Gas

Gas under 2 bucks, are you serious? Did anyone ever think we'd be here again? This has to be a scam of some sort, like a drug pusher who realizes he better lower his crack prices because his most loyal junkie threatened to go into rehab.

I know this is completely irrational, but ever since gas went down below $2.00 I've had an irrepressible urge to hurry and empty our gas tanks just so I can experience buying "cheap" gas again.


(Note: The "quotations" around the word 'cheap' above is to be interpreted as sarcasm. If you told High School Themickel that in 10 years he would rejoice at $1.99 gas, he would have gazed at you in open-mouthed disbelief. He would also wonder how you could foretell the future and suspect you were a witch or sorcerer of some sort.)

(Another note: The quotations around the word 'quotations' above is to point out the general absurdity of quotations.)

Update on the Happenings

Hey. Haven't blogged for a while. Is it just me or is Facebook slowly replacing blogging? This is not a positive development. Anyways, here's an update on all the happenings of the last month or so, in one quick, desultory swoop.

In no particular order:

San Francisco

As a last hurrah before the next baby strikes, we took a trip to San Francisco with my parents. I've been about 5 or 6 times, the wife has been twice, but it's just as fun as the first time.

Highlights of the trip: clam chowder, Saturday morning jog through the city and up Lombard Street, pondering the irony inherent in some of the most expensive real estate in the country (Fisherman's Wharf) being filled with crappy souvenir shops whose wares even the tackiest of tourists would be ashamed to hang on their refrigerators, eating at The Stinking Rose, an all-garlic restaurant that was surprisingly good (even the deserts have garlic in them), the jolt of suddenly finding myself in the middle of about six-dozen Chinese-Americans practicing Tai-Chi, and watching the effect a veritable tidal wave of hefty Philadelphians in Donovan McNabb jerseys (in town for the Eagles vs. 49ers game) had on the tranquility of Liberalism's Mecca.

While there are many things San Fran stands for that I don't approve of*, I do applaud the random bursts of civic creativity. This is an old building that had a fire sweep through it. Rather than tearing it down, however, the city allowed an artist to do his thing, and this is the end result. It's called "Defenestration", which means ''the act of throwing something out a window''.


Cartoons

As a hobby on the side, I've been doing editorial cartoons and sending them to local papers. Nothing yet. But it's still fun.

The Baby

We're coming up on the due date pretty quick here: November 30th. I'm savoring every last moment of sleep I can.

You know, a lot of people seem to like these new 3D ultrasounds, but they kind of creep me out. It looks like when Han Solo gets frozen in that block of carbonite in Empire Strikes Back. I feel like I need to be doing something to get her out.

The wife and I are of the school of thought that you should at least wait to see the kid before you name him/her, so we haven't settled on a name yet. Here are our top picks though (it's a girl, by the way):

• Lily (or Lilly)


• Berkley


• Brooklyn

Note: we haven't purposely gone after city names, it just kind of...happened. Incidently, our favorite boy name is Camden, which I hear is the cesspool of New Jersey [which in turn got its name from Camden, England, the cesspool of London]. Either way, that kid will have some great expectations).

Halloween

The obligatory Halloween picture. The kid was a pumpkin, the wife was a flower (it actually looked a lot better than this picture suggests, what with her bulging tummy and all), and I was my old standby, the Little Caesar's pizza guy (great when you want to put minimal effort in a costume -- all you need is a bedsheet).

Needless to say, we didn't surpass last year's effort in my goal of having the three most random, unrelated costumes (last year we were a fairy princess, a chicken, and Pop-Eye), but I have high hopes for next year (a butterfly, John McEnroe, Anne of Green Gables, and a burrito).

Races

I did the Tour de St. George back in October, my first long-distance bike tour. It was actually a lot of fun. They do 35, 67, and 100 mile distances. I wussed out and did the 67.

This is me getting my pre-race bagel. Which is really the best part of the race.

This summer I've kind of neglected the usual triathlon training in favor of Ultimate Frisbee. I had always thought Ultimate Frisbee was a pretty relaxed sport, but since I've started playing I've witnessed two broken noses, a dislocated elbow, a hyper-extended knee, a broken foot, and numerous split lips, cheeks, and eyebrows.

The worst I've had so far is a sprained shoulder and this orange-sized bruise on my calf, which caused Katie to put down her cracker, point at my leg, nod her head knowingly and say, "Owie, daddy. Owie."

Now you are updated on the happenings. Have a good one.

*Specifically: Barry Bonds, a current 49er team that is a disgrace to the franchise, and horrendously bad pre-packaged rice dinners. Why, what were you thinking of?