Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Momma said knock you out!

Well, you can't win them all - looks like it was the Ray's year, and good on them! The Sox gave a good run, and I'm sure they'll be back next year - healthier (knock on wood). In other news, the job search continues in full effect (cue laser show and strobe lights), but to no avail (cut lights, use laser to cut hole in bank safe - reach in and grab stacks of Hamiltons, baby!). Actually, some stuff is on the horizon, but I can't really talk about it yet (don't want to jinx it, do we?). Spent the last weekend raking the micro-lawn. Unfortunately, there is a Sequoia parked right in the middle of the postage stamp-sized grass, which has dumped an epic amount of leaves on the property (the landlord says it is my responsibility to rake, mow and shovel). Egads. Anyhow, after filling enough bags to build a moderately sized bunker for a battalion, I spied my neighbors pushing all their refuse into the gutter. Come Monday morning, the street looked like the Paris Commune> - barricades of leaves making a herringbone pattern from one end to the other. Then, magically, a giant street sweeper suction truck came and whisked everything away. Hmmm... seems the neighbors knew what was up. We never had anything like this in Kentucky (nor Boston, for that matter). Brilliant. Halloween will soon be upon us - a lot of folks have pulled out the stops on the decorations - giant spiders hang off of garages, and headless corpses are propped up on many a front yard. In the spirit of the season I bought a discount pumpkin, gutted him for the seeds (roasted, of course - yum), and carved a likeness of Hello Kitty (is there anything scarier then the dead-eyed look of that infernal feline?). Too bad the weather was unseasonably warm - now the Jack-o-Lantern is looking rather tired ("soupy" might be a better adjective). It is so diseased and decrepit, even the squirrels and flies have avoided it.

On the top left is the kitty-esque template, below that to the right is the pumpkin before decomp set in, and below that is a lights-out view (with aluminum foil to protect the gourd and to intensify the candlepower). I keep hoping that it will hang on until the end of the month, but I'm afraid it will end up as a puddle of orangy goo. がんばって!

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

A small island of happiness in a sea of despair...

Howdy folks! In less than 24 hours both local Chicago teams have been eliminated from further post-season play. I honestly feel a great deal for the Cubs and their fans (believe me, Red Sox fans know what you guys are going through right now). As for the White Sox? Hmmm... well, to be fair, they haven't been one of my favourite teams, but I give them credit for making it into the Division playoffs. Of course, I am thrilled that they Red Sox won last night in nail-biting style - it was an awesome series - I truly enjoyed it! The Angels came out and played hard (as befits a 100-game winner). I don't know how Anaheim feels about the Sox - since they are separated by an entire country, it is hard to gauge the relationship (it isn't like New York and Boston - we are so close geographically that it pretty hard not to get a bead on what each town feels about the other). In my opinion, the Red Sox must be to the Angels like what the Yankees were to Boston for so many years - a rival who consistently snatched victory out of their grasp. I sincerely salute the Angels - I do not think that they should be taken lightly, nor, as has been written by some uncharitable sport writers, are they a "speed-bump" on the way to the next level. I don't know how the Sox will fare against the Rays - they are impressive - but I will be cheering on the Olde Towne Team!