Okay, I'm going to assign blame for MSU's heartbreaking loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night in the following order: John L. Smith, Dick DeVos, Mike Rogers, Saul Anuzis, Mike Bouchard. Here's how I justify it...

John L. Smith is clearly a bad coach. How else can you explain blowing a 17 point lead heading into the second half of the most important home game of the year? Jehuu Caulcrick ran for over 100 yards and was a huge part of how we got that lead in the first place, yet the kid never touched the football in the fourth quarter. John L. just got his ass out-coached, plain and simple. At the beginning of the year I joked that he would either be fired midseason or after another year of just missing a bowl game. Right now I think the latter is more likely, but if he finds new and creative ways to lose winnable games between now and the end of the year, it's possible that his fate could be sealed at about the three-quarter mark of this season.

One can only hope.

Now, as for the other four bozos, the republican dream team decided to have a big rally -- where they paid "volunteers" twenty dollars an hour to walk around Spartan Stadium with their DeVos/Rogers/Bouchard shirts and stickers on -- before the game on Saturday. As my fellow lefty blogger Christine Barry correctly pointed out last Wednesday, this rally signaled certain doom for the Spartans. You see, Dick DeVos paid a visit to Comerica Park on August 8, and in the three weeks that followed the Tigers' win-loss average dropped from .619 to .318. Sure, they managed to recover and still made the playoffs, but I think it's pretty clear that Dick's little visit single-handedly jinxed the Tigers for a while there.

So, on top of John L. Smith being a shitty coach, we had the bad karma of DeVos/Rogers/Anuzis (a U of M Dearborn grad, no less!)/Bouchard (the only Spartan alum) to contend with.

Hey, I'm sorry Spartan fans, but this is just one more reason to vote against the republicans in November.

P.S. More on this over at MichLib.

A movie with a creative concept and talented actors that isn't a sequel or a rehashed storyline? Get outta town!

Yep, The Illusionist is probably the best movie of the late summer/early fall season so far, and if you haven't seen it yet, go now before it's out of the theaters.

I would try to explain the plot here, but I don't really know where to begin. Ed Norton is this badass magician who hatches a crazy scheme to steal his childhood sweetheart away from this douchebag prince. There's obviously a lot more to it than that, but you get the gist.

Look, I know it's not Jackass: Number Two, but do yourself a favor and go see The Illusionist before all the schlocky Oscar Bait starts rolling down from Hollywood, come November.

It was another busy weekend, but I feel like we managed to cram a lot in there. Here's the rundown...

I worked until noon on Friday, and then Stef and I hit the road for her house. That afternoon we ran out to the mall for a bit to buy a birthday present for Stefy's friend Sayee, whose birthday party was that night. Afterwards we came back to the house to relax for a little while, and eventually went to the Outback for dinner with Stef's folks. It was nice getting to see them, and our dinner was really good, per usual.

The weather turned a little nasty while we were at the restaurant, but it managed to clear up a bit by the time we made it back home to change for the party. Sayee's birthday soiree was at the Blue Martini in Birmingham, which is basically this grownup cocktail lounge (as the name suggests). We made it to the club by about 9:30, so it was still a little dead when we first got there.

Sayee had invited about six or eight of us, and we had this nice little booth in the back corner. We sat and chatted for while, since we were all kind of waiting for this salsa lesson that they were doing on the main dance floor to be over. I don't know why, but for some silly reason I think we all thought the regular dance music would kick in once this salsa lesson was over, but that wasn't the case. It was basically an all-salsa evening at the Blue Martini, and none of us were too wild about it. Still, there were a handful of songs that we could get out there and dance halfway respectably to, so it was still a really fun time. I managed to hang in there until about 12:30 or so, but I think just about everyone in our little group started hitting the wall at about the same time. Stef and I made it back to her place by 1, and I pretty much went straight to bed. It was a really fun night though, and I'm really grateful to Sayee for including me.

Stef and I both slept in pretty late on Saturday morning, and didn't get up until about 10:30 or so. We lounged around for a couple hours before finally getting our act together and hitting the road for Lansing. It was a little after 2 by the time I made it back to my apartment, and since Stef was going to the MSU/Notre Dame football game that night and I was scheduled to babysit my little sisters, we split off for the rest of the day.

Dad and Sherry had tickets to see Eric Clapton at the Palace, and since they wanted to have a nice dinner before the concert they took off by about 3:30 or so. I had a fun time with the girls in the afternoon. We watched Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Evens on DVD, played hide-and-go-seek, and just goofed around most of the time I was there.

The phone rang between 5 and 6 and it was my dad on the other end. Apparently the Clapton concert was cancelled because Eric had a sore throat (or something) and couldn't sing. So, my poor dad and Sherry drove all that way for nothing. They decided to stay near the Palace and still go out for dinner since they were already there though, so it really didn't change anything for me and the girls. We just finished out movie and watched some Sponge Bob before I put them to bed at 8.

The timing was perfect, because I was able to catch the MSU/Notre Dame game on TV. Of course, only about the first 3/4 of the game were fun to watch, since MSU collapsed in the 4th quarter and blew a 17 point lead. Sigh. Oh, the life of a Spartan. Anyway, dad and Sherry made it home and watched the end of the game with me, and I made it back to my place by midnight.

Sunday was pretty lazy, but I think I earned it. Stef and I watched some TV in the late morning before taking off to see The Illusionist in the afternoon. After that we just kind of let the rest of the day evaporate, but it was nice not having to worry about going anywhere or do anything productive.

So yeah, that was it for the weekend. I hope everyone had a good one.

Sparty shreds Bucky Badger in a game against Wisconsin

Hey Notre Dame, you know what's you're looking at? You are looking at 245 pounds of twisted steel and drop-your-bony-butt-to-the-curb appeal. Sparty will *body slam* you so hard that you will poop your gold pants. Hear me?

GO GREEN!

Okay, so is 'BELIEVE' the next Spinal Tap or even the next Roger and Me? No, obviously not.

Is it a funny movie that every Michigan voter should see before the election? Absolutely.

Loki Mulholland said his hope for the film (at least with Michigan audiences) was to show democrats what they were up against, and to show republicans what they are representing this year. Taken in that spirit, I think everyone has good reason to see 'BELIEVE', regardless of their political affiliations.

Like Matt said in his write-up about the movie, I think a lot of people know that Amway is bad news, but don't really know what makes it such a horrible, soul-crushing business. I don't claim to be an expert about the way Amway works, but I know enough to say that 'BELIEVE' pretty much nails everything I've ever read about Multi Level Marketing firms. It's all there in the movie: the deceptive come-ons, the pyramid scheme setup, the false promise of easy money, the blatant sexism, the motivational tapes (which are the real moneymakers for MLMs), the cult mentality, the political intimidation, the alienation of friends and family, and so on.

In fact, I think 'BELIEVE' probably nails the whole MLM scheme a little too accurately. While the dialogue, characters, and comically awkward situations are quite funny at times, I kept thinking to myself how sad and pathetic these people are. Even the Attorney General character and the anti-Believe crusader -- the people who are supposedly fighting against this evil MLM -- are self-absorbed wackos. Basically everyone and everything associated with these companies are self-destructive.

Ultimately, that's part of the point though. I think we're supposed to come away with the sense that MLMs are a cancer on society. There's even a line in the film where the Attorney General who is trying to bring down the company says exactly that -- that Believe is a cancer on society, and he's the cure. The interviewer reminds him that there is no cure for cancer, and considering the way our government has allowed MLMs to exist in the real world despite their unsavory business practices, there probably isn't a cure for this cancer.

Part of what's so disturbing for Michigan voters is that Dick DeVos, the man who ran the cancerous Amway Corporation for nine years, could win the election this year and be the most powerful person in the state for the next four years. Even more frightening is the thought that DeVos has presidential ambitions (he owns the domain devosforpresident.com). Just imagine that... Amway in the White House. It sends shivers down my spine.

Since all of these thoughts were in my head as I sat there watching 'BELIEVE', it was a little hard to let myself really enjoy the film. I think for most people in Anytown, USA, 'BELIEVE' will just be a funny, cute movie to go see and have a good time. However, Michigan voters who see the movie need to approach it from a slightly different perspective. I would tell anyone in the state who goes to see 'BELIEVE' -- again, regardless of their feelings about Granholm -- that they need to keep asking themselves if they would really want the guy who ran this company to be running our state for four years. Forget about the economy, forget about social issues, forget about your personal feelings about the current governor for 80 minutes, and just think about the way these MLMs do business, and what it would mean for our state if the former president of Amway was in charge.

Unfortunately, I doubt we'll see Dick DeVos in an orange jumpsuit like the owner of Believe at the end of the film, but if enough people see this movie, at least we won't see him in the governor's mansion anytime soon.

Thanks again to Loki Mulholland and Danor Gerald for putting on last night's screening. It was great getting to finally meet them and some of my fellow Michigan bloggers.

Oh, and remember to tell five friends about 'BELIEVE'. If they tell five friends and those five friends tell another five friends, pretty soon the whole world will see this movie!

(Cross-posted on Pohlitics)

For those who have been living under a rock, the sneak preview screening of BELIEVE is tonight at NCG cinema in Lansing at 7PM. I've been hearing a rumor that only people who sent in their names (to either Matt or myself) will be admitted to the movie. A few people sent me their name and said they were bringing a guest or two, so I think those folks will be fine. I not honestly don't know how strict the theater is going to be about admitting people if their name isn't on "the list", so check back throughout the day for updates.

In the meantime, check out this article in today's Detroit Free Press:

Mulholland, who is to attend tonight's showing, said last month his film isn't intended to be the Michigan 2006 campaign's version of "Fahrenheit 9/11," the Michael Moore movie about the war on terrorism, which took political aim at President George W. Bush. Mulholland said he "doesn't have it in" for DeVos, and that the film was made before DeVos announced in the spring of 2005 that he would run for governor. He said he merely decided Michigan in 2006 would be a good place to generate interest in a film loosely based on the Amway experience.

Mulholland was an Amway distributor for four years in the 1990s, he said, and it didn't work out.

Rob Zeiger, director of corporate communications at Alticor Inc. (Amway's successor) in Ada, said Wednesday he hadn't seen the film but has viewed the trailers online.

"I'm skeptical that it will do much business," Zeiger said. "But he has a First Amendment right to make a lame movie."

John Truscott, spokesman for the DeVos campaign, was less charitable.

The promotion of "Believe" is "just an example of somebody trying to profit personally from a political campaign," he said. "He has less credibility than even Michael Moore."

MEMO TO LOKI: Getting dissed by John Truscott is like a badge of honor in Michigan. While I haven't experienced it yet myself, I congratulate you for ruffling this little turd's feathers.

Oh, and FYI there's also an interview with Loki online at WKAR's website that you should go listen to this morning. An intrepid local reporter by the name of Scott Pohl interviewed Mulholland yesterday, and a condensed version of their exchange is airing on the radio today. The version on WKAR's site is the extended edit of the interview, but you'll have to listen to it with Real Player (the most ghetto multimedia software in existence). Anyway, that's it for now.

This movie was marketed as a romantic comedy. After seeing it with Stefy last night, we found out pretty quickly that it's anything but. Talk about a downer! Infidelity, divorce, screaming babies... not exactly a laugh riot.

Of course, if you like Zach Braff, you'll probably like it. Then again, even if you hate Zach Braff, you still might enjoy yourself because you see him getting smacked around a few times.

On the whole though, this thing was a mixed bag, at best. I'm glad I saw it, but being honest, I would have to tell people to save their money.

I just started offering ad space on the sidebar of my political blog, Pohlitics, last week, and yesterday I got a notification that I sold my first ad! It's for Tony Trupiano, who's running for congress in the 11th district, so I'm pretty excited. I know it's small fry, but ten bucks is ten bucks.

Gotta pay them billz.

A week from tomorrow Stef and I will be taking off for Las Vegas with her folks. Next Friday is her 21st birthday and we're staying at Bellagio, per her request, so I'm getting really excited for the trip. Not sure how much gambling I'll do while we're out there, but at the very least it'll be nice to escape this fall weather we've been having.

Vegas, baby. Vegas.

It's that time of year... the new fall TV season. There are lots of "new" shows on the networks, but I could honestly care less about most of them. The other night when I was watching TV and saw another promo for one of these new series, it just got me thinking about all the other shows that are already on the air that I could really give a rip about. Anyway, here's my list of the top five shows I could care less about:

1. Two and a Half Men (is this really still on?)
2. Desperate Housewives (the most overrated program ever)
3. Ghost Whisperer (Jennifer Love Hewitt sees ghosts. WTF?)
4. Dancing With the Stars (America, please get a life)
5. The Office (it's like trying to watch a remake of Seinfeld)

What are some of the shows you could care less about?

This week is going to be just a tad less hectic than last week was, and I'm really happy about that. Tonight after work I'm getting a haircut for the first time in well over a month, then I'm driving out to my dad's to meet up with Stef for dinner with the fam. Tomorrow I'll be heading into G4G HQ again for more volunteer action, and then Thursday is the big screening of BELIEVE at NCG by Eastwood.

For those who don't know what this movie is, it's basically a mockumentary made by a Utah-based filmmaker that skewers multi-level marketing firms like AMWAY. I've been following it over on Pohlitics for almost two months now, and you can check out some of my entries about it here (my initial post) and here (an interview I did with the Director, Loki Mulholland). The thing at NCG on Thursday is kind of a sneak-peek for local media, politicians, and other interested parties to help whip up buzz for the movie's wider release throughout the state in mid-October. Needless to say, I think a lot of us lefty bloggers are pretty geeked about this one, considering the all-too-convenient tie-in with the gubernatorial election.

Anyway, that's Thursday. Friday is a bit up in the air at the moment since one of Stef's good friends is throwing herself a 22nd birthday party at some bar/club in town, but Stefy still hasn't turned 21 yet. We're just not sure if she'll be able to get in or not. Saturday I'll be babysitting the girls at my dad's house while he and Sherry run off to the Eric Clapton concert. I'll probably be flying solo that night since Stef will be at the MSU-Notre Dame football game on campus cheering on the Spartans. All I gotta say is that Morgan and Kyra better not complain about me wanting to watch the game, otherwise big bro-bro will have to lay down the law and institute an early bedtime (mwah ha haaaa).

So yeah, that's it for this week. It doesn't look like I'll have to leave town at all for the first time in forever, so that'll be nice. There's just enough to keep me busy, but not too much to make me go nuts.

Zoo TV is often considered to be the best U2 tour of all-time, and one of the shows from the Sydney leg of the tour is finally coming out on DVD today!

For those who don't know, ZOO TV was the tour that promoted the Achtung Baby album from 1992-93. This was basically U2 at the top of their game, and for an obsessive fan like me, this DVD release is a long time coming. I can't wait to go buy this thing!

EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG. READ MORE iBZP.

Time Magazine sits down for a ten question Q&A with U2's the Edge this week. It's definitely worth reading the whole thing, but this passage was probably my favorite:

Q: Let's get abstract for a moment. If you could attach your name to any song written over the past few years, which would it be?

A: Interesting. There's quite a few songs I've been jealous of. Certainly Wonderwall by Oasis. Oh. Easy. The New Radicals' You Get What You Give. That's a great tune. I really would love to have written that. Great spirit, great energy.

I can't believe that the Edge even remembers who New Radicals were, let alone could name a song of theirs, let alone would want to have his name attached to it!

For those who don't know, the New Radicals released the greatest (IMHO) one-hit-wonder album of the last twenty years way back in 1998. "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too" is honestly one of my all-time favorite CDs. If you don't own it, go buy it right now.

I guess my week-long birthday bonanza is finally over. Sigh. It can only get dragged out for so long, I suppose.

Friday night was a lot of fun. I drove down to Stef's house after work to go to the Tiger's baseball game to celebrate his birthday. We drove to the park with Stef's grandma while Justin and Mara followed behind us, and we all met up with Sean, Marina and the kids at the restaurant that overlooks the stadium about a half hour before the game started. The buffet dinner was really nice, but my favorite part was the dessert spread. They had these chocolate-dipped cannolis out that were just out of this world. I seriously could've just made a meal out of those things. Mmmm.

The game itself was a lot of fun, but it was a total blowout. I think it was the third or fourth inning where the Tigers had two outs, but suddenly went on this scoring rampage where they racked up something ridiculous like 7 or 8 runs in a row. The game was pretty much over at that point, but it was cool that we had such a fun (and much-needed) win on the day we were there to celebrate Tim's birthday.

Saturday morning I pretty much had to get up, shower, and hit the road for home. Stef needed to run along to her hair appointment, and I wanted to get back to Lansing so I could take off for Homer with my mom and Dan for our visit to my A. Elaine's house on the way to John Templeton's 50th birthday party. Of course, I just assumed that the traffic would be a breeze on a sunny Saturday afternoon, but that sure as hell wasn't the case. I hit a wall of traffic on I-96 where it crosses US 23 because the morons at MDOT decided to schedule some construction work on a whopping 100' stretch of road, narrowing the freeway down to a single lane, on the same day that Michigan was playing Notre Dame right where two major highways cross. That was a great idea. It seriously added 45 minutes to my drive. Needless to say, I was none too pleased when I encountered something similar near Lansing about 40 minutes later. All told, the drive that usually takes a hour and fifteen minutes took two hours and forty five minutes. Zack... ANGRY!

Anyway, even though I was monumentally pissed, I made it back home in one piece, and was glad to finally see my mom and Dan. We took a few minutes to open by b-day presents before hitting the road (again), so that helped cheer me up. I got the entire series of Michael Moore's TV show "The Awful Truth" on DVD, a gift card to the Gap, and a subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. After all the DVDs I got this year, I basically had to add another shelf to my movie rack when I went back to organize everything.

We pretty much hit the road after I opened my gifts, and made it to my A. Elaine's by about 2:30 or so. It was nice that my mom and Dan got a chance to see her house for the first time in probably 8-10 years, because neither of them had seen all the renovations that Elaine and Bob have done on the place. We had a nice time visiting, and took a short ride around Homer lake on the pontoon boat before taking off for John's party at 4.

Old Man Templeton lives just a few miles from my A. Elaine's house, so it was just a short jaunt over to his farm for the big 50th birthday bash. It was really nice getting a chance to see him and his wife Melissa for a little while, but the party was really huge, and it almost felt like we were at a graduation party, because the only time we really got to talk with either of them was when we first arrived and when we left (not complaining... that's just how parties like that tend to go). Anyway, Dan was excited to give my mom and I a tour of all of John's farm implements and show off a little, so that helped pass the time. After we ate dessert we pretty much decided to hit the road and get back to Lansing before it got too late.

Sunday morning I got up and went to the 11:30 mass with mom and Dan, and then we went to Flap Jack to meet Stefy and Brian for my birthday brunch (which officially marked the end of my b-day week). I scarfed down some pumpkin pancakes, which were delish, and it was nice getting a chance to sit and yack with Brian and my folks before they had to take off for Ohio. After breakfast, Stef and I ran some errands to get stuff for our TVs. Stefy brought her old white TV to school to put in her room, so we needed a new remote and some coax cable from Best Buy to set her up. Once we had that taken care of, we went out to Eastwood so I could spend some of my birthday gift cards. I ended up buying a couple sweaters at JCrew, and if the weather keeps getting cooler and cooler, I could be wearing them a lot sooner than I'd like.

Other than that, Stef and I just spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and watching TV. After all the running around I did on Friday and Saturday, it was nice to just take some time and be lazy for a while.

Check out the new pictures from this weekend!

Well, today is Mr. Spiro's birthday, so I'm driving to Stef's house after I have lunch with my dad this afternoon to go to the Tiger's game with the fam. I won't say what I got for his present yet, but I will say that it involves Ronald Reagan... seriously.

Anyway, the Tiger's game should be a lot of fun. The Southers family will be joining us at Comerica, so it'll be nice to see the kids and hear about Colin's first few weeks of school.

Tomorrow morning I'm driving right back to Lansing because my mom and Dan will be in town by then (they're arriving tonight, in fact). There's a birthday party for an old family friend (well, friend to some of my family, that is), John Templeton, in the afternoon tomorrow, so I'm tagging along with my mom and Dan. I guess my Aunt Elaine actually lives pretty close to John's house, so we're going to stop by her place to visit for a while on the way to the party. My graduation party in May was the last time I saw A. Elaine, so it'll be nice to catch up with her and Bob for a while.

Sunday morning I'm going to church with my folks, and then we're going to meet up with Stef and Brian for a nice brunch at Flap Jack Shack to celebrate my birthday. I know, I know... I'm milking it for all it's worth.

So yeah, that's about it for this weekend. It'll be busy, but I'll also get to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time, so I'm excited.

Have a good one!

These bad boys are officially my new favorite fruit. They're just as tasty as oranges, but a hell of a lot easier to peel. I could seriously eat a whole damn crate of these things.

Michigan, I hate having to write these letters, but seriously... wtf? This weather is beyond lame. I mean, before you know it, we'll be ankle deep in October, all the leaves will be falling, we'll be hauling out the heavy jackets, and fall will really be upon us. Can we please savor a few more days of nice weather before the fall/winter misery sets in? Pretty please? Thanks.

Sincerely,
Zack

I thought this whole Tivo thing was supposed to be a breeze to setup. Well, apparently not. You basically can't do a damn thing with it until the machine can get online one way or another, and since the morons at CompUSA couldn't tell me which wireless routers would and wouldn't work with Tivo on Tuesday night, I was forced to wait for a whole day to go pick one up at Best Buy. Zack... ANGRY!

Once I got home yesterday to hook up the wireless USB adapter, I quickly found out that Tivo's little gizmo won't work with a wireless network that requires a WPA password. Sure it's not a big deal to change back to the old (less secure) WEP password format, but I spent enough time fiddling around with it last night that I eventually ran out of time before Project Runway came on. And since I didn't have anything like, oh... my TIVO working, I couldn't record it. Grrrr.

Anyway, I think everything is all squared away now, so hopefully I can get everything up and running tonight (crossing fingers).

Well, I had a really nice dinner at Outback with my family last night. Dad, Sherry, and the girls got me a whole bunch of stuff: Paul McCartney's first solo album, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life", Clue (the movie, not the game), and the Apple wireless keyboard. Our dinner was really yummy (as always), and it was really nice getting to spend the evening with the fam.

Of course, the good part about having the other half of my family live in Ohio is that it means I get to drag my birthday out through the end of the week. My mom and Dan will be in town this weekend, and I think we'll do my birthday celebrating on Saturday/Sunday. I really can't wait to see them... it feels like it's been forever!

Anyway, I had a really great birthday this year (so far), and just want to say thanks again to everyone who thought of me.

It's a short series, but check 'em out.

Well, I followed all the coverage of Apple's "big" Showtime event, and I have to say I was a little bummed. The most exciting "announcement" to me was the new organizing features in iTunes 7. Um, yay.

I mean, the whole movies thing is cool I guess, but until they come up with a way to 1) burn the videos to a DVD 2) release a real video iPod with a wide screen 3) release that iTV thingy they previewed, I won't be dropping a dime on any new Apple gadgets. The iTV thing looks cool, but aside from the instant gratification of downloadable movies, I don't really get the point. My TiVo will let me record all the TV shows I want, and I can just rip DVDs to put on a video iPod (should I ever buy one).

Look, I don't like to rag on my favorite multinational corporation very often, but I'm starting to get the feeling that Apple's R&D department is running on fumes. I mean, colored iPods? Ooooh. That's soooo... retro?

Come on, Apple! My mind is waiting to be blown!

This sure beats the hell outta flowers, if you ask me:



Does this girl spoil me, or what?

Thanks for the birthday surprise, my Stefy girl!

It's still early morning, and some birthday thank-yous are already in order.

Thanks to everyone who sent me a card, has given me (or will give me) a gift, who wrote a note on my Facebook wall, took me out to dinner, or did anything else birthday-related. There are a lot of amazing people in my life, and I appreciate each and every one of you more than I could ever say.

Oh yeah, and props to Dr. Richardson at Holt Family Practice too. The guy hooked me up with a mad prescription for amoxicillin yesterday, and I'm already feeling a little better from my ten-day sickness. I can actually breathe again.

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone at the office for the nice b-day card and the yummy cake this morning.

Also, I wanted to wish my cousin Jessi a happy 21st birthday too. I know we probably won't ever do a joint birthday party again, but I always think of her on our b-day.

Anyway, that's it for now. Have a good one!

My life is now complete... my wonderful/amazing/genius girlfriend bought me Tivo for my birthday!



Shazzzam! Thank you, Stefy!

Maybe I should go see a doctor. This is getting pathetic... every time I think I'm getting better I start hacking up a lung and my sinuses close up again. I'm basically running on fumes at this point. Hopefully this is the last time I get sick for about a year. I think I've paid my dues with this one.

I'm not going to post some long rememberence about the fifth anniversary of September 11 this morning. It's already being covered by every freakin' news outlet in the country today, and frankly I'm more than a little tired of the fetishization of this tragic holiday by our politicians.

Instead, I'm proposing that the true meaning of 9/11 be restored... as simply the day before my birthday. Believe me, no one looks forward to September 12 more than I do, and I know my throngs of admirers wait with baited breath to celebrate my birth each year, so from here on out I refuse to deny them an extra day of jubilation by sulking in the painful memories of 9/11/01. Nope, September 11 should be spent signing cards and wrapping my birthday gifts, not watching factually questionable made-for-TV movies about the terrorist attacks on ABC.

So, Happy September 11, the day before Zack's birthday!

(NOTE: today also happens to be my A. Julie and cousin Andrea's birthdays, so I suppose I should wish them a Happy Birthday as well. Then again, that might distract from the new meaning of 9/11.)

The concert last night was a lot of fun. Better Than Ezra was even more fun than I was expecting – those guys are so much fun! They did a couple cover songs, including the Rolling Stones' "Miss You", which was perfect for the lead singer's high pitched voice with all those "woo-hoo-hoo-a-hoo-a-hoo"s. Hootie was great, and they did a couple covers too, including REM's "Losing My Religion". I know that sounds like an odd one for them to do, but Darius did a great job of singing with a Michael Stipe-sorta voice. Anyway, the whole show was a blast, and I'm so glad I got a chance to see both bands.

Of course, the thing that sucked about the whole night was that I kept feeling sicker and sicker as the show went on. I felt really good for most of the day, but my cough came back with a vengeance, and I was hacking up a lung for most of the concert. On the way home Teri said we should stop by a grocery store to get a lemon and some honey so she could make this special concoction that's supposed to help with a cough. It was basically a mix of vodka, lemon juice and honey, and as odd as it sounds, it really helped soothe my throat. I really didn't cough at all while I was in bed for the rest of the night, so I guess that's good.

Considering how well I slept, I was expecting to feel even better this morning, but that wasn't the case. I'm more stuffy and sinusy than I've been in the last couple of days, even though I'm not coughing as much anymore. I'm going to make a point of scheduling an appointment with a doctor ASAP next week so I can figure out what the deal is and start getting better. This is getting ridiculous.

Anyway, it's a gloomy Saturday right now, and I'm just hanging out at Stef's house before heading off to Wendy and Rachid's for our office barbecue this evening. Stefy already took off for East Lansing to go to the MSU football game this afternoon, but the weather isn't looking too good. Hopefully they don't have to stand in the rain the whole time.

That's it for now. Have a good weekend (while I'm dying).

Well, I have to say that the staff retreat went really well. I think the best part was that this day and a half gave us a chance to talk through some of the interpersonal issues between staff members, and we all learned how to communicate better with each other. We didn't do any group hugs or sing kumbaya or anything, but it was just a really great experience, and I'm glad I had a chance to participate.

Now it's back to the grindstone... for a day.

The staff retreat is going really well so far. We got a lot done today, and I think we'll cover a lot of ground tomorrow. I've been sworn to secrecy, so I can't say too much about it, but I think this whole thing has been really good for everyone.

Anyway, have a good Thursday!

This is me right now. Afrin is the only thing keeping me alive. I'm about ready to rip my throat out of my neck from all the coughing I've been doing too. Someone put me out of my misery.

My room at Weber's in Ann Arbor is really cool.



The Trust Fund is riding in style, baby!

My staff retreat starts at 11 a.m. at Weber's in Ann Arbor today, and continues through 5 p.m. tomorrow. No clue what's in store, but it should be interesting to say the least.

Not sure when (or if) I'll be able to post again, but I hope everyone has a good hump day.

I'd like to say that things will be getting back to normal around here this week, but unfortunately that's just not the case. I stayed home from work today since I was sick, and tomorrow I'm leaving for Ann Arbor for a day-and-a-half staff retreat at Weber's Hotel.

Yep, the trusty MITF crew is assembling for some sort of hug-fest where we all sit around and sing kumbaya or something. We haven't done one of these in two years, and since we have a different facilitator this time around, I don't really know what to expect. As much as I like to joke about stuff like this, I actually think these retreats can be fun. I learned a lot about the way I work and how others in our offices like to get things done last time, so hopefully I'll get something out of this trip.

Anyway, I'll be back on Thursday evening, and will then be heading into yet another insanely busy weekend. I think next week will be a "normal" week, but frankly it's been so long since I had one, I don't remember what "normal" is anymore. Stay tuned.

Here are my pictures from Labor Day weekend, thanks to the beauty that is Flickr. Go have a look!

I have a hard time remembering what I ate for breakfast most days, so it's a bit of stretch to expect me to remember what I did over the last four days. Anyway, here goes...

The He