After the last blog, I told myself, "Self, don't write when you're feeling down. It looks bad."

...so, I didn't. See how that worked out (as in, nearly disappearing for a month and a half)?

I also refuse to even think the words "it can't get any worse" (because it always can).

At the end of the week that saw the deaths of Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett, and the recall of Michael Jackson to his home planet, I got a phone call from someone I hadn't heard from in 4 years, telling me to check the newspaper... specifically, the obituaries.

That's how I found out a co-worker and good friend, who I hadn't seen o heard from since he went over to the Phillipines to do missionary work, had passed away.

Now I remember why I was happy to leave that job: some people just don't know how to deliver bad news.

Out of that long, fuzzy weekend of parties (my youngest graduated from pre-school) and funerals (well, more like a memorial service... no body, since the Phillipines hadn't released it yet), I got the distinct feeling that maybe... just maybe... it was time to kick myself out of my fugue and start living again.

So... I got my mind back together. I tried to determine if it's a mid-life crisis, but decided the whole transition from midnight-shift convenience store clerk to programmer qualified nicely... since that's over: end of mid-life crisis.

I also got dragged to another of my wife's concerts: REO Speedwagon, Styx, and .38 Special. Styx put on an outstanding show, but REO almost ruined it by making it political (is there anything more annoying than dealing with a preachy singer for 2-3 minutes between songs, when you are at the concert to escape from the crap he's preaching about?!?). .38 Special was... well, there.

The highlight, though, was a special on tickets for Creed on August 11th. Looks like 5 of us (my wife, our oldest, his friend, one of my friends, and me) are going; it's going to be epic.

In other news...

I found some good books at a flea market on a road trip out in the middle of nowhere: State of Fear by Michael Crichton (it will change the way you look at global warming) and The Face That Must Die by Ramsey Campbell (has to be one of the most off-beat horror writers around... definitely an acquired taste). I also found a $5 copy of Jason X (awful movie I've seen several times... I saw it, and immediately had to have it) and Far Cry (finding a second-hand PC game anywhere is notable these days... makes me hopeful for the future of mankind).

After seeing Styx, I hunted down a copy of Paradise Theatre on CD (oddly enough, my cassette seems to have disappeared). I'm happy.

Finally... I'm writing an editorial by the end of the week (barring an intervention). Keep your eyes peeled.

Have a good week, and stay warm. :)