter than we feared.
4) Eddie Simpson's hurt, too - but this opens the door for #41 to be awesome.
5) The D-Line hasn't played well yet.
6) They definitely didn't deserve to win.

Bottom line, though:
1) Gosh, they won, and their one-third of the way to this season's stated or unstated goal.

It wasn't a good win, friends, but they're all good wins.

All I know about Duke is also all you know about Duke. They're bad, streaking-toward-ignominy bad. I hope we're comfortable enough to hold Sutton out, or at least to not start him, to be honest. I'd rather him be healthy for the OSU game. He can help win that one, I think. (I'm delusional.)

- - - - - -

I just spent the weekend in Ann Arbor with Nemo. Of the four-to-five social activities that took place, two involved Nemo's parents. Two more involved Nemo's sister. I found this to be wholly satisfying. I think that's acceptable, right? It's kind of dorky. (But, then again, I like hanging out with my parents more than about anybody in the world; I guess it's acceptable to like hanging out with someone else's parents, too.)

I'd like to talk about Friday, briefly. We went to the Tigers game. Nemo, Carrie, myself, Mr. Nemo, and Mr. Nemo's little brother, Joe. Little Brother, like Big Brothers Big Sisters. I came away very impressed with the program, to be honest, and very impressed with Mr. Nemo's commitment to it.

Young Joe is clearly a different person than Mr. Nemo. Joe, for instance, he's a seventh grader, and his chief interests appear to be Nirvana and body hair. Mr. Nemo, by contrast, is so old that, when he was in high school, they didn't even have history class, and he is primarily interested in horse racing, golf, and the Chicago Cubs. But it sounds like Mr. Nemo has been doing something with young Joe on a weekly basis for the last four years. This may mean lots of bowling, or trips to McDonald's, or something. But, hey, Joe's been apparently dealt a rough hand, and I think Mr. Nemo makes it a little less rough.

Joe was clearly not interested in the Tigers game, but was pretty cool about being not-interested.

I recommended The Thermals to young Joe. Even wrote it down on an index card for him. I figure, they're poppy but aggressive (like Nirvana, in a way), and they're from the Pacific Northwest (like Nirvana, completely). Maybe he'll dig 'em. I hope Mr. Nemo's not upset with me - after all, The Thermals are the totally awesome band who put out an album called Fuckin' A. That's totally inappropriate for seventh graders, y'all.

- - - - - - -

The Cubs are committed to driving me, and you, and anybody with a soul, crazy. Great win today. Great win for Ted Lilly (which, by the way, is a great win for Willie's Destroyers, currently in a do-or-die round of the fantasy playoffs). Great to see a surge from Aramis and DLee. And everything that Jacque Jones does is satisfying.

I love Sweet Lou so, so much. Maybe I wrote this when I last wrote here, but the Cubs' performance this year is the first time - the first time - I've ever truly noticed an awesome managing job. He's so gutsy, and just so fantastic.

- - - - - - - -

Back to the weekend.

I drove down Friday afternoon, through a bit of rain, and back Sunday afternoon, in the sun. Friday, as detailed above, was the Tiges trip. Saturday was a sweaty morning run, followed by a happy viewing of the Cats on the Big Ten Network. Carrie's silent sleeping on the couch made for great game-watching company. And Better Made Potato Chips white cheddar popcorn made for great accompaniment.

As we were sitting down to watch the game (Carrie's a great sport for, you know, wasting her Saturday asleep on the couch while the Cats were on), Carrie began discussing lunch. She had just checked out the Nemo family kitchen.

The highlight is as follows:

Carrie: "Well, we have salami, and bread, and cheese."
Rud: "That sounds like sandwiches!"
Carrie: "Well, we only have enough for one sandwich."

I got a brat out of the deal. And some La Frontera chips and salsa. And then, as the game went on, lots and lots of white cheddar popcorn. I sure love white cheddar popcorn.

Saturday night saw, as referred to above, social activity with Margie Nemo. I've eaten at Margie Nemo's several times - maybe a full hand's worth - and every time is a smashing success. This time, there was corn on the cob and what was referred to as Ramen cole slaw (which, I'd imagine, is basically what I've written, which is to say cole slaw with noodles, kind of), and some fantastic rice, and tandoori chicken and teriyaki chicken. So, basically, we combined is was Rustic American-Indian-Japanese cuisine. And, as mentioned, it was superb.

C Nemo was there. C's worth seeing. Eventually, we discussed the night in, I believe, 2003 when I, apparently, broke into the Nemo family home on Dalton. Damone Brown was on TV, in the NBDL. (Unfortunately, neither Wikipedia nor the NBDL website do a good job of telling me when Damone Brown played in the NBDL. I do know, however, that he was the NBDL's 11th alltime leading scorer as of mid-January.) The most illuminating part of this story is the fact that, for a time, it was believed that my facewash was left at Margie Nemo's home. I don't think I owned facewash in 2003, however, because I have poor hygiene. And fantastic skin.

This night remains mysterious. It's probably listed in the 2003 RedHotHalos archives, but I'd prefer to leave it mysterious.

C, C, B, and I then barred. Eventually, we joined Josh. Then we had nachos. Nachos are a pretty good way to end a night. So is the Huron River Rats 1999 yearbook, kind of.

- - - - - - - - -

If I'm not mistaken, when Josh and Nemo and I golfed on Sunday, I lost a bet. I did not pay off this bet. Perhaps there were no actual stakes for this bet. However, I fear there were, and I'm just an ass for not paying.

I was pretty bad on Sunday, though I may have hit the shot of the day - a blind shot over a hill and onto the green. It was pretty sweet. I hit no other good shots on the final three holes, for the record, but everything worked on that one.

I didn't hit a good eight-iron all day. I think Nemo and Josh find it hard to believe that I'm usually better. After all, there was no evidence of better-ness.

(Though my putting was pretty good. Six straight two-putts to close the round, which is worse than six straight one-putts, but far better than it's been prior.)

- - - - - - - - -

Michigan rest stop vending machines sell Duplex cookies. Is Duplex a brand name, or just a descriptor? Anyway, they're those Oreo-like cookies. These particular cookies are half-chocolate/half-vanilla on the cookie part, and all vanilla creme on the vanilla creme part. And, at at least one rest stop, they're one dollar for 14 cookies. This is the greatest rest stop deal ever. (At another one, the one I stopped at on the way home, they're $1.25. This is still a pretty good deal.)

The cleanliness of Michigan rest stop restrooms is pretty hit-and-miss, I've noticed. In fact, at the $1.25 rest stop, fully half of the urinals were inoperable, and the restroom kind of stunk. But now I've gone too far.

(Though, of course, urine talk often increases comment-flow.)

- - - - - - - - - -

The trip to the Twin Cities is closer to happening. That'd be so fucking awesome.

- - - - - - - - - -

I was supposed to solo golf at the Ring Fingernail Friday morning, but was thunderstormed out. Instead, I watched Stranger Than Fiction On Demand. It's so, so good. I'm going to watch it again, right now, even though I should be awake for work in six hours.

- - - - - - - -

I briefly talked to my sister's friend Sarah tonight, though only brielfy. My sister's friend Sarah is pretty cool. I'm happy I'm able to claim my sister's friends as my own. I'd like to talk to my sister's friend Erin soon, as well. I've claimed her as my own, too.

- - - - - - -

My sister is happily in the Czech Republic now, and she sent me the greatest email. I'll talk to her soon enough. I'm really happy for her, really happy. She's fantastic.

Let's just mention here that the Cats' win was wholly satisfying. I'm more excited today (after they've played) than I was Friday (before their season debut). This team should certainly play a game in December, which is probably the goal this year.

Also wholly satisfying was, of course, the Michigan Wolverines' loss. People who didn't enjoy the fact that Michigan lost to Appalachian State aren't my friends. The logic that says "This makes the Big Ten look bad" may be accurate, but is wholly unrelated. This was #5 people. This is awesome.

One team that probably won't be playing a game in December, or, for that matter, January, is Notre Dame. As a football fan, that was pretty awful to watch. Blowouts aren't fun. Lots of people seem to take joy in ND losses, for obvious reasons; I just wish that Demetrius Jones had had somebody blocking for him. He looked confused, though he never had a chance to look anything but that.

I think it's the time of year where I realize that college football is one of the three most consistently joyful things in my life. I did absolutely nothing all day Saturday, as I plan to many Saturdays, and I finished the day perfectly happy with the state of things. I also had a bellyful of Bell's Kalamazoo Stout, which is more satisfying than you know.

- - - - - - -

I'll be watching my second career game in a sports bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Saturday afternoon. In 2005, I got the chance to watch Tyrell Sutton's college football debut and, therefore, the debut of one of the most entertaining runners I've ever seen. (He's just so darn slippery.) Perhaps, watching this Saturday in Ann Arbor, I'll get to see Jordan Mabin make his collegiate debut, perhaps returning a kickoff for a touchdown. If he's healthy, I guess.

I hadn't heard of Tyrell Sutton entering that day. I'll bring a roster to the sports bar. I'm a far bigger nerd now than I was then, however, so I probably won't need the roster. I'll probably wear my Tyrell jersey, like a complete dweeb.

Though I didn't actually see it, I sense there was a lot to like about Saturday's Cats win. I'm particularly excited that Quentin Davie played and, apparently, played well in fairly extended action. He was highly-recruited, and looks like a speedy athlete. He's also a redshirt freshman, which means he's got a long time to be really good, if he's indeed really good. He also wears #41 which, while not Fitzgerald's #51, was McGarigle's number. That's a pretty good number to have.

It sounds like Sherrick McManis was all over the place, again. It sounds like John Gill was a beast up the middle.

And it sounds like the offensive line was substandard. I hope the offensive line is dominant against Nevada, and I hope that Tyrell rushes for 220 yards.

Gosh, Northwestern football is the greatest.

- - - - - - - -

I didn't get to watch the game Saturday, despite the fact that I went to the only bar in the entire Ring Fingernail region with DirecTV. (This is because Hooters - Hooters - didn't have the foresight to install the satellite system in the first six months they were open. They've decided to install sometime this week, in time for the NFL season. Dumbasses.)

You see, the only bar in town with DirecTV also has only three receivers. This means that, roughly, eight TVs in the place were tuned to Michigan, four were tuned to Michigan State, and one was tuned to Ohio State. (The one OSU fan in town is a bigger dork than me and was, consequently, at the bar by 30 minutes to kickoff. He had already had a Bloody Mary or three; I was planning to nurse three one-dollar beers, perhaps eventually purchasing lunch. More likely, I would have just eaten peanuts. So, by showing OSU instead of NU, the bar won, big-time.)

It is for this reason that The Big Ten Network sucks. I, for instance, can't get DirecTV. No southern exterior wall, no non-tree-obstructed view of the sky, no chance. I, however, would be perfectly willing to drop six or eight or ten bucks a month for the privilege to receive The Big Ten Network. The Big Ten Network, however, seems to insist that theirs is a general interest station. Sadly, it's not.

Upshot: Cable companies and the Big Ten Network butt heads, fans lose. That sucks.

- - - - - - - - -

Let's write briefly about how summer is over. Summer's over, seriously. It's September, seriously.

I spent my last day of summer feeling oddly ill. I don't know why. Then I felt iller, but this is because I watched Carlos pitch against the Dodgers.

I did accomplish a few things on Monday, Labor Day. I bought groceries. I purchased a GMAT Prep Book. I also, on an impulse, purchase a IV, a collection of Chuck Klosterman writings with which I was previously unfamiliar.

Two days later, I'm probably 40 percent through the Klosterman collection. I've read about Steve Nash, Val Kilmer, Morgan Spurlock, and all those awesome Mexican teenaged Morrissey fans. I've not read about the GMAT, sadly.

- - - - - - - -

I'm pretty proud about how I've performed this summer. This weekend, for instance, saw me participate in four separate social situations. That's four social situations in about 54 hours which is, I think, notable. That's good use of time.

I made pretty good use of my three-day weekends, with visits by Gurs, The Boy, and my parents, and a visit back to the CHI to see my sister & others. My final two three-day weekends were, kind of, wastes, which is to say nothing notable really happened. But they were fun and I never felt like I was, you know, wasting them.

I didn't get to the beach enough - not at all in August, I don't think - but I did blow lots and lots of money golfing. My game is far better now than it was two months ago, and I get great, great satisfaction out of a well-placed chip or a well-played hole. It's about the most challenging thing in the world, and it's nice to be able to compete against the course while drinking beer (or Gatorate) with a friend. I even played from the blue tees on Sunday afternoon (then got back in time to see Derrek Lee's game-winning blast.)

Still, the fall is shaping up to be a very, very, very productive time as well. This weekend, as I wrote, I'll be headed to Ann Arbor. I believe the plan calls for, roughly, the Tigs/Tiges (vs. Ichiro) on Friday, some beer on Saturday, and some golf on Sunday.

Then, at the end of the month, Jenny has unofficially officially committed to a trip North. That could be incredible. Nemo was invited (though he doesn't know this), but finds Nashville more interesting.

Mid-October, there's the trip scheduled back to Evanston. I'll get to see the Cats and the Gophers and, presumably, lots of friends that I've forgotten. Or, at least, classmates whose names I don't remember, and great, great friends that I don't see enough.

Then, there's a better-than-slight chance - I'll place it at about 70-30 - that I'll be making a voyage to the Twin Cities the first weekend in November. You see, The Hold Steady is playing, and my ticket is paid for, and that's where my great pal Gurs lives.