I was on call this weekend, meaning I had to stick close to campus in case my assistance was needed for anything. Apparently it wasn't, as I didn't get paged once. I did get one or two calls, purely informational, over the week. While I like the quiet of on-call, I think I'd almost prefer being on call less but getting used more. At least then it'd feel like I'm doing something.

Being on-call also meant staying home on Saturday, allowing me to watch a lot of college football. Problem being then that all the teams I wanted to win didn't. Oklahoma? Sorry. Notre Dame? Back to South Bend with you. Georgia? Not enough firepower to take out Florida (which I wouldn't have cared about except that Steve Spurrier is such a whiner). Stanford's upset of UCLA was mildly entertaining, even though I picked UCLA in the ESPN.com college pick 'em game. I'll take the loss there to further confuse the national picture in the dim hopes of getting a playoff someday.

I can put all of this aside, though, thanks to the 9-1 domination the D-Backs put on the Yankees. I wonder if Dan Duquette or any of the Sox brass was watching the game, seeing what can happen when you go for pitchers that don't have more surgeries than wins over the last two seasons. Throw in last night's Big Unit masterpiece, and I'm feeling pretty good about things. Of course, I felt the same way when Oakland took a 2-0 lead back to the Bronx. so I'm going to chastize myself for a while.

The Pats lost their annual tilt against the Broncos. No surprise there. Why does the NFL make the Pats play these guys every year? Even in years where the Broncs were in the Super Bowl and the Pats in the toilet bowl, the game would pop up on the next year's schedule, invariably in Denver, to boot. Perhaps it's some antiquated notion of letting AFL teams play each other, but if that's the case why don't we get to play San Diego more, like when they sucked as bad as the Pats did (or do)?

Oh, and BU hockey runs its record to 3-0 with a 4-0 win over Merrimack. Woo!

The non-sport part of my weekend was a trip Sunday morning to Wal-Mart in Walpole (you'll come for the Wal-Mart, you'll stay for the prison). Sarah has this thing about Wal-Mart, having grown up under its sway in Maine. I just see it as the logical extension of Ames, Bradlees, and the other regional discount stores Wal-Mart has put out of business. While I don't share the spiritual dimension with her, I figured I may find some cheap crap to use as prizes for college bowl, so I went. That and she wouldn't go without me, and I'd hear about it if I was steadfast in not going.

I'd like to raise a point here about Mapquest. IT SUCKS. AND NOT IN THAT GOOD WAY, EITHER. Their directions put us on Route 1 GOING THE EXACT OPPOSITE WAY WE SHOULD HAVE GONE. We drove up and down a few times, passed Foxboro Stadium a couple times (saw the new CMGI Field; it's big!), and finally asked at a gas station (made Sarah ask; she's always making me ask for things she wants, so I figured it was her turn).

I can safely say after having gone to the Wal-Mart that my indifference is pretty much warranted. The prices are good, not great, and they definitely make their money back in some areas (such as all the matching bathroom stuff we bought). We did get our first Christmas tree (three feet and fake; what were you expecting? It's October for cryin' out loud.), and some candy for Halloween. Was it worth the trip. Not really, though I assume Sarah would answer differently.

We then head back on Route 1 for lunch at the Old Country Buffet, having never eaten there before. It could be the most egalitarianly gluttonous place in America. You pay, sit wherever there's space, and eat. And eat. And eat. The food is pretty much standard "American" fare but not fast food (roast beef, fried chicken, and the like, not burgers, pizza, and dogs). Nothing taragon glazed, pistachio encrusted, or cooked using an ingredient or technique in French. We did wonder how they made their money, until we noticed that the majority of the patrons were either kids or seniors, two groups not noted for their rapacious appetites. Don't know if I'd go back, but it worked out well considering we'd not eaten yet.

Yes, if my weekends were any more exciting I'd have a coronary. There is one other thing we did this weekend that I haven't mentioned, and will later.