I apologize for the stretch between entries. Amidst exhaustion, seasonal depression, and social calendars the journal sat neglected for over a week. Allow me to make amends.

I suppose I should start with the weekend. On Friday afternoon Dan and I met in Roscoe Village before The Hold Steady/Drive-by Truckers gig. We hit Powell’s (nothing), Reckless (double-nothing, except shared mockery of hipsters), and Taco and Burrito House (torta and junior burrito, thank you). Although the sun hadn’t set yet we wanted to make sure we snagged prime parking (my car was already stashed on Lawrence) and a balcony. The peanut brittle kid aka PBK (don’t ask) wasn’t due until about six so we parked near my car and sat in the Borders across the street from the Riviera. I drank coffee. We sat in the corner and chatted until PBK arrived. He told an insane story about a friend who met a girl from China on the internet and wants to fly over to visit her. The mood was relaxed, very calm, as we had time to kill and hung out until near 6:30, when the doors were set to open. My knee was slightly fucked from early morning running (I should have known better than to ditch the elliptical on a concert night) but I stumbled up the stairs to the balcony’s first row. Dan and PBK laid claim to extra seats, which left me uncomfortable as the venue filled, but the security didn’t seem to mind (of course, they were the least manly security guys I had ever seen…it was like the Doobie Brothers were providing security) and no one asked us to move. Both bands, honestly, struggled through their sets. The encore, however, during which both bands came out and played along with each other’s songs, was top notch. After the gig we walked PBK back to his car, cut through a side street to our dual automobiles, said goodbye, and headed home. I listened to the Dalai Lama’s book on meditation on the highway and arrived in the garage just past 2:00AM.

A few hours later I was awake. My dead legs directed me to the couch, where I sat until close to eleven, when I fell back asleep and slept until two. M and N left for a birthday party while T, S and I hung out at home. T and I watched part of Hellboy 2 until he decided the film freaked him out too much and left the room. I didn’t work out and instead finished “The Wordy Shipmates” and started “The Learners”. Rain fell most of the day, and I took advantage of the grey, inert late afternoon and early evening to read and relax.

On Sunday morning I lifted, knocked out an hour on the elliptical, and managed 175 crunches. I felt a ton better, although still somewhat lame, as I needed an entire day to recover from one concert. Anyway, M took the boys to church while I cleaned the first floor and started laundry. I love cleaning on Sunday mornings. Later M and I finished Hellboy 2 before she took the boys to Madagascar 2 (she claimed the boys wanted to see the film, but I know she did as well). While they were gone I read, finished cleaning, and caught up on some internet activity. Later I took “The Learners” upstairs and read until about 6PM, when the early evening bore down on me with the seasonal depression I recognize from my youth. You know, the kind when you want to crawl under your blanket and stay there until, oh, March. But I was ok. I slept pretty well, woke this morning at four, worked out for thirty minutes, and headed to work. The day passed slowly but productively. I rolled through my emails, worked the floor circuit, and forced myself to grade assessment plans. Since I arrived so early (before seven) I didn’t feel guilty about leaving at 1:30 (although I almost nailed one of my colleagues in the parking lot…helps if I look behind me before I back up). I thought I was getting sick but another thirty minutes on the elliptical while watching a Travel Channel special on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, along with post-shower coffee, brought me back to health.

Ok, the boys are claiming the computer mouse is broken, and I should probably make dinner. More later.