And now for something entirely dif... well, not really all that different

Yeah, I've been focusing on the economy a lot lately, but it's been kind of hard not to. Not only is it a financial crisis of truly historical proportions (not to mention a perfect example of what unfettered and unchecked greed can result in), but through the mortgage markets it's having a profound effect on average people the way that 1972 and 1987 really didn't. Plus, it doesn't help that I've been neck deep in looking at mortgages and foreclosures in the area to try and make sense of the local impact as part of my work.

So now, I feel like writing something that has nothing to do with that.

• I'm jealous of Kim and the kids right now. While I was slaving away at work yesterday, they got to go to The Discovery Center here in Springfield. They got to dig for dino bones, see a giant tornado, turn on lights to see animals in the cave, and take turns running the Human Hamster Wheel. The girls were so excited about it when they picked me up from work yesterday, it really made me wish I could have been there. Had I been on my old schedule, I probably would have gone with them. Of course, on my old schedule, we (the adults, at least) probably would have been tired from only managing 5 hours of sleep and might have simply not gone, so I guess it's a trade off. Still, I definitely want to go with them one of these weeks soon.

• I'm getting more and more excited about the Rachael Yamagata concert. I feel like a giddy teenager again when I was thrilled about getting to see Ani for the first time. Not only that, but I get to see Alice Russell as part of the show, too! She'd been on my list of artists to get more of since I'd heard her with Quantic, but once I find out she'd be part of the concert, I went out and picked up "My Favourite Letters" and I've been seriously digging it. It's been on a pretty steady rotation in the car for my 40-50 minutes of driving to and from work each day.

• Ugh, that reminds me. I hate commuting. HATE it. And I know, it's not really commuting since I'm just driving from the south side of town to the middle of the city, but it still sucks. I never realized how lucky and convenient it was to live a total of 5 blocks away from work in Wyoming.

• This whole blog thing has been nice. Not that very many people read it, but it's still nice to have an outlet for things. Instead of losing all the random crap that floats through my head during the day, now I can manage to capture 1 or 2 of those thoughts and pretend to be a writer. Hey, at least my grammar and spelling are pretty good, right? :D

• Pizza. I like it. So there.

• You know, it sure seems like the Dodgers are going to be this year's Rockies. They're going to be the surprise team of the playoffs and then get absolutely spanked by the winner of the Boston/Tampa series, which should be a heck of a battle. I've got say, the whole Manny vs. the Red Sox storyline is an interesting one. Of course, it will get so overplayed and blown out of proportion if they meet in the World Series that I'll absolutely hate the story. I'm just wondering, how many times has a superstar-caliber player been traded mid-season and then met his former team in the championship that same year? I mean, in ANY sport. I honestly can't remember this ever happening, but I'm not the biggest sports geek in the world either so I could easily be wrong.