The heat wave has broken. The humidity has gone. I walked outside around 11 a.m. today to run along the Hudson River and the breeze was cool. It felt comfortable. I enjoyed it. It was not hot. The sky was of a crystal blue persuasion, accented by comforting white clouds. The cars on the George Washington Bridge were clear to me -- as was the slow traffic Jersey-bound on the upper level. Looking downtown, I saw the Empire State Building jutting up from its 34th Street corner and it appeared close, as it does on clear days. In the mist and haze and fog, it seems distant. The river itself lapped up against the rocky shoreline, and -- I swear I sensed this -- it smelled like sea water! A salty smell arose from the murky brown river and it seemed like a great day for a sail.

Before leaving to run, I was pleasantly surprised by a package left on top of the mailboxes in the lobby. I figured it was my DVD copy of The Royal Tennenbaums, which I'd ordered last week from half.com and expected any day now. Taking it back upstairs, I opened it to find an even better surprise -- the complete second season of The Simpsons, which I'd preordered and expected in a day or two since it was released today. But, of course, by preordering it, I assured myself of receiving it today. And later, in the regular "post," I did get The Royal Tennenbaums, but that was as I was leaving to meet Casey, so I didn't get to play with it. I did watch many episodes of The Simpsons, though, about six or seven I think. And in celebration of all this, the weather in particular, I'm wearing PANTS. Jeans, actually, but it's nice, especially in here at work where the air conditioning has been set to "witch's tit."

I met Casey at her office this afternoon to go look at some apartments, the beginning of our search for the Perfect Home (For the Next Two Years in the North Jersey/Metro New York Area). It was a great place, the first one the agent showed us. Two BIG bedrooms and a BIG living room with a BIG ENOUGH dining space off a SMALL (but fine with me) kitchen. The master bedroom even has its own bathroom. It's on the second floor of a small garden apartment complex, with a balcony above the front door that overlooks the courtyard and everyone else's front doors.

Only problem is we're tied into Edgewater until November, and the agent doesn't think this place can last that long. It was a mess, too, with the current tennants in the midst of packing and all their crap everywhere, but it was still good to see it even with all their stuff still there. Probably better that way, too. So we'll see what we can do with our 90 days to go. In another month, we'll have to give our current landlord notice of our departure, and then maybe we'll be able to look more seriously at some places since our availability date will be that much closer.

OK, moving along as planned. Heather and Megan have selected their favorite passages from my previous 500 entries, and they're included below.

From Heather:

I chose this entry because reading it evoked in me the kind of teary, blissful nostalgia being at Notre Dame brought out in you, brings out in all its loving alums, that day and every day: "I stood and looked at Notre Dame � my Notre Dame, this place I�ve been connected to for seven years. I wanted to see it all, remember it all, every hidden corner of campus... Every sidewalk, every building has a memory and they come flooding back."

I chose this entry because your effortless eloquence in expressing your love of baseball simply as a part of who you are, rather than just something to write about, defines your diary... And this highlights the subtle detail that colors your writing so well:

And finally, I chose this snippet of this entry because I reciprocate the sentiment completely: "She and I have one of those relationships, one of those connections I covet so much � it�s something I need from someone, and I�m so grateful when I find it. And I�m always so thankful for that."

From Megan:

Just thought I'd tell you my favorite entry of yours was about the DMB concert last summer. And here is my favorite part from it - "Almost as if on cue, when the band begins 'True Reflections,' the light show in the heavens picks up along with that on stage. As the stage lights are set to correspond with certain drum beats and guitar chords, the lightning jumping between the clouds seems to fall in line as well, providing flashes that bring cheers from the crowd. The breezes intensify as well, and the scattered thunderstorms that were predicted for the evening are now inevitable – the question remains as to when they will commence. I stand there smiling as Boyd reminds me it's down deep inside of me and I'm inspired to amend my situation."