Cynically Optimistic

Spring is starting to appear here on Long Island. Green things are prodruding from the earth, and from the flower pots on my front porch. We have a new fence in the backyard, yet are missing the one flowering tree which was cut down (not by me) to make room for a small shed. The living room still needed a coat of paint, and Saturday I employed the roommate and the French contingent to apply a single coat of computer-color-matched Sherwin-Williams Super Paint to the living room. Due to our past painting experience, the process was extremely quick. We started at 9:30 AM, and had the entire place painted and put back together by 3 PM. The crew of Trading Spaces would have been proud.

To celebrate both the accomplishment and the arrival of springlike weather, the grill was fired up. George even ventured out from Manhattan to join us. We had a freezer full of hot dogs and hamburgers to eat. I thoroughly blackened most burgers and even a few hot dogs for those that like 'em crispy (you know who you are). The pleasant sunset would have been nicer to see from atop the tower where I work, but then I wouldn't have been sipping on a Magic Hat #9 and enjoying the company of friends. My evening luck yielded a windfall of $8 in a post-dinner Texas Hold'em tournament. We finished off the bottle of rosé champagne that I had in the fridge, and moved on to more interesting liquors. I had received a bottle of some curious purple liquor from the French contingent, the label proclaiming "Violette" something-or-other. The occasion was perfect to try out a new taste (and continue getting drunk) so I unscrewed the cap at the table. The first words out of my mouth were, "Aaaah! This smells like my Grandma!" I could only muster a tiny sip, because it tasted much like it smelled. I just can't drink my mammaw.

Sunday was equally as fine a day, and I managed to get to the gym for my scheduled workout and still find energy enough to play tennis in the afternoon. I re-learned my yearly lesson: wear sunscreen on your bald head!!! Lucky for me it only turned slightly pink and remained painless. As 5 PM rolled around I staked out my position on the couch with my laptop and joined these two (plus one non-blogger) in a cross-country game of Diablo 2. It only took 29 emails and a month's notice to schedule such a game, and then someone only stays for an hour and a half. For shame! It's all good, however, since the rest of us had extra characters stashed away and enjoyed the killing fields of nightmare mode.

You have died. Death takes it's toll of 234,328 gold. You have lost experience.