First the first time in living memory I got a tax refund check in the mail! Generally of course I have to send the IRS bucketloads of cash, confident in the knowledge that the government will blow it like a crack-addled spend it wisely on ... um, something or other which is probably pretty important. Now I know that generally speaking, folks get refund checks in ... ? ... well I guess probably in May or something. I wouldn't know. I never get refunds. But I got one of them automatic six month extensions, because the fact of the matter my record-keeping these days has gotten somewhat lackadaisacal in this era of mp3s- I write stuff down of course, like on the back of envelopes and things, and I ALWAYS put the envelopes ... someplace. I don't know. Long story short I got an extension because I really had no idea what I had paid in estimated taxes, and even with the extension I couldn't really recall so I just kind of guessed.

Turns out I must have misunderestimated what I had paid, because I got a refund check for a full two hundred dollars above what I was expecting! This is one of the benefits of slap-dash record-keeping. Now, I've never really thought of the IRS as the kind of bureaucracy which would say "excuse me, but let us give you a little more money" but I'm an open minded kind of guy and I'm always perfectly happy to be enlightened.

Also: Daylight Savings time starts. Why? What are they saving it for?

Lately the Internet here at my house has been out- I tried everything I could think of to fix it, of course, but seeing as how "everything I could think of" basically just entails my turning everything off, waiting a couple minutes, and then turning everything back on again, I was unable to restore it. So! Looks like probably what I ought to do was call Time-Warner! Off to the phone! The number to call? Mmm, okay, I don't got any phone books of course.... Time-Warner's not on my speed dial these days... kay, I'll just look it up on the Interne- oh.

Surely they put their number on the bill, but as bills don't make very memorable keepsakes, I don't generally keep them handy. After much searching, I did manage to track one down- a bill retained only because I had jotted a note down on the back of the envelope- and called and (after punching a bunch of phone menu buttons, telling the Time-Warner Phone Computer all the details of the nature of my problem) I got through to Beth, a very nice young customer service representative, to whom I had to tell all the details of the nature of my problem.

"Okay!" Beth said, "What I want you to do is turn everything off, wait a couple minutes, and turn everything back on!" Perhaps unsurprisingly, this worked no better then when I had tried it before. "Okay... " says Beth, never at a loss for ideas, "this time turn everything off.... and unplug the coax cable, wait a couple minutes, plug it back in, and turn everything back on again."

This time it worked like a charm! No no, just kidding, of course! Beth was clearly at her wits' end by this time. After all, we had turned everything off and on several times now, to no effect whatsoever. "Um, I think we're going to have to send someone round...."

In unrelated news, I've found the time recently to do the dishes, sweep the apartment, clean the cat-box, read a book, do three loads of laundry, mop the floors, do some more dishes, fix something to eat, do the dishes resulting from fixing something to eat, clean the bathroom, start another book, take a nap, and generally tidy things up a bit.

Saturday it was about as full a boat as I've seen in a while: my sister of course, and Dave and Roseanne, and David, and myself. October can get pretty chilly, what with the wind whipping off the lake, but despite the cold, October sailing is delightful, because you have the wind whipping off the lake. So although we were sailing to nowhere in particular, we were getting there fast, at five, six knots or better. For sailing, this is easily the best time of the year. And the company couldn't hardly be improved upon either, and when David missed the dock and fell into the lake, we all had a good laugh- even David (who I think was a little bit intoxicated (Old Alt never stints on hospitality)).

Sunday, we took a sunrise cruise, joined by Rich Craft. I don't get to go sailing with Rich as much as I'd like- he really is the ideal boat-mate- and the winds were again perfect. But we had to get back to the dock so Myfanwi could drive to New York and be home at a reasonable hour. Myfanwi left. I took down the mast in the afternoon, effectively ending the sailing season- this is by far the worst time of the year. I always hate this time of year. I broke a tooth at breakfast. The mechanics told me that I need new rotors as well as brake pads. Everything always goes wrong this time of year. I think I'm going to be late to work today.

You know how I told you my Dad suffered a stroke? Well turns out I was wrong. Turns out the doctors were all wrong.

Turns out my Dad has a brain tumour instead.

I couldn't get up to the lake much before nine thirty or so, so I was pretty sure that my sister would already be there. As I couldn't find her on my boat, I was pretty sure she'd be on Dave and Roseanne's boat, and that was in fact where I found her. Myfanwi, faced with the uncomfortable prospect at arriving at the marina well before myself, and therefore having to sit around in the cold and wait for me, had (not unreasonably) called Dave and Roseanne to see if they were at the marina and if so could they please let her in.

Turns out Dave and Roseanne weren't at the marina, they were home in Canton or Akron or wherever it is that they live, relaxing and minding their own business, but once they caught the gist of my sister's predicament, they up and lead-footed it off to the marina to help her out: changing all their plans! dropping whatever they were doing!- just so's they could help my sis out, and also, apparently, to ply her with booze (she was truly looped). That is the kind of rare gems Dave and Roseanne are- if you haven't met them yet, I encourage you to do so: you won't be disappointed!

Thus it was that on Saturday, poor Myfanwi wasn't feeling her best when we set sail for Kelleys Island. Steve's wife Mary Anne, along with Steve's brother and sister-in-law were going up to Kelleys, so one thing led to another and Steve kind of finagled an invite to sail with us out there. Good thing, too, because Steve is an experienced sailor, and the winds were delightfully strong- twenty or so knots- so it was nice to have an able hand, seeing as how my sister was feeling a bit hung-over indisposed.

The weather was truly splendid- the wind was right parky, five foot waves crashing away. Steve is a good friend, but he's one of those guys that it's best to go on short day-sails with rather than a weekend cruise, because he's one of those guys who keep on talking long after he's run out of interesting things to say. Personally one of the things I like about sailing is the sounds of the water and the waves and the creaking and the clanking of the rigging. It's very relaxing, I find, and puts me in a contemplative mood, attunes me to nature, one might say- the boat rising with the swell, the feel of the wind... the waves hissing by.... the rollers expiring under the lee quarter with a mighty "kssssshhhhh", the sun occasionally breaking through in all its brilliance- sparkling over all the ripples and the wavelets, the rail buried in the hissing foam. And all the while, Steve babbling on and on and about nothing at all. Mmm, yes- remind me: no more sailing to Kelleys with Steve-o.

The wind- staying strong- backed more and more into the west, forcing us to sail more north and south and north again. We were going five, six knots all the while. And it took us eight hours to cover 25 miles over ground.

In the morning the howling wind in the rigging woke me at five, and the lake was a mass of whitecaps. I admit to feeling somewhat trepidatious, but the actual sailing turned out to be amazing. The wind was, say, 20-25 knots, and the waves four to six footers, but it was all on the quarter. It's grand sailing, before the wind like this. We averaged high fives, low sixes, hitting the sevens when the waves threw us along, twisting the boat forwards and around like a corkscrew. You can't steer hardly but it's exhilarating enough that you don't care. At one point, we hit 8.38 knots for a half a second, easily the fastest I've ever gone on my boat.

We made the return passage in four hours forty five minutes.