Fortunately it’s not too bad, but whatever I’ve done the past two days (probably at the gym) has tweaked my back a little bit. I suppose I should lay off, but then what would I do? Surf the web trying to figure out my strategy for getting an iPhone on Friday? Probably so. I’ve actually been doing some work at home at night, hoping that I can take part of Friday off to stand in line. Just watch, I’ll be in the wrong place, at a store that only has three or four iPhones for sale and a line of hundreds of people. That would be just ducky.

The contractor called today and told me that the plumber would be delayed. I was hoping that I’d have another weekend to clear more stuff out of the basement. Hooray! For once the delay works in my favor!

There are a few shows I stay up too late to watch. The one I’ve been talking about lately is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on Food Network, but Burn Notice on USA Network is starting back up as well. I know, I should get a Tivo or something, but that, once again, requires some common sense on my part. Just wait ’til Monk and Psych start up again.

Well, our driveway is mostly clear again. I took a trip to Goodwill to give away the things that we thought other people might be able to use. The best stuff was carted off by my sister while I was still trying to shovel crap out of the basement. Ah, well, I guess I’m not meant to have retro-hipster stuff.

All I did today was clean the basement. I think I started during, “This American Life,” which is on between 10AM and 11AM and our last trip to the dump was around 6PM. We only took 3 trips in my sister’s Corolla station wagon. I suppose it would have been cheaper if we could have stuffed it into the pickup truck (there’s a minimum charge by weight) but you make do with what you have. When I was finally done I blew my nose and my boogers were black. Our basement isn’t the cleanest place. The worst part is that I’m not close to finished. The best part is that I had other people convincing me that we need to throw crap out. I always hem and haw about it all. The worst part is that I’m not close to being finished. I’m fairly sure I’m past the halfway point, but there’s still a lot more to do. And after that comes the rest of the house.

We also gave away some more, “Hello, Kitty,” stuff today. My dad sure collected a lot of toys.

This three-day weekend I’m not sure if I’m coming or going. Morning workouts usually mean my my brain needs a nap in the afternoon, and sometimes my brain doesn’t turn back on after the nap. I’m not real sure if I’m coming or going. And even worse, two beers last night and I was very tired this morning. TWO. Actually, there’s always been some small quantity that makes me even sleepier in the morning and I think I must have hit it.

My buddy Deren is back from Maui, where he moved a year ago, and he’s on a rampage. He wanted to climb Mt. Adams tomorrow, Mt. St. Helens on Monday, rest Tuesday, and then do another mountain on Wednesday. I was invited on the Mt. Adams trip. I, however, looked things up on the intarweb and Mt. Adams looked hideously difficult. Well, long, if nothing else. So we were going to get up at 4AM and try one of the mountains in the Olympic Peninsula where there are supposed to be avalanche warnings.

I was wondering if this would wreck me for work next week when my sister reminded me that the plumbing contractor was coming and all I was responsible for cleaning out the basement before he arrived. And since I may be in Japan in a week, I wasn’t allowed to do anything tomorrow except moving crap around the house. So much for testing out Deren’s assertion that chicks dig guys who climb mountains. I suppose I could always lie about what I do on Sunday. Chicks seem to end up with guys who lie whether they dig them or not.

In the past few years, I either go outside to watch the fireworks from the hill above the school, or get invited to someone’s boat. The boats are the best way to see fireworks close up. So that means either hobnobbing with the yacht owners at the Columbia River Yacht Club or with the giant-house-small-boat owners in Lake Oswego. I have been unable to gain enough brownie points to hang out with the yacht club people, but my buddy Deren came back from Hawaii to visit his parents in Lake Zero and invited me to watch the fireworks from their boat.

If it wasn’t for friends inviting me out on the 4th of July, I’d be on the hillside across the street. It’s quick, it’s easy, there’s no crowds, and it has the added benefit of being able to watch the rich kids set off their expensive fireworks in the school yard. And I can go hide at any time, since it’s usually overcast and drizzly on the 7/4 in Portland.

My buddy Deren also convinced me to go with him to hike Mt. Adams. I’m actually dreading it a little because it sounds hard. Anything that requires that kind of exertion and getting up early sounds like bad news to me. I have to stay awake at work, after all. Weekends are for sleeping, not working that hard.

I took a long lunch today and planned on leaving work early, but I left later than I usually do. Phooey. Last night we had a thunderstorm about 2AM and that didn’t do anything for my beauty rest. And believe me, I need a lot more rest.

I was supposed to go to a pre-wedding party tonight but there was no way I could drag myself out to a hipster bar. One drink and I would have been napping in the corner. Ah, well. I’m almost through with the last mystery I had saved up. I have to go out and get some more.

I’m definitely taking the next day off from the gym. I was tired before going and it was terribly humid. My shirt was actually squishing during the workout.

And with that I don’t think I have anything else I can squeeze out of my tiny brain tonight. Hooray.

My sister text messaged me last night and apparently she had a drowned rat in her toilet. She was going to have me drive across town and take care of it (I was thinking I needed some tongs or something) but she had her friend, A LAWYER, take care of it. Fortunately the lawyer just tried multiple flushes and the rat was gone. Hooray.

I’m as tired as ever, and last night when I was falling asleep someone set us up the bomb. It was a hugely loud explosion and annoying as hell. And then my allergies were bothering me in the morning and I could barely stay awake at work. Ah well.

For those who think I just surf the web all day at work, here’s a silly dance that’s strangely inspiring that I got at work. It’s best when you click on “watch in higher quality”. Also, a blog posting about Char Burger, where we didn’t end up eating after our hike on Sunday.