Yes, it's another edition of everybody's favorite semi regular feature, Product Endorsement Corner. The first one since last February.

We got a new vacuum cleaner.

Since we've got another dog in the house, Koka talked me into it. We've had a Dirt Devil Vision vacuum since early 2000 when we moved to Arlington Heights. Koka got a Eureka vacuum for her apartment up in Racine, but it burned out shortly after moving to Arlington Heights. Nobody ever cleaned out the roller and her hair jammed it up until it burned out. We replaced it with the Dirt Devil.

And it's worked just fine. Admittedly, we never needed to worry about vacuuming that much until we got the dogs, but it always did a good job.

And we haven't vacuumed in a couple of weeks. About a month ago, I cleaned the carpets, but we haven't done anything since then. So tonight I went over the living room and dining room with the dirt devil, and this got picked up ... continue reading Product Endorsement Corner

I'm a little ticked about this, but it was my own damn fault. Hertz ripped me off. Or, they tried to, at least.

For our anniversary, we drove to Columbus, Indiana. And not wanting to put unnecessary mileage and wear and tear on the cars, we rented one. For Friday through Monday it was only $90 and change so what the heck.

They had a promo deal where you could buy a tank of gas in advance for $3.69. Normally, you have to gas up your rental before you return it, but this buys that tank in advance so you can return with however much gas is left. Since gas was $4.25/gallon here at the time, it was an interesting offer. I asked the sales guy about it.

He said it's a good deal, but it's only useful for people that are driving far enough and going to be filling up the tank. Somebody driving around town and only using a quarter of a tank and returning it has overspent. But so long as I'm on a long drive, I should be okay. I debated, but ended up going for it. I almost declined just on ... continue reading Beware of special deals

I haven't wanted to write in my journal this month, because how could I possibly capture all that has happened?

I love Jim. I love Nicholas. I also love Jamie, but that's another journal entry.

Somehow I fell in love when I wasn't looking to, and my world was turned upside down. I was happy with my life. Sometimes I was bored, but I was content. I had my routine and my life was full. I thought I had all I could handle.

Then Nicholas came along, and everything changed.

I thought I knew who I was. I thought I had dealt with all my issues.

It's funny how you can believe something in theory, and then your emotions get in the way and you realize you're not as enlightened as you thought you were. I think you go through life, and your experiences change you, and hopefully you learn from them and grow. But after a while, you sort of maintain, and nothing new really happens. Then someone comes along -- someone new and different -- and they challenge you. All of a sudden, you see ... continue reading This is me.

Okay, this one I'm proud of.

I was a late comer to bicycling. My parents got me a bike for Easter when I was in 2nd grade, but I just never got the hang of it. Never had much interest in it, either. They tried to show me how to ride it, but it just wasn't clicking with me. Even got training wheels, and it just wasn't doing it. When one of those bent, I basically shelved the bike. For years.

In 6th grade, Michael Detillio (or however his last name was spelled) from down the street got a bike, so I figured maybe I'll get mine back out too. It took me some time to get the hang of it, coasting down the parking lot across the street with my feet out; then coasting with my feet on the pedals, then pedaling, then actually pedaling back up and so on. Took me maybe a month to really get the hang of it, but then I was fine.

From there I rode a fair bit. Basically just horsing around near by my house in Allentown. Rarely went very far. When we moved out here I started riding around the local ... continue reading 10,000 miles!

better

and better

and better

I can be

with you

from you

to you

because of

your heart

my mind

our love

inscrutable

intemporal

immovable

and yet

more

and more

and more

I need

I want

I hope

less the pain

less the hurt

less the humility

less than all the world

just you

just me

just we