NOVEMBER FAMILY AND COHORTS

++ IT'S GOING TO be a busy month at Hotel Blackburn.
Mom and Dad are coming to visit November 1-11.
Jeff is coming the week after from November 15-28.
Steve and Beth are coming to visit Seattle November 30-December 3.

Somehow I still have all of the weekly and daily events to do and luckily everyone are big boys and big girls and don't need to be constantly entertained. Not that I wouldn't enjoy constantly entertaining family and friends, but I know I can't even stand myself 24 hours a day which is why I go to sleep for 8 hours a day, so I can get away and have a little break from myself. Ha. It should be an active month. I've twenty hours left to clean in preparation...++

NOTES FROM THE CENTERLINE

++ NOBODY LIKES A REFEREE. There is one call that a referee can make in any sport to make everyone happy. No matter what is called, someone is going to complain and whoever gets the foul called on them is going to second guess you, pretty much without fail. It takes a much more patience and focus than most jobs, because everyone is watching and everyone is going to catch all of the referee's mistakes. The second the referee loses focus and zones out is the (only) time when something is going to happen and they're going to miss it. Once a call is missed, it's all downhill from there. There is a fine line between calling fouls and stopping the game every five seconds and letting the game play. Too many whistles and the game lacks continuity, too few whistles and the game gets rough and people start to get injured. Being fair and calling a fair game shouldn't be an issue. Overaggressive teams make for hard games to referee, because they'll always get the fouls called on them and never think it's a foul. So when every whistle goes against them, they start to complain that it's not fair. It's probably one of the most thankless jobs I've ever worked. ++

KEYWORD ANALYSIS

++ HERE ARE THE various words and phrases people have used in different search engines which led them to somehow find a link to this website.

	Number			Percentage			Search Term
	4			6.35%			jessicalee67
	4			6.35%			coors light, i love football on tv
	4			6.35%			designsnob.com
	3			4.76%			kiera kippins
	3			4.76%			jay c blackburn
	3			4.76%			grete bigert
	2			3.17%			heide archietcture
	2			3.17%			chronic lymphocytic leukemia
	2			3.17%			designsnob
	1			1.59%			adam purath
	1			1.59%			why does skyline chili smell funny?
	1			1.59%			geo chaching
	1			1.59%			jay mitchell-lighthouse
	1			1.59%			i love burritos at 4am
	1			1.59%			the veils the leavers dance
	1			1.59%			beauty in its various forms appeals to you - meaning
	1			1.59%			bigert, grete
	1			1.59%			alyson ianitti
	1			1.59%			soccer phenom
	1			1.59%			hoa items stored on balconies
	1			1.59%			bouldering in greenwich, ct
	1			1.59%			traveling by plane(pros cons)
	1			1.59%			passionate people
	1			1.59%			disposable heroes of hiphocrisy song
	1			1.59%			windmill tokyo moon
	1			1.59%			bubble tea in greenwich, ct
	1			1.59%			apx house cincinnati
	1			1.59%			rappel without a harness
	1			1.59%			recent proverbs
	1			1.59%			cincinnati homecoming bearcat run 2006 results 5k
	1			1.59%			toilet seat up weird laws
	1			1.59%			jaycblackburn
	1			1.59%			blast o' butter light points
	1			1.59%			jon kippins
	1			1.59%			letter from the dog
	1			1.59%			kayak side floating barge
	1			1.59%			i love burritos at four am parties that never end dogs that love c
	1			1.59%			3000 word paperhow longto write
	1			1.59%			maps to the sky we can create
	1			1.59%			i love pizza at 4am dogs that love cats, and twins
	1			1.59%			jay blackburn seattle
	1			1.59%			heathrow loudspeaker joke
	1			1.59%			budget trucks, duct tape, hernia
	1			1.59%			copper wire theft puts you in jail
	1			1.59%			jason emily aj

++

TWO JOB PERSON

++ I OFFICIALLY HAVE two jobs now. Well, the second job isn't so much a job as it is fun and really, it doesn't pay anything, minimum wage maybe? Can't be much more than that I don't think. I'm reffing Indoor Soccer down at Arena Sports for three to four hours a night, one night a week. I should make about enough money to pay for playing there, which is actually just dandy. I had to fill out a W-9 and take a test and everything and they told me when I file my taxes I have to take out my own taxes on the money I make there as I'm officially an independent contractor for them.

My first night of reffing was this past Tuesday. I've reffed before, but that was 15 years ago and it was outdoor and I was a linesman and I was reffing 7 and 8 year olds. A totally different beast. The first game I just shadowed and sat behind the scoreboard and basically learned to use the scoreboard. The second and third games I worked half of the field with another ref and the fourth game I worked the whole game on my own. No one got hurt. No one got in a fight. I consider it a good first game reffing indoor.

Wow, what a lame post. ++

CURLING SEASON

++ THAT'S RIGHT, CURLING season is back in session, with the addition of a second league (Men's Thursday Night Skip's Choice League) to the ever popular Friday Night Social League. Men's Thursday Night Skip's Choice is quite a bit more competitive than the FNL and full of dudes. (What did you expect, it's a Men's League.) Thursday's team is a reprise of last year's team, The Prodigal Son, Jeff, Mark, and myself. Friday has been altered slightly to accomodate the UC'ers. Mark, myself, The Rog, and Megan for the first half of the season with Zac substituting for the second half of the season. The old usuals are back for Friday night including Cisqo, Wick, Number One, Number Two, the arguing kids, the kilt guy, Caveman, Betty, and Jakie, however an absence can be felt with Sev, Shane, and Wandasiewicz. Good curling! ++

LINKED IN A FRIEND'S BLOG

++ LOOK AT ME! Look at me! I've been linked in Jeanne's blog. I've also added her to my sidebar under links. Jeanne's blog, Life in Cleveland. Jeanne and I lived on the same floor Freshman year of college and graduated together twice. She is now married to Matt Stevenson, who also lived on the same floor Freshman year of college and graduated with us, twice. They now live in Cleveland. ++

USE OF BALCONY FOR STORAGE

++ Re: Written warning—Use of Balcony for Storage

October, 2007
Dear Resident,

It has been observed that various items are being stored on your balcony. I regret to inform you that this is considered a violation of the rules and Regulations.

Section 5 Common Areas

I.(1) The balconies are decks of units are limited common areas that affect the outside appearance of the building, and thus the value of the building and it’s units.

(6) Balconies and decks shall not be used for storage of things not reasonably intended or expected for balcony use. Upon written notice, any items deemed by the Board in violation of this rules shall be removed within seven days.

You have until October 15^th to remove these items from your deck. Any further evidence of items left on your deck after this date will result in a $100 fine. If you need more information regarding this issue please contact me. If you feel this information is not accurate, please address your concerns in writing and either give them to myself or our property manager and they will be passed on to the Board.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Resident Manager

.
.
.
Fantastic. So, the item which probably set it off was the big light grey, non-offending coffin-box storage box for the rooftop of my car which when stood straight up on end, is ten feet tall and gray. To be fair, there were a few bags, but not a huge pile. Regardless, the rooftop storage box was tucked back in a corner of the deck where only the two people who park at the very end of the dead end lot can see it. Well, those two people and the people who live in the condominium across the way. No one can see it from the street. One of those two people who park at the very end of that dead end lot is on the Board of Directors. Fine. I'll move it. So, I moved it into my unit, directly in front of the glass wall, about two feet away from where it stood and still in full plain view of the two people who park at the very end of that dead end lot. I hope their happy.

It's a tennis match now. Your serve Board of Director(s). ++

WHICH WAY?

++ WHICH WAY should he go? To the right is a path. To the left is another path. Maybe he'll just sit there for a little bit and see which one shakes itself out to be the 'right' path. Patience my friend. Rome wasn't built in a day. But then again the empire was pretty much dismantled quite quickly. Be sure you're there waiting for a reason. Try not to linger there for too long. The day is coming to an end and the light is fading. Tomorrow is another day but it may bring about a different light. Save tonight, but look to the future. ++

CONDO PROJECT #1

++ I MADE MY first condo improvement purchase. I bought paint stripper to take off the brown paint off of the mahogony treads. Turns out there is a layer of brown and a layer of bright baby blue which I can only assume is a layer of primer. The paint stripper is pretty toxic, so the work is being done outside on the deck. Not a hard process. Pour it on. Spread it out. Wait 30 seconds. Scrape. Repeat. However it doesn't take it off completely and it's hard to do toward the edges and on the bullnosed front edge and on any small edge. I haven't got to the end grain yet, but I have a feeling it's going to be even harder. It seems it would almost be easier to just fashion up some new treads out of some new wood.++

ONE STEP FORWARD...

++ ONE STEP BACK. Little shaky, but I suppose it's even keel. Try not to lean too far one way or another. That water can be icy cold or it could be quite warm. Maybe you'll never know unless you jump in. Or maybe it's best to stay dry.++