Chilly

Tonight was the first night in over two weeks that I had to close the windows on the house; more specifically the bedroom windows. It's bedtime and already below 50 degrees. It has been a nice, long run without needing to turn on the HVAC...

Heroes

Thanks to cable channel MOJO I'm back up to speed on Heroes and ready for the season premier tomorrow night. I didn't miss it when it was gone, but it is nice to have "TV" back...

Bait and switch

This one is on me. For months now, my hooptie 1994 Mercury Sable has been making a groaning noise in the rear suspension. I've hesitated to have it looked at because it's 14 yeras old and has 136K miles on it. The only reason the car is still in my posession is because it was my father's company car years ago and I have personalized plates that I don't want to loose. I won't go into the details of why either is important to me at this time.

I spoke to some friends and decided I would get some estimates on what it would cost to replace the rear struts. I got a few estimages and decided to bring it into Sears Auto Center. I've heard good things and Sears isn't going anywhere anytime soon...

Here is the sequence of events.
-I arrived, said I think I need my rear struts replaced.
-Sears said they would do a front-end evaluation, look at the rear as well and call me when the tech has an estimate.
-I also asked if they could investigate the belt squeek under the hood.
-They said they would investigate that as well.
-Katie, Amanda and I went out to lunch.
-Sears called me back 30 minutes later and said that the driver's side front spring was broken and that the rear struts looked fine. They also said that the serpentine belt was possibly too small for my car.
-I could not believe that the front end has any issues, so I came in to have a look on my own.
-Sure enough, one was broken and it was only a matter of time before the other side caved under the extra load.
-The cost to replace the front struts and possibly the front sway bar and alignment would cost me $820.
-Ouch. I said for them to only investigate the squeeky belt and get back to me with an estimate on that.
-Katie and I went shopping in the mall; bought nothing.
-Sears called me while shopping and fixed the squeek. The squeeky belt was due to a bad pully on the power steering pump. The total: $320 - much easier to swallow.

To sum things up: I came in thinking my rear end suspension was shot. It turns out that it was fine, but it was the front that needed replacement. Instead of doing that, I had my power steering pump (which was working fine) replaced to stop the squawking that eminated from under my hood. What a day.

Happy Saturday

It's a gorgeous Saturday morning; 60+ degrees, sunny. I'm in my basement...working. Time for a vacation. Go Irish.

Rehearsal

Went to Johnny's rehearsal last night. He is marrying Julie on Saturday, September 27th. It was nice of them to have their anniversary date fall exactly one month after my own - easy to remember on my part. I hope everyone will remember thier roles because they had the rehearsal a full 9 days before the wedding instead of the night before. There were logistic issues; no big deal. We walk down the isle, we stand, we walk down the isle again. Pretty simple stuff. I'm excited.

We have not been at a wedding in quite some time and I like this group of people; I've known them all for over 15 years. Some have fallen in and out of touch over the years, but it's nice to see it all come together.

It will be my first outdoor wedding where I'm a groomsman. As long as the weather holds...we'll be fine.

Sick child

Working from home today; Amanda is 101.5 (a great FM radio station somewhere I'm sure). So you think you'd rather be at home with a feever-weidling child than at work? Here's a breakdown of my day which I will keep updated.

6:00 - Amanda awake, ready for her day to begin. She's crabby and has a feever
6:30 - our only option, I stay home with her and work from home
7:30 - I eat breakfast (Pop Tarts and a bottle of water)
7:45 - Katie feeds Amanda, leaves for work
8:05 - Amanda tired, needs nap
8:44 - Amanda up from nap, needs me
8:45 - conference call, Change Control Board
9:15 - walk to 7-11 for beverage
9:30 - conference call
10:00 - attempt to feed Amanda, she is fussy and refuses
10:15 - lay her down for a nap; no struggle
10:15 - make progress on work; check up on team at the office
10:30 - conference call
11:00 - make more progress on work, catch up on e-mail
11:15 - still napping, nice!
12:15 - still napping. breaking records
12:30 - lunch
12:40 - Amamda awakens
12:41 - 6 oz bottle gobbled down
12:55 - walk around the block
1:10 - back at desk; Amanda in exer-saucer and jubilant
1:20 - unhappy baby
1:30 - realized after 10 minutes she wants a pacifier
1:45 - Amanda napping
2:00 - getting work done
3:15 - Amanda awakens
3:30 - 4oz bottle; into the exer-saucer again
4:30 - Amanda napping (must be a record), catching up on e-mail & tomorrow
5:05 - Amanda awake; work day over

Pasta from Pizza Hut

Normally, commercials don't entice me to buy a product. This one caught my attention; we went with the bacon mac-n-cheese. It came with 5 bread sticks for $17 delivered. I recommend it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pyQ-lYbUdM&NR=1

Mom killed in Crosstown crash

It's amazing how connected the world is. The mother mentioned in this article is a distant relative of mine that I had just met at a family reunion this July. It's a sad story. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time...
story here

Rain!

Rain, rain, go away. Come back another day. Ike hasn't even made it up here yet!

"Warm and muggy with periods of showers and thunderstorms. Severe storms possible this afternoon. Heavy downpours; totals well in excess of an inch are likely over much of the area. Winds out of the south to southwest at 15 m.p.h. with gusts to 25 m.p.h. or higher. Temperatures warm into the 70s during the morning, approaching an 80-degree high this afternoon. Showers may weaken and diminish overnight."

Happy September 11th

It's that day again, a time when The United States of America was welcomed to the "global village" of international terrorism. I just hung the flag outside my house and started to reflet on the events seven years ago.

That's right, seven years have passed since over 3,000 Americans lost their lives on that fateful day. Think about this, children that are in the second grade weren't even born when this happened, 8th graders have no memory and it won't be long before incoming college freshman are in the same boat.

Where were you at 8:46 AM EDT on September 11, 2001? I was at work in the Chicago Loop. I was working at an investment firm and had the early shift. I was at my desk for only 20 minutes starting my day as a data communications administrator when I received a call from my buddy Joe. He said, "You'll never believe this, but a jet just smashed into one of the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan. That crazy bastard Brian Walsh predicted it - 'It's only a matter of time when an airplane crashes into a skyscraper'. Get down to the 32nd floor to watch CNN on the trading floor..."

And so down to the 32nd floor I went and watched in horror as the second jet slammed into the second tower. No one was talking, everyone was in shock. It went from, "What a terrible accident" to "We're under attack!".

Our team gathered the troops and no inessential personnel was ordered to evacuate the building. I was on the top floor of a 30+ story building at the NW corner of the Chicago Loop which is in direct sight of O'Hare Airport just 13 miles to the Northwest and down the street from the Sears Tower.

Joe and myself left the office just before 10:00 AM and decided to skip public transit altogether and walk to his apartment which was only two miles to the north. It was a crazy scene as thousands of people departed the downtown area. Forget about trying to make a telephone call, all lines were jammed. I eventually was able to reach family to tell them my status.

We arrived at his apartment in time to watch both towers collapse. What an eerie site that is. They fell like a house of cards. Their design was partly to blame. They went up quick and came down even quicker. I could only imagine those smug bastards shouting "Jihad!" in their caves as they got way more than they expected. They likely praised Alah for allowing their f-ing suicide/death/terror mission to be so successful.

I only hope that if the Cold War can come to a peaceful end, so can this socio-religious conflict.

9 months

It's hard to believe, but today my daughter is nine months old. That means that she has spent as much time outside the womb as she spent inside it. What a dramaitc change. I'm not sure where she's happier...

CTA doomsday approaches yet again!

When is the CTA gonna get with it and stop lowering fares (a-la free fares for seniors) and simply raise their prices to keep step with raising costs of operation? Metra did so in February; my monthly pass went up 10%. I'm still riding.

Let's get real. I'm done listening to how the CTA cannot meet its own budgets. The last time the CTA raised fares was 6 years ago. Times have changed. What are you afraid of? The North and South Sides won't stop buying your product; you have a captive audience. Raise fares to $2 a ride and let's move on with our lives. Raise the fare another $0.25 in two years. G-Rod is not going to help you; only hurt you...
http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/chi-cta-cuts-web-sep09,0,7996333.story

Tooth!

I was at my sister's Sunday afternoon in Winfield. They had a parade to celebrate their weekend of "The Good Old Days" celebration - http://www.winfieldchamber.biz/GoodOldDaysSch.pdf. They have dunk tanks and all that jazz that jerks at our memories of days of yore.

At this parade they throw LOTS of candy. After the parade, I was enjoying some DOTS and oops, my crown popped off of my lower left rear molar. Damn, what a buzz kill. I had some temperature sensitivity, but not much general pain. It's really hard and annoying to chew on only one side of your mouth. On top of that, it was really difficult to drink beer during the Bears game Sunday night! I survived.

I called my dentist and alerted my coworkers Sunday night that I would be working from home as I did not know when I could get an appointment. It was not an emergency so I did not feel the need to contact the dentist himself after-hours. After all, I know what that's all about and it's no fun for anyone. Their office hours on Monday are 1-8pm so I knew that I would not have resolution until after lunch. I was okay with that and left a message to call me.

I got in at 3:30pm to have the crown cemented in. I figured it would be a quick in-out; I was wrong. The crown had worn a hole on the tongue side and that caused all the cement to loosen and it chose Sunday afternoon to pull loose (my DOTS did not help). That said, I now have a temporary cemented in, have the taste of cloves in my mouth (they flavor the cement with cloves?) and the dentist needs to send the crown out for repair if that's possible. After that, I need to go back in and have the temp removed and the crown put back in. I feel like I could use an oil change, too.

Looking for rah-rah?!

Well, you need look no further than this. This is called "Trumpets in the Dome" and takes place approximately 70 minutes before game time. Don't let the (slow start) Alma Mater keep you from getting to the good part at 1:24. See lyrics from previous post. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9LnTr5RQXg

Just so you know...

The Notre Dame Victory March is 100 years old this year. Yes, the best-known of all University fight songs is that old. I went to the San Diego State game yesterday in South Bend and many people just don't realize there is more to the song than the simple chorus that we all know. I figured I would lay it out for everyone. Two verses precede the chorus. And they are:

Rally sons of Notre Dame,
Sing her glory, and sound her fame
Raise her Gold and Blue,
And cheer with voices true,
Rah! Rah! For Notre Dame.

We will fight in every game
Strong of heart and true to her name.
We will ne'er forget her
And we'll cheer her ever,
Loyal to Notre Dame.

Chorus:
Cheer, cheer for Old Notre Dame
Wake up the echoes cheering her name,
Send the volley cheer on high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky,
What though the odds be great or small
Old Notre Dame will win over all,
While her loyal sons are marching Onward to Victory.