Sorry -- I've been busy waiting

Besides which, I don't have a lot to talk about.

The Great California Road Trip of 2005 is quickly approaching. We are starting to realize how big this epic undertaking is, and we can only hope it goes well. Time to do laundry and pack my bags...

In fact, my life is currently all about waiting for stuff to happen. Waiting for my dog to get fixed so I can take her to obedience classes, waiting for the DishNetwork guy to call me back to deal with my complains, waiting for tomorrow's WalkAmerica (thanks to all of you who failed to donate to me; hopefully you had other friends to support), waiting for my road trip, waiting for various summer adventures, and (most of all) waiting to meet my baby.

Sometimes life seems to go by too fast. The trick is, during those times, you really aren't waiting for anything, so you don't notice how much time you're passing. Right now, life is going slow as I await so many great things.

Right now I'm waiting for an e-mail response from one or more of my bosses on whether I need to do a certain something about a certain case. No answer yet, so I wait on. Hopefully I hear from them soon. Once that's accomplished, I'll just wait on something new.

This is an amazing time for me. Just in the sheer number of things I find myself waiting for. I went through several months last year waiting for nothing in particular, and now, WHAM, here the waiting is...

I'll spend this weekend waiting for the week before my vacation. I'll spend my vacation waiting to get from place to place. I'll spend the last day waiting just to get home to my own bed. I'll spend the following week waiting for my next day of freedom, so I can mow my lawn. And so on.

Of course, there are so many opportunities I wait for, just to procrastinate once they arrive. Is this so I can have the pleasure of waiting for them longer? To try, somehow, to lengthen my existence through persistent anticipation?

Who knows.

Since I know you're all waiting for me to stop typing, I'll oblige you. Hope you all join me in having a lovely weekend.

Catch ya later.

A case of the Hmmmmmmm's

Couple things bouncing around my mind today, as I sit here revelling in the miracle of flex-time and awaiting the induction of Tivo into my life.

Existentialism
Last night, I was gripped by the occasionally recurrent feeling I have of general heebie-jeebieness. I tend not to get this feeling about much of anything, but there's one set of issues that always causes it to rise.

First, I think about death. What is it? What happens to us when we die? What will our experience be like?

Then, that always leads me to the thing that truly freaks me out. What is life? What is existence?

Getting the heebie-jeebies even now.

I've tried, unsuccessfully, to explain this whole gut-wrenching thought process to various people in my life. My mom, when I was a kid; my wife now. I'm not able to put it into words. I find myself foundering even now.

At the outset, I'm a Christian. As such, I have a true faith that, after I die, I'll go to heaven.

But faith is not reasonable, is it? It's my mind that I grapple with, even as my soul tries to be calm.

Because, what does it mean to live forever? What is this conciousness that's living now? Will I always be the same conciousness? If not, what will happen to the me that I know? What am I?

Do these questions resonate with anyone? I think if my dad were alive, they'd resonate with him. My dad was always someone who suffered the dichotomy between reason and faith. He spent many years researching Christianity, reading books about it, trying to figure out what it meant in the scheme of what he knew, or what he kne he didn't know. He died having expressed faith in the words in the Bible, but having still not wrestled his doubts into submission. He died, I think, with the same heebie-jeebies that I sometimes feel. Only, now, he knows the answer. I don't.

I remember philosophy classes in college, going through the works of some of the early philosophers. I was taken with Descartes, who found himself, I think, trying to resolve some of the same issues in his mind. What was existence? What did the fact of his being represent? Was it all an illusion? If so, who, or what, was being deceived, if anything?

He settled on the decision that he simply had to accept that he was, because no matter how silent he tried to make the world, he couldn't fight the fact that there was something pondering it all, and that something was him. "I think, therefore I am." I don't know that he ever settled the question of who the "I am" doing the thinking was, or resolved the significance of that thought in the eternal scheme, but at the very least he found something that grounded him when the heebie-jeebies hit.

Last night, not content to ponder what was bothering me any more than I had (thus spurring the knot in my stomach), I placated myself with a half-bottle of Two-Buck Chuck and my X-Box, then fell asleep petting my pooch. Not sophisticated, not a resolution, but it worked nonetheless.

Job Dissatisfaction
My wife, struggling with the various down-sides of pregnancy (fatigue, nausea, the occasional headaches), is starting to wonder how much she erally likes her job.

My wife went to nursing school with the desire to be a community health nurse, or perhaps to teach, or to work with kids. After nursing school, she launched herself into a fine opening career salvo by taking a job in the Pediatric ICU at Doernbecher Children's Hospital, up on Pill Hill. A year of that, and she was fried. The daily grind of going to where children were dying or near-death, working to comfort them and hoping to heal them, and coming home questioning herself on whether she'd forgotten the slightest detail which might cause a patient to die overnight, all combined to break her down. She spent nights crying herself to sleep. She had bad dreams about her job once she got to sleep. She woke back up again, in a panic, and often had to cry herself back to sleep, if she could achieve sleep at all.

She hated her job.

Her friend, JLowe's wife, had worked in Pediatric Oncology at Doerbecher at the same time, and burned out on that within a year as well. She jumped ship to the Red Cross, and my wife soon followed, both relieved to find a relatively low-stress vocation compared to what they'd had, but both knowing that they didn't want to settle in forever.

JLowe's wife jumped ship a month ago. My wife is now questioning how long she wants to stay, maybe spurred by the departure of JLowe's wife, but certainly with other reasons for looking. One thing is the schedule. Red Cross nurses are scheduled to work 40 hours a week. On average, they work 50-60. This is fine when you get the big paychecks, but when you're pregnant and having difficulty sleeping, the irregular hours and the long days don't go so well. Further, the job is not very taxing mentally. The wife has always felt a little guilty, thinking that she's wasting her education. I've always told her education is for opportunity, and as long as she's in a place she's happy, she needn't feel guilty. However, she's no longer happy, and that spells trouble.

What to do? Well, realizing that financially we're in no position for a shake-up, she's currently just trying to find a way to work an actual 40 hour week so that she can at least feel good physically. But she's also wondering about other stuff to do. She's thinking about ditching nursing all-together.

Not exactly what I want. One of the things I appreciate about nursing is that it's one of the few professions that primarily grew as a women's field, and as such there are generally many family-friendly nursing jobs out there. It's just a matter of finding one that fits. And, since she's the one that wants to, somehow, pare back her schedule, I'm hoping that she can find something that allows that while still bringing in the type of dollars that we need to keep us afloat (law school loans + nursing school loans + mortgage + car loan + dog + baby = ugh!).

I'm actively soliciting ideas, both nursing-related and not, for something that she can either replace her current job with, or use to supplement income while cutting back to part time. Feel free to comment.

Anyway, Tivo's still not here, dog is anxious to hang out, and I'm tired of typing. Off to enjoy my flex-time, keeping in mind the quiet knowledge that I'm paying for today's fun with a long, hectic tomorrow.

Catch ya later.

Last shot

My office has a team walking in March of Dimes' WalkAmerica on Saturday. I'm still trying to meet my personal fundraising goal of $1500 (I'm only 1/3 of the way there). If you'd like to contribute, shoot me an e-mail (piemans.leblogue at gmaildotcom) and I'll send you the link.

Let's make this quick...

The long day just keeps going.

Woke up. Went to Salem. Testified on a bill I didn't write (my own passed through the committee with flying colors). Visited some old friends. Went to my office. Taught a class. Went back to my office. Went to a meeting. Now back in my office, preparing for two more meetings.

Then, at about 9, I get to go home and play with my dog. Hopefully my wife remembered to set up the VCR to catch The OC (still waiting on the Tivo upgrade...).

Ugh.

On the good side, there was free pizza at my first meeting (although I really shouldn't have had any, I was too weak to resist). Also, yesterday my wife sprung for a new suit so I could look hot for the legislature (believe it or not, it was my first new suit in four years, and the first step in a much-needed clothing upgrade). Much cred to the MW folks: true to the commercial, I went in at 5:30 and they were able to alter my pants by 8pm. Good deal.

Wish I had something semi-decent to share, but unfortunately I don't. If you want to sound off on my latest best-of/worst-of effort at Portland Metroblogs (today's topic: sushi), please hop on over.

Catch ya later.

Bit nervous...

No, not about the baby.

About how I might end up spending my Thursday.

For all those who've forgotten, I'm locally employed as a criminal prosecutor in the county DA's office. As such, besides writing bloggy stuff in my free time, I also end up doing real, official, and even important work.

Several months ago, one of the sergeants at the Gresham Police Department asked me why Oregon didn't have a law to deal with people who drive with really high blood alcohol contents. For instance, many states have not only a DUII (driving under the influence of intoxicants) statute, which (almost universally) criminalizes driving while having a BAC of .08 or more, or while being visibly impaired by alcohol or drugs, but also have Aggravated DUII statutes which increase penalties for driving with particularly high BAC's (usually in the neighborhood of .16 to .20).

I told the sergeant that was an excellent point, and that he should call his legislator. But then, a few months passed, and one of the supervisors in my office sent out an e-mail soliciting ideas for new legislation to be proposed to the legislature. Remembering the sergeant's idea, I proposed an Aggravated DUII law. The supervisor liked my idea, and suggested I draft one up.

After much hard work, and the passage of some time, my work product is in front of the legislature as HB 2360 (for the purposes of academic honestly, I note that some modifications--though nothing major--have been made by other people in shepherding this to the legislaure).

I really wasn't expecting to have anything more to do with this statute, except to have some feeling of personal satisfaction if/when the law was placed into effect (and, just to make sure it's clear, I've kept the sergeant up on all of this to, because he's the person who inspired it). But I received a call earlier this week from another supervisor in our office, noting that the first supervisor wasn't available to take part in a scheduled legislative work session, and neither was Josh Marquis, one of the biggest guns of the Oregon District Attorney's Association, and a man who has guided several DUII law revisions into our statute books. Would I be available to go?

Anyway, upshot is I will (most likely) be in Salem on Thursday, addressing the legislative sub-committee that's working on this bill, on behalf of the state's DA's. A bit daunting for a small-town boy just trying to make it good.

Wish me luck.

And thanks to the many people who've commented (well, only Betsy so far...) or sent me personal congrats on the bun in the oven. I'm very excited, and I'm happy to know that others are rooting for us as well.

Catch ya later.

Official announcement

The PieBaby is on the way.

November 2, 2005. Save the date.

Catch ya later.

The Great California Road Trip of 2005

Coming soon to a Pieman near you, it's the grandest adventure of a lifetime.

Me and The Missus are going with JLowe and his betrothed. Should be quite the adventure.
For the actual itinerary, you can read JLowe's post here.



Catch ya later.

Couple of late thoughts

Currently I'm supposed to be in NW Portland helping a friend move his TV to his car. The reason? Today is another HALO-fest.

Problem is, either my wife forgot I was driving her to work this morning, or else I was dead to the world and entirely unresponsive when she tried to roust me at 6:30 this morning. Either way, the upshot is that my car is missing.

Which conveniently gets me out of lifting a TV, but creates the issue of me having to develop a way to teleport to SW Portland, where the festivities are being held.

While I'm trying to figure that one out, a couple of late, but quick, thoughts...

DIET
As I announced last week, I've embarked on another bit of targeted dietary lunacy by engaging in a trial of the South Beach Diet. For two weeks, during this awful phase one, the diet is essentially Atkins, with low carbs, lots of protein, and bad ketonic breath.

The results? So far, lost about 8 lbs. While at the Red Coach yesterday, I sat down and enjoyed a tasty double cheeseburger (sans bun) and a Diet Coke. And I stared longingly at the lovely french fries being gobbled by the other consumers at the joint. And I drooled.

Monday, phase 2 begins. Limited re-entry into the carb world in a quest to see how much I can have while still losing weight. I'm very happy. I've missed sushi...

THE FREE BLAZERS GAME
Let me say this. I'm glad Thursday's game was free, because I feel very bad for anyone who had to pay to watch that garbage.

Which is not to say the whole game sucked. At the beginning of the second half, things got exciting for a bit and the Blazers went on a run, knocking a consistent 14 point Dallas Mavericks lead down to 7. But they couldn't sustain it, and eventually it was another night of "can they at least not get blown out?" basketball.

I was having a great time, though. I got to sit up in a suite with JLowe, some lucky radio listeners, and the crew from 1080 The Fan's Primetime Sports. I bent the diet a little to celebrate my good fortune with a free beer and some free fried chicken (peeled the skin off), both of which I should have done without (although the beer made the game more tolerable). If it hadn't been for JLowe's insistence on milking our seats for all the luxury viewing they were worth, though, I would have done the unthinkable and left early to avoid the rush at the MAX. I was honestly considering making a break for it at halftime, but thought I might look ungrateful if I did so.

After the game, I listened intently to the radio to hear if any of the quips I was throwing out in the box while the radio guys were around would be used. Nada. But I did get to hear about the excitement involving both Darius Miles and Ruben Patterson, who both boiled over in various frustrations after the game (here's the latest). My thoughts:

• Darius is a jerk. Ever since he got his paycheck, he's been a little baby. We should've waited until the end of the season before paying him.
  
• Ruben is right. The team is pulling a tank job now to get a good lottery position. And there's no excuse, if the team's honestly trying to win, to pull both Ruben and Shareef out of the game when the team is still in striking distance and the afore-mentioned fellas are the highest scorers in the group. As a fan, I expect a team to try to win. But, as a fan, I also expect a team to do its best to improve. And, at this juncture, the best shot at improvement may in fact be a tank job. So I say soothe Ruben's ego, tell him he's right, allow him to take the last 3 games off so you can pull off your tank job, and make some strides this summer to show him, and the fans, that you mean business when you say you're going to improve this team on and off the court.
  
• And then trade Zach and Darius and Derek. Re-up Shareef. Throw some cash at Joel to keep him here, because Theo is not our future (although I don't see him as our past yet, either). Get some shooting (sorry, Frahm, you're not the guy). Get a couple of solid veterans in here to work with Sebastian. If possible, convince Damon to come back as our back-up PG. And start Ruben all next season, giving all the back-up SF time to Travis so that when Ruben leaves he's ready.

That's my plan. When you fire John Nash, give me a call. I'm dirt cheap.

So, that's it. Turns out JLowe's able to swing by and get me, so I have to make sure the dog is properly emptied of her foul contents and watered before leaving her for a few hours of bliss.

Catch ya later.

A note to Uncle Sam

Damn you, old man. You've beaten me again.

How do you always do it? Every year, I try to be clever enough to figure out how to stay ahead of you, and yet you are so much smarter it makes me sick.

First I deducted the student loan interest. But you started giving me less bang for those bucks.

Then, I bought a house. You scoffed at my attempts to benefit from that investment.

Finally, I appealed with all the various local taxes I'm paying. County income tax, property tax. Surely, with all of these tools, I should have vanquished you.

But you had that evil ace, the alternative minimum tax, up your sleeve.

So, Sam, piss off. I've given you your pound of flesh. Now leave me alone 'til next year.

Oregon, same to you, but less of it.

And, Diane, since your system failed to acknowledge my dim-witted schemes at manipulating withholding to try to break even (a miserable failure, for sure), you'd better pay up. I have a family to feed...

And the free ride continues

Yet another free Blazers game in my future.

Tomorrow's game to be exact.

And free food and drinks as well.

How did I get so lucky? A confluence of events, including a too-full gym parking lot which sent me on my way home, my horrific dependence on local sports talk radio, and my far-too-developed Blazers knowledge that betrays my claims to not be paying any attention this year.

As I was driving home from said gym, cursing my luck at having shown up at the same time as the rest of Portland, a trivia question was posited by the folks at 1080 the Fan, Portland's sports talk station. See if you can get the right answer (correct answer posted in comments section).

Question: After Damon Stoudamire, who's played in excess of 700 minutes more than the next-highest player on the team (amounting to about 17 games more than anyone else on the team over the course of the season), which Trailblazer has played the most minutes this year?

I was the 10th caller (never happens) and had the right answer (happens even less), so tomorrow I get to sit in one of the luxury suites, free food in hand (assuming it fits in the scheme of my diet) and free game in my eyes. Pretty sweet.

My wife, of course, has right of first refusal to the tickets. Assuming she'd be exercising that right, I contacted my boys C-Mac (who's a huge Mavericks fan, despite being a Lake Oswego Mormon who's never, to my knowledge, even seen Texas) and JLowe (who is widely known as my hetero life mate). C-Mac already has tickets (I kind of expected that), but JLowe is game. My wife's currently mulling her options.

Anyway, more proof that good things happen to good people. If you're there tomorrow, look for the guy smiling big while trying to act disinterested.

Catch ya later.

Why do I care (a.k.a. Damn Yankees)

While working today, I found myself tuning my browser into ESPN.com's GameCast of the Yankees/Red Sox game, which I wouldn’t miss for the world.

And then I thought, why do I care?

It’s interesting how sports allegiances are formed. As an example, I’ll list my sports allegiances, and explain why I have them, if I can figure it out.

College Sports
U of O, all the way. Why? I once had a girlfriend who attended U of O. Actually, she attended UW and PSU as well, but I was with her during her U of O phase. That was the year U of O’s football team, lead by Bill Musgrave and Cristin McLemore, went to the Rose Bowl and were pounced upon by Penn State. I remember going to my girlfriend’s house to watch the game with her and her family. It was a great day. Ever since, I’ve been a loyal Ducks fan, and I credit it all to the good times I had with my dearest Spot.

Basketball
Despite my current angst towards them, I’ve always been a Blazers fan to some extent. Right now I’m a fan of what they once were and what they (hopefully) will become. And, try as I might, I can’t help but be interested in knowing how they did in the last game they played, even as I swear that I won’t ever care again. And, as far as I can tell, I’m only a Blazers fan because they’re my hometeam.

NFL Football
49ers and Cowboys, because they provided so many great games during high school and college, when I was really following the sport (and back when players weren’t changing teams every year); Lions because Harrington the Duck is there; Vikings because I’m a Minnesota product. Generally I’m more a fan of NFC teams than AFC ones, despite the fact that the AFC has dominated the last few years.

Which brings us to Major League Baseball, and the source of today’s post:
Seattle Mariners, because they’re virtually a home team; and the Yankees and the Red Sox.

The Yankees and the Red Sox? That’s right. I like them both.

I originally hated the Yankees, especially back in the Jay Buhner/Ken Griffey days of the Mariners (who I followed in college) when the Mariners were trying to get to the series and the Yankees were succeeding in preventing that from happening. But in law school, I had a roommate from New York for whom Yankees games were required viewing, and as his enthusiasm grew, it infected me and I became a Yankees fan, following them through their first of several World Series in the modern era.

The BoSox is another story, and much lamer. A couple years ago (well, almost), I started working in our Gresham office, and during lunch myself and the other lawyer out here (who lives very close) would head to his house to play Playstation baseball for an hour. I originally tried to play with the Yankees, but found that they didn’t have the necessary pitching to do any damage to C-Mac’s team of choice, the Arizona Diamondbacks. So I thought about pitchers, realized I needed someone overpowering like Pedro Martinez, and started playing with the Red Sox. And as I grew in my domination, I also grew in my affection for the quirks of the players. Particularly Pedro, who (just like in real life) was either brilliant and un-hittable, or else wild and uncontrollable, and Johnny Damon, who was fast as hell but had the weakest arm ever seen.

And so, last year, as the ALCS (read “The Real World Series”) was being played, I was torn for who to root for, and although I was kinda leaning towards supporting the Yanks, I was fine with Boston proceeding to the Big Show.

So, looking at all of this, what makes a person a sports fan? Personalities, proximity, and Playstation appear to answer that question.

Who do you follow, and why?

Catch ya later.

Blazers re-cap

Thanks to Denise for a previous comment reminding me that I'd forgotten to discuss my Blazers experience on Wednesday.

I was again able to preside over a Blazers defeat. I did so in much better style, though, having scored a free seat next to the Little Dutch Boy in the 100 level, right near half court. One of the best two seats I've ever had.

I was pleasantly surprised by what I say. I think thanks mostly to the absence of both Zach Randolph and Darius Miles, two of the more over-paid, counterproductive people in the league.

I realize Zach is an excellent scorer and rebounder. But he doesn't make the team better. He's pretty lazy on defense, doesn't set good picks, and doesn't pass when he's double-teamed. He's the classic me-first player.

And Darius doesn't seem much different.

On Wednesday, it was a very exciting game, though. Sebastian Telfair shows good signs for the future, as long as he doesn't draw ideas of what it is to be an NBA baller from the wrong Wells (well, Zach and Darius are old Bonzi disciples, so this isn't too much of a stretch). Shareef Abdur-Rahim again demonstrated why he should be our starting power forward next year (although he most certainly won't) with his unselfish play, hustle, and hard work. Ruben Patterson was all over the place, pacing the team on offense and working very hard on the defensive end as well. Say what you want about Ruben off the court; on the court, he's a prototypical baller, and he does wonders for the team. Finally, Joel Prysiopasdfjkl;billa continues to impress. He might be the best thing the soon-to-be-sent-packing John Nash ever did for this team.

By the way, rumor is Jim Paxson is being chased out of Cleveland. Any bets as to whether or not he ends up here?

Anyway, we lost by two after Damon Stoudamire, the Blazers' feel-good story of the last year and a half, missed a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. But the team walked off the court with their heads held high, having clearly left everything they had out there.

I liked what I saw.

I'll actually spring for a ticket next year if the team gets rid of Zach and Darius. Darius is unneeded with Ruben and Travis Outlaw, and Zach is a good player who may have a bright future, but he needs to be around some veterans who will be able to force him to play the right way. Just don't have that here. He's not ready to be the top dog.

So, good game, made me excited for the future and still-frustrated by the present. I hope that this summer, with a new general manager, we can pull the trigger on some trades that'll actually do something for our team, instead of holding players out of fear that we might be giving up too much. And either re-sign Shareef, or else find some tried-and-true talent (or a college graduate who's built a reputation for playing right) to fill that void.

And, no, I didn't cave in and have beer and/or other carbs. I'm very serious about not giving Paul Allen any money until he does right by the city. Oh, and that diet thing, too...

Now, off to mow the lawn.

Catch ya later.

5000 hits

Thanks to Denise for inflating my blog stats just enough to finally get acknowledged for a milestone hit.




Next up, 10k. Better start clicking, Mrs. Thornton!

New puppy photos

Click here to see my puppy photos.

The top 16 are older pictures, taken shortly after we got her in February (some of you may recognize them). The pictures below those were taken today. She's getting bigger (sorry, no pictures of her with me for reference), but she's still cute as a button.

Can you see her mange? Hopefully, the power of Mitaban will solve that sooner or later...

Catch ya later.

Return of an old feature

Random picture of the day:




Not sure what it is, and I took the picture. It's kinda neat, though...

Why I shave my head

Almost did this morning, except I wanted to document the cruel truth of my thinning-ness.




When I was a little boy, I had long curls and thick hair. My grandma always used to tell me how much she wished she had my hair instead of the thin, frail hair she passed onto both of her daughters.

I think now she's thankful she didn't get her wish.

I'd rather be bald.

Now you know.

Good morning, good morning, good morning...

It's time to rise and shine.

Normally, I'd be in the shower right now, and out the door in 15 minutes.

Not too stressed today, though, thanks to the extra hours I've been putting in this week on the never-ending project. Ahh, the wonders of flex-time.

What is this accursed project I'm working on? It's for an upcoming court argument over the legality of Portland's Drug Free Zone Ordinance. Why, as the Gresham Neighborhood Deputy District Attorney, am I working on this? Because Gresham is working on installing one in Rockwood, and as the area DDA, it falls on me to help set it up, so we figured I should get an idea of the various legalities of the ordinance.

But, light at the end of the tunnel. The court battle is fast-approaching, and after that no more work (on this project, anyway). And that makes me happy.

Diet's progressing. Will advise of first week weight loss on Monday.

The Missus is still sick. Lots of headaches and congestion, no fever, no nausea (but not very hungry). If you've got a spare moment, send a prayer her way.

My pupy has gained 20 pounds since we got her at the end of February. She's turning into a mule; barely fits in my lap anymore. Right now she's staring at me because she feels neglected. Boo-hoo. Now she's going to play with the bone that I filled with peanut butter. Her life is rough...

Well, despite my belief in the utilization of flex-time, I need to be off. I'm thinking of utilizing the majority of it Friday, which is always a good practice.

See you at the Blazer game tonight. I'll be the guy in the 100 level seats, smiling because it's free, without any concessions in my hand.

Catch ya later.

Almost forgot...

This news story was just too interesting. Comments?

Dieting day one and other crap

So, today I started my diet.

I tried to start last night, actually, just to get the jump on JLowe. For dinner, I had some steak, cooked on my own barbie.

However, as I realized it was my last chance for two weeks to enjoy anything remotely interesting, I ended up drinking a beer, eating some of my wife's mint Brussels, eating some pringles chips, drinking some chocolate milk, then drinking some grape juice. I don't know what came over me. I was just ravenous.

Today, however, was different. Woke up, made myself a little omellette (canadian bacon and string cheese), ate some non-fat plain yogurt with Splenda for a snack, some string cheese and turkey breast for lunch, and some string cheese and some almonds for a snack. Now, I'm defrosting a chicken. And eyeing the artichokes in my fridge.

My wife is sick. Sometime Saturday she got hit with the flu that everyone's got, and it hit her hard. She's been laying in bed now for 3 days, in pain and despondent, watching DVD's on the laptop and just wishing the time would go by faster and that she'd feel better.

I, for one, haven't suffered any major illnesses since my last brush with death at Thanksgiving. I did have a minor cold in February, caused by my friend Joe, but other than that I've been doing great.

But this morning I felt the beginning twinges of a sore throat. As I write this, I'm feeling it more. Is this psychosomatic? Probably.

In fact, everyone in the family is sick. Olive went to the vet today, where we were having her checked to see if her mites are gone, and hoping that she'd be well so that she can get fixed. No such luck. A scraping revealed the mites are still hanging out, despite three dips in lovely mite-killer. As I talked to the nurse today about dogs, she revealed that she has a mini-dobie that had mites. In thinking about it, I've realized my childhood dobie, and the dog by which all others must be judged, also had mites at one time. So Ollie's present situation, though somewhat frustrating, is just par for the course. I only pray she holds out on heat another couple of months...

What else is new? Nothing. I spent this weekend tending to my poor, sick wife, doing dishes, doing laundry, washing the dog (more pictures will come, I swear!) and watching movies. So, a couple quick reviews, since that's what I'm good for...

I (heart) Huckabees
This movie is strange. But funny. Not quite the strange funny of Napoleon Dynamite, or even the strage funny of Rushmore, Jason Schwartzman's other foray into offbeat comedy. It's its own strange funny. Follow Jason and his buddy Marky Mark as they search for the meaning of life, delving into the mysterious coincidences and petroleum problems faced by our world with the assistance of an excellent Dustin Hoffman and a so-so Lily Tomlin. This movie is worth renting. Glad I didn't see it in a theater, though.

Closer
The sad tale of a self-inflicted loser-in-love (Jude Law) who learns that the best writers dip their figurative quill into a single figurative ink pot (Natalie Portman) and concentrate on writing that figurative story, instead of following their fancies from one ink pot to another (Julia Roberts) and in the process pissing off her brooding English husband/figurative blotter (Clive Owen). Which brings up a question. You're Jude Law. You have the choice of Natalie or Julia. Assuming neither will physically age, and both will retain their present beauty (okay, maybe we'll let Nat age a little, as for many she's still a little young-looking), which do you take? Clive took Julia. Jude, that imbecile, lost both of them.

Biloxi Blues
I love the Eugene Jerome films. But between Brighton Beach Memoirs, starring a brand-new Johnathan Silverman as the teen-aged Eugene, and Biloxi Blues, with the always-fantastic Matthew Broderick, I opt for the former. The comedy is shot better, but you still get the depth of the experience. Maybe it's the family dynamic that's built in. Maybe it's just direction. Whatever. I like Biloxi Blues, I encourage a rental of both for a rainy day, and now I move on to the only new film I've seen this week:

Sin City
Delightful. Naughty. Funny. Dark. Go see it.

Enough. I need to go make my chicken, check on The Missus, pet the dog, and watch a movie.

Catch ya later.

PS - Due to a serious lack of interest in discussing anything important, I abstain from discussing the passing of the Pope and Terry Schiavo, though both are sad. If you really need me to broach a serious topic, go check out today's metblog.

South Beach?

So, JLowe and his wife are going on the South Beach diet on Monday.

Last year, I went on the blood type diet and lost about 40 pounds. A year later, I've put back on 30 of those. So, I've opted to give South Beach a try with my friends.

Besides, as far as I can tell, it's much like the blood type diet.

Anyway, in celebration of our upcoming abstinence from highly enjoyable eating, JLowe and I had sushi at Todai today. I'm pretty keen on that place, especially since I've developed an uncanny ability for not having to ever pay when I go there (this was JLowe's second time in a row treating me).

An hour later, we both emerged, stuffed to the gills. I guaranteed JLowe that I wouldn't ever eat again. I recanted, then swore that I'd not have any food crossing my lips for at least 6 months.

"I'll hold you to that," he said.

Well, he was right. After The Missus got home, she informed me that the Little Dutch Boy had called, asking if we'd care to join her for tasty Indian food at Swagat, which is not yet in my Portland's best list, but should eventually work its way over there.

I had my usual, Chicken Saag (chicken in a mildly spicy spinachy sauce) a la carte. Also had a Mac's Ale (no beer on South Beach), and plenty of tasty bread. All was well, except that our waiter was a bit of a slacker (totally forgot my second beer, forgot a special order I requested for my wife, and totally disappeared for about 30 minutes without checking on us as we waited for dinner), and our tasty bread showed up looking like it was a tad moldy.

The Little Dutch Boy is an expert at getting free stuff through the system of complaining. So, with the whole moldy-looking bread thing, we thought we might get a nice discount.

Turns out the bread had ash on it from the stove that Swagat uses to cook the bread in, and so we had no such luck.

Now I'm home, as is The Missus, who's nursing a new cold. I sent her off to bed with some peppermint tea and Hall's cough drops, and I'm catching up on some much over-due blogging while my dog plays with her newest toy, a little plush animal that is keeping her quite busy (thankfully).

Man, she's beating the crap out of it. I hope it survives the night...

Catch ya later.