For those playing the home game.

Some updates:

The gentleman who lives two doors down in the foreclosed house hasn’t been seen in just over a month.  So, I’m suspecting that he’s serving his time in a correctional facility.  That’s what was widely believed in the block’s social circle, and the most likely reason he hasn’t been around.  His “tenants” however come and go, take (poor) care of his dog, and move his truck from time to time to make it seem like he’s around.  Just an unsavory situation and I can’t wait until the bank gets its Federal money and kicks them out.

I left my car in Vernon, CT.  I know, not really a great Tony Bennett song title, but it works for me.  On Halloween, we got a call on our home answering machine indicating that they finally got the part in to completely replace the clutch.  Fantastic!  It’s only been a month.  I called back and left a message that I’d be coming the following Saturday to pick it up.  Saturday morning, and 2 ¾ hrs later, I arrive at the Subaru dealer in Vernon, CT.  I paid the deductible, and then told them that, before I leave for NJ, maybe they want to show me some certified pre-owned vehicles for a possible trade.  Of course, they were only too delighted.  I knew there were some on the lot as I had done my internet homework, and one listed seemed like it would be a decent fit for our family.  It turns out that I was right.  There was a 2010 Outback, stick, with less than 30k miles on it.  You know what happens next: 5 hrs of negotiation, back and forth of “I need it at this price” and “this is the best we can do” and “I can drive away from here in that car” and “I’ll talk to my manager”.  Finally, by 5:15pm (5 ½ hours after I got there), I was loading my new (old) car with my personal affects and getting on my way back to NJ.  At 28,000+ miles our family upgraded to a slightly larger 2010 silver outback.  Congrats to us.  F that old car. 

And, finally, in the world of Fantasy Football, I’m having a great time.  No, in the league I am the commissioner in I’m not doing well at all. While only out of 1^st place by 2 games (like the hapless Giants), I’ll need a miracle to get into the play-offs.  That said, it’s been great reporting out to the league every week of where they stand.  In my other leagues I’m faring better than this one, but thems the breaks (brakes?).  Please pray for Cam Newton and Ray Rice this week as I need them in a big way so I can grab another W and pull me closer to the play-offs.  Only 3 weeks of the regular season left.  Help me out RU Ray…no excuses!

Oh yeah, and last week I had strep.  Don't know where I got it.  Kids seem unaffected (knock on wood), and I'm finally feeling back to normal...well, at least, normal for me.  Worst part about it was that I really couldn't eat anything but soup.  Luckily, the Chinese restaurants had a bevy of options and I did that a bunch of nights.  Remember, Chinese people in China eat Chinese food every day...and they just call it food.  Food for thought.