Surgical Delay

I’ve been out for the count for the last couple of weeks due to an emergency appendectomy. Seems with all the time that I’ve had at home I would have been posting updates, but it wasn’t so. I will be getting back to it soon with another item off the list, many more books that I’ve read (had a bunch of time to read when you can’t work or lift much), and some of things that have been going on. So until then I hope you are out living the life that you’ve always wanted!

Writing Baseball on my 100th Post

So I’ve hit the triple digits. This is my 100th post on this blog.  I am very proud of this little accomplishment. Not to mention all the adventures that I have enjoyed on the way. I am surprised that I have kept up with it. It’s been over a year and a half, I’ve knocked off 22 items from the list and started a bunch more. Highlights have included the World Series, learning to pole dance, flying an glider, learning new skills, reading more than I have since I was a kid, proving that I can go without my deepest seeded vices, and becoming a better person. I’ve become a father again. I’ve learned to appreciate my life and all the blessings that I have in it. Most surprisingly I have made “virtual” or “cyber” friends. People actually read what I was writing, and often commented. That was most incredible to me.

Enough with patting myself on the back.

Today I accomplished a skill that I really am surprised took me this long to get to. I have been rapidly increasingly my historical knowledge of baseball. I’m closing in on finishing off Ken Burns’ Baseball documentary, reading a history of all the major league stadiums, and constantly keeping up to date with current events. For those that aren’t as up to date as I am, my beloved SF Giants have been in a slump the last two weeks, losing many more games than they have won. Of course being a loyal fan I must have been doing something wrong. I decided to stop their bleeding by finally undertaking scoring a game. The Giants had lost 3 in a row to the Philadelphia Phillies and needed a helping hand.

I can tell you exactly what happened with these hieroglyphics.

I think that I had put off learning to score a game mostly because baseball is a very emotional event for me. I hang on every pitch and have been known to spew obscenities when I disagree with a call. It is one of the few events in my life that I have allowed myself to get completely engrossed in. I am a completely baptized and faithful to the religion of baseball. My bishop is Bochy and our robes are the Orange and Black. I was afraid that if I was worried about filling out the complex looking boxes for every batter I would miss something.  Lord knows I didn’t want to miss a minute of action, they are so far and few between with these Giants.

So to get started I looked up this site that explained how to keep score. I loved that it was like a secret language that I was learning. I loved that the first lesson is that there is no wrong way to keep score of a game. The goal of keeping score was just to be able to look back and tell what happened during the game. I looked at it this way, I’ve been speaking ball for a long time…it was way past time to write it as well. You know, become fluent.

Step one was to find a score card and these guys had several different layouts to choose from, download and print. Easy Peezy! Next was the game. I was extremely nervous, mostly because I couldn’t bear to think of the Gigantes getting swept by the Phils. Since I was sitting at work we had to DVR the game and I ended up running about 2 hours later than real time due to calls. The first couple of innings were work trying to figure out how it all worked, but by the bottom of the 3rd I was in a groove and starting to enjoy myself and joke around about it. Really helped that the Giants showed up and hit today giving Timmy Lincecum a lead to work with. There was a couple of times that I got wrapped up in the game and would have to think about what I just saw in order to put the play down.

This is how you spell Giants Win!!

Written Baseball

In the end, Giants win, I learned and proved that I could score a game. Might have even started a new hobby for myself. Until today I never understood why the little old ladies sat there with their books and scribbled down the entire game. Now I do. It keeps you engaged and actually gives you a chance to feel like your participating in the game.

Thanks to everyone that is reading this. I really do appreciate that you took the time. I also am hoping to keep it going for a while. I am having a great time with this and feel it has enriched my life. Even though I have spent less time on pursuing the items the last few months I am in this for the long haul and hope one day when I am much greyer on top, have a few more wrinkles, and move a little slower that I look back and smile upon an entire list of crossed out adventures.

Til post 101…

In a funk, and Roald Dahl: that crazy sum bitch

So I’m in a writing funk lately. I just haven’t been able to do it, or really wanted to. Part of it has been that I haven’t done anything to cross off the list, but more than anything I have been stressed about life in general. Just all the crap that we allow to get into our heads and mess with our incredible opportunity to live.

Money,

Bills,

Work,

Material stuff,

other people’s stupid drama!

I mean really…who needs it??

So now I am determined to get on with it. I’ve been blessed with an incredible family, health, fantastic friends. What more does any man truly need?

Glad I got that off my chest. I feel much better now.

Like I was saying I don’t have much to say about the list, but I have been amazed at how fast my boys are growing up and how incredible they are. Quite simply the best thing that could have ever happened to Dani and I. Even when I let all that other crap get to me they can pull me up and plaster a smile on my face.

The Code-man

My 5 month old Cody is becoming more and more a kid and less and less a baby every minute. I swear that he is racing to grow up and catch his bigger brother. It actually is breaking my heart to see him get so big and learn so much so quickly.

Riding the boats at the fairgrounds.

Robby, my 2 1/2 year old, is already such a character and now is adding a soundtrack to his life with being able to talk. He is the funniest person sometimes, and others reminds me so much of myself and his mom. He lives with so much enthusiasm that it is a constant reminder for me to enjoy this life. I want to let him keep that innocence for a long as I possibly can, it truly is contagious and addictive as a drug.

That’s a brief look into why I haven’t been burning up the list lately. Would you if you had these two in your life? And I didn’t even get started on their mom, the love of my life. I am a blessed man.

Moving on…

Mass Craziness!!

Roald Dahl was one crazy mofo!! We bought this collection of children’s books to read to our boys. You know…bedtime stories. This guy was off his rocker. The first story that Robby and I read was George’s Marvelous Medicine. I became increasingly concerned as I am explaining to my child that this kid (George) is trying to kill off his Grandmother by mixing together a HazMat. He took everything he could get his hands on (under sinks, in barns, medicine cabinets) and gave it to her to drink. It goes in a totally bizarre direction after that, but I don’t know if kids should be exposed to that being okay.

So I went to another, Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is all about a fox being hunted by three farmers and how he steals from each of them. Which side of the fence do you sit on that one?? I mean Mr. Fox is stealing from the three farmers, but on the other they are attempting to murder the Fox and his family and friends. Great bedtime fodder for dream time right?

At the very least I got two more books done to add to that item. Got to get those 1000 knocked out.

Some other things that have been knocking around in my head…The SF Giants (of course…hope they pull it together soon), Jason Aldean (don’t know why, but going through a bit of a country faze again), Bumfuzzle, and spending a lot of time at my in-laws pool (summer finally arrived with a vengeance last week!)

Hope to talk to you soon.

#27 – Now what am I going to do?

#27 on my list is to watch a shuttle launch.

Damn!

A couple of weeks ago NASA launched the last shuttle of the program. NO MORE LAUNCHES!

So now I don’t know what to replace it on the list? I also have #119 to think of…Something someone else comes up with.

The floor is now yours. Got any great suggestions that I haven’t put on the list?? I would love to hear them so that I can fix this problem.

 

Additionally, if anyone has a way to get me into Kruk and Kuip‘s broadcast booth for an inning I REALLY need help with that.

Happy Birthday to The Cartman!

And last but not least…another good friend of mine has decided to become a blogger. Check out her exploits at Adventures in Medicine and Mommyhood.

Hopefully will have more to share soon.

Pirates and Stuffed Rabbit

I have been reading. I mean it is summer. Have I mentioned that I love the Kindle??

I am a big Pirates of the Caribbean fan. I enjoyed all the Johnny Depp movies and love the ride at Disneyland. One of my favorite memories with my son is riding it over and over and him yelling out more and more each time that we went. He loved it too. So I was stoked to find the book that the new movie is based on available on the Kindle.

Hoping that this breaks the rule "The book is better than the movie"

Thats where being stoked ends. It was an okay book. I think that my main issue was I wasn’t blown away with it. I was expecting to have a “page” turner and it just wasn’t for me. It was confusing, and a bit slow. The main character didn’t seem to want to be involved with his own story. I understand the reluctant hero, but come on! He has a chance to be a pirate! I know that it wasn’t seen as a good thing back then, but today it is one of the best jobs you could have (at least as an actor, especially as an actor.) It actually turned me off from the movie, which I have since heard is pretty good.

The next two are going to seem a bit different.

The Velveteen Rabbit has been knocked around as this classic children’s novel that I knew nothing about. I got the gist, some stuffed rabbit gets loved and lost. I didn’t know that the little boy gets sick, I didn’t know that the rabbit wants to be a real rabbit. I have to admit that it moved right along and was pretty well done. I can see where it can captivate a kid. I will be reading it to my boys when they get a bit older.

I am also happy to put my first bedtime book that I read to my son Robby. How to be a Pirate is a sequel to the How to Train your Dragon series. Something that I did not know prior to opening the cover. I firmly believe that reading to your children is an important part of raising them so I will be including any “chapter” books that I read to Robby at bedtime. Pirate was a bit crazy, but fun. Nothing in the book really makes sense, but it gave me a chance to play it up and make Robby laugh before he went to sleep. It is a crazy adventure with pirates, dragons, treasure, sword fights and bullies. Everything a little boy could possibly ask for in a story.

Dragon boy now wants to be a Pirate

Kids stuffed rabbit tries to become real.

Changing #123: Kruk, Kuip and Corip – Let’s make this happen

I have taken a hiatus from here to take care of some other priorities in my life. I had some career, personal and mechanical issues that have come up in the last month or so, and guess what? Blogging takes a back seat to real life. Besides all that, I have two boys to play, wrestle, spoil and chase around.

The big news is surrounding my change to the list. I just wasn’t really all that into #123 – Toboggan at the Great Wall of China. I put it on the list after seeing a YouTube video of the place and thought it was neat. However when I went and watched it again it just seemed hanky and junky. Still would be fun, and I will jump if I ever get a chance to do it, but I can live without it.

The New Improved #123 – Call an inning with Kruk and Kuip.

I am going to need a miracle to pull this off. I want to be able to sit and call an inning of a SF Giants game with the legendary (that’s right I said it!) San Francisco Giants play by play team of Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper. I have no idea how to get this done. I mean even anywhere close to happening. Seriously, if anyone out there reads this and is owed a huge favor by either of these two, or the Giants, or the Comcast Sports Net people, please consider wasting it on my dream.

When I was a kid I always imagined that I would end up as shortstop of the Gigantes, but that dream has slowly been wrestled from my grasp. (Cursed by inability to hit a curveball…slider, knuckle, fast, basically anything other than a straight down the pipe slow pitch.) So I am evolving my baseball dream into commentary. I firmly believe that those that can’t play…talk about it. I am very serious when I say that I am going to need help getting into this booth. This might be the most impossible task that I have ever undertaken. It is also probably one of the most incredible experiences that I can imagine.

There are no other announcers in the game like Kruk and Kuip. They have their own fans. They have fans in opposing cities. What other team ANNOUNCERS have fans?!? Fans bring signs for them in the stands. It truely is an incredible relationship that they have with the city and the Giants fans. I fully realized how important that they are to the team last year during the playoffs. It was painful to have to sit through the dribble that the national broadcasters spewed. (Especially Joe Buck. I hate Joe Buck. He is a disgrace to the sport. ) It was so bad that I was muting the T.V. and pulling a boombox radio into the room to listen to KNBR, and I wasn’t the only one. There was instructions on the internet to properly sync your radio and T.V. for the Giants playoff games. My first point of order when I become Commish of MLB is that the team play by play team will move with the team through the playoffs. Ahhh, I’m off topic. Back to K&K. Quite simply, they are the best. It would be a dream come true to sit and call the game with them.

I have some books that I need to add to #37, so I’ll add that soon. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I will get some of this stuff done…just busy raising my kids and taking care of life.

The French Laundry

Don’t get too excited…I haven’t been able to pull this one off yet.

I just want to get this down so that I have written evidence in case I need it later in a court of law. The Cartman as declared another entrepreneurial adventure for himself. This time he is going to start a brewing company. So the other night we were sitting around talking about this new endeavor  and somehow we started talking about The French Laundry.

That’s when things got interesting. The Cartman has now pledged that if and when his new company does a $100,000 year he is taking me to dinner at The French Laundry.
I shouldn’t have to tell you how amazing that dinner will be. If you don’t know, you need to find out. So in return I have decided to help him out in any way that I can. Hopefully (for both of us) we will be dining there sooner rather than later.

Don’t give up on me…I’m still around

Things have been different for the ol’ adventure wannabe lately.
Mostly I have been hanging out at home with the boys while my wife has gone back to work. As difficult and overwhelming as it can get trying to juggle the needs of a 2 year old and a three month old I wouldn’t trade this time for anything in the world. I really feel like I am fortifying the bond between myself and my new son Cody. I do wish that my wife didn’t have to go back to work, but that’s the world we live in now I guess.

All of these new kid duties has cut into how much I am able to write. He cuts into all of the time that we have…good thing he is so dang cute. I am still working on things. I have the number to a lady that is supposed to teach me to ride a horse. I’ve continued to read, very slowly now though. There are some other things that are going on that could, or might not lead to list cross offs.

I also have been putting some time in (when I can find it) writing post for Technorati. So far I have been able to put two articles up, but I am very happy for the opportunity to write for possible readers. Never know, that might lead me to my second career.

So I know it’s been slower, but don’t lose faith in me. I will still get all these items completed. Raising my sons is just my first priority and what greater adventure is there than to play with your children. Soon they are going to be dictating what adventures they want to do. I can’t wait!

P.S. Just in case she is reading. I am so incredibly proud to be married to Dani. She is the greatest mother I have ever seen and I am the luckiest man on Earth for catching her for my wife. Everything that I am or do revolves around her and I couldn’t and wouldn’t be the man I am or know what man I want to be without her by my side. Thank you baby baby.

Call of the Wild…really is the best that I could come up with

Jack London, he used to vacation in my town

So not much going down in the land of the new dad…at least as far as the list is concerned. I have had lots and lots of time to learn all about my new little man. He is pretty incredible, and now he’s getting more interactive. It especially warms my soul when he looks up and smiles at me.
I did finish another book though. In high school I had to read parts of Call of the Wild, and it always kind of bothered me that we didn’t have to read the entire book. It really isn’t all that long, so I got the free Kindle download and went to work. Only took a couple of days to get through this one and it was actually really good.
The story is about a dog that gets kidnapped and turns toward his primal side as he pulls a sled across the frozen landscape of Alaska during the gold rush.
Seriously, check it out, it is a good quick read.
Wish I had more to report, but I promise things will pick up when my kid starts to sleep all night and can keep up with us on some of the adventures.

Willie Mays, Matt Cain, History of Baseball and a sandwich

Lately I haven’t had much time to do anything but get to work and take care of my family. We are only two months into having Cody, and I know that it won’t be this hard for much longer, but this is what we have to do. So I guess this is a half-hearted apology for the lack of excitement on here lately. I have to repeat that none of this means anything without my family, so I have no problem pushing off trying to get things crossed off in order to raise my beautiful family that means more than anything to me.

I have been able to make some baby steps on a few items, and just something cool that we decided to do.

First off I finally finished the Willie Mays biography Willie Mays, The Life, The Legend by James Hirsch. I was blown away by this biography. I now feel that I was a poser of a fan of the man and really didn’t have anything other than a highlight reel knowledge of his contribution to the game and my favorite team. As a fan of the game I learned so much of the history of the Giants that made me feel more complete as a fan. I also have so much more respect for the man that IS the greatest to play the game. No one else has had his skills as a player and overcame so many obstacles with as much class and respect for fellow man. Being exposed to some of the situations that he endured made me angry, frustrated, embarrassed, and sad. Needless to say these are not emotions that I usually think of when I think of baseball. I believe that Mr. Hirsch did an excellent job of being faithful to the truth of the subject matter yet respecting the man whose story he was blessed with telling. All of the highlights are here, The Catch, the pennants, the Series, the move to San Fran, but each is expanded to include Mays own thoughts and how he feels the famous highlights don’t paint a complete picture of him as a player, and that he doesn’t consider most of them to be his most incredible moments of the diamond. To find out what he considers his finest plays…you should pick up the book.

An incredible life that was lived in the spotlight of both coasts.(I had to read it on my Kindle because my wife wouldnt let me handle our autographed copy.)

It was funny that I had to purchase the Kindle version of the book, even though we already owned it. Dani wouldn’t let me read our autographed copy because it is to special to us. After reading the book and knowing all that Mays accomplished and what he had to go through to accomplish it I am glad that we kept the book in pristine shape. It is quite a collectors item and will be awesome to hand down to our sons. (They better not turn around and sell it.)

My pick for 2011 Cy Young Award. (This supposed to be a family picture with Matt, but the guy zooomed in, Robby turned and blocked out his brother Cody, and Dani was cut out completely. Complete fail on family pic with Giants Ace.)

My cousin that lives in Texas married a NorCal boy somehow. Great news is that is sounds like he is just as big a Niners and Giants fan as I am, and has successfully converted my cousin. They flew out for a couple of the Giants opening series against the Cardinals and it would have been nice to go to the games with them, but having a 6 week old at the park just didn’t sound like a great day. Instead my wife thought that we should go and get Matt Cain‘s autograph at a signing that he was doing, and I thought that we could meet up with my cousin afterwards for dinner or at least a drink.

The trip to the signing actually didn’t go badly at all, both of our boys are pretty good car travelers so far. We had to make a stop and pick up some things at Costco, and find Robby a new Giants shirt (he had outgrown all of the ones from last season. I swear the kid can’t stay in a size of clothes for more than a week.) While in the parking lot our car battery died. So we had to wait about 45 minutes for the tow truck to find us and jump it. Through all of this our boys were awesome. I thank God everyday that he has blessed us with sons that are pretty mellow and go with the flow no matter the situation. After all that we still had over an hour to get to the card shop.

Once we got to the card shop it could have taken a turn for the worst. It was freezing, and there was a line outside the place (not so much a line a convergence of many many people huddled around trying to get a peek at Cain) and we still had to get our ticket. I made my way with lil Cody to the door and asked how to get my ticket. The man asked my name to make sure I had one reserved and then let me in to pay for it. While in the shop they announced that tickets 160 and lower were allowed. I glanced at my ticket and saw we were 270. We had more than a hundred people in front of us!! Cody and Robby were going to freeze unless we could think of something. I know they weren’t going to want to get back in the car. Thankfully the shop owner told me to just get in line. He didn’t want lil Cody to be sitting out in the cold. I could have hugged and kissed the man. They let me go and grab Dani and Robby and we got in the short line to the table.

Once we got to the table I handed our camera off to a guy that said he would take our picture with Matt. I got down and squeezed next to the table. Dani handed Robby the ball to give to Matt to sign. Robby then rears back and says ball…

My son might be two years old, but he knows how to throw a ball across a house. I had a vision of Robby smoking one at Matt Cain’s head and blackening his eye. Just what I need…to put an All Star on the DL with a broken orbit because my 2 year old can’t control his arm strength.  Thankfully he then just handed to ball to Matt. Cain signed the ball and gave it back to Robby.

At this time we are being ushered out and the guy with our camera tells me that he might have had it zoomed in too much. The “bouncer” is telling us we have to go and there will be no more posing for pictures. So we said good-bye, I shook his hand (became dazzled by the World Series ring that he had received the day before) and we left. When we got back to the car I glanced at the pic. It was great of Matt and I, but Robby is facing the wrong direction and his hat effectively blacked out his brother altogether. In addition Dani is absent completely. So much for a great family photo. But we have another autographed ball for the boys.

Matt Cain, winner of Game 2 of the 2010 World Series!! The game that I was at!!

Afterwards I was unable to get a hold of my cousin to meet up. All in all it was a pretty failed day. Car broke down, met Matt Cain for 30 seconds, picture was a failure, didn’t meet my cousin from out of state. The great thing though is that we had fun on this misadventure. Even when the going got tough Dani and I kept our spirits up and our kids persevered through all of it. Yet another reason that I am amazed with my wife and the family that she has given me.

A lot of baseball lately. My newest addition to the family, Cody, was named after Cody Ross of the Giants and the great run that he had through the playoffs. Well, this kid refuses to sleep from anywhere around 11:30 pm to 3:00 am for at least an hour and a half. He just wants to be held and rocked. I have taken advantage of this time to knock out some of Ken Burns’ documentary Baseball. I am now in the top of the third inning and almost all of it had been watched while hanging out with Cody in the early morning hours. If reading Willie Mays’ bio made me feel like a better fan of the game this doc is giving me a degree in baseball. I am amazed at how much I’ve learned and how entertaining he has made it. The early innings are mostly pictures and stories, but done in a great fashion. Like most Ken Burns stuff that I have seen you have to want to watch it to get the most our of it, but this is one of my great passions in life. I have been a fan of this game for as long as I can remember.

The start screen from our Blu-Ray streaming our Netflix of Baseball

I would highly recommend this for any true fan of the game. You will learn an incredible amount of how the game was founded, formed and established as the national pastime. You also get insight into the origins of all the traditions that you might take for granted, such as the President throwing out the first pitch of the season. I was fascinated and dismayed to learn that my Giants should have been in the 1908 World Series instead of the Cubs (it was the last one they won), but because of a mistake by one player known as the Merkle Boner, they were left out. I know believe that is why the Cubs are cursed. They won a Series they never should have been in!!!

The smells coming off it as it grilled made my mouth water!!

Since I didn’t want this to be completely a baseball post I want to tell you about a sandwich I made recently. Might seem a bit strange, but this is the best grilled cheese that I have ever made in my life!!! Most of the credit for that is going to have to go to Thomas Keller, widely considered the best Chef in America today. Men’s Health printed an article tasking some of the best chefs to reimagine normal, manly dishes. Chef Keller did a grilled cheese that is incredible. I also did the ribs from the same article and guest posted on Joy of Pork for The Cartman. This sandwich had two types of cheese, jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper and sourdough bread. It was a work of art and tasted just a good as it looked. I was very impressed with myself for being able to follow in Chef Keller’s foot steps with something very simple. Hey, at least I can say I’ve tasted something that he has made before…at least until someone takes me to the French Laundry because Lord knows I’m not in any position to afford a meal like that anytime soon. If you would like to attempt this easy, yet delicious sandwich you can find the recipe here at Spicy Pepper, Monterey Jack and Cheddar Grilled Cheese.

It tasted so much better than it looks here, and I think it looks pretty good.

Bon Appetit