The flu persists, but I’m getting better, I think. (Thanks to my Finkville fiends who sent me good wishes!) Whereas I could only type two sentences yesterday, I’m not as violently ill as I was then. Now it’s more weakness than nausea. One more day on the home front should take care of that.

~

It galled me to no end to cancel rehearsal last night. As I told a friend: God does not want this show to open.

But today, I get back on the bike and ride, for good or ill. We’ll see how it shakes out by the time I’m done with rehearsal at 7:00 tonight. I’ll likely feel like 10 miles of bad road, but I have to get back in the race.

In the meantime, some good news. Kwame got out today. Remember Kwame Kilpatrick, former mayor of Detroit who got caught in an unfortunate text-messaging scandal? Best of luck to him — at least he admitted it was wrong.

Then there’s mentioning a violent, alcohol-soaked arrest of Ohio State lineman Alex Boone, and the fact that he will likely be drafted by the NFL — all in the same breath. Pro sports, investment banking, real estate…the convicts are everywhere, making way more money than you or I. Are we all in the wrong business?

All right. Time for more nasty Gator stuff…Mavis got the “low-calorie” type, but it’s still nasty. Ick.

FO

I am in hell.

RF, back underground (Gee I hope this Gatorade garbage works)

Yay (insert circus music here).

I’m finally starting to get it. Statistical research, I mean. That is to say, I am finally starting to scratch the surface of beginning to consider knocking on the door of the possibility that I might see a day in the distant future when I could conceivably entertain the notion of getting it.

After a 2-hour tutoring session on the phone with a friend in Boston yesterday, I feel better about it. Lisa, if you’re reading this…I worship you. I am starting an official cult in your honor: the Lisans. After I pass these tests (fingers crossed at the possibility), I will make a pilgrimage to your home in Massachusetts to sing your praises in person, and to lay flowers in your French horn bell, cuz, you know, that’s about all it’s good for lately since you haven’t been practicing.

Caught: Here’s our new White House Chief of Staff at the inauguration ceremony last week:

HA

Now, some people would say this kind of behavior at a presidential swearing-in is inappropriate; others might say that it’s about time some new, young, energetic and non-stodgy blood was in and around the White House. But honestly, if you know the world media will be there, snapping photos hundreds of times per second, hello…ix-nay on the Dennis the Menace while your boss is invoking Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln. Just sayin’.

In other news: coffee is a good thing, which will become more important to me as August gets closer…yeesh.

All right, fiends. Off to make the donuts. Happy Monday. Ugh.

Fink out.

Photo credit: Jim Young/Reuters

Random Neuron Firings

I followed a link this morning to Barack Obama’s Twitter account. I looked over to the right of the page, where it lists how many “followers” a person has.

Don’t you find that kind of quasi-creepy? I mean, no disrespect intended, and I have no agenda, but you know…it struck me as weird. Bizarre coincidence. Just sayin’.

And even more strange: I couldn’t find a single reference to the number 144,000 on the group’s official site. No joke. Go there and do a search on the number. It’s nowhere to be found. Does that strike anyone else as slightly odd? Kind of like going here and doing a search on “Xenu” (the name of the alien being, who, according to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, flew other aliens to Earth to attach themselves to humans, blah blah) Nothin’. But of course, that led to other places…

I pride myself on trying not to be a stone thrower, but honestly, Anne Archer’s son behaved like an evil little troll. This vid is worth the 30 minutes, simply because of its sad/disturbing/wacko factor. The BBC interviewer finally completely lost it. I mean really. Who could blame him? “Fair game” indeed.

Anyway.

Last night was a blast. Bummer that #1 Son couldn’t be there, but we still had a great time. Jon got some cool gifts, and everybody ate too much. It was great to see Helen and Lars — I don’t see them nearly enough.

All right, enough stalling. I’m spending the next 5 or so hours with Tom, then having a phone tutoring session on quantitative research.

My life is one big party.

FO