“It is the duty of every citizen according to his
best capacities to give validity to his
convictions in political affairs.”

- Albert Einstein

I joined the family (both immediate and MOB) at Keegan's tonight for trivia night and the added attraction of the quarterly drawing for the trip for two to Boston. My team had won or finished in the money a few times in the last three months so I had a few entries in the beanpot. Since you have to be present to win I wanted to be sure to be on hand.

Tiger Lilly and the Reverend Mother were somewhat interested in the outcome, but the drawing time was past their bedtimes so they went home and left the Mall Diva and I to collect whatever winnings were to be had.

Finally the big moment came. After a bit of folderol from Marty as he drug out the suspense, the winning name was drawn: my friend, Dr. Jonz. Half-hearted cheers and groans filled the patio where most of the bloggers were gathered. In the hub-bub I suddenly heard my name called over the P.A. as well. "Hey, you won something!" someone said, so I went into the bar to see what second or third place might be worth. I saw Terry Keegan standing at the bar near where Dr. Jonz was collecting his loot so I went up to the proprietor and said, "I heard I won a trip to Duluth."

"Not quite," he said. "You won a trip to Fargo."

"Oh."

"Actually, you won two weeks in Fargo."

"You have to be present to win, right?"

"Yes."

"Tell them you didn't see me."

As it turned out, my prize was a handsome necktie advertising Sam Adams Light that will be perfect for wearing to church, which is about the only place I wear a tie anymore. I went back out to the table where the Mall Diva and the rest of the group were waiting to see my prize. MD took it from me so she could inspect it more closely. After a few minutes she handed it back to me.

"Happy Father's Day, Poppi!"

Eat your hearts out.

"Justice to my readers compels me to admit that I write because I have nothing to do;
justice to myself induces me to add that I will cease to write the moment I have nothing to say."
— Charles Caleb Colton

You see, that "nothing to do part" is kind of essential for regular blogging and a missing element in my schedule of late. That should not be construed, however, as an indication that I've run out of things to say.

Regardless of what the sporadic posting might indicate, and in case anyone was wondering, I'm not hanging up the blog or going on official hiatus; the past two weeks have just been monumentally busy, and last Friday was a week's worth all by itself. I have three major events occurring in three different parts of the country that I'm trying to coordinate and all three have crucial deadlines this coming week (to tag-team with the crucial deadlines related to these events that had to be met last week). On top of that I have two newsletters to edit, a new direct-mail campaign that's about to drop, and several other projects vying for attention that I would love to give a lick and a promise to if I could only summon the spit to do so. Oh, and I've also been interviewing candidates to fill the vacant position on my staff so I DON'T HAVE TO WORK SO FREAKIN' HARD! Meanwhile, my personal schedule of activities and duties away from the office has barely abated as well.

So, how's it going with you?

Ah well, one of the big events will be over and done with (for good or ill) on June 11. Another one goes off June 15-17, and if the flaming, rotating hoops I've had to jump through so far on that little number are any indication, the last few days leading up to that event are going to be beauties. After that things will get back more or less to normal, if I can remember what that looks like.

Memorial Day Weekend wasn't much of a holiday for me, as I brought the laptop and all the tons of things that can be stored on it home. There are occupational hazards with doing things like that. That Saturday I was taking a break to do my chores and bent down to snatch a couple of handfuls of laundry to put them in the washing machine. When I straightened up it suddenly felt as if I'd been tasered in the back. Bilateral back spasms shot across my back about a third of the way down, to the point where I had to make a conscious effort to breathe. The initial burst subsided, but the twinges and aches (and occasional breathlessness) continued throughout the long weekend. I discovered I was particularly sore when I sat in my recliner with my laptop in its place and my head inclined toward the screen. Hey, it's not loading 16 tons of number 9 coal or getting black lung disease, but work can be hard sometimes.

During this crunch time it's not only been hard to find the time to write, it's been hard to find the time to browse my favorite blogs and news sites. This has the effect of dampening the stimulation that usually leads to better blog-posts (or at least better researched ones). In the gap I've spun out more personal observations on things going on in and around my life since I don't have to think much about these. It's kind of fun, but I fear I'm drifting toward what a guest on Hugh Hewitt's show a couple of weeks ago described as a "thumb suck" blog; all navel-gazing and domestic details.

Now, I enjoy a good thumb suck blog as much (or more) as the next guy. Some of my favorites could fall into that derogatory-sounding category, and blogs like Lileks and Cathy In the Wright helped me make up my mind about getting into blogging. That may well be my true calling. Still, I'd like to think I can sneak the hammer in from time to time, thumbs-be-damned.

Soon, I hope.