Home Field Advantage

Man, a week sure flies by around here. Of course, that will happen when you only work three days. I had Monday off for President's Day (but fortunately did not buy a car, although I did buy myself an acoustic guitar) and then also took today off for vacation purposes. The idea was to hang out with Deb and the girls and maybe go to the Children's Museum or something, but the snowstorm we're currently enjoying put the kibosh on that. Also, Deb has come down with a cold even nastier than the one I was suffering through last week, so she's pretty much down for the count. She went to the doctor this morning and was told she was in the early stages of a sinus infection; she got some antibiotics and is chilling in the living room. Meanwhile, once Lily gets up from her nap, I'll take the girls outside to do some shoveling and frolicking in the snow (I'll do the former, they'll do the latter, in case you were wondering).

My cough was gone by the end of last weekend, so things were back to normal for me this week. I played hockey on Wednesday night for the first time in three weeks, although I had to play with my glasses on (under my full cage) because my right eye has been really red all week. I'm guessing it's some manifestation of the cold I've had; I'm still a bit stuffed up and blowing my nose a lot. With any luck, I'll be able to wear contacts again when I head out for a 20-miler Sunday.
Hockey was good, although we only had one sub so I was out there for most of the 90 minutes sweating all over my glasses. Still managed to pop in a few goals, including a nice breakaway move on the goalie. It's amazing how much you lose when you miss a few weeks, but fortunately my fitness level was still pretty good. It's the timing that really gets out of whack.

Poppycock:

• We don't have Showtime, so I never got the chance to watch the show Dexter until CBS began running it last Sunday as a strike replacement. I know, it's out on DVD, but I just haven't gotten around to renting it. Anyhoo, I watched the first episode and really dug it, even with the annoying edited dialogue ("I'm keeping my eye on you, motherlover!"). The show's about a serial killer who kills serial killers, so naturally the pompous blowhards at the Parents Television Council are all up in arms about it running on CBS. They're calling for a boycott. Whatever. It airs at 10 p.m. on Sunday nights; if little kids are allowed to stay up and watch anything at that hour, somebody should boycott their parents.
• Yeah, it's snowing out and cold and all that, but never fear: Baseball's right around the corner. I'm trying not to get too excited about the Jays' chances this year. They've got a strong starting staff and bullpen and they should rebound from the horrendous year their offense had last season. New additions Scott Rolen and David Eckstein should help, as should a surgically repaired Vernon Wells. Still, I've been burned many times in the last 14 years since they won the World Series (Joe Carter, baby! The single greatest sports moment I've ever witnessed) and they are still in the same division as the stacked Red Sox and Yankees. They basically need career seasons from just about everybody to even have a chance. Here's the Deadspin Jays preview. Oh, and check out this moustachioed piece of fluff previewing the 1984 Jays, who would go on to get smoked like everyone else by the Detroit Tigers.
• A guy selling on eBay his 3 million-piece record collection finally found a buyer, who agreed to pay $3 million for it. So basically, the dude got $1 per item. He was originally hoping for $50 mil, so he must be disappointed.