Ahh... Home at last. It's sure nice to be back in Minneapolis, even if it's only 4 degrees this morning. I can handle the weather.

Celebrated the birthday last night with my parents, who arrived bearing the ultimate juxtaposition of health and gluttony: a new treadmill and a box full of brownies and Rice Krispie bars. Apparently, someone was right when they said long ago: The key to a good life is BALANCE.

Now, I'm sitting in Fiancee's (TM) sunny kitchen, listening to my favorite radio station, drinking a hot cup of coffee, enjoying a doughnut and preparing to edit the hell out of an article for my magazine editing class, all while Fiancee (TM) is at work. I asked her to call in sick for the second consecutive day (she complied on Thursday, which was a great day), but she replied, in a way only Finacee (TM) seems capable: "Sorry, but someone's got to bring home the bacon." I sat and thought about that for a second... "True," I said. "Very true." Then, pressing my luck, I told her that she had better get used to it, you know, with me chasing a journalism career and everything... I got The Look. You know, THE look.

To me, this means that I had better start writing a book -- a really popular book... ASAP. I think that's the only way I'll surpass her yearly wages. Anyone got any good ideas? There are only so many people who read about baseball, and there are already so many better books out there, and I don't have any experience in bathroom stalls with the single-season home run champ, and I don't have any more than 18 years of solid baseball memories from which to draw -- including 6 years in the dead-era of the 1980s. I'd say I'm screwed. Anyone got a better idea? Oh, and I've already considered selling drugs. Problem is, I don't know enough users... or ANY dealers, for that matter. Dammit.

For now, I guess I'll just have to focus on this assignment so I can turn it in before the 12 Noon deadline. Like they say in the sports world: "I've got to take this one game (day) at a time," and "I'm going to give 110 percent, and leave it all on the floor."

That's all I can really think of at this point. My life is a cliche. But, I hear that cliches are pretty popular. I better start writing this down.