We returned to his place where he dug into his presents. I got some little things that I thought he�d like, and in the back was a pair of tickets to that afternoon�s Cubs game, Bleacher seats and all. Seeing that he�s also from Houston, it was a nice coincidence that his birthday would fall on the day that the Astros were playing the Cubs.

We walked to the field with a big, shared Slurpee (blue, of course) and made our way around to the Bleachers. We got seats in the lower area right next to the grass, and it was conveniently near the top of the stands, so I could slither over or under the poles to get more snacks instead of crawling over a bunch of people.

After I grabbed our lunches and we settled in before the game started, Benito asked what I�d do if a ball came to me. I wasn�t too sure if I�d try to catch it or if I�d smartly get out of the way (it�s gotta hurt, and I don�t need a souvenir that badly), but it�s something to wonder when it comes to an athletic wiener such as myself.

Lunches. Snacks. A whole bunch of (yucky) Diet Pepsi. Jeff Bagwell hits a homerun. Sammy Sosa hits a homerun. Some other guy hits a homerun.

Holy crap! It�s coming right at us!

Well, I got my answer on what I�d do if a ball was coming right at me. If you watched the Cubs� back-to-back home runs, you saw a woman wearing a white shirt and short khaki shorts, cowering like a baby. Luckily the man next to Benito took the ball in the gut (instead of me), but it was too close for comfort.

So, yeah. We were one person over from Benito getting a homerun ball on his birthday. It surely would have entertained us for a few moments and made for a good birthday story, but the guy who caught the ball was so dang excited that it made it worth it to say that we were one seat away.

And we all probably know, had we been one seat over and the ball gotten that close to me, I�d have likely sought refuge so adamantly that I�d have knocked the ball away from Benito who had just taken the ball to the gut.

So there.

We watched my pasty legs turn from porcelain to crimson in the seventh inning and a farmer�s tan develop. He took a little red to his face, but his non-Irish background was enough to mostly protect him.

Most people generally drink a bunch of beer at the game -- especially in the bleachers. However, this wasn�t happening. In the sun. In the heat. In the middle of the afternoon. We knew it wasn�t a good idea, so diet (yucky) Pepsi it was.

We walked a little west of the stadium after the Cubs won, hoping to catch a cab there. No go. So we walked the 2 miles back to his place where we called our parents to tell them about the ball we almost had and rested a bit before scrubbing the saltiness off of us.

We rested on the couch some more and more. When hunger kicked in, Benito decided that we�ll postpone his birthday dinner until this Saturday since we were still feeling the effects from being in the sun all afternoon, and we called the place one street over to deliver us sushi.

With full bellies, we settled back onto the couch where I got control of the remote and watched a bunch of CSI/SVU-type shows while Benito slept with his head on my lap and I played with his hair.

I woke him up at 10, knowing that I wanted to go to sleep in the next few hours and wouldn�t want to do it alone.

He cracked open the cake container and ate his Pacman cake. I don�t like frosting, but the cake part tasted good. He�s got a good amount of cake left, but I�m sure we�ll finish it off this weekend.

Sometime during the night we also played some fighting videogame, and I kicked some major ass. Game one, Jo wins! Game two, Jo gets two KOs. I announced my retirement, only to be bullied into one more game. It was Benito�s birthday, so I�ll blame my loss on charity for his big day.

Here�s what Benito looked like after all the birthday fun. About an hour after his big day officially ended, we went to sleep, knowing that we both had to go to work the next morning.

I miraculously got to work on-time after stopping at home to feed and pet Hammus, change into work clothes, and get my stuff packed for the day. Benito even made it to work 30 minutes early since there was no traffic on his way home.

So today I work for as long as I can possibly stand it to make up for the hours missed yesterday. I don�t know the plans for tonight, but I�m sure they involve Happy, other friends, and some drinking establishment. We�ll see how I feel after work, as my sunburned thighs and neck are already dragging me down. It may be a night of Bob Vila-ing the house (I have to install a light and fix my medicine cabinet) and getting plenty of rest.

Tomorrow I plan on working a bit more to make up those hours, possibly hitting up a football BBQ near Wrigley, and perhaps showing off my building and place to Benito�s condo-hunting friend since my place is a great location to both the el, the Metra, and cheap parking -- all requirements for his next place.

For now, I�ll just get back to today�s work and roll with whatever�s going on until next week.

Enjoy your weekend. �