Over it.

Alright. I'm over the Bleh. I'm still having a hard time being consistently productive during my time here at home though. The last few days have been filled with long periods of general uselessness punctuated here and there by relatively short bursts of productivity. So, as usual, I'm going to be cramming the next few days trying to get everything done that needs doing before I leave for Alabama and Georgia. For example, I've got to deal with this crap fest we normally call the garage:

Anyway, I'm happy to report that I'm writing this post from my now-functioning MacBook. Turns out the hard drive had just crapped out. The good news was that it got replaced under warranty for no charge. The bad news is that there was no hope for data recovery. I lost all of my SUPER TOP SECRET files. Oh well.

Most of my week was uneventful. Although I think I could classify Sunday as A SUPER GOOD DAY. I got up around noon and Pip asked if I wanted to go down to Cafe Rue Orleans for some Cajun brunch. Of course I did. We sat next to the window and watched the rain drench College Ave. The coffee was great and the food was even better. My crawfish corn bisque and crab cakes hit the spot, although Pip's grits were looking pretty tasty. We both had work to do on bikes, so we came home and hung out in the garage for a little while. I was trying to finish building up a sweet ass new bike, but it kept giving me grief. I cussed at it a lot and ultimately ended up throwing a piece of cable housing down and storming away from the whole lot. That was NOT SUPER GOOD, but not enough to ruin my SUPER GOOD DAY. Pip and I cruised on down to meet up with two other dudes to go on a road ride. The weather was still a little gloomy, but at least the rain had stopped. About halfway through the ride, the weather turned from gray to great and my pal Kevin snapped a few photos:

We climbed some big hills that I would have avoided if left to my own devices, so here's a cheer to riding with stupid boys. I had mentioned during the ride at some point that I was on Day 8 of not drinking, so after the ride we moseyed on over to Common Grounds were I proceeded to take a flying leap off The Wagon in true Ross style. We had a few beers and a little food before heading home to get cleaned up so we could go back to Dickson Street for even more beers and good times. I'm not gonna say it was a crazy night or anything, but it did involve Jagermeister, awkward situations, Irish Car Bombs, and that song about Luckenbach, Texas. Oh, and I gave my sister's phone number to a cross-country runner from Zambia who wouldn't leave me the hell alone. I finally crawled into my bed around 1am and just before I passed out I thought to myself, "Man, that was really a SUPER GOOD DAY."

Last time 'round, I promised to post some pictures of my week with Maggie. Problem is, we didn't take that many. But here's a couple with a video thrown in for good measure:

Maggie apparently missed the memo about Blue Jersey Day.

This is my new coworker TJ.

And here we have Maggie's ringing endorsement of kayaking. Sorry I screwed it up with my fat finger.

That's all I've got for now, but I'm going to catch the Yonder Mountain String Band show tomorrow night at George's, so maybe I'll have some good blog fodder after that. I've got my hopes up for this one, especially if I can convince Helen to take a break from stupid grad school to go with me. Really, who needs an MBA?