A Potpourri of Stuff

As someone kindly pointed out a few minutes ago, it's been 11 days since I posted last. Time really got away from me for awhile! Let's see what's been going on.

Nearly two weeks ago, I injured my elbow in a softball game. Naturally, I didn't see a doctor about it (that's just crazy talk!), nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but according to the Mrs.'s on-line research, it sounds like I hyperextended it. So ice, compression, and Advil have been my friends for the past couple of weeks. Except for one night, when I must have pushed the envelope a bit on the recommended dosage of Advil and found myself emptying the contents of my stomach in the bathroom at 2:00am. More ice and less Advil after that. I haven't done much in the way of physical activity involving that elbow, although I did throw a frisbee for a little while over this past weekend. I was sore the next day, but not too bad.

Because of my elbow issues, and because we had a double-header last week, I didn't play in the field in either game. We had enough people there that I could bat, but I wasn't about to try to throw a softball, especially for two games. In the first game, we were annihilated, 18-3, by a far superior team. Thank goodness for the mercy rule. In my one at-bat--yes, just one--I hit a deep fly ball that was, unfortunately, caught by one of their outfielders. As for the elbow, yes, it hurt. And yes, there was much ice, Advil, compression, and cursing the next day.

In the second game, we finally notched our first victory of the season, 10-5. Granted, the other team was one player short, and about half of their roster looked to be my parents' age or older, but IT WAS A WIN, DAMMIT!! I went 2-for-3 at the plate with two singles. Our team is now 1-3-1 on the year.

In other news, I spent around $400 on a new windshield for our seemingly cursed Toyota Sienna that we just bought this spring. Recall from a previous post that we have already put $700 into the coolant system after running over some road debris. Well, this time I was toodling down the highway, minding my own business, when a rock came out of nowhere and flew into the windshield. I called a glass place, and they came out to my office and filled the hole and two little cracks that were already appearing. They said it was a pretty big chip, and they weren't sure if a repair job would solve the problem. They finished at 4:00pm. By 6:00pm, it was cracked again. So a few days and $400 later, the glass guys came back out and replaced the windshield. $1100 in repairs before the damn thing had its first oil change. As I pulled into the oil change place, I half-expected a water buffalo to come out of nowhere and plow into the side of the van, or three of the tires to spontaneously explode, or a 100-lb. bird to have a heart attack and fall 6000 feet into my roof at 125 mph. But I got the oil changed without incident, and now hopefully this jinx is broken. I still love the van, but man, it has sure had some bad ju-ju so far.

Work's been an endless whirlwind lately. I've spent a lot of time on a probationer that I tried to transfer to Illinois. The transfer didn't go to my favorite Illinois probation officer (although it looked like it was coming her way in the beginning), but rather to the complete opposite side of that state. Long story short, the probationer was far from truthful about the living arrangements there, the Illinois PO was quick to catch it, there was fantastic communication back and forth for about four days while things got sorted out, and it all worked out in the end. It was just very time-consuming, and a wee bit on the urgent side. You see, the person is on probation for Arson. And there are some mental health issues. Yeah. Not exactly who you want running around without supervision, is it? But have no fear. The probationer is in jail, and another Illinois PO did a terrific job.

I helped my parents move from the country into the city two weekends ago, and I like their new place. They seem to like it, too. They have high-speed internet and a wireless network in their house now, something that wasn't possible in their old place. Mom apparently spent an evening recently discovering the bliss of being on the Internet, pulling up websites in 3 seconds rather than 23 minutes, while sitting on the couch connected to absolutely nothing. My sister took their remaining horse to her place, and it's soon to be someone else's responsibility to keep up with the 30 acres of property out in the country from which they just moved. My folks don't even have to mow their own yard now. Life is good. I'm thinking about trapping a raccoon or something, though, and setting it loose in their garage, just so they don't get soft. Maybe a skunk. Or a badger. Bring a little taste of country living to them in the city. I'm a thoughtful son like that.

The kids are fine. Olivia continues to do her best to drive us to an early grave with her sass and attitude. June is growing like a weed, and her vocabulary is exploding. She fell in the driveway today and took a good-sized chunk out of her big toe, as well as a couple layers of skin off her knee. I was still at work, but Chuck and his wife were visiting at the time, and Chuck says June only cried for a minute or two. Then she sat down and started picking at her toe, apparently curious about all the red stuff coming out of it. The Mrs. took her inside, washed out her toe, pour hydrogen peroxide in it, spread some antibiotic ointment on it, and wrapped it up with a Band-Aid. She reports that June didn't even flinch throughout the whole process. She is one tough little kid! This isn't the first time she has shown her high tolerance for pain. A few months ago, she went elbow first into the concrete and had a pretty impressive wound that needed treatment. We cringed as we poured the hydrogen peroxide on her arm, expecting her to absolutely come unglued when it made contact with her raw meat. Instead, she was fascinated by the bubbles. She may have a future as a professional fighter. Olivia, not so much. That kid could fall on a stack of pillows, and she'd come up acting like she had three compound fractures and a severed artery. Maybe acting will be her career choice.

The Mrs. just had a birthday. I think she had a good day. It wasn't the Worst Birthday Ever, thank goodness. That was a few years ago, but that's a story for another day when I don't have to get up for work in less than five hours. Her mom's birthday was a couple days before hers, so we all got together at my in-laws' house over this past weekend. It was another great trip. The weather was unbelievably awesome, we got to swim in their pool, we had lots of outstanding food as usual, and it was a fun time.

That's about all that's been happening around here that's worth mentioning. Maybe I'll have something more entertaining to discuss after our softball game Wednesday night.