Life 2.1

I have been super busy with work. Like, working seven days a week, busy. But the other side of the coin is that work=baseball and I think we all understand how I heart baseball.

I am very fortunate to work with a great group of guys. They are my boys, I can’t help it. I love watching them succeed and have fun doing it. I’m not gonna lie, I’m kinda jealous. They get to go out and play baseball everyday and do team things. I miss that.

I think I miss my freshman and JV teams the most. We had seriously good chemistry. Our JV team went 22-8-2. I have a vague recollection of our frosh team notching 30 wins but unfortunately I didn’t scrapbook the memory. I know, I’m just as shocked as you are.

But I love this team dynamic and this is a good group that I get to work with. But it did remind me of some good friendships I had in high school. Granted, because I played softball and the seasons were the same, I wasn’t around baseball as much, but football was a different story.

It’s true that I started out high school as pretty much the only person from my group of middle school friends to go to Napa High. Thankfully, I had football stats to keep me occupied and I’m not gonna lie, it certainly didn’t hurt to have upperclassman football friends.

And the more I got to know them, the same feelings that I have now grew: I was proud of their accomplishments because I saw how they worked everyday and they were my boys. And in return, they looked out for me too; then again, it maybe was because my uncle was a coach. Perhaps.

At any rate, I have always loved being a member of a team and I have learned a lot from being a part of a whole working towards a greater goal–I love the atmosphere and the camaraderie…the nicknames, the superstitions, the inside jokes. I have always loved them and miss them frequently.

I had all this with softball in a traditional sense; with football, I had a unique look inside the team as a female: a periphery team member to an all-guy team. I loved both instances. I think back to Lisa braiding my then-long ponytail, putting in a braid for each win (hence the reason a 30+ win season sticks out in my mind. That’s a lot of braids swinging around one’s head during a game!) or how she and I would each have a Reese’s Stix candy bar on the bus trips to away games. (Do they even make those anymore??) I remember throwing the ball around the infield during inning warm-ups and meeting in the pitcher’s circle to kiss our middle fingers, then tap the ball before Justine or Crystal threw the first pitch of the inning not sure how that one came to be or what significance it had, but we did it.

Some days, I go out to practice (aka “work”) and think I am totally jealous of the guys right now, having the team around them and making all those memories.

But on the flip side, I’m also loving being on the inside of a team again. And I have to say, they have all been cool with having a girl around. I can already feel it happening–they are growin’ on me. I have a new crop of boys–good guys who I want to see succeed since I see them working at it every day. I want their work to be rewarded. It doesn’t hurt that their victories make my job easier.

But it got me thinking about my own team experiences and of course, those involve football. I will say, and this will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, that Napa High football was like an extended branch of my family, after being a part of it for so long and watching both of my brothers succeed on the football field.

So even though the kids on the team this year aren’t the same guys as my boys of old, I still am pretty proud of their accomplishments and how they carry on the traditions that have such a significant meaning to me.

This article that appeared in the Napa Register today got me thinking about all this.

A New Generation

I’m still pretty proud of the continued tradition and happy to have my own team again….even if that team isn’t one that I get to take ground balls with every day.

This is what I did today at work. I like my job:

So I have begun running on a fairly regular basis. I haven’t done this whole get in shape thing for a long time so I knew getting back into a groove was not going to be fun but I’m starting to realize that media room food isn’t always healthy so I need to start counterbalancing that with at least a run. My plan? Hit up our strength and conditioning coach to see if he wouldn’t mind me using the treadmill in the weight room. He didn’t mind but he did mention that the best time was lunch.

Which I wasn’t looking forward to, logistically-speaking, because after lunch I still have to go back to work. And going back to work all sweaty and having to put my work clothes back on is not awesome. Then I had the bright idea to just wear my workout clothes out to baseball because, really, heels don’t make sense out there anyway.

This plan has been working for me and I have started my second week of this running thing. Last week took some getting used to and at one point I actually thought I had pulled something in my left calf. And of course, there is a mysterious bruise on my right big toe, and I’m not really sure how it got there but it doesn’t hurt anymore so I’m thinking I’m past the hard part. Yesterday and today I had two really good workouts. Today especially.I’m pretty sure I just jinxed myself and tomorrow’s run will probably not be as awesome but oh well. Today was good and I was all jazzed, post-run.

I’m not gonna lie. It’s been a while since I could run for 25 minutes straight without stopping to walk for a minute or two. I actually did that today! Ran at 5.5 mph for 25 minutes straight.

I must have really been in the zone because I didn’t really notice my progress until one of my baseball boys brought me a towel because I was sweating so profusely. Hot, I know. It also occurred to me that when I get in this “zone” I find myself mouthing the words to whatever song is blaring into my ears via my iPod. Interesting, right? Well, it also makes for an entertaining show for the people also working out at lunchtime. It is extra entertaining if you’re running in a gym area in which people know you. Such as the gym I use. Which doubles as the gym in which the baseball team works out. You see where I’m going with this.

So I figured the least I could do was help them out with what the heck I was rocking out to today, thus the following is my workout playlist. (I have found it to be very motivating while working out.)

• Whitney Houston- I’m Every Woman
• Kenny Loggins- Danger Zone
• Nickelback- Feelin’ Way Too Damn Good
• Miranda Lambert- Gunpowder & Lead
• Number 1- Nelly
• Kenny Loggins- Playing with the Boys (the Top Gun volleyball scene)
• Nelly- Ride Wit Me
• Jo Dee Messina- I’m Done
• The Roots- I’m in the Music
• Lady Antebellum- Lookin’ for a Good Time
• Pebbles- Mercedes Boy
• The Roots- The Seed
• Guns N Roses- Sweet Child of Mine and Welcome to the Jungle
• Tony Lucca- Foxy Jane
• Eminem- Till I Collapse and Lose Yourself
• Kim Wilde- You Keep Me Hangin’ On
• Rufus & Chaka Khan- Tell Me Something Good
• Kelly Clarkson- Behind These Hazel Eyes
• Tech N9ne- Einstein
• Mary J. Blige- Enough Cryin’
• Toby Keith- Get Drunk and Be Somebody
• Jurassic 5- Quality Control
• Christina Aguilera- Fighter
• Carrie Underwood- Last Name
• Jurassic 5- What’s Golden
• Jason Aldean- Johnny Cash
• Kellie Pickler- Things That Never Cross A Man’s Mind
• Anthony Hamilton- Can’t Let Go
• Earth, Wind and Fire- September
• Terri Clark- Dirty Girl
• Trace Adkins- I Got My Game On
• Bonnie Raitt w/ BB King- Baby I Love You
• Run DMC- It’s Tricky
• Jody Watley- Looking for a New Love
• Jack Ingram- Maybe She’ll Get Lonely

I guess I’ll give it another go tomorrow because I once heard that the mind needs to do something for 28 days before it becomes habit and I’m only on like, Day 5 so we’ll see how this whole thing shakes out.

I (kinda) had my first Napa visitors this past weekend. I say kinda because a couple friends of my dad came last weekend so I guess that kinda counts because I took them to do tourist-y things but it was not planned until they actually arrived in the Boot.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. My mom, my aunt and two of my good friends came to visit and this was planned way back in December when I was home so I consider them my first Cali visitors. Little did I know that the weekend before Mardi Gras is just as insane with parades. I had no idea. If this “pre-Mardi Gras weekend” is this crazy, I’m outright scared for Mardi Gras! Which doesn’t really matter because we have a four-game home stand so really, I will be practically sleeping in the press box.

But this weekend we did LOTS of stuff. I should take a moment to let everyone know that I make a mean itinerary. As in, I’m very hardcore about planning. I can’t help it. A couple years of Build a Better Burger will do that to a girl. And I learned from the best event planner ever, so needless to say, there was a lot on the agenda.

After a very hectic travel day in which LAX let me down (shock) by not having their planes take off on time, in turn making my lady crew’s connection in Houston late, and therefor eliminating the chance to see my place of employment and meeting my coworkers, the girls finally arrived.

We all got cleaned up and after a short tour of a part of the city that was definitely NOT on the agenda, we found our way to Impastato’s in Metairie (a suburb of New Orleans). It was delicious probably the best meal we ate. It did not hurt that Mr. Joe gave us all roses. I like roses. Roses don’t make me sneeze and I felt fancy. Thus, the following prom-esque picture was taken.

This reminds me of prom minus boys

By the time I got home, it was close to midnight and I was exhausted and full. I think we had six courses. No joke. It reminded me of the gourmet dinner the football coaches and by football coaches I mean their wives made us a couple years ago…wine was flowing and food just kept coming. When we heard the desserts, we each took one and rotated to the right so we could all enjoy them. And enjoy them we did. Though I don’t know how we fit it all in. I was impressed with my eating efforts that night.

On Friday (the 13th) we took a VooDoo Cemetery tour and our guide was very informative. His name was Ernie and he was a wealth of New Orleans knowledge. He is also good at calling you out for removing yourself from the group to talk on your cell phone while he is explaining the meaning behind neutral ground and he doesn’t care that you might be talking to your boss.

As we were talking back from the tour, we were on a side street in the quarter, trying to figure out our next move when all of a sudden, I stop dead in my tracks and shout in a very Ann-Hathaway-just-finds-out-she’s-a-princess sorta way, ’shut up‘ and promptly scurry up to the next doorway ahead of me.

Wanna know who was standing inside of it?

My old boss from the winery and the winery chef, who I had spent a great deal of time with one summer doing a tour.

Crazy, right? I know. I was shocked. My mom took a pic of me with the two, because B-Dub was dressed in costume as the Grand Marshall of the Krewe of Corks parade that was taking place later that day. Hilariously awesome. Also, Mom, that is your cue to upload your pictures to the computer. Then send them to me. Or I will tell you how to add them to Shutterfly. It’s easy. Just don’t leave them on the camera. Thank you.

After our run in, we figured we needed to eat again, despite having sworn off food for weeks after the delicious-yet-filling dinner we’d had the night before. For lunch, I took the group to Central Grocery for muffalettas, which were a quick favorite and I can’t blame them for appreciating deliciousness.

In the afternoon, we went on a plantation tour to Oak Alley, which was beautiful but was out in the boondocks. We cut through swamps and learned about the Cajuns. Word on the street is that they were the criminals, prostitutes and other outcasts from Europe who were not suitable for society so they were banished to the swamps, thus becoming known as the Cajuns. Not sure if that is accurate but we’ll go with it for now.

The story of Oak Alley

The oaks of Oak Alley

Then because we were in the sticks, the tour bus got caught in I-10/Pre-Mardi Gras Friday night traffic on the way back, which made me want to gouge my eyes out because we all know how I feel about traffic. And the two loud obnoxious men who kept trying to convince the driver to drop them off first didn’t help my cause. It was at this point that I reaffirmed my decision to not even get on I-10 to see Christ ride a bicycle.

FINALLY we got back to the hotel but because of parades, we ended up not doing dinner at Acme and the ladies had to forgo their first charbroiled oyster experience. We went to some place in the Quarter called Oceania or something and watching our very gay waiter get hit on by two very drunk women. Post-dinner, we went to Pat O’s to check out the Piano Bar, which I think was a good French Quarter experience for the group.

Check us out, having a night on the town (yes, I am wearing my Mets hat. It’s almost baseball season and need I remind everyone that I heart David Wright?):

The ladies at the piano bar

On Saturday, we started the morning out right well, it was more like afternoon by the time our waiter brought them out to us with some beignets from Cafe Du Monde then spent the day walking around the French Market. I got the latest Janet Evanovich book for only two dollars. I literally LOL when I read her books so two dollars was a steal of a deal. I also got a charm for my charm bracelet, which is officially at capacity.

Post-shopping, I headed back to my house to get ready for our House of Blues concert. We went to see Corey Smith and I have to say, I was disappointed in the HOB as a venue. They had no chairs and no benches but it wasn’t exactly a dancing venue either so….standing was cool. In a Borat voice NOT!

Then there were annoying drunk girls who I wanted to slap because they kept prancing/stumbling around making idiots of themselves in front of the opening act band, who had planted themselves near our post.

I will go into my disappointment in the venue in another blog post but let’s just say that I will not be going back. It has to be someone I really want to see for me to deal with that crap again.

On Sunday, our last day before an early Monday AM flight, I had to go to baseball practice for a little bit and my mom and my aunt wanted to come visit Uptown instead of going on the swamp tour. I would have liked to have gone on a swamp tour but felt better when a member of the baseball team told me he and the guys would take me on my own personal swamp tour whenever I wanted. I trust them to not feed me to the alligators, since I have become a potential source of sunflower seeds, so I will take them up on it sometime.

After the swamp tour, we met at a restaurant for a quick lunch (mine consisted of bread pudding because I had a subway sandwich for brunch earlier) then we boarded the Steamboat Natchez for a paddleboat cruise on the Mississippi River. It was a very relaxing tour and I got some good pictures. It was very Disneyland without the sugarcoating.

Mom and me on Steamboat Natchez

Confirmation that the boat was paddleboat powered

At one point, a fellow cruiser who had begun chatting us up agreed to ambush Cindy, who had passed on the cruise. I gave him my camera and he made a video, pretending to interview Cindy about her trip, without her knowing we had put him up to it. It was spectacular. We got her so good.

After the Natchez, we got cleaned up for dinner and ate at the Rib Room at the hotel. I naturally had a steak. We had some great wine and then headed to Bourbon for a quick photo op. I was so exhausted and knew I had a big week and they had an early flight so we literally made the trip to Bourbon, took a couple pics an then headed back.

It was a great visit but a whirlwind trip. I’m still catching up on sleep…which I need to do before Friday, which doubles as opening day for my baseball season.

Let the good times roll! Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

I have slowly but surely been easing into my role with my primary sport of baseball. Understandably, the team is still learning about me and I think they are starting to see that I’m not new to baseball, nor am I just some chick hanging around the dugout although when I wear my team jacket, I resemble a girl wearing her boyfriend’s letterjacket/groupie, which isn’t quite what I’m going for. But with baby steps, I think we’re all learning. A classic example might be earlier this week when I said something under my breath about making the third out at third and what a cardinal sin that was and our freshman catcher heard me. “So, you know a little something about baseball, huh?” I told him this wasn’t my first rodeo.

And today.

I had my first batch of sunflower seeds today. I was trying to hold off as long as I could but ever since I have been going to practice on a regular basis and by regular basis I mean every day it has gotten harder and harder to resist stuffing my cheeks like a skrill (translation: squirrel).

Since I was trying to ease the team into the fact that I actually know baseball and all that it entails, I wasn’t planning on spitting seeds right out the gate for fear they would wonder who the hell this new girl was, spitting seeds in their dugout. I figured I would follow their lead since I’m in their domain. But after a week or two and only seeing them eat Gatorade power bar things, and not seeing any sunflower seeds being consumed, I was kinda nervous.

So when they busted them out today, I thought to myself, finally! But I still wanted to try and hold out on the raw tongue/cheek feeling for as long as I could since we have 55 scheduled games from next week until June.

Unfortunately, I have no will power.

I blame our right fielder, who had the bag of David’s sunflower seeds out first.

I looked at him, longing to throw some in my mouth, but trying to hold out, especially since I was in slacks and heels. There is nothing classier than a lady in heels, spitting seeds. Finally, I broke down and the following conversation ensued:

Me [deep sigh, acknowledging my weakness]: Drew, can you hook a sista up and spot me some of those?
Drew [pouring a few in my hand]: Do you know how to eat these?
Me [with a facial expression that illustrates just how ridiculous I think that question is]: Is the Pope Catholic?
Drew [laughing]: all right then.

I think it’s safe to say the guys are catching on.