Picked up my new saxaphone case today. I'm totally in love with it. They also had the mouthpiece I'd been looking for so I got that too. It's been a big day!

The following is quite long, but it completely sums up my formative years as a Columbus Ohio resident:

"Vacation" to you means driving to Put-in-Bay or Cedar Point.
If you've got money, "vacation" means jetting off to the Gulf Coast to hang out with all your other Columbus friends in Naples or Sanibel.
You can tell from their accent if someone lives north or south of I-70.
You attended your senior prom only after a thrilling ride up the glass elevator to dinner at One Nation restaurant.
You know the sheer decadent pleasure of building your own hot fudge sundae at Max & Erma's.
"Bahama Mama" does not refer to any song, movie, or Caribbean belly-dancer. It's FOOD!
You know what "sliders" or "belly-bombers" are.
Until like, a decade ago, the spiciest food you ever tasted was mustard. Now we've got Thai & Ethiopian cuisine, foods marinated in jerk sauce, and places that serve ostrich.
Prior to about 1990, your idea of "ethnic food" was either Irish or German.
You think you've seen real snow. until you've spent some time in Cleveland.
You've done "Dime-a-Dog Nite" at Cooper Stadium, and caught the performance of some totally washed-up band from the 70s after the game.
You beam with pride that we're the hometown of Wendy's, White Castle, Cooker, Rax, Bob Evans & Donatos. but you wonder why we're the 8th fattest city in America.
You go to the Memorial at Muirfield just to see and be seen. and you've been rained on there at least once.
You're hedging your bets with your season-passes to the Crew, knowing full well the league might fold because soccer will never be a popular as REAL FOOTBALL!
You know that there was actually a city full of people here before AmeriFlora '92.
You skipped AmeriFlora '92, saying, "how the hell does a big flower show pertain to Columbus' voyage?"
You remember how exciting City Hall used to be in the days of Buck Rinehart. So what happened?
You remember the 1986 sinkhole on West Broad St. that grabbed national headlines by swallowing a brand-new Mercedes.
You spend at least 4 hours a day in traffic driving through orange-barrel hell.
You always cheer for the Buckeyes, even if you have no affiliation with the University at all, 'cuz it's the thing to do, Man!
You know how to pronounce "Scioto" and "Olentangy."
You prefer your pizza crosshatched into a thousand little squares or other odd-shaped pieces, because the traditional pie-cut is just too ordinary.
You see nothing unusual about a street being called East North Broadway.
You can describe the subtle socioeconomic differences among Bexley (old money), Powell (new money), and Upper Arlington (tons of money).
If you live in the suburbs, your backyard was actually a cornfield last year.
That complex on the corner, with the CVS, Frisch's, Blockbuster's and Big Bear. that was a cornfield last year, too!
As you lament the loss of all those cornfields, you see the infinite wisdom of Dublin City Council, who spent over $60,000 on a field of 10' concrete corn ears.
You were somewhat relieved to know they were puffing up attendance numbers for the Ohio State Fair. looks like we don't have the world's biggest white-trash festival after all!
If someone says "Grove City" or "Groveport" to you, you laugh and think "Grove-Tucky!"
If they mention "Obetz," you just laugh.
You feel inundated with retail shopping here, yet you still look forward to joining the Big Leagues of shopping when we finally get our Saks, Lord & Taylor's and Nordstrom.
(Guys) You wishfully think all those Victoria's Secret models actually live here, just because the company's based here.
Even if you never go there, you'll boast about German Village and the Short North, because they're the city's best defense against the "Cowtown" stereotype.
There's always that nostalgic part of you that doesn't really mind the "Cowtown" image.
In 1992, you thought New Albany was the middle of nowhere and you dismissed it as "Wexley." Now you aspire to move there after your next big promotion.
You see nothing odd about a city of 35,000 (Westerville) where it's illegal to sell alcohol.
Driving down Morse Road feels just like driving through a 1960s-time-warp version of Sawmill.
You remember your first trip to City Center and how cool having a downtown mall was, even though it looks more suburban than Easton. Thanks to Mr. Hot Shit's mom for this one

We've had Ellie for over 2 months. She was found running loose and is skittish like someone had beaten her and yet I'm all of a sudden feeling like we should track down her owners, if we can. But why? I wouldn't give her back, they'd neglected and hurt her.

The all too often sad truth about how dogs end up in rescue (if they're lucky)...Point-Counterpoint: Pets.

God Answers Prayers Of Paralyzed Little Boy: 'No,' Says God. thanks to Mr. Hot Shit ™ for this gem

I used to think that talking about the weather was the lamest thing, I mean weather?? Blech! Lately, it's eaten up most of my waking hours so I'm starting to change my views. It finally cooled off yesterday, the outside temp was a mere 80 degrees. A day in the air conditioning calmed the dogs down, Ellie has not had any more demonic possessions.

Our vet thinks that Ellie (now known as Carol Ann from the Exorcist) was indeed bitten by a bug. A cortizone shot has brought her back to us. Phew. She and Alice are at work with me, twice now Ellie has managed to shut down my computer.

Ellie was attacked by a bug last night that turned her into Carol Ann of the Exorcist fame. She spent the hours of 4-7 am thrashing, chewing, rubbing and doing anything she could think of to get out of her skin. Her efforts did not pay off, she still has skin but a shot of cortizone has calmed her down and exorcised the demon for now.

We've decided to de-bulk her tumor in a month or so. It doesn't seem like an extreme measure, since it will help her get around easier. Everything we're doing for her is measured by the 'will it improve her quality of life' standard and I think de-bulking will.

Ohmygod, Please Adopt Us is so damn funny!

Alice participated in her first videoconference. Her contributions mainly included laying down, then changing positions, but I'm thrilled that they didn't include barking or whining.

Last night was very very long. We all camped out in the living room because upstairs was so hot that even the toilet seat was hot. All was going well until Ellie decided to freak out at 4 am. She spent the next 4 hours rubbing, chewing and running around the house like a madwoman. It was pretty scary. She's at the vet today and Alice is with me at work, both of them are enjoying the a/c.

Don't even ask me how I found this: Grandma's Barley Soup.

Yes, indeed, it Really is a Nice New Stadium....

Just because you can find everything you want on the Web doesn't mean that you need to.

I loathe the heat. Hate the way the pavement shimmers, the way sweating happens when I walk 10 feet. That's part of why I live in Silicon Valley -- the lack of weather. There are always exceptions to our wonderful weather-free climate, like today. And I'm hating life, feeling guilty that my little dogs are at home, panting up a storm in the heat and I'm here in the a/c.

Evidently, there are still some American POWs in Korea. Jesus, it's been 47 years. Let the dudes go home already.

I totally wiped out on the stairs just now. Had I not been wearing shorts, it wouldn't be as bad but oh the rugburn. Hello, and welcome to summer.

My day at the career fair was exhausting. I got there too late to talk to the faith healer (I am not kidding) and just in time for a guy who actually said 'am I boring you?' after telling me that he had no real experience but somehow knew how to do everything. His parting gift to me was a migrane.

brig linked to this fabulously true article that seems to be about our time at beyond.com. I don't like to link just because someone else did (although brig is cool and stuff) but damn, this article reads like my life without me having to write the article. So there you are. thanks brig

Don't you people wear pants anymore?

I've spent the morning printing collateral. My tedious morning is marked by a huge stack of test prints or just plain fuckups on the expensive paper with our logo and crap on it, as well as by the new worn spot in the carpet from my many trips to the printer.

I'd just like to take a moment and say that Bette Midler is fabulous.

Just when I thought that the possibilities for Internet startups with no real way to make money had been exhausted -- Interstate4U - Everything you need to know about every Interstate exit in the USA comes along.

The career fair experience is unreal. All these companies packed into an exhibition hall, lusting after qualified candidates, and for once, I'm not one of those desperate candidates! Walking across the street, I was trapped in a pack of well dressed, eager applicants, they in their ties and skirts, my punk-ass motherfucker self in shorts and the company polo shirt. It was worth it for that moment alone.

Day one of Westech was crazy. There are a lot of wacky people looking for work out there. But I scored a bunch of stuff for Amy.

Secret nuclear information missing from Los Alamos lab. This just seems bad.

We saw the fine feature film Barb Wire yesterday. Talk about a guilty pleasure movie, but it was kinda fun.

"Everyone is fascinating in a day-to-day way."
-- a slightly paraphrased Amy

It will be a low volume couple of days for me, I'm headed to Westech this afternoon and tomorrow to represent my fine company and hopefully hire some folks.

Amy asked me to document my ever-growing hair, so here it is.

Finding my birthmom and her family has indeed been tremendous. Going from having a list of questions gathered over a lifetime to having the answers in the space of a few days was amazing. Finding a roomful of people who look like me and share my love of sarcasm and fart jokes put a lot of things into place. But it's not like the reunions you see in the movies where all of a sudden I'm a part of their family. Because I'm a part of my family first and foremost. Because they have all gotten on with their lives since I left their family after a brief 3 day stay in it in 1973, because I've gotten on with my life too. Because it worked the way it was supposed to, with all of us getting on with what and who we were supposed to be and do. Meeting them didn't change that, it only closes a circle and adds a different kind of richness to all of our lives, one filled with sorrow and joy all mixed in together.

Yesterday I looked in the mirror and was startled to see the face of my birthmom looking back at me. Not literally, (good thing, we would have to clean before she paid me a visit) she lives 3,000 miles away, but in my face, there she was. I know that I look like her, but this was the first time I'd seen myself accidentally as looking like anyone else. When I'm with any of my birthfamily, I sit there staring at them, trying not to seem obvious about it as I look for pieces of me in their faces, expressions and bodies.

My hair's getting long, it's about the same length as hers and it was all kinda wild yesterday with the wave that seems to be the family trait. And there she was, staring back at me in my bathroom mirror. It's so weird to all of a sudden look like people when my whole life I've been the anomaly.

I put a bunch of books up for sale on ebay this weekend. I'll be putting a Sparc Station and 17" Sun monitor up as soon as I get around to taking a picture of them.

Alice is at the vet's, getting tested for Cushing's Disease. At this point, whatever it takes to keep her from peeing in the house is fine by me. Friday night she came upstairs with me (she doesn't always do this) to go to bed, walked over to her Grandma Bed (this huge goosedown bed that my mom gave her) and peed right on it. You haven't lived until you've had a dog pee on your bare foot. I woke up later to the delightful sound of her barfing so I know something's up with her.