Woke up this morning with a wine glass in my hand ...

I am sure that many of you out there feel like I do. Do you? You? Feel like I do?

Well Friday is here I am off to see if I can remove the IAC valve from Penelope. After one last test of the power steering sensor. Believe me if there was a better way to do this I'd be all for it.

Ordered 2 slicks for my cycle today. Will have them Monday and be better off for it. Mechanical inclination is a myth in my bag of tricks. If it's harder than replacing an ac outlet or rotor break pads (not drum break pads) I don't touch it. Putting the new tubes on my cycle was the first time I ever took the back wheel off my own bicycle. And I was one of those "takes things apart" kids.

iPhone says, "Bartender" by Dave Matthews

"Bartender please, fill my glass for me, with the wine you gave Jesus that set him free after 3 days down."

Am I more than you bargained for yet ...

Friday? Geez a short week feels like a quarter of a full one. I've been able to get mostly caught up but there's still more to do if I am to enter the weekend with a clear head.

Uh oh brain lock. Will talk to you later.

iPhone says, "Cleveland Rocks", by Mott the Hoople

"I got some records from World War II. I play um just like me gran-dad do."

Out here in the fields I fight for my meals ...

I asked Jackson once what he thought the name of the Who song, seen in the title of this post, was. As with everyone in the world his answer was "Teenage Wasteland". "No", I said," it's called 'Baba O'Reily" a name that even I don't know the story behind. I then totally let it drop. Fast forward a few months and we are out somewhere and the song comes on. I say, "do you know what this song is called?". To my great surprise he comes right back with the right name. I had been ready the throw the traditional, "I'll give you $5 if you tell me the title of this song.". Which I owned up to and gave him the fiver. Boy I don't pull that one any more.

On the iPhone, "Baby You're a Rich Man" by The Beatles

"What did you see when you were there? Nothing that doesn't show."

And all the little ants are marching, red and black antenae waving ...

My house has always been a battleground for us against the ants. When we bought it and pulled the "vintage" wood paneling down off the walls in the living room to reveal what looked like one of those old timey ant farms with the only difference being the paths had been etched in the dirt on the wall board instead of dug out whatever you'd fill an ant farm with. We had an epic battle this past autumn in which we finally won out but only because they kept coming back from the same place.

Ha! Ants! Your numbers are no match for my superior skill and access to caustic chemicals.

That is until recently, they're back and coming from the other end of the house. I did my standard spray down of the bathrooms but missed out on the entry point, the shower head in the kids bathroom. Yeah I know how it sounds. I must get the chemicals out again this evening and track them better than last night. They had made it all the way down the hall, avoiding all the bedrooms, to the kitchen and all the way to Sydney's food bowl near the back door. They hadn't discovered the counter tops, covered as they are right now with cake frosting from the Mardi Gras cake for the Y fund raiser last night. So the war goes on. I am sure I can get them all this evening but you never know with ants. They are a resilient, if not just plain numerous, group.

Penelope is not feeling well. (She is our 2000 Honda Odyssey named for the wife of Odysseus from Homer's story. Yeah, I know you're all like, "Huh?" Luckily we have very smart friends who named her as I could never have come up with such a connection.) 135k miles seems to our limit for cars these days.

iPhone says, "Bulls on Parade" by Rage Against the Machine

"Rally round the family, with a pocket full of shells."

Well long as I remember, the rain's been falling down....

Do you know those days that you just know some other shoe was going to drop and you were just sure it was going to hit you? Yeah? Thought I was in the middle of one today and .. nada nothing if anything it was a nice warm sunny day. Kris is fine, kids are back to school after the long weekend, I did some work that caught me up some and I may be able to fix the car. (Penelope the Odyssey that is).

This is the latest Ive been on the train so far and the real rush hour folks seem to be here more so than the early trains. There's this homeless guy with the nicest looking hair I have ever seen. And another with those Jack Kent Cook wraparounds STARING at me every time I look up. Oh geez I just looked again. It's making my job of projecting my insecurities onto others much more difficult.

Strange what you see in the dark that you miss in the AM. Just passed a bank and 3 bail bondsman near the "Civic Center". Makes you wonder if the bank chose to be there. It must be a neighborhood establishment that's all I can think of.

Oh Christ, I looked up again.

iPhone says, "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" by Traffic

"If you had just a minute to breathe, and they granted you one final wish, would you ask for something like another chance?"

Ah crap, he's still there!

Once I was young and so unsure ...

Not feeling it this A.M. The muse has escaped me so far. Maybe it's a nice day and I don't know how to take that.

Just to mock me I get "Skinhead on the MBTA" from the Dropkick Murphys over the iPhone. "Did he ever return, no he never returned and his fate is still unknown".

Have a good one y'all. I'll be working hard to get my s**t together.

The time I like is the rush hour cause I like the rush ...

So I don't have a car, but I have a rain suit ($14), a pump and a helmet ($0 on Freecycle). Check to see if you have one locally it's the bomb. It has rained non-stop for 3 days and is raining now. The yellow rain suit only served to keep my front dry sadly the back opens when you wear a backpack under it. Luckily there are pants, under, socks and shoes waiting for me.

Yeah! What a lousy day. Didn't post this on the way in as I was totally discombobulated. Rain suit did its job and I did not need to change pants or socks. Spent the day catching up but never got there. Need to work it out tonight.

Now, on to funner things. It was beautiful when I left the office at 4:55 but as I stood waiting on the platform I noticed the clouds moving in off of he Santa Cruz mountains. We will see what the weather is when I get off. I am starting to see a pattern. Colder and darker it gets the greater the chance of an afternoon storm. Which I have nothing against mind you but only when it involves cooling down the obligatory August afternoon. When it's February and already in the, hold your breath New Yorkers, 40's I am not so much in favor. It really has brought my whole "rah-rah" going green excitement right down to .... Earth.

Saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and "Slumdog Millionaire" with Kris yesterday. Kids went to SF Academy of Science with their aunt Kama so we had the day to ourselves. I will leave it to your imagination to figure out how much we spent on two movies and all the necessary refreshments. Here's a hint, you guessed too high.

And now the Honda needs me to look at it. Home repair is part of my thing right now. I need to get a part and install it in a very inaccessible place behind the front right tire. Here's hoping the part is available.

Ah well, forward to the future!

iPhone says, "Pretty Maids all in a Row" by The Eagles

"Why do we give up our hearts to the past and why must we grow up so fast?"