So...
Saturday, I bought a new surfboard. 8 feet. Nice rocker. Damn fine lookin', too, I must say.
Today, I bought the fin for it.
Tomorrow, I surf.

Oh, and Bama probably won't be #1 for much longer. Lost tonight in Utah. Ah, well... better to lose now than in March.

Oh, and I just want to point out that Alabama is now, for the first time ever, the #1 college basketball team in the AP poll.

Hope everybody had a great Christmas! Garrard and I spent it out here in L.A., but we telephoned all the family members to say Merry Christmas and open gifts over the phone. Had a great Christmas morning... woke up, made a big breakfast for G & myself, ate lots and drank coffee and OJ, went to the park to throw the football, then later went over to Jimmy's for Christmas Dinner.

Now I'm house- and dog-sitting at Jimmy's place. It's so quiet over there... I slept like a monkey last night. It was refreshing. Their dog, Earl, is this big yellow lab, and he's the single most obedient dog I've ever met. You pour his food, but he doesn't eat any of it until you tell him, "OK, go eat it!"

I'm also feeding Brian & Karen's cats this week. Ugh. Not that there's ever been any doubt, but I am so very allergic to cats. Cats just befuddle me as pets. I mean, they're cuddly and all, but I'm not fond of the idea of anyone, pet or whatever, relieving themselves in a box in my den. Even after you scoop the stuff out of there, the place still has that "just crapped in" smell. Also, since so many people are allergic to cats -- I read once that cats are the second most-common childhood allergy, behind only cockroaches -- it seems odd that almost every person I know has at least one or two. Cats are pretty cuddly, I guess, but that doesn't explain why any *guys* I know have cats.

Dogs, on the other hand... if you train them all right, they'll only relieve themselves outside, whereas this is impossible with a cat. And sure, you have to pick up after them, but it's still better than picking it up out of a box in the living room. Also, you can take dogs with you when you go on a hike or to the river or whatever. You only take a cat with you on a hike if you want to lose your cat.

Well, enough of that. I'm biased because I can breathe around dogs but usually not around cats.

Last night (Thursday), Garrard and I went to a steak place up in Burbank, a kind of "regular spot" for the special-occasion meal. We ate enormous Prime Rib steaks and had a couple of drinks from the bar.

Next month, I finally buy a new surfboard. I should be getting it by the end of the month. Mel & Stephen & Campbell already sent me a leash & wax, so I've got the accessories now. I just have to get the wetsuit and board and I won't have to borrow boards anymore.

Oh, well, lunch is almost over...

College basketball is so incredibly addictive. 'Bama is #2 in the country right now, and I'm listening to them on RealAudio through sports.yahoo.com.

So here's what you do when you receive crap in the mail that looks predatory and unethical, something that should be illegal and may well be:
1. look up your state's Attorney General office on the web;
2. look up the Attorney General for the state the unscrupulous company or individual is from;
3. fill out the Consumer Complaint forms -- be sure to have all the information at hand; and
4. fax in any supporting documents to the AG's office.

It's a start, and anything we can do to slow down the Gene Ewings and First Premier Banks of the world is a good thing.

I received the funniest credit card application ever in the mail today. You know how some credit cards have some subtle way of screwing you -- say, an interest rate that changes after six months, or maybe a hidden monthly fee? Well, check this out... none of this was mentioned on the front of the application, but on the back, you could learn:

Fees for Issuance or Availability of Credit:
Account Set Up Fee: $29.00 (one time fee)
Program Fee: $95.00 (one-time fee)
Annual Fee: $48.00
Partcipation Fee: $72.00 Annually (at $6 per month)
Credit Limit Increase Fee: $25.00 (if credit limit is increased, you will automatically be charged the fee)
Return Item Charge: $25.00 (if you return any purchases made with the card)

What a deal! If you qualify for this card and get their minimum credit line of $250, you will only have $72.00 of credit left after all of the fees.

By the way, this is First Premier Bank, P.O. Box 5524, Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5524.

At the bottom of the application is the MasterCard tagline: "Some things money can't buy, for everything else there's MasterCard." What an awful, awful way to treat people.

Norah Jones is awesome...
Had a nice dinner with Riley tonight. We occasionally go to this Souplantation place, and it's usually us, a lot of families, and many a senior citizen there, with the occasional poor young person there to eat as much as possible (like us). With the performing and so forth, we'd hardly had time to catch up lately, so it was good. Plus, we began planning the next phase for the 8s.

It's amazing how things can turn around with a good nap. I've just realized all the possibilities...

So I think we look for comfort everywhere. Food, relationships, Oprah... every facet of our lives. But the thing is, if comfort is the goal, then you're gonna pay. The Big Mac makes you feel shitty. Relationships truly work only if they don't start out so goal-oriented. Oprah numbs the mind. You reach a point that all you can do is throw in the towel. Fuck comfort. Get on with it.

The SAGES lunch was today, and I just finished eating lunch with a group of septuagenarians in the upper parish hall. The women report that:
1. The world used to feel safe, back in the good old days;
2. Back then, you could walk down the street at night;
3. and you knew your neighbors! Everyone knew their neighbors;
4. the world is just not what it used to be; and
5. it's hard to find a reliable plumber.

Performed at Brennan's in a late-night mini-show last night. It was a blast! More music to come... hopefully Riley and I can get our Christmas show together quickly.

This probably isn't even worth typing, but I am so hungry right now. Johnny Rockets hamburger-hungry.