That Old House

We checked out a house for sale in Elgin last night. Last week we ventured into a neighborhood just around the corner that we had never been to before. This was the historic area of Elgin and many of the homes are over 100 years old. I started inquiring about touring the homes.

The one we saw last night was built in the late 1800s and was in fairly good condition, despite its age. The home had character, but the work it needed outweighed the low price. It was interesting to see the nooks and crannies that the home had (multiple staircases, detached garage, etc), but it may just not have had the space we are looking for. But, that doesn't mean we will be discouraged. There are a lot of homes in that area that look just as interesting.

Too Hot

It is in the upper 90s outside and I had to break with my jeans and wear shorts to work. I have not been able to dress casual at work...ever. The last time I wore shorts to work was when I managed a Blockbuster in high school. Too bad today is the day they finally turned on the A/C full blast and now I am freezing.

Here comes the pneumonia.

Re-fried Alex

So, I got a sunburn on my shoulders while at the beach in Florida.  I had put on SPF 36, but obviously not enough.  When we went snorkeling in Key West a couple days later, I made sure to slather the stuff on, but again, i epically failed.  The sunscreen was a spray that then needed to be rubbed in.  So, on top of the fact that my back tan/burn follows a spray pattern, I burned my already sunburned shoulders.  The left is much worse and was essentially a giant blister.  I had to put medication and gauze on it just to wear a shirt.

Needless to say, I learned a lesson.  Also, if I ever get skin cancer, it will be right there on my left shoulder.

Back in IL

Back home. Long drive. Read the kids blog for whats new.

Worms!

Is it just me or are the worms coming out in the rain the past month gigantic? I swear they look like snakes! I always remember worms since I was a kid, boys usually do. We find them cool and gross and fun to look at. But, I never remember seeing the ones as big as I have this year. Maybe its a coincidence or maybe they are mutants!

Creepy Trailer

This movie looks good. Lars Von Trier is a hard director to get a handle on (Breaking the Waves, Dogville, The Kingdom, etc) but this movie looks pretty intense!

WARNING: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!

Kobayashi Maru

If you understand the title of this blog post then you share my excitement for what is coming soon!

Yes, I am a huge nerd.

L O S T 5.10 - "He's Our You"

*****WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE 3/25/09 EPISODE OF LOST*****

He shot him! He friggin shot him!

Daniel Faraday had mentioned earlier this season that no matter what they do it will not alter the timeline. So, did Sayid really kill Little Ben Linus or not? I guess we will find out soon.

It was odd going back to flashbacks with all of the flashforwards lately, but I felt this episode didn't really illuminate much more about how Sayid ended up on Ajira 316. It was cool to see how they have made the 815ers the new "Others" and the Dharma Initiative are the "normals."

On a side note, my sister really liked watching "Namaste" last week and has since started watching from Season 1. I caught a glimpse of some of the episodes she saw and it was weird seeing Boone, Shannon, and Charlie again. Wow, this show has come a long way!

NEXT ON LOST: 5.11 - "Whatever Happened, Happened" (7 EPISODES LEFT THIS SEASON!)

Where the Wild Things Are looks awesome!

The movie version of Where the Wild Things Are looks really good. It may be too grown up and scary for Jack, but I hope it lives up to this trailer. If so, it may be a permanent DVD edition to our library.

L O S T Recap: 5.03 - 5.09

Part of not updating as often as I used to is now I have to catch up on my normal posts! What better way than to go back over the past 7 episodes of Lost!

Just off the bat, this season has been spectacular! The best part of the show having a finite ending is that the shorter seasons have done away with the filler episodes. Now, each and every week we get the juiciest parts of the show. While my wife contends "nothing happens," I have felt that this season has yielded more answers than ever!

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR EPISODES AIRED THROUGH 3/18/09

5.03 - "Jughead"
A Desmond-centric episode, we learn about The Others circa 1954. There, we discover that Charles Widmore was an Other, something long theorized. On island, Sawyer becomes more of a leader and Daniel confronts a woman about a nuclear bomb leaking on the Island. A good episode and the beginning of the end for Charlotte.

5.04 - "The Little Prince"
As Ben and Jack try to gather the survivors to return, we learn more about who is pulling the strings. Also, on the Island, we find Jin alive! In 1988! With Danielle Rousseau!

5.05 - "This Place is Death"
We get a Sun/Jin-centric storyline here where we see the degeneration of Rousseau's expedition and we get a big glimpse of the Smoke Monster and its "home." The time shifts grow in intensity and we find out that Daniel Faraday's mother in none other than Mrs. Hawking from Desmond's first flash 2 seasons ago!

5.06 - "316"
The survivors make their way back to the Island by way of Ajira Airlines Flight 316. It was very cool seeing how they recreated the original flight (Jack in a suit, Locke taking the place of Jack's dead dad, Hurley with a guitar to represent Charlie, Ben as the believer, Kate, Sun with Jin's ring, Sayid as the prisoner, and Frank as the pilot). Then, realizing that Locke was alive and half of them were in 1977 and the rest in 2008 was cool.

5.07 - "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"
Learning how Locke left and what he went through gave more insight into his personal and spiritual struggles. And, as if we didn't already know, Ben is one evil dude. Anyone else creeped out by how different Walt looks?

5.08 - "LaFleur"
Sawyer's new role and romance with Juliet really worked for me. I loved this episode and I have a strong feeling it is setting us up for something huge to happen. Plus, the statue was awesome, but I want to see more!

5.09 - "Namaste"
Everyone becoming part of the Dharma Initiative and taking their new roles on the show almost felt like a reboot of the series. I like Sawyer's leadership and Jack the Janitor. Was the baby named Ethan?? Christian the Creepy Ghost talking to Sun and Frank was priceless and one of the creepiest moments on the show. Where the heck is Faraday?

Next Episode: 5.10 - "He's Our You"

Korea Lost

I was rooting for Korea to beat Japan in the WBC Championship, but alas they lost in extra innings. Sigh.

Now we just have the regular season to look forward to! Less than a month to Opening Day!

Dead Blog

I feel bad that I haven't been updating this blog as often. But, now that the job hunt is over, I hope to get back to regular updates.

The new position is going well. I really like the new company I work for. They seem to embrace the parts of the job that I did and have eliminated to monotonous little things that slowed down what my job really should be. I look forward to a good career there.

Lost has been amazing this season. I hope it gets better and better. Plus, Rescue Me comes back soon and all the other shows I like are good this year. 24 especially!

I cannot wait for the big Florida trip! Only 8 weeks to go!

My new iPod has now hit 10,000 songs! And, I still have 50gb free! I love it!