200

As I typed in the 200th correction for Murder by the Acre last night, I thought about how cool it would be to have an assistant to do this for me. Some smart, engaging, funny person who knew exactly what I wanted to say and how to say it. And who would work very cheap. Free even. I can dream, can't I?

My health has improved a lot. I still have some chest congestion and occasional coughing spells when I attempt to cough up a couple of organs, but overall, I am much better. My ear remains the biggest annoyance: not so much the hearing loss, but the muted roar that I hear constantly. Supposedly that is indicative of nerve damage. I'm hoping my ear is still healing, and the roar goes away as it heals and the inflammation subsides. I go back to the specialist Friday, and I'm hoping he will have some good news for me.

Only one more episode of The Closer left before its season ends. Gonna miss it. The writing is superb as is the acting. I was particularly impressed by last night's episode. So much went on, but the writers still kept the show moving and focused. Not easy to do. I always feel that way about The Closer: that the people exist outside the boundaries of the format. Or maybe I just want to think Brenda, Fritz, and her crew are out there somewhere, solving the crimes, putting the bad guys away. That would be nice.

I saw The Kingdom on DVD recently. An impressive movie that I enjoyed. Jamie Fox and Jennifer Garner were excellent, but I was also impressed by Jason Bateman. I recommend the movie. It's violent, thought provoking, unrelenting, and almost unbearably sad. Watch it, and see if you don't think it's movie-making at its finest.

I continue to dabble in World of Warcraft. I now had a warlock character. So far, I like that character class best. I like shaman least of all. I play about 30 minutes to an hour every day. That might sound like a lot, but actually it's quite modest compared to the time commitment other people give to the game. I enjoy it for about that long, then I get bored and want to do something else. Still, it's fun to go and kill a few frustrations.

Not much else is going on in my life. I've been making an effort to keep my kitchen clean and my living room picked up. I need to dust again, one of my least favorite chores. Fortunately it's not been as dry here so we have less dust than normal. Wonder if that assistant would also dust.

I haven't been back in my pool since I got sick. Haven't felt like it, and the water is too cold. I need to work out a way to heat the water. Seventy-degree water is unpleasant. I'd like the water temp to be in the mid-eighties. That would be perfect. I've checked out pool heaters, but they're expensive. I did find some info on solar water heaters. I might see if that would work.

I hope you're having a great day. I'm supposed to -- I hope -- have lunch Thursday with Adam Huckeby and Kirsten of This Fluid Life and Now or Never respectively. I'll be sure to give you a report. And should any other of our commentors want to join us -- maybe you could fly in, Frenzied -- let me know. Talk to you later.