The Burlap Soulmate

So I COULD spend the next three hours updating you on the last 2 months or whatever it's been since I was last here...but, meh. I had an interesting weekend, or pre-weekend I guess. I flew out to Minneapolis for work. And while we did actually get some WORK done, it was really more of a social thing. I met the VP of Engineering and schmoozed for a bit, before heading out to the engineering picnic, which involved burgers, brats, and baseball. Speaking of the baseball, it's taken me this long to figure out that I'm not a young man anymore. 2 hours of mildly strenuous activity and I'm gasping for air, sweating like a pig and sore all over. Maybe by next year I'll be in better shape...but I doubt it.

I also realized that 20 years does little to improve one's athletic prowess from their gradeschool years. I'm still that guy who flubs the pop fly, misses the tag at second, and trips over the bat on his way to first. I guess some things never change. But give me some skates and a hockey stick dammit, and I'll wup your a$$.

But the best part of the trip happened in the wee hours before the plane left for home. Despite getting a mere 3 hours sleep before takeoff, it was worth the chance to meet up with one of my cousins who was at our wedding, and with whom I've never really conected with before then. I had a great time. I met, or re-met I suppose, his very sweet and charming wife, who at our last meeting, they had barely started dating. But we talked and talked about a myriad of things, and I realized just how much I have in common with them, more so in some ways than even my siblings. I also developed an affinity for Minneapolis, seeing it through their eyes. I vowed that I definitely want to bring Staz here sometime, maybe even this year if we can get some cheap airfare. She definitely wants to see the Mall of America. Seeing a new city is always fun, but seeing it with locals who are a part of their community and who really love it is even better.

If I may make an observation, walking out in your front yard in nothing but a pair of boxers and massive bed hair is somewhat socially acceptable at 5:00am while letting your dog out to pee.

Doing the same thing for the same reason at 11:00am...not so much.

I'm beginning to understand why someone would undertake the gargantuan task of building their own home. You know everything that's been done and everything is done RIGHT. After a few minor and some major repairs to our current dwelling, it dawns on me how much we're at the mercy of those that have preceeded us. And as it turns out, some of them were not smart, just not smart at all. Or broke, or both. Either way, we're having to fix a lot of their 'fixes', much to our aggravation and exasperation.

Having said all that. It's still better than renting.