Cabin Fever. . .

I guess updating my face-book status doesn't really count as keeping the blog going. . . But it should, really.

Basketball is on hold for March Break (and for the ice storm last week). I went and shot last Thursday, and I'll probably get out at some point this week (maybe tomorrow morning? I'll check if Sienna's working. . .). I'm really glad I got a gym pass for Queens -- I've had so many great shooting sessions in completely empty gyms; just me and 6 perfect nets. My left hand can almost dribble, and for the first time in my life I made a few lefty-reverse lay-ups. I've been reading some basketball skills books, and I'm slowly converting my home-grown ways to the proper fundamentals.

I've been jamming with one of my students at work -- he's a good drummer, but super-lazy about practicing whatever I give him to work on, so we mostly just pick a drum beat, and try and write a song. It's almost like having a band, except that I'm getting paid. . . We've been laying down some tracks with Tim, which is a nice low-pressure way to record new stuff.

Downtown living (or near downtown) has been pretty crappy this winter. Peja is almost big enough to walk all the way, but not quite. And the snow has made it tough to push her tricycle or a stroller.

I can't wait until spring -- I know in shoes and without snow-pants the kid could walk 100 miles. Peja is in-between play group and kindergarten age -- she's older than almost all the kids at play group, so I don't take her as much; she likes the paintings and crafts, but we can do that stuff here, and she's not really getting socialized if it's all 1 and 2 year olds. The Library programs are awesome, and are the main reason we haven't murdered each other.

If you haven't been there, I keep another blog for Peja's drawings over at www.pejahanako.blogspot.com. I know this is total proud-papa syndrome, but she is much better at the whole drawing thing that I was at thrice her age.

Kudos to my awesome cousin Tom for getting into College. And kudos to his twin Kevin for buying a 1986 Trans-Am. Uh. . . It's okay folks, he's in mechanic school. It's the knight-rider car! You really can't beat that.

The Ebike is also suffering long-winter-itus, I think I've got some moisture issues in the control cable system (the motor controller keeps track of how fast the wheel is spinning -- I don't know why, but apparently, it's important), so the hub is taking a break over a heat register, which should purge the water and get everything running again. In good news, the battery I set fire to may have only blown it's heat-fuse. . . Cross your fingers!

The city took down the snowbanks last night -- I had heard the operation done a few times, but saw it for the first time this winter. They plow all the snow into the middle of the road and then a huge snow-blower type machine picks it all up and blows it into a series of dump trucks -- when one is full, it pulls ahead and the next in a long train of them gets filled. It's an insane production that must cost a fortune -- but it also means I have a side-walk and Peja and I will probably get out of the house!

Hope you are all surviving winter with good health and spirits.

More news from the country music sessions next time.

Jay.