So if you are seriously into wasting time, and looking for an entertaining way to do it, you should check out GraphicJam.com. Basically they take pop culture, songs, etc and put them into helpful graphs. Some of them are just silly, but some are really clever, and some make you really think (and even research.) I am going to post a few examples just for fun, without any description...
I don't want to give anybody the wrong impression - I really like
rural places like Placerville, where I currently find myself. I like
places with peace and quiet where there's a great view if wilderness
and not much else. You don't see your neighbors, it's nice and mild
and there's a smell here that you don't get in the 'burbs.
But I really don't want to be here right now. I'd like to be back home
getting a good meal in me so I could go play soccer tonight at the
church with Matt.
But no - I'm in Placerville.
1. Matt and Kellie are at a family reunion in Utah; Joe and Tiff are in SF; Ashley and Ryan are doing faimly stuff after a wedding last night; so here's my question: what do you do with a Saturday where your friends aren't around?
2. I'm really glad Versus doesn't have anything to show except the Tour de France over and over again, because I could sleep in this morning and still catch the very important time trial on the rerun.
3. I've only been to six baseball games this year - how pathetic is that? When I had season tickets to the Nationals in DC I would go six times every two weeks...
4. I really don't like John Mayer.
5. It's been a while since I've bought something big - sure I flew back and forth from the East Coast for the Yanks game and to relax, and plane tickets certainly aren't cheap, but it's been a while since I've actually bought something that I really wanted. Truth is, there isn't much out there that I want that I don't have, and I bet Jessica that I could go through July without buying anything superfluous, and I intend on winning that bet.
6. I have
a thousand and one t-shirts, yet I find myself wearing the same eight, all-white, plain v-neck and crew-neck t-shirts over and over again. I blame Matt and Joe and Ryan. There's just something classic and clean and chill about the plain white t-shirt. Just ask Becks...
7. I am a nerd in a lot of ways - a dork in many ways - a goober in a lot of ways. But I am reading about Comic-Con in San Diego, and I ha
ve to say I didn't think I was the kind of person who would want to go, but they have exclusive previews for new kick-ass movies and celebrities attending and things like that, plus I would imagine some of the best people watching anywhere. Anyway, after the really cool previews before The Dark Knight, I kinda want to see what those nerds are seeing at Comic-Con. And to see how the guys interact with girls... how funny would that be?
8. There are no black people in Roseville. None... the only ones are the photograph that my mom gave me for Christmas to "remember where I was from" that's sitting on my desk.
9. I need a haircut, but I am waiting for Kelly to get back so she can buzz me - it's taken a while to decide to go this way, but I think it's just easier. We'll see how it looks and then we'll decide for the future...
10. A nameless friend is moving to SF from Arizona, and that's awesome! Welcome back...
This is the tunnell leading into the bleacher section, where I was sitting.
This is just another part of the bleacher section - you can see the jumbotron in center field.
This is the right field bleachers, where I was sitting, from above. If you can make out the cement below the seats right behind the adidas sign, that's where they put a folding chair down and I sat for the game.
This is a quick view of monument park, where all the hall-of-famers have thier numbers and a plaque commemorating their time with the Yankees.
A close-up up Lou Gehrig and the Babe.
This is a view of the under-construction New Yankee Stadium across the street from the upper decks.
This is the auxillary press area
And this is YANKEE STADIUM!
So that was before the game - then the actual game started (I unfortunately don't have pictures developed of that, but they will be on here before long) and it was great - the bleacher creatures who I was sitting with were the most foul-mouthed f-word using PARENTS (yes, they had two little ones in tow) that I have ever seen, cursing this and that, but always happy and cheering on the Yanks. The whole crowd was like that. But the Bleachers do this great thing where they'll chant every one of the starting defensive players' names, using various forms of "DER-EK JE-TER" (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap) of course customized for every player out there. The fielders would turn to the bleachers and acknowledge us with a tip of their caps. It was amazing, and only the bleachers were allowed to do it.
Mike Mussina pitched a great game - not all that great for A-Rod or Jeter, but Mariano Rivera came out of the bullpen and walked right in front of me (albeit 10 feet below) to close out the game and the Yanks won 2-1. But the best part?
Who knew that the Yankees used special balls to commemorate their final season in Yankee Stadium? I didn't... until Melky Cabrera threw me a ball in the top of the 8th inning! He actually threw it to a crowd of us, and after seeing this, I jumped out of my seat, stretched and leaped, being mobbed by what felt like a thousand native New Yorkers, and then I felt the thud. And I looked. And there it was - a very well-used Yankee Stadium Commemorative ball, complete with pieces of Yankee Stadium stained on it. Who knows who used this ball to warm up with. Dere
k, A-Rod, Joba, Mo? I think they all did...
After the game I did a little walking around New York, chatting with the fans and having a few hot dogs in sports bars right by the Stadium, just to feel the ambience, but the weight of that ball was so heavy that I decided I needed to get it back to the hotel room in case something happened to it. So i hailed a cab and spent $70 to get back... but it was worth it!
I love Thursdays - we play in our city rec league soccer matches on Thursdays (Go Kumquats) and so far we are 2-0 in this latest installment. But it's not only the soccer that makes Thursdays great; I've always felt a kind of mystique around Thursdays: one day to go until Friday, usually good TV on in the evenings, blockbuster movies open with midnight showings and just a general sense of well-being.
Now, while I love Thursdays for obvious reasons Thursday nights have not been kind to me. Last night, after winning our soccer game 5-2 (yes, they scored two goals on me -a girl, no less: one was a 12-yard fantastic shot and the other was a penalty kick that I actually got a hand on, but apparently not enough of a hand) I watched the next game enjoying the night air with teammates Joe and Conrad, went home, cleaned my wounds from the game (see sidebar) and hopped into bed. And laid there until 7:30 AM this morning. I think I must have either waken up every 10 minutes or not fallen asleep at all. It was the worst night's sleep I've gotten in a long time, and in my line of work and current mental state, that's really saying something (and btw - that's WITH an over-the-counter sleep aid.)
It was not EXACTLY the same, but similar last week; we won our soccer game 5-1 and Matt scored a goal which was great, then we (Matt, Kelly, Tani) saw The Dark Knight premier, sitting behind Jessica and her whole family which was really cool. Then I had ANOTHER long night, and really couldn't sleep once I actually tried to go to sleep. Of course, that might have been because of the energy shots, which were awesome... and that's all I'll say about that.
So that's my question: is there another day out there for you that has this kind of dichotomy? where the day is absolutely fantastic and at night you just cannot get to sleep? Or is that my particular brand of psychosis?
So, I've started a blog. I know, I know - another one out there; but this one is different... It's about me, and as far as I can tell, it's the only one out there dedicated to my life and my life alone. (If anyone knows of another, please pass on the link...)
Of course there will be recurring roles by others in the blog, but as all entries will be ten sentences or less (please refer to the "blog description" section) these appearances will most likely not be given the proper due as people important to my life. So I've decided to write out a character list for all of you unfamiliar, basically outlining those who may choose to make an appearance in the blog, for future identification - and no, these descriptions don't count as sentences. I make the rules...
The Real Fam (In age order)
Dad - a retired Army Colonel who now lives in an Atlanta suburb practicing law; married anew to Kelly, with two adopted Russian children, Rylie (girl) and Kyle (boy); I look up to my dad in many ways, and we have a pretty good relationship, though we don't get to talk as often as I'd like - we share a lot of things, like our love for the outdoors, our laid-back, relaxed style and I've notived that I stand with my hands in my pockets like I remember him doing...
Mom - the loving person who brought me into the world (and, despite what she says, cannot take me out any time she wants - and yes, she still threatens) a professor at Columbia College in Columbia, SC - I love her very much
Megan - older sister, married to Noah with three kids, Will (6) Colin (3) and Drew (1), a schoolteacher in Columbia who named her third child for me (or so I believe, even if it is a girl named Andrea), loves baseball along with her husband and has climbed Everest (or at least has read "Into Thin Air" and rented the DVD...)
Brett - the older of two younger sisters, married to Ben whom she met at Florida State, has two kids Kat (3) and Jackson (2 mo), living in Sea Island, Georgia.jpg)
Susannah (Suz) - the younger of the younger sisters, just graduated from Columbia College and ready to take on the world; in what capacity, we may never know...
The New Fam:
Matt and Kellie - Matt was my first real friend in my new home here in Roseville (just outside Sacramento); we play soccer on the same team (the Kumquats) and have aspirations to be one of the great television writing/producting duos in history; Matt let me move into his trailer when my landlord and friend Steve died suddenly and I didn't have a place to go; Kellie, his fiance at the time and now his wife, also took me in; his family (heretofore known as anyone "Bragg" for future reference) has been like a second family, inviting me to cookouts, Sunday dinners, and generally looking out for my well-being; future Braggs to make appearances here will be Tani, Andy, Thomas, Marcus and Mom and Dad Bragg and Amanda and Robby Gant and their baby Will, who doesn't blink...ever...; Matt is the storyteller and comedian of the new fam - if we aren't laughing at his stories of past (and present) life, we are laughing at his gigantic noggin; Kellie is his rock and a little bit of the den mother - but I suppose that could apply to Tiff and Ash as well... you'll have to keep an eye out for their kids, as they are two of the most competitive people on the planet, and I can only imagine the spawn that will subsequently come...
Joe and Tiffany - Joe and Tiffany are the tallest couple I've ever seen in real life; Joe is hands down the toughest, and Tiff is one of the most loving, as you can see on her blog site http://talltiffany.blogspot.com/ - she'd kinda have to be to put up with us - but I guess that applies to all the women of the new fam; Joe used to be a bouncer and has the look of a happy-go-lucky cage fighter, and I'm glad we're friends cause I'll never have to fight him...
Ryan and Ashley - Ryno and Ash bring down the median age of the new fam, which is good because we are getting up there in years; they have been married for a few years and have seemingly lived up every minute of it, as you can read on Ash's blog site http://rawaddell.blogspot.com/ - they went on vacations and generally had a great time having fun with each other. They are both back in school now, which is good for them I guess, but it also means they weren't able to go with us to the midnight showing of "The Dark Knight" so it stinks for them, too; Ash is an unabated Repub, and she gives me hell for being on the other side a lot, but I know she just secretly harbors a desire to join the cool kids on this side of the aisle...
Jessica Branich - a great friend; we dated for a good long time and she let me into her life, opened her family up to me and I will forever be greatful for that; we are on great terms and talk often, and I count her as one of my closest friends; it's one of those things - we didn't really work out romantically, but she'll be a good friend for life and I wish her nothing but the best, which is what she totally deserves...
Others:
Noah Drews - a friend from SC, we don't get to see each other as often as I'd like, as I'm not in SC that much anymore, but we go back in the day...
Patrick Coker - my best friend from the college days; he was there when my dad told me he had gotten remarried in the NC mountains; he saw me through my J-school classes and knows the secret behind my getting involved in politics; I was a groomsman as his wedding and could not be happier for him and Tiffany, who just passed their one-year anniversary;
So there you have them, the cast of characters. You'll notice that there are no work people on my blog and there's a simple reason for that: this blog is a happy place, and will remain such as long as the only people talked about and the only instances written about are not work-related. I will just say this as my last sentence (this will be the tenth) - I am totally lucky to have wandered into the real fam that I have and the new fam that was waiting for me in Roseville - you'll be reading a lot about our adventures camping, spelunking, obstacle-course-racing, movie-watching, television-writing, snowboarding, cross-country tripping, soccer playing, hanging out and generally having a good 'ole American time!
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