My life has frayed around the edges.

When we returned from our weekend in Bend, I replaced our garbage disposal. I'm not very handy, but thought I had performed the job successfully. Last night when we tried to wash the dishes, however, the water could not drain from the dishwasher. I did something wrong but have no idea what that might have been.

At the same time, the exercise in intercultural communications that is our fence-repair project is progressing with mixed results. The neighbor, Valbino, speaks little English and I speak little Spanish. We tend to point and motion a lot, and to use a lot of incorrect words. (For example, when I try to explain that Satchel is a friendly cat I say that he is amigo even though I know that's wrong. I don't know how to form an adjective of a Spanish noun.)

Valbino is more interested in discussing (in our limited way) the reasons that Kris and I don't have children than he is in building the fence. I'm more concerned about not insulting him than I am about making the fence look nice. As a result we have a fence which has twice as many posts as it ought, posts that aren't in the ideal spots, causing the fence to zig and zag along the property line. He doesn't seem to care, though, and neither do we. It's going to be trouble when it comes time to sell the house, though.

Ron is nearly ready to start on the bathroom remodel, but Kris and I haven't been able to finalize our plans. We wanted to add a linen closet and reduce the size of the vanity, but doing so would obstruct the light switch and the outlet. We wanted to add a whirlpool tub, but doing so would impede the toilet and require additional electrical work. We wanted to add an expensive fan/light/heater thingie to the ceiling, but doing so would require rewiring. Now we need to develop alternatives and give them to Ron.

Between these three repair projects I've had little free time since returning from Bend. Much of that has gone to additional yard work: mowing, trimming, etc., but nature is marching to victory. My Japanese Garden is overgrown with weeds, the last arborvitae needs to be removed, it's time to plant the rest of the vegetable garden (though we did have a light frost yesterday morning!), the gravel driveway is thick with weeds, and grass is invading our flower beds.

The house is a disaster, too. Mac and Pam are coming over tonight for games, but the place is a mess. I went to Thriftway last night to buy some fresh fish so that I could make a nice dinner for them, but the meat department was closed and I couldn't find anybody to help me. I probably don't have time to fix a meal, anyhow, so I'll just take us out to dinner.

My mental life is suffering, too. I'm neglecting this weblog. In Bend I started a redesign for the Computer Resources web site, but haven't had time to complete it. I've been "nearly finished" with Among the Believers since Monday (and even marked it as finished on reading list), but can't seem to actually complete the book. When I have a little time, I'm not able to read more than five or ten pages before falling asleep. The book isn't boring; I'm tired. Scott Durbin and I are supposed to exchange a short story and several poems on May 1st, but all I have are fragments. I plan to write this Sunday, but what I really want to do is go for a hike.

A hike is appealing as an escape to nature and a chance for exercise. I haven't exercised in two weeks. Perhaps I'm not making time for it, perhaps I don't actually have the time. There's been good biking weather the past couple days, though, and I haven't taken advantage of it. My weight is increasing again. If I could control my eating during this period of low exercise, then I might not have a problem. But I can't even control my eating when I am exercising.

The only part of my life that isn't frayed at the moment is my work at Custom Box Service. After several weeks of only reading about databases, I've finally begun to create them. So far it has been easy to integrate the databases with my existing programs. It's been surprisingly easy, in fact, and the results are pleasing.

I'm not the only one who is frayed.

Paul Abbott, my most-hated Seattle Mariner, is having a tough start. This isn't surprising considering his performance last year. True, he had a 17-4 record and a 4.25 ERA. He allowed 1.42 baserunners an inning, though, and had by far the best run support in the major leagues -- it wasn't even close. His pitching was poor.

He's not getting the run-support this year. Here's a table comparing his numbers to the Mariners' team numbers.

For the non-baseball people: IP = Innings Pitched, H = Hits, BB = Bases on Balls, ER = Earned Runs, L = Losses, ERA = Earned Run Average, WHIP = Walks & Hits per Inning Pitched.

Abbot may be a nice guy, but he's not a good pitcher. John Halama or Joel Piniero ought to be starting in his stead.

On this day at foldedspace.org

2004 — Fear   My friends, Lori and Heather, and I decided on a last minute campout. It seemed like the perfect way to...

2003 — Loverboy   I'm not going to claim that they were artists, but I've always had a soft spot for the group Loverboy.