This week has been rough. I've had long conference calls, some that started at 730am and others that started at 6pm, going on all week. Each of these is relentless blabbing and, then, pounding on people for what they haven't done. Quite stressful, quite tiresome. It makes me think of things I've done recently that were fun. For example:

1. My wife's 31st birthday was March 27th. I bought her diamond earrings, and we went to one of her favorite restaurants in Chicago, Spring on North Ave. Then later, we went to the movies to see The Coen Bros. new one, The Ladykillers. The meal was excellent, and the movie was good.

2. Diminishing (Note: I didn't write quitting) my smoking has not been that bad, even under the recent couple of weeks of work stress. We now only smoke outside, and I don't carry them around. Since my wife's birthday, I've only had about one a day, and that does it. I'm thinking that soon I won't want any at all. These are good times, and I'm excited that I'm getting the monkey off my back.

3. April 3rd was National Trading Card Day. I went to two card shops in Chicago, and the owners handed out free stuff, reduced their prices, etc. It was fun. I met some other Chicago collectors, put in some orders for future releases, and bought a lot of vintage Pirates cards from the 50's, 60's, and 70's. I had a good time. I'm heading back to one of the shops this Saturday because a dealer found some 03UD Play Ball I need to complete my set, and he's holding a few boxes of 04 Topps Cracker Jacks for me. Topps CJ will be a fun retro set to break and complete.