So it goes...

Struck down with Pink Eye, I've been relegated to staying home today and not spreading the joy. Conjunctivitis is something I thought only kids got, but alas, here I sit. I feel fine, but from what I've read, it's highly contagious, and so I opted out of work for the day. I go to the Doc in a half hours, oh joy. What is it about the Dr.'s office that I've come to hate? Is it the old magazines. The viraly infected pens used to fill out the reams of paperwork? The scrutinous, personal questions the Nurse Practitioner/Doctor ask? The comfy paper gowns? The prostate charts on the wall in the room? Or is it the knowledge that it's all costing me and my employer way too much for all of it? I think its safe to say it's all of these rolled up like red cross gauze together that make any trip to the Doctor an unpleasant one. Perhaps the most memorable trip to the Doc was a few years ago when I went in for what was later diagnosed as pulsatile tinnitus. Basically that ...

Well, I got some comp time today for work I did Sat., so I am home, and the kids haven't discovered that I'm writing, so I thought I'd squeak in a few lines. So I'm walking to work today and I came across a great subject to write on and thought I should write it down when I get to work. Of course I didn't, and of course I can no longer remember what it was. It was going to be so good. You'll have to trust me on this one. I guess you'll have to live with me writing about what I was going to write about. Getting old-ish and forgetful is a pain. Walking home with the kids today, Ben said he could smell springtime. So cute, so descriptive, so Ben. He said he was tired of smelling ice, which I didn't know had a smell. Apparently it does. Evidently the smell of winter isn't a wood burning stove, but rather, ice. Not a smell that's found in too many foods, but probably because it's so subtle. Saturday was a GREAT day. I started out at the Men's ...

Most have probably given up hope that I'd ever write again. I know I had. It's been a busy, exhausting wintry February, and thank God it's over. March can only be better one can hope. Where to begin...hmmm... I think I'll start at today and work backward as far as the recall will take me. Sarah and I went out for a Dad/Daughter breakfast this morning. Denny's for a "Grand Slam" breakfast and really bad coffee. "A refill? Why yes thank you." Sarah's at that age where she was looking at the adult menu, but ended up ordering from the kids menu, the "alien pancakes" and apple juice. She's so big, yet so much still my baby girl. I love her with all my might. Then, we went to Toby's first obedience class at the Humane Society. He was what you might call the disruptive dog. The Capstone dog, so to speak. The "No dog left behind dog." Eddie Haskell. Whining and biting his leash. Then 5 min. into class, he pee's the flo...

12 Inches and still coming down. Lovely. The fun just never stops. I almost became the dead man in the snowbank you read about in the paper on my walk to work this morning. I've seen some doozies for storms, but this has to be in the top 5 or so. I'm sure there were folks driving to work wondering who that deranged snow-covered maniac singing to the ipod was. Needless to say they closed work at Noon. Why they opened it I'll never understand, but I think they have to say they tried. Oh well, 1/2 day off beats none at all. Got a nap in, some shovelling and some Q time with the kids. I guess that's all anyone can ask for on a snow day. Boys Club last night was a bust because of the weather. Ben was the only boy form our post that showed up. We had 5 3rd graders and 5 leaders. Kind of silly. It goes back to why did they not cancel it, but hey, I've hashed that point already. And so it goes. Blogging off... Jim

Winter continues its relentless assault on the fine people of Wisconsin. Annoying 2 inch snowfalls interspersed between back breaking 7 inchers. I was out the yesterday at 6:20 shovelling and JUST GROUSING about it. Muttering to myself. "Stupid snow, stupid state, stupid climate, stupid clouds, stupid snowbank, stupid ice patch, stupid shovel...well you get the drift. After doing this for about 20 minutes I snapped out of it and realized that it wasn't helping me get the shovelling done. It felt good and seemed very much like the thing to do, but was doing me no good in building a case to face another day at work. So I sucked it up and started thinking how lucky I was to have a house with a walk to shovel. How lucky to be able to be physically able to shovel. Just three short years ago I was laid up flat on my back on muscle relaxants and NSAIDs because I had pinched a disc. So, what was I to grumble about. Brush fires weren't burning down my house, January tornadoes were...

Last Night was the big Boys Club Pinewood Derby at church. It was quite a spectacle when it got going. It's all automated now including split second timing, software telling personal best times, automated results, the whole smash. Of course there were the technical glitches that go with any first time endeavor like this. The funniest of them though was the first race. With all of the build-up of "the first Boys Club Pinewood Derby in the history of Boys Club", none of the cars in the first race made it to the finish line. It seems that oil is an integral part of pinewood derby racing. Hey, we're all new at this... Once the cars were all lubed up, the races went much better. No more cars failed to finish across the finish line. Oh there were a few fiery crashes, but no lives were lost in all of it. The boys (and boys disguised as men) had a great time and all came away happy. Ben even managed to win a trophy for "2nd place Best Design). So, all that hard work and...

Remember that playoff heartbreak I talked about? I'm livin' it, man! What a drag to get within one game of the big one only to have it all come crashing down on a Favre textbook pick. Oh, where's the joy? My wife was quick to say "it's only a game." That may be true, but it seems like so much more. Oh well, I guess it's better that I get my life back. The other day I went to work and it was nice out around 25 degrees and no wind. I purposely wore my lighter jacket it was so nice. Well then coming home was a whole different story. At some point during the day, the wind picked up and the temp dropped a good 15 degrees. I was so cold that at a couple of points during my walk home, I was running. Running as an attempt to not need amputation of some of my fingers due to frostbite...or so it seemed at the time. It was a wierd kind of panic-oia. Thinking all kinds of morbid thoughts on my two mile trek. Using my ipod backlight as a hand warmer. You know things ar...