Wow...I haven't blogged since Wednesday? I guess living in the city makes me less inclined to sit in front of the CPU all evening. :)

Let's see...well, Thursday for softball, my solid hitting continued again, so, knock on wood, I think I'm out of the slump I was in. We won on Thursday as well, so we're on a roll now.

Yesterday I met Tim, Bill and Frank at Hawkeye's prior to heading to Elbo Room to see Vodka Moxie play...My friend Erin was bartending, and I asked if she was up for going out after work. She said yes, so I said, well, then I'll come back here after the show and we can go hang out...I hadn't seen her or talked to her in awhile. So I left the trio of guys at Hawkeye's and stopped at Gina's house on the way up to drop off some M&Ms, her favorite candy, because she was stuck grading papers. Plus, it's the least I can do for going to this wedding with me today so I don't look like a dateless sap. ;) I know she hates me anyway and this is just pity. :) I stayed there for about a half hour, during which time we made fun of the ugly, ugly people on "The 5th Wheel"...

Vodka Moxie was great, as usual...they seemed to sound better this time, maybe because I was right in front, or maybe just because they were really jamming because they were the headliners for the night, which is cool.

After the show, I dropped Kim off at home and went back down to Hawkeye's...by then Butch was there, and the five of us went up to Dugan's on Halsted in Greektown, because it's open until 3 or 4 or so. Had a few beers there and chitchatted...and then came home and went to bed at the bright and early time of 4 am.

And now I'm about to get ready for this wedding after I relax a bit...I've got some time to kill. :)

Yesterday we DOMINATED in softball, but it didn't look so good for me at first...my first at bat, I decided to just take pitches until I had to swing. I walked on four straight balls. I was then forced out at third and jammed my left wrist a bit sliding...it's kinda sore today. In my second at bat, I noticed the right fielder was practically playing centerfield. Since hitting to right field is a typical (except when you're mired in a terrible slump) specialty of mine, I took a few pitches, including one strike. Then, I got the perfect pitch and underswung and spun it foul. The next pitch was outside a bit, again, perfect. But I hit this one even worse, and struck out because the ball went foul. I was pissed. The next time up, I grounded out to the second baseman. Meanwhile, my teammates were pounding the crap out of the ball and scoring runs like mad. Finally though, I broke through in my last at bat. I used a bit lighter bat, got a nice meatball outside and lined the ball down the first base line. I legged out a triple as my teammates absolutely went nuts...they have really felt bad for me, because they saw me hitting well and know I'm just struggling...in the words of one teammate, that triple was the best-hit ball of the year for the team, probably. We ended up winning like 23-8, which is huge. Thankfully, I've gotten really comfortable at first base and my fielding has been great. I'm not making errors much anymore, which is good...I do drop an occasional bad throw, but it's nothing unexpected, really. So I'm happy about that...first base in 16-inch softball is NOT easy to play and keep your fingers. :)

I went out to Bolingbrook afterward to get my suits and a couple dress shirts and pants, as well as two laundry baskets worth of clothes...so now I have all of my clothes, minus some of the stuff hanging in the closet that I just don't "need" right now...I also packed up my Internet hub and the wires with it. (yippee, I know)...and a bunch of other stuff. There's isn't all "that much" left, really...I thought I'd left a lot of stuff, but it isn't too bad...maybe six-seven more medium-sized boxes and I should be done. Wow...

Today I'm not sure what's going on really...I dropped off my suit and a t-shirt at the cleaners for my coworker's wedding on Saturday...I need to go and buy a present (more money spent, yay...) for them, and also figure out when Gina and I are leaving Chicago--the wedding's in Merrilville, Ind. I know a bunch of the couples are heading down there early and hanging out at the BW3's (Buffalo Wild Wings) before the reception, which is at 6, and watching college football and just hanging out...but I'm not sure what we'll do yet...we'll see. Not that you guys care all that much anyway... :)

I'm still up in the air on Friday, as to whether or not I have softball playoffs or not...that will kind of determine what I'm doing Friday...if I'm going to see Vodka Moxie headline at Elbo Room or not. So we'll see. :)

Well, today was actually a busy Tuesday at work...but full of busy work, really. I basically typed every free agent to be into an excel document along with their team name, position and status in the offseason. Fun stuff...

But whatever...I digress. I now have softball in Park Ridge...this is the last week of the regular season out there. Hopefully I turn it around this week...I'm mired in a horrible, horrible slump in that league. I just can't get on base. I think I will try taking a bunch of pitches today and be selective. Maybe that will help. We'll see.

Then, I'm heading out to The Brook to get at least my suit and probably will bring back the rest of my clothes. I'm going to try to pack up some more stuff and toss it in the car and get it up to the new place. Hopefully Gerard hasn't changed the locks or the alarm settings...otherwise, it could be a long night if he's not home. :)

Then I'll simply head back to the new place and unpack some more. I need to collect whatever I can and start putting it down in storage. I also need to buy a clothes hamper or figure out some system where I don't have a big pile of clothes on my floor. There won't be any room on my closet floor either, because I'll have to store stuff (crates, boxes of crap I don't really use) in there. So I'll have to come up with an interesting solution...I think I have an idea of what I might do, but we'll see.

I should add, it's nice to be able to pop the radio on on my stereo. I haven't been able to listen to the radio in my home in three years, because I was in the basement and couldn't get a signal. Not that the radio's all THAT great, but it's just the little things in life, ya know? :)

Ah well...I gotta take care of one more thing here before getting dressed and heading out to the diamond...will talk more later, if you're lucky. :)

Ahhh...much better. Though my room is not complete, it is in much, much better shape than it was. I moved my dresser/wardrobe thingie and hooked up my stereo in there. I got most of the clothes that were lying around packed. Now I just have to think of an ingenious thing to do with dirty laundry and the crates of completely useless crap that I have. There's probably not enough room for all of it in the closet, and I'd rather not leave CRATES of stuff in the storage room downstairs...I guess as long as my room is presentable and navigable right now, that's all that matters. And it is. Thankfully.

Now I'm debating whether to head to my parents and do some laundry (free!) or soak in the tub for a while. I'm not sure what my plans for this evening are yet...10-cent wings are enticing, especially since I haven't been out with Luis much lately--I'm such a jerk. Priorities, man! :) But we shall see. I guess I'll play it by ear.

First mission accomplished today: I got up before 11am. Problem is, my lower back is killing me. Because of that, I'm not so sure I want to go stand at a PFW booth and devote my time to a good cause. But then, if I don't, my damn Catholic-school upbringing guilty conscience will eat away at me...and eat away at me...and eat away at me.

Argh...stupid Sister Catherine Laboure, or however the hell it was spelled. :) Damn.

I have to get my room in order...but it's so nice outside...but then again, I don't know what there is to do around here outside. Back in The Brook, I'd just go outside and do some gardening or something. But I have no garden here. No real yard either. I mean, I could go and sit on the deck and enjoy the neighborhood or whatever...but I have stuff to do.

So I'll just crank open the windows and make the best of it I guess. I really should go and volunteer my time. Damn, damn, damn. I hate myself. :)

Sometimes I wonder about my best and potentially worst trait: Loyalty.

Now, I like to think I'm not blindly loyal to things, but I'm sure that many of you, in time, have seen me obsess over something at one time or another.

There are many things I'm loyal to. Family, friends, principles, rules, ideals--not in that specific order. Different situations call for different loyalties. If I know you though, and I believe you to be as loyal to me as I am to you, chances are, you'll have my loyalty.

My loyalty is not hard to earn. Basically, if I know you and can get along with you and you don't screw me over or treat me like crap, you have some measure of my support--my loyalty. As our relationship grows, I become more loyal.

Last night, as I was driving back from my friend's bachelor party, at which I stayed 45 minutes yet shelled out the equivalent of everyone else in terms of "entry fee," I wondered why i had even gone? Especially when I felt like I was getting sicker and sicker and really thought I'd wake up with a full-on fever this morning. It was because I knew my lifelong friends were counting on me to be there and ante up when i said I would. i didn't think twice (OK, didn't think three times) about rolling out of bed and forking over a pretty penny to eat one italian beef sandwich, drink two cups of orange juice, and watch one (of a scheduled three) stripper prance around my friend. Whoop-dee-do.

I had gotten sicker after playing softball in the cold for two hours on Friday, wiping my nose with my sleeve and sneezing every five minutes in a very attractive display for all to see. But in softball, you can't pull Kleenex out of your pocket and wipe your nose. I was out there because, well, we wouldn't have had enough guys to field a team if I didn't show up. Again, loyalty, at the cost of my Saturday, which I was supposed to clean my bedroom, which has about two square feet of walking space because every unpacked crate and box I own is on the floor in there.

Then, sometimes, there are times when I'm loyal (having nothing to do with those above) in work, friendships, etc., and I get the feeling that there's no appreciation for the efforts, ya know? And it's those times when I wonder, maybe I'm too loyal and too worried about everyone else other than myself? Am I a dick for thinking that way? I don't think so...but maybe I'm wrong.

Now, I'm not complaining, and I guess I'm not asking for comments, really...and, nothing has spurred this on except the events of this weekend, and it's not as though I'm mad about these things--I'm thrilled that I played softball on Friday and played pretty well, and I'm happy I got to make an appearance at my friend's bachelor party and show that I cared. But remember, I laid in bed pretty much awake from about 10am-8pm yesterday, also thinking that I was getting sicker and sicker (and I'm not a hypochondriac, like PolishBasia... ;) ).

Anyway, chew on that, assess your own loyalties and what you've done for yours lately and enjoy your Monday. :) I'm going to be trying to fend off the rest of this cold, set up my voice mail on my cell phone and hopefully, hopefully get some unpacking done. And that's not even counting if I go and volunteer some time with Special Olympics in Rosemont through work. For that, we shall see how I feel (sick-wise)...

What a difference 12 hours makes...I feel much, much better now. Still sore and congested, but the congestion has moved into my chest, so I'm coughing. I'd rather cough than sneeze, personally. Thank God, because I was not looking forward to trying to work today under the conditions I was in yesterday. But I know I'm not out of the woods yet--I can feel the swelling in my ear sinuses, so I have to hope I don't get an earache or infection. Crossing my fingers now. :) I'm about to leave for work now though, and maybe I'll update here later...I have some thoughts on some things...but we'll see if I have the time to share. :)