«  Wed.08.09.2000  » 11:13 am EDT        78°F (26°C) in Ann Arbor UPDATE #98 -- 2 MORE UNTIL 100 I got probably five hours sleep at best last night, even with the drowsying effects of two extra-strength Sudafed. If only I could get ragweed season to stop kicking my ass ... I think I'll be fine to drive later today, though, even with the medication. They always say not to drive or operate heavy machinery while you're under its effects, but for some reason I rarely get that disoriented and tired when I take those types of medications. After all the crap I was going through the last week to week and a half or so at work, this week has been fairly uneventful. I'm actually glad to say that. The big trip is now just over 24 hours away. I'm going to be out of Ann Arbor by 6:00 pm tomorrow evening, and I won't be back until probably close to that time on Sunday. This may well be the last update until then; in any case, I promise I'll put some of the more important details of the trip here. An interesting thing happened to me last night. I got up at 4:00 am, with my entire head ready to explode from my sinuses outward, and turned on a light so I could see. One of the light bulbs died, but it didn't just die; it must have blown so violently that it caused a huge current surge back through the circuit, because I had to walk down the hall and reset the circuit breaker for my lights. (Ceiling lights and AC wall receptacles are on different circuits, so my computer, refrigerator, TV, etc. weren't affected -- only the lights.) Our "silver medalist" in the Top 10 posts countdown comes from March 25, 1999. Read all about my Music School roofing exploits ... Thu.03.25.1999 And your final score from the School of Music: Larry & Pat 2, DPS 0! Yes, we nearly had a run-in with the boys in blue. Pat and I went on the Music School building roof, as we did with Mike back in December during a break from the dreaded EECS 100 Program #6. This time, though, a rather large crowd was present when we arrived, so we decided to skulk around the area for awhile. We ended up feeding animal crackers to a couple of ducks who reside in the grand-piano-shaped pond next to the building; I must say the one mallard who ate most of them was a fat-ass. "Goddamn it, that's a big fat ass," Pat taunted him. Around 1:15, we decided it was safe to make a run at the top. The way up -- and most of the way down, for that matter -- proceeded without incident. However, as we were waiting on the second-floor roof to jump the six feet to the ground below, a DPS patrol car passed by on Baits Drive, less than 200 feet away. It's a good thing that the officer was watching the road and not looking at the building, or we would have been nailed. We did manage to escape through the woods to the Commons, and then went up Murfin back to the east side of Bursley. Pat and I discussed the idea of hanging a banner dedicated to the hockey band and its outgoing director, Jamie (Disco) Nix, from the fifth-floor roof (the highest roof level on the building). It would say something like, "THANK YOU DISCO NIX. GO BLUE, BEAT DU!" in reference to Michigan's opponent tomorrow. However, we quickly determined that the letters on such a sign would have to be several feet high for the message to be readable from a passing bus on Bonisteel. That would require a sign about 70 feet wide by about 15 feet high, not to mention the half-dozen or so cans of spray paint needed to create the message, and close to 100 feet of string or rope to suspend the sign from the heating vent located on the roof. It would all be too expensive and time-consuming, what with the game being played tomorrow night. But hey, it was a great idea for a salute to the man who routinely dances during the third period of Michigan home hockey games.