A Day to Cherish plus Bio

Yesterday was one of those days that you wish could just go on and on forever.

On the weekend, I rarely use the alarm and let myself wake up naturally. I usually wake up no later than 9, just whenever my body is sufficiently rested. Well yesterday, I woke up at 8:15. I popped out of bed and grabbed the paper off the porch. Good day so far - Yankees extended their winning streak and closed the gap with the O's and Sox. Giambi's been on a tear lately, knocking the ball all over the Bronx.

By nine, I was motivated enough to mow the yard and do all the weed-eating/edging. Mowing the yard is a love-hate kind of thing. Even though I hate pushing 50 pounds of metal around the yard, I love the smell of freshly cut grass, not to mention the manicured corners around the fence and sidewalk. Plus, it's my "me-time" where I can crank up my iPod to Zepplin's BBC Sessions and ponder the hidden mysteries of life.

After a shower and a quick sandwich, I decided that a cool summer day, a freshly mowed lawn, and a clean house should be rewarded with barbecue and homemade ice cream. I added homemade peach cobbler and fried squash to the menu and dinner was set. I've grown to be proud of my cobbler and pie crusts. The trick is to make the dough cold enough so the butter doesn't melt before it gets mixed in with the dry mix. I threw a well-basted pork tenderloin on the grill and life was good.

I've also been watching more baseball than I usually do. I'll watch the Yankees anytime they're on tv. I'll catch a couple of innings of a Ranger's game on a regular basis. But yesterday I watched the Sox and O's then the A's play the ChiSox until the wife vetoed it. I think my increased viewership has something to do with going to Fenway. While baseball does have its flaws (steroids, out of control free agency, the DH, and astroturf), there is still something very pure and innocent in the game. Plus, the mathematics of the game are fascinating to ponder. Everything is centered around the number 3 (or multiples thereof), signifying the Trinity. There are 3 bases spaced 90 feet apart. The pitcher's rubber is placed 60' 6" from home plate and the pitcher's mound is 9 feet in diameter. There are more, but that is a decent representation of the game's mysteries.

I was going to post twice to introduce myself but I'll just do it here.

I've been married for a little more than four years. Five will come in November. I grew up in the small town of Wimberley and spent my entire pre-college education there. I graduated fourteen years ago with 48 other people. I went to college and graduated from what was then called Southwest Texas State University, the "Southwest" striked from the full name last year, with a degree in Political Science and a History minor. I was dating a girl from Garland who graduated a semester before me and wanted to move back home. I had contemplated moving away so I packed my bags and moved to Dallas. Well, the relationship with the girl didn't last but my enrapture with the city did. It's been home for the past eight years and will be for while to come.

As you can probably deduce, I am a sports and political nut. I promise to restrain myself and keep my political rants to a minimum. Up until a couple of months ago, I worked in politics for five years for a state representative and U.S. congressman. In that time, I learned a few things. First, liberal, conservative, progressive, and libertarian are comparative labels that don't have much meaning in day-to-day life. Second, legislators have never debated the Aristotelian effects of anything. I knew all those theory classes were bunk. Third, most politicians are trying to be decent and honorable - it's only the squeaky wheels, so to speak, that we hear and read about the most.

If you really wanted to know my personality, you'd have to check out what's in my home library. I'm a book whore. I'm in the middle of putting all of my book information (title, author, etc.) into an Excel spread sheet that I'll attempt to share sometime. Throw me in a Half Priced with twenty dollars and I'm a happy soul. If cornered by James Lipton, I would have to answer that my favorite reading material is anything on the Tudor reign during the late 15th to early 17th century. On the nightstand right now is a book about Paul Revere's ride (aptly titled Paul Revere's Ride), a gem of a find at the Brattle Bookshop from the Boston trip. But to add a question to Lipton's standards, I think the immediate question to "What are you reading now" is "What did you read before that?". So, to be fair, the previously read book (a play, actually) was Richard III.

Well, time for a shower, the Sunday paper, and beignets.