Today’s post: 5 things I’m sick of and 5 things I’m super-pumped about. As I write, David Crowder’s God of Wrath is spinning on the ol’ iTunes. First, what I’m sick of.

5 Things I’m Sick Of:

1. 100 degree weather
For the past week, the temperatures here have been unbearable. The fact that our AC unit is about half the size it needs to be — leaving our house a toasty 80 degrees in the afternoon — has made these days especially Hades-esque. I’m ready for fall. Now.

2. Taylor Hicks
I’ll admit: after Chris Daughtry got the boot, I rooted for this dude on American Idol. Little did I realize his victory would make losers of us all. Now you can’t watch TV for 5 minutes without hearing his incessant warbling “Soul Patrol” caterwauling on that blasted Ford commercial. When I hear those horns fire up, I scramble for the remote. I think ubiquitous is the right word. Every commercial break. Every network. All the time. Someone, please make it stop.

3. Grad school
6 hours last fall (including Hebrew), 9 hours in the spring, 6 hours this summer, 9 more next semester…man, I need a reprieve. But I’m the only one to blame, so I’ll not rant and rave about this too long.

4. My beloved fantasy baseball team, the Lobes
After bringing home the Cool Papa Bell League title (for the 2nd time, I might add) in 2004, my Lobes have found a new permanent dwelling: 9th place. A bottom tier finish could have been expected last year: I protected most of my high salary players, drafted poorly and started dealing off parts mid-season to make a run at the title this season. But a 2nd straight 9th place finish seems inevitable for my Lobes. But fear not: just like the Marlins, the Lobes strategy is pretty straightforward. The firesale has been going strong for a couple weeks and we’re sitting pretty with quality young keepers for next season. 2007 is our year! (Man I sound like a Cubs fan.)

5. Hands-free phone earbuds.
If you wear one of these in public, I have 5 words for you:
You.
Look.
Like.
A.
Dork.

Now, on to more positive things. Here are some things I’m excited about:

1. MLB Trade Rumors
Lots of rumors are floating out there, but Viva el Birdos confirms that my Redbirds are seriously entertaining the possibility of acquiring Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins. The price would be hefty (Anthony Reyes!), but acquiring D-Train would give the Cards what they’ve lacked every year come playoff time: a true 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. Don’t know if they’ll pull it off (and I hope this isn’t Mark Mulder redux), but the possibility is enticing.

2. 48 days until the NFL Season
Again, I’m ready for cool weather & gridiron action. The NFL means fantasy football, a nice distraction since my fantasy baseball team stinks. Freeman, I’ma own you in our league.

3. Leisure reading
With summertime winding down, I’ll actually have a little time to catch up on some leisure reading. First up for me: Shades of Glory, a comprehensive history of the Negro Leagues and African-American Baseball. This will be my summer baseball read. (I read Fantasyland in the spring, but it was a fantasy baseball book, so that doesn’t count.) I’m really looking forward to this one. I’ll probably follow it up with Rob Neyer’s new book on Baseball’s Blunders.

4. NCAA Football 07
Since we’ve had our kids, I’ve had to cut down significantly on my video gaming (darn kids…just kidding). And I doubt I’d have the time to play this enough to justify dropping $40 on it. But I want it. Along with Madden, this has to be the greatest video game of all time. And I do have an anniversary coming up. Hmmm….

5. More time with friends and family
Now that summer’s over (at least from a YM programming perspective), I’ll have a little more time to devote to family and friends. A trip to St. Louis with my wife, a trip to Cedar Point with my brother-in-law and family vacations to Gatlinburg (August ) and the beach (September) are all on tap for us. The next few weeks should mark the births of Baby T and Lawson’s new sister. Exciting times to be sure.

So how about you? What are you sick of? What are you excited about?