I Will Buy You a New Life

It's been a while so I guess it's time for an update. I got my new Macbook Pro with Retina Display a few weeks ago. It's beautiful. I am writing this on it now. I like to say that it's a gift from MINIfir. It cost about the same amount as I got from selling her. George told me that Apple has a discount program for government employees, so I actually got $200 off the price too which was cool.

The Mets have sunk even lower, hovering just above last place in the National League East. All downhill since the All-Star break. At least Ike Davis has picked up his power numbers; he hit his 27th homer today. And R.A. Dickey still has a chance to win 20. That along with Johan's no-hitter will be a few of the redeeming points of this season.

The summer is coming to an end. It's still too bloody hot for September, but hopefully it will cool down enough in a few weeks so I can ride my bike again. I have been off the wagon since before MTTS. In the meantime I've been dog sitting at Pedro's, cleaning the turtle tank and shuttling George back and forth to the airport. Since Heather was back in Seattle, George has been a bit bored. He usually texts me on Friday morning to see what I'm up to. We meet up at the mall sometimes or go have lunch. And he has finished watching all of Doctor Who! Now he texts me all kinds of funny Who-related cartoons and makes jokes about the Ood. Ood on the Loo! It's so fun to have someone to share the awesomeness of the Who-niverse.  We went to the mall yesterday since it was triple points at Nordstrom! Me and George walked around and talked about family stuff and window shopped. He's actually quite a good shopping companion. We checked out the new Bendel's and had lunch at the food court. Then he headed home, but I stayed on, backtracked and did a bit more shopping. Before I knew it I had a mini spree on my hands. I kept within my budget, especially since buying this laptop, I don't have much to spree with. But even after a nice day hanging out with my brother, it still just seemed like there was a void to be filled.

I'm picking this up again a couple of weeks later. Been distracted. But anyway, good news from the Mets camp. Ike Davis hit his 31st home run this week, David Wright hit his 21st, and R.A. Dickey got his 20th win! As disappointing as this second half has been, there have been some highlights. Add Johan's no-no and it really has been a pretty okay year. Lucas Duda even hit a homer to win the game yesterday, raining just the tiniest bit on Chipper and the Braves' parade.

Oh, and how can I forget! It's official, the Mets are moving their AAA team from Buffalo to Las Vegas next year! So now the Las Vegas 51's will field the next generation of Mets stars. Maybe we'll get to see Zach Wheeler pitch a few times before he gets his invite to the big show. I'm thinking of getting season tickets. Me and George or Dad can go depending on who is available.

George just texted me to say that he may be assigned to work the President's motorcade on Wednesday as he leaves town. My little brother. I've been reminded quite often lately how really nice it is that Goob and I are so close. Some people can't stand their siblings. But we talk almost daily, at least by text. So even though I live alone now, it's like I'm never really alone. And not just because of my yoga-posing turtles, (One day I'll get a good picture of them doing that, but they still scatter if I get too close).

George and I have talked a lot recently about our parents and some of the habits we got from them. Somehow we got caught up in all this stuff. Mom got herself an iPad even though she didn't have the money for it. It was "Today's Special Value" on the shopping channel. I think she got it on a payment plan for 3 months or something. She was jealous because me and George both always have ours with us. Even though I'm still teaching (and re-teaching) her and Dad how to use the iPods that we got them for Christmas. Oh well. It's not like I'm immune to gadget envy. Not that I'm gonna run out and wait in line for the new iPhone. But I'm operating for the most part on a strict cash-in-the-bank only policy. I wish George and Mom would follow that example, but of course, I've no standing to give anyone advice. I still have my retail therapy moments (see above). Maybe it's too much watching of Gossip Girl.

Then last weekend I went back to the mall with George and Heather. I brought the bag of goodies I had gotten the weekend before from Neiman Marcus' fragrance department. I remembered after I got home that I had a store credit I could have used instead of putting it on my account. They walked down with me and I made the exchange. Found store credit plus free goodies (nice ones too, from Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and Chloe) = Score!

I showed George and Heather the free goodies. Then we went to get dinner at this place called BLT Burger at the Mirage. The burgers were nothing special, but they had amazing shakes and desserts. Oh and we had fried pickles! Those were delicious. So for the night George's no-carb diet was non-existant. That's okay though. Turns out my handbag moratorium is entirely fictional.  I got two bags during that last mini-spree, one from Henri Bendel's and one from Cole Haan. And I still have a Kate Spade discount pass in the pocket of my purse. I know, I know. I hold out for months, and then I buy them in bunches. I'm working on it with my therapist.

But as of right now, in mere moments we will see how Rory and Amy leave the Doctor. Or how he leaves them... And that's that. Once again, analogies abound. But no spoilers here.

At work recently, my boss told me I'm one of only 2 people on our team getting a raise this year. Good news, of course. Due to government pay freezes, no contractors have had raises for two years. And the Secretary has decided to continue it for at least another year. My new responsibilities qualify as a promotion though so I'm finally exempt from the pay freeze. My Mom was so happy for me. I implied that it was good for now, but it's not something I wanted to do forever. She said I was crazy. Where else could I get a job that pays so well? True I'm lucky, after being so oft unemployed, that I've finally found something stable, and am doing well when so many people out there are not.  Thing is, I'm afraid of getting sucked into what may end up being a hole as deep as Sedan Crater.

On the Road

The Biennial Cross-country rally known as MINI Takes the States (MTTS) is here again. And it's Rory's first time. I purchased him just after MTTS in 2010. MTTS 2012 began in New Jersey last week and is heading west. I've decided to join the rally in Albuquerque and finish at the endpoint in L.A. Many of the Sin City Minis are going to join in Phoenix on Friday, but it seemed too dull just to do the last leg. I had time off coming to me, and it's just enough of a trip to get the full MTTS experience without spending too much money. The downside, I have to get to Albuquerque on my own before I'll likely encounter anyone familiar. Last MTTS, I was a co-pilot, and our group went all the way from here to Denver. I'm kind of looking forward to the time alone though. I can take my time, and relax on the way out. Then all the MTTS craziness will be a good contrast on the way back. I'll be leaving tomorrow, probably with a stop in Flagstaff, and then on to ABQ by Thursday night to meet the rally. Then we'll head to Phoenix, then L.A., then home.

Coincidentally, I was actually in L.A. twice last month. First I went to see a live taping of the Nerdist podcast with Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira. Kind of spur of the moment since my trip to New York got cancelled. Then three weeks later, Dad and I went down to see the Mets play the Dodgers. It was his Father's Day present. George was supposed to come too, but he had to beg off at the last moment. It was a good time though. I took my Dad to the ballgame, the Mets won 5-0 (another gem from Johan!), Ike Davis hit a home run just for me, and we had a fun little road trip. There was singing along to Neil Diamond. I was surprised that Dad was happy to go in my car, but with just the two of us it was perfect. So one trip on my own, and one with Dad. And now the main event. I still hope to go to New York to see Hina, but we'll have to figure that out after the rally. 

On the bus home from work today I was thinking about the sort of symmetry that's coming into play here. MTTS 2006 traveled west to east. After it hit Vegas, it headed for Flagstaff, then Albuquerque before continuing on, ending up in Connecticut. MINIfir was just 3 years old. When I started, I knew no one in the MINI community. Now 6 years later, I'm a veteran of the MTTS scene, travelling in my second MINI (a nearly two year old youngster), and after two other variations of the route, we'll again be hitting some of the same cities, but east to west. It also puts me in mind of another road trip I took, a little over 10 years ago, in a foreign land, unravelling spools of string as I went. This time, I'll have GPS.

It also happens to be the All-Star Break for Major League Baseball. Two Mets made the squad, R.A. Dickey, whose phenomenal 12-1 first half should have earned him the start, and David Wright who was cheated out of his starting slot by some overzealous fans in San Francisco. They both got in the game at least. The Mets finished the first half at 46-40, six games over .500, just 4.5 games back of the 1st place Washington Nationals. It would've been nice to win that last series against the Cubs. The Braves were able to just squeak into second place ahead of us by 1/2 game. But it's all good. We start the second half against them, and maybe some bulllpen help will be on the way before the trade deadline. We can only hope...

In the meantime, GO FORTH. GO WEST. GO MINI.

   

What's the Frequency, Kenneth?

Meanwhile on 30 Rock... This season Kenneth has been promoted to an executive in NBC's Standards and Practices Department. And then he misguidedly quits that job to come to Tracy's rescue and ends up only being able to find work as a janitor.  It's just like Kenneth to be so self-sacrificing that he puts himself at a disadvantage to help someone else. However, I suspect that the wardrobe department may have run out of crazy old suits to put Kenneth in.

Somehow, Kenneth manages to keep his chin up ("Medically, it's a neck ridge."), but he finally admits to Jack Donaghy that he does this by lying to himself and he doesn't know how much longer he can do it. I have a feeling that Kenneth will end up back as a Page soon. But in the meantime, he hasn't been used much in recent episodes. They usually find some way to get him involved a little bit each week, now that he doesn't work directly for TGS. But it's less than before which makes me sad.  In last week's live episode, it can be argued that Kenneth saved the show (Again!) by locking everyone in Tracy's dressing room and reminding them about all the great moments in live television. Okay, I'm the only one arguing that. But still. 

Kenneth still makes me laugh more than practically anyone. So my weekly happiness quotient is directly proportional to the frequency of his appearances on screen. He had an interesting turn in this week's episode. He ends up filling in at the last minute in Tracy's wife's fashion show, modeling what looked like a poncho, with his boxers showing. They put him in hilarious makeup, and then he had the sudden urge to try cocaine (heaven forbid). Hopefully he'll get more plot involvement soon. In the meantime, I have plenty of back episodes to watch over and over.

UPDATE: 5/20/12

This week was the season finale and it ended in a rather disturbing development for Kenneth.  Ms. Whassername is up to her usual manipulative tricks. And Kenneth just wants to see the good in everyone. Hopefully, he realizes before it's too late. He can't let her keep him from getting back into the Page program. That is where he belongs. And next season will be the last. They just announced it this week. Hopefully they get a whole season's worth of episodes. At least it looks like things might actually end well for Liz, which I assume is what we all want. I know I do. 

UPDATE to the UPDATE:

13 Episodes. That's all we're going to get for Season 7 :(

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Back to the Mets. After their 6-2 start, they came back down to earth a bit and are now hanging in there just above .500 at 15-13. That's good enough for 3rd in the division. So I still feel they are having a great season so far. There have been more injuries. Ruben Tejada got hurt today, tripping on his way to first base and Jason Bay has a cracked rib. But Andres Torres is doing well since he came back, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis has been quite the rookie sensation. David Wright and Daniel Murphy are still batting over .300, well over in David's case at .375! Daniel had four hits yesterday and drove in the first two runs today as R.A. Dickey cruised to his 4th win of the season. #LGM

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The turtles are doing well. I have finally named them. Sydney and Scout. Sydney is the shy one and Scout is the intrepid. I spent a good four hours cleaning their tank yesterday. Boy they made a mess. I put them in the little cardboard boxes I brought them home from the pet store in while I worked on their home. Sydney just sat perfectly still, head in shell the whole time. But Scout was literally climbing the walls. The box was just high enough that I figured there's no way he gets out of there. But later when I came back from washing the gravel in the bathtub, Scout was not in the box! I couldn't believe it. He didn't get far, he was just in the corner of the room by the closet. But I was amazed that he got out. You don't really think of turtles as being very agile, but they can be. Lesson learned!

Tiny Little Fractures

The Mets are 6-2! And the two games they lost, David Wright was out with a fractured bone in his little finger. Yesterday he was unable to grip a bat or a baseball. But he came back with a bang today, hitting a home run on the first pitch he saw from the Phillies' pitcher. It seems like a good sign when it looked like he might be heading for the DL. David was out a good two months last season with a stress fracture in his back. These guys can be fragile. As much as they are highly conditioned professional athletes, sometimes it seems like it doesn't take much to take them out of a game. Then again, they are so highly paid, it's quite a risk to keep sending a guy out there when he could have a more serious injury. The Mets have been barraged with injuries in the last few seasons.  So this is nothing new for us. But with such a good start, it's hard not to cross your fingers that nothing goes wrong. Andres Torres, the new center fielder we just got from the Giants, hurt himself on Opening Day. That's the kind of thing that happens to the Mets. But Ruben Tejada is more than filling in as the lead-off hitter. At the plate and at shortstop he's proving everyday that we'll hardly miss Jose Reyes.

A good friend of mine is going to her first ever baseball game later this year. In Atlanta, but she'll be seeing the Mets! So I have been thinking about what is essential for her to know about the rules of the game. It's hard to pare it down. Baseball to me can be so complex and beautiful. And I've been watching it most of my life. I'm so steeped in the language. So this is a challenge. Let's see.

The basics:
There are nine men on each team. They play on a diamond, a base at each corner. Score a run by making it all the way around. The offense has three outs to reach base and score runs in each inning. They play nine innings, unless it is tied after nine, in which case there are extra innings. The defense, led by the pitcher, tries to keep them from scoring.

More advanced:
Batting:
Each batter will either reach base or make an out. They can reach by hitting safely, walking, being hit by a pitch, a fielding error, on a fielder's choice, or on a strike out with a passed ball by the catcher. The batter has 3 strikes to hit the ball. If the pitcher misses the strike zone four times before getting 3 strikes, the hitter walks. The batter can make an out by striking out, hitting a ball which is caught on a fly by a fielder, or hitting a ball on the ground that the fielders can make a play on.

Running the bases:
Once a batter reaches, he becomes the base runner. Base runners can advance from base to base depending on what the next batter does. They can move up on a hit, a fielder's choice, a walk, a hit by pitch, tagging up on a fly ball, etc. They can also steal or move up on a balk by the pitcher. A base runner can move up more than one base depending on where and how the hitter hits the ball. When the ball is hit, the base runner must decide if it's safe to advance, otherwise, he must stay at the current base. The runner must touch all the bases to score. If the batter hits a home run, all runners on base score.

If the fielder makes a play for a force out to the base the runner is moving to, they are out. If they get caught stealing, or picked off a base, they are out. If the baserunner tags up too early after a catch, they are out.  Any other time there is not a force play and the runner is tagged between bases, he is out, such as in a rundown.

Pitching:
The team on defense works together to get three outs on the batting team. The pitcher can make any number of pitches needed to either strike the hitter out, or get him to hit into a play by his fielders. Otherwise, the batter may reach base as described above. The pitcher is restricted to a strike zone which is determined by the height and stance of the batter and the pitch's relation to home plate. It can't be too high, or too low. Or too far to the left or right (inside or outside) depending on if the batter is left- or right- handed. Pitches outside the strike zone are called balls. The decision on balls and strikes is made by the home plate umpire.  The pitcher can throw different pitch types by using a different grip on the ball, using a different arm movement, and varying speed. Common pitch types include the fastball, the curve, the slider, the cutter, the splitter, the change-up, and to a lesser extent, the knuckle ball, each with its different movement. The later the movement on the pitch, the more difficult it is to hit.  Location and speed are also key in getting the hitter out. The pitcher may decide himself what pitch to throw, or he may take signals from his catcher who  crouches behind home plate and receives the ball. Occasionally, the pitches may be called by the coaches in the dugout and relayed via the catcher.

Fielding:
Each position player on the field is responsible for covering an area of the field. Infielders generally field balls hit on the ground. Outfielders generally field balls hit in the air. Depending on situation: base runners, number of outs, balls/strikes, who the hitter is, etc. the fielder may adjust where he is positioned. Fielders must know the situation at all times in order to react by throwing the ball to the correct place (to a base or to a cutoff man), touching the base, or tagging the runner. Plays that result in two runners being out are called double-plays.

And that's it! Easy, peasy right? Well, the great thing is, all these things can happen in a nearly infinite number of combinations over the course of a game. There is no time clock. Games can be short (2 hours or less) or long (over three hours). Three hours is about average. Oh, and the players who start the game can be replaced during the game by substitutes, either as hitters or fielders. And once removed, they cannot return to the game. It's uncommon nowadays for a pitcher to complete the whole game. Pitchers that come in to replace another pitcher are called Relief Pitchers. Relievers can come in to pitch to a single batter, or for an inning or for several innings.

There's more of course. Next time we'll talk stats! Just kidding.

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In other news, I got my pet turtles today! I got all the stuff to set up their tank yesterday so it'd be ready for them. They are so cute. They don't have names yet. I had some names in mind, but the lady at PetSmart couldn't tell me for certain what sex they are. When they get older it will be easier to tell. In the meantime I'll try to come up with some more unisex names.

Spring

Happiness is a Mets win on Opening Day. Spring has begun in earnest. I'm glad that there are still some things that can get me out of my funk. There are a lot of things really. I forget that from time to time, when things are at their bleakest. The one thing that they have in common is that they take me out of myself. When I marvel at the talent of others. When music makes me sing, and Kenneth makes me laugh. When my Mets make me cheer and a good book takes me to another world. When a good friend makes me smile.

Yesterday John and Pedro came to visit me for the first time since I moved to my new place. We had pizza and watched Harry Potter. And they brought me a popcorn maker! It was nice to have them here since I spend so much time at their house. I ended up staying up late of course which made my plan to maybe go to church for Easter seem less appealing. If the ward met in the afternoon, I might have managed it. But 9:00 a.m. on a Sunday after a late night, highly unlikely. I woke up at around 7, but I was so sleepy and bleary eyed, I went right back to bed until the Mets game at 10:00.

The Mets are having a great opening weekend. They beat the Braves in the first two, shutting them out 1-0 in the opener. David Wright had his first home run yesterday and Lucas Duda hit two homers in the 4-2 win! Today, Jon Niese had a no-hitter through six before it got away from him in the 7th. But the Mets have been hitting. Both Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada with multiple hits today. Ike Davis is struggling, but I'm sure he'll break out any day now. And to think that after all the experts picked the Mets last in the NL East coming out of Spring Training, they've just completed a sweep of the Braves, it's quite satisfying. It's okay to live vicariously sometimes right?

Raining in Baltimore

The weather was hot and humid, like every East Coast summer. But the Mets had a good weekend in Baltimore, hitting the baseball and pitching it too. Sweeping the Orioles to win their first series on the road this year had to feel good. It was certainly good for me to watch. It seems that however the Mets go, so goes my weekend. So it's been a good couple of weekends with this sweep and the one last week against Florida. Let's hope it continues with the series against the Yankees next weekend.

Baseball is summer, and no matter what else I may be doing, it occupies my mind. Whether my Mets are good or awful, they are mine. And my family's. We are a Mets household. It can be hard to catch the games, living in the West Coast time zone. The time change and the fact that not many of the games are broadcast locally. But fortunately an MLB.TV subscription, my iMac and my new flat screen make it almost like we were back home watching. Almost.

Other noteworthy sporting events this weekend? Well there's this little tournament going on in South Africa known as the World Cup. It's football (or soccer for us Americans) and it's the biggest sporting event in the World. You wouldn't know it most places you go around here, but we do have a team in the tournament. And playing the highly favored England team, we came out with a tie. I have to say, it was pretty exciting for a game that no one won. My many English friends were not too enthused that the U.S. tied the game on kind of a cheap goal. But the truth is, the goalie made a mistake and got beat. There was no poor officiating. And England didn't score again, thanks to the U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard. He took some hits and kept playing hurt. He was the hero of the game. After the quick first goal by England in the first 5 minutes, Howard held them off. And U.S. strikers had a few good shots on the England goal, a win would have been amazing, but in this case a tie looked like a victory. Who knew?

It struck me today as the Mets scored 5 off of Kevin Millwood in the first inning, that it was a tough day at work for him. Even though it's a game, it's a job, and the players work hard. Just like the rest of us. They get paid significantly more, millions more, and live a life quite unlike ours, but at least we all have that little thing in common. The relativity of what a bad day of work is for one person and another can reveal great distances. All we can do is work as hard as we can at whatever we do, and leave it all on the field.