More American Idol nonsense

I know that it's really early, but my prediction for this year's American Idol is that it's going to end up being the battle of the black mamas: Lakisha Jones versus Melinda Doolittle.

My money's with Melinda Doolittle. She's clearly being groomed by a staff of assistants, but she's just so warm and genuine, and has a beautiful voice. I smile every time I see her, and talk to myself. Plus, I like the idea of a background singer taking center stage. Lakisha Jones gets too powerful for me, at times.

Okay, I don't have to watch the rest of the season!

The Pain, The Agony...the Futon!

"You sure you have a good grip on your end?"

"I’m sure."

"You sure you’re sure?"

"Just keep pushing," grumbled Corb. "That's it...push...PUSH! And don’t—ouch! Ted, stop that!"

Okay, before your minds sink any further into the gutter, I should tell you that Corb and I were in the process of lifting a heavy futon up a flight of stairs, and I had just given it a bit too much heave-ho, heaving the end of the futon into Corb's firm, tight buttocks.

"Sorry about that, Corb," I said, sheepishly. I sat there, waiting patiently at the bottom of the stairs, while Corb placed his end down for a minute.

During our brief rest, Annie's slacker boyfriend, Chad, entered from the front door, his arms empty of bags or items. He took a look at us, lifting HIS futon up the stairs, smiled, and made his way to the second floor. We watched as he grabbed a small bag of pillows and ran up the stairs to the third floor.

Chad's lack of assistance seemed to give Corb newfound energy. Instantly, Corb lifted his end of the futon, and we reached the second floor walkway, in seconds flat. Corb placed the futon down on the ground, brushed himself off, and announced, "That’s it. I’m done. Chad can do the rest!"

I grinned. "Let's go."

The two of us were helping Annie start the latest chapter in her life: moving out into her own apartment. She had moved out from Josie's house a few years ago, and lived, briefly with a roommate for a short while, but that had not worked out, and she had decided to moved in with Josie's parents, in the basement apartment that Josie had lived in when I first started dating her. That stay was, I think, comforting, but also full of challenges, especially after Chad moved in with her.

So, after settling in at her new job, Annie set her sight on a new goal: moving out on her own, with Chad, into their own apartment. In some ways, I consider it their first apartment together, since Chad had never truly been an "official" resident of the grandparent apartment. Josie's parents refused to let him shower there, and so he would travel, each morning, to his father's apartment, to shower there.

Corb and I left the futon where it was, and headed up the stairs.

Josie was sitting upstairs, sitting at a rickety kitchen table with Annie. I allowed myself another look around the room. For a first aprtment, it was spatious, and had a lot of potential: ample closet space, a nice bathtub, and an open deck that is going to be simply terrific this summer, for it overlooks a field where the town of North Eldredge holds an annual Fireworks display.

But then...on the other hand...

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