After I wrote last night’s entry, I gave some more thought to doing a Sweeps Week here on the blog. If TV networks can devote a whole month to credibility-straining plots with heavy doses of sex and violence, I see no reason why I can’t do the same thing in my little media corner. Some ideas are knocking about in my head and I think it could be a fun experiment. But I think it will have to wait until I get back from Europe so that I can give the concept proper attention it deserves.
I’ve been meaning to get a new cell phone for a while, so today I called up T-Mobile and ordered a Motorola V188. It’s a quad-band phone, which means I’ll be able to use it overseas. But with roaming charges of $.99 per minute in France and Germany, I won’t be having an extended conversation with anyone back in the States. But maybe I can text message some of my friends from the Eiffel Tower and make them all jealous. And it will be nice to have a phone handy in case I need to call the American Embassy from a Parisian jail. Not that I’m planning on getting arrested or anything, but sometimes misunderstandings occur.

Wow, I think I’m going to need to hire a secretary to manage my social calendar. I’ve had something going on nearly every night for the last week or so. It’s like I traded places with someone who’s a lot more popular than me. Sooner or later, someone will realize the error and I’ll be back to spending my evenings trading instant messages with middle-aged men pretending to be thirty-something women with centerfold bodies and Ph.Ds in political economics.

I’m back from Duluth and, damn, it’s cold up there! Don’t you guys ever get above 75 degrees? Maybe I’m spoiled because we’ve had such a tropical summer in the Twin Cities, but I nearly became a Crip-Sicle last night because the window in my hotel room was left open. It was like I had suddenly time traveled into mid-October.
Friend, I’d like to discuss something very important with you. Do you wonder what it’s all about? Do you ask yourself, “Why am I here?” I used to ask myself the same questions, until one solitary evening, while I was watching a rerun of Good Times, I was suddenly touched by His Noodliness, the Flying Spaghetti Monster (or FSM). I now understand that we are all beloved of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and that we are put here on this world to please His Noodliness. He especially digs it when people dress up like pirates. All the around the world, fellow Pastafarians are working to ensure that children are taught about FSM and how He created the Universe in what is known as the Great Meatball Shedding.
Would you like to know more about FSM? You could accompany me to one of our regular Tuesday afternoon services. You get a free eyepatch just for showing up.
Oh, you need more time to think about it. I understand. Let me leave you with these Pastafarian words of wisdom:
Arrrgh, matey!

Yesterday, I had a contractor here to discuss flooring options for my condo. He was really pushing me to go with laminate because he said it would best resist scuffling from my wheelchair. I’m sure laminate looks fine, but I’m more inclined to go with a more eco-friendly material like bamboo. When I mentioned bamboo, he kind of poo-poohed it and said that it wouldn’t hold up. But everything I’ve read indicates that bamboo is quite durable. If you have bamboo floors in your own home, I’d be interested in hearing your views on the matter.

The looming mechanics strike at Northwest Airlines, which is looking like a virtual certainty tonight, is dominating the news around here. Northwest is a major economic player in the Twin Cities and the vast majority of flights from here are on Northwest planes. I’m not sure how my own flight plans will be affected if there is a strike. Northwest is vowing to continue regular operations through a strike. But if lots of flights get canceled or delayed, that might force the federal government to intervene. I’m reluctant to make arrangements with another airline simply because Northwest has always been accommodating to my needs. Perhaps Northwest has always planned on using a strike to bust the union, which is unfortunate. The airline unions have spent decades ensuring good pay and benefits for their members, but 9/11 revealed the shaky underpinnings of the airline economies. And now the unions are forced to accept deep wage cuts, job losses, or both. No matter what the unions do, they lose. Organized labor is in such a fractured state already; an unsuccessful mechanics strike will only make matters worse.