whew. nice to be home... finally. i suppose i miss being home much more when i have so many new shiny toys to play with... and a solid (re: fast) 'net connection.

sunday was warm... all the way around. after a Bears win, visit @my stepbrother's to see his new Argo, and some minor shopping excursions, we capped the evening by taking my mom to the Machine Shed for dinner for her b-day. her friend, Duck, invited herself to join us... oh, thank you. Duck epitomizes the stereotypical midwestern mindset of which i have such little tolerance. listening to her is like hearing scratching fingernails on a blackboard.

this morning trukpro & i got our things together and split. it was sad to see the dogs one last time -- Sixx, Lucy, Chopper, and the little guy Shelby. by the next time i see the kids again, Shelby won't be a "little" guy any longer... he's only 3 mos old now and we expect him to become a big dog soon. those dogs are awesome. i miss them already.

the 2.5hr drive returning home always seems like the longest... ugh. i was killin' to be back. of course, ain't nothing compared to trukpro who is still on road back to new mexico at the moment. i feel for him. i'll be less anxious when i hear from him... esp. since he's travelling on cash only and no ID.

on the way back to chicago i got the call -- twice -- that there's another new member in our family. my stepsister had a healthy baby girl this morning! her first. it's big news for reasons i won't go into.

after returning i made the mistake of visiting ABT electronics to scope a new a/v rec'r -- ended up walking out w/an open box Yamaha 6.1 model $105 off the $399 price. sure i was looking for a new rec'r but wasn't expecting to nail one down so soon. damn, i had to get out there... almost was sold on a $650 Bose surround system. yikes. advice: avoid doing a comparison listening w/the Bose and any other speaker system. the difference is sick.

agh, fightin' the sleeps all night. i must retire. back to work tomorrow. fun.