Wow, it's been a while since my last post. My apologies to all five of you out there who actually read this thing. It's been a busy couple days.

On Friday night I went to a costume party hosted by some of my co-workers. It was a blast. I dressed up as Hunter S. Thompson/Raoul Duke, as portrayed by Johnny Depp in Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas. I had the Hawaiian shirt, a cigarette holder, big aviators, a funky hat, and even an old-school typewriter. The best part about the costume was that I was able to borrow most of the components. Much better than paying $50 to rent a costume. Anyway, you should be able to figure which one is me in the picture. Sometime I'll try to find a decent pic of myself to post.

I hadn't meant to hang out so late at the party given how early we were going to start tailgating for the Oklahoma game. However, stalwart hero that I am, I ended up hanging with a few of the hardier partygoers until the wee hours of the morning until finally crashing on the host's couch.

Naturally, I didn't wake up until a quarter after nine, which was about 1:45 until kickoff. I had to drive across town to my place as quickly as I could, take an uber-fast shower and get dressed for the game, drive to campus as fast as I could get away with, light up my gameday cigar (a superstition), and walk to the tailgate site. Along the way I found my previously misplaced phone (it was in my car), and found that I had about 15 missed calls. It turns out that the crew was a little worried about me. They all seemed pretty relieved when I showed up, albeit looking a bit haggard.

Let me take a moment to apologize. It wasn't my intent to give anyone cause for concern, and I felt bad that some of you were worried about me. Despite all that, though, it does feel kind of nice to know I have such great family and friends that care enough to check on my whereabouts if I go missing. You all rock. :)

The Oklahoma game ended up being kind of a bust. Once again, we let them get to an early lead, made a heroic comeback effort, and ultimately came up short. There are a lot of things that we need to improve on. Of course, it would also help if the officials would've called some of the holds against us occasionally. Evidently even the ABC announcers were pointing out some of the poor no-calls, especially at some crucial points in the game. I don't blame Coach Callahan for getting pissed off about it. Still, if our guys executed like they needed to, it probably wouldn't have been an issue.

After the game we went back to the house, where I took a much-needed nap. It did me a lot of good, and I was good and ready to go to the costume party at Brad's. There were some hilarious costumes. Ted and Kelly's probably killed me the most. They went as Poo & Toilet Paper, respectively. And to think, Kelly thought she'd dress as Li'l Red Riding Hood. Ha! It was also funny seeing Ted's folks dressed up, his mom as Cher, and his dad as a disheveled, down-on-his-luck Vegas high roller (at least, that's what I thought he looked like.)

The party was an awesome time. So many good friends were there (and family, as my sister went as Tinkerbell). I got on Brad's trap set and really wailed on those things while his brother Jeff jammed on his electric guitar. It was crazy fun. Eventually, Marc stepped in on the drums and played them for real. After watching him on the drums, I felt rather inspired to learn to play them myself.

Brad also had some good music playing throughout the night. At one point, I just sat back and watched as everyone danced, mingled, laughed, and generally enjoyed each other's company. I think that may have been my favorite point in the night. They all seemed so relaxed, happy, and carefree, and just by association, I felt the same way. There just isn't anything better than being surrounded by family, be they related by blood or bonds of friendship, on the holidays. Again, life's simple pleasures prove to be the best.

. . .

Sorry, I had another bout of sentimentality. I'll try to restrain myself next time.

Moving along.... The party lasted until about 2:00a, whereupon the Local Yokels staged a rude interuption and made everyone leave. It was probably for the best, though. I was feeling pretty worn out by that point. I wonder what the cop thought when he saw me walk by with a 15 lb. typewriter under my arm.

I enjoyed a good day of rest on Sunday. I was pretty lazy most of the day, although I did go to the office for a while and got some work done.

Tim had crashed at our place over the weekend. It was cool having him over to hang out and live it up one more time before he heads home to Kenya. Vaya con Dios, my friend.

November is looking like it'll be a pretty busy month at work. I'm planning on breaking it up with a few trips to F-town to visit my folks and do some pheasant hunting. I'm really looking forward to both. The company is second to none, and neither is Mom's cooking. :) This year, I'm really hoping to actually knock down some birds. I don't think I ever managed to last year, but I didn't get too many chances to walk the fields, either. The best part is getting to hang out with Dad, my brothers, and the dog, anyway.

And now, it's time to play some Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Daylight Savings time marked the beginning of the video game season for me, so I broke the game out for the first time since February.

So, there you have it. The good times continue to roll.