What better time of the year is there than football season in the Fall? It's hard not to enjoy the atmosphere, weather, and beautiful surroundings we have during this time of year as Summer is fading away and Winter is creeping up slowly but surely. Football season is awesome, but it gets even better when the playoffs start. In high school, there are 10 weeks in the regular season, and the playoffs (5 weeks long) begin immediately afterward. This Friday kicks off the 2010 Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) football playoffs, and Triway will be in attendance for the third straight year, a school record for consecutive appearances.
The playoffs are broken into 6 divisions with Division 1 (DI) being the largest and Division 6 (DVI) being the smallest. While Ohio is known for its high level of play in high school football, as was recognized in Rivals.com's annual review, most of the dominant teams are at the DI level. Teams that have set the rich tradition in our state are schools such as Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller, Massillon Washington, St. Edward, Cincinnati Elder, St. Ignatius, Youngstown Cardinal Mooney (DIII), Steubenville (DIII), and many, many others. However, the Triway Titans will take on another tradition-rich school in this Friday's DIV Region 14 regional quarterfinal with whom the Titans are very familiar - the Orrville Red Riders.
Although it may pain many of us diehard Titan fans to admit it, Orrville has proven over the decades to be one of the best and most consistent small school football programs in the state. For more information on that, check out my friend Tim's most recent blog entry. The numbers (and company they are among) are very impressive. As far as I’m concerned, the Red Riders are the Titans’ #1 rival in all sports. It’s always been this way when I was growing up, and my father tells me it was the same way when he was in school, before graduating in 1979. If you ask me for a ranking of rivals, it goes #1 – Orrville, …, …, #2 – West Holmes, #3 – Waynedale, #4 – Fairless (largely due to the robbery that was the 2007 district championship basketball game). As I tried to show as pictorially as possible, there is a big gap between #1 and the rest. Although Orrville is our biggest rival, wins against them have been few and far between over the span of 38 meetings between the two. Every win we get, though, like last year’s 28-14 victory over the star-studded, highly-touted Orrville squad, is cherished.
The part that makes this game tough for us is that we are playing at Orrville Red Rider Stadium, a place where the Triway Titans have only won once, way back in 1975. History (and records, and such) are meant to be broken, and so are streaks, which I would consider in the same category. Just as Clear Fork had never beaten Orrville, they traveled to Orrville in week 9 this year and throttled the red & black 33-0. Weird things happen. Sure, that Clear Fork team may be loaded and a monster to stop in DIV, but the streak was stopped nonetheless. Who’s to say we can’t stop our streak of losses at Orrville Red Rider Stadium?
If you mention anything to an Orrville fan that even resembles the slightest hint of optimism in our team’s chances against the world-beating Red Riders, you’ll be laughed at, ganged up on, and made fun of for as long as they have the opportunity. It’s just the way they are. Orrville fans, when it comes to athletics, have a bad case of a superiority complex. Very bad. Having said that, though, I also must say they have every right to be cocky, arrogant, and, most of all, confident. Their kids grow up wanting to play sports and be an Orrville Red Rider and wear red & black and play under the lights or in the gymnasium. That’s just what Orrville’s about – it’s a true sports town in every sense of the phrase. If I admire anything about this school – and believe me, there aren’t many things – it’s the atmosphere, mentality, and tradition they’ve built around athletics and continuing that legacy set before them many decades ago.
There. I got my praise of Orrville out of the way. Now to the week 11 match-up which will determine who stays alive in the hunt for a championship (however unlikely) and who goes home. This is a rematch of when we met them in week 2 of this season, also at Orrville. We lost 41-19 in a game that got out of hand in the 3rd quarter and saw us try too hard to get back into the game after that and never got close again. In that game, Orrville completed passes of 27, 25, 31, 53, 21, 30, 36, 27, and 17 yards. Some of them were short passes with gains after the catch and others were lobs, jump balls on which an Orrville receiver made a great play. They had a well-rounded offensive attack which I don’t think we anticipated, and it didn’t help that we played West Holmes in week 1, either. Our first drive was a success as we marched right down the field and scored a touchdown, only to fail on the 2-point conversion, when our kicking game was non-existent, and watch as the Riders came right back with a scoring drive of their own. Had we had one more successful drive in the next 1 or 2 drives, it could have and would have been a different game. However, football is a game of momentum, and we never had it after the 10:39 mark of the 1st quarter.
In order for Triway to win this time around, they will need to do a few things.
1) Our offensive line and running back(s) will have to handle the pressure Orrville attempts to put on Carmichael in the backfield, allowing him time to find his receivers. When Carmichael has time, as opposing defenses who have tried to sit back and load the defensive backfield have found, Derek WILL deliver to an open receiver. If he has time, I have confidence that we can methodically work drives down the field, chewing up clock, keeping Orrville’s offense of the field, and hopefully scoring points at the end.
2) Our wide receivers need to get off the line of scrimmage. The last time we met, we were breaking in a few new wide receivers, and they got a rude awakening when they were met with some of the most physical bump-and-run coverages they saw all year. Our Sophomore and Junior wide receivers filling in for a star-studded Senior class of receivers last year, grew up after that game and have produced ever since. If they can get off the ball and get timing in sync with Derek, it will take a load of pressure off the QB who might not have a lot of time to wait for them to get open.
3) Last of all, we need to stop the big play. Last game the big play hurt us big time, especially through the air. Orrville had three runs of 23 yards or more, as well. If we can make them sustain drives, just like they’re going to do to us, we have a chance. But if Orrville is able to stretch the field with the long ball, that will only open up the inside even more for their rushing attack which I think has been underused this season.
Along those lines, a lot of the Orrville fans’ talk has been about the quarterback and either praising or critiquing his play. However, I think it’s their running game is what will make them go. Having two or three very good backs out of the backfield and two or three or four very good receivers going down the field, it’s hard to cover all of it. However, our team has faced better teams and won (not referring to this season).
Will this game be a challenge? Oh golly, yes! Orrville is the big favorite coming in with Drew Pasteur (Fantastic50.net) predicting a 14-victory for the Red Riders and Calpreps predicting an Orrville victory as well. Statistically, Orrville has arguably the #1 toughest schedule in DIV while Triway’s is a mere 80th. With that in mind, Orrville is the popular pick by the prognosticators. However, just like any rivalry, you can throw the records out. You can throw the previous meeting out between the two this season. You can disregard any notion of what might or might not happen; because what happens this Friday night is all that matters. Take, for example, the 2005 Massillon vs McKinley rivalry. In last game of the regular season, 9-0 Canton McKinley hosted 9-0 Massillon Washington and proceeded to take them to the woodshed by a tune of 38-8. However, three weeks later in the regional championship, Massillon got its revenge, whooping the Bulldogs 21-3 in the regional championship and went on to lose in the state championship game to a dominant Cincinnati St. Xavier team.
This just goes to show that anything can happen. Don’t get me wrong, though – I don’t need anyone to work any miracles for us to beat Orrville this Friday. Our kids know what they have to do, and Orrville’s kids know what they have to do. It will come down to intensity, execution, half-time adjustments, and more execution in the second half. That’s it. In a matter of five hours, the tailgating, pregame warm-ups, hype, regulation, celebrations, and aftermath all will have been completed. All our kids need to do is, for 5 hours (actually less), focus on the task at hand and do their job to the best of their ability. We have talented, smart, and competitive kids on this team (as does every team), and our kids know how to win. This is not David vs. Goliath, although some may want to make it sound that way. We don’t need to kill anybody to get a win this Friday. We just need to score more points.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
November 3, 2010
October 25, 2010
Pre-Halloween Busy-ness
So, things have gotten crazy lately. Normally my weekdays during football season are empty and relaxing, but I’ve been busy out the wazoo the last few weeks! Don’t get me wrong – I like having things to do, and the things I do I enjoy! But it’s just been crazy. A couple Saturdays ago my computer decided it didn’t want to turn on, so I took a few days fixing that, which really set back my Android development. Then I got backed up on my high school football playoff projections Excel workbook, so that took a few days to get my projections developed and presented online. Then the other nights leftover I end up having things scheduled during them. Again, all the things I’ve been doing on my week nights I like doing! Especially in the rare instances when Jennifer and I get to spend time together outside the weekend; but it’s just been crazy busy!
High school football is big right now with league championships and the playoffs all being decided in the last few weeks. Triway needs Manchester to lose to CVCA this Friday in order to claim a share of the PAC-7 title, but chances of the Panthers losing to the Royals are slim to none. But even though we may not win the league, it looks like we’re going to make the playoffs for the 3rd straight year, which will be a school record. Before Triway’s playoff appearance my junior year, we had only 1 playoff appearance in school history. Now since that 2003 campaign, the total has accumulated to 5! (including this year) We are not going to be a favorite in week 11 since we’ll be traveling to somewhere in the likes of Orrville, Genoa, or Elyria to play some very good teams. However, our kids are resilient and are able to pull something off if they put their minds and efforts into it.
How ‘bout them Browns? Wow! For the third straight season, the Cleveland Browns have beaten the defending super bowl champion. This time it was the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome! How cool, huh? Something else that is pretty cool (or ironic, or coincidental, or just plain weird!) is that just a few days ago Drew Brees, the Saints’ quarterback, had a son named “Bowen”, and on Sunday Brees was intercepted by a Browns defender with the last name of Bowens, who returned both interceptions for touchdowns. A 30-17 win is always fun to watch, especially when it’s against the defending Super Bowl champions at their place. That’s what the Browns have been like this year, though – at times they show signs of greatness and of a team that is gritty, tough, and can play with anyone (mostly in the 1st half). But whenever the 2nd half comes around, things start to fall apart, we get less aggressive, and for some reason the other team is always able to adjust and execute much better than us in the last two quarters. Coaching? Who knows? It’s just frustrating. But we beat the Saints! Now if only we could beat the Steelers or the Ravens.
Every week during the high school football season, our local paper, The Daily Record in Wooster, has a pick’em contest between all the sports writers. Every week they also have a guest picker. I got a little lucky last week when my name came up and was chosen to be the guest picker for week 10, which is this week! I just got home from The Daily Record’s headquarters where I got to fill out my picks for the weekend (which includes high school, college, and professional football games) and fill out a questionnaire for the brief blurb they’ll write about me under everyone’s picks. It’s always fun to see who the guest picker is this week, and this week it’ll be me! I’m hoping not to make a fool of myself. Supposedly there are prizes if I do so well, and I get all the available prizes if I beat every single one of the other every-week pickers. We’ll see how I do!
Later this week Jennifer and I are going to a haunted house, something which we were hoping to do this past weekend while the weather was awesome but didn’t work out. There are a couple of them out there which we are considering, but I think we’ll end up going to The Haunted School and Laboratory in Akron or Hauntville in Elyria. If we want to go to my preferred location, Carnival of Horrors, we’ll hae to wait until the weekend since it’s not open during the week. It’s been at least 5 or 6 years since I’ve been to a haunted house, so I’m pumped! Any time I get to spend time with Jennifer is a blast, especially when it’s something like this.
Have a great week, everyone! I’ll see if I can come back and make another post before Halloween, but I can’t guarantee anything.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
High school football is big right now with league championships and the playoffs all being decided in the last few weeks. Triway needs Manchester to lose to CVCA this Friday in order to claim a share of the PAC-7 title, but chances of the Panthers losing to the Royals are slim to none. But even though we may not win the league, it looks like we’re going to make the playoffs for the 3rd straight year, which will be a school record. Before Triway’s playoff appearance my junior year, we had only 1 playoff appearance in school history. Now since that 2003 campaign, the total has accumulated to 5! (including this year) We are not going to be a favorite in week 11 since we’ll be traveling to somewhere in the likes of Orrville, Genoa, or Elyria to play some very good teams. However, our kids are resilient and are able to pull something off if they put their minds and efforts into it.
How ‘bout them Browns? Wow! For the third straight season, the Cleveland Browns have beaten the defending super bowl champion. This time it was the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome! How cool, huh? Something else that is pretty cool (or ironic, or coincidental, or just plain weird!) is that just a few days ago Drew Brees, the Saints’ quarterback, had a son named “Bowen”, and on Sunday Brees was intercepted by a Browns defender with the last name of Bowens, who returned both interceptions for touchdowns. A 30-17 win is always fun to watch, especially when it’s against the defending Super Bowl champions at their place. That’s what the Browns have been like this year, though – at times they show signs of greatness and of a team that is gritty, tough, and can play with anyone (mostly in the 1st half). But whenever the 2nd half comes around, things start to fall apart, we get less aggressive, and for some reason the other team is always able to adjust and execute much better than us in the last two quarters. Coaching? Who knows? It’s just frustrating. But we beat the Saints! Now if only we could beat the Steelers or the Ravens.
Every week during the high school football season, our local paper, The Daily Record in Wooster, has a pick’em contest between all the sports writers. Every week they also have a guest picker. I got a little lucky last week when my name came up and was chosen to be the guest picker for week 10, which is this week! I just got home from The Daily Record’s headquarters where I got to fill out my picks for the weekend (which includes high school, college, and professional football games) and fill out a questionnaire for the brief blurb they’ll write about me under everyone’s picks. It’s always fun to see who the guest picker is this week, and this week it’ll be me! I’m hoping not to make a fool of myself. Supposedly there are prizes if I do so well, and I get all the available prizes if I beat every single one of the other every-week pickers. We’ll see how I do!
Later this week Jennifer and I are going to a haunted house, something which we were hoping to do this past weekend while the weather was awesome but didn’t work out. There are a couple of them out there which we are considering, but I think we’ll end up going to The Haunted School and Laboratory in Akron or Hauntville in Elyria. If we want to go to my preferred location, Carnival of Horrors, we’ll hae to wait until the weekend since it’s not open during the week. It’s been at least 5 or 6 years since I’ve been to a haunted house, so I’m pumped! Any time I get to spend time with Jennifer is a blast, especially when it’s something like this.
Have a great week, everyone! I’ll see if I can come back and make another post before Halloween, but I can’t guarantee anything.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
October 13, 2010
Android Development Begins
The last two nights I’ve spent numerous hours on development of applications for my Android cell phone – the HTC Droid Incredible. Up until this week I never really got into the development frame of mind, but a co-worker recently got the same phone as me and has motivated me to start development along with him. I have not yet made anything of any importance or value, yet, but I’m learning some things that can and will come in handy down the road. I am excited for where this is heading and really think I can develop an app or two which I can use a great deal!
My ultimate goal is to create an application that I can use on my phone that keeps statistics for a football game, allowing me to enter offensive and defensive stats, create reports, and eventually (way out in the future) sync it with MaxPreps.com where I upload stats every weekend. I'm starting very simple for now, but I think I can pull this off eventually! Tonight I made some applications that 1) allowed me to draw stuff on the screen in different colors, shapes, and sizes, 2) allowed me to click a button, select a user from my Contacts, and press another button to call that user, and 3) moved a mole around my screen every so many milliseconds, and if I tapped it in time, the screen would vibrate and speed up the moving mole or else slow down the speed to increase my chances of tapping it. It was fun, but not really applicable for what I need... yet!
Switching subjects, I just got off the phone with Jennifer to say “good night”, and all I can do is smile. I don’t know why. I’m just smiling thinking about her. She does that a lot to me! (I can hear Jennifer now… “Sorry.” Haha!) We have had a couple fun weekends already this past month and it will only continue to get busier and busier as we get closer to Halloween, football playoffs, Thanksgiving, and the holiday season in general. It’s going to be a blast, though! This past Sunday, October 10, marked nine months that she and I have been an “official” couple. It’s gone by so fast that I haven’t really had time to sit down and think how much I appreciate her and everything she stands for, and also the great way she treats me. I never thought someone could treat me so well. But she does! Thank you, Jennifer. I hope to return the favor to the best of my ability. :-)
It’s not really getting late right now (only 10:10 PM), but it feels late. I’ve even been getting good sleep lately, but I think sitting at my computer for so long after I already sit at a computer all day has been taking a toll. Maybe tomorrow night I’ll go for a run when I get back to my house. Or maybe I’ll do laundry. I don’t like to lump things together all in one night, but maybe I’ll have to. I know I’d be more efficient and productive that way, but it’s just not how my mind works. Oh well.
Anyway, nothing else is really going on right now other than the norm. Off to bed!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
My ultimate goal is to create an application that I can use on my phone that keeps statistics for a football game, allowing me to enter offensive and defensive stats, create reports, and eventually (way out in the future) sync it with MaxPreps.com where I upload stats every weekend. I'm starting very simple for now, but I think I can pull this off eventually! Tonight I made some applications that 1) allowed me to draw stuff on the screen in different colors, shapes, and sizes, 2) allowed me to click a button, select a user from my Contacts, and press another button to call that user, and 3) moved a mole around my screen every so many milliseconds, and if I tapped it in time, the screen would vibrate and speed up the moving mole or else slow down the speed to increase my chances of tapping it. It was fun, but not really applicable for what I need... yet!
Switching subjects, I just got off the phone with Jennifer to say “good night”, and all I can do is smile. I don’t know why. I’m just smiling thinking about her. She does that a lot to me! (I can hear Jennifer now… “Sorry.” Haha!) We have had a couple fun weekends already this past month and it will only continue to get busier and busier as we get closer to Halloween, football playoffs, Thanksgiving, and the holiday season in general. It’s going to be a blast, though! This past Sunday, October 10, marked nine months that she and I have been an “official” couple. It’s gone by so fast that I haven’t really had time to sit down and think how much I appreciate her and everything she stands for, and also the great way she treats me. I never thought someone could treat me so well. But she does! Thank you, Jennifer. I hope to return the favor to the best of my ability. :-)
It’s not really getting late right now (only 10:10 PM), but it feels late. I’ve even been getting good sleep lately, but I think sitting at my computer for so long after I already sit at a computer all day has been taking a toll. Maybe tomorrow night I’ll go for a run when I get back to my house. Or maybe I’ll do laundry. I don’t like to lump things together all in one night, but maybe I’ll have to. I know I’d be more efficient and productive that way, but it’s just not how my mind works. Oh well.
Anyway, nothing else is really going on right now other than the norm. Off to bed!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
September 27, 2010
Marathon Relay Complete, Next is Hocking Hills
I am sitting here at my computer watching Monday Night Countdown counting down the minutes until Monday Night Football starts on ESPN between the Bears and the Packers. I think I mentioned this last year, but it’s great having a girlfriend who not only tolerates but enjoys sitting on the couch watching football on Saturday and/or Sunday afternoons! Sure, we’re not going to do it all the time; but when the big game is on, it’s comforting knowing that she doesn’t mind it one bit. Haha! Thank you, Jenn, for being so cool. You really make me smile!
This past Saturday I ran in the Akron Marathon Relay with some co-workers. It is a 5-person relay that goes the full length of the 26.2-mile marathon. The legs’ distances are 3.5 miles, 5.7 miles, 6.3 miles, 2.8 miles, and 7.9 miles. My leg was originally scheduled to be the 3.5-mile leg, but one of the team members had a slight injury with his foot that prompted us to switch up the order to give him an easier leg. So, the team all voted for me to take his 5.7-mile leg. At first I was not thrilled at all about it since I’ve been working at our non-headquarters location for a while and had gotten out of my running routine and was not as prepared for that type of distance. However, it was best for the team, so I agreed and took on the challenge. After a few hard weeks of preparation, I think I did pretty well, running an 8:28 pace for those 5.7 miles. Normally my pace for 3.5 miles is right around 8:00 or 8:05 per mile (I ran an 8:07 pace for a 5-mile race in Canton in August, but that was when I was going well with my routine).
Anyway, our team gave our goals/predictions for how we all thought we’d do with our respective legs, and the estimated finish time came out to 3 hours, 41 minutes. On race day, though, we actually ran 3 hours, 36 minutes! The weather was perfect for a race! At the start of the race the weather called for 51 degrees, and it was very close to that, probably in the mid-50’s. It was chilly before the race began; but once your body gets going, that temperature feels great. It didn’t get windy until later in the day, so that was a plus.
Now that the big race of the year is over, it’s going to be tough to keep up the routine of running 3 times a week. However, having co-workers and our running circle of friends that motivate each other to get out there, I think I’ll be fine. That’s one of my goals this winter – to keep running through the Fall and Winter months.
OH! Jennifer and I are going to Hocking Hills this Saturday. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. It was actually my Senior year of high school during our Science Club trip. Jenn has never been there, so I am excited to expose her to the trails, cliffs, and other fascinating objects of nature. It might be cold and/or wet, but it’ll be worth it. The one thing that stinks, though, is that the night before we have a football game at Indian Valley’s varsity football field, which is in Gnadenhutten. Where is that, you might ask? It is about 20 minutes South of New Philadelphia. It’s a haul! We are going to get back late Friday night, so sleep will be at a premium this week. Ugh!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
This past Saturday I ran in the Akron Marathon Relay with some co-workers. It is a 5-person relay that goes the full length of the 26.2-mile marathon. The legs’ distances are 3.5 miles, 5.7 miles, 6.3 miles, 2.8 miles, and 7.9 miles. My leg was originally scheduled to be the 3.5-mile leg, but one of the team members had a slight injury with his foot that prompted us to switch up the order to give him an easier leg. So, the team all voted for me to take his 5.7-mile leg. At first I was not thrilled at all about it since I’ve been working at our non-headquarters location for a while and had gotten out of my running routine and was not as prepared for that type of distance. However, it was best for the team, so I agreed and took on the challenge. After a few hard weeks of preparation, I think I did pretty well, running an 8:28 pace for those 5.7 miles. Normally my pace for 3.5 miles is right around 8:00 or 8:05 per mile (I ran an 8:07 pace for a 5-mile race in Canton in August, but that was when I was going well with my routine).
Anyway, our team gave our goals/predictions for how we all thought we’d do with our respective legs, and the estimated finish time came out to 3 hours, 41 minutes. On race day, though, we actually ran 3 hours, 36 minutes! The weather was perfect for a race! At the start of the race the weather called for 51 degrees, and it was very close to that, probably in the mid-50’s. It was chilly before the race began; but once your body gets going, that temperature feels great. It didn’t get windy until later in the day, so that was a plus.
Now that the big race of the year is over, it’s going to be tough to keep up the routine of running 3 times a week. However, having co-workers and our running circle of friends that motivate each other to get out there, I think I’ll be fine. That’s one of my goals this winter – to keep running through the Fall and Winter months.
OH! Jennifer and I are going to Hocking Hills this Saturday. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there. It was actually my Senior year of high school during our Science Club trip. Jenn has never been there, so I am excited to expose her to the trails, cliffs, and other fascinating objects of nature. It might be cold and/or wet, but it’ll be worth it. The one thing that stinks, though, is that the night before we have a football game at Indian Valley’s varsity football field, which is in Gnadenhutten. Where is that, you might ask? It is about 20 minutes South of New Philadelphia. It’s a haul! We are going to get back late Friday night, so sleep will be at a premium this week. Ugh!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
September 22, 2010
Vote for Basil Marceaux.com
Well, don’t vote for him. But have you seen this guy’s videos online? Supposedly it’s legit and he is actually running for governor of Tennessee. In the case you have not yet heard of Basil Marceaux.com, here are some Youtube links to videos of him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hvaeHllwtw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOlM1pPMNBc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnx-SqMYknI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=livOU_WtQ9Q
I think it’s funny that he refers to himself as Basil Marceaux.com, always adding the “dot com” on the end. Haha! Other parts of his videos that crack me up are the following:
1) He will force everyone to own a gun. If someone does not own a gun, he will fine that person $10.
2) Supposedly, according to his web site (which does not actually look like a web site), if someone votes for him and he wins, that person will be immune from all state crimes the rest of that person’s life.
3) His method of making money is planting high-concentration vegetation on all vacant lots in the state then selling the gas produced by the vegetation.
4) His stance on health care is that dental should be included in all base health care packages. His reasoning? Straight from his web site: “.. a tooth aches hurt than a back aches and no teeths depresses people.”
5) Last but not least, I must mention his demeanor and poor public speaking skills.
I’m sure if you watch any of the above-posted videos, you’ll catch my drift. Other than Basil Marceaux.com, other videos that have caught my eye recently have been those of Flash Mob and Improv Everywhere. They are very similar to each other but also different. One day earlier this week I spent over two hours watching both of their videos on Youtube. It was a blast but probably a waste of time. Hmm. Yes, it was a waste of time. Haha!
OK. Enough about videos. Life’s been hectic but a good hectic. I’ve been really busy with work being in the other office the last month combined with doing things on the weekends (and a few week nights in between) with Jennifer. Working in the other office puts me closer to her so meeting up after work has been easier as of late! Football is still going strong for the both of us – Triway is 3-1 and looks to have a strong team yet again this season. My Browns lost again on their way to being 0-2 while her Steelers got another win to go to 2-0. Her Wolverines are 3-0, too, but my Buckeyes are 3-0 as well. I’m sure we’ll be doing some trash talking until the two big-time rivals meet up on November 27.
Ugh. My head is spinning right now, and it’s tough to stay focused, so I’m going to call it a day. Have a good one!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hvaeHllwtw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOlM1pPMNBc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnx-SqMYknI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=livOU_WtQ9Q
I think it’s funny that he refers to himself as Basil Marceaux.com, always adding the “dot com” on the end. Haha! Other parts of his videos that crack me up are the following:
1) He will force everyone to own a gun. If someone does not own a gun, he will fine that person $10.
2) Supposedly, according to his web site (which does not actually look like a web site), if someone votes for him and he wins, that person will be immune from all state crimes the rest of that person’s life.
3) His method of making money is planting high-concentration vegetation on all vacant lots in the state then selling the gas produced by the vegetation.
4) His stance on health care is that dental should be included in all base health care packages. His reasoning? Straight from his web site: “.. a tooth aches hurt than a back aches and no teeths depresses people.”
5) Last but not least, I must mention his demeanor and poor public speaking skills.
I’m sure if you watch any of the above-posted videos, you’ll catch my drift. Other than Basil Marceaux.com, other videos that have caught my eye recently have been those of Flash Mob and Improv Everywhere. They are very similar to each other but also different. One day earlier this week I spent over two hours watching both of their videos on Youtube. It was a blast but probably a waste of time. Hmm. Yes, it was a waste of time. Haha!
OK. Enough about videos. Life’s been hectic but a good hectic. I’ve been really busy with work being in the other office the last month combined with doing things on the weekends (and a few week nights in between) with Jennifer. Working in the other office puts me closer to her so meeting up after work has been easier as of late! Football is still going strong for the both of us – Triway is 3-1 and looks to have a strong team yet again this season. My Browns lost again on their way to being 0-2 while her Steelers got another win to go to 2-0. Her Wolverines are 3-0, too, but my Buckeyes are 3-0 as well. I’m sure we’ll be doing some trash talking until the two big-time rivals meet up on November 27.
Ugh. My head is spinning right now, and it’s tough to stay focused, so I’m going to call it a day. Have a good one!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
September 16, 2010
"Coughing" Up the Football?
Tonight I think I am taking Jennifer into the emergency room to have her checked out for the coughing episodes she’s been having for over a month, now. For a while it was just an annoying cough that sometimes made her short of breath; but more recently, she has had more and more pain develop in and around her side, rib, and chest area. Last night it was getting worse for her as it crept around to her back and made her stiff and in even more pain. Two nights ago we had the choice to either take her to the hospital or tough it out another night. That night we chose to stay in and see what happened in the next 24-36 hours while resting, stocking up on tea and Gatorade, and staying warm. It worked for a while got went downhill again last night, so we’re getting her checked out. I hope it isn’t anything serious. It may be a torn muscle from coughing all the time – this is what most people seem to think it is after first hearing about the issue. However, the heavier pain she’s been feeling makes us think it might either be a rib issue or something more serious. But hopefully it is nothing more than a bad cough and some stress on the rest of her body because of it.
The Wayne County Fair, famous as one of the best fairs in the state of Ohio, came to an end last night. While it was going on, though, Jennifer was able to get a taste. Saturday after the Buckeyes beat Miami, FL (woot woot!), we headed on over to the fair to check out all the vendors and get some fair food. She had never had Lerch’s donuts, so that was the first local delicacy to which she was introduced. Actually, she had eaten some before at the vendor by the old Hawkins Market; but this was real fair food, and nothing beats that! Afterward, we walked around some more, checking out tractors and livestock, until it was time to head back home. Sunday we went to church, came back home to watch the Browns and her Steelers (ugh), then headed back to the fair to get more of a glimpse in the daytime. We ended up getting some Smith’s Ruggles ice cream before heading back to her place Sunday evening. Overall, she said she really enjoyed the fair and had a lot of fun.
The Triway football team got a win last Friday against Waynedale. The Golden Bears are now 0-3, so it wasn’t that impressive for us, especially since we only won by 7 (41-34), but they have been in every game competitively, plus they are a backyard rival of ours. This week we start PAC-7 play against Tuslaw at home. The Mustangs are 2-1 like us and have a big-time passing offense like us. It looks as if the weather will hold out and allow both teams to impose their will on the other (if they so choose). If neither team’s defense steps up, there could be some rather large numbers put up on the scoreboard. I just hope we have a bigger number!
The Browns lost Sunday after starting the game looking like a legitimate NFL football team. But that didn’t last long, and the Browns eventually faded in their loss to Tampa Bay. The weekend was all good, though, since the Buckeyes beat Miami, FL on Saturday in a marquee college football match-up. The Bucks are not yet where they need to be to win the national championship (or even make it there), but the win over Miami, even with all the interceptions we needed to win, was a big confidence booster for our team. I just hope we don’t have a big let down like last year against Purdue. There are some tough games on our schedule, so it’ll be a meat grinder once we get into Big 10 play. It’s fall, so there is lots of football going on wherever you look, and I love it!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
The Wayne County Fair, famous as one of the best fairs in the state of Ohio, came to an end last night. While it was going on, though, Jennifer was able to get a taste. Saturday after the Buckeyes beat Miami, FL (woot woot!), we headed on over to the fair to check out all the vendors and get some fair food. She had never had Lerch’s donuts, so that was the first local delicacy to which she was introduced. Actually, she had eaten some before at the vendor by the old Hawkins Market; but this was real fair food, and nothing beats that! Afterward, we walked around some more, checking out tractors and livestock, until it was time to head back home. Sunday we went to church, came back home to watch the Browns and her Steelers (ugh), then headed back to the fair to get more of a glimpse in the daytime. We ended up getting some Smith’s Ruggles ice cream before heading back to her place Sunday evening. Overall, she said she really enjoyed the fair and had a lot of fun.
The Triway football team got a win last Friday against Waynedale. The Golden Bears are now 0-3, so it wasn’t that impressive for us, especially since we only won by 7 (41-34), but they have been in every game competitively, plus they are a backyard rival of ours. This week we start PAC-7 play against Tuslaw at home. The Mustangs are 2-1 like us and have a big-time passing offense like us. It looks as if the weather will hold out and allow both teams to impose their will on the other (if they so choose). If neither team’s defense steps up, there could be some rather large numbers put up on the scoreboard. I just hope we have a bigger number!
The Browns lost Sunday after starting the game looking like a legitimate NFL football team. But that didn’t last long, and the Browns eventually faded in their loss to Tampa Bay. The weekend was all good, though, since the Buckeyes beat Miami, FL on Saturday in a marquee college football match-up. The Bucks are not yet where they need to be to win the national championship (or even make it there), but the win over Miami, even with all the interceptions we needed to win, was a big confidence booster for our team. I just hope we don’t have a big let down like last year against Purdue. There are some tough games on our schedule, so it’ll be a meat grinder once we get into Big 10 play. It’s fall, so there is lots of football going on wherever you look, and I love it!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
September 9, 2010
Double Rainbow
It’s almost week 3 of high school football already. Wow! Those first two weeks of football went by fast! But if and when high school football ends, we still have college football to take us to the end of the year. Ohio State got their opening week win over Marshall as expected. However, this week is a much tougher opponent, Miami, FL. They’re going to want some revenge after what they thought was a controversial ending to the national championship almost a decade ago. Here is a poster from the national championship game at the moment the pass interference occurred, making it difficult to argue against the call the referee made. (click for full picture)
But anyway, Triway’s varsity football team got beat up last week by Orrville. Many thought we were the favorite going in, but I’m not sure really why. Newspapers were talking us up and making outlandish predictions for the post-season, but we may not even make it to the playoffs! OK. So maybe we’ll make it to the playoffs, but we will likely face another first-round exit. I’m not saying we’re a bad team, because we are not; but we are not at the same level as the others in our region right now that routinely make it to the playoffs. This Friday we host another backyard rival, Waynedale, to complete non-league play. Waynedale comes into the game 0-2, and we are 1-1. However, the Golden Bears have a good defense that I think could give us some fits with their physicality and good coaching. It will be a tough game, but I think we’ll emerge victorious. All that matters is the “W”.
Jennifer and I have been uber-busy the past few weeks! We only get to see each other on the weekends, so we make sure we’re together at those times when possible. However, sometimes when we have obligations and events going on during the weekend, it accounts for a lot of driving and hopping around from place to place. Neither of us dislikes it, but sometimes it’s nice to have a relaxed weekend, which I think this coming weekend will be. She does not work Friday, so I’m picking her up tonight, and we’re heading back to my place. I need to drop off my car at the shop for its 50,000 mile check-up, but that’s it. Friday night we have the football game. Then Saturday we don’t have much to do at all other than watch college football and probably more Everybody Loves Raymond. Sunday we’ll probably go to church but don’t have much else scheduled that day other than probably taking in a few NFL games. It’s great having a girlfriend that not only doesn’t mind, but enjoys watching sports on television. She was by herself last night at her apartment and was watching the Indians. How cool is that?
Moving on to another topic – I have changed the ring tones on my cell phone. For my call ring tone I have changed it to the Double Rainbow Remix by AutoTune. If you have not seen the original video because of which that song was made, you are missing out! Go here for the original video of a double rainbow videotaped by a guy out in the mountains. It’s hilarious if you watch the whole thing. Anyway, a group made a remix of it called the Double Rainbow Song. The actual song in the background is now out on mp3, and I have it stored on my web server. If you would like a copy, here is the link.
On my Droid Incredible there’s an app called Ringdroid which allows me to download and import music files then crop/cut them, and save the resulting clip as a ring tone or notification (text) sound. Part of the Double Rainbow song is my ring tone, and my text message notification sound is part of the ESPN SportsCenter theme. In the following clip I cut out from 0:03 – 0:06 when the three distinctive beeps will sound. It’s a pretty neat sound for text messages, I think!
That’s been the fun in my life the last few days while I’ve been doing other housework that was neglected the last few weeks. Oh. That reminds me. I need to mow tonight. It’s been exactly two weeks, but that’s about right since the Autumn season does not make my grass grow nearly as fast as the Spring season did. Boy, am I glad it’s not Spring any more! Anyway, my lunch break is almost up, so I better get going. I’ll see you on the other side of this soon-to-be-relaxing weekend.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
But anyway, Triway’s varsity football team got beat up last week by Orrville. Many thought we were the favorite going in, but I’m not sure really why. Newspapers were talking us up and making outlandish predictions for the post-season, but we may not even make it to the playoffs! OK. So maybe we’ll make it to the playoffs, but we will likely face another first-round exit. I’m not saying we’re a bad team, because we are not; but we are not at the same level as the others in our region right now that routinely make it to the playoffs. This Friday we host another backyard rival, Waynedale, to complete non-league play. Waynedale comes into the game 0-2, and we are 1-1. However, the Golden Bears have a good defense that I think could give us some fits with their physicality and good coaching. It will be a tough game, but I think we’ll emerge victorious. All that matters is the “W”.
Jennifer and I have been uber-busy the past few weeks! We only get to see each other on the weekends, so we make sure we’re together at those times when possible. However, sometimes when we have obligations and events going on during the weekend, it accounts for a lot of driving and hopping around from place to place. Neither of us dislikes it, but sometimes it’s nice to have a relaxed weekend, which I think this coming weekend will be. She does not work Friday, so I’m picking her up tonight, and we’re heading back to my place. I need to drop off my car at the shop for its 50,000 mile check-up, but that’s it. Friday night we have the football game. Then Saturday we don’t have much to do at all other than watch college football and probably more Everybody Loves Raymond. Sunday we’ll probably go to church but don’t have much else scheduled that day other than probably taking in a few NFL games. It’s great having a girlfriend that not only doesn’t mind, but enjoys watching sports on television. She was by herself last night at her apartment and was watching the Indians. How cool is that?
Moving on to another topic – I have changed the ring tones on my cell phone. For my call ring tone I have changed it to the Double Rainbow Remix by AutoTune. If you have not seen the original video because of which that song was made, you are missing out! Go here for the original video of a double rainbow videotaped by a guy out in the mountains. It’s hilarious if you watch the whole thing. Anyway, a group made a remix of it called the Double Rainbow Song. The actual song in the background is now out on mp3, and I have it stored on my web server. If you would like a copy, here is the link.
On my Droid Incredible there’s an app called Ringdroid which allows me to download and import music files then crop/cut them, and save the resulting clip as a ring tone or notification (text) sound. Part of the Double Rainbow song is my ring tone, and my text message notification sound is part of the ESPN SportsCenter theme. In the following clip I cut out from 0:03 – 0:06 when the three distinctive beeps will sound. It’s a pretty neat sound for text messages, I think!
That’s been the fun in my life the last few days while I’ve been doing other housework that was neglected the last few weeks. Oh. That reminds me. I need to mow tonight. It’s been exactly two weeks, but that’s about right since the Autumn season does not make my grass grow nearly as fast as the Spring season did. Boy, am I glad it’s not Spring any more! Anyway, my lunch break is almost up, so I better get going. I’ll see you on the other side of this soon-to-be-relaxing weekend.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
August 30, 2010
Football Has Begun
Football season has begun! This past Friday the Triway Titans started their season with an emphatic win over backyard rival West Holmes, cruising to a 48-6 victory. Last year when we opened the season at West Holmes’ field, we were up 27-7 going into the 4th quarter but gave up 21 points in that final period for what was one of the worst heartbreaking losses a Triway team has had to stomach for some time. There was no doubt last Friday, though. Our defense dominated West Holmes’ offense and would have dominated them the rest of the game had we not put in our 2nd and 3rd string defenders in the 3rd and 4th quarters. On the other side of the ball, our offense could have scored 70 points, but instead we decided to work on our ground game.
Week 1 is gone, now, and it’s time to focus on our biggest rival – Orrville. Two years ago at their place we had them on the ropes, driving for a potential game-winning drive with 3 minutes to go but fumbled the ball (and the game) away. Last year we got the first win against Orrville in a while, and it was oh so sweet! Now we have another good team, and we’re hoping to make it two in a row against Orrville. However, there is one monster of a statistic that we’ll have to overcome: Triway has never beaten Orrville at Orrville. Ever. It’s time for a change.
Anyway, today is my 24th birthday. Woo hoo! I don’t really have much planned other than work and then a fantasy football draft tonight at 7:30 PM. It kind of stinks having it right in the middle of the evening, but I’m not going to ask the league commissioner to change the draft time just for little ol’ me. Besides, it’ll be fun!
Speaking of fun, it was fun last night playing Life the board game last night with Jennifer. I lost, though. Yes – I lost in the game of Life. I was a doctor but then lost my job, became a police officer, then had to go back to school, and finally was a retired veterinarian. I had a nice log cabin and was engaged (but never married). My total assets amassed $1.15 million while Jennifer’s added up to $1.6 million. Ouch! But good for her. Haha! It was annoying having to set up the game, though. There were plastic bridges and houses we had to break out of little tinker plastic sets then hook onto the board. There were game cards and spinners and pieces of cardboard that we had to organize and set up before we could begin. It was a mess, but we finally figured it out and got to play the game. (I now own the Yahtzee, Monopoly, and Life board games.)
I’m ready to take a nap right now. I’m working in our company’s remote office today, not in our normal location. We went to Five Guys Burgers for lunch, and it was very good. But just like on Thanksgiving Day, I am ready for a nap! And it’s not even 1:10 PM yet! But my lunch break is over, so it’s time to get back to work.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
Week 1 is gone, now, and it’s time to focus on our biggest rival – Orrville. Two years ago at their place we had them on the ropes, driving for a potential game-winning drive with 3 minutes to go but fumbled the ball (and the game) away. Last year we got the first win against Orrville in a while, and it was oh so sweet! Now we have another good team, and we’re hoping to make it two in a row against Orrville. However, there is one monster of a statistic that we’ll have to overcome: Triway has never beaten Orrville at Orrville. Ever. It’s time for a change.
Anyway, today is my 24th birthday. Woo hoo! I don’t really have much planned other than work and then a fantasy football draft tonight at 7:30 PM. It kind of stinks having it right in the middle of the evening, but I’m not going to ask the league commissioner to change the draft time just for little ol’ me. Besides, it’ll be fun!
Speaking of fun, it was fun last night playing Life the board game last night with Jennifer. I lost, though. Yes – I lost in the game of Life. I was a doctor but then lost my job, became a police officer, then had to go back to school, and finally was a retired veterinarian. I had a nice log cabin and was engaged (but never married). My total assets amassed $1.15 million while Jennifer’s added up to $1.6 million. Ouch! But good for her. Haha! It was annoying having to set up the game, though. There were plastic bridges and houses we had to break out of little tinker plastic sets then hook onto the board. There were game cards and spinners and pieces of cardboard that we had to organize and set up before we could begin. It was a mess, but we finally figured it out and got to play the game. (I now own the Yahtzee, Monopoly, and Life board games.)
I’m ready to take a nap right now. I’m working in our company’s remote office today, not in our normal location. We went to Five Guys Burgers for lunch, and it was very good. But just like on Thanksgiving Day, I am ready for a nap! And it’s not even 1:10 PM yet! But my lunch break is over, so it’s time to get back to work.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
August 24, 2010
Twitter and Softball and Mowing, Oh My
I have been very busy lately with softball, house and yard work, hanging out with Jennifer, and lots of football. It’s been two full weeks since I last posted an update on this blog. I’m here now, though, so it’s A-OK! I just finished mowing my yard, which I hadn’t been able to do for twelve days! That should tell you how here-and-there I’ve been. I just got out of the shower and will be on the phone in a bit chatting with Jenn, so that’ll be a good ending to my day. Then I only have three more days until the high school football season starts! I can hardly wait for Friday night to roll around, itching for that 7:00 PM opening kickoff. Mmm…
I created a Twitter account yesterday. (Follow me at http://www.twitter.com/AndrewMarcum) For the longest time I swore I would never use Twitter since I thought it was useless; I would always say “It’s just a glorified Facebook status update.” Basically, it is! You can only have updates of 140 characters or less, and people can share or reply to those updates. However, once I joined, I found out so much more about it that I didn’t know, like the ability to “follow” people or create sub-pages with lists of certain followers similar to a newsfeed mailing list. I am going to be using Twitter this Autumn for posting and receiving scoring updates for local high school football games. I have “followed” a few other Twitter accounts from around here and in Stark County which are compiling football scores, and I plan to use those to help my never-ending endeavor to know the score to almost every game in Northeast Ohio!
Aside from creating a Twitter account, the next big accomplishment (well, more of a milestone than an accomplishment) was getting the Triway varsity football roster uploaded to MaxPreps. I’m the statistician for Triway’s football team just like I am for the varsity basketball and baseball teams; so duties such as posting rosters and stats and sometimes calling them into various newspapers falls on me. I enjoy it, though, and don’t really consider it “work” like some might. When the games start this Friday, I’ll be busy not only keeping stats for the game but also, at the same time, coordinating my text update ring of over 25 people from across Wayne, Holmes, Ashland, and Stark Counties. It’s a busy time but so much fun!
What else is going on? Umm… I don’t know, but there’s lots of stuff. I am going to Geauga Lake (or some water park, I’m not sure which) this weekend, so that will be fun. Then I have more softball this Sunday. Oh yah, last Sunday started the tournament for the double-header Sundays league in Lakewood. We won our first game in the bracket to advance into the double-elimination tournament. Then we lost our next game to get put into the loser’s bracket. Now we play this coming Sunday at 4:00 PM. If we win, we play again at 6:00 PM. However, if we lose, we are done. I finished the regular season 1st in batting average, 1st in home runs, 1st in on-base percentage, 1st in slugging percentage, 2nd in hits, 2nd in doubles, 2nd in triples, 3rd in runs scored, 3rd in walks, and 5th in RBI’s. That’s a pretty good line, if I do say so myself! Those numbers did not even include my 5-for-7 day with a walk, sacrifice fly, 3 runs scored, and an RBI in our two tournament games last Sunday. Hopefully we can get two more wins this Sunday, but sadly I don’t see that happening. We’ll find out then, though! Until then, see ya!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
I created a Twitter account yesterday. (Follow me at http://www.twitter.com/AndrewMarcum) For the longest time I swore I would never use Twitter since I thought it was useless; I would always say “It’s just a glorified Facebook status update.” Basically, it is! You can only have updates of 140 characters or less, and people can share or reply to those updates. However, once I joined, I found out so much more about it that I didn’t know, like the ability to “follow” people or create sub-pages with lists of certain followers similar to a newsfeed mailing list. I am going to be using Twitter this Autumn for posting and receiving scoring updates for local high school football games. I have “followed” a few other Twitter accounts from around here and in Stark County which are compiling football scores, and I plan to use those to help my never-ending endeavor to know the score to almost every game in Northeast Ohio!
Aside from creating a Twitter account, the next big accomplishment (well, more of a milestone than an accomplishment) was getting the Triway varsity football roster uploaded to MaxPreps. I’m the statistician for Triway’s football team just like I am for the varsity basketball and baseball teams; so duties such as posting rosters and stats and sometimes calling them into various newspapers falls on me. I enjoy it, though, and don’t really consider it “work” like some might. When the games start this Friday, I’ll be busy not only keeping stats for the game but also, at the same time, coordinating my text update ring of over 25 people from across Wayne, Holmes, Ashland, and Stark Counties. It’s a busy time but so much fun!
What else is going on? Umm… I don’t know, but there’s lots of stuff. I am going to Geauga Lake (or some water park, I’m not sure which) this weekend, so that will be fun. Then I have more softball this Sunday. Oh yah, last Sunday started the tournament for the double-header Sundays league in Lakewood. We won our first game in the bracket to advance into the double-elimination tournament. Then we lost our next game to get put into the loser’s bracket. Now we play this coming Sunday at 4:00 PM. If we win, we play again at 6:00 PM. However, if we lose, we are done. I finished the regular season 1st in batting average, 1st in home runs, 1st in on-base percentage, 1st in slugging percentage, 2nd in hits, 2nd in doubles, 2nd in triples, 3rd in runs scored, 3rd in walks, and 5th in RBI’s. That’s a pretty good line, if I do say so myself! Those numbers did not even include my 5-for-7 day with a walk, sacrifice fly, 3 runs scored, and an RBI in our two tournament games last Sunday. Hopefully we can get two more wins this Sunday, but sadly I don’t see that happening. We’ll find out then, though! Until then, see ya!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
August 10, 2010
A Bright Spot
It is now August 10th, seven months after Jennifer and I officially became part of a committed relationship. The last seven months, or nine months since we met, have been fun, exciting, trying, stimulating, and engaging at some point or another along the way. Some people have a check list of what they want in a significant other and at some point have to evaluate that person to see how he or she matches up with the expectations and/or standards set forth beforehand. For me, though, I have yet to find a reason to go to the paper to see if she is worth it. I know she is.
Jennifer makes me smile and makes me laugh. She engages me and supports me. She also makes me think. In my humble opinion, all of these things (and more) are needed for a healthy relationship. I’m thankful for the ways that Jennifer has helped make me a better and more well-rounded person. I’ve learned a lot from her, and I’m sure there are many more lessons to come (and I welcome them!) Sure, some of that may come from her “more experienced” status as an adult (to put it nicely), but that’s beside the point. Haha! Just yoking! She is only 25 years old, and I turn 24 years old in twenty days. So those who want to call her a cougar, well… by all means, go ahead! But when it comes to “robbing/rocking the cradle,” I’d say not so much. Am I that young? I like to think I don’t act or live like such.
Either way, I hope and expect that Jennifer and I will continue to push each other to become better people constantly. That encouragement and drive to never settle for mediocrity or a quasi-content, semi-productive life is something that I appreciate and look forward to. I’ve always said that someone is not right for you if neither of you have anything to contribute to help make the other a better person. I’ve found that in every aspect of our lives, Jennifer and I have pieces of ourselves that can be used to help shape the other into a better person; and I hope that we both continue to push each other to want to be better, more enjoyable, more thankful, more humble, friendlier Christians.
Don’t get me wrong; I am not talking about making or telling somebody to change. (No one should ever straight-up tell his or her significant other to do or stop doing something of which he or she is uncomfortable or unsupportive doing.) I’m just stressing the importance and invaluable meaning of both individuals being comfortable and courageous enough with each other to bring up improvement opportunities, and both understanding the other’s motives in doing such. This is not really a reflection of Jennifer and me in any specific aspect of our relationship or individual lives, nor am I lecturing or bragging about anything. I just think, in general, this principle is one that must be present, in some capacity, in every friendship and every relationship. When we stop engaging each other, when we stop pushing, when we stop caring about the betterment of ourselves and those around us (without being judgmental), that’s when things begin to crumble.
I want to be liked by everyone. I want to please everyone. I want to be enjoyable company for everyone. But in reality we know that’s not possible. Even Jesus, the One and only purely perfect Person to walk this planet and who never sinned, was despised and killed. (Woh! Step back. I don’t want anyone to think I’m making myself out to be like Jesus. No way! Sure, I always 100% strive to live my life as Jesus did and as Jesus would today, and to give Him the glory in all things; but in no way am I drawing similarities between the two of us for my own “praise”). So being perfect, other than Jesus, is not possible. But can we continually strive to be a pleasing, beneficial presence when amongst friends, family, and strangers alike? You betcha! I want to grow old knowing that I did things the right way, treated people how I (and they) wanted to be treated, made life better and more meaningful for others, and had a limited number of (or no) regrets about the decisions I made along the way. I think the last one (no regrets) is nearly impossible since hindsight is always 20/20, but it’s something for which we can always strive; Think through every decision and every phase of our lives so that when we surpass the hurdles and issues that come our way, we can be satisfied not only with their results but also how we handled them.
Anyway, I’m kind of getting off track. Today I want to talk about Jennifer and the bright spot she has been in my life. There is not much darkness here, but she has really brightened up the dim areas. I remember a little while ago when Jennifer thanked me for being in her life. One of my parents, I think my mother, saw that and, in turn, thanked Jennifer for being in my life. I think it speaks volumes about Jenn that even others can see the difference and spark she has been able to contribute to my little world. :-)
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
Jennifer makes me smile and makes me laugh. She engages me and supports me. She also makes me think. In my humble opinion, all of these things (and more) are needed for a healthy relationship. I’m thankful for the ways that Jennifer has helped make me a better and more well-rounded person. I’ve learned a lot from her, and I’m sure there are many more lessons to come (and I welcome them!) Sure, some of that may come from her “more experienced” status as an adult (to put it nicely), but that’s beside the point. Haha! Just yoking! She is only 25 years old, and I turn 24 years old in twenty days. So those who want to call her a cougar, well… by all means, go ahead! But when it comes to “robbing/rocking the cradle,” I’d say not so much. Am I that young? I like to think I don’t act or live like such.
Either way, I hope and expect that Jennifer and I will continue to push each other to become better people constantly. That encouragement and drive to never settle for mediocrity or a quasi-content, semi-productive life is something that I appreciate and look forward to. I’ve always said that someone is not right for you if neither of you have anything to contribute to help make the other a better person. I’ve found that in every aspect of our lives, Jennifer and I have pieces of ourselves that can be used to help shape the other into a better person; and I hope that we both continue to push each other to want to be better, more enjoyable, more thankful, more humble, friendlier Christians.
Don’t get me wrong; I am not talking about making or telling somebody to change. (No one should ever straight-up tell his or her significant other to do or stop doing something of which he or she is uncomfortable or unsupportive doing.) I’m just stressing the importance and invaluable meaning of both individuals being comfortable and courageous enough with each other to bring up improvement opportunities, and both understanding the other’s motives in doing such. This is not really a reflection of Jennifer and me in any specific aspect of our relationship or individual lives, nor am I lecturing or bragging about anything. I just think, in general, this principle is one that must be present, in some capacity, in every friendship and every relationship. When we stop engaging each other, when we stop pushing, when we stop caring about the betterment of ourselves and those around us (without being judgmental), that’s when things begin to crumble.
I want to be liked by everyone. I want to please everyone. I want to be enjoyable company for everyone. But in reality we know that’s not possible. Even Jesus, the One and only purely perfect Person to walk this planet and who never sinned, was despised and killed. (Woh! Step back. I don’t want anyone to think I’m making myself out to be like Jesus. No way! Sure, I always 100% strive to live my life as Jesus did and as Jesus would today, and to give Him the glory in all things; but in no way am I drawing similarities between the two of us for my own “praise”). So being perfect, other than Jesus, is not possible. But can we continually strive to be a pleasing, beneficial presence when amongst friends, family, and strangers alike? You betcha! I want to grow old knowing that I did things the right way, treated people how I (and they) wanted to be treated, made life better and more meaningful for others, and had a limited number of (or no) regrets about the decisions I made along the way. I think the last one (no regrets) is nearly impossible since hindsight is always 20/20, but it’s something for which we can always strive; Think through every decision and every phase of our lives so that when we surpass the hurdles and issues that come our way, we can be satisfied not only with their results but also how we handled them.
Anyway, I’m kind of getting off track. Today I want to talk about Jennifer and the bright spot she has been in my life. There is not much darkness here, but she has really brightened up the dim areas. I remember a little while ago when Jennifer thanked me for being in her life. One of my parents, I think my mother, saw that and, in turn, thanked Jennifer for being in my life. I think it speaks volumes about Jenn that even others can see the difference and spark she has been able to contribute to my little world. :-)
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
July 29, 2010
BMX Racing and Paintball
I’m sitting here at my computer watching an ESPN special called “The Birth of Big Air” that reminds me of the good old days of BMX. Many who know me don’t know that I used to be big into BMX riding and BMX racing. When I was 13 years old I followed in the footsteps of my then-16 year old brother Kris and got into riding bikes around town, in the yard, and anywhere else where those two wheels and pedals would take us. I was content with just riding around, but Kris took it to the next level when he started going off dirt jumps we had built in the woods and ultimately in the garden (sorry, Mom!). A few months later our family ended up building a complete quarter pipe in our driveway! Yes, in our driveway. It was pretty sweet, and Kris loved it.
Around that time, Kris got into actual BMX racing where kids on 20” wheeled bicycles raced around dirt tracks containing jumps, hills, and the like. After a while of going to racing events and watching my brother excel, I decided to get in on it. I wasn’t nearly as good as my brother, who at one time was ranked #1 in the nation in his age group and class. However, I still wasn’t too bad in my own right; I think it was the year 2000 when I placed 10th in my age group class in the state of Ohio which earned me a trip to the national event held in Columbus, OH every year called the President’s Cup where the top 10 riders in each class in each state come to one of the biggest events of the year, riding for and representing their home states. I did not do too well at the event, but I think one of the two years Kris made it he made the finals but never won anything big.
The President’s Cup may not have been Kris’ best event, but maybe the Grand National in Louisville, KY, may have been. After being ranked #1 in the country in his class, Kris went to the actual national championship event, made it to the main event race, and placed 3rd in the final. The trophy he got, although is shorter than the 6-foot trophies he and I got for qualifying for the President’s Cup, is the most awesome looking trophy ever. If you’ve never seen the collection of BMX racing and freestyle trophies my brother has, you’re missing out. Kris has always been a pioneer of the sport in our area, pushing the limits, helping design the Wooster skate park, and networking with some of the biggest names in the country. Looking back over the past ten years, it’s been fun having a somewhat famous brother whose name (Kris Marcum) can be searched on Google and have every 1st-page result be of him! YouTube is another hot spot for some of his videos, although I think you can find more posted on the sites through a search engine like Google.
With all that aside, it was a fun time of my life when we all were into bikes and having fun doing the stuff we did. Our parents supported us 100% with what was our hobby at the time, as they have always been supportive of anything us brothers have done (there are three of us). When I was in high school I got big into paintball for a while. Some friends from school and I went to play at various parks around the state and eventually competed in paintball tournaments. At Toledo Indoor Paintball we placed 1st in a 3-man rookie tournament, which was probably the highlight of my short-lived career. I still have two guns (paintball “markers”) for sale if anyone is interested. Both shoot well and are well accessorized. Feel free to contact me for any information.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
Around that time, Kris got into actual BMX racing where kids on 20” wheeled bicycles raced around dirt tracks containing jumps, hills, and the like. After a while of going to racing events and watching my brother excel, I decided to get in on it. I wasn’t nearly as good as my brother, who at one time was ranked #1 in the nation in his age group and class. However, I still wasn’t too bad in my own right; I think it was the year 2000 when I placed 10th in my age group class in the state of Ohio which earned me a trip to the national event held in Columbus, OH every year called the President’s Cup where the top 10 riders in each class in each state come to one of the biggest events of the year, riding for and representing their home states. I did not do too well at the event, but I think one of the two years Kris made it he made the finals but never won anything big.
The President’s Cup may not have been Kris’ best event, but maybe the Grand National in Louisville, KY, may have been. After being ranked #1 in the country in his class, Kris went to the actual national championship event, made it to the main event race, and placed 3rd in the final. The trophy he got, although is shorter than the 6-foot trophies he and I got for qualifying for the President’s Cup, is the most awesome looking trophy ever. If you’ve never seen the collection of BMX racing and freestyle trophies my brother has, you’re missing out. Kris has always been a pioneer of the sport in our area, pushing the limits, helping design the Wooster skate park, and networking with some of the biggest names in the country. Looking back over the past ten years, it’s been fun having a somewhat famous brother whose name (Kris Marcum) can be searched on Google and have every 1st-page result be of him! YouTube is another hot spot for some of his videos, although I think you can find more posted on the sites through a search engine like Google.
With all that aside, it was a fun time of my life when we all were into bikes and having fun doing the stuff we did. Our parents supported us 100% with what was our hobby at the time, as they have always been supportive of anything us brothers have done (there are three of us). When I was in high school I got big into paintball for a while. Some friends from school and I went to play at various parks around the state and eventually competed in paintball tournaments. At Toledo Indoor Paintball we placed 1st in a 3-man rookie tournament, which was probably the highlight of my short-lived career. I still have two guns (paintball “markers”) for sale if anyone is interested. Both shoot well and are well accessorized. Feel free to contact me for any information.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
July 27, 2010
Oreos Without Milk
.. never tasted so good! I am sitting at my computer watching television and eating the rest of a month-old pack of Oreos, but I think I deserve it. I haven’t stopped moving since Monday morning. After working Monday, I went to Triway’s 7-on-7 passing camp against Mansfield Madison. We did very well in the passing scrimmage, looking sharp on offense and holding them pretty well on the defensive end. After that I went straight into town for my softball game. It was the last game of the regular season, so there wasn’t much pressure on either team. It was obvious early as the lesser team (they) came out hot and got on top. We had to fight back the whole game and were actually down four runs going into the top of the last (7th) inning. We rallied, though, and scored four runs to tie the game and held them in the bottom of the 7th. In the top of the 8th inning (extra innings), we scored six runs to take home the victory!
After the softball game I spent two hours talking with David Taylor and Jarrod Snell, which was some very well spent time. Finally a little after 9:30 PM I got some dinner then headed home to take a shower, watch the new episode of Lie To Me (Mondays at 9:00 PM on FOX), and then headed to bed. Tuesday after work I went to the 7-on-7 passing scrimmage between Triway and Wooster @ Wooster High School. I stayed for most of it then headed back for another softball game. This time it was the opener of the double-elimination tournament. We started out hot this time and shut them down most the game. We got out of there in five innings, getting the 12-run run-rule, winning 15-3. As a team, we are starting to come along well, and I think we have a lot of confidence heading into Friday’s tournament game against the team that beat us in the first game of the regular season a few months ago. We’ll see how it goes!
Tomorrow (Wednesday) night after work I was invited to a corn hole and bocce ball get-together, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it. I need to mow my yard tomorrow night as well as get some laundry done and then go grocery shopping. I really need groceries! Finally on Thursday I think I’ll be able to relax a little bit. I think I’ll spend that time vacuuming and sweeping my house, which is something else that needs done. Once that’s completed, I’ll have some free time for the first time all week. Once Friday comes around, I’ll be back at it with my softball game at 7:30 PM.
Then sometime Saturday I will probably head on up to the Solon area to see Jennifer. She’s had a very, very tough last ten days or so dog-sitting a dog, Cocoa, that isn’t the most obedient animal ever created. Cocoa has a tendency to bark and bark and bark some more even when nothing is going on, but especially the first ten and last ten minutes after Jenn gets there and before she goes to bed. Earlier this week my better half had to drive fifteen minutes back to her apartment in the middle of the day just to get a few hours of sleep because it was so hard to do so at the dog’s owners’ house. I really feel bad for her and wish I could help her more with the dog (not that she needs help, but maybe I could at least ease her frustrations a bit).
The owners normally take Cocoa on a 30-40 minute walk twice a day, so I was able to help out with that three times this past weekend. We had lots of fun on our walks, though! The dog gave us some exercise, but we also got to check out all the nice houses along the way. No, everyone – we were NOT house shopping. Haha! (There was some confusion earlier this week.) We were just commenting on the houses we passed, our likes, our dislikes, and such. Then on the third walk we went on with the dog, Cocoa finally decided to take a dump, and Jennifer was pumped to pick it up with her Wal-Mart bags.
She has the dog until late this Friday night, and then she is free. I’m sure the first (and only) thing she’ll do when that burden is off is head straight to her apartment and get some sleep. Don’t get me wrong. She has always said how she loves dogs, and she even has another dog-sitting arrangement in a few weeks. She really enjoys it! I just think this one time was a bad time and odd situation for her. But she has and she will make it through, just like the strong woman I have to come to know she is!
Okay, so the Oreos are gone now, and my water bottle is just about empty of the ice water with which I filled it. Another few sips, and I’ll be brushing my teeth and heading to bed. I’ve got to stay up and watch the ending of this Wife Swap episode, though. This show is totally “out there” but keeps my attention at the same time. I know Jennifer watches it a lot, too. Haha! Anyway, that’s all for now.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
After the softball game I spent two hours talking with David Taylor and Jarrod Snell, which was some very well spent time. Finally a little after 9:30 PM I got some dinner then headed home to take a shower, watch the new episode of Lie To Me (Mondays at 9:00 PM on FOX), and then headed to bed. Tuesday after work I went to the 7-on-7 passing scrimmage between Triway and Wooster @ Wooster High School. I stayed for most of it then headed back for another softball game. This time it was the opener of the double-elimination tournament. We started out hot this time and shut them down most the game. We got out of there in five innings, getting the 12-run run-rule, winning 15-3. As a team, we are starting to come along well, and I think we have a lot of confidence heading into Friday’s tournament game against the team that beat us in the first game of the regular season a few months ago. We’ll see how it goes!
Tomorrow (Wednesday) night after work I was invited to a corn hole and bocce ball get-together, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it. I need to mow my yard tomorrow night as well as get some laundry done and then go grocery shopping. I really need groceries! Finally on Thursday I think I’ll be able to relax a little bit. I think I’ll spend that time vacuuming and sweeping my house, which is something else that needs done. Once that’s completed, I’ll have some free time for the first time all week. Once Friday comes around, I’ll be back at it with my softball game at 7:30 PM.
Then sometime Saturday I will probably head on up to the Solon area to see Jennifer. She’s had a very, very tough last ten days or so dog-sitting a dog, Cocoa, that isn’t the most obedient animal ever created. Cocoa has a tendency to bark and bark and bark some more even when nothing is going on, but especially the first ten and last ten minutes after Jenn gets there and before she goes to bed. Earlier this week my better half had to drive fifteen minutes back to her apartment in the middle of the day just to get a few hours of sleep because it was so hard to do so at the dog’s owners’ house. I really feel bad for her and wish I could help her more with the dog (not that she needs help, but maybe I could at least ease her frustrations a bit).
The owners normally take Cocoa on a 30-40 minute walk twice a day, so I was able to help out with that three times this past weekend. We had lots of fun on our walks, though! The dog gave us some exercise, but we also got to check out all the nice houses along the way. No, everyone – we were NOT house shopping. Haha! (There was some confusion earlier this week.) We were just commenting on the houses we passed, our likes, our dislikes, and such. Then on the third walk we went on with the dog, Cocoa finally decided to take a dump, and Jennifer was pumped to pick it up with her Wal-Mart bags.
She has the dog until late this Friday night, and then she is free. I’m sure the first (and only) thing she’ll do when that burden is off is head straight to her apartment and get some sleep. Don’t get me wrong. She has always said how she loves dogs, and she even has another dog-sitting arrangement in a few weeks. She really enjoys it! I just think this one time was a bad time and odd situation for her. But she has and she will make it through, just like the strong woman I have to come to know she is!
Okay, so the Oreos are gone now, and my water bottle is just about empty of the ice water with which I filled it. Another few sips, and I’ll be brushing my teeth and heading to bed. I’ve got to stay up and watch the ending of this Wife Swap episode, though. This show is totally “out there” but keeps my attention at the same time. I know Jennifer watches it a lot, too. Haha! Anyway, that’s all for now.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
July 20, 2010
I Missed My Dogs
I never fully appreciated the air conditioning I have at my house until this week when I was dog sitting for my parents. They do not have air conditioning (I should know, I great up in the house for over 20 years). In my house which I've had for almost a year now, the AC has been a popular feature the last few months; but it's always as easy as the touch of a button, and then I'm nice and comfortable. It isn't the same as I sit in my parents' basement typing this blog entry. The dogs are currently upstairs laying down in the kitchen, but it's too hot and muggy to stay up there or outside. Because of that, I've been lounging in the basement the last few days. Don't worry - I'm taking care of the dogs! They've been fed, taken out to go to the restroom more than enough, and been given the attention that every good dog should get. They just came in from eating dinner and hanging out in the yard, so I'm letting them chill upstairs. (I tried to get them to come into the basement with me, but they wanted to go back up. Fine.) I think I'm dog sitting until Thursday. Maybe? I'm not really sure when I stop. I'll probably find out when I'm down here in my parents' basement in a few days and I hear someone walk in the garage door saying "We're home!"
Don't get me wrong. I'm not spending all my time here. That's definitely not the case. I've been waking up early to do stuff with the dogs then stopping by my house to shower and change for work. Then after work I've been stopping by my house to do small chores like laundry or just getting a change of clothes for the night, and then heading over to my parents' to take care of the dogs. Since I'm sleeping here, there's no sense in going back to my house, so I've been hanging out down here all in my lonesome. But it's okay. I love these dogs! And I think they like me, too. It's fun, and don't think I'm complaining. I don't get to spend as much time with them as I would like, so this has been nice to "catch up" with them. Haha!
Other than dog sitting, nothing else really exciting is going on. I'm getting over some weird, quickly-developing sickness I've had since Saturday evening when I felt my throat get sore. It progressed Sunday and was joined by a headache and weakness. By Monday the throat was better but was replaced by a runny nose which has had me clutching to a Kleenex box more than usual. All in all, water, Halls, Gatorade, Kleenexes, and a cool basement have helped me not get any worse. I should be better soon. However, I haven't ran for a week now, so I'm afraid of how bad it will be for me when I get back into it during lunch at work.
This coming Sunday is the last week of the regular season for the Lakewood Sunday double-headers softball league. Then we get into the tournament. I was not able to make it this past Sunday because of being sick, but I heard that we did well! I'm excited to join the team again next week to hopefully continue what they started two days ago. My church league team is doing well, too! They came from behind to win on Monday. I'll be joining them next Monday as we play our last regular season game before that league'stournament starts. All the softball is definitely fun! I've had a blast this season just like all the others. However, when it's done, I won't be too disappointed, because it will be football season. Baseball is my favorite sport, but I think the Fall football season is my favorite season! Sure, we may only have a game one night a week, but it's so much fun. Plus, Jennifer said that she'll likely be my partner for the Triway varsity football statistician. That got me pumped since I did it by myself last year. Woo hoo for Jennifer! Thank you!
It's getting dark outside. I better go find the dogs and make sure they're not getting into any trouble. I haven't heard any pans crashing or doors slamming, so I'm thinking things are nice and calm up there as of right now. *Knock on wood* HOpefully by the next time I submit an entry (hopefully at the end of this week), I'll be feeling better. We'll see!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
July 8, 2010
Lots of Sports, and More Heat
It's hot. Very hot. I can deal with temperatures in the high 80's, and maybe a day in the low 90's; but when we get 3-4 days in a row with temps just a few degrees below 100, I get kind of miserable. Cars' air conditioning units don't see to work well enough or fast enough, houses never seem to get comfortable by bedtime, and outdoor activities become more of a hassle than an enjoyment. But with all that said, everyone is in the same situation. It's not like the weather is uber-hot just for me. Everyone is just as miserable, so I have no reason to complain. I've continued to run at work during lunch, play softball, and do yard work.
Outside of the heat, life has been great. I've been spending a lot of time with my girlfriend on the weekends, including some 4-day holiday weekends and a few camping trips and such. It's been a pleasure! I enjoy spending time with her. She and I joke with her sister that the we spend too much time together, but we really don't. We spent maybe 2-3 days a week together. That's less than half the time. I know people in many relationships that are with each other every day. Some car pool to work. Some stop by every day after work, and others talk on the phone all day during work! We don't do that. We know we have our own separate lives, and we don't let that change who we are or how we handle our relationship. I like how things are doing, and I think she does, too. We both make each other smile, and we enjoy being around each other. I think I'm a better person when I'm around her, and that's something I've always wanted. I'm happy.
In addition to the woman, softball has continued to go on. The church softball league is getting close to its end with the last few weeks of games coming up soon, with 1 makeup game and then the tournament. The Sunday double-header league in Lakewood is also closing in on the end of the season, with a few more regular season games before the tourney begins. It's been fun - both leagues - but I'm ready for them to slow down and for football to begin.
Speaking of football, I cannot wait! Triway High School football starts a week from tonight when they have a 7-on-7 passing scrimmage. I'll be missing that one since Jennifer and I will be attending an Akron Aeros game with some of my co-workers for a celebration of a work-related milestone. But then the next week there's a 7-on-7, and then another the following week. After that, talk starts to heat up about what we saw or didn't see, and then 2-a-days officially start. The week after, scrimmages begin, not only for Triway but for our opponents, as well. I have a load of scrimmages on the schedule which I plan to attend, about half of them being our own and the other half being of our opponents. It's always fun to watch as many teams as possible in the preseason so I can have an idea of what to expect when the season gets here.
I'm still the statistician for the football team, which is something I really enjoy doing. However, as of right now, I still don't have anyone committed to help me with the job. A few years ago when I started, I had a partner on Friday nights, something which is preferred and almost necessary to get the job done correctly. However, all last year I did it by myself. I still did a pretty good job, in my opinion, but I'm always willing to take a partner. I've extended one offer already, and I hope that person takes it. But if not, I'm sure I'll be able to find someone else; but even if I don't, I can do it by myself again. Stats are fun to do, and that's another part of the season I look forward to.
As I sit here in my basement on my laptop watching TV and typing my blog, all I hear about is Lebron's decision at 9:00 PM on ESPN as to where he will play basketball next year. Everyone has their opinions, but nobody knows for sure. There's the "mots logical" choice, the "most sentimental" choice, and the "best" choice. What he goes with is totally up to him, obviously. I'm not going to fret it too much. If he doesn't stay, then Cleveland goes back to what we normally expect. If he stays, then great! Either way, it'll be over in just a few hours. Woo hoo!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
Outside of the heat, life has been great. I've been spending a lot of time with my girlfriend on the weekends, including some 4-day holiday weekends and a few camping trips and such. It's been a pleasure! I enjoy spending time with her. She and I joke with her sister that the we spend too much time together, but we really don't. We spent maybe 2-3 days a week together. That's less than half the time. I know people in many relationships that are with each other every day. Some car pool to work. Some stop by every day after work, and others talk on the phone all day during work! We don't do that. We know we have our own separate lives, and we don't let that change who we are or how we handle our relationship. I like how things are doing, and I think she does, too. We both make each other smile, and we enjoy being around each other. I think I'm a better person when I'm around her, and that's something I've always wanted. I'm happy.
In addition to the woman, softball has continued to go on. The church softball league is getting close to its end with the last few weeks of games coming up soon, with 1 makeup game and then the tournament. The Sunday double-header league in Lakewood is also closing in on the end of the season, with a few more regular season games before the tourney begins. It's been fun - both leagues - but I'm ready for them to slow down and for football to begin.
Speaking of football, I cannot wait! Triway High School football starts a week from tonight when they have a 7-on-7 passing scrimmage. I'll be missing that one since Jennifer and I will be attending an Akron Aeros game with some of my co-workers for a celebration of a work-related milestone. But then the next week there's a 7-on-7, and then another the following week. After that, talk starts to heat up about what we saw or didn't see, and then 2-a-days officially start. The week after, scrimmages begin, not only for Triway but for our opponents, as well. I have a load of scrimmages on the schedule which I plan to attend, about half of them being our own and the other half being of our opponents. It's always fun to watch as many teams as possible in the preseason so I can have an idea of what to expect when the season gets here.
I'm still the statistician for the football team, which is something I really enjoy doing. However, as of right now, I still don't have anyone committed to help me with the job. A few years ago when I started, I had a partner on Friday nights, something which is preferred and almost necessary to get the job done correctly. However, all last year I did it by myself. I still did a pretty good job, in my opinion, but I'm always willing to take a partner. I've extended one offer already, and I hope that person takes it. But if not, I'm sure I'll be able to find someone else; but even if I don't, I can do it by myself again. Stats are fun to do, and that's another part of the season I look forward to.
As I sit here in my basement on my laptop watching TV and typing my blog, all I hear about is Lebron's decision at 9:00 PM on ESPN as to where he will play basketball next year. Everyone has their opinions, but nobody knows for sure. There's the "mots logical" choice, the "most sentimental" choice, and the "best" choice. What he goes with is totally up to him, obviously. I'm not going to fret it too much. If he doesn't stay, then Cleveland goes back to what we normally expect. If he stays, then great! Either way, it'll be over in just a few hours. Woo hoo!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
June 24, 2010
America's Roller Coast
Last weekend was a lot of fun. On Friday Jennifer and I got a late start since she worked until 11:00 PM, so I stayed back in Wooster for the evening doing work around the house and watching some late softball games. However, I met up with Jenn afterwards since we needed to leave from her place Saturday morning when we left for Cedar Point which is where my workplace's company outing was. "America's Roller Coast" was a blast, and much better than last year. In 2009 I went by myself and had nobody to walk around or meet up with, so it was lonely and not the most fun. However, one thing that was good about last year was that since I was alone, I could go at any pace I wanted. I took advantage and rode every ride in the park except the Mantis by 4:00 PM which is when our company picnic was. After that, I walked aorund a bit more, then went home. This year was much different. First of all, I had my girlfriend with me, so that was a start. Then I already had it planned to call Craig when I got there and meet up with his group, the same guys and gals that I play poker and frisbee with. There ended up being 10 of us altogether: Me, Jennifer, Craig, his wife Kristin, Nino, his wife Shellie, Steve, his girlfriend Stephanie, Brian, and Dan. There were a few rides that 3 of the girls didn't want to ride, and Jennifer and I broke off for a bit after the 4:00 company picnic to ride the water rides; but other than that, the 10 of us were together all day long. The company picnic was fun, as well. Jenn and I got some good food including fried chicken, pulled pork, hot dogs, baked beans, cookies, ice cream, and pop. Between the time we got in line to when we left our seat after the meal and raffle prizes, we met lots of people from work, chatted, and had a good time. After leaving Cedar Point at about 8:00 PM or so that night, we went over to the hotel and swam in the pool and hot tub for another 2 hours before Jennifer and I finally headed back to her apartment.
Sunday was another long day. We got to sleep in a little bit until 10 or so, but afer getting ready, we packed up for the day and went to Hinckley Reservation in Hinckley, OH, in the southern part of the Cleveland Metroparks. It was a pretty sweet place with a huge lake, a swim hold, creek, lots of trees, some open grass/fields, and lots of room to picnic and hang out. We were there on Father's Day with my parents, both brothers, their wives, and Kris' wife Annie's family. Jennifer and I got there early but couldn't find Kris, Annie, and the family; eventually my parents and other brother Rod and his wife Mandi and their daughter Keira showed up, and we all found out where Kris and them were. We went and found them then cooked out, played corn hole, threw the frisbee, went and swam, and had a real good time. Around 6:15 or so, we left to head to Lakewood where I had two softball games at 8:00 and 9:00 PM. We lost both games but I hit the ball pretty well. I just checked stats for our league (http://bgsd.com/softball/stats/2010/lw-L4-sun-eve-men-10.shtml) and my team Sofa Kings, and I am 4th in batting average, 4th in on base percentage, 3rd in slugging percentage, 2nd in runs scored, 2nd in doubles, 1st in triples, 1st in home runs, and 3rd in walks. Finally in week 6 of the season I was Sofa Kings Player of the Week! It's not about stats, though. It's fun playing two games back-to-back. It'd be better if they weren't on Sundays breaking up the weekend, but it's still fun playing at different fields every couple of weeks. The competition is decent, too, which makes it more fun.
This week has gone by quickly. Things at work are going well. The projects I'm on are coming along well, too. Just now, as I was typing this blog, I began to feel sick. Over the past 2 hours I've spent my time going back and forth between hunching over the toilet and rolling around on the couch with pain in my stomach, so I think it's time to get to bed. I just finished watching the 1st round of the NBA draft forgetting that the Cavs did not have a 1st round pick. What a waste of time.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
Sunday was another long day. We got to sleep in a little bit until 10 or so, but afer getting ready, we packed up for the day and went to Hinckley Reservation in Hinckley, OH, in the southern part of the Cleveland Metroparks. It was a pretty sweet place with a huge lake, a swim hold, creek, lots of trees, some open grass/fields, and lots of room to picnic and hang out. We were there on Father's Day with my parents, both brothers, their wives, and Kris' wife Annie's family. Jennifer and I got there early but couldn't find Kris, Annie, and the family; eventually my parents and other brother Rod and his wife Mandi and their daughter Keira showed up, and we all found out where Kris and them were. We went and found them then cooked out, played corn hole, threw the frisbee, went and swam, and had a real good time. Around 6:15 or so, we left to head to Lakewood where I had two softball games at 8:00 and 9:00 PM. We lost both games but I hit the ball pretty well. I just checked stats for our league (http://bgsd.com/softball/stats/2010/lw-L4-sun-eve-men-10.shtml) and my team Sofa Kings, and I am 4th in batting average, 4th in on base percentage, 3rd in slugging percentage, 2nd in runs scored, 2nd in doubles, 1st in triples, 1st in home runs, and 3rd in walks. Finally in week 6 of the season I was Sofa Kings Player of the Week! It's not about stats, though. It's fun playing two games back-to-back. It'd be better if they weren't on Sundays breaking up the weekend, but it's still fun playing at different fields every couple of weeks. The competition is decent, too, which makes it more fun.
This week has gone by quickly. Things at work are going well. The projects I'm on are coming along well, too. Just now, as I was typing this blog, I began to feel sick. Over the past 2 hours I've spent my time going back and forth between hunching over the toilet and rolling around on the couch with pain in my stomach, so I think it's time to get to bed. I just finished watching the 1st round of the NBA draft forgetting that the Cavs did not have a 1st round pick. What a waste of time.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
June 16, 2010
Good Players Make a Good Coach
Life's been busy, but it's been fun. One thing taking up my time on Mondays and Wednesdays has been me coaching a junior high summer league basketball team in the Triway Summer League on the outdoor Kiper Courts. It's a fun summer basketball league with a Junior High and an Adult division, played on two different outdoor courts. It's a big community event, and kids, adults, and teams come from surrounding communities to take part. My team of 7th-to-9th graders to-be is doing pretty well, sitting at 4-1. Our only loss came when we were missing our 3 best players due to baseball conflicts. We only have 7 players as it is, so we played with 4 guys that game and faced one of the most dominant players in the league, which didn't help. We have two more regular season games and then the tournament begins. We have a good chance to make some noise, but hopefully we can continue to play well and not miss too many kids. It's exciting to have a pretty good team, since the last few years I haven't been so lucky. We'll see what happens!
I just found out that I have the next two Fridays free, so now it's up to me to find out what I want to do with them. Well, this Friday is free - next Friday I have a softball game, so that's something, I guess. My nights may be busy during the week, but when I get home it's still kind of boring. Like tonight, for instance - I got home from my basketball game, took my shoes and socks off, and got on my computer to check Facebook and watch TBS..? Oh, I did get an M&M McFlurry on the way home, so that was some excitement. I guess I shouldn't complain about having a boring home life when I am home, since I'm only home a few hours a day. I love being busy, but I just wish I had more things of substance to do when I was here other than mow the yard and do laundry. But I must say... My yard looks awesome! Haha. That's all for now. Nothing creative today. Please don't stop reading my blog. I promise something neat will be coming soon. I promise! Oh, Cedar Point Saturday!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
I just found out that I have the next two Fridays free, so now it's up to me to find out what I want to do with them. Well, this Friday is free - next Friday I have a softball game, so that's something, I guess. My nights may be busy during the week, but when I get home it's still kind of boring. Like tonight, for instance - I got home from my basketball game, took my shoes and socks off, and got on my computer to check Facebook and watch TBS..? Oh, I did get an M&M McFlurry on the way home, so that was some excitement. I guess I shouldn't complain about having a boring home life when I am home, since I'm only home a few hours a day. I love being busy, but I just wish I had more things of substance to do when I was here other than mow the yard and do laundry. But I must say... My yard looks awesome! Haha. That's all for now. Nothing creative today. Please don't stop reading my blog. I promise something neat will be coming soon. I promise! Oh, Cedar Point Saturday!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
June 10, 2010
Church League Isn't That Bad
I just got home from an 8:30 PM softball game at Four Square softball field next to Wal Mart in Wooster. The weekday games that I have are part of our church league, which has always been very competitive. However, I never knew just how competitive it really was until I recently ventured out into other organized leagues around the area. Our church team, Ripley Church of Christ, has been playing very well lately and would be very competitive in the other open league I'm playing in currently. Tonight we won 17-5 in 6 innings, advancing our record to 4-1 and giving us our 2nd run-rule victory of the season (the other two victories were clutch, come-from-behind wins). I'm really liking our team. Top-to-bottom in the lineup, all the players know how to play the game, they hustle, and they work hard at the game. I am pleasantly surprised with our play on the defensive end, as well. I'm sure we'll lose a few more games before the regular season ends, but our team definitely has potential and could get a good seed for the tournament in a month or two. (it's a much shorter league than the other one I'm in on Sundays, which lasts all Summer)
It's encouraging knowing that I think I've gotten over the hump of trying to hit the softball. I've always had a good swing and good bat speed, but I never really knew how to hit a softball really well. Lately, though, I kind of had an "Ah-ha!" moment when I was at the plate, I adjusted some things with my swing, and I have been hitting the ball on the nose ever since. I just want to get out there and keep playing and see how long this streak can last. We don't have any more church league softball left this week, but I'm super excited to play this Sunday for our Lakewood team, Sofa Kings, at 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM at Usher Field. We play a team that is 7-1, so we'll need to bring our A-game; but we are definitely capable of beating anybody! Here's hoping to getting a split this Sunday, or maybe even getting two upset wins. Who knows!
When I got out of the shower tonight, I immediately put duct tape on my right ring finger, between the base of the finger and the first knuckle, to cover up a wart that I've had there for almost a year. I used to have a wart on another finger on the other hand a long while ago and killed it by covering it with duct tape for about a week, depriving it of oxygen. It eventually died, and I was able to pull it out (not pretty!). I'm hoping the same will happen with this one eventually. It's not as developed as the other one was, though, so I'm not sure if it's sticking out of my finger far enough to be pulled out once it dies... but I'll find out. Haha. I'll keep you updated, 'cuz I'll be pumped when this thing is finally out of my body.
I think that's about all I have right now that's going on. Soon, though, football season will be creeping up on us, and we all know how exciting the football season can get. I cannot wait! Oh, I am playing my first game of ultimate Frisbee this year tomorrow in Akron. I used to play just about every Friday last year, but I haven't been able to go yet this year because of baseball and other obligations that happened to fall on Friday. But I'm finally free, and I'm excited to get out there, throw the Frisbee around, run it down some, and get a workout. That's the thing about ultimate Frisbee - it's fun, but, boy, is it a workout!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
It's encouraging knowing that I think I've gotten over the hump of trying to hit the softball. I've always had a good swing and good bat speed, but I never really knew how to hit a softball really well. Lately, though, I kind of had an "Ah-ha!" moment when I was at the plate, I adjusted some things with my swing, and I have been hitting the ball on the nose ever since. I just want to get out there and keep playing and see how long this streak can last. We don't have any more church league softball left this week, but I'm super excited to play this Sunday for our Lakewood team, Sofa Kings, at 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM at Usher Field. We play a team that is 7-1, so we'll need to bring our A-game; but we are definitely capable of beating anybody! Here's hoping to getting a split this Sunday, or maybe even getting two upset wins. Who knows!
When I got out of the shower tonight, I immediately put duct tape on my right ring finger, between the base of the finger and the first knuckle, to cover up a wart that I've had there for almost a year. I used to have a wart on another finger on the other hand a long while ago and killed it by covering it with duct tape for about a week, depriving it of oxygen. It eventually died, and I was able to pull it out (not pretty!). I'm hoping the same will happen with this one eventually. It's not as developed as the other one was, though, so I'm not sure if it's sticking out of my finger far enough to be pulled out once it dies... but I'll find out. Haha. I'll keep you updated, 'cuz I'll be pumped when this thing is finally out of my body.
I think that's about all I have right now that's going on. Soon, though, football season will be creeping up on us, and we all know how exciting the football season can get. I cannot wait! Oh, I am playing my first game of ultimate Frisbee this year tomorrow in Akron. I used to play just about every Friday last year, but I haven't been able to go yet this year because of baseball and other obligations that happened to fall on Friday. But I'm finally free, and I'm excited to get out there, throw the Frisbee around, run it down some, and get a workout. That's the thing about ultimate Frisbee - it's fun, but, boy, is it a workout!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
June 8, 2010
11 Days
This Tuesday morning I left for work, leaving my girlfriend Jennifer at her apartment. After work today I went home to my house, marking the 1st day since Friday, May 28, that Jennifer and I did not spend the day together. That's 11 days in a row! I know it's not anything outstanding or to marvel at; but for Jennifer and me, who live 59 minutes from each other and normally only get to see each other on weekends, it was a big deal and a lot of fun!
The stretch started two Fridays ago when I met up with her, and her friend Danielle, and Danielle's boyfriend Pete, as we walked around Chagrin Falls for the Blossom Festival, which was basically a carnival. Jenn and I had some awesome Italian sausage while Danielle and Pete had an elephant ear (I think) and some French fries. Well, I think I ate most of their French fries since they forced me to. Haha! The next day Jennifer and I left early with her sister Amanda, going to Andover in extreme Northeast Ohio to camp for the Memorial Day weekend. While there we met up with their mother Deborah and other friends of their family. Jenn and I had a good time raking and blowing leaves, putting up tents, making fires, roasting “gigungous” marshmallows, watching ducks walk on top of fish, and playing putt-putt, cornhole, Apples to Apples, and Phase 10. It was relaxing and fun, and we needed a weekend like that. Monday we traveled into Jenn’s home town of Conneaut for their Memorial Day parade where I met her ex-fiancé, Adam, who is in the military and also attended the parade/ceremony. We got back Monday evening in time to have Amanda's boyfriend Kevin come over to have dinner... the four of us (Amanda, Kevin, Jennifer, and me) had stromboli that Jenn and Amanda made, and then we hung out on the patio watching the thunderstorm roll in.
Originally Jennifer was supposed to work that Tuesday, but she got a late, late text telling her she no longer had to work; and since she and I were leaving for Columbus Thursday morning and she had nothing else going on until then, she came to stay with me at my place for the next two days to ease the logistics. I worked Tuesday and Wednesday while she stayed at home during the day doing anything she wanted. Thursday morning she and I got up bright and early and left for Columbus, Ohio, where we were going to watch the Ohio High School baseball state championships! There were four games on Thursday: the DIV and DIII state semifinals; four games on Friday: the DI and DII state semifinals; and four games on Saturday: all four state championship games. It was a LOT of baseball and a LOT of sun! Saturday's games got cut in half due to severe storms, so we stayed in Columbus an extra day to watch the rest of the games finish on Sunday. The night before (Saturday night) we were able to stay over at her Aunt Judy's house since our hotel was only booked for Thursday and Friday night... plus it saved us some money and was just outside of Columbus! Overall on the weekend we saw 12 games and spent 43 1/2 hours at the ball park. Wow! But we had an absolute blast, no matter how burnt we are now!
We didn't get back to my house Sunday night until about 10:30 or 11:00 PM, so we decided, since Jennifer didn't work Monday, that she would stay at my place that night. I went to work Monday while she stayed at home and did her laundry from the weekend (since it costs money to do it at her apartment). That night (last night) we went to my summer basketball league where I coach a junior high basketball team. Our team is pretty good but didn't have all our kids there last night, so we did not win.
Anyway, I took Jennifer up to her place after the game where Amanda had made dinner for us. Then we watched a movie about two gay guys, and went to bed. I got up in the morning, got ready for work, and headed off to "the grind" straight from her place. So, that was a summary of the last 11 days, all of which were fun and would not be taken back for anything!
The week ahead still holds a non-stop schedule: a softball game tonight, another basketball game tomorrow, a softball game Thursday, possibly ultimate Frisbee with Craig (from work) and some of our common friends, the (Craig) Wheeler Poker Tour (aka WPT) Saturday night with that same group, then a softball double header Sunday. Man, my life never stops - I swear! One of these days I’ll get a break... maybe. Haha! I've always said, though, that I love being busy and that I'd take being busy over being bored ANY DAY. I still stand by that, no matter how tired I may get or how unbearably heavy my eyelids may be. It's time for me to go now and maybe get a nap.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
May 25, 2010
I'm Not Alone
I am so frustrated right now, but I need to watch what I say and how I say it. Thankfully I have someone in my life that can calm me with a simple "Hi" or a wink in a text message (with no nose, of course). It's been so long since I had someone I could rely on to be there to help me out of a mental or emotional slump. I personally think I'm very tough to get bothered, and it's difficult to get under my skin; but when it happens, it really happens. In the past, it's just been me in my lonesome, and I did fine. But now that I have someone there in my corner helping me and supporting me along the way whenever (if ever) it happens, it's so much easier to forget about the trivial things when someone's there that makes me smile! I relish every moment when I get to give back and support her through the thick and thin in her life, as well. I am so thankful for Jennifer and everything she means to me!
I think that about sums it up. :-)
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
I think that about sums it up. :-)
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
May 17, 2010
The Mother of All Weekends
It was one long weekend! They say time flies when you're having fun, but I think it's the complete opposite when you're driving, which I did a lot of between leaving work Friday afternoon and finally arrive back at work this Monday morning. My blue '08 Volkswagen Rabbit took me on a 745.3-mile adventure over the last three days, and I am spent! Here is how the weekend panned out:
Friday:
4:00 PM - I got off work and drove straight to Northwestern High School for our tournament baseball game. We were down 2-0 going into the top of the 7th (last) inning and scored 3 runs, but gave up 1 to them in the bottom half, to take the game into extra innings. In the top of the 8th inning we scored 3 more runs to get the 6-3 victory. We play state-ranked Canton Central Catholic this Wednesday at Norwayne HS in the district semi-final.
6:30 PM - I left the baseball field and went straight back to work, since I forgot my race packet for Saturday morning's 5k in Columbus.
7:15 PM - I left work, stopped by Subway for dinner, then went home. I cleaned up the house a little bit (basically organizing/packing clothes since I knew I had a long weekend ahead of me), and cleaned out the car a little bit.
9:45 PM - When packing for Saturday's race, I realized that I had forgotten my running shoes in my locker at work, so I drove back into work for those. Once my plant locker had been raided to get the necessary items for the next day, I went back home for the night.
Saturday:
5:00 AM - I left my house and headed for Columbus to participate in the Komen Race for the Cure 5K. The race itself started at 8:30; but with an estimated 50,000 participants, the city shuts down, roads close, and parking garages fill up quickly! Because of that, we were encouraged to get to Columbus by 7:00 AM to ensure a parking spot before all the roads shut down... and boy, was I glad I did! The event ended up attracting 50,286 participants, a new record! I couldn't believe how crazy it was! We had the option to purchase a timing chip for $5 when we initially signed up. I declined; and I'm glad I did, because it would have been hard to get a good time trying to manuever through the crowd and dodge people the whole race. I ran in the 2nd wave (runners without chips) and probably passed 10,000 people in the next 26 or so minutes. It was a blast, and I'll be doing it again!
9:30 AM - I left Columbus and started heading back home. Of course, though, like every other trip to Columbus, I had to stop at Skyline Chili in the Polaris Parkway. I got there at 9:45, but they didn't open until 10:00 AM, so I hung around for a few minutes. After getting my 4-way with bean, I went across the street to McDonald's for an M&M McFlurry, then headed home.
12:00 PM - I stopped by my parents' house on the way home to say "Hi," give my mother her Mother's Day card (yes, I know it was late!), and to see if they had my favorite pair of dress pants that I can't find. No luck with that, but everything else went well. I finally got back to my place in time to gather a few things up and settle down for a bit.
3:05 PM - I left my house and headed to Jennifer's apartment to pick her up after she got off work so we could go to the BBQ at my brother Kris and his wife Annie's house, which started at 5:00 PM.
4:05 PM - Jennifer and I left her apartment, stopped at Giant Eagle to get some potato salad for the BBQ, then headed into the Cleveland/Lakewood area to Kris and Annie's house by 5:00 PM. We had a great time there with the extended family, hanging out inside and outside, playing games with small wiffle balls (I beat Jennifer both games, but she took me to extra innings in one of them), and eating good food.
8:30 PM - We left the BBQ and headed to Wal Mart to pick out a present for Keira, my niece, whose birthday party was the following day. After spending some time there trying to decide, we finally got back to Jennifer's apartment. We were first thinking of catching a showing of "Date Night" with Steve Carell and Tina Fey, which looks hilariuos! However, we both had had a LONG day and were absolutely spent. In fact, we both almost fell asleep leaning against the living room wall watching some children playing the Wii at the BBQ, and that's when we knew we wouldn't make it through a movie. So instead of going to watch a movie, we camped at Jennifer's place Saturday night to catch up on some much-needed sleep.
Sunday: (yes, we're only to Sunday)
1:15 PM - After sleeping in (Yay!), Jennifer and I headed off to my house so I could shower, pick up some things, and pack for the rest of the day.
2:30 PM - We left my house and went to Mom and Dad's to wrap Keira's birthday presents. After wrapping them, we left for my brother Rod and his wife Mandi's house in Holmes County for the birthday party, which started at 3:30. It was a fun celebration for Keira's birthday, but it was kind of crowded and VERY loud! Luckily I looked at my clock and saw it was 5:04 PM, and we had to get going, so we jetted.
5:04 PM - Jenn and I left Rod and Mandi's and headed non-stop to Ursuline College in Cleveland so we could meet up with Jennifer's friend Nicole to pick up a TV and stand.
7:10 PM - After loading the TV and stand into my car, we drove directly to the softball field in Lakewood for my double header softball games at 8:00 and 9:00. We lost both games, but were missing some key players, and our team didn't hit or field too particularly well, either. But every team has an off night, so we chalked it up as just that. Haha! We'll be back at it next week and hopefully get a few wins to get us back on track. Oh, I forgot one of my cleats at the field, but luckily it was picked up by someone we knew, and I'll get it next week at our game.
10:00 PM - After dropping both softball games, Jennifer and I drove back to her apartment. It was late, so I stayed the night there so I could get some sleep before work the next day.
Monday:
6:30 AM - I left Jennifer's apartment and drove straight to work in Orrville, completing the weekend.
Zzzz... Now this week ahead I have baseball games scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with the Indians game Friday for Jennifer's birthday, and another softball double-header Sunday. Zzzz...
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
Friday:
4:00 PM - I got off work and drove straight to Northwestern High School for our tournament baseball game. We were down 2-0 going into the top of the 7th (last) inning and scored 3 runs, but gave up 1 to them in the bottom half, to take the game into extra innings. In the top of the 8th inning we scored 3 more runs to get the 6-3 victory. We play state-ranked Canton Central Catholic this Wednesday at Norwayne HS in the district semi-final.
6:30 PM - I left the baseball field and went straight back to work, since I forgot my race packet for Saturday morning's 5k in Columbus.
7:15 PM - I left work, stopped by Subway for dinner, then went home. I cleaned up the house a little bit (basically organizing/packing clothes since I knew I had a long weekend ahead of me), and cleaned out the car a little bit.
9:45 PM - When packing for Saturday's race, I realized that I had forgotten my running shoes in my locker at work, so I drove back into work for those. Once my plant locker had been raided to get the necessary items for the next day, I went back home for the night.
Saturday:
5:00 AM - I left my house and headed for Columbus to participate in the Komen Race for the Cure 5K. The race itself started at 8:30; but with an estimated 50,000 participants, the city shuts down, roads close, and parking garages fill up quickly! Because of that, we were encouraged to get to Columbus by 7:00 AM to ensure a parking spot before all the roads shut down... and boy, was I glad I did! The event ended up attracting 50,286 participants, a new record! I couldn't believe how crazy it was! We had the option to purchase a timing chip for $5 when we initially signed up. I declined; and I'm glad I did, because it would have been hard to get a good time trying to manuever through the crowd and dodge people the whole race. I ran in the 2nd wave (runners without chips) and probably passed 10,000 people in the next 26 or so minutes. It was a blast, and I'll be doing it again!
9:30 AM - I left Columbus and started heading back home. Of course, though, like every other trip to Columbus, I had to stop at Skyline Chili in the Polaris Parkway. I got there at 9:45, but they didn't open until 10:00 AM, so I hung around for a few minutes. After getting my 4-way with bean, I went across the street to McDonald's for an M&M McFlurry, then headed home.
12:00 PM - I stopped by my parents' house on the way home to say "Hi," give my mother her Mother's Day card (yes, I know it was late!), and to see if they had my favorite pair of dress pants that I can't find. No luck with that, but everything else went well. I finally got back to my place in time to gather a few things up and settle down for a bit.
3:05 PM - I left my house and headed to Jennifer's apartment to pick her up after she got off work so we could go to the BBQ at my brother Kris and his wife Annie's house, which started at 5:00 PM.
4:05 PM - Jennifer and I left her apartment, stopped at Giant Eagle to get some potato salad for the BBQ, then headed into the Cleveland/Lakewood area to Kris and Annie's house by 5:00 PM. We had a great time there with the extended family, hanging out inside and outside, playing games with small wiffle balls (I beat Jennifer both games, but she took me to extra innings in one of them), and eating good food.
8:30 PM - We left the BBQ and headed to Wal Mart to pick out a present for Keira, my niece, whose birthday party was the following day. After spending some time there trying to decide, we finally got back to Jennifer's apartment. We were first thinking of catching a showing of "Date Night" with Steve Carell and Tina Fey, which looks hilariuos! However, we both had had a LONG day and were absolutely spent. In fact, we both almost fell asleep leaning against the living room wall watching some children playing the Wii at the BBQ, and that's when we knew we wouldn't make it through a movie. So instead of going to watch a movie, we camped at Jennifer's place Saturday night to catch up on some much-needed sleep.
Sunday: (yes, we're only to Sunday)
1:15 PM - After sleeping in (Yay!), Jennifer and I headed off to my house so I could shower, pick up some things, and pack for the rest of the day.
2:30 PM - We left my house and went to Mom and Dad's to wrap Keira's birthday presents. After wrapping them, we left for my brother Rod and his wife Mandi's house in Holmes County for the birthday party, which started at 3:30. It was a fun celebration for Keira's birthday, but it was kind of crowded and VERY loud! Luckily I looked at my clock and saw it was 5:04 PM, and we had to get going, so we jetted.
5:04 PM - Jenn and I left Rod and Mandi's and headed non-stop to Ursuline College in Cleveland so we could meet up with Jennifer's friend Nicole to pick up a TV and stand.
7:10 PM - After loading the TV and stand into my car, we drove directly to the softball field in Lakewood for my double header softball games at 8:00 and 9:00. We lost both games, but were missing some key players, and our team didn't hit or field too particularly well, either. But every team has an off night, so we chalked it up as just that. Haha! We'll be back at it next week and hopefully get a few wins to get us back on track. Oh, I forgot one of my cleats at the field, but luckily it was picked up by someone we knew, and I'll get it next week at our game.
10:00 PM - After dropping both softball games, Jennifer and I drove back to her apartment. It was late, so I stayed the night there so I could get some sleep before work the next day.
Monday:
6:30 AM - I left Jennifer's apartment and drove straight to work in Orrville, completing the weekend.
Zzzz... Now this week ahead I have baseball games scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with the Indians game Friday for Jennifer's birthday, and another softball double-header Sunday. Zzzz...
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
May 8, 2010
Almost Tournament Time, Again
I got to sleep in today, which felt great! I just didn't think I'd sleep in until 11:00! Wow! Anwyay, our baseball team beat up on Wooster last night, 14-3 in 5 innings. It's always nice not only to beat a rival but to embarrass them on their home field, especially with the way they were acting. But enough about that. Our baseball team is now 17-6 heading into the last week of the regular season, with the tournament starting Wednesday, as well. We've been hitting better as of late, and we'll need to keep it up if we want to make a run in the tournament. I know I sound like a broken record, but it's true. I can't wait for Wednesday (and hopefully Thursday, which we'd play if we win the day before)!
I have poker tonight at Craig's as part of the Wheeler Poker Tour (WPT), so hopefully I'll make a good showing and maybe even bring home some dough like last month when I bought in with $20 and went home with $96.50. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I am going to stop by my mother's house (I think) and wish her a Happy Mother's Day, and then head up to Lakewood for two softball games at 4 and 5. Later that night I'm probably hanging out with Jennifer for a while. She and her mother (and others) are going to the Cleveland Zoo for Mother's Day, which should be fun for them!
Not much else has been going on, lately. I got to mow my yard Thursday before the rain came the day after. The grass is growing insanely fast! I normally mow my yard once a week with no problem, but on Thursday there were so many grass clippings left over, I had to rake them up and filled a black garbage bag 1/2 way up and dumped it in the cornfield across the road from my house. I can't stand having that extra grass laying around after mowing. Ugh! Well, I better get going. I need to get a shower so I can head into town for a Mother's Day card then spend some time with Jenn (not sure what we're doing today) before poker tonight.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
I have poker tonight at Craig's as part of the Wheeler Poker Tour (WPT), so hopefully I'll make a good showing and maybe even bring home some dough like last month when I bought in with $20 and went home with $96.50. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I am going to stop by my mother's house (I think) and wish her a Happy Mother's Day, and then head up to Lakewood for two softball games at 4 and 5. Later that night I'm probably hanging out with Jennifer for a while. She and her mother (and others) are going to the Cleveland Zoo for Mother's Day, which should be fun for them!
Not much else has been going on, lately. I got to mow my yard Thursday before the rain came the day after. The grass is growing insanely fast! I normally mow my yard once a week with no problem, but on Thursday there were so many grass clippings left over, I had to rake them up and filled a black garbage bag 1/2 way up and dumped it in the cornfield across the road from my house. I can't stand having that extra grass laying around after mowing. Ugh! Well, I better get going. I need to get a shower so I can head into town for a Mother's Day card then spend some time with Jenn (not sure what we're doing today) before poker tonight.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
May 2, 2010
Strawberries Mean It's Softball Season
I am sore. Haha! But I wouldn't have it any other way. We got in both our softball games tonight, despite the 70-90% chance of precipitation we had when we checked the weather forecast earlier this morning. The further into the day we got, the lower the chances got, so we couldn't have been more fortunate to get them in. The games went well, and my teammates were all very fun to play with. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season. The first game started off well as we made a mini-comeback and got the win 12-10. The second game didn't go as well, though, as our opponent got its bats going, and we couldn't, as we fell 13-3 in 6 innings. For the day I think I did pretty well for it being my first outing in a while. I went 3-for-5 with a double and 2 runs scored (should have been 3 runs scored, but the umpire called me out in a close play at the plate where I was definitely safe). I also had a blast in the outfield chasing down fly balls and had a few nice catches (well, at least I think so!). Another double header next Sunday (it's a double header league). I was really glad to get out and play some ball today.
Baseball has been going well, but we dropped 2 of 3 games this weekend at our annual Ryan Kearney Classic. Our record stands at 14-6. We fell to state-ranked (#2 in DIII) Clear Fork 4-3 in extra innings then dropped a game to Northwestern after it was a 1-run game going into the 7th inning. After those two losses, we bounced back and took down Loudonville 12-3. The tournament seeding was today. We got the #3 seed behind state-ranked Hillsdale and the Northwestern team that just beat us. We play Black River first, and then the winner of Northwestern and Black River (I think). We'll see how it goes. We have a good team and can make some noise, but so can everyone (as we've learned). Go Titans!
Everything else has been going well. Just working, baseball, and mowing during the week, and then more baseball and hanging out with Jennifer when I can during the weekends. I love being busy!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
Baseball has been going well, but we dropped 2 of 3 games this weekend at our annual Ryan Kearney Classic. Our record stands at 14-6. We fell to state-ranked (#2 in DIII) Clear Fork 4-3 in extra innings then dropped a game to Northwestern after it was a 1-run game going into the 7th inning. After those two losses, we bounced back and took down Loudonville 12-3. The tournament seeding was today. We got the #3 seed behind state-ranked Hillsdale and the Northwestern team that just beat us. We play Black River first, and then the winner of Northwestern and Black River (I think). We'll see how it goes. We have a good team and can make some noise, but so can everyone (as we've learned). Go Titans!
Everything else has been going well. Just working, baseball, and mowing during the week, and then more baseball and hanging out with Jennifer when I can during the weekends. I love being busy!
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
April 27, 2010
Things Going Well All Around
There has been lots of stuff going on lately, but all good stuff! Last week our baseball team got a few wins but then had our 11-game winning streak stopped when we lost both games of a double header to drop to 11-4. However, we came from behind to win tonight at home to advance to 12-4 on the season with another game Wednesday, then one Friday and two Saturday. If we can get out the rest of the week with only 0-2 losses, it'd be a success, I think! The team has been playing well, especially pitching and in the field. Our bats are coming along (12 hits tonight), so we'll see where that takes us. We have some tough games coming up. I'm sure the tournament draw comes up in a few weeks, so every win is important for seeding.
After baseball Saturday I had poker in Wadsworth as a part of the Wheeler Poker Tour with some friends I met through Craig from work. The series is pretty sweet. We play a "No Limit Texas Hold'em" tournament once a month at either Craig's house in Akron or Steve's house in Wadsworth. We probably average 10-12 people per tournament, and we keep stats every night - who gets knocked out, what time that person got knocked out, and who did the knocking out, etc. - and keep standings throughout the year based on calculations and rankings. Last year I won the regular season championship, and in the end-of-season championship tournament, I placed 2nd, so I had a successful year. This season I started off poorly. The first tournament I played in 2 or 3 months ago didn't start well. I had other things on my mind and didn't play my game and ended up getting knocked out first. But since then I've placed 4th (in the money, 12 people) and 1st (12 people) this past Saturday when I put in $20 and went home with $96.50. The current standings were sent out yesterday, and I'm in 2nd behind Craig. I'm playing well right now and look forward to the next tourney on May 8th, I believe.
My first slow-pitch softball league of the year starts this Sunday in Lakewood. My woman's best friend's boyfriend asked me to be on the team, so that's how I got into a league so far from home. It's going to be exciting, though, as I'm finally getting back into decent shape and have been getting active again. I can't wait to get up to plate and swing the bat a little and run around in the outfield chasing fly balls, one of my favorite things to do in the Spring! It will also be great having my girlfriend Jenn there cheering me on, too, which is something I've never had before and makes me feel all fuzzy inside. Haha! I just need to make sure I don't try to do too much and impress the new teammates I will be meeting (or Jennifer). I just need to relax, have fun playing the game I love, and play the way I know I can, and it'll all be okay.
Speaking of Jennifer, things between us have been going very well, too. We had a good talk the other night that I'm thankful for, and we will be better off because of it. She makes me so very happy, no matter if I'm at home watching the Cavs and getting a random funny text message or when we're together and she tells me I'm a "goof" to my face. We just have so much fun together (and even when apart, sometimes). Oh, the nerve she has. Haha! But seriously, though, she treats me better than anyone I can remember (okay, maybe my parents treated me better than ANYONE). She has so many things that I want in a woman, and it's refreshing to see it in her. It stinks that we only get to see each other on the weekends since we live 59 minutes apart; but we make it work for us, and that's all that matters! .. Right?
Ahh, crap. I just remembered that I saw one of my best friends at the baseball game tonight. I'm busy in between innings, but I wanted to catch him after the game to say "Hi" but I totally forgot by the time the game was over. Darnit! If you're reading this, Dave, try to stay after next time if you can so we can chat some, if you want. Anwyay, I think that's all I have for tonight. I'll catch everyone later.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
After baseball Saturday I had poker in Wadsworth as a part of the Wheeler Poker Tour with some friends I met through Craig from work. The series is pretty sweet. We play a "No Limit Texas Hold'em" tournament once a month at either Craig's house in Akron or Steve's house in Wadsworth. We probably average 10-12 people per tournament, and we keep stats every night - who gets knocked out, what time that person got knocked out, and who did the knocking out, etc. - and keep standings throughout the year based on calculations and rankings. Last year I won the regular season championship, and in the end-of-season championship tournament, I placed 2nd, so I had a successful year. This season I started off poorly. The first tournament I played in 2 or 3 months ago didn't start well. I had other things on my mind and didn't play my game and ended up getting knocked out first. But since then I've placed 4th (in the money, 12 people) and 1st (12 people) this past Saturday when I put in $20 and went home with $96.50. The current standings were sent out yesterday, and I'm in 2nd behind Craig. I'm playing well right now and look forward to the next tourney on May 8th, I believe.
My first slow-pitch softball league of the year starts this Sunday in Lakewood. My woman's best friend's boyfriend asked me to be on the team, so that's how I got into a league so far from home. It's going to be exciting, though, as I'm finally getting back into decent shape and have been getting active again. I can't wait to get up to plate and swing the bat a little and run around in the outfield chasing fly balls, one of my favorite things to do in the Spring! It will also be great having my girlfriend Jenn there cheering me on, too, which is something I've never had before and makes me feel all fuzzy inside. Haha! I just need to make sure I don't try to do too much and impress the new teammates I will be meeting (or Jennifer). I just need to relax, have fun playing the game I love, and play the way I know I can, and it'll all be okay.
Speaking of Jennifer, things between us have been going very well, too. We had a good talk the other night that I'm thankful for, and we will be better off because of it. She makes me so very happy, no matter if I'm at home watching the Cavs and getting a random funny text message or when we're together and she tells me I'm a "goof" to my face. We just have so much fun together (and even when apart, sometimes). Oh, the nerve she has. Haha! But seriously, though, she treats me better than anyone I can remember (okay, maybe my parents treated me better than ANYONE). She has so many things that I want in a woman, and it's refreshing to see it in her. It stinks that we only get to see each other on the weekends since we live 59 minutes apart; but we make it work for us, and that's all that matters! .. Right?
Ahh, crap. I just remembered that I saw one of my best friends at the baseball game tonight. I'm busy in between innings, but I wanted to catch him after the game to say "Hi" but I totally forgot by the time the game was over. Darnit! If you're reading this, Dave, try to stay after next time if you can so we can chat some, if you want. Anwyay, I think that's all I have for tonight. I'll catch everyone later.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
April 21, 2010
Two Frustrating Dreams
I had some funny dreams last night, and I wanted to get them on paper before I forgot. The one that was the most frustrating was the first one I had. Some friends and I had just parked my car in a parking garage and were walking through the garage on our way to Jacob's Field (well, Progressive Field, I guess) when we saw a few juveniles pointing at us, smirking, laughing, and then running off in the direction of where we parked. I told my friends I believed they were about to do something to our car(s) after noticing we were tourists/guests, but my friends thought I was crazy. I just had a gut feeling, though, and went running after them. However, I couldn't find where I parked my car, so I took the steps to go up a deck to see if my car was up there. Just when I started walking up the stairs, I got a call on my cell phone from a guy who was talking with a slurred voice and asking me questions about a Service Request I had just submitted for work with Oracle (a company we use for many of our products).
Anyway, we weren't getting anywhere with our conversation, and after what seemed like forever of trying to understand him and giving him the same answer over and over, I found myself at the top of the steps on the roof leaning against a dry-erase board shielding me from what was behind it (what was on top of the roof). Then the person on the phone asked me something about the Vietnamese president, and I vehemently responded that I don't get into politics. Then I looked up the steps in front of me, and stepping up to a podium was the Vietnamese president himself, Nguyen Minh Triet. This freaked me out, and I jumped, knocking over the dry-erase board, allowing me to see the huge crowd on the roof of the building as well as all the cameras and other hoopla. I was shocked so I ran back down the stairs asking the guy on the phone what was going on. All of a sudden, I could hear the guy on the phone clearly and in perfect English, and he proceeded to tell me that he was just keeping me on the phone as long as he could since he was calling from one of those phone numbers that charges an insane amount of money per minute. I was furious and hung up immediately! I never found my car or my friends, and thus never saw the baseball game.
I woke up at around 2:00 AM from that dream and was really glad it was just a dream. Then I fell back asleep shortly thereafter just in time for my next dream. I don't remember all the details, but I remember starting out some guy was at my house and stole somebody from me and was holding that person hostage at his house. So one night I got on a bicycle and rode over to his house to save the stolen person. As I was pedaling down his driveway, I looked to my right and saw the person through a large glass window, sitting on a chair, tied up and gagged. I also noticed that the bad guy was not at home, only the hostage. However, out of the corner of my eye on the left, I saw the shiny glare off of something down by a swingset further down the dark driveway. So instead of pulling up to the house, breaking in, and taking the person to safety, I speedily ramped down to the left and picked up what looked like a gray laptop computer. Once I had the laptop, I forgot about the person in the house and secretively crept off the property, taking the laptop back to my house.
The next day the man came back to my house looking for the laptop computer. He was furious, banging on my kitchen door with all his might! So what did I do? I stood on the other side of the door and pounded back! Then he'd pound on the door, then I'd pound on it again. This went back and forth for a while, even though I was really scared standing up to this guy on the other side of the door. After a bit, I finally had the idea to call 9-1-1, since I was being robbed, assaulted, or whatever else he would have done had he gotten inside. When he looked through the little window in the door and saw I was on the phone, he went around to the front yard. I didn't realize it, but the front door that leads to the yard was open, and all I had was the clear glass door. I saw him walking dejectedly off my property. So me, being stupid and cocky at the same time, banged on my door. Duh! So he looked back and saw that there was just the little measley see-through door between me and him. He ran up to the door and reared back like he was going to punch through the door. But he stopped halfway through his motion and walked away. I was safe! Then I woke up, and it was about 4:30 AM.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
Anyway, we weren't getting anywhere with our conversation, and after what seemed like forever of trying to understand him and giving him the same answer over and over, I found myself at the top of the steps on the roof leaning against a dry-erase board shielding me from what was behind it (what was on top of the roof). Then the person on the phone asked me something about the Vietnamese president, and I vehemently responded that I don't get into politics. Then I looked up the steps in front of me, and stepping up to a podium was the Vietnamese president himself, Nguyen Minh Triet. This freaked me out, and I jumped, knocking over the dry-erase board, allowing me to see the huge crowd on the roof of the building as well as all the cameras and other hoopla. I was shocked so I ran back down the stairs asking the guy on the phone what was going on. All of a sudden, I could hear the guy on the phone clearly and in perfect English, and he proceeded to tell me that he was just keeping me on the phone as long as he could since he was calling from one of those phone numbers that charges an insane amount of money per minute. I was furious and hung up immediately! I never found my car or my friends, and thus never saw the baseball game.
I woke up at around 2:00 AM from that dream and was really glad it was just a dream. Then I fell back asleep shortly thereafter just in time for my next dream. I don't remember all the details, but I remember starting out some guy was at my house and stole somebody from me and was holding that person hostage at his house. So one night I got on a bicycle and rode over to his house to save the stolen person. As I was pedaling down his driveway, I looked to my right and saw the person through a large glass window, sitting on a chair, tied up and gagged. I also noticed that the bad guy was not at home, only the hostage. However, out of the corner of my eye on the left, I saw the shiny glare off of something down by a swingset further down the dark driveway. So instead of pulling up to the house, breaking in, and taking the person to safety, I speedily ramped down to the left and picked up what looked like a gray laptop computer. Once I had the laptop, I forgot about the person in the house and secretively crept off the property, taking the laptop back to my house.
The next day the man came back to my house looking for the laptop computer. He was furious, banging on my kitchen door with all his might! So what did I do? I stood on the other side of the door and pounded back! Then he'd pound on the door, then I'd pound on it again. This went back and forth for a while, even though I was really scared standing up to this guy on the other side of the door. After a bit, I finally had the idea to call 9-1-1, since I was being robbed, assaulted, or whatever else he would have done had he gotten inside. When he looked through the little window in the door and saw I was on the phone, he went around to the front yard. I didn't realize it, but the front door that leads to the yard was open, and all I had was the clear glass door. I saw him walking dejectedly off my property. So me, being stupid and cocky at the same time, banged on my door. Duh! So he looked back and saw that there was just the little measley see-through door between me and him. He ran up to the door and reared back like he was going to punch through the door. But he stopped halfway through his motion and walked away. I was safe! Then I woke up, and it was about 4:30 AM.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
April 20, 2010
Blog, or Call Girlfriend? Blog!
Haha! So tongue-in-cheek! Don't worry. Earlier tonight my Facebook status read "Andrew Marcum is doing laundry, vacuuming his house, putting things away, having dinner, and then writing a short blog entry on his day off from extra-curricular activities." I got all that stuff done except writing an entry for this blog. I got sidetracked watching Tosh.0 on Comedy Central for a few hours after watching some Colbert Report before that (while laundry was being done, etc.). Anyway, I lost track of time. I told my girlfriend I'd call her in a few, but I was brushing my teeth and realized I hadn't owned up on my Facebook status, yet. And we all know how important Facebook statuses are! Oh, some of that wasted time was spent on www.Lamebook.com, too, which is a rather funny site if I do say so myself.
I knew if I called my girlfriend right away that I would not get back on my computer to post my blog, so I figured I'd give everyone (well, the few people that read this) an not-so-important update. I got lots done today both at work and at home, including returning my new Mizuno spikes for a different size. Now I'm all ready for softball season! Last night's baseball game at Fairless was alright. We won 4-3 to advance to 9-2 overall, but it wasn't pretty. We were up 4-0 going into the bottom of the 7th when we had 2 errors that led to them scoring 3 and making it a tense finish. But we won, and that's all that matters. We get them again tomorrow night (Wednesday) at home for a chance to get our 10th win in a row. *Knock On Wood*
That's all I had for now. I just wanted to get on here and say "Hi", not that anyone is really reading this anyway. But some day it will be fun to come back and read it, right? Haha! Off to call the woman. Later.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
I knew if I called my girlfriend right away that I would not get back on my computer to post my blog, so I figured I'd give everyone (well, the few people that read this) an not-so-important update. I got lots done today both at work and at home, including returning my new Mizuno spikes for a different size. Now I'm all ready for softball season! Last night's baseball game at Fairless was alright. We won 4-3 to advance to 9-2 overall, but it wasn't pretty. We were up 4-0 going into the bottom of the 7th when we had 2 errors that led to them scoring 3 and making it a tense finish. But we won, and that's all that matters. We get them again tomorrow night (Wednesday) at home for a chance to get our 10th win in a row. *Knock On Wood*
That's all I had for now. I just wanted to get on here and say "Hi", not that anyone is really reading this anyway. But some day it will be fun to come back and read it, right? Haha! Off to call the woman. Later.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
April 18, 2010
Bad Food, Good Company, and More Baseball
It's been a good weekend thus far. Friday after work I headed up to Solon to be with Jennifer. For dinner we went to Champps with her three best friends, Danielle, Lauren, and Nicole, along with Lauren's boyfriend Chris and Danielle's new boyfriend Peter, who we were there to meet. It was a good night of talk, and not so good night for food. I ordered an appetizer (buffalo chicken strips) and an entrée (Havana sandwich), and Jennifer had an entrée as well (chicken ranch wrap). Jennifer's Cherry Coke was very flat, and she had to settle for a normal Coke, a drink she does not like at all (she prefers Pepsi big time!). Then I didn't get my appetizer until the rest of everyone's meals came. To make matters worse, with my entrée, I asked for my favorite food, mashed potatoes, instead of french fries. When my meal came, the mashed potatoes were lukewarm, dry, and very crumbly. Also, the Havana sandwich I ordered was not hot, either. Lucky for me, the assistant waiter asked if I would want my appetizer taken off the bill since it wasn't brought before the other food. Normally I wouldn't have asked for such a favor; but since he offered, I would have been stupid not to have agreed. Overall, though, it was a great night to hang out with everyone and meet Peter, as well.
Saturday back in Wooster I had a double header at home (Triway) against Smithville. Jennifer was with me, so she got to watch the games from the stands while I was with the team. I felt kind of bad leaving her by herself; but she loves baseball and enjoyed watching the games (or so I believe, haha!). Afterward, we both were exhausted and just hung out in my living room watching television for most the rest of the cold, overcast day. She fell asleep on the couch while I watched the Cavs beat the Chicago Bulls in the first playoff game. Then we watched Gladiator while we made routine trips to the basement to help complete her laundry, which I offered to let her do at my house for free instead of her paying for it at her apartment. It only made sense for me to help her save what would have been at least $9.00 of washer and dryer fees.
It's Sunday, and we're getting ready to leave for church in a little bit. (It's a good thing my church has an 11:30 service, 'cuz Jenn loves to sleep in!) It's going to be a busy upcoming week for me. We play at Navarre Fairless on Monday, home against Fairless on Wednesday (both are league games), under the lights at our biggest rival Orrville on Friday night, and then a double header Saturday against two good Mansfield-area teams. After our sweep of Smithville yesterday, we are 8-2. Our hitting finally came alive for 23 hits in 2 games Saturday, something which hasn't been the case much of the year as our pitching and defense has won us most our games. If we can combine our pitching and a new-found hitting approach, we could be dangerous. We'll see what happens! That's all I have for now. It's going to be a great week, I have a feeling.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
Saturday back in Wooster I had a double header at home (Triway) against Smithville. Jennifer was with me, so she got to watch the games from the stands while I was with the team. I felt kind of bad leaving her by herself; but she loves baseball and enjoyed watching the games (or so I believe, haha!). Afterward, we both were exhausted and just hung out in my living room watching television for most the rest of the cold, overcast day. She fell asleep on the couch while I watched the Cavs beat the Chicago Bulls in the first playoff game. Then we watched Gladiator while we made routine trips to the basement to help complete her laundry, which I offered to let her do at my house for free instead of her paying for it at her apartment. It only made sense for me to help her save what would have been at least $9.00 of washer and dryer fees.
It's Sunday, and we're getting ready to leave for church in a little bit. (It's a good thing my church has an 11:30 service, 'cuz Jenn loves to sleep in!) It's going to be a busy upcoming week for me. We play at Navarre Fairless on Monday, home against Fairless on Wednesday (both are league games), under the lights at our biggest rival Orrville on Friday night, and then a double header Saturday against two good Mansfield-area teams. After our sweep of Smithville yesterday, we are 8-2. Our hitting finally came alive for 23 hits in 2 games Saturday, something which hasn't been the case much of the year as our pitching and defense has won us most our games. If we can combine our pitching and a new-found hitting approach, we could be dangerous. We'll see what happens! That's all I have for now. It's going to be a great week, I have a feeling.
Smile! May God continue to bless you.
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