Barb's Burblings

The curtain falls (thankfully)

I was there on April 4, when the Orioles began their season. It was really good for a couple months. I was there last night, as they packed it in before the final series of the season, in Tampa Bay. It was really bad for a couple months.

Last night was really the ideal kind of game for the situation. I wasn't really rooting for the Orioles to win, but I didn't want them to lose. The Yankees needed to win to keep their 1 game lead over Boston, so I wanted the Yankees to win. But I hate seeing the O's lose. It worked out well. New York scored a lot early in the game, so I could whole-heartedly cheer for the Orioles to come back. It didn't work; the O's lost 8-4. And it was sad without Brian playing (who, by the way, won Oriole of the Year for 2005).

It's hard being an O's fan. We all hate Angelos. A lot of people say that fans should boycott, but that doesn't sit well with me. I don't support Angelos, but I support the guys--Brian and Miggy and Javy and Melvin and the rest. (Well, except Kline, because he sucks.) (And Julio.) (OK, there might be a few more.) The thought of them play to these tiny crowds makes me sad. So, come April 3, when the O's open the season against the Devil Rays, I'll try to be there.

Of course I'll follow the playoffs and such, but the baseball season is over. Right now I'm bucking myself up by reading The Boys of Summer. And with any luck (ha!), maybe there'll be some interesting developments during the offseason. But...I'm not holding my breath.

Current song in my head:
"Iko Iko" by Zap Mama

Mail call

The dealership that I got my Prius continues to be sweet. The other day I got a nice card:

Happy anniversary! You and your Toyota Prius have been together for a year now and we want you to enjoy it for a long time to come!

Awww.

Of course, the same day, I got this letter:

Dear Barbara,

As I understand it, your birth date is 11/4/1978, which means that you have a birthday coming up pretty soon...Happy Birthday!

This might be a great time to buy a new life insurance policy.

I was cool with the first paragraph. I'll accept birthday wishes from anyone, even over a month in advance. But...no. I already have life insurance, which I get billed for on my birthday every year (Happy birthday!). I actually have two policies. But, nice try. Nothing like sales pitches with heart.

Tales from the HOSC

HOSC was pretty quiet yesterday, which was nice, because it gave me time to chat with the visitors and the other people working. There was a nice older couple from Australia who were on an extended tour of the United States; they had been here for 5 weeks or so already, and had another 2 to go. Their trip was supposed to culminate at a Sweet Adelines conference...in New Orleans. Whoops. So it quickly was moved...to Detroit. Ouch. Nothing against Detroit, but...dang. I did tell them that the Detroit airport is lovely, with its monorail-esque transportation. That's my entire firsthard experience with Detroit. So they have that to look forward to. Lucky, lucky them.

I am jealous of the extensive trip. I'd love to tour around Australia for a bit, myself.

Happy coincidence

So when I was looking to see whether Brian Stokes Mitchell had released a solo album, I saw that he was on a recording of Kiss of the Spider Woman. "Huh," I thought. "I wonder if he's on the version I have." This was harder to ascertain than it should've been, because my version is a tape of a friend's copy (i.e., no cast listing). So I had to listen to clips on Amazon.com and pretty quickly realized that yep, I had the version with him on it. It's kind of bizarre that I hadn't noticed it before (though admittedly, I hadn't listened to it in ages). Mostly because there's a point in Ragtime and a point in Kiss that his character yells out an anguished "Nooo!" after someone's death. Same scream. And much better than Anakin's in Revenge of the Sith. Anyway, I was happy. The more Stokes, the better!

Time confusion

This week has just totally thrown me off. Monday I tutored like normal, but then I had to go to Germantown to meet with the Tutoring Goddess. Then I wound up coming home and working until 12:30 on the Stupid Book That I Hate But Thank God I'm Almost Done With Now. Tuesday I had my book club, which just totally threw me off. Normally I have book club on Thursday, so that just led to confusion. Which wasn't helped by the fact that I worked from home on Wednesday, and then started tap again, which I haven't done since...May? June? May, I think. And tonight I started with a new tutoring student. I'm just totally discombobulated. Then on Sunday I have HOSC, which I haven't done since July. And I should go to the grocery store, as I have practically no food. Ah well.

Argh! No! The commercial that my coworker is in is on tv right now!

Current song in my head:
"Elevation" by U2

I am very, VERY upset

Roberts suffers dislocated elbow

He's undoubtedly out for the season. As you can imagine, I am not pleased. Luckily I was at book club when this happened, so didn't watch it happen. By the time I turned the game on, they knew he had dislocated the elbow; here's hoping the ligaments are OK. Poor boy.

OK, now I will try to focus on the "positives":
1. The season has less than two weeks left, so he isn't going to miss a LOT of time
2. He's going out with a .314 average, which isn't too shabby
3. He went out on a high note, with a 2 RBI triple
4. ...

I can't think of anything else. Oh, Brian.

After the game, the players were not focused on the defeat, but rather on losing a teammate. Third baseman Melvin Mora, whose locker is next to Roberts', was saddened.

"I don't know what to say about that situation, especially losing one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball; it's tough," Mora said. "There's a lot going on this year, and this is a big one. You lose Brian Roberts -- it's like losing half the team."

Roberts finished the season with a .314 batting average, 18 homers and 73 RBIs -- all career highs -- as he established himself as one of the league's top second basemen.

Glub glub

My alarm went off this morning and I already felt overwhelmed, and nothing that's happened since has really helped to alleviate that feeling. This stupid book still sucks and is just getting more confusing (33 figures in one chapter? sure!) and it needs to be done, so guess what I'll be doing tonight? Oh, besides tutoring, then meeting to prep for another student (a student, I might add, I wasn't given a choice in taking on; I was basically just told that I'd have him--more money is good, but I'd appreciate a say in the matter, and I don't particularly like having to tutor two nights a week plus Saturday). Not that I wanted to watch Arrested Development or anything, thanks. And since Goddess of the Tutoring is totally booked tomorrow and Wednesday, I have no choice. Ugh. And tomorrow I have book club and Wednesday I have tap. Both of those are things I enjoy but when the stress level is already really high...I don't want to deal with it. Or anything. I want to hide in bed. And the coworker who was featured in a local commercial (one of those "people on the street" ones) and has since wandered around the hallways singing that company's theme isn't helping. It might be the week of the mental health day.

I know this sucked gramatically, but I don't care right now. So nyah!

Still dreaming of paradise

OK, Brian Stokes Mitchell needs to come live in my apartment so he can sing for me whenever I want him to. He was, quite simply, phenomenal. Good Lord. His voice. Sooo good. He closed with "Impossible Dream," which I'd seen him perform before. (Still awesome.) But seeing him sing "Wheels of a Dream"? "This Nearly Was Mine"? Dreamy. And he seemed pretty tall. And he kissed the hand of the orchestra's first violin. *swoon* The man needs to put out an album.

In other news, I was quite pleased with myself after yesterday's company picnic. I played volleyball with some other people and found that my serve is still quite consistent. I never was able to serve overhand, but whenever the coach absolutely had to have the ball go over the net, he called on me. A bunch of us who played yesterday had played in high school or whatnot and we all found ourselves having flashbacks and hearing our coaches yell at us. A good time. Except that since it was hot and muggy and I was exerting myself, I immediately turned bright red. I hate that.

Anyway, this weekend: Homecoming! Whee! And work. Which, not quite "whee." Oh well.

Current song in my head:
"This Nearly Was Mine" from South Pacific

Quick joke

Q. What is George Bush's position on Roe vs. Wade?

A. He really doesn't care how people get out of New Orleans.

Cranktastic

You know what you don't want to read after a bunch of days of being really stressed about your job? An article about how the retirement age is going up. You know, the article with the subhed "Why retirement might be further off than you think." Thank you, Washington Post Magazine. Like I wasn't cranky and depressed enough as it is.

Next stop: The Masters

Today I once again proved my awesome mini-golfing skills. (See July 25, 2004 entry for further proof.) It was a craft, come-from-behind victory. Of course, I am sure to do completely horrible the next time I play, but...I'm good with it. And getting a 2 on a hole that Brent and Katie each got 6s on sure didn't hurt.

It was a beautiful day, one all too reminiscent of that day four years ago. It seemed so incongruous, the beauty of the day and the horrors that it brought. And though I think of it less and less, it still moves me. I can't help but pause by the flag that they hung over the Pentagon (that now hangs in the entranceway of the American History Museum). And today, during the O's game, a bald eagle circled Safeco Field. I don't know what that means--nothing, probably, I know--but it was still a touching sight.

Current song in my head:
"God Bless America"

Justice, thy name is Barb

Well, I'm sure you're foaming at the mouth to hear about my exciting day at jury duty. Thrills! Spills! Chips! Dips! Dorks! (...Sorry. This is what happens at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon.)

Anyway, the highlight of the day, by far, was the cheesy orientation film they played for us. It started with a reenactment of trial by ordeal, culminating in some poor schmoe being tied up and tossed into a river. Sank like a stone, of course. He was declared innocent and fished out. He survived. I was impressed! I didn't think people survived those things. Anyway, we also got a history of justice in Ancient Greece. It was, as you can imagine, thrilling.

Ed Bradley and Diane Sawyer guided us through the rest of the video. Basically there are different types of trials. And many people in the courtroom. But one of the most vital components of the Fantabulous American Justice System is The Jury. Oh yes. Over and over, we, the jurors, were told how important we are. And I don't disagree, but it was amusing how emphasized it was.

...And that was about it. That was at 8:30. We basically were told that we can't leave until dismissed, even if we go to a courtroom but aren't picked for that trial. Then we sat around. A lot. There were maybe two dozen of us in this huge room that could seat at least 150, so we all had a LOT of room. The chairs were fairly comfortable. I got a LOT of reading done; about half my book for book club.

Around 11:30, the Jury Mistress (unofficial title) came out and said that the courts had gone through their morning dockets and we weren't needed, so we could go to lunch. We had to be back by 2. Well, that was ideal. I managed to run some errands and have lunch at home before returning to the Justice Center.

We almost had to be on a jury. Apparently one of the courts had called while we were at lunch and said they had a case that needed to be tried. But by the time we got back, the defendant had pleaded guilty. So close.

Anyway, so more sitting around. A woman in front of me fell asleep and started snoring loudly, amusing quite a few of us. And at 2:30 or so, the Jury Mistress told us that we wouldn't be needed, and that we could take our $15 checks and go home, safe in the knowledge that we wouldn't be back for at least 3 years.

So...not quite thrilling. I still wouldn't mind sitting on a jury, or at least going through the selection process. But...not bad.

Current song in my head:
"Papa Don't Preach" by Madonna

Good day

Yesterday was a flat-out Good Day. An e-mail came in the early afternoon saying that there would be free massages today from massage students; you just had to sign up. As soon as that came through, there was a little puff of dust where I had been sitting. I've been wanting a massage for ages, and I am really looking forward to it.

The other day, I had been listening to "This Nearly Was Mine" from South Pacific and thought to myself, "Man, Brian Stokes Mitchell would rock this song. He should totally sing it at the concert." And lo and behold, I go to the Kennedy Center website to find that it's on the program. Hurrah!

Then last night was, of course, the 10th anniversary of 2131. It was awesome just being there (and having front row seats, woo!). Seeing the banners on the Warehouse, everything. I lived in Montana when 2131 happened and though I watched the game, I made some rumblings about how athletes are overpaid and how Broadway shows don't get recognized for achievements like this, etc. (I was deep into my Broadway phase at this point.) Anyway. When the game became official, and the banner changed, and the confetti poured out...it was magical. I was just disappointed that more people weren't there for it (the attendance was only something like 20,700). Plus, the O's won and I sat next to a very nice girl who also liked Brian Roberts, so that was nice.

Oh, and here's another list of random injuries and other things that kept various baseball players from playing. I just cannot get enough of these. My new favorite: "Pascual Perez missed a start because he couldn't find the stadium, drove 100 miles on a loop freeway around Atlanta, circled the city two hours, missed his exit five times."

Current song in my head:
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones

I *heart* Anderson

How did I not know that the first season of The Mole was out on DVD? That got added to my Amazon wishlist so fast it would make your head spin.

Sweet!

So I was taking out a pair of jeans to wear to tomorrow's game (I'm going to go directly from work) when I see two $5 bills peeking out of the pocket. Nice! It's like free money. (It only took me about a minute to realize that it's the change from the food I got at the Bowie Baysox game Saturday night. But still.)

Happy anniversary

This Labor Day weekend contains two anniversaries for me: I bought my lovely car a year ago yesterday, and it was 5 years ago today that I started working at my current place of employment. I've been promoted since then, but it still feels kind of weird that I've been working the same place since I left college. Almost like a betrayal of my generation. Aren't we supposed to go through jobs more quickly than this? I like my coworkers and I like the benefits, and the job is fairly interesting. But...still. I don't know.

Don't mind me. I'm in a bit of a funk right now, which is fairly typical for me at the end of long weekends. Tomorrow will be good, though--I'm going to the O's game, the 10th anniversary of 2131. Whee!

Think of the kitties

So, like most people, I've been thinking about Katrina lately. And last night, while I was feeding Colin, I was picturing being in a situation where I don't have enough to eat or drink, and I have Colin, who obviously also has nothing to eat or drink. And the thought of not being able to provide for him in that situation is what gets me a bit teary. I can't imagine what it must be like if you have children.

Anyway, if you want to help the animals affected by Katrina, please donate to the Humane Society or the ASPCA.

Even a wee bit helps

I thought I'd throw in a plug for donating to the Salvation Army, since this morning they had a rep doing an interview on the radio, and she had the loveliest Scottish accent. According to her, $100 will feed a family for two days, buy two cases of water, and provide a home cleanup kit (including broom, mop, etc.). Go here to help.