I am my Father's Son.

I hate shaving. I really do.

It's annoying. It hurts. Sometimes you bleed. Excessively.
Therefore, I try to limit the number of times per week that I scrape sharp metal across my face.

When I was younger and hadn't quite hit my full pubescent stride, I would constantly "shave" the few sprigs of hair that my face had managed to sprout, in an attempt to speed the process along. First, it was to get my sideburns to grow faster. Then it was to try to grow a moustache, which was a futile effort until I was about 19.

It wasn't that I wanted a Grizzly Adams' Beard®.....it was simply that I wanted the option of growing one. (Which I later tried, with varying levels of success).

Lately, I've had a hard time getting a good, clean shave. I recently got a coupon in the mail for a free four-bladed razor, which I promptly used in order to replace my usual three-bladed razor. I usually maintain some sort of facial hair, and lately it's been the usual goatee sans moustache. I have been wrestling with the idea of not shaving and letting the beard take over, but it's not quite cold enough for that yet.

Today, I decided to try using the old three blade razor first to get the bulk of the hair that had grown on my mug for the better part of a week. Then, I would use the shiny new four blade razor to get nice and close, to keep the stubble at bay for another few hours.

It was about halfway through my third upstroke with the four bladed razor that I stopped and looked myself dead in the eyes.

Crap.

I am my Father's Son.

My father has used on average four different style razors to shave his face every morning for the last several years. The mirrored cabinet in the bathroom at my parent's house looks like a virtual graveyard for razorblades. I've routinely fired witty remarks at my father for his overdone shaving ritual. He spends what seems like hours in the bathroom every morning just to ensure that a single folicle of newly sprouted stubble will not ruin his day.

It's strange to see your parents' influence in yourself. Take a good long look at yourself in a mirror one day. Sure, it sounds vain and silly. Honestly, it's kind of cathartic.

I am like any other person. Growing up, you shake your head and close your eyes from embarrasment when your parents do just about anything. You try and avoid becoming like them.

My father occasionally makes bad jokes (Sorry, Pops). He makes what seem like the strangest decisions sometimes. My father is a creature of habit. He has refueled his car at the same gas station for over a decade. He shops at the same small grocery store, where it seems like everyone who works there knows him by name, for everything (except his beloved razorblades). He watches the weather radar all day on tv, with the sound off. My father never walks around the house barefooted.

Then again, how am I any different?

Go ahead and ask my friends how often I make bad jokes. G'head, ask 'em!

Ask my friends if I've ever made weird decisions....about anything.

I am absolutely a creature of habit. I eat the same meal from the same fast food place just about everyday. I shop at the same grocery store, although I sincerely doubt the store manager know me by name. Given access to the tv, I watch ESPN all day, albeit with the sound on.

I think the only thing that I don't share with my Dad is that I do walk around barefoot. All the time. Even in the winter.

I now know that there are much worse realizations than learning your personality traits are directly inherited from your parents.

For example:
-The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles do not actually live in the sewers of NYC. Heartbreaking, I know.

-I do not have The Force. As badly as I have wanted to be a Jedi all of my life, I cannot merely stick my hand out and move objects, or use mind control to alter situations to my favor. Even though there was that time, when I was about 8, when I reached out my hand to turn off the lights before bed and the room went dark. I slept very well that night, thinking I was well on my way to being the Greatest Jedi Knight ever......turns out the light bulb had just burned out. Damn.

My Father is a good man. He has worked hard all of his life to support a family that just kept getting bigger. He volunteers most of his free time to several organizations related to his job, the Kiwanis Club and the Youth Group at the church where I grew up. No one has ever asked him to do any of this.

I am my Father's Son.....and I can't think of anybody else's kid that I'd rather be.

You Won't Catch Me In a Sauna

I am terrible at seasonal transitions. When the weather changes, it takes me a few days to adjust accordingly.
Perhaps this is due to my having been raised in the deep south, where our seasons are as follows:

January-February = Winter (There is a possibility of temperatures below 40)
March-October = Summer (HOT)
October-December = Fall (Not as Hot)

The last few weeks have been quite pleasant here in Nashville. However, it has been raining most of the last week and with the extra moisture, colder temperatures have arrived. I'm usually a shorts-wearing type of guy, so it took me a bit to realize that I needed to switch to pants.

So I'm well into my pants and light jacket routine this week, and randomly, I woke up this morning and I was freezing. I checked weather.com and saw that it was 42 degrees (Fahrenheit) outside. I quickly formulated in my head that it would be a good idea to take a nice, hot shower and get the blood flowing.

Apparently, I got overzealous.

I ended up taking the hottest shower on record. It was like a sauna in my tiny bathroom. I realized that saunas are just plain weird. The hot water and steam that I had intended to wake up my senses ended up leaving me drained. I was weak and lame (not that I'm not usually weak and lame, but this is totally different). I felt tired all day and generally "blah".

I then started to think of why saunas even exist (I've got a LOT of time to think during the day, when I'm driving in my truck). I looked it up on Wikipedia. And I can't appreciate the idea of sitting in a blazing hot room (sometimes as hot as 212 degrees) with a bunch of naked dudes. Not that there's anything WRONG with that.....it just so happens that it isn't my particular flavor of diet soda.

So keep your towels on in the steamroom and reduce the heat in your showers.
Rock on people.

The Art of The Quick Trip

I am always surprised whenever I make a trip back to Baton Rouge, it never matters how long I stay, I usually end up thinking that I should have stayed one or two more days.

This past weekend was no different.

The only real change from my normal pattern is that I actually made a concious effort to spend time with my parents and tried very hard not to stay out past 4am. I succeeded in both categories.

Friday night I went out to eat with my Mom and Dad and my sister, Robin. Afterward, I ended up crashing in the arm chair while watching tv. Not the most hip way to spend a Friday night, but I'm okay with that. I, of all people, am not hip.

Saturday was also an effort to stay home, as I had two offers of LSU vs. Auburn tickets...and each of them were equally enticing.....but I decided to spend the day with my Dad and watch the game in glorious HD(!).

I made my way out late Saturday, after the thrilling Demetrius Byrd catch (seen below), to hang out with some quality people that I know. The only drag was that I could hardly see them due to the smoke machine that a noise-post-[insert music genre adjective here] rock band had employed throughout the evening,



Sunday, John and I forced the Amazing Brand-O and Christy to watch the Dark Crystal. I'll be absolutely honest. I loved this movie as a kid. And now, after having seen the special features, knowing how much time and work was put into making this film, I am still a big fan. But I do think the movie lacks something. Yes, I've gotten older (and recently older, still), so maybe the movie has lost that fantastic quality it once had.

I sloshed out of town on monday morning. No, I wasn't hungover....it was raining. I actually didn't drink that much this trip....believe it or not. The biggest disappointment was receiving a phone call from my boss after a solid six hours of driving, having just passed Tuscaloosa, AL, telling me that he didn't need me to come to work on Tuesday. So that long-desired, yet elusive, extra day slipped through my grasp again. Had I recieved that call somewhere near Hattiesburg, or maybe even Meridian.....I'd have pulled a cloverleaf U-turn and headed right back to BR.

All in all, I had a good trip. I saw a lot of the people that I specifically wanted to see, I unexpectedly ran into a few people that I was glad to see, I spent quality time with my family, and I got to see LSU win, albiet only on tv. Sadly, I missed out on seeing some people whom I intended to see....and to Tom and Holly and others, I sincerely apologize.

Until next time....which I hope is sooner (Thankgiving), rather than later (xmas).

Rock on peeps.
Go Rockies!
War VA Tech beating BC!!!

Softball: Final

Wow.
7 weeks went fast!

Last night was fantastic.....We swept the double-header and finished the season 5-9.
Having started 0-fer, that's a good thing!

As a team, we really started to play well, and we found a pretty decent lineup that allowed us to score early....and as we discovered last night, often!

Game one started as a major victory and ended up almost a nail-biter.
We jumped out to a 12-3 lead and ended up winning 12-10. All of our offense came in the second inning when we batted around. I singled and walked, drove in two and scored twice in that inning alone. I walked again later in the game but was stranded at second.

Game two was probably our greatest game and biggest accomplishment as a team.

We fell behind quickly and dug ourselves into a deeper hole with some bad defensive plays....mostly my fault. Somehow, I forgot how to catch the ball. I was playing catcher for the first time all season and I had to field a couple of plays at the plate.

The first play was a lady tagging from third who honestly had no business charging the plate. I caught the ball early and stood my ground as she barreled into me. No harm, no foul. She was out by a mile. The next play was a relay throw from shortstop and I completely missed the ball as my eyes wandered to the much larger guy coming down the line full steam, with absolutely no intentions of stopping on account of me standing there.

Thankfully, we were able to overcome our mistakes and make a solid comeback. Everybody in the lineup came through in the clutch. Tara made some great pitches in the last few innings. Whether by pure skill or by pure luck, the ball danced to the inside and outside corners of the plate and for the last six or seven outs, the other team couldn't make any solid contact.

Jeff showed some incredible hustle, circling in from first on what ended up being a double. Cecilia made the most out of the least contact at the plate...she reached base three or four times, drove in two or three runs and scored at least twice. Our "ringer" Eric had arguably his worst night at the plate, popping up twice and drilling a line drive single, but our team was able to score a lot of runs without the longball.

So we came back to win game 2, 14-13.

Way to go team!

For those keeping track (i.e. me), my final line is .591 avg (13-22), 7 Runs Scored, 9 RBIs, 5 BBs, and an OBP of .667

Can't wait for next season. But my legs (after crouching all night) are more than happy for the break.

Go ROCKIES!!!!

"Yack In Da BAWX"

I regret my decision-making ability.

Tonight was a great night.

LSU eeks out a win over Florida.
I chatted up a pretty girl at the alumni meeting.
Drinks a-plenty.....
After Party attendance......
Jack In The Box meal at 2am.

That's where it all went wrong.

Why can't Wendy's be open 24 hours? Why is Jack in the Box the only fast food joint open at 2am? Why does every Jack in the Box only hire hispanic women to work the drive thru, when they can hardly even say "Jack in the Box" properly?

I rarely eat at "Yack in da Bawx".....and for good reasons.

1) A number of years back, some people died from eating the food.

2) Of the, let's say six, times I've eaten there in my lifetime, four of those times have resulted in horrible stomach ailments (see above link).

3) People DIED eating there.

But sadly, it is the only place open at 2am in this godforsaken state.

So cross your fingers that tonight's Combo Number 5 doesn't come back with too much of a vengence!

Softball: Pt. 10

I'm sensing a pattern.
From now on, Thursday's Game Blog will most likely happen on Friday, as I am usually exhausted by the time I get home on Thursday night.

Good news though!

We won our first game last night!!!!!
12-7. I don't know how it happened, but we put up 12 runs against what was supposed to be a really good team! I went 2-4 with two RBIs and a run scored....and the thing is that I'm more impressed that I got 4 AT BATS!!!!! FOUR!!!!! I never get four at bats. I usually get one....maybe two. But four?! and I was batting eigth in the order!
I don't know what got into our team, but it was dramatically different from the previous five weeks....in a great way!

Game 2 is when we came slightly back to form.
We got drilled 18-2. Our pitcher tired out a bit. Our fielding was still better than it has been, but the other team just started popping the ball over the infielder's heads and in front of us outfielders. I went 1-2 at the plate with one RBI and a run scored.

The run was a controversial one. I was on second as the ball was hit to right-center. I was gonna pull up and stop at third, but Seth (coaching Third Base) started flailing his arm and screaming "GO HOME! GET IN THE HOUSE!!!! SLIDE SLIDE SLIDE!!!!"
So I turned on what's left of my old high school speed and barrel around the bag and head to the plate. Just as I thought the relay man now hs the ball and I'm racing against his throw. I get to the plate after the ball and hit the deck. The catcher had caught the ball and was blocking the plate and my only play was to bowl him over. So I did and the Umpire initially called me out....but then as the dust cleared, the catcher didn't have the ball! I had jarred it loose from his mitt and Blue called me "SAFE!"

That was rewarding. Especially, because of the blood that I spilled. I jacked up my back somehow and I sustained a nice scrape on my right knee. It's smaller than it seemed last night. I guess it shrank after it was finished squirting blood.....or maybe I'm just a wuss.

Don't answer that! It was rhetorical.

.538 avg (7-13), 5 RBI, 4 Runs Scored, 2 BB, and a .600 OBP.
I could play for the Royals!!!! Then again, that might be too much work. But the winning percentages would be similar!

Softball: Pt. 9

Okay, Sports fans. Here goes:

I'm in a much better mood, but a much more battered body.

We won!!!!! We split tonight's games against our opponent....and we almost pulled off a double-header sweep!! Almost.

Game 1.
We lost 10-9, but we were leading most of the game. Our defense was much improved and we may have found ourselves the proper position. Somehow, we ended up on the wrong end of a much debated triple-play. I personally still think it was a bullshit call and have no clue how they came to the decision that two people can account for all three outs?!?! Oh well.....who knows if we could have gotten that run what would have happened....
I went 1-2 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored.

Game 2 was the best game we've played.
Pitching was fantastic, Fielding was way better, and our hitting was pretty incredible. I did however take a liner off the bottom of my right shin and it bruised up in no time.
I went 1-2 again, with a walk, and an RBI.....sadly, I struck out like an idiot too! I swung right over the top of what should have been "Ball 3". That was embarrassing.

So the stats are good.
.526 Batting Average (10 hits in 19 ABs), 5 RBIs, 2 BBs, and 3 runs scored.
OBP is .571.
And most importantly we won!

Softball: Pt. 8

Honestly, I only keep categorizing these blogs as 'Sports' because they don't have a distinction for 'Excercises in Futility".

Swept again.
0-8
Surprisingly, I had a decent night though. Game 1, I took a walk, but was stranded at first. Game 2, I got an RBI single and scored a run. We still lost. I caught everything that was hit my way.....all two chances I got stuck out in rightfield.

I'm actually kind of excited that we only have three more weeks of this.....I haven't really enjoyed getting pounded every game this season. I think my biggest problem is that our "coach" (better yet, team captain), Seth, is out of sorts. He shows a lot of enthusiasm and hustles his ass off on every play.....my problem is this. I get corrected or yelled at on basically everything I do. "There's two outs, you should have tried to score from first the second you hear the crack of the bat!!!!!", or "Move in! A right-handed hitter isn't gonna hit it to deep right!" (Crack.....ball flys over my poorly positioned head....grumblegrumble). Further more....he never yells at the guys on the team that really suck.

Look....I know I'm not A-Rod, or Junior, or even Mario Mendoza (the guy who they coined the phrase "The Mendoza Line" after.....which means to hit around .200, which is not good). I'm just a guy who likes to play and have fun and hopes to win at least once in a while. But some of these guys can't even catch a ball!!!! The guy they have playing third base has a glove slightly smaller than my glove......FROM WHEN I PLAYED TEEBALL WHEN I WAS 7!!!!!! How the hell do you expect to make any plays with that glove?! I make my share of mistakes.....but when I'm stuck in rightfield, with nothing better to do than stare at all of the errors that my team commits....I get severely frustrated.

And I hate to be THAT GUY, but for some reason, I always get stuck at the bottom of lineups. In both leagues....what the hell? What's a guy gotta do to hit in the top of the order and see the plate more than twice a night?! In the men's league, I'm hitting .571 with two walks, two runs batted in and two runs scored......you know why I've only got 2 RBI's and 2 runs? Because I'm stuck at the bottom of the order where the other guys around me pop up the first pitch that is thrown to them and then go back to the dugout and smoke a cigarette!!!!

SERIOUSLY!!!!

In the men's league, I have a .667 OBP (On-Base Percentage (OBP): The total number of hits [6] + Bases on Balls [2] + hits by Pitch [0] DIVIDED BY at bats [7] + Bases on Balls [2] + hit by Pitch [0] + Sacrifice Flies[0]=.667).

In the Co-ed league, I'm batting .533, with three RBIs and a run scored, and an OBP of .533.

Combine the two and I'm at .545 avg, 5 RBIs, three runs and an OBP of .583.
Not too shabby. I know of two guys off the top of my head who have yet to even reach base safely in a game this season.

My point being is that I'm not the greatest softball player. I'm not the Babe Ruth of Nashville Slowpitch. But I could be a contributor. I could set the table or help clear it.

I'm just sayin'......

Softball: Pt. 6 & 7

Ok.....sorry about not writing last week.
Last Thursday: Men's League.....
I went 2-3 with a walk and a run scored.

Got the ol' Batting Average up to .500 in that league!!

Game one: we jumped out to a nice 3-0 lead....but couldn't hold it. We lost like 15-5.

Game two: we did not jump out to a lead. I think we scored one run.........on an inside the park homerun by a guy who was just filling a roster spot for us.

So we're 0-6. But we know we're terrible and we've resolved to just trying to get a few runs and keep the other team from having too many huge innings.

After the games, I hustled back to my truck and stripped off the hideous uniform and threw on some clothes and headed to the Station Inn to hear the Red Stick Ramblers!
It was an amazing show. Those guys are so incredibly talented. I didn't even know I liked Cajun Music and Western Swing until I started working with Glenn and went to see them play about 5 years ago. Through lineup changes and just years on the road, they are as tight as a band can be.

It was really great to see Glenn.....I miss that guy. I also miss cruising the streets of BR in his 1967 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. Good times, indeed.

So tonight: Co-Ed league......

Game 1: horrible!
Not only did we get creamed.....it wasn't close.....and a lot of it was my fault!
I was playing in right/center field (four outfielders) and I committed at least five errors......I kicked the ball while trying to field it......and on one particularly bad play, i booted it twice! I yelled "F***" so loudly that I got a warning from the home plate umpire!!! oops.

Our pitcher hurt himself on a boneheaded slide/tumble into second and had to go to the hospital (possibly broke his wrist), so they pulled me from right and stuck me at shortstop, as our SS went to pitch.....I dread playing shortstop.....I know it's softball, but shortstop is a tough position and I always imagined myself being terrible at it.

Surprisingly, I wasn't that bad. I only made one bad throw and six putouts.

I somehow managed to go 1-2 at the dish.

Game 2: HEARTBREAKER!!!!!

I played 1st base this game. I liked first! I didn't look like a schlub out there. I maintained a 1.000 fielding % at first base. I had 8 putouts, mostly popups to shallow right.

This was by far our best game of the season. We jumped out to a 5-0 lead. We even held that 5-0 until the 5th inning. Jeff stated that if we one the game we'd all go for beers after the game and stipulated that if we somehow managed to keep the game a shutout, he'd buy the first two rounds!!!! WHOOO HOOOOOOO!!!! Free Beer!!!

Bottom half of the inning, the score 5 runs.
Bottom of the 6th: they score 3.

Top of the seventh. We're down 8-5. We've had to take an automatic out because our pitcher is unable to play. Down 3, 1 out. .......the tension builds.....for about twenty seconds. Pop out, Groundout. Game over. Sonofabitch!!!!

I went 2-4 on the night with an RBI in game two. Average is down twelve points to .533

So we're 2-6....but could have been 3-5.
And I didn't get any free beer.......or any beer for that matter.
Damn.

Softball: Pt. 5

I can't say i forgot to post last night, there just wasn't any news, stats or the like to report......plus I totally crashed nearly the second I got home.

Our whole team showed up, full uniforms (well, jerseys and shorts) ready to go.
Most of us got to the park early to get a little more throwing and fielding practice before the game and to take a little BP so we could try and score some runs.

So we get to the point where we're feeling good and confident.....and game time is around the corner.....and the other team never shows up.

Sons-of-bitches.

I, needless to say was very very very very bummed.
The good news is that we got our first "wins" of the season and brought our record to 2-4. Plus we all (mostly) stuck around for the better part of the next two hours and got in more BP and fielding......albiet at a less than 100% effort.....at least I know that I wasn't running top speed during practice.....

so.....still batting .545 (6-11)......and just waiting for tomorrow's game(s).