Here we are, upon Labor Day Weekend, and I'm guessing that most people won't read this much over the weekend...so, I leave you with this question: What thing, that most people would find crazy or stupid, have you always wanted to do but just never got to do it so far?

My example? I've always wanted to witness a hurricane, first-hand. Like, not necessarily the strength of Hurricane Frances, currently, or the size and strength of Hurricane Andrew, but, maybe a lesser hurricane. Just to see what it was like. Of course, not one so small that it's just a glorified rainstorm. I would want to witness a HURRICANE. Heck, I'd love to fly in one of those hurricane planes (though the turbulence might get to me) just to fly through the eye and see the cool empty cylinder with cloud walls all around it. That would be beautiful to me. Of course, sitting through a hurricane probably wouldn't be beautiful to me on the ground, but I'd just like to do it once, ya know?

How about you?

Phew! The books that were damaged were, as I'd hoped, the box of books from NU that I couldn't sell back to SBX or whatever the hell it was called when we (oops, I mean, you guys) graduated...I wanted to just leave them outside the library, but I guess I never got around to it. Oh well...they're like sponges now. The only other thing that was damaged was two of my grandpa's old speakers, which I'd used for my stereo, but wasn't using nowadays. I need new speakers someday anyway, so this just moves me closer to that.

Seems as though the water got a few inches up in most places in the basement, via my assessment of what got wet and what didn't...but that's just my uninformed assessment. What do I know?

So there's piles and piles of garbage stacked outside Gerard's house now, waiting for ServiceMaster (who ripped up the carpet and cleaned the place) to come and retrieve it. There are about four or five super industrial fans going in the basement to dry everything out.

Also, the high school opened across the street. Looks all right...adds a little "action" to the area...the band was practicing on the football field, which Gerard can see from his front window. He's OK with it so far...the stadium lights brighten the front yard pretty good though. Also, they finished widening his street...it was strange to drive on a now-four-lane road when it used to be two. Just odd, that's all.

Came back and finished the wall, with the exception of a few more nails that I have to drive in there and touch up over. It was already 10:15pm, so I drove one nail to hold it in until I get to it tomorrow, most likely.

Other than that, work is actually busy...but that's good. So I'm going to bed now...

Today is Damage Repair Day. Not only do I need to finish fixing my living room wall, but after work, first I'm going out to The Brook, where Gerard tells me that his basement flooded really badly on Saturday while he was out of town. He said that some things I'd left behind were ruined...including a box of books. Now, I can't remember the books I left back there, so now I'm a tad bit worried. I assume it's nothing that important, but who knows for sure, ya know? I'm a bit concerned.

I'm hoping that I'll find the white paint in my apt.'s basement so I can paint the wall and the door frame tonight after I sand it down and nail the piece of trim on.

Otherwise, there isn't much to tell other than that I need to get back to work...that's really about it at this stage in the game.

Can't wait until next week...I got good news in that I'm playing in two softball leagues in the fall, three days a week. That's so cool...so I can't wait. I'm itching to play some more.

Good luck, by the way, to all you teacher types out there...

The wall patching has become officially a process. I sanded it yesterday and needed to put another coat of compound on it because it wasn't even and the tape showed through easily. So I'll have to sand it again (probably tomorrow, unless I magically get out of ballpark duty early tonight) and then paint it. Hopefully I won't need to put another coat of compound on it. I'd like to get it completely finished on Thursday so I can just be done with it already.

Today I sat in traffic for 1.5 hours on the way to work...I hate that.

Otherwise, not much else is new, really. Preparing for two fantasy football drafts this weekend, more or less...and working my butt off at work for a change. :)

Well, I got through the main thrust of patching the wall, but the real test comes this evening, when I sand it down, check it and try to paint it. Hopefully, it will take only one sanding and one coat of paint (assuming I can find the maintenance man's stash of paint downstairs, which shouldn't be too hard) and I'll be done with it. Cutting the hole out and cutting the patch piece worked almost perfectly, and it was right over a stud, so I didn't even have to put braces behind the drywall to hold it in place. It was pretty easy. We'll see if I did it right...

As such, I missed Laz's visit to NW Indiana. I assume you guys had a good time. Hopefully Laz will get the job and then there will be more opportunities to get together. Whatever... :)

Ugh...well, I have to get to writing the cover story for the Dallas tortilla place now...it's quite a monster, so I need to get going on it like, now.

Funny text of the day...I was looking up a Mexican equipment manufacturer to get the proper spelling of its name...I found a site in Spanish, and Google allows you to translate it to English. One paragraph came up as such...I found it funny, in my wordsmith brain:

"Contáctese with our commercial department and it will verify that, like our seeds, genetically we are prepared to adapt us to all conditions."

Too freakin' funny! :) So now the Mexicans are genetically superior, eh? :) At least those that work for this company are...

In other news...still waiting to hear answers back on some questions about a condo we're about ready to bid on. It's been on the market for at least a month now, so hopefully the owner is ripe for the sellin'...and the lowballin'...

In bad news...instead of visiting with Laz and all y'all, my day of reckoning of sorts has come...I got a note from my roommate saying our landlord told him he was going to start showing the apt. soon. That means there's no time to waste, and I'll have to fix the wall tonight. I have no choice now. I wanted to start it, honestly, this past Saturday, but as you read, my head felt like it was going to explode.

I'm hoping this isn't too difficult. I just need to make it presentable...invisible to the naked eye. That's the key. Fix, but minimally, just like everything else in the damn place...all shoddy shit. Mine won't be shoddy, but it ain't gonna be perfect, I'll tell you that. It just has to survive past when I get my sec. deposit back...then it can fall apart. But, it won't, because I'll still do a good job, I'm sure.

I'm itching to play softball, too. At the ballpark, we have the men's 16-inch softball tourney going, and it's killing me to watch and not play. But that's what I get for being lazy and presumptuous and not organizing a team.

Ah well...back to work I go...