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What a month. I've spent most of it behind this computer screen. I'm not going to lie... I'm glad to see it go. It really started with August, but September will have to suck it up and take the blame.

But a new month finds me back in the office with much faster connection after some finagling on their end. And with two very big projects, a wedding invite for friends and a 21-miler successfully completed, it's time to get onto things I've been neglecting...

It's time I sit down and pick a weekend for my friend Gordon's bachelor party. I have to figure out if I'm going to get a new car or go with zipcar.com. It seems enticing on the computer screen, but we all know how that can go. Pick a place to get married. Go fishing. Go camping. Go mountain biking.

And there's already a whole lot to look forward to this month. We're headed to Cincinnati this weekend and then I will probably be getting to Minster somehow on Sunday morning to run a 10K with my sibs just to let them know what's up. This will be the first time my brother and I run a race together. I'm looking forward to it. Then a wedding in Cleveland after that, then the big race. The race route happened to be changed last minute and now runs right down my friend's street around the 18 or 19 mile mark. So I can't wait to make the turn onto Berkshire and get the high-five that I'll probably desperately need at that point. Then two big weekends in Cincinnati... both in honor of Bolton. So with all that, November will be here before I know it. Hopefully I will have made some progress by then.

What the H-Cane?

Yesterday started much like any other... with a hangover. I kid, I kid. Although, my head still pounded from having to endure the frustration of another coaching meltdown courtesy of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Three strikes, you're out Tress. I'm not asking for your papers so much as Heacock's. These guys were so cued up on cues, they let a simple pick route go for six? Well done... you make your players look stupid... again. Dantonio, if you're out there and are tired of the Lansing nightlife, Columbus is calling... or should be.

So after a lazy morning, I took to the bike and headed to Griggs for a run. No doubt, it was a windy day. I didn't realize it was the remnants of Hurricane Ike. I thought it was finally that front making it's way on through. Got to the reservoir without too much trouble and took off on foot. About halfway through the run, I noticed how much windier it had gotten. A majority of the route meanders under black walnut and sycamore trees. I found myself dodging sticks and debris... hoping a large limb wasn't next.

After finishing, I rested on a bench that sat on top of a hill near the dam as the wind continued to grow in intensity. I sat in a clearing so I wasn't too concerned, but large limbs on large trees started to come down with frequency. Then half of a tree collapsed onto the road below me... followed by an entire tree giving way. It was a little surreal. I never felt like I was in any kind of danger, but whole trees were falling down around me. So I headed back home on the bike and the ride home was an entirely different scene from what I had encountered on the way in. Not far up the road, a tree had fallen onto two houses. Large limbs were strewn about. The wind easily knocked me around on the bike. I got home to find a downed tree in our front yard and the neighbor's trees didn't make it either. It was nuts. We were somehow one of the few with power. Driving around last night, we were lucky. We did almost wreck into a felled tree on Riverside. Fun for me, not for Erica.

Weekendus Laborious

Yeah, I know Labor Day was ages ago, but I've been more than busy since then... with work and headaches.

We skipped down to Rocky Fork Lake Sunday morning to help with some deck maintenance. It needed to be torn out and a new deck needed to be installed. I've always been good for grunt work and it had been some time since my last trip to the RFL.

The history behind it is this... I met Bradley in a bathroom at orientation. Bradley's family had a place on the RFL from way back in the day. Bradley would bring fellers out and we'd burn firewood and throw hatchets and ski. He'd bring girls out and they wouldn't understand. In school, trips to this place were like finding Willie Wonka's Golden Ticket several dozen times.

But the trip didn't last much more than a day which sucked, but we got a lot done on the deck... I think so. Then on the way back, my transmission decided that enough was enough. Too bad it was in Greenfield. If you're not familiar with Ohio, it's 70 miles south of Columbus in the middle of nowhere. We were stopped at a gas station and as the locals would roll up, I kept thinking to myself, "His car will run and mine won't?? What the hell??" Needless to say, there were some beauties. But the worst part was missing the final baseball game at Cooper Stadium. Tickets were purchased, Clippers shirts were clean... we were set... except for being 70 miles from home of course.

And this past week has been so busy I haven't had time to think about buying a new car... not that I even want to. I never used the one I had all that much, so I don't want to buy a new one, but I want something that's going to last me more than five years. I've just got to bite the bullet.

I did get a chance to run a 5K this weekend in Delaware with my friend Hoffmann. We had talked about doing it, but then it got lost in the shuffle, but he called Saturday and wanted to know if I was still interested. I was interested and shouldn't have stayed out so late. But there's nothing like a run to sweat that crap out of you. And it was a great time. There were only about 100 people that ran and we preceded their horse parade so there were all kinds of people lining the streets as you ran by... not necessarily cheering, but at least they weren't rooting against you. It must've worked because it was my fastest 5K by more than a minute.