"Well, well, it's fine out today ..."

I can't believe it. Sanjaya is gone.

In the end, he almost got to me ... I'm a sucker for tears every time. But then he sang again, and I remembered why he bugs the hell out of me.

"Let's give 'em something to talk about ... other than HAAAAAAIIIIIIIRRRRRR ..."

Guh. But he had me talking, did he not? Sneaky little boy. I think I will miss laughing at him every week a bit. For a 17-year-old, he seemed to handle the national criticism with humor and grace.

Phil survived because he actually improved on Tuesday night. The nerve! But what the hell ... Blake in the Bottom Three? My heart grew another size when I saw the loving way he wiped Lakisha's tears sooo carefully. So what if he wears goofy hats sometimes! The guy can sing, AND he understands about the smearing of the mascara.

But I'm bugged beyond belief that they all got to see Shrek The Third before the rest of us. No fair! (Emilie mentioned last night how she and Jud were discussing the fact that Melinda Doolittle resembles Fiona ... I'll be damned. She does!)

Enough with the American Idol already.

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The campers got on the road at an ungodly hour today ... around 5 AM-ish. Hopefully they can stay awake on the Interstate for 9 hours. Jimmy had so many boxes with supplies going into his truck last night, it looked like he was moving out. I know he's not really ... he left his motorcycle here.

For those not in the loop, Jimmy and Adam are planning to build a freakin' airplane. At some point during the building, they're both hoping to obtain their pilot's license, so they can actually USE the airplane they build. Apparently building your own plane isn't as scary and insane as building your own car, or even building your own house. Adam tells me LOTS of people do it ... and they really fly around in them and everything.

It'll be an expensive and time-intensive project ... but one they both want to do with all their hearts. Jimmy has talked about having his pilot's license since he was in his early 20's. It took his son saying, "Life is short ... let's DO this thing!" for him to really consider the possibility. I hope they both can make this dream of theirs a reality.

Thus. the reason for the 9-hour Interstate drive to Florida. There's a big gathering of homemade aircraft and the people who build the things, and the two men from my family will be among them this weekend. I hope they have a blast.

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I have the sniffles and a cough. Is it pollen? Is it tuberculosis? Only time will tell.

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"Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care." - William Safire