Wiffle Ball Spring Training Day 2

So with the day off today, we held our second and final spring training game. I was at home which put the Honey Brewers up first. If you remember from the first game, it was a high scoring affair with me working on new pitches. This time I was settling in.

Top of the 1st I got him to pop up before giving up a single and then retiring him with another pop fly out.

Bottom of the 1st I had my ups. I started with a hit but then struck out. With one out I was patient and held out for two walks to load the bases. With a full count I was hit by a pitch which drove in a run. He had some control issues and proceeded to walk two more in and then hit me again to bring the run total to 4 before striking me out. After 1 inning, 4-0 Blue Moons.

Top of the 2nd I worked quick again. Two batters up, two down. A pop fly with two strikes and then a strike out.

Bottom of the 2nd was a quick one for him as well. He struck me out before I hit a scorching single followed by another strike out to end the inning.  After 2 innings, 4-0 Blue Moons.

Top of the 3rd I felt a little stiffness in my arm that had been there since Monday. After not playing for months I knew I had to work up some more strength. It started out nice with a strikeout to begin the inning. I then gave up two singles, one of which I should have caught and then walked one to load the bases on a full count. He was beginning to be more patient and take more pitches which led to another full count walk and his first run. I fought back knowing a homer would erase me lead and a double would close the gap. I worked two of the new pitches setting up a third straight full count and then tossed some heat high and down the middle for strike 3. I held the lead. 

Bottom of the 3rd went quick again for him as he was starting to settle down in his pitching. He got me on  three straight strikes before I cracked a single on a full count. After working it to another full count, he sat me down swinging. After 3 innings 4-1 Blue Moons.

Thats how it ended. 4-1 Blue Moons. We didn't want to play a full 6 innings with our regular season opener coming on Saturday morning. My pitches felt good and although I got a few hits, I need to start sending some extra base hits out there to compliment my pitching or its gonna be a waste. 

Wiffle Ball Spring Training Day 1

So I had yesterday morning off as I do most Monday mornings. After spending my weekend doing yard work and cleaning up my wiffle ball field, it was time to start playing. As I mentioned in a previous post, my brother-in-law Jon and I take our wiffle ball pretty serious so we had to break into the season with some rough spring training. It wasnt an official game, as the field was not completely ready yet. Now to keep you all on the same page (cause I'm sure you all care to know and remember) his team is the Hudson Honey Brewers and I am the Londonderry Blue Moons.

He won the coin toss to hold the first spring training game at his field but since its not ready yet, we had to play on mine with him as the home team which meant I had first ups. Now I went into this game realizing I had not thrown a ball in game situation since last fall. I knew that I was going to get roughed up big time but that was okay because I was trying to work out my pitches. So I believe I walked twice and then struck out twice to start the game. We have only two outs per half inning as opposed to three.

So I come up to pitch. Now my nastiest pitch is the slider. It comes right at you and then suddenly swings in for a strike. He knows this pitch well but once its fine tuned, its tough to hit. I was also trying out two new pitches including a cutter and sinker. At first I was just tossing some over trying to get loose. I had some early control issues which resulted in a few walks. I also missed a couple of ground ball scorchers that caught me a bit off guard. I also left a few over the plate which led to the first home run of spring training, a line drive 3-run shot. When the season starts though, the fence will be up and that hit would only be considered a double.

The first inning ended and he was up 13-0. These scores are pretty normal. Double digits are very common. I got up to bat and his pitching was way off. I waited around and took a few walks, getting me 3 runs. In the bottom of the second after getting a feel for my pitches, he left 2 stranded and I got out of the inning giving up one hit, a walk and no runs. Top of the 3rd and I was patient again. Got some wood going and scored 4 to bring it to 13-7. In the bottom of the 3rd I was still working on the cutter and that got me in trouble, giving up another 3 runs. 

We wrapped it up then. 3 innings was a good start and was enough for a spring training game. 16-7 Honey Brewers. We play our second and last spring training game on Wednesday on my home field with the Blue Moons as the home team. Now that I got my pitches going it should be a better outing. I hope to work all the kinks out in time for opening day which may come this Saturday morning. As for throwing about a 80-90 wiffle ball pitches my arm is a bit tight but not too sore. Im not too much of a wuss.

friggin patriots day...

Sadly I still live and work in New Hampshire. After living and going to school in Mass, I really loved having Patriots Day off. At my first apartment next to Fenway Park (literally, and yes I am bragging), I remember it being a madhouse around our place. I believe it was my second year there when I remember having my car parked on Boylston Street about two minutes from my apartment. At that time I lived with my buddy Derek (who some of you may know). His sister and brother had stayed the weekend and were hanging out with us. It was the Saturday before the marathon and I had to go put quarters in the meter. I was walking down Boylston to go get some quarters at the Star Market at the corner of Brookline and Boylston (street name dropping). 

As I am walking down the street, a lot of people are headed my way to go to the Sox game that afternoon. It had to be around noon so the place was packed. An  older couple caught my eye. the woman was tall and blonde and a bit striking. I noticed her first and then her significant other. The man was wearing aviators (the best sunglasses), a track suit and had a very bushy mustache. I thought he looked a bit out of place and as they passed me, I snuck a peak behind the glasses. I took a double take and thought "There's no way". I walked a few more feet and stopped. I turned around again and shook my head and thought "It couldn't have been". I continued to the store, got my quarters, filled the meter and went back to the apartment.

I enter the apartment and everyone was just chillin. I went in to Derek's room and said "Guess who I just saw on the way to the Sox game?" He asked who and I replied "Will Ferrell". He dint believe me and neither did anyone else. I told them that I knew it sounded nuts but that I swear to god it was him. Then the question of why he would be in Boston came up and what not and the more I thought about it, the more I figured it wasn't him.

The weekend passes and Patriots Day comes. It's Monday morning and we have the opening coverage of the marathon on. I'm sitting in my room when I hear Derek call for me. I walk into the front of the apartment where the TV is and there on WBZ, being interviewed was none other than Will Ferrell. He was running the marathon. He had been there the whole weekend in Boston. I was right. I had seen him with his mustache that he had grown for this new movie "Anchorman". I was pissed. I had passed by one of my comedic heros and didn't even get to yell "We're going streaking" like a douchey frat boy. 

To this day, thats why I curse Patriots Day weekend. That and the fact that I don't get this Monday off so I can't get drunk and yell at runners on Comm Ave. Screw you VanReenen.

It smells like spring...or just laundry sheets...mmm...

I love spring. I really do. Spring and fall are the best season cause they are the most mild of the seasons. They stay away from the extremes of hot and cold. With spring comes great weather and a long list of things to do with the lovely weather.

First off, baseball starts up. Now the real excitement doesn't come until September when the playoffs are on the line and all, but its great to follow along. Some weeks you lose track or get busy but when you come back, you haven't missed much. Nothing beats going to a major league baseball game in spring. Us in New England are lucky because we have one of the oldest, most famous ball park in the country. This also make us unlucky cause it is old and beat up while being ridiculously expensive. My alternative? Take a trip to Philadelphia. The Phillies have a great park thats just a few years old. Its clean and spacious without being too big. Tickets were usually really cheap although after last year I am sure prices have gone up. Its a good weekend away to see a game. Worth the money and if you really have some cash to spend, try to get tickets to see the Sox play their in July.

Now with baseball comes me wanting to play. Sadly, I have never bothered to join an old mans league or anything but I've found a way to fulfill my need to play. Wiffle Ball. Yes Wiffle Ball. A 26 year old in love with Wiffe Ball.  My brother-in-law and I started playing a few years back and then just kind of stopped one summer. Then last spring we decided to start it up again and not just here and there for fun. Not just tossing the ball around but really playing.

We have a field in my back yard marked out. There is a home plate and double and homerun markers. We have a pitchers mound and pitching rubber. We have backstops and a perfectly measured strike zone. We have a bat holder that can hold up to four bats. We just had two dozen fresh new balls delivered. We have official team names. I am the Londonderry Blue Moons and he is the Hudson Honey Brewers (both named for favorite beers of ours). 

We now have a second field at my brother-in-laws new house. This way we each have a home field. It is a rule that you have to drink at least one of your beers (Blue Moon for me or Honey Brown for him) per game. We don't look to get drunk but we feel we owe it to our names. Uniforms are in the process of being made.  Many of you may think Im crazy but hey, everyone needs a hobby. This is one of mine.

Anyway, I'm glad spring is here so that we can begin to play. Look for updates on here and hopefully even some video posts from yours truly about it. For now, I will leave you with my teams logo.

Chocolate bunnies filled with jelly beans...

Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate. Enjoy a large feast with friends and family. Fill yourself up with candy and goodies. Remember that soon, warm weather will come and it wont seem as though Easter and Christmas are celebrated during the same season.

I am a slacker...

When I started doing this blog I promised myself I would update it regularly. I mean how can one get a solid fan base if they don't constantly give people a good product, right? I am going to do my best to update this more. I have a few ideas for blogs so I will get them up ASAP. As for this one, just a quickie. There have been a few things that I recently saw that I wanted to make mention of cause it annoyed the shit out of me.

BLUETOOTH HEADSETS

Now these have been around for sometime, I know. They aren't a bad thing when driving. Its perfect for commuters who drive a lot and still use the phone. Know when they aren't good? When you wear them out of your car. Anywhere. Anywhere out of the damn car. Store? Getting gas? Shopping? TAKE IT OFF!!!! I hate people coming into work and walking up to me with them on. They try to start a conversation with me while continuing the one they have going on their phone. Hey asshole, hang up or don't talk to me. Many of you know that due to my lazy nature, I am still working in the food business as opposed to taking my college degree and making a life for myself. Now just cause I work in food doesn't mean you should disrespect me. You need to eat right? Im needed. Do I walk in to your work place and talk on my phone while trying to do business with you? Probably not. And I guess this isn't just a bluetooth rant because people come in on the phone too. I just think the bluetooths make you look retarded. Its like you are trying to look cool but look like a douche instead. Its like wearing a hat that says "I'm a douche".  Anyway, get off the phone when talking to people in person. Its called manners dipshits.

UGGS

I know I am not a female. You can even say I don't know much about "style". These are both truths. But ya know what? I know something ugly when I see it. And uggs? Uggly for sure. Really. I don't understand them. They keep your feet warm. Awesome. Then people where them in snow and rain to stay warm and oh, they get dirty and look like shit. They look disgusting with salt marks and what not on them. I especially loooove seeing women wear them with like tights on so they look even bigger. Worried about getting cold? Dont wear tights dumb ass.  And yeah yeah, they are in style. Are they really? Cause I think if you asked, the majority of normal people would say they are ugly with a small minority of snobby uptight debutantes and those who want to be like them saying they are trendy. Bite trendy and bite me. 

Uggly.

TURTLENECKS

Okay. Turtlenecks are acceptable on females most of the time. Usually they look okay on younger women and are acceptable on older females cause that usually means they are retired hippies.  Turtlenecks on guys? Schmucks. I feel like every time I see a guy in a turtleneck, I think of the dick in Good Will Hunting who gets the verbal beat down from Matt Damon in the Harvard bar. They look artsy and toolish. They like to read poetry and do yoga and sit around talking about fighting the "man". All these things are fine, believe me, I have nothing against artsyness, but chances are this turtleneck douche is doing it to try and get laid or just fit in. He isn't doing it because he likes those things. I wish mens turtlenecks had a string in the neck like sweatpants. That way, I could easily just sneak up on a guy and pull it nice and tight. Choke him out. Nice and simple.

LONG HAIR ON GUYS

Heres another one that deals with guys. Long hair on guys. Im not talking like shaggy, over the eyes a little kind of thing. Shaggy isnt bad. What I hate is the guys who have it to their shoulders or longer. Now when I was younger, in middle school, I tried to grow my hair long. All my friends did. It was a grunge thing. We were trying to be cool. That time passed and we all eventually got haircuts.  Now a days, grunge is gone really. There is no "cool" reason to have long hair. No more hippies, no more grunge. Why would you want hair that you have to tie up? I have enough problems with making my short hair look acceptable, I cant imagine doing it with long hair. Ponytails? What is this, 1991? No rebellion against 'Nam anymore. No more hairbands. No more of a need to look like Kurt Cobain. Just cut your hair.

Only thing worse than a guy with long hair is a guy with long hair in a turtleneck.  Ick.

A few quick things....

I decided to share a few nuggets of information about myself that I've recently been thinking about. Just a few ideas and feelings I have that I figured I'd like to share with you. 

I don't trust anyone who has never had a drink before. That means you Joe Biden.

I also don't trust anyone who doesn't curse. They don't have to have a sailors mouth like myself, but every once in a while a person should feel that their current situation constitutes a good "shit" or "fuck".

I am beginning to get mad at myself for breaking certain Facebooks rules that I set forth for myself. The biggest one being that I would not accept nor add a person on Facebook unless I knew for sure that I would say hi to them if passing them or bumping into them. If I don't think we liked each other enough 10 years ago to be friends, why the hell would I add you now. I bet their are at least 50 people who are my "friends" on Facebook that wouldn't even say hello if they saw me out. They'd just do the eye contact thing and wait to see if I say hi first, just like we all do when we aren't sure if we really want to talk to someone.

I recently began watching "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia".  A friend of mine gave me Seasons 1 and 2 and I watched it all this weekend. It is up there with "30 Rock" and "The Office". And I have to agree with my friend who said when she watches it, it just makes her feel like getting drunk all day.

Speaking of getting drunk all day, I'm a big fan of Blue Moon beer and this weekend when my local packie ran out of it, I bought some Full Moon, which is a seasonal Blue Moon beer, and I must admit that it was rather delicious. Definitely try it if you like Blue Moon.

I like using the word "protocol" a lot lately. I have no need to ever use the word, but I find it fun trying to put it into regular conversation. This is a game you should try. Pick an odd word and see how many times you can use it in regular conversation. Here, I'll help you. The word is peripatetic. Have fun.

Oh and check out my boy Mikes new blog. It's a good time.

http://mike-idowhatiwant.blogspot.com

25 random things

So I've seen this whole thing on facebook where people write 25 random things about themselves so I thought I might as well do it on here. So without much ado, here are 25 random things about me.

1. My middle name is Martin, after my dad.

2. I fracture my leg when I was two when trying out an acrobatic act I was working on failed as the garbage can fell over.

3. I was born in Minnesota but moved to NH when I was 1 and have never been back.

4. I'm a registered independent

5. I'm a politics junkie.

6. I'm also a civil war junkie. Been to Gettysburg over a dozen times

7. I got caught stealing baseball cards from a convenience store when I was in 5th grade. I did not act alone.

8. I'm actually related to Stonewall Jackson distantly. I even have proof.

9. I'm a sucked for good romantic movies. Especially '80's ones. Say Anything is one of my favorite movies.

10. The only movie I've ever cried at was My Girl when Veda goes to the funeral and yells about how he can't see without his glasses.

11. A dream come true would be to write or be on SNL.

12. My first car was given to me by a priest.

13. I haven't been to church, other than weddings and funerals, in over 3 years (nothing to do with the car).

14. I met Bill and Hillary Clinton and Peter Jennings when I was 10 at the Mall of New Hampshire.

15. I introduced George Bush at my high school when he was running for president.

16. I voted for Ralph Nadar once.

17. I once worked at a driving range driving the truck around shagging balls.

18. I once played the lead in a production of "Death of a Salesman".

19. While making a sci fi video for school, I accidentally made such a large explosion I apparently broke a well pipe 4 feet underground.

20. I once had backstage passes to a concert and got to meet Beck, Ben Folds and Les Claypool.

21. One of my cars got totaled when a cop rear ended me.

22. I'm told I do a pretty good Christopher Walken impression.

23. I've been to six weddings to this point in my life. I've been in the wedding party for all six. Always a grooms man, never a groom.

24. I love getting dressed up and one day hope I lead a life that requires me to own my own tuxedo.

25. I can tie a cherry stem not in one, but two knots with my tongue. And yes ladies, I'm single.

You take the kids, I'll take the house...

So like many of you, I day dream all the time. A thought will pop into my head and I'll be off in my imagination for a few minutes. The other day was no exception so I thought I'd share.

I was flipping through an entertainment magazine (they do still print these) and stumbled upon a picture of a certain attractive actress. She will remain nameless so that after this post, I can be made fun of but with detail. Anyway, its an actress that I find very attractive. That's where the day dreaming starts.
I begin to think how wonderful my life would be to date her. Think about it. A beautiful celebrity. We'd meet in some random way while walking down the street (even though I live 3,000 miles away) and for some reason she'd be taken aback by this pasty white ginger. She'd say hi, I'd say hi and wekd connect. Perhaps we'd get a drink and things would take off. I'd go to a big premiere with her and maybe work on a film together. Eventually wed have a huge wedding covered by Perez Hilton and then have wonderfully cute kids who are cursed by having red hair. We'd grow old and become this generations It couple, staying together for years. My what a nice day dream.

I then look back at the magazine and read the caption about her and her boyfriend. Boyfriend? How could this be? How could she do this to me? My mind begins wandering again.

What if she marrys this douche? What if he interfers with our chance meeting? Everything I was so happy about is gone. Then I realize, its Holllywood. These things never last. Its the land of divorce. So then I think it can still work. She'll have a few years with this assclown and then get a divorce. Its perfect! I swoop in and get her on the rebound. I show my sensitive side and boom. We're together and all the happy thoughts come back. Money, celebrity, big house, kids.

But there's the problem. Divorce is so abundant there. What if we get divorced? She makes all the money. I'm just a bum who married up. What if she paints me in the media to be some dick who treated her bad? Who gets the kids? I can't be single that late in life. I have nothing to offer a woman.

Then I stop and realize how pathetic I am. I'm now depressed after thinking about my impending divorce to a celebrity that will leave me with no life. That's right, I lack enough self esteem to even have a good day dream. I suck.

Tony is...wasting your time with this blog

STATUS UPDATES

Just like 99 percent of the people on Facebook right now, I am obsessed with people updating their status. I do it way too often and the majority of the times I do it lately, I'm plugging this blog (as if enough people care about my status enough to go to this site). You have a wide variety of groups who update. You have those who don't update a lot and when they do, they feel the need to be very specific. Example:

"So&So is heading out to lunch at Fridays with so and so and then heading to the doctors at 2 for a check up and then maybe home to make [insert meal here] for [insert stupid nickname for their loved one] and then American Idol at 8 before Biggest loser comes on."

I really don't think anyone needs that much of an update. Chances are the only person who needs to know that much detail is yourself. Here's an update you can use. "So&So is about to jump in the tub with a few select electronics!"

I also love the people who are trying to send messages to others but wont actually say anything to those peoples faces. Such as:

"So&So cant believe some people can be so immature. Way to ruin something good"

This is the person informing all of us their distain for people who refuse to grow up which possibly means that someone did something to this person enough that they felt like scolding them in front of all their cyber friends. You know the majority of the persons friends have no idea what they are talking about, but a select few know exactly who they are talking about. Its like we get sucked back to junior high when were on Facebook.

You have the quote people too. Those who find a certain line from a movie hilarious enough to use it. I am definitely one of these people. It started when I would use AIM and put up away messages. Thats pretty much what status updates now are. They are you're away message to the world. Thats why you see people who put up an update such as:

"So&So is off for the night and bored. Hit me up"

This usually means the person really has no friends. If they had friends, their friends would know 

the person had the night off. Therefore, if anyone really wanted to hang with the person, they

would contact them via telephone or whatnot. This is a person crying for help. They will most likely

end up sitting at home, alone, watching pornography, drinking hard liquor and passing out way too

early. Just like my Saturdays.

But really, Im as much an offender as anyone else, but do you blame me? Why not be constantly

updated on what your friend from 7th grade that you don't talk to anymore is doing for the evening?

On a side note, if you're around this Friday, Jan 30th, come to Great Scotts in Allston and check out

my buddy Steve doing stand up around 7pm. He is hilarious and a total douche.

Finally, I can say it and not feel alone

I was on Facebook this morning browsing around and like 95% of you who read this, I checked out status updates ( I do this a lot but thats a different blog that I'll get to later). As I was browsing I came upon my friend Alison who I know from back in the Boston days (wonderful Simmons girls!). I was intrigued by her status update that read "Alison doesn't like Bruce Springsteen. Or Bob Dylan. There I said it". At that moment I felt a sense of relief. There was someone out there, who thought like me, but was able to actually say it out loud.

I don't like Bruce Springsteen. Or Bob Dylan. I never have and most likely never will. I know people will ridicule me and discuss how they are such amazing songwriters and storytellers and how Dylan influenced so many and blah blah blah. I don't care how many musicians cite them as being the reason they got into music. I don't care how many records of theirs are on Rolling Stones top albums of all time. I don't like them.

First off Dylan's voice is shit. It is. He cant sing for shit. Its annoying. "Its his style and no one else is like that..." is what people like to say. Really? His own style is a mixture of a 115 year old lifetime smoker, a dying cat and William Hung (yes I really did just make an American Idol reference from 2004). Sure, his words may be "inspiring" and "transcends the era" but really, just write for other people or become a poet (I know a musicians can be considered "poets" anyway, but you catch my drift). The only song I can think of that I like by him is "Hurricane" and I think thats only because it reminds me of the movie staring Denzel (just like, Im close enough with Clint Eastwood to call him Clint, Denzel and I are pretty tight). I will also give Dylan "All Along the Watchtower" which is one of my favorite all time songs. When done by Jimi Hendrix or Dave Matthews (I know I 'll get shit for listing DMB as a favorite while ridiculing the song bird of the the 60's but oh well). 

Now Springsteen isn't as revered I think in our generation as much as Dylan is. I think Dylan is supposed to be the "cool" thing to like. Like guys think it'll be cool to tell people they listen to Dylan or can play it on the guitar. I've been surprised by how many young people really like Springsteen. I figured his fan base was the same he had 25 years ago. Suddenly he is all over the place. Inauguration. Super Bowl. Its out of control. It would work better if it were 1981 and Reagan was being inaugurated and the Oakland Raiders were playing the Philadelphia Eagles.

The guy has one song that I like and thats "Streets of Philadelphia", again from a movie. The song is amazing and I think it brought him some kind of renewed success and ever since he won an Oscar for it, all his shit sounds the same like he's just trying to get another soundtrack deal and win another award. Know why I know the chorus to "Dancer in the Dark"? Because we all remember how Courtney Cox was in the video. Thats it. Because its a useless piece of pop culture. How do we know some of the members of the E Street band? Because the majority of us like watching Conan O'Brien and see Max every night, and because we all loved the Sopranos and seeing little Steven with a horrible hair piece. 

Now we have to deal with him being on during the Super Bowl. Let me guess. We will hear a medley of sorts like the past few acts (Prince, Tom Petty, other horrible choices). Born in the USA will be played. Born to run. Thunder Road. Maybe The Rising. He'll take out his stupid harmonica, dance around on stage like hes 19 as opposed to his real age of 59. Little Steven will have his bandana on and the commentators will commend him for a wonderful performance. 

Ick.

I understand that the NFL has had some making up to for the whole Janet Jackson thing, but please.  Since then we've had Paul McCartney (living legend but not the same without the other 3 fellas although "Hey Jude" was a good move), The Rolling Stones ( a collective age of 258 years old [which would be acceptable with a 10 person band]), Prince (cause he's been relevant this whole decade) and Tom Petty (he did play "American Girl" so I wont be harsh on him). Now Bruce Springsteen. Next year I am guessing we will have Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond or the Four Tops (if they are all still a live). 

I went off on a tangent there a little bit but to wrap this up let me say this. I don't like Bruce Springsteen and I don't like Bob Dylan and if I had a choice to meet either of them, I'd tell Dylan to just go away already and Bruce to stop dying his hair.

El Camino

I went to see the Clint Eastwood flick "Gran Torino" with my brother-in-law Jon Wednesday night. Now I had seen the previews for it but was a little hesitant to see it.

Clint's (Clint and I are pretty tight.I call him by his first name) performance was being talked up and even nominated for a few awards. They were saying it was amazing and "vintage" Eastwood. Well yeah it looks like vintage Eastwood. He's playing an old grumpy man. Big surprise there. I wasn't sure if he was going to be playing the same character from "Million Dollar Baby" or what. When isn't this guy old and grumpy? Anyway, I broke and went to see that as opposed to seeing "Valkaryie" (I think I would have been more excited to see it if Tom Cruise played the part as his character from "Tropic Thunder").

The film was actually pretty enjoyable. He plays an old Korean war vet still living in his old neighborhood which has become a community of minorities leaving him as the only white man on the street. Over time he of course becomes close with an asian family next door, taking the young boy under his wing and making him into a man. I don't want to give too much away incase you decide to see it, but let me just say this. The racial slurs are abundant. I don't think there is any group that goes untouched by Clint. I even heard some new ones from him. Its like Prince Harry, Kramer and Hitler rolled up into one character.

So if you have time, check it out. Entertaining with some good acting.

No, its a cardigan but thanks for noticing...

Today is my day off. I usually spend Wednesday sleeping in and pretty much dong nothing productive till about 3 pm. Unfortunately, I had to be up at 6:30 this morning. Why you may ask? Because I had to go to court to fight a speeding ticket. Heres the quick background.

It was the end of September on a Sunday. I had spent the weekend in Boston and was about to head home but my car had other plans. I was heading back into the North End to get some pizza and pastries to bring home when my car decided to die on a small side street in the middle of the North End which is perfect cause we all know how big the streets are in the North End. Nope.  So I wait for AAA to come and tow the car to a mechanic. This is all in about an hours worth of time which isn't too bad. Now its a Sunday remember, so no mechanic will look at which means I need to find a way home and wait to hear from the guy the next day. Enter my dad. He agrees to drive down and pick me up. I can always rely on Big Poppa.

My dad arrives and I take over control of the car. You see with my dad, you cant be a passenger in his car. If you ever are for some ridiculous reason, you will most likely soil yourself or come damn close while also finding God along the way. My father likes to wait till the last second to stop behind a car. Its like hes playing "lets see how close we can get before we hit it". Anyway, I decided to drive. Im better in the city and I knew how to get out and to the highway quickly.

Were cruising along fine on 93. We come up on the border of NH where as many of you know, the speed limit drops from 65 to 55. I know this because of the hundreds if not thousands of times I drove on it commuting to school. There were cars passing us and some going slower. As I approached the exit 1 overpass, out from behind a barrier on the left comes a state trooper walking into the passing lane, pointing fingers at people to pull over. Naturally I was ecstatic when he pointed in my direction. Oh! Oh! He picked me! He picked me! Many of you will say "you should have just kept driving" cause yeah, Im sure many of you would have just sped off with the knowledge that he has the right to chase you down and pull you over. 

So I pull over and come to a stop rather easily. Another car was going so fast it had to back up to the cruisers cause it had passed them so fast. I think this is good to bring up when you read how fast he said I was going. I grab by license and the registration for my dads car. He comes up and asks me all the same shit. Did I know how fast I was going, blah, blah. I wait for about 10 minutes when he comes back up. He informs me that he clocked me on laser going 91 in a 55 which was also at the time a construction zone. Bullshit. So much bullshit. Im able to stop a car going 91 mph in the matter of maybe 30 yards? He tells me he's lowering it to 88 in a 65 so that I don't have to go to court. This doesn't sound too bad to me. $150 maybe? I get the ticket and look. $350. Yes thats right $350. "Im fighting it" were the first words out of my mouth to my dad. Actually it was "are you fucking kidding me?" but you get the idea.

Thats what brings us to today. I was planning on fighting it on the grounds that I was with the flow of traffic and there's no way to tell if I was the right car and a bunch of other bullshit. I went hoping he wouldn't show but of course he did. He actually informed me that NH state troopers get in trouble for not going to the hearings so if a state trooper gets you, chances are he'll be in court. We go over my ticket before court and he tells me how he already dropped it and what not and that the judge could up it since it was in a construction zone. Bigger fine, loss of license, blah, blah you wont win. Thats what it came down to. I talked the talk but didn't walk the walk. I told him I'd just pay it so I didn't have to even go before the judge. 

So Im out some money and my car insurance will probably go up and I learned a state trooper will always show up (he had another 4 people fighting tickets too). But in the end, the real moral of this story is this. You don't always need to go back for cannolis. Thats right. Had I not gone to get pastries, none of this would have happened. Damn you sweet deliciousness that is a cannoli.

Things I like right now...and things I dont...

So here are some things that are tickling my fancy right now and some things that are just downright annoying.

THINGS I LIKE RIGHT NOW

30 Rock

Right now this is the best show on television. Many will argue against me and say that "The Office" is better, which is a valid argument, but you cant beat Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. "The Office is next fave but I cant get past the outrageousness of "30 Rock". Everyone has finally turned the corner on Tina Fey after seeing her as Palin on SNL. But if you haven't seen the first or second season of this show, find it online now. Tracy Morgan adds a lot with his randomness and how can you not love a show with an entire episode revolving around an episode of "Milf Island"?

Missed Connections 

On Craigslist, there is  section of posting titles called Missed Connections. I must make sure I mention that I was turned on to these postings by my friend Brianna. What it is, is a place where people post after maybe seeing people for a quick instant and thinking there was some sort of "connection". Like someone is in line at the bank and makes eye contact with someone. They then post saying how cute they were or what not and try to find out who they are. Its pretty ridiculous and a little stalkerish, but its great for a few minutes of amusement. The info people put on there is great. My personal favorite had to be one woman discussing how attractive this one fella was and how much she'd love to maybe meet up for drinks. Now that doesn't seem too bad right? What made it great was that they met at a meeting at the unemployment office. Awesome. Solid potential for a great relationship. 

THINGS I DONT LIKE RIGHT NOW

NFL PLAYOFFS

I have to throw in some sports on this post. Most people reading this are Patriot fans, where as I am not. I wont discuss my alliance right now cause I don't feel like hearing more shit from Hines. Anyway, the playoffs have been awful thus far. Im writing this while watching the Pittsburgh/ San Diego game. I just finished watching the pile of crap called a game between the Giants and Eagles. I hate the Eagles. McNabb is overrated and now if they make the Super Bowl, all we'll hear for two weeks is how he was benched and came back and Andy Reid bounced back from having his two kids turning his house into a drug emporium and blah blah blah. Boring and over done. San Diego is full of whiners. Rivers is the biggest douche in the league hands down and I know even Pats fans will agree with that. Ray Lewis has a big mouth and likes to run it which makes me irritated by Baltimore. Pittsburgh and Arizona are the only two teams left I wouldn't mind seeing in the Super Bowl. Not too mention, if you have a matchup between Philly and someone like San Diego, the NFL will be pissed because it will probably be the least watched Super Bowl in recent years.

SNOW

I know I cant complain too much because shit, I live in New England. It snows here. I know. But really, this is just too much right now. Im sick of snow blowing and cleaning off cars. At this point Im ready to become a retiree and just go to Florida from November to March. A few storms and snow falls is one thing but every damn week we have to deal with it. I thought we were dealing with global warming  here. If that were the case, we'd be sitting in 50 degree weather right now deciding if we want to open up the barbeque. 

On the eighth day, he created this blog...

Where does one begin. I've been thinking about doing a blog for sometime now after being inspired by reading my friend Jeremys. I used to write a bit back in the day on Myspace (so 2006) but it started to get a little dry and a little boring. Some complaints came in about certain posts, usually those involving sports. Well, Ill tell you right now, its inevitable that this blog will have some posts about sports. I cant help it. Its who I am. 

But in no way is this blog only going to be about sports. I have opinions on a lot of shit that I plan to share ranging from A to Z. Which letter is better? Im partial to the letter "T" but thats neither here nor there. Seriously though, I'll be rambling on about a lot of different shit on here I'm sure and if it starts to get boring to you then just find a new blog. I mean, I'm not trying to be an asshole but really, don't think I'll just up and change it cause you get bored reading about my trip to the eye doctor. I mean please, that says hilarity all over it!!

In all honesty though, I hope people read this and maybe even like it a bit.  And to prepare, please be aware that I may say things at times that you find rude or offensive. Not disgusting or anything. Im not going to discuss last nights sexual conquest ($20 bucks but she had the nicest adams apple). But I may discuss certain groups or ideas that I find ridiculous and this may offend you. Please don't let it. Throughout my life I have been made fun of plenty of times before both to my face and behind my back. Whether it be for me being a ginger balls or just enjoying fatty foods, I accept that I may be the butt of some jokes which gives me the right to make jokes back. 

So enjoy. Look back for a lot of writing cause I have a lot of shit to say and dammit, you're going to read it all.