Three day weekend. Well, at least for me. Tracy's working Saturday and Sunday. Then we're having family over for a BBQ on Monday. Last night, did some vacuuming. Not too bad, but really need some sort of stick or broom vacuum for the stairs. Doesn't seem very safe to try and lug our current one down the steps to the front door or up the steps to the deck. Now just need to keep current with sweeping, and maybe won't have to vacuum as much. Tracy made some crab stuffed stuff, actually just some artichokes and a pepper, she also made some crab cakes. She put some cotija in the mix, which I couldn't actually tell at all. But pretty good. Fresh artichokes though? Not so much. Watched Eureka, Bears kind of play, and some of Obama's speech. Finally got Sky High transcoded, again. Folded some laundry. Greased up the bike's drivetrain before the commute in to work this morning. Also raised my seat an inch, which makes a huge difference. Still need to find some method of carrying my U-Lock. Got a haircut tomorrow. Then headed out to Woodstock on the train. Hang out with my parents. Come back in after some shopping on Sunday. Then prep for the BBQ.

Keep forgetting I need to grease my bike, particularly the rear bevel gears. I forgot I wiped them down when I was tracking down the grinding noise, which, if I haven't mentioned, somewhat related to the shifter cable pinch nut attachment point on the cassette joint pulley arm getting bent. Or maybe just the hub in general. Either way, works ok. Leftovers for dinner last night. Watched Definitely, Maybe before it expired as an Apple TV Rental. Decided to head home to Woodstock sometime Saturday, and then come back in with my parents on Sunday, before the families BBQ on Monday. Also did some laundry. We can't hear when the laundry gets finished, so we need to remember to go and dry or get things out of the dryer. Also spent some time breaking down boxes in the garage from furniture deliveries for recycling pickup that was supposed to happen today. At least I hope it happened today, otherwise, all that cardboard got wet in the rain. Think I might vacuum tonight, cause the floors need it. Wonder if a Roomba would be a good idea? Or a different vacuum, like a stick or broom vacuum? Things to think about.

Only Wednesday. But at least it's a three day weekend coming up. Duke of Perth was good last night. 6:30 is just about the perfect time to get a spot outside. Food's still good, beer too. Russell came over to borrow some graphic novels. I guess I'm pretty used to the 4 flights of stairs, since it's pretty much nothing to me now. Been watching Mr. & Mrs. Smith on and off on the Apple TV. Thought I had a possible issue with my iPhone last night, got some sort of screen with a plug iphone into itunes graphic. Odd. Powered off for a bit, restarted the computer, and it worked after that. Also, I haven't had any luck getting Apps to install or update over the air, but I might blame that on our work wireless network. But still, I'm gonna leave that up to iTunes from here on out. And considering MobileMe, I might switch to syncing my iPhone with the Mac mini instead of the MacBook, which is definitely getting a little long in the teeth.

So, bought my first thing off craigslist yesterday. Absolutely amazed at how easy it was. Tracy found the listing on Sunday, emailed, left a phone number. I got the call yesterday, said we could take a look last night. Met up with Tracy, went to dinner at Exposure Tapas Restaurant, then went to the apartment building. Walked in, saw the bookshelf, said we'll take it, handed over the cash, walked out with a bookshelf. Just that easy. Amazing. No tax, no paperwork, nada. Just an exchange of money for goods. Simple. Pure. Oddly freeing. Anyway, biking over to the south Michigan Ave. was interesting after work, as I didn't take the best way to get there. And getting home was rough just because it was a nice constant headwind, and I took the lake front path, so no stop and go. Rough. Tiring. But the bookshelf looks good, even if the rear surround speakers aren't evenly spaced. Annoying. Headed out to the Duke tonight with Russell. And it's been a little chilly lately.

Friday night went to Arhaus to pick up the ottoman, then had dinner at Lalo's. Then went back to the old home to pick up some more stuff, but mostly to get the vacuum cleaner. We needed to vacuum the rug in the living room because we got the couch on Saturday. And I hung stuff up on Sunday night, so it really does look and feel like home. Except for the study/second bedroom. That's still only got a desk in it, which means all the stuff that needs to go in file cabinets or bookshelves is hanging out on the floor. Went to Green City Market Saturday morning, picked up croissants for french toast. Headed out to April's parents place for a party for her brother. Watched USA Hoops win a good medal. Sunday worked on my bike and got it back into working condition, then headed out to FlavorFest and came back with all sorts of free stuff. Tracy made lamb chops for dinner, and we watched The Ex. We're actually hoping to get a matching leaning bookshelf off craigslist, possibly today, because of how the couch/bistro table needs symmetry in the living room.

Not too much interesting going on. Tracy made a pot roast chicken last night. We watched the Bears lose, and some more Olympics. I looked a little bit more into developing an app for Facebook. But that's about it. Hopefully I can work on the bike at some point this weekend so I can get back on it next week. Riding the El is fine and easy, and the reading time is great, but I miss the exercise of commuting. More like my body misses the exercise. Supposed to head out tonight to pick up the ottoman from Arhaus, finally get our vacuum and maybe some other small personal appliances, maybe some DVDs, then dinner out somewhere. Oh, got a quote for the curtains for the one set in the living room, and of course it's a little pricey. Want to see if we can find some other places to get some quotes. Wonder how hard it'd be to do it ourselves. Or how much cheaper. Gonna try and hit up Green City Market tomorrow before the couch gets delivered, and Flavor Fest on Sunday at some point.

Watched Mad Men and Eureka over leftovers last night. Tracy had gone to her parents place after work, to possibly pick up some deck furniture and to not get caught up in Cubs night game traffic. Just means I was on my own for a little bit. After she got home we watched Misty May and Kerri Walsh win the gold medal. That was pretty cool. Beach volleyball is a pretty nice sport to get behind, besides the obvious reasons, it's short, well, at least when you watch the dominating team, and pretty exciting. And I'm still intrigued by handball, and I still haven't seen any table tennis on TV yet. I'm annoyed that my wireless network isn't fast enough that I have to plug in to do any time machine backups. Don't really want to have to double up, with an N only and a B/G for everything else. Would be nice if the iPhone nG does 802.11n networking since that's the only reason to have a b/g network right now. I'm also totally hooked on tangrams. There's a couple iPhone applications, and it's totally something to do when waiting for stuff. Couch is set to be delivered on Saturday. Add a Facebook application to my list of someday projects. Since they took away the Social Timeline, I'd love to whip up something where you keep track of teams you played on, tournaments you went to.

Walked over to Grant Park to save a spot for Tracy to watch An Affair to Remember. Got a decent spot, dead center, around 6pm. Of course people wandered in, and some tall guy in a chair spots up in front and to the left of us. But we still have a decent view. Then maybe 10 minutes before the show starts, a group of women show up with chairs, and fit in to the chair space to our left, in a line, along with someone sitting in front of us, and also two squeezed in behind us, on a tiny piece of land. Next time, which means next summer, have to make sure to find a spot with no space behind a big group that doesn't plan on having chairs, and maybe a bigger blanket, big enough to lay down on, to have enough space. Took a cab home as I'm still taking the el to work so no bikes. Maybe I should look into getting the mtb up and running again, but if I wanted to do that right, it would mean it's own rack, and new wheels with an internal gear hub.

Whoops, forgot to update yesterday. Friday night had grilled pork chops for dinner on the deck. Then headed out to Zentra to see Jesse and Missy spin. Saturday Tracy worked, so slept in, made the bins fit in the corner recycling center, watched some TV. Not much going on Saturday night, just a grocery run. Sunday, had JEspy over for the Chicago Air and Water Show, grilled ribs and tried to smoke a brisket. The in-laws came over for a little bit as well, after watching from Mike's place. Didn't work on my bike at all, so I'm taking public transportation until I get around to fixing it. I get to do some reading though, which is nice. Yesterday had to pick up rice from the old place for dinner of ground meat, beans, and squash. Good stuff. Watched more Olympics. I still haven't seen any table tennis, but I did get to see some trampoline, after Jesse told me about it. Oh, also tried jailbreaking my iPhone on Friday night, but failed, but didn't brick it, so I'm back to just jailed iPhone. I think the only reason I want to is to be able to play Gauntlet. That's pretty much the only reason I can think of.

Got a Knape & Vogt Recycling Center yesterday. Doesn't quite fit in the corner cabinet, but I'm working on some modifications to get it rotating smoothly. Basically, it's just the plastic bins that stick out too far. So I just need to trim them down so that they do fit. But once I do get it right, it'll be pretty sweet. Trash, recycling, all in a corner cabinet that we weren't going to use anyway. I'm optimistic. Also got a new helmet, a replacement really, another Bell Metropolis. Always good to have a spare. Started discharging the Candela lights, as per the instruction manual. Have to go through a full discharge cycle once every 2 months, since they use old style NiCad batteries that have memory issues. But they are pretty sweet. Will definitely come in handy on the deck. Tracy had a craving for chili. Watched more Olympics. It's pretty hard not watching. She's working tomorrow, but not on Sunday, and having some friends over to possibly watch some planes. So if anyone's in town and not playing at a frisbee tourney, drop by, we'll be home. Still copying stuff to the Drobo. I think I should be done by the end of the weekend. It's been rock solid so far. I'm impressed. Right around 600 GB used, last I checked. Should be interesting to see what the final tally comes out to, and how much of that is either duplicate or temporary data (like EyeTV files that haven't been edited or converted yet.

Chicago Air & Water Show is this weekend, and practice kind of started today. Bigger windows, more open views, and a higher floor means a closer look at the Blue Angels as they do some fly bys. Impressive. Hopefully we'll be able to see something from the deck this weekend. Got disks for the Drobo and some Candelas last night. Had some issues getting the Drobo connected because I was trying to do some firewire daisy chaining. It was smooth sailing when I didn't have the firewire enclosure plugged in. So I just switched the Drobo over to USB for the file copy part, and switch it over to firewire when I'm done. It's pretty awesome to have as much space as that giant box in a small quiet Drobo. Pretty awesome. Watched some Olympics. Tracy fried some won tons from the freezer for dinner, along with a salad. Broke down some cardboard boxes as well. Just have the ones in the garage left to do.

Tried out the eReader app for the iPhone yesterday. It's pretty sweet. Even created an PDB version of some of the eBooks I have on my Sony Reader, and works like a charm when served up from my personal website. Pretty much means I can never be without something to read, even if the battery runs out on my reader, like last week, because I'll always have my iPhone on me and charged. Just need to go about converting my existing collection to that format. The bike grinding issue? Possibly related to the back wheel being a little loose. Any finagling doesn't seem to help, so I'll have to take the drive train apart this weekend to see what's up. Also redo my handlebar tape since that's unraveling. And maybe redo the brake cables too? And a good cleaning. I did pick up a stabilizer (kickstand) on the way home last night. Put it on this morning. Comes in handy since we don't have a bike rack at home. Put up the circuit candle holder in the study. Also got the Drobo yesterday. No disks for it yet though. But very slick unboxing. Reminded me of Apple, which is good. Can't wait to actually start using it. It's so much smaller, and hopefully much much quieter than the firewire enclosure. Disks should show up today. Neighbors were nice enough to sign for my package yesterday, and to usually let the UPS man in to leave packages in the front hallway. Watched some Olympics. Tracy whipped up some lime chicken and rice and salsa for dinner, using whatever was left in the fridge.

Yes, I was jumping up and down watching some of the swimming finals of the Olympics last night. It's hard not to get involved in the races, well, maybe just when U.S. athletes are competing for the gold. Close races are definitely exciting. Although I wonder that other countries coverage would be like. I hung up the paintings in the bedroom. Tracy made chicken marsala and a garlic/onion soup amuse bouche. Tracy then started looking online for some art to put up on our walls. I had to plug the MacBook in via ethernet to get Time Machine to work, which is pretty annoying. Otherwise, not much else going on. Try and hang up the circuit candle holder tonight. Oh, I am back to commuting by bike. It's nice that it's cooler out. However the bike is making a not so nice grinding noise. Not sure what the deal is. I guess I'll have to do some maintenance this weekend, which actually should be pretty easy since I can just do it in our garage spot, since Tracy will be working.

Tracy and I finally got to spend an entire weekend at our new place. It was awesome. Friday night got home, went around the corner to have dinner at Las Mananitas. Good margaritas, and they put us down for the night after splitting 3 entrees since they didn't have good enough combination plates. Saturday, planned on making waffles, but didn't have any of my baking supplies, so went with crepes instead. But before that we ventured down to the Green City Market on our bikes. Ate up on the deck, lounging about in the living room. After brunch we took the bikes west to North Center, looked around Curtain Couture for window treatments and Homey for a floor vase, wandered around a couple antique/thrift stores and Trader Joe's and CB2 before heading home. Tracy had put a dry rub on some spare ribs so those went on the grill for a while and we enjoyed the music from Northalsted Market Days. It was like having a band for our deck. Very nice. Sunday I walked over and picked up my baking supplies, and came back to make some waffles, just enough for 2. Also Tracy had some squash blossoms she wanted to try deep frying, and did some turon from the freezer since the oil was hot. Then we walked down to Barnes & Noble to pick up some books, passing some other stores and getting some odds and ends, before grabbing some ground beef for burgers. So up on deck again, grilling burgers, before heading over to Market Days, which was crazy. Cleaned up a bit, but a pretty great summer weekend. Next year for sure having a party during Market Days though. Parking will be a pain, but can't beat the free entertainment.

Hung up the mirror and a cabinet in the second bedroom last night. Furniture assembly is getting easier. Hanging stuff I'm still getting used to, but knowing what I'm drilling and screwing into wall-wise is great. So now we have some actual storage in the second bathroom. Still need to check on that light though. Next up I think is maybe some hooks for grilling stuff on the deck console table, maybe hanging more stuff in the living room. Maybe I should get some sort of leveling application for my iPhone. Actually, could use a straight edge, that would come in handy. Also did a load of laundry. Which was awesome. No waiting, no worrying, and actually forgot about it for a bit. Also managed to set up the Mac mini in the second bedroom, or the studio or library as it's going to be. Have a Drobo on the way, so I'll be getting rid of my firewire enclosure. As long as it's much quieter. Also have a corner recycling center on order, and hopefully it'll fit, and if not, it goes back. But then we'd actually have a garbage in the kitchen. Going to Green City Market tomorrow, and first breakfast at the new place. Also Northalsted Market Days are this weekend, so that should be interesting. Going to also try and find some window and door treatments this weekend as well. And some sleep.

So if I walk over and take the bus to work in the morning, I walk right by Au Bon Pain. That's not good. Let's hope I get the cravings out of the system soon, or get back to riding the bike, or otherwise I'll be packing on the pounds even more so. Not to mention the Krispy Kreme in Union Station is only 2 blocks away, well within walking distance. Not good at all. Anyway, took the bus home last night, stopped by the old home to pick some stuff up. Finally brought over the water pik, also found the IR extension cable. It was in the audio equipment drawer. Brought back the Cube as well, and some various AV cables, just in case. Tracy had been brined a pork tenderloin from the day before, so she cooked that up along with a vinegar based potato salad and some green beans. Finally put the AV equipment into the storage cube after cutting a section out to run cabling. It was loud, so we moved it up to the deck to finish sawing it out. Wish I could have fished the IR extension cable through the wall with the RG6 cables, but I have no idea how they managed to do it in the first place. Right now that's the only cable that's out of place. And it's pretty ugly, but it's extremely useful, since we just point the remote(s) at the TV instead of up at the TV and down at the DVR. Might try putting up the mirror and the medicine cabinet up in the second bathroom today.

Met Tracy at the old place yesterday. Apparently they also had some leaking from the storm 2 nights ago. Tracy had packed some more boxes. I went searching for some stuff I needed, but couldn't find. Like the IR repeater extension cable. I really hope I didn't just throw it away as junk. It was $40. Picked up some Popeye's for dinner on the way to the new place, well, not really on the way to the new place. Actually, moving the boxes actually made my legs feel a bit better. Got our shelf liners from The Container Store. Watched Mad Men with dinner. Finally figured out which RG6 cable in the wall to use for the cable in the bedroom. Took a while, but we have cable in the bedroom now. Just need to figure out which one is the other F connector, and I can shove them back into the wall and out of sight. I've got lots to clean up, cabling, 2nd bedroom stuff, move the Mac mini back out of the closet. No real place to put it though. Unless I get a Drobo. Maybe I'll start putting the receiver and the DVR into the furniture we're going to use as storage. Just have to drill holes for wires, or even cut off the back for cooling. Maybe stick on some fans, if I still have those at the old place. Eh. I'll probably drop by the old place on the way home to see what I can find.

So big storm last night. Tornado Warning even. Heard the sires go off, and it wasn't even the first Tuesday of the month at 10am! Even had Lakeview listed on the weather reports and the National Weather Service announcements on the TV. Tracy and I got some blankets, put some real clothes on, found a light, some candles, a rain jacket, and watched TV from the kitchen, just waiting for 8:30pm to pass. And so it did. Just lots of rain, thunder and lightning. Deck furniture actually faired ok, the umbrella didn't blow away or break in half, just moved a little over. We did however notice that some of our windows were leaking, so we put some towels down. Need to figure out where it's coming from, and work with the seller to see if it's anything serious. Hopefully it's not. Otherwise, Tracy made some pork for dinner. I need to find a quieter solution for data storage, as the firewire enclosure is just too loud. Maybe a Drobo? Just need something quiet. And I've got a lot of wiring issues to deal with. But I'm still pretty tired and sore from Muddy Buddy. Think we're moving some more stuff tonight after work.

Muddy Buddy. Aside from some occasional running, the most physical activity I've had since Paganello in 2006. 2 years. Awesome. But it was fun. Kind of like going back in time to playing ultimate and going to tourneys. Hanging out with the guys, eating out, talking about all sorts of things. It's a good time. I'll admit it, I miss it. The camaraderie. The race itself was fun, if a little challenging just because I haven't run that much in a long time. Obstacles weren't bad, the biking was easy, mostly because of Russell's speed demon. It was just the running that was killer. Rick and I had a little competition going with the B-R brothers, and since we were in the beast division, used a time per pound formula to determine the winner, who gets brunch, or possibly milk shakes. We have to have a weigh in, because the times and ratios with estimated weights come out pretty close. Friday night Tracy made some concoction with ground turkey and croutons and watched Eureka in HD. Also got some Cold Stone. Saturday, hung out with my parents, they finally got to see the new place, and they liked it. Then packed up and met the boys down at erewhon for the trek out to Elgin for Muddy Buddy. I was early, so picked up Watchmen and started reading that. Had Bennigan's, one of the ones that didn't close, for dinner, just 2 hotels down from the Hampton Inn where we were staying. Rented Iron Man, and I fell asleep. Early start, run the race, and done by 9am on Sunday. Washed up back at the hotel, then headed back into the city. Got brunch at Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop. Tony was nice enough to drive me home. Did a load of laundry of my Muddy Buddy clothes, took a nap. Tracy and I tried out Sola for dinner, since we had a coupon. Good place. Found a couple places too look for more furnishings on Lincoln Ave. Then an early bedtime.

Oh yeah, Muddy Buddy is this weekend, on Sunday morning, bright and early. With all the moving, it's sort of taken a back seat, and I really haven't been training for the past three weeks like I had been for the Urbanathlon, which I'm not sure I'll end up doing. But definitely running on Sunday. Which is funny because I woke up this morning with a huge calf cramp. Hoping it doesn't hurt me too bad for the race. We, Tony, Carlo, Russell and I are headed out tomorrow night to stay at some hotel, because the race starts so early on Sunday, like we have to show up at 5:30 or 6 to pick up race packets or something. Crazy. So that should be fun. Tracy's working this weekend, so she doesn't get to watch. And I've got a haircut tomorrow so I should look nice and pretty for the race. Last night Tracy roasted some chicken thighs, which tasted a whole lot better in our new place, compared to the old place. Didn't actually hang anything, but did manage to get the car's HomeLink garage door opener programmed. Watched some Smallville and Supernatural. Tracy also finally picked up some guest permits, so now friends can park on the street. I'm having some wireless network issues, I think just with my MacBook, but not sure. Could be WDS related, or because I have a b/g/n network set up, or the Airport Extreme not playing nicely with the Airport Express. Not sure. Or maybe interference with neighboring networks? Who knows. Have to find tools to figure out why.