Painting, Shooting, and, Yes, the Start of Football Season!

I guess it's not safe to simply assume that people will come to read Grant's Pad based simply on its reputation for fine expositions and great literary value.

I haven't only been away from Grant's Pad long and often - I've actually been away from work more than a small amount of time. Well, work, in the sense of right here in Melbourne that is. The TPR technician, Bob, actually greeted me as "Mr. Cedar Rapids" earlier this week after I returned early from yet another trip to that "City of Five Seasons" in Iowa. This particular trip was highlighted by the fact that I once again got to eat the Longbranch Restaurant's spectacular pork ribs once again (the best ribs ever, I re-emphasize), from the comfort of my own presidential suite, the best room the Longbranch has to offer.

I also got to rent a 2007 Ford Mustang. While I list this experience here as a perk, I have to admit that I didn't think much of the Mustang's performance. I think I must have gotten the plain ol' factory standard issue Mustang, but still, I expected a car that looks as cool as the throwback Mustang to have a little more kick than it did!

Still beaming from my last shooting experience with Ron, I went out again with Ron to the range, this time to shoot some clay trap with his 12-gauge shotgun. I quickly found out that I am a much, much better rifleman than a duck hunter, as I shot over 25 shells and only pierced a single clay trap with a single pellet. Ron, on the other hand, exploded three traps, shooting only five shots! Check out more photos of me shooting and running around in the 7-foot tall fields of Iowa corn in the Photo Album!

Another thing that's been keeping me away from the ol' blog is the work on the house that Cherrie and I have been doing. We spent about three twelve-hour days painting the house. When we're not painting, we're shopping for appliances and lighting fixtures and window treatments and god knows what else! We finally did finish the painting, but my complete lack of assembly ability has forced me to admit defeat and ask Shawn for help putting together my lighting fixtures. My lack of man-work ability was also evidenced in my first ever experience mowing the lawn. Living the sheltered life that I led, my family got lawn service since I was about 11 years old, and my lack of lawn mowing experience showed. Cherrie actually had to help me push my push mower through the six-inch tall grass to get the job done!

Well, it's been a long offseason, but College Football is finally back! Tim Tebow and the Gators opened their season with an impressive offensive outing, racking up over 500 yards but giving up about 200 yards to Western Kentucky University, who made its debut in Bowl Division Football (formerly Division I-A) this Saturday. The only thing that stopped the Gators was the weather - the game was called with over eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter due to lightning with the score 49-3 in favor of the good guys.

While the Gators won their game as expected, the same could not be said for several other programs in the country. The Notre Dame media machine was slaughtered by a Calvin Johnson-less Georgia Tech, Tennessee lost a hard-fought offensive shootout against California, but most shocking of all was Number 5 Ranked Michigan's 34-32 loss to Division I-AA Appalachian State in what is more likely than not the worst upset in possibly any sport, ever.

One guy I will definitely keep an eye on this season is Hawaii's Colt Brennan, who is on his way to shattering every QB record in history. Brennan completed 34 of 40 passes for over 400 yards and six touchdowns in Hawaii's victory early Sunday morning. Oh, and I should mention that he sat out the entire second half of the game!!! Frickin' incredible!