Drop Everything Now, Meet Me In the Pouring Rain

I'm writing essays.  A lot of them.

I hope that at least explains some of the 1 month+ absence from an update.  When you spend your spare time trying to put together paragraphs, it really decreases your drive to write more for some extra-curricular activity. I mean, if your job was to make birthday cakes, I don't know how excited you would be to make some cupcakes for a bake-sale.

However, I'm going to give a quick heads-up because if you haven't been watching baseball in the past month, your life has been at least 30% less amazing.  Between the playoff surges of the Rays and Cardinals (better than calling them collapses by the Red Sox and Braves, although collapses is far more accurate) in late September, to the opening rounds all going at least 4 games, to the Cardinals defying all baseball logic with their pitching staff and bullpen use to not only make it to the World Series, but have a lead on the Rangers (before last night), this years playoff's has been the best I have ever seen.  At the beginning of the series, I thought Cardinals in 6.  I'll stick with that.  Carpenter is on the hill tonight, and since he took yesterday off, Pujols will have a big night tonight. [Editor's note - Cardinals lost game 5 when the bullpen finally gave up a run.]

Where will I be during the game?  Odds are I'll be hunched under the sink.  I was thawing out a couple chicken breasts that had frozen together, using hot water to speed along the process.  After a little while they felt like I could separate them with a little force.  So I center the block of chicken over the divide separating the two sinks and pushed.  Next thing I know, I hear a loud pop and the sink shifts down about an inch.  That loud pop was two things.  The first was the remaining sliver of caulking on the front edge of the sink coming loose from the counter.  The second was the pipe that connects the drains between the two sinks, snapping in two.  Thankfully, I shut the water off as soon as the sink shifted, then heard the water dripping underneath, so I cleared everything out from under than and got a towel to dry it all up.  Today, I'll head over to Lowe's where they can tell me how to fix it.  Yes, they may have to spell it out for me in crayon, but everything should be fine by tonight.

In case you were wondering, the chicken was delicious.  Went over to the Girlfriend's place and marinated it in some Tuscan something or other and couple it with some grapes and string cheese.  It doesn't sound like much, but we had a lot of grapes.  Well, I had a lot of grapes.  The Girlfriend had a proper amount.

Speaking of the Girlfriend, this has also been the best baseball season she has ever seen.  It might be the first one as well, but still, it's a good start.  She's been a good sport about watching more televised sports in the past three months than maybe any year in her life (possibly her entire life combined, but that seems a bit hyperbolic).  She even nods appreciatively when I say things like "Why are they pitching to Pujols after he took them yard twice already?" or "Arthur Rhodes is still alive?  And pitching?  Really wish I was a left-hander."  I figure, if she's going to continue seeing me, she needs to be prepared for these types of comments and activities.

Things with her are going really well.  I really like her, and she kind of likes me, so it's the perfect balance.  We're heading off to Seattle in about a week and a half to visit one of her friends and her friend's husband.  I've met them before, and I'm a fan.  Plus, Seattle is a beautiful city, so I have no problem spending an extended weekend up there.  I am sad that there will not be a Baseball, football or even MLS game playing up there that weekend, but so be it.  I will soldier on.

Word.