I’m cracking up today looking at this site and LOLcats.com – obviously it’s been a light day at work. ;) Happy monday, all.

I’ve long since reached my original goal of July 4th, and today find this journey in its 75th day. I’d been saving this shirt for an important milestone and I’ve decided it’s a great finale shirt, so welcome to the finish line everyone!

I’d like to thank everyone who contributed shirts (John K, Chris K, Katie C, Sean & Julia, Clint & Christi, Danielle, and Gemstone Jane) as well as those (Jon D, John B, Gabe B, Kevin M, Brian O) who recommended or inspired entries. It’s been an amusing project, although I’m not sure i’ll repeat it next summer as I have a closet full of polo’s and short-sleeved button shirts that went largely unused this season.

A few skeptics doubted whether I actually owned all these shirts. Just for those people, here’s all 75 shirts from the challenge. There are also a few extras in there that didn’t turn into entries, and I have even more than pictured here if i started digging deeper into the college activities collection, the work events collection, the car club collection, or the relegated-to-the-gym collection. People, the shirts are real.

Thanks again for all your support! Remember, Optimus Prime says only YOU can keep the Ultimate T-Shirt Challenge alive!

I’ve been looking at real estate for the last month or so, and off and on for the last couple years. I’ve seen a lot of junk in my price range, and very few that I was really excited about. The housing market in Seattle has finally started to wane a little bit this summer, though, so in the last few weeks I was There was one place with an amazing garage. A shop, really, 2 garage doors (one extra-tall that would fit a boat, RV, or car lift) and parking inside for at least 2 more. Huge driveway, wide and level. I could have run a small auto repair shop out of that garage. But the house was a grievous atrocity of clutter and filth, walls yellowed with cigarette smoke, carpet matted with pet hair and unidentifiable grime. The attic-turned-bedroom was 20,000 leagues under building safety codes, and the layer of muck coating the entire laundry room left me needing a shower just from looking at it. Plus, there was no dishwasher.

There was another place, with a beautiful yard. Well-kept trees and gardens, big picture windows. A covered patio that screamed summer bbq – in my head I was already buying the hanging lanterns, the tiki torches and the t-bone steaks. Two big brick fireplaces, a grand hearth in the living room and a cozy corner number in the dining. Beautiful hardwoods, copious closets. A dishwasher. But, no garage. And if you don’t understand why that’s a deal-breaker, stop reading now because you’re not my friend anymore.

Then there was the place that had everything (almost). Huge corner lot, oozing with potential. Fruit trees and old-growth cedars, big paved patio and built-in hot tub. Original hardwoods buried under a weekend of carpet disposal, quirky 1950’s build-in hutches and bureaus. Sweeping shady driveway, and a detached 2-car garage that – after a couple thou$and in updates – would have been the perfect backyard shop. Odd little extras that spawned home improvement ideas galore, territorial views and across the street from an elementary school. Quick commute to downtown. I was ready to make an offer.

Then, math reared its ugly head. Was I really willing to double (and then some) my monthly housing costs? What would that mean to my lifestyle? Sure, it would be a good investment. But what would I be giving up… ?

• Eating lunch out every day
• Going to Starbucks 1-3 times a day
• A cell phone plan with unlimited everything
• Buying things for my car (hobby #1)
• Buying computer-y and gadget-y things (hobby #2)
• Buying camera lenses and photo gear (hobby #3)
• Never bothering to look at the price of gas. And buying premium. And getting about 4 mpg when I’m really having a good time in the Z.
• Traveling in 2007 to Montana, and Canada, and Oregon, and Hawaii, and New York. And maybe London.
• Buying dinner, drinks, etc with my friends without worrying whether the bill was divided absolutely equally or when someone’s going to pay back a few-dollar loan.
• Spoiling my friends and family, and sometimes myself.

After sleeping on it, I decided life is too short to give up living it for some investment strategy. I’ll continue renting – maybe I’ll even spoil myself with a bigger apartment next spring. Tax writeoffs are great, but happiness is greater. Plus, I hate mowing the lawn.

Clint and Christi bought this one for me, because they know I love 1) tshirts and 2) buying Christmas gifts. If only I had room in my apartment for a real reindeer paddock, but instead I’m making do with this nice reindeer I drew with crayons. Pretty good, huh?

There’s something special about Sonics games at Key Arena. Maybe it’s that, years ago, the Sonics used to win championships on that very same floor. Maybe it’s that, well before I lived here, Seattle fans used to fill the stands and cheer so loudly the din could be heard for blocks outside the arena’s walls. Maybe it’s because you can still almost imagine the heyday could return.

I know I’d never pay $38 to watch the Renton Supersonics, no matter how new the stadium was. So I’m all about this SOS shirt Clint and I snagged at a Sonics game last winter.

P.S. The Storm totally rules and I’d hate to lose them to Renton even more. They still totally rock the house at Key Arena.