July 29th - 2009

Found out today that the meeting in Philly on Friday has been postponed (whose wacky lawyers always have to have their say), so I don't have to drive to Pittsburgh. Thank God for that. Of course, I'll likely just have to do it next week, but hopefully I'll be able to get better fares/hours out of better cities when we try this again.

Found out that I won't be getting my own office until September now. It coincides with the new carpeting. No point in setting up a new desk and painting and such until the carpeting is in place, so I'm stuck here until September. But, it's coming, so I'll make it. I will survive.

And there are a couple decent weeks ahead for music. Collective Soul's new album hits this month (I know, I know, but if you want dependable, hook-laden, bare-bones rock and roll, Collective Soul is a decent place to turn now that Tom Petty has decided every single song needs to sound like the Bob Dylan penned Wilburys stuff) and new They Might Be Giants is out on September 1st. It's another kids' CD, "Here Comes Science." I expect that due to public outcry from the right, "Here Comes Religion" won't be far behind.

Pitch to the halfback gets us three.

Life's ball: 2nd and 7 on my own 28.

July 28th - 2009

I have to go to Pittsburgh. This displeases me.

Fly to Philly on Thursday night, and the only way I could get a reasonably priced flight was from Pittsburgh. so, I leave work at 4:00 for a two hour drive to Pitt, then fly out at 8:15 for a 9:30 arrival in Philly. Rent a car, drive to the hotel. Home Friday night. I should be getting back to Mogadore by around midnight. I'm all for the trip. I dig me some flying and free hotels and dinners, but it sure would've been good if this could've been done out of Akron.

Sam was sick again yesterday. Tieraney stayed home all day to take him to the doctor. Doctor said he's good, just got a stomach virus or something. Neither of us, however, need to be wasting the vacation days.

New idea for a restaurant. Not sure what the name is, but all of the dishes are named after Russian authors: Beef Turgenev, Chicken Dostoevsky, tilapia ala Tolstoy. I think America is ready for the marriage of the $15 two-for dinner special and Russian realist fiction. Think of the drinks! Lime and Punishment Martini! Anna Karenina Sour! The Cherry Brandy Tree!



Novelist. Playwright. Tasty.

Book it.

Life punts. Good punt. Fair catch.

Life's ball: 1st and 10 on my own 25.

July 27th - 2009

So, I definitely flying out to Philadelphia this Friday for Appletell. Question is, how to get there. Flights from Cleveland or Akron are crazy expensive, for some reason, and Columbus and Pittsburgh are too far to drive to. So...what? I don't know. We'll see what they're willing to pay, because I sure ain't. Looks like I'll be flying out Thursday night and returning Friday night. Not thrilled about it, but there are solid reasons for the trip, which will one day be revealed.

Home half the day yesterday with the boy, who'd puked the night before and that morning. By the time I got home to Tieraney could work her half day, Sam was fine. Watched some movies, played some games. He seems to be good now, since his fever is down and he's back to his normal loud self. I guess that's the benefit of sick children: quiet.

Oh, and I'm doomed. Tieraney's sister, Tally, is pregnant with her third. The other sister, Tracy, also has three. You just gotta know this will lead Tieraney to ramp up her push for a third. She was looking at the calendar to determine when in proportion to Sam's kindergarten classes we should start trying (two years off...time to change her mind). It's mortifying. A man my age doesn't be needing no third child.

Pass is incomplete.

Life's ball: 4th and 5 on their own 33.

July 25th-26th - 2009

Fairly eventful weekend, I suppose. Went down to Ashland on Saturday so we could drop off the kids and go see a movie. After not being able to decide between "Public Enemies" and "Hangover" right up until we reached the end of the line, we finally went with "Public Enemies" because Johnny Depp is hotter on the big screen. Maybe the wrong choice, though. A decent enough movie, but nothing that needed to be seen. A little too clinical, and it really bogged down towards the end.

Sunday, we hung around the house and played the new WiiSports Resort game. Oh, and Sam threw up. As a result, I'll be working from home half of Monday.

Sunday night, my next-door-neighbor, Jeremy, stopped by to see if I'd like any grass seed and straw. How 'bout that? Of course I would! We ended up spending a good deal of time talking about football, wind and such. This is the guy whose wife will be watching Sophie after school this fall, so, good to be neighborly, I suppose.

Life seems to be turning back to the run, but only comes up with two.

Life's ball: 3rd and 5 on their own 33.

July 24th - 13-13

I have this coworker who's in his mid-20s. Living with his girlfriend, who doesn't have a job. Spent the whole of Friday on the phone with her because she had a bad interview (okay, so that conversation couldn't wait until after work), and when he wasn't on the phone with her, he was trying to come up with something to do. Why? Because it's Friday.

Boy. I'm sooooo far past feeling the need to find something to do just because it's Friday. Friday's like any other week night for me, except maybe I stay up a little later to watch a movie or play some games. Still not home until 8:00 p.m., you know.

Work was otherwise work. Home was otherwise home.

Life runs for three.

Life's ball: 2nd and 7 on their own 31.

July 23rd - 13-13

Coraline!

I dig myself some Coraline, and the Blu-ray arrived yesterday. But one disc, get four versions: Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray 2D, DVD and digital. That's the way it works, now, I guess. I put the digital copy on Sophie's phone, and we watched a little of the 3D version last night. I left home early to do all of this, and to shop. Tieraney and I have decided to make Thursday night our grocery night, so we can equip ourselves for the weekend, and therefore won't have to eat out as much. Victory!



Work is good. I'm busy, but not overwhelmed like over the past couple of weeks. I likely got us a new client, but we'll celebrate that after the work order is signed.

Oh, and I was a bit let down by episode two of Michael and Michael Have Issues. I hope it's not that the format is already boring me. Tieraney still liked it, but I didn't laugh nearly as much as in the first episode. I don't find the stage portion funny (it seems awkward, which makes no sense for these guys), and the backstage stuff was far too predictable. What I've liked about this team is that you never have any idea where they're going with the comedy. This week, I knew exactly where it was going. But, the show's young. I remain optimistic.

Decent punt to the 22, six yard return.

Life's ball: 1st and 10 on their own 28.

July 22nd - 13-13

I'm fascinated by this website. Back in the city of New York, I was always fascinated by derelict buildings. I wanted to explore them. I still do when I pass a structure that's obviously empty or is falling apart. This guy does. Not just buildings, but amusement parks, missile sights...anything that's that dead or dying.



Sad thing about that coaster? It was at a park in Seville, which I drive past every time I make the trip from Mogadore to Ashland. I never knew such an awesome place existed. Apparently, it was very easy to get in and explore, but just this April the city finally started to tear everything down to put up a new hotel, health spa, restaurants and such. I'm not sure I would've gone had the remains remained, but it's to fun to think I would have.

In life that actually happened, nothing happened. Oh, we had an ice cream party at the office because the ice cream site I saved from deadline hell a couple weeks ago sent us rewards. I participated little, as I feel the same about parties as I do about ice cream...I'd rather have cherry cobbler.

Incomplete pass.

My ball: 4th and 6 on my own 35.

July 21st - 13-13

What happens on a Tuesday? Plenty of nothing. We watched some State in the evening, me and my wife. Reached "The Bearded Me of Space Station 11," one of my all time favorites. It's season three, just so you know. Oddly, I have yet to show that to anyone who finds it as funny as I do.

Seriously, aside form that, nothing. Oh, my daughter did ask me before bedtime, "Do zombies have bones?" Not an amusing enough question for a Bill Cosby TV special, but the fact that my 5-year-old girl is this concerned that her impersonation of zombies is accurate fills me with joy.

Four yard run.

My ball: 3rd and 6 on my own 35.

July 20th - 13-13

My wife went to the dermatologist to get a couple moles removed from her back yesterday. I have to squeeze some goop on them and bandage them up twice a day. When you squeeze goop on your wife and it's not leading to sex, that's a sad thing. The doctor tells her she's a risk for skin cancer. Aren't we all at risk for that? I guess the moles have something to do with it. We'll see.

Recorded an Appletellcast again last night (link to come tomorrow, maybe). Still not pleased with the entertainment level, but its friendly enough, I suppose. I have to give people a reason to tune in, and comedy's the only reason I can think of, so time to get moving on that.

And hey, big old toad!



I never had a big old toad out at the old house. I did have a raccoon in the garage once, though, so I guess that's better than this. Toad wasn't moving much last night, so I thought it was dying. If it did, it either found a better place than my back patio to do it, or it go scooped up by some other animal.

Also at the new house and never at the old: deer, snakes, groundhogs, ducks, and veteran character actor Barry Corbin.

Incomplete pass in a effort for some quick yards.

My ball: 2nd and 10 on my own 31.

July 18th-19th - 13-13

I think I'm done with going in to work on Saturdays. I'm only doing the extra hours through August, so I already feel done, and I now have the ability to connect to my office computer directly from home. This is good, as I can pretend to be able to sleep on Saturday, which never happens because the dog wakes me up at 5:00 and the kids do again at 7:00.

Saturday was the Mogadore Festival, which is basically when you can buy corn dogs, ride a tiny ferris wheel and listen to Lynyrd Skynrd tribute bands in the park. It's free, and it's something for the kids to do, so there you go. The trick is to go during the parade, as the parade isn't in the park. Fewer people then. The other trick is to get out before 6:00 when the teenagers take over. I'm all for the teenagers, mind you--hold on to 16 as long as you can; changes come around real soon make us women and men--just don't hold onto it anywhere near me.

Sunday, we bought school supplies for the girl. They give you an odd list of school supplies these days. For instance, 8 magic markers, 24 crayons, etc. Apparently, the freedom to buy as many crayons as you want is denied the children these days. Did I feel inadequate because my parents could only afford 24 crayons? I don't think so. And they renamed that "flesh" crayon, so it can't be about race. I think I'll find a way force one more crayon into Sophie's box, just to remind her that, yes, she is better than everyone else.

Short punt, resulting in a fair catch.

My ball: 1st and 10 on my 31.

July 17th - 13-13

I really am hard pressed to find anything to write about here. Friday was just a day. Work was work, home was home. Watched more of the State Friday night. Finished up season two. No wave of nostalgia this time. In fact, my only comment was "Seriously, that's how the decided to end season two?" I remembered the bit, but didn't know it was a season closer. Those State people were very smart, even when they were punk kids. How come I was never smart?

Life completes the pass on third down, but not nearly enough for the first.

Life's ball: 4th and 5 on their own 39.

July 16th - 13-13

Still swamped at work, but cutting through it. I'm close to finishing up a couple big projects, more ready to go. It's crazy. I hope this pace keeps up.

At home, it's more of the same. Get there in time to put the kids to bed, then play some games and do some writing. Only another month and a half of this before Sophie's in kindergarten and I'm home by 5:00. Our next door neighbor watches kids during the day, so Sophie's going to be dropped off there after school, and I'll get her when I get home. $5 a day for this, so we're done to $100 a month for Sophie vs. the $180 or so a week we're paying now. Nice to have that money back, you know?

Back to sports, though, ends up I don't need Minneapolis to get my sports weekend in. The Wild play in Columbus on October 3rd, and the Seahawks play in Indianapolis the next day. That game is sold out, but I've got some Seahawkers and relatives working on tickets. Hockey will happen either way, though; it's my only chance of seeing the Wild play live all year.

Life throws downfield to try to get some yards back, but the ball falls incomplete.

Life's ball: 3rd and 12 on their own 32.

July 15th - 13-13

Michael and Michael Have Issues. Watched it last night. I watch all shows created by The State people (although, oddly, I entirely missed "Viva Variety"). It's good. It's funny. The premise overdone at this point, but if there's one thing I've learned from The State, it's that they can make dumb, overused ideas seem fresh and, more importantly, funny (see "Role Models"). Tieraney like it much more than Stella. I'm not nearly that enthusiastic about it, but I did laugh much more in the first show than I have at Reno! 911 in quite some time.

Hockey schedule. The Wild do have a home game the Friday before the Seahawks head to town, but that's too distant from the Sunday game. I'd have to drive to Minneapolis on Thursday, then drive back on Monday. Too much time away from family, and three days off from work. Sunday night would've been optimum. Saturday could've been workable. But not Friday.

On the other hand, the opening game of the season is a Saturday night in Columbus, so I'm likely going to go to that. Steve Crane and I have already talked about getting tickets for that and for a January game between the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks. Good times. The Arena District in Columbus is a great place to spend an evening, so I'm happy to do it multiple times a year.

Not much else going on yesterday, although there's potential for big news. Former comedy troupe member turned theater director Alicia Dempster told me on Facebook yesterday that my play co-written with Jim Jividen, "Spoon Millionaires," is being considered for production during her theater's 2010 season. I'm not optimistic about its chances, but that's because I'm never optimistic, not because the play isn't worth the production. The play kicks all kinds of ass. I have no idea how long it'll be until a decision is made, but I can wait. Other projects, you know.

Life can't find an open receiver and tries to scramble, but we drop him behind the line of scrimmage.

Life's ball: 2nd and 12 on their own 32.

July 14th - 13-13

Half the day at home yesterday. Sophie had the strep, so she couldn't go to day care. Therefore, Tieraney stayed home with her in the morning, and I came home to work in the afternoon. Got a lot done, actually, since she was self contained with TV and practicing her letters (she likes writing words, even if she can't yet read them).

After Tieraney got home and the kids were in bed, I watched The State. Ah, The State. I'd recently watched season one since I bought it on iTunes, so I started with season two. Something happened at the end, though, when the credits ran; I was hit with melancholy. Nostalgia. The fact that I'm old.

I was about 24 when season two aired, as I was reminded by the copywrite, and aside from the iTunes episodes, I haven't seen any of these since then. So, it's not like the 80s music that doesn't send me back to the 80s because I've been listening to it throughout my life. I just as much associate Abba, for instance, with rollerblading in New York City as I do with sleeping in the back seat of my parents car on the way home from Grammie and Pop's. There's no distinct point in my life for any of this.

But The State is rooted solidly in the mid-90s, which were pretty much a fantastic time for me (was The Greatest March Since Washington in '95?). Not that I'm not enjoying certain aspects of life now more than many aspects back then, but I still saw myself for a moment lying down on the crappy couch in the 44th St. apartment, all the lights off, the TV lighting up the room as the closing theme for the "The State" tries to overpower the car horns and jackhammers 10 stories below. I missed it.

The State DVD


Not to worry, though. Tomorrow is the announcement of the NHL schedule, which puts hockey within reach along with football. The Seahawks play in Minnesota on November 22nd. If the Wild play at home that same weekend, I just may have to make the trip.

Life gets sneaky with a QB option good for 11 yards.

Life's ball: 1st and 10 on their own 34.

July 13th - 13-13

Not sure why I'm on an Adam Ant kick all of a sudden, but I am.

The girl went home early from day care with strep, so Tieraney had to take the kids to the doctor. Sophie's apparently not the type to let something like strep slow her down, so she was behaving as normal. Once we got her and Sam to bed, Tieraney spent the evening on the computer trying to find a place in Hocking Hills to book us a weekend getaway. Hocking Hills is a bunch of cabins in the middle of Amish Country, or something like that, but people love it. Fancy cabins (hot tubs, kitchens, spiral staircases, and such) and not much else. The point is that it's quiet and there's nothing to do other than it, so I'll make the trip.

Speaking of trips, found out from Appletell that they may be flying me out to Philadelphia sometime this month or early August for some kind of special meeting. We'll see how that goes. I'm all for free flights, but I hope I can get there and back in one day. Don't want to take too much time away from the family and work.

All that really matters, though, is that The State comes out on DVD on the 14th. Would it be odd me to camp out?

After all the delays, the best that life can muster against my well rested defense is a three yard run.

Life's ball: 2nd and 7 on their own 23.

July 8th-12th - 13-13

Took longer to catch that streaker than expected. Actually, there was a hardware glitch, but the TV producers decided to cover it by going to booth until the streaker was caught, anyway.

Hard drive failure at work on the 8th kept me down for a while. Normally, a hard drive dying on me isn't that big of a deal. I run my Apple Time Machine backup, so every single thing on my hard drive is just a couple clicks away from being completely restored. Last Time Machine update was 9:17 a.m., hard drive died around noon. That's only a couple hours of lost work. The trouble is that the way the iMac is made, you have to remove the glass from the monitor with suction cups in order to get inside to the hard drive. I don't have suction cups. I'd never done this. At home, I'd risk it. At work, not so much, so I had to take it a repair center, and didn't get it back and restored until Friday afternoon.

Down time? No sir! I just brought in my MacBook and hooked it up to the backup and the network, and everything was there. But with the troubleshooting and the driving and the tiny monitor, I put off the blog to take care of other things.

But now, the streaker has been caught and removed from the arena (unlike most cases when streakers are caught, we didn't return his pants before tossing him into the parking lot), and the cameras are all working again.

So, now, can we finally start the second half?

Life's ball: 1st and 10 on their own 20.

July 6th - 13-13

Only thing of note yesterday was of big note, but I can't exactly reveal that yet. Not that anyone reads this, but if someone should stumble across it, posting the details here could land me in some trouble, methinks. Suffice it to say that my lesser gig could be changing drastically over the next few months. For better or worse remains to be seen.

Because I'm not sure if this'll be good or bad, the play's whistled dead. Streaker on the field, or something like that. Equipment malfunction. Whatever.

Life's ball: 1st and 10 on their own 20.

July 5th - 13-13

Too much going on over the past few days to offer up much detail on any of it. Thursday, we to the Columbus Zoo. There were animals. We looked at them. Took some pictures. Nothing out of the ordinary for a day at the zoo. Spent the night at an Embassy Suites in Columbus, which is always worth it because you get that free breakfast. There, I got to watch some parents yell at their daughter because they didn't like her choice of tables. Whole family couldn't sit together where she was. Had to split into two tables. Three boys on their own, mom and dad with the daughter they continued to yell at for pretty much the whole meal. Events like this are my reality television. People watch most reality programs because they want to know they're not as fucked up as Beverly Hills housewives or Gene Simmons. I watch other parents yell at their kids for dumb shit like where they chose to sit at the free breakfast and think maybe I'm a pretty good dad after all.

Friday morning was supposed to be COSI, but COSI was closed. Closed on July 3rd, open on July 4th. Thanks, COSI. Looking forward to going down there on Christmas day, since you'll obviously be closed on Christmas Eve. Never ones to admit defeat, we took the kids to the Olentangey River Caverns. I like caves more in theory than in execution. When I think of a cave, I think of vast caverns I can crawl through and explore and who knows what's in there, right? Instead, they take us down a well-lit stairwell and tell us, "If you'll notice this hole in the floor, it drops another fifteen feet to a passageway that leads down another 600 feet below the surface and all the way out to the river and would be super cool to explore but we're not going to let you do that. Rather, you can walk around in a circle in this room for a while then it's back upstairs for you. Thanks for your $12."



Friday night was the Balloon Glow, which was the same as every Balloon Glow before it, leading to more questions as to why I go every year. I'm guessing it's because it's free. And if I'm going to sit around all night, it may as well be in a big field behind the Dale-Roy School with a bunch of balloons all lit up.

Saturday night was cookout at the Pattersons (and some nephew's birthday), then fireworks. Again, exactly what you'd expect. Screaming children. Crowded. Good food. It's all fine by me. I watched plenty of episodes of The Twilight Zone.

Sunday, which is the only day factoring into the play due to halftime, was uneventful. Back at home. Did the smallest amount of yard work possible and otherwise just played with the kids. So, as far as vacation weekends go, it was pretty mundane. But I enjoyed myself throughout, and that's good enough for a touchback on the kickoff.

Life's ball: 1st and 10 on their own 20.

June 30th - 13-13

Here's what I should have done a week ago. Halftime. Two weeks at mid-summer would've made for a logical halftime break, but since I didn't decide up on that until just now, I'm going into the lock room until the posting for July 6th. That's disadvantageous for me, as I anticipate a good weekend of Balloon Glow, fireworks, zoo and such, but will take all of that into account on the kickoff. Fact is, I just won't be near the computer most of the weekend, so I would be lazy about updates.

Going into halftime at 13-13 is better than expected. I didn't expect the house to be sold, but I also hadn't expected to crash my car. In fact, considering I was lining up for a field goal when the car crash led to a block and a TD, I could very well be up 16-6 right now.

Regardless, we're looking at a game of few big plays. Defensive struggle is leading to many punts, with field position contributing to what looks to be a couple very important field goals on both sides.

In the second half, I expect more big plays once football season starts; the Seahawks games will greatly impact the weekend plays. Also, Sophie will be starting school. That's bound to factor in somehow.

I like where we stand at this point. I think we can pull this one out.

Halftime.

June 29th - 13-13

Day from hell at work. Well, that's an exaggeration. It wasn't bad, just non-stop. But we got those changes launched at pierres.com in time for the Delilah radio promotion, so my work is done here.

Nothing worth reporting from the homefront, either. Looks like both sides will be content to just let the clock run out.

Life's ball: 4th and 17 on its own 29.