If he doesnt get called up next week, dont tell me i jinxed him. His phone will ring or wont depending on what the sox brass make of what his season has been, and how he's been looking over the past few weeks. With that being said, I'll venture to state that last night was the last time I'll have the excitement of sitting in the stands at McCoy and watching out of the corner of my eye as MB again and again picked me out of the mosaic of fans. I hadnt been there for pre or post MB start games in weeks so it had been a while since we'd played that game, and seeing as how it's generally assumed that he'll be in Boston very soon, i should have made the most of last night. I've always wondered about this eye footsie that takes place. It's one thing for him to expect me to be there, and to look through the crowd to spot me; it's another thing for him to continually glance over across the park to .. i dont know. To see what i'm doing? When I notice it, I sometimes try to at least put on a little show... tap my hands on my legs to the song playing over the sound system, shout some brief encouragement to whoever's up to bat, stretch... because what else is there to see? During a ballgame, I sit still for the most part, shifting every 10 minutes or so to one of several positions, and I score the game. But I've even got a couple witnesses to this strange phenomenon, not that there's been any doubt left in my mind for a long time of the realness of these occurrences. It's usually obvious enough when he's looking at me sitting in section 1 from his vantage point in section 6 or 7, but it's all the more blatant when i'm in section 3 (because of the angle). He's essentially craning his neck to his right, pretty much behind him. Being undoubtedly the final time this little dance will happen in 2009, and possibly ever, I should have spun to face him (he turns his head definitively in my direction; i face the mound and watch out of my peripheral) or held up a page reading HI or something similar. I've only sat with him twice, and I'm never completely good with doing that... usually I'm afraid I'm gonna get bounced by those over-zealous ushers. Also, when I'm sitting with someone else I have a hard time tracking with the game at all. Still, I love sitting with people who know more about the technicalities of the game than I do. I've become friends with the guy who tapes at-bats for the team, and patches them together and does a bit of analysis on them. His name is Max and he actually graduated from Bucknell one year after two of my best friends, Kearah and Adam, did. Listening to guys like MB and Max talk is refreshing and exciting, because otherwise all I hear all-day-every-day is rollercoast opinions from people who often dont really know, but whose speculations and points of view are somehow generally taken as fact. I get tired of it- i want to know what happened, not just what you have to say about what happened. The Boston media as a unit is a force, that's for sure. I just dont tend to buy it.. which is why I like to get my facts and, yes, even opinions from ballplayers and not as much from reporters.
Man, my writing is already all over the place. Should be an interesting rest of the entry.
I saw a guy on the T a few days ago who looked so smooth in his Dodger blue hat. He was also wearing a similarly-blue t-shirt with white lettering on it, though it wasnt a Dodgers shirt... made me want to get a Billingsley T. I've had to put my like for TX on hold in light of all this wild card stuff, so the Dodgers are getting an extra dose of lovin from me.
The next week will be madness, as if the entire summer hasnt already been. My room is packed away and I plan to completely empty it by noon tomorrow to finish my move to Roxbury. Just for a month, while I finish up at my current job. I'm subletting the room that I'm in right now until January, when I'll come back to Boston and resume life. (Or at least that's the plan, barring any job offers before 2010 from within MLB.) After the move, I'm heading to Foxboro to watch the Revs with a good friend and some of his other friends for his birthday. Softball for tomorrow was cancelled as of this evening so that frees up some time around 3pm. Sunday, church, and then I'm taking my grandma to her first Red Sox game at Fenway! We have incredible seats. I hate hate hate Ace Ticket for how much of a rip-off they are, but I needed seats and I needed them in advance. Craigslist was not helping me. The money spent will be worth it but it's sickening. I like the people I've dealt with at Ace, I like them a lot, but it is really terrible how much they charge per ticket. I realize that this isnt how I make a living, but I can draw some good $$ when I sell tickets wisely- mutually beneficial deals. Why arent we all trying to help each other out instead of just being concerned over getting the better end of the deal? Seriously Ace. $369 for 2 loge seats. Yes, I purchased them so it's ultimately on me, no question. I never ever would have if i didnt have that $200 gift card.
Then September comes, rosters expand, lester bobblehead night happens in portland on 9/2/09, i try to fit as many minor league games in as i can before they're done for the season, and, grin, friday i'm in newburyport on a daaaate. ooooo-oooh. i've been part of a lot of ambiguous date-like situations over the past couple years, but this is very clear-cut. we'll see how it goes. ...and it doesnt end there, as i keep heading north that night to Maine to attend the wedding of my friend from high school to a woman he's been dating for ... 4? 5? years now. Gonna be a fun weekend. During the day on Saturday, they have all kinds of games planned out for us- kickball and the like. It's actually a weekend-long affair, being held at a rented-out summer camp. Everything that they've come up with sounds like it will make for a celebration to remember. My friend Dave, who's birthday is today and who's celebrating tomorrow with/at the Revs game (shhhh, it's a surprise) is also getting married that day. There was no right answer as to which wedding I should attend. I'm closer to Dave at this point in my life, but Jeff is such a long-time friend. Figures that the only weddings I've been invited to this year happen to be on the same day.
As of Monday, my workplace's non-existent dress code (as in, sweatpants/flip flops/cleavage/see through white shirts/tshirts were all allowed... i will dearly miss the flip flops and tshirts, but those of you who know me know that i dont dress provocatively, hah) becomes an existent dress code. We are moving, someday, or so they keep telling us (we were supposed to be in our new location as of last friday).. and the new place is in the financial district, in a nice building, so we have to "adapt to our new environment". I was out sick yesterday and missed the official rundown of the dress code during our staff meeting, so i've only got a memo to go off of. Noticeably absent from mention are flip flops. Also, corduroys. Things that we can and cant wear were detailed so I have hope that both of these articles are still acceptable. But no shorts, except for "dress shorts" (?? i dont really know what those are I guess).. definitely no tshirts. clothing is to be "neat, clean, and pressed"... or something along those lines. Hah. It's one thing to take a job where you know that this will be the standard. You know the rules up front. But the fact that we're having a dresscode wasnt even announced to us until last week! Talk about a serious lifestyle change- no, really, it is. All of the clothing I have out is very casual. I wear the same 4 pairs of shorts, intermixed with a few skirts and dresses. I snag a tank top, or if everything's dirty, a nice tshirt, and head out the door without thinking twice. Flip flops from April through October. Hair? Sometimes, like today, in pigtail braids (you cant wear pigtail braids when you're dressed up like a young professional, that's just silly). I know that I have it in me, but it's more that I never saw it coming. I have one more month at this place and it's going to be tough adjusting for that short period of time.
But really, there's no choice.
I need to spend some time tomorrow catching up on emails and facebook messages. People are starting to followup with me via text/calling to make sure i received their latest note. And that just defeats the purpose. For now, I'm going to fall asleep to the sound of gentle rain outside and the thought of games to come over this next month.
I love you, Boston.
2nd game of the 2009 season
Red Sox vs Rays
Fenway Park
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