So What Have I Been Doing Since MN?

Cutter's Log - Stardate 1102.20.50
Current Song - That Girl (Stevie Wonder)

Since coming back from Minnesota, I had a lot of things happen to me. But I wanted to write about my trip before writing about these other things. Many "blog drafts" were written when I got back, and even in-between writing about the Trip.

Unable to write more, and find the time to do it, I condensed things and put them here.

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My friend Dorothy was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease while I was gone. Her and husband Bill are nightly regulars at the Shell station; playing their lotto, drinking coffee and visiting with either me, Billy or the other pair of regulars Joe and Brenda. So things really don't feel all that well while working nights.

I have a new lotto ticket theory. Play the oldest games. I'm not fond of this new "Cash for Life" deal that's going on. Sure, you may win on more spaces, but for a $2 ticket, you could have two winning spaces of $1 each. This never used to happen with past $2 tickets. They only want you to play more. Mind you, the lottery is run by the State.

Knothing but Knick-Knacks Rummage Sale: Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7. Times are 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

I had a planned column for the overuse of baseball statistics, and the over-emphasis on the scoring process for its games. Baseball and softball are simple games with no need for abundant stats. The offense tries to hit the ball with a bat and try to run around a diamond-shape path. The defense tries to prevent the ball from being hit, and prevent the diamond-circuit from closing. That is hardball. I could care less about "6-2-4 putout," "defensive indifference," "RISP, GIDP, K/9, etc." It's like some people rely on the Elias Sports Bureau to create a leaderboard so that any joe or jane can top it. Oooohh, that's looks good for a college scholarship! Bull.

On my first soccer game back from the trip, I got a little sunburn. Actually, no, I got windburn. Standing outside for two hours in a soccer match with 25 mile-per-hour wind can do this to you, apparently. So for the next week I had to put up with customers wondering "oh, my God," and try to mechanically figure out in their heads how this happened (staring). Not putting on sunscreen has been a bad habit of mine. So I wrote a note that I taped to my rear-view mirror, "Did you remember sunscreen?!?!"

In trying to save money on things, one night I went to Wal-Mart to shop for things. On this list was a gas can for my trunk, envelopes, mints, AAA batteries, a spare phone charger, and a couple of rummage sale signs. I ended up just getting the batteries and a piece of large posterboard. The gas can was eliminated after thinking about it for a few seconds (I really don't need it), the envelopes and mints were on sale somewhere else, the phone charger (which was going to be used for travel) was eliminated because I could just use the one I have, and the rummage sale signs were axed in favor of the posterboard.

This will be the first of what will be many for the years to come, all six of our family members came together for dinner at Candlelight Inn in Sterling. Here's to more of these.

I turned 25 on April 28, quietly. No work, no games, nothing. Presents, of course.

April showers bring May flowers, and real angry sportswriters.

An addend to my vacation week came on the Sunday after I got home. My mom, her mom and sister and I visited the Titanic exhibit at the Putnam Museum. I had seen it once before, about 12 years ago at the Museum of Science and Industry. It was good to see all of it once more, because I had forgotten. But my mom, who's a big Titanic fanatic, remembered every bit of it.

I had a weird feeling that if I saw more weddings, I would know more about true love. So I watched the entire wedding of Prince William and Princess Catherine.