I mean the 4th is creepy in terms of its creep-up-on-you-ness, not in a bum-on-the-bus-staring-at-you-licking-his-lips sort of way.

Mid-point of the summer season, and where has the first half already gone?  Seems like just over a month ago it was Memorial Day, and… er– wait, ummm– well, the rest of the summer is gonna cruise by, and I’ve got most weekends booked up already, so… maybe it just seems like it’s flying as usual.  I think the scheduling has a lot to do with that.  Once you have plans for every weekend in a summer, even though the time hasn’t passed, it feels like it has.  I should take some more vacation this summer.  Don’t know when I would, though.

Here’s a big switch from last year– I moved, and effectively got “settled in” all in a matter of a few days.  I could totally entertain at my new apartment already, and I haven’t even lived there for a week.  Pretty sweet.  I have another piece of furniture to add, which I believe Michelle is going to be gracious enough to provide.  This last piece will keep the booze out of plain sight, which is a plus when you’re trying to not look like a drunk.  I think I’ll take some photos and put ’em up here.  I said that about Justin Roth, too, I know, but I mean it on both fronts…

Oh, and speaking of mid-points, and thinking of it because the Brewers are on right now: I mentioned in a post back on May 20 when the team was 20-24 and in last place that they needed to get hot in a big hurry and start winning at an alarming rate in order to stay in contention and live up to expectations.  Since that time, they’re 26-14, which I believe is still the best in the NL over that particular period.  They’ve picked up just 3 games on the Cubs over this stretch, but more important than that is that the top teams in the NL Central have distanced themselves somewhat from the rest of the pack in the league.

I feel confident that if we can’t catch Chicago, we could still get into the playoffs as the Wild Card.  On 5/20, I was thinking that 90 wins would meet expectations.  Earlier this week, after exactly 81 games (half the season), they were 44-37; on pace for 88.  They still need to continue streaking throughout the second half, but I feel a lot better about the team now than I did six weeks ago.

Tonight, I’ll be at Michelle’s apartment to view the “4th” of July fireworks at the lakefront.  Tomorrow, we’re going up to Waupaca to meet Michelle’s cousins for the weekend.  Enjoy your 4th!