2001-08-19
feeling kinda
birthday countdown: no more counting! whoo hoo!
got all the girlie things done this morning, including a temporary tattoo on my ankle - the Chinese character for happiness. seems appropriate for today.
sis called a bunch of times this morning on her way up, and we finally settled on meeting in front of Boston Beer Works at noon. some days, i hate public transportation. i got all kinds of antsy trying to get there on time. and of course, there's nothing you can do but wait. getting antsy doesn't make the bus go faster. in fact, i think it might make it go slower. ;) despite the antsiness, i was deliriously happy to be seeing a home game, on my birthday, with Hideo pitching and Cal Ripken playing, and to be hanging out with my sis. i had a goofy grin on my face all day.
we got sweet, sweet seats! grandstand behind first base, and far enough back to be under a little cover (which was good, as the heat was brutal - i felt sorry for the Compaq contingent in the bleachers. apparently, their company likes them, but not that much.). seeing home plate was a bit sketchy, as there was a pole in the way, but it worked out fine. sis insisted i take the better seat, since it was my birthday. so cute. :)
i am so happy that she was willing to shoot up for an afternoon. she must have driven like a fiend, since she made it up here in record time. i'm not asking. and she gave me the sweetest card. have i mentioned i have a very cool sister?
we got into the park during batting practice, and i walked down to watch Nomar stretch. my, but that boy does have a fine tush. i had bought a ball before the game (dorkus that i am) in hopes of getting an autograph, but it didn't seem right to straightarm all the kids who were down there. so, no autograph, but i did get pictures. man... okay, so some would call Nomar's behavior superstitious, or religious (the boy said a novena on the field). or, as sis said, 'some would call it OCD.' hey, if he keeps playing well, he can be as O or C as he wants. :)
side note: somehow, it still seems wrong to hear your parents swear or tell dirty jokes. i had been telling my mom about wanting an autograph, and in the background i heard dad *mrawp mrawp mrawp* (like the adults on Charlie Brown). apparently, he said something along the lines of 'and if i had *two* balls, i'd be King of the country instead of Queen!' *drops phone* uh, dad? what was on your cornflakes this morning? ;)
what a freak show of a game it turned out to be. there were some really interesting calls that got turned over once or twice, Baltimore's first base coach was ejected (what's up with that?), and three failed track stars decided to sprint across the infield. as if the game wasn't already long enough without a stupid delay like that - at 4 hours and 5 minutes, it was the longest 9 inning game at least this season. Daubach wasn't playing (i don't think he was even in the park; poor baby is really sick with a staph infection), and Everett wasn't in the lineup either, which was a shame as he often provides fireworks. oh! and this poor guy, whom i later found out was a mentor of Kerrigan's, got beaned on the head with a foul ball around the third inning, and they had to take him out of the park. sheesh...
the game, sadly, was a microcosm of the season. they started very strong (6-1 in the second), fell behind, started to rally, and didn't quite make it. :( we finally left the bottom of the 8th, as we couldn't watch the end of the slaughter, and both had places to be. still and all, it was well worth it to see my boys play. of course, if they could remember to tuck their pant legs in and not look so sloppy... a habit that Pedro apparently started. i'm just saying.
most disturbing sight: a pasty faced guy with a T shirt that said, in the Red Sox font, 'Daubach is my daddy'. um... hello? there is just no way to make that right. male, female, young, old - no way at all. i said to sis 'it's just not right that they make that in adult sizes.' pause, two, three... 'but i guess - ' and i looked over to see her shaking her head and making the 'i don't think so' face. right. hundreds of small children wearing that might be worse.
better T shirt - in addition to the standard 'Yankees suck' shirts, they were hawking 'Jeter Swallows' shirts. made me laugh, and i very nearly bought one for a friend, who is an avid Yankees fan.
so now i'm off to Newport. and i'm nervous. i'm nervous about making the bus for starters, since the game ran so long. wasn't planning on 4 hours. and ... well, i'm just nervous. we'll see.
