Last night was a wonderful evening. First I went to the gym, which is amazing considering that I had just woken up from a long nap. But Andy had made us some tea with our new kettle, and that perked me up. I had a good workout. Then I came home and showered, got dressed again. We made dinner together while sipping some very nice Cabernet Savignon from Chile. A thin-cut sirloin sauteed with herbs and oil, pasta tossed with olive oil, basil, and garlic, and Caesar salad. Over dinner we talked about what we wanted to do. We evolved this idea of playing chess, with the loser having to become a ‘slave’ to the winner. At first I was a bit iffy about that but I agreed.

We played and I checkmated Andy within half an hour. He was a bit upset at first and had to go out on the porch for a minute to cool down but then he was ready to be the slave. The first thing I did as master was to send the slave to the corner for some cheese danish for dessert. The slave complied. We had two slices lightly heated while having the last of the wine. Then it was the master’s wish to go online and cruise for a 3rd for a little fun. Well we were online in the chat rooms about an hour and had no luck. So we gave up on that. Andy retreated to the TV and was watching “South Park.” Then I said, “It is the master’s desire to watch Cartoon Network.” So we watched “Sealab 2021.” At that point I went into the office, opened a drawer of my desk and took out the pair of handcuffs I’ve had for quite awhile but which Andy & I hade never played with. The TV was turned off shortly after that …

I went to bed a bit after 11.00 and slept wonderfully.

A story about my book & I will be appearing in this Thursday’s edition of the Chicago Reader! They interviewed me Saturday and that went really well and then today after work they’re doing a photo shoot so that they have a picture to go along with the text. It’s just wild. I’m excited things are happening. I’m truly enthused about the reading/signing on Friday. I hope I pack ‘em in Quimby’s like nobody’s business. I’m doing my best to stay humble.