I apologize to in advance to those of you who are not interested in golf or sunburns. Turn back while there’s still time. To address the comments, I was moderately satisfied with my game. There was a time when I would have been horrified by my score (92), but those times are not these times. It was my first round since August, so I was actually pretty pleased with the fact that I finished with par-birdie on the front (to save 48) and later ended with a mediocre (but consistent) 6 straight bogies to shoot 44 on the back. My putting was solid (33 total putts), but this was mostly because my chipping/pitching helped me to get close on most holes. My longest drive was actually a pair of 335-yard bombs (a few yards off the green on an easy par 4 and to the 200-yard-marker on a long par 5). The course was similar to others I have played: long, fairly flat, not many hazards, sparse trees around most fairways. I walked. I didn’t feel any earthquakes (incidentally, I don’t think we’ve had any since moving here; hopefully it will stay that way…). Unfortunately, I didn’t do nearly as much talking with God as with the other player in my pairing. The round took so long because the course was packed; things get backed up when a city (Costa Mesa) has 100,000 people and public golf course. It was actually my third sunburn in California; I spend at least 45 minutes outside every day in the evening, and I’ve been lulled into a false sense of security (since I’m always outside, my brain doesn’t stop to think that I’m not tan and will get burned if I go out in the middle of the day), and the burns always sneak up on me. Skin cancer is never a friend.

Yesterday, I played golf for the first time since moving to California. Six hours and a moderate sunburn later, my round was over. Six hours!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! On a weekday!?!?!?!?!?! What is that about!?!?!?!?!?!?! In my defense, the sunburn wasn't my fault, I was out there twice as long as I should have been; I got to the golf course around 8AM and figured on a quick round (it was early on a weekday morning, after all). I was quite wrong. Ah, California.

Today is Saturday, and, as per her usual modus operendi, Sarah is on her way to do some shopping. As per my usual, I'm on my way to avoid going shopping. I have to nurse my sunburn anyway. Ah, weekends.

As it turns out, Sarah does have some restraint when it comes to ice cream. As many of you know, one of her birthday presents was to eat as much of the stuff as she wanted (something she previously has suggested that she dreams about). My only expectation for the adventure was a trip to the hospital (lactose intolerance + love for ice cream + lack of inhibition = death of my wife, and, incidentally, of me [methane poisoning]). I just kept thinking about how a beagle puppy will ignore pain and eat as long as food is present (until its stomach eventually bursts). Sarah, I now realize, is not a beagle. She was actually quite responsible, stopping when Dairy Queen ran out of ice cream and begged us to leave. I mean, when she was full. On my birthday, I'm going to see if I can fit a whole pie in my mouth.

Today is Sarah's birthday!

I think I have hay fever. What tipped me off was when I woke up this morning and found my eyelids to be three times their normal size. Before that, my face had been so itchy that I thought I'd just rolled in something I shouldn't have. Either way, my level of comfort isn't nearly what it was a few days ago...