Well, it took me two hours to get home yesterday. That was bad. Plus, my heater's blower motor is on the fritz...it screeches and makes a loud rumbling noise. I might take a look at it later, if I can. We'll see...if I can figure out how to get into the part under the dash where it's located easily. We'll see how it goes...

Went to Barleycorn on Clark last night for a gathering of friends. It was pretty cool...a good time, as expected. That was after meeting Cheshire Kim and a couple others at a bar called Simon's up on Foster and Clark. It was more of a tavern than a bar, but it was quite cool...sat around, had a couple beers and chatted. Then I went and picked up Gina and we went over to Barleycorn. There were a good handful of the neighborhood folks who actually trekked up to the North Side to Barleycorn, which was impressive. Aside from some drunken debauchery that had my brother and I very, very pissed, it was a good night...fun and everything.

So yeah...today, I have yet to walk the dog, which I should do. And, of course, I want to take a look at the car...but we'll see. I need badly to clean my room. Badly.

It's just after 4pm. I'm about to be on the radio in Jacksonville. I am done with all my work otherwise. It's not snowing in Jacksonville. It is here. It's an hour and a half from Lake-Cook to the Junction on the Edens because of it. That sucks, as I have places to be. Oh well...that's what I get for being a nice guy, I guess.

Thanks to Jim for making me aware of my newfound fame. This is the first time this has happened that I know of that wasn't a message board or someone closely linked to our paper. :) Cool, I say. Cool.

If you haven't read the first 75, at least read the top 25. Laz, obviously, this means you...but others are more than welcome, of course. :) What a great list... :)

In reference to Basia's latest blog entry I was always a jack of all trades...but Basia forgot the last part of that phrase: "jack of all trades, master of none."

That typified me, really. But it was because I love to do so much stuff, I rarely focused on any one thing for a long, long time. About the only thing I've ever "mastered" in terms of career-wise, is copy editing. And even that now has deteriorated some b/c I'm at a weekly instead of a daily. There's a huge difference.

Growing up, I dabbled in a lot of creative-type stuff...model building, model railroading, drawing, playing with Legos, devising storylines for my Legos and Transformers and GI Joes and whatnot...and then playing them out. Usually it revolved around setting up my little Lego town and then pretending a natural disaster hit town. I was obsessed with natural disasters and weather phenomena growing up. I could have easily gone into meteorology or storm chasing, etc., etc. But I heard how tough meteorology was and chickened out.

Until high school, I had no idea what I REALLY wanted to do...then my mom mentioned I should join the school paper because I wrote well. That worked out pretty well, and here I am. But I never was a good reporter or anything like that...and don't think I ever will be, because that's not my personality.

I still desire to act and be in movies and things like that. I like the stage I think, or at least I'd like to check it out, though I pretend it's a big deal to get me up there. I enjoyed acting in that short one-act at CRC my senior year, and I always wished I would have PLAYED South Side Andy in my movie...not that Frank did a bad job, (he was perfect, really) but I would have had a ton of fun doing it. I'm a character, as many of you know, and I like to ham it up a lot of times.

Growing up, I always thought I'd be a truck driver and have my own trucking company: "Hanacek's Hauling." I even drew the trucks and the logo and crap. This was something I always thought would be cool, because I love traveling and thought that would be the ultimate way to see the country.

In high school, I aced my accounting class, and for a while I thought about doing that, because it was simple, brainless work to me almost...now, balancing my checkbook is ridiculously simple, and I wonder why I didn't do that? (I've never strayed more than $1, EVER.)

Of course, you all know that I've dabbled in the past couple years in building furniture and gardening/landscaping. Maybe if I'd taken more advantage of that while in Bolingbrook, I'd be better off for it. But in my new apt., obviously there is nowhere to build furniture. I'll have flowers on the deck come summertime, but no garden, that's for sure. Would I want to be a landscaper? Maybe. But to take a leap like that right now would be tough to do...I'd have to go back to school and then find my way into a job somewhere...I don't think that's a viable idea. If (God forbid) something happened and I were laid off or fired, then I'd consider it. But to leave journalism to enter landscaping would be tough to do on a "whim," if you will.

Are these DREAMS of mine? Not really...I guess my dream is to have a job I can live with that pays the bills and allows me to take care of myself (and my family, down the road) and be able to enjoy life (and, again, my family), because you know what? A job is still a job, and no matter how much you enjoy what you do, you'll always have some sort of complaint. At least I will...and you know that.

(I may edit this after lunch)

I now have a swing "repetoire" after yesterday's class. We learned three turns yesterday: "Side Pass," "Belt Loop" and "He Goes." Those with the "She Goes" we learned the previous week gives us a nice quartet of turns to use. And they're all similar. They basically form four points around your torso as to where you lead the girl to turn--an off-kilter box of sorts. So it's cool. And I'm getting much better about taking smaller steps. I think Gina and I dance really well together too, but some of the other girls in the class are finally getting it...it's just tough to dance with some of them because they're timid or just not doing things right. Whatever...I know I'm doing fine, because when i dance with Gina or one of the others who seems to be getting it, I'm comfortable and I'm doing OK. I still need practice, no doubt, because I do screw up now and again. But I'm getting it really quickly. It's just a matter of practicing so we get the feel down of (me) leading and (her) following. So we get the communication right...that takes practice, that's all. We're gonna probably try to go to a club (or the studio on Tuesdays) every couple of weeks after the class is over (next week) just to keep our skills up and/or improving. The instructors are really cool and friendly, and very helpful at that. I guess I must be doing OK, because yesterday I didn't have either of them come up to me and give me any pointers. But who knows? :) I'm sure we'll take a second class to learn more stuff, but we'll see how that goes and what is next.

After class, we went over to McGee's to meet my cousin Will and brother Tim for a beer or two. We didn't stay long, but it was cool, nonetheless.

Otherwise, not much else is new...tonight I'm gonna relax and maybe watch more Simpsons or clean my room (it needs it, badly) and maybe go to bed early for a change. That would be nice.

The Prez spoke yesterday? Oh...I didn't watch or listen. I guess I'm a bad American.

What's the State of the Union address but a bunch of empty, bullshit promises that pre-empts any TV show I want to watch anyway? It's worse than a pep rally, and I like pep rallies. So screw it. Plus, Bush is a dumbass anyway...I don't want to listen to what he has to say to begin with. And I actually heard somewhere that he's probably going to get re-elected? C'mon! You're telling me there's NO ONE that the populace believes is better out there than him? I tend to disagree...but oh well.

This concludes probably the only political "discussion" you'll read on this blog.

Yes, Husband of Barb, the Patriots are in the Super Bowl...where have you been? :)

I've watched the first six episodes of "The Simpsons" Season Three. It's the first extensive TV watching I've done in a while. Season Three is easily when the Simpsons started getting really, really good. The animation is clearer and crisper, and the episodes are better. You have the Leftorium episode, "Homer at the Bat" (softball episode), the episode where the Germans buy the power plant (the Land of Chocolate), among others. I've not gotten to the last two yet. But they're coming. :) Compared to the reruns they're showing now (some of the recent seasons' episodes), these are great. I watched a rerun the other day, and it was just tough to watch. The writing is so forced it seems. I haven't watched a single episode this season, it's gotten so bad. But hey, every show devolves over time too. It was bound to happen.

Today is Gina's birthday. Don't know if she's gonna read this...but as Zsa Zsa Gbor might say, "Happy Birthday, Dahling." Whatever...

We're going to swing dancing class tonight...kind of ruining her b-day a bit. But that's why I cooked dinner on Friday. I'm smart and forward-thinking and whatnot.

Starbux Princess gave us free hot chocolate yesterday...she's cool. :)

Bank One's Web site is pissing me off...but what else is new? And I think my mail is messed up too. I sent out a check to Big City Swing prior to the New Year. They still haven't cashed it. And, I was supposed to get a check myself since the New Year, and I haven't. I don't know what's going on.

Ah well...I actually have some work to do today. So off I go. More as events warrant.

Well, I guess I'm going nowhere this year for work...that really bites. I'm not too pleased with this, although I suppose there's still a chance I'd be going to the combine or draft. But it's not looking good, and that doesn't make me too happy.

I kid you not.
I have a silver tooth now. Like, shiny silver and everything.

Actually, it's temporary. It's a temp crown, to be replaced by a real, tooth-colored crown in two weeks or so. The crown is on one of the back teeth though, so you'd have to look hard to notice my silver tooth. But it's funny just to know it's there. :)

In "bad" news...I have to visit the endodontist (nerve/root canal dentist) to get my front tooth (the one hit by a baseball when I was younger, which required surgery and a root canal) looked at. X-rays reveal a small crack in the bone above the tooth. I knew this from my first appt. last June. But today, my general-practice dentist "admitted" the possible worst-case scenario, which I didn't even know was possible--that the tooth would have to be pulled and replaced by a false one. Now, he said the false one would most likely look even better than the one currently in there (this is the tooth that is slightly darker than the others b/c of the missing root). But I don't know how many days I'd have to walk around without a front tooth. I would be so embarrassed and ridiculously self-conscious. It would not be cool. So I'm hoping that, when spring/summer rolls around and I go to see the endodontist, I get good news.

Otherwise, Gina and I went to my parents' house after the dentist appt. for dinner and just hung out at my place for a little while. She got her pictures back from Christmas/New Year's/her birthday party on Saturday. There are plenty of good pictures to view. If I get a chance to scan them, I will do so and share them with everyone. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

Back to work tomorrow...fun, fun, fun. :)

Today has started in auspicious fashion. Within five minutes, I banged the end of my tibia/fibula (the protruding end of the bone down in my ankle) off the corner of my bed and then stubbed my toe off the corner of my CPU here.

This after being mildly awakened by my jackass upstairs neighbor around 9am by him screaming angrily at either his dogs or someone else. I hope his dogs shit all over his house, since he doesn't clean up the yard. Now I'm getting angry just thinking about the guy, so I'll stop.

Randomness as I await our Super Bowl preview story, the final thing I have to edit tonight.

--My prediction: Patriots 14, Panthers 0. Done and done. If I get a chance, I'll post my thinking from the paper. (Here it is:) Could Carolina kick a field goal and eliminate the shutout? Absolutely. But that wouldn’t seem to fit the dominant season the Pats’ defense has had. New England has shut out three opponents (two playoff contenders) this year. During the Pats’ 14-game winning streak, they’ve won by an average of 9.2 points per game, meaning the offense does enough to win. Panthers RB Stephen Davis can try all he wants, so long as the Patriots bend but don’t break — their specialty. Evidence? How about holding 13-of-18 opponents under 100 yards this year?

--I know the ribs are involved in breathing and whatnot, but how does Donovan McNabb not play with a cartilage tear in his ribs in the biggest game of the season when last year he played an entire regular-season game vs. the shitty Cardinals on a broken ankle? Bizarre...Andy Reid's apparently not as bright as we all thought he might be.

--Check this out. Pretty funny...Be sure the read the blurb under the huge picture of Kraft.

--I have the dentist tomorrow, did I mention? Well, in case I didn't, I have the dentist tomorrow. I'm getting a tooth prepped for a crown...don't know how long that'll take. Hopefully not too long. But we'll see.

--Gina and I still need to practice our swing dancing a whole handful of times before Wednesday's class, dammit. So far, we've not practiced at all. Damn. And given the toughness of the lesson, we need to really spend some time practicing or we'll be in trouble on Wednesday.

--They did tell us that for our last class, we go out after class to Green Dolphin Street to dance and hang out. That's all fine and good...but again, I don't really care to dance with anyone other than Gina in this class, to tell you the truth. I'm learning swing dancing to dance with her and any friends I occasionally have who want to learn or already know. Not "new friends" I meet through this class...I don't need anymore friends...I have too many as is. ;)

On VH1 Classic, or whatever the name of the station is, they just had "The Super Bowl Shuffle" video. All I have to say is: "Guess what? Maury Buford has a fevah! And the only prescription...is more COWBELL!"

God...what a blast from the past...Calvin Thomas on the saxophone...Jim McMahon chromakeyed in from Hollywood or wherever he was...the horribly-dancing backup QB Steve Fuller. Wow. Back to the game at hand.

Fun fact of the day: In the past three seasons, the New England Patriots or I have gone to the Super Bowl.

Well, first off, my dinner-cooking excursion went perfectly. The pork chop/potato bake was great, especially with the pork chops marinated in the same stuff I use when I barbecue them. The chocolate-covered strawberriews I made on Thursday evening worked just fine and were tasty. And, of course, the evening was even better. No distractions or anything. Just a nice, relaxing, romantic evening. Good deal. That was Friday.

Yesterday was the pinnacle. We had about two dozen people at Gina's place from about 7-10pm. We actually didn't have a lot of food, so we were a bit worried. But we ended up having just enough to appease folks. :) Then we headed to "Trader Todd's," which was jam-packed already when we got there. But at one point, we had about two to three dozen people there for Gina. That translated to about 1/3 of the people in there. It was cool, because we had kind of this trail of folks spread out from one table to another and everywhere in between...you could walk (squeeze, when it was busy) around and talk to folks at almost every step. It was cool...I never was cheered by as many people for anything as I was when they first called "South Side Andy" to sing. It was loud, and it was nice. :) ...I did the old standbys "Bad, Bad LeRoy Brown," and later (much later...I was ready to leave) "Baby Got Back." Basia can tell you about her nice morning based on last night's outing... ;) Hopefully she won't be embarrassed about it, because she had a good time, and that's OK. :) So tell everyone how you felt today, Basia. :)

Anyway, "Baby Got Back" sucked b/c some random drunk chick got up to "help" me by singing the first part, but then screamed the rest of the song with me, drowning me out. Plus, she was like, grinding her ass against my hip and actually cross-checked me off the stage at one point. She also started slapping my ass a couple times. Generally quite an uncomfortable deal...Gina apparently had to restrain herself from punching this chick in the face. Some dude to my right screamed to me, "How can you pass that UP, dude?!" And I just shot him a look and kept singing...I wasn't going to be like, "dude, she's not attractive, No. 1, and No. 2, my girlfriend's standing right there." Gina apparently heard that too and was going to hit him as well. :) Feisty one, eh? ;)

But by the time I was up there for that song, many folks had left or were tired and ready to go. I was pretty tired too...oh well...I slept and slept this morning and woke up with a teensy headache...so I guess I drank a little more than I'd thought.

Today we're working, of course. This is one of the toughest days of the year, because we have to wait for one game and do pretty much nothing during the evening hours. Then we pretty much go right up to the deadline because there's so much late copy. So I'll be much busier later on.

Tomorrow I go back to the dentist to get the first of two visits to get a crown on one of my teeth. Fun stuff...yippee. So I guess I'll talk to everyone soon...or something.