Unrelateds………

………Barney and I met a guy after practice on Saturday who was looking for a softball team to play on. Him and his wife and kid had just moved up from Florida and he was looking to get on a team or two up here. Of course, being the East-Coast snobs we were, we said that the teams we played on were pretty much full. And hey, we were only half-lying. We chatted a bit through the fence with him and his wife as they pitched batting practice to each other. I thought about how slightly poignant it was that a guy would move his young family up the coast and then take them out to a local park and play by themselves. No friends, no regular hangouts, no softball teams. Just the three of them out by themselves, hitting around, chasing down balls in the wide outfield. The more I watched them, the more I began to think that we should ask them to play on at least one of our teams. And within 15 minutes, Barney was pitching to Patrick and I was in the outfield helping Debbie shag some balls while their daughter clambered up and down the bleachers. We exchanged numbers and promised to be in touch………

………I can't get onto the goddamn internet (of course, that might be a sign from the Journal Gods telling me that this entry is best left in draft form on Microsoft Word). I'm not exactly Scooter Computer, so maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I don't think it's only me. I just talked to Sheena who said she was having the same problem with AOL. Now, either we're both stupid (a possibility…) or else it has something to do with the fact that the Nazi Phone Company is making the entire Northern Virginia region dial area code 703 before making any local call. Bastards………

………Listening to WHFS yesterday I heard a new band. Their name and the name of their song completely escapes me, but the album's title stuck: Hooray For Boobies! So in honor of their ingenious album-naming skills, I'm buying it. They deserve my hard-earned dollars, whether they're any good or not………

………I got a lot of shit coming up next week. Not the week we're starting right now, but the week after this. You know, next week. Anyway: I've got some looking-forward-to-type shit, and I've got some shit that I'd prefer to avoid. Wait a second, you don't care. Tough. I do. Anyanyway, next weekend (or would that be classified as this weekend?) is our sorta-annual softball tournament trip to South Carolina (which is actually just a big drinking and golf trip since we usually lose our first two games and then we're done). Tuesday morning will be spent in court. D-Day. Divorce Day. That should be beyond fun (I wonder if Thursday's will be open by 11? I may need a shot or 9). And of course the new quasi-U2 album comes out that same day. On Wednesday, my new computer should be arriving (thank god for credit cards). Friday is St. Patrick's Day, so that night will be spent at Thursday's drinking green beer and trying to order green bologna. So all in all, except for the new computer, I think I'll be spending the following week giving my liver a rest. Not next week, but the week after that. You know, next next week. Whatever………

………Why is Fox showing The TV Guide Awards instead of The X-Files? Is TV Guide giving out awards to those who can do their crossword puzzle in record time or something? Sheesh……

.........I'm driving down to lovely Florence, South Carolina with BD, Coco, and Barney on Thursday afternoon. Since it's a long flat 6-hour drive, Barney and I are planning to liven things up in the car by having a pre-trip lunch of baked beans and hard-boiled eggs. Heh heh heh.........

………Barney and I have become huge Caps fans lately. As in the Washington Capitals hockey team, folks. Of course, we're not very hockey-savvy, but we're learning (we had to call John--a Boston native--to explain to us what the whole 'plus/minus' thing was about). And yes, I know, the Caps have been the hottest thing on ice since Christmas, and yes, that's when Barney and I started dedicating 3 or 4 nights a week to watching them, but so what. I mean, c'mon, look who my other favorite teams are: The San Diego Padres (3 playoff appearances in 31 years), the San Diego Chargers (1 Super Bowl, losing by 23 points), the Washington Wizards (perennial NBA doormat), and the, uh, Los Angeles Clippers (the smashed garden slug under the doormat). Hey, I have a right to jump on the Capitals bandwagon. I've paid my losing dues in every other sport………

………I get to fire someone at work on Tuesday (this Tuesday, not next…never mind). Seems one of my new pharmacy clerks decided to get a few items for himself without utilizing our fine cash register system. Idiot. Yeah, I like whacking the morons. If everything else goes wrong on a given day, at least I can say I booted an idiot out of my Work Orbit. See ya!………

………Hold the phone (no pun intended). The Internet's back up and I can go get my fix. I'm outta here, folks………

(Good thing it's back up, otherwise I might have rambled on here for another 14 or 15 paragraphs.)