The only thing I caught was a cold

That was the story of the great concert I got to work... The only thing I caught at Country Thunder was a cold. The human phlegm factory is back in business and working three shifts to spoil as many hours of sleep and kleenex tissues as is possible in a 24 hour day... It's crazy because the other symptoms (aches, pains, sneezing, etc.) are not present. Just the inability to speak (my voice is shot) and breathe for more than an hour at a time... Maybe my body is rejecting the acres of dirt I sucked into my lungs and dust I was pelted with at the concert ticket window. Anyway, besides a few (actually quite a few) rounds of golf and following the Masters Golf Tournament (I watched every minute of coverage including the par 3 contest on Wednesday) it was a pretty quiet week... Most of my time was spent blowing my nose and hocking up some serious lugies...(not sure on the spelling of that last word---you can insert lung butter, if you like).

My new bff Mary Ellen has been in touch with me giving me some inside dirt on the Masters...she worked as a paid volunteer in the offices but got to go out and watch the tournament... She believes there was a conspiracy to make the course easier so that Phil (Mickelson) and Tiger could make the final group because that's what everyone wanted... That's not what I wanted! I wanted the tournament to play out the way it ultimately did...(although I was rooting for the old man Kenny Perry). Tiger and Phil made their runs and added lots of excitement, but it was a great tournament all the way to the last putt... Congrats to "El Pado" (the duck) Angel Cabrera. In the spirit of the Masters, (this tournament always rekindles my love of golf more than any other) my game has progressively gotten better and better... I am now solidly in the single digits for my handicap (5.7 at this writing according to the Arizona Handicapping Network) and I'm working to get it even lower...

Opening day at the Diamondbacks was a blast... Chase Field is a beautiful park and the game was exciting (DBacks won 9-8)... Coupled with my Mets winning their opening game with the Reds, it was a great day...(By the way, I had my Met shirt and hat on at Chase Field---got some crap from the DBack fans)... Tuesday the cable guy showed and installed my DirectTV and now I get like 8 baseball games a day (overdose!). The best part is that the Met games start at 4:00 pm here...(just have to adjust the morning tee times). The rest of the week was spent finishing up taxes and planning my next hosting jobs for the club I joined. There may be a job offer coming from the club. They are looking for someone to interview and sign up potential new members and my name reached the honchos so I'll keep you posted...(as long as I still can do my hosting and play golf, of course).

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter/Passover holiday... Mine was spent at the Church of the 18 holes (golf course) followed by dinner at Dan Majaerle's restaurant and the final round of the Masters. I am still searching for a house of worship to call my own. I have been to several and am narrowing down the choices... After experiencing different services on the road out here (thanks to my sister and cousin Anna) I want to keep an open mind. For now, my higher power and I are doing some one-on-one until I find the right place... I can't believe how blessed and fortunate I have been and I know I haven't done this all on my own. With that in mind, I am looking forward to April 28 more than I have in the past years...(most of you know that is the date I quit drinking and drugging, my second birthday). This year will be 14 years clean and sober. I am so grateful and humbled by that fact. I can't even think about where I would have ended up (probably in the ground) if I didn't make that decision all those years ago. There were so many people and so many other forces at work that have helped me along this path and I will be forever thankful... The path that was so difficult to find back then has allowed me to find my way out here...