The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -4).  OK, now this is the Gopher volleyball team that fans have grown to know and love.  The squad swept both of their games in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Louisville, Ky., over the weekend.  They started off shaky, needing five sets and 39 kills from Senior Outside Hitter Daly Santana to outlast the host Cardinals.  But they may have righted themselves for the season in sweeping then-18th-ranked North Carolina, 23-22-18.  For their perfect weekend, Samantha Seliger-Swenson was named conference Setter and Rookie Of The Week, and Libero Dalianliz Rosado was one of the Defensive Players Of The Week for the B1G.

I thought that would vault them into the AVCA Top 25, but it only got them 28th place.  (The Tar Heels, the team they upset, is the club right ahead of them.)  But that's still a vast improvement over where they were the poll before.  And it makes me feel a lot better for their prospects this weekend as the Gophers host their annual Diet Coke Classic, where they cram three matches into a Friday and Saturday.  I hope I see some semblance of their A team and game Friday evening, where I plan on going to see them face off against California-Irvine.  They then face North Dakota St. Saturday morning before what probably will be the marquee match of the tournament when they go up against Central Florida that evening.

#-2: Gopher soccer (Last Week: -2).  A very important tide-stemmer this weekend.  In a pair of true road games, the side beat Marquette in Milwaukee, 2-1 in Overtime, then on Sunday evening they drew scoreless with Texas Tech in Lubbock, Tex.  For contributing to their team's undefeated weekend, Haley Helverson was named Big Ten Defensive Player, and April Bockin Big Ten Co-Freshman, Of The Week.

I don't know how this weekend factors into Minnesota's overall tourney profile, but in Hero Sports they climb four spots to #37 in its all-Division I poll.  And they can further build on that weekend as they come home to Robbie Stadium this weekend.  I would have really loved to have gone to their game Friday evening against New Mexico, a team you don't see around these parts, but I think I should go to the volleyball game instead.  But I'll try and make it up to them Sunday afternoon when they face an opponent I'm not so hot about, Nebraska-Omaha.

#-3: Twins (Last Week: -1).  OK, so I forecast that a road trip where they go 2-4 would be enough to keep them in the race.  They did me one better (even though it technically is a 3-4 screening week because the Twinks failed to sweep the Chicago White Sox Thursday, losing 6-4), which means they are only 1 1/2 games behind the Texas Rangers for American League Wild Card 2.  I am heartened that they won a game in Houston and claimed the series against the division-leading Kansas City Royals.  That means they can go toe-to-toe with the best clubs in the majors, which means that them battling for the playoffs the rest of this month won't completely faze them.

Even better for The Hometown Nine is that looks much more hospitable for them compared to The Bastard Washington Senators v.2.0.  While they still have two series against Houston, there are no surefire playoff teams the Twins have to face the rest of the season.  We aren't talking about AAA ballclubs; this weekend they visit Comiskey Park for three, then begin their final homestand of the regular season Monday with three against demoralized Detroit and fellow ALWC2 aspirant the Anaheim Angels Thursday.  They are good enough in the rotation and the lineup to win five of those seven games.  If they can pull that off, they should be at most a half-game behind for that final Wild Card spot.  We'll see; this is a time to not just learn, but succeed before their time.

#-4: Lynx (Last Week: -3).  These guys are cooked.  Blow it up, trade all the pieces, start from scratch.  On Sunday, in what was the biggest game of the season, the Jynx shit their pants and turned the ball over late, giving the visiting New York Liberty the 75-71 victory in Target Center.  That put them two games clear of the Jynx in the race for home-court advantage throughout the WNBA Playoffs, which I think they later would clinch.  A team that went all-in with the acquisition of Ashja Jones, a squad that people touted would be a slam-dunk champion this year, has in its hands instead of the makings of a greatness only the best record in the Western Conference.

By the way, even that was a struggle; they clinched the West by beating the eliminated Seattle Storm only by a score of 73-67 Tuesday.  Nevertheless they are in line to run into a rejuvenated Phoenix Mercury team.  Hell, they may not even make it past the first round of the playoffs since they are in line to face the well-rested Candace Parker and the resurgent Los Angeles Sparks.  The Jynx have clearly run out of gas; tenacity, experience and luck are the only things holding this wheezing contraption together, and it's all going to fall apart in the playoffs, and it's going to be fucking embarrassing.  Pisses me off and disappoints me to no end at the same time.

Their final regular season game is Friday night in Seattle.  Then the playoffs begin, and they'll be quickly escorted out of that.  You know, this makes me regret not getting a 2013 Lynx WNBA Championship t-shirt.  Does anyone know where I can get one?  It'll be the last title swag this franchise will be printing for a long time.

#-5: Gopher football (Re-Entry!).  It's really hard to gauge how the team really did in its season-opening, 23-17 loss to then-2nd-ranked TCU at TCF Bank Stadium Thursday evening over the radio.  So I tried to glean the flow and the momentum of the game through observations on Twitter.  And they're still divided.  Some people say that the game was not as close as the score indicates, but some others insisted that the U. was one or two or three plays away from springing the upset.

There are some facts you can take away from the defeat.  First of all, TCU is now ranked third in both the writers' and coaches' poll, and you have to think the Gophs had something to do with that.  Minnesota also nicked the rest of the year of the Horned Frogs' Linebacker Sammy Douglas, who suffered an injury that is "undisclosed" during the game.  Finally, there is a consensus that the Goofs' defense played a whale of a game containing TCU Quarterback and Heisman Trophy hopeful Trevonne Boykin, but they were done in by an anemic offense whose Quarterback, Mitch Leidner, still has trouble throwing the ball.  That combination is seen by some as still sufficient to win a B1G West that shows signs that it is down; Nebraska lost at home to BYU on a Hail Mary, while Wisconsin got trampled in the second half of their game vs. Alabama.  Whether or not that means the team is a good team or merely a lucky one is still being figured out.  They hope to get more clarity Saturday afternoon, where they visit Colorado St.  Luckily they won't face Jim McElwain, former Rams Head Coach who now is manning the sidelines at Florida.

Now My Friend Is Affected (ETA: sic) My Driving

So I sent a missive defending myself from my friend who's nagging me about how I'm running the fantasy football league.  I thought a lot about how I didn't want to come off yelling at my friend, but I wanted to respond to what I thought was him overreacting.  Yesterday, my friend replied, and at this point, he is rapidly turning into my frenemy.  He accused me of wasting his time and writing a "diatribe" in his multi-page e-mail.  He says I contradict myself.  And then he finally said this definitely will be the last year he is in my fantasy league.  Strong words coming from a guy who continually acts like a commissioner in my league -- one, by the way, where we are not gambling for money.

I am pissed off.  And I'll be honest: I am more angered by his accusations than the fact that a friend is yelling at me.  What I mean by that is I am less (well, no longer) concerned about his feelings than clearing the air about what I do and what I get to do.  Bottom line: I care more about my honor than my friendship with him.  That may be sad, but honestly, after freely attacking me, I think he feels the same.

Regardless of why, this has been on my mind, a lot.  And it has affected my behavior, unfortunately.  The most egregious manifestation of that happened as I was driving this morning.  Before coming here for coffee, I wanted to go to the gas station to get some money.  I was stopped at a light, and I was stopped there for a long time.  I got antsy because Father was telling me as I was leaving was that they were going out for a morning walk, and that walk cuts close to this gas station.  If I had to wait any longer, they might have seen me take the wrong turn towards the coffeeshop rather than "to work" as I leave the gas station.  Frustrated, I took a right turn to go to this ATM in the bank down the street rather than wait for the light to turn green so I could drive through.

As I was getting to the ATM a car cuts in front of me.  I was not driving slow, but the car that was behind me decided I was; she changed lanes and then cut back into my lane in front of me.  Now, I usually let that go.  But I was thinking about my frenemy's letter all throughout the drive, and I got ginned up waiting for the traffic light, and that just pissed me off.  So I changed lanes, drove through the stop sign and cut back in front of her before I took the left to the ATM.  And unlike her, I did not turn on my signal.

But then she took a left.  Oh, well.  I was so angry that I was ready for a fight, I was ready to step outside and confront her if we were both going to the ATM.  Luckily (for her or for me?), she went straight while I took a right.  While she passed she looked at me; I glared back at her.  She probably was thinking, "What the fuck?"  So am I, but I know deep down I was scared, and she must have been, too.

And then, after that car was out of my vicinity and I was at the ATM, I thought to myself, "You know, I don't think that was necessary."  Oh, I still believe that she did a dick move, as many have done to me throughout the years.  It was only this morning where I decided to finally fight back.  Of course, you never should do that because of the danger that might cause.  But honestly, if not for my frenemy and that damn e-mail, I gave into the devils of my worse nature.  I'm lucky nothing happened.

And still, still, I am upset over him disrespecting me.  And I have no other choice but to respond in kind.  But how?  Will this continue to affect me and my behavior?  And what if he replies back?

Best Summer Ever? Not To Me It Was

With Labor Day ended, it is the unofficial Death Of Summer.  Saw on Channel 11 something I have heard off and on over the past few months: This has been The Greatest Summer In The History Of The Twin Cities.

In these past reports I heard of something called the Summer Glory Index, which is a direct reflection of the Winter Misery Index.  I don't remember the criteria, but I know a couple of the raw facts and general conditions that led some people to celebrate the past season: Only four days of temperatures in the nineties; humidity relatively in check for most of the summer; not many really bad outbreaks of severe weather; and as of press time only 3% of the state in any level of drought, and even that is only at the mildest level, Abnormally Dry.

Those facts taken together are indeed signs of a very great, tolerable summer.  But that wasn't exactly the summer I experienced.  Oh no.  Not to say that I found it to be completely unbearable.  Summer, while being the main break in the year for me and as for everyone else in the United States (which was probably ingrained in us from school), still has never been completely compatible to me.  For one thing, I hate hot weather; even though I know we have had much sweltering seasons in years past, I still couldn't deal with it most days this year.  Also, my allergies are making a late-summer comeback to bother me.  It's not so much my nose as it is my eyes; for the past few weeks, especially in the hours where I am not on my allergy nasal spray, I have been scratching my eyeballs furiously, and I know I've been walking around with red eyes in the evening.

Finally, and most importantly, the one really bad instance of shitty weather this summer hit me like a punch right in the nose.  It was that goddamn hailstorm that damaged my car.  Cost me $500 in deductibles, $500 I sorely need now that I'm not working.  In that sense I'm not the only one bitter not to share in The Greatest Summer In The History Of The Twin Cities: The folks up in the Brainerd Lakes area had a hellacious storm tear through their area, causing all sorts of damage that still has yet to be completely cleaned up.  They, like me, will not bask in the glory of what factually was a fantastic summer because one specific event skewed it to something memorable for all the wrong reasons.

State Fair Talent

I'm going back to the State Fair one last time.  Didn't plan on it.  Thought I would go only twice: Once to kick off the fair, and another to catch what may be my one and only time watching A Prairie Home Companion.  See, I would've gone there more often, but the flu biller place holds shot clinics there, and I was afraid that I would run into one of them while walking around the Fair, eating my cheese curds or something, and I would have to make up some bullshit story about, "Oh, I just thought I wanted to do something else," and then they would go, "Oh, I know about The Asshole who yelled at you around Labor Day.  That's why you're not coming back, right?"  And I'd be caught with my pants around my ankles.

But I'm going back and tempting fate a third and final time.  Why?  Well, for one thing, it's Labor Day and there ain't a goddamn thing else to do.  Second, after the brutal humid weather we've had the past several days, the last day promises to be a beaut: Sunny, temperatures topping out at around 80, and most important of all, no humidity.  (By the way, it never ceases to amaze me that the end of the Minnesota State Fair also means The Death Of Summer; starting on Tuesday, highs will slide down to the seventies and bottom out at the sixties by week's end.  Just in time for school to start!)  And finally, and most of all, I get to see all the hot, gorgeous Minnesota babes flaunting their barebellies for one final public strut for all to see.  I wouldn't mind getting caught with my pants around my ankles then, if you know what I mean!

Opening Day was good, but this past Friday was even better.  The babes were everywhere.  But three of them stand out.  The first was while I was eating Sweet Martha's Cookies while pairing them with the All-You-Can-Drink-Milk barn, which doubled its price from one buck to two (boo!).  While I was just veging out there I saw two girls walk by.  The hotter of the two was a shortie, she was oozing confidence with her sunglasses on, and she had on this red, frilly top that, as she swung her hips back-and-forth while walking, showed off her tan and somewhat hard abs and, I believe, her pierced belly.  Yowza!

Then, while walking past the International Bazaar, I saw some lucky dude hand-in-hand with another shortie, with brunette hair, with a coat unzipped to show off what looked to be a halter top.  But she was getting some sun on her alabaster stomach.  Double yowza!!

Finally, while eating corn on the cob, there was this, uh, younger chick with blonde hair.  She was wearing this top whose bottom elastic came down just beneath her breasts, which were pretty big for a girl like her.  They were so sizable, and she was just waiting around and checking her phone as if it weren't a big deal to be walking around so sexy like that -- it isn't! -- that I had to kind and, uh, observe her for as long as she was standing around the corn barn.  She left after several minutes, either because she found the people she was trying to find or she saw me stalking her.  Ah, but I still have memories, babe.  Triple yowza!!!

Like the first two, this hottie was also short.  But I thought all three were so sexy they could be models.  Why aren't there short models?  Are models supposed to be tall?  Doesn't seem fair.  Just a thought.

So yeah, I saw so many spank-worthy women out at the State Fair that I'm going to go out there one more time.  And there's a decent chance that I'll see even more.  It's the last day, the weather's going to be perfect so people will be out in force, and it's going to be sunny, which means more babes are going to want to sun themselves by wearing the skimpiest clothing possible!  Yay for a pervert like me!!!!

Almost Got Sideswiped Twice

I don't know what it is about today, but this afternoon, just driving to and from the Mall of America, I almost got hit by two cars who drifted out of their lane onto mine just as I was passing them.  Don't know if it's the weather, or if they're not paying attention, or if they're drunk or if they have a death wish.  But I don't think I've ever seen that twice in an afternoon.  I had to honk my horn at both of them (I think; maybe it was only the second one).  Almost got into a bad accident two times today.  Can you believe that?  What bad driving, geez.

Do You Have A Friend Who Pisses You Off When It Comes To A Single Subject?

That's getting to be the case with my friend.  We get along swimmingly -- well, truth be told, we don't talk much because he lives out in L.A. -- but not when it comes to fantasy sports, particularly my role in running our fantasy sports leagues.  For the past several years we have lost people, friends back from our college days, and there haven't been replacements, so our league has dropped in numbers.  In fact, a couple years ago we lost so many on our baseball league we went defunct.  And in our football league we are only down to four people.

My friend doesn't like that.  The first time he saw that we were losing members he implored me to find my friends and e-mail his friends in the hopes of finding other people.  That had worked the past couple years, but now we're back down to four.  He told me earlier this summer (don't remember when) to talk to these guys, and I did, but they didn't accept, so we did our draft Thursday with four people.

As before, he's been kind of bitchy with the fact that we have so few teams in our league.  That has never really bothered me.  For one thing, I understand if people get busy with their lives.  For another, the rest of us have got really loaded teams.  For example, I have Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady as my Quarterbacks.  And finally, hey, there are very low stakes involved with this league.  Unlike my other leagues, this is free and there is no money given to the winner.  When I started this league (or I may have assumed commissioner duties with the league after the old commish -- who just happens to be this friend in question -- got too busy running it) all I wanted was an avenue to keep in touch with people from college.  It used to be very important to me until I, like the people who dropped out, got busy with Life.  So now I do what I can, but if I forget to invite strangers I don't know because I, say, have to work or help out my parents or even take a vacation, well, shit, you know?

My friend doesn't see it that way.  I know that.  But in the latest e-mail as part of our back-and-forth regarded the latest defections and attrition that has kept our league this shrunken, he has ... um, used arguments that, if I were the man I was 20 years ago, would have really pissed me off.  He said I have a responsibility as Commissioner to find people.  Also, he said that if these friends of his did not accept my invitation, I should have dropped everything and told him so he could tell them to accept it.  Finally, I believe he is criticizing how I run or don't run this league of which he is a mere member.

All of this we have argued over before.  But the tone he has taken with this latest missive (although, to admit, we are still saying that our friendship won't be ruined over this or, as he has said the past several years, if he decides to leave because our league is so small) has given me pause.  I feel attacked, and I don't think I should be.  Not only because he continues to beat dead horses, but he feels more attached to something that I clearly do not have as much passion about.  I mean, I love fantasy sports, but I have other priorities in my life, and after that, I have other league (mainly paid leagues) that have priority over this.  I didn't think that would be the case, but life has a way of changing your perspective.  In this case, despite me regularly saying that I am a stubborn SOB, I have changed.  I am kind of jealous that, in that sense, my friend has not changed; his life still revolves around fantasy sports.  But he has to be reminded that I am the commish and he can go pound sand if he doesn't like the way I run things.

So I am not sure how to react.  I think both of us are trying to be grown-ups, but his rhetoric is starting to sound childish.  So should I not say anything?  Should I start accusing him of crap?  I'm thinking how best to reply to his e-mail that calls him out for rehashing old BS and for thinking he is the boss of me while not sounding like a bitch or ruining our friendship.  I don't want to hurt his feelings, but I want him to know how I feel, too.  Hmmm.

I Am Beset On All Sides By Fucking Bullshit

So I was supposed to get my car back yesterday.  But when it got late in the workday I called them.  "Oh," the guy from the body shop said, "I totally forgot about you."  What???  "Yeah, we were supposed to get the car back, but we haven't, and I totally had to do other things, so I'll call them back."  Geez, thanks.

Well, they're not done, so this guy's promise that I'd get it by end of day Thursday was a lie.  They need to do a part -- guess he's not the guy who was doing my car -- and then they'll drive it over, then he and his people need to do a part -- there's yet another part to Paintless Dent Repair? -- and then they want to make the car all clean and nice for me and then they'll call me so I can fork over over two grand for getting my car late.  I should get some fucking money back for this bullshit.

Because I haven't had my car, I have been thrown into a Seinfeldian nightmare.  I've had to rework my entire schedule around my parents' minivan, and thus my parent's schedule.  I was going to come in Thursday afternoon to give the body shop as much time as possible to fix my car, but that was before they knew they weren't going to be done with my car until the afternoon.  The scheduler said if I could come in in the morning, and I thought I could, since I would (theoretically at least) have the minivan in the morning.  But then in the morning my parents blindsided me by saying that they need to get their passport back, and then they needed to fix the house ASAP.  Well, fuck you guys.  I had to stay at home and beg the scheduler to delay my appointment back until the afternoon while they go out and do whatever the fuck they said they needed to do.

On top of that, I didn't know they were going to be late with my car until after I got down with my Thursday session and after I already scheduled my Friday appointment ... in the morning.  Now I had to allow as much time as possible for them once again, so I pushed my time back in the afternoon.  So now I fucking wait for these guys to get off their asses and finish my car so I can go to work and get my money.  I'm glad the schedulers have been so cool with me just coming in whenever, because if I were them I'd be pissed at me.

In the meantime I've spent a lot of daytime with my folks, and since they're leaving for their annual sojourn around the world, they're freaking out about making sure they're affairs are in order, which means they've been telling me to do everything under the sun before they leave.  Not only have I just gotten their lecture of all their real estate shit they need me to look over every goddamn day, I spent last night preparing a fucking rebate for My Fucking Father's goddamn camera.  I had my fantasy football draft to do, and instead I'm doing up a goddamn rebate form?

This bullshit is driving me nuts.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#-1: Twins (Last Week: Positive Numbers).  The main goal was to avoid 90 losses this year.  Barring an historic collapse, they are going to do that.  The next step in the revival of this once-moribund franchise is playing meaningful games in September, and a 4-2 week, which keeps them a full game behind the Texas Rangers for American League Wild Card 2 (where they seem to have been for a while now), ensures that.  On the strength of a revived starting rotation and, maybe more important, the self-announcement of the hitting prowess of Miguel Sano (who was named AL Rookie Of The Month for August and hit his 15th Home Run in the bigs in last [Wednesday] night's 3-0 win over the Chicago White Sox), they are playing very good baseball right now.  Regardless of what happens the rest of the month (or season), the expectation here is for even better baseball in the future, and the days of 90+-loss years will be in the past.

The club is going to put some hair on its dicks this week.  After going for the sweep at Target Field against The Pale Hose this (Thursday) afternoon, they go on the road for three-game series against two division leaders this week, Houston and Kansas City.  If they can manage to not get completely embarrassed after this six games (and I'll take 2-4, really), they're still going to be in this.

#-2: Gopher soccer (Last Week: 0).  Just to let you know, the other teams in the survey fall down a well after the Twins.  They were so bad this week that they dragged the Twins down to a -1.

According to a tweet from College Sports 360, their loss to LSU Sunday afternoon may prove to be a fatal one for their faint NCAA Tournament hopes.  The Tigers are not seen to be a better team than the Gophers -- well, at least they weren't at that time.  But Minnesota was unable to overcome LSU's home-pitch advantage, and Jorian Baucom's header from a cross in the 70th minute was the only tally in that match.  Sure, they defeated Stephen F. Austin in the same Battle On The Bayou tourney Friday, 1-0, but hey, that's Stephen F. Austin.  They needed what essentially was a road victory, and they didn't get it.

On the bright side, this weekend provides a couple of shots to register marquee wins.  Of course, they both come on the road.  And in a twist, they are not tournament games but in fact pure road games where they'll actually have to travel to different cities.  And they're not close to each other: Friday night the side is at Marquette in Milwaukee, and then they have to fly all the way to Lubbock, Tex. to play a very good Texas Tech team on Labor Night's Eve.

#-3: Lynx (Last Week: -1).  OK, now I'm really scared for this club.  Not that they'll lose the Western Conference.  I'm not afraid of that anymore, seeing that they outlasted Phoenix at Target Center by 10 on Sunday.  No, now the real threat is coming from the Eastern Conference, where out of nowhere, the New York Liberty hold a 1 1/2-game lead on the Jynx for the best record in the Women's National Basketball Association, a lead they padded when they routed Minnesota by 13 at Madison Square Garden on Friday.  I don't know where the hell this chemistry came together, but you need to know that Bill Laimbeer is coaching the Libs.  You may know him as one of the Detroit Pistons in their "Bad Boys" championship days, but it's more relevant to note that he is a three-time WNBA champion with the Detroit (now Tulsa and soon to be Dallas) Shock.  If there is going to be a WNBA Hall Of Fame, he's going to be in it.  So he knows how to mold a winner.  And that should scare the living shit out of a Jynx team that still is unable to fire from all cylinders.

Minnesota has to hope New York City stumbles.  Meanwhile, they have to take care of their own this week.  Luckily they are in the middle of the final four home games of the regular season.  On Friday they host Indiana.  On Sunday, the Liberty come to town in a very, very important game.

#-4: Gopher volleyball (Re-Entry!).  Shit.  First weekend into the season and I know this program is going into the toilet.  In past years -- under the Dr. Mike Hebert years -- they would go to a prestigious tournament, like last weekend's Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, Calif., and there's an almost 100% chance they would split and a good chance that they could win both games.  But now?  Fuck.  On Saturday the Goofers lose a five-set match to Texas A&M -- a program, like Minnesota, in the Also Receiving Votes category, but unlike Minnesota, the Aggies have no contender pedigree.  Since they lost in five to a merely good squad like Texas A&M, of course they would get swept by host and nationally second-ranked Stanford.  And it was one of those matches where they got their pants blown off in the first set (25-15), they mustered up all their will and tried to win the second set only to falter (25-23), then had nothing left as they whimpered back into the locker room (25-18).  So they begin their 2015 campaign 0-2.  And they are no receiving absolutely no votes.

It is now time to question Hugh McCutcheon as Head Coach.  He has repaved recruiting trails nationally, but decisively away from Minnesota, which was a bedrock of contending teams in the Hebert Era.  Many players have transferred.  Many more have been injured.  And now, with a revamped and decidedly non-Minnesota team, they failed to reach the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time in almost two decades, and now it clearly looks like they won't make it again this year.  What the fuck is wrong with this team?

It's not going to get better with the ACC/Big Ten Challenge this weekend in Louisville, Ky.  In years past, although this is a pretty good tournament, Minnesota would kill these teams.  But this year, their opponents, host Louisville and 18th-ranked North Carolina, seem to have big advantages.  Could these Golden Gophs start ... egads ... 0-4???

Car Follies

Oh, great: I'm now home and the car still isn't done.  Got a voicemail as soon as I touched down from the body shop; they only told me that it's due back tomorrow ... late in the day tomorrow.  That's what the guy told me when I scheduled my car to be brought in, but he said there was a chance it'll be done today (Wednesday), which is what I needed.

That brings up a whole can of worms.  With the benching of my old car (its insurance ran out Friday), technically we have only one car.  Also, I still have that experiment in downtown Minneapolis that I have to go to.  I could have done my own thing with my car back, say, in the morning.  But instead I am strapped to my parents' schedule; I can only do my own thing once they are done with what they're doing.

That has its twist, too.  Normally I could get it as soon as Mother comes home from ... well, she leaves in the morning to do something and she's back some time in the morning.  I could get the car back then, but now there's some clean-up in one of their real estate properties, and they need the minivan for that.  Well, since I can't go out and do my thing, they have tasked me to wake up early in the morning and go with them; as Mother is doing her morning thing, Father and I are going to clean up this house.  Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat.  I'll be sweaty and tired early in the morning, and then I'll get the use of the only car in the household in order to get to what constitutes work for right now.  And then I have to get back home earlier than usual so I can get the car, which should (should) be done by then.

Things never work out for me.

Did I Really Have A Vacation?

I'm kind of bitter that my vacation ends tomorrow.  Partly that's due to the fact that I've been at the library for the past 90 minutes working on stuff from back home.  It's as if I never left.  Why take a vacation when you are still bedeviled by problems from whence you came?


I now understand why Americans have such a tough time unplugging.  Their minds are on stuff back home (not necessarily business for me, just stuff), so it's like you're still back at home.  But I don't know what else to do; I have to take care of it.


One last day of freedom.  I am leaving here, going to Hooters, going to a strip club, then the chess tournament, then the Cardinals game, and I will try and enjoy myself.