August 12, 2008: Now Batting....

It sure was good to get back onto the field today. We had our first softball game of the season tonight, and I had a few jitters. It has been two years since I last played ad I was worried about making a mistake now with a new team. I was flattered to find out that they had me batting lead-off when I have never played with them before. I guess Katie put in a good enough word that she convinced them I am good. A few things went my way, no one hit the ball to me, and both of my at bats I reached on errors by the second baseman (and I ended up scoring both times too). They did get to see that I can be an aggressive base runner and that I do have some speed. But most of all, the good news is that I think I am over the jitters and next game I should be able to go out and play instead of worrying that I will mess up. Another good thing was that since no one hit the ball to me I didn't have to throw the ball. If I had, I think they would have known my shoulder is still in bad shape. I am going to try and play through it and see if it will get better.

The weather was beautiful today. This afternoon I went out in the back to diagram the deck in the hopes of getting a permit. I discovered, much to my disappointment, that the deck, as is, is not up to code. My concrete footings are not big enough. Which means that in order to make it right, I will have to re-pour new footings. In order to do that, I will have to prop up the deck in order to replace some of the footings. I am not looking forward to that task. (I will add some deck pictures soon).

I also had a trip to the dentist today. Just a regular cleaning before we go back to school. And, as usual, a clean bill of health. It is nice going to the dentist because they always flatter me on how nice my teeth are, and how lucky I am to have inherited such strong teeth.

Tomorrow, on the other hand, I have a dermatologist appointment. I need to go because of the many spot I have developed over the years that should be looked at. I am anticipating at least a few being removed and biopsied. I am really not looking forward to it, on the other hand there are a few things I will be glad to be rid of.

May 12, 2008 - Downhill Run

As they say, it is all downhill from here. 16 school days until exams (14 for seniors). The last Interim Reports of the school year went out Friday and (most) were returned today. Parents have begun to be concerned about their child's progress. The "Close-of-School" Bulletin has been issued. This is the most pivotal week of the end of the year. This week marks the push the students will make down the stretch. Students on the borderline will either make it or fail based on this week. If they put off the effort they will fail themselves, but if they make that push, they will make the grade. Next week will be too late to turn it on.

Plans for Evan's annual big birthday blowout are (almost) underway. We have ideas for the invitation. We know we still have reserve a "bounce-house". I need to call an electrician to come out and wire the deck so we can finally have lighting, but I am sure I will need to get the permit for the deck before any electrical can be done since electrical work will need to be inspected. I better look into that too. I hope the general rule applies here, "it is better to ask forgiveness than permission," but I doubt it.

Last week a cyclone hit Myanmar resulting in thousands of deaths, and the count continues to rise. It has taken a week before the military government in Myanmar allowed any aid into the country. My guess for the delay is that the government is using this cyclone to retroactively cover up thousands of political executions that it has conducted since its coming to power. They are going to use the cyclone to account for the thousands of political deaths.