Going back to Cali...for a little while, anyways...

Hello, all.

Fresh off my first fantasy football draft of the season and a weekend full of movies, movies and more movies, I'm sitting here on a Sunday night listening to Tony Bruno and Gary Radnich episodes over the last week or two and enjoying a full stomach thanks to Ben & Jerry's "Everything but the...", which is my second favorite ice cream from them (Chubby Hubby is #1, and I couldn't find it at all tonight...grrrr). The last week or so has been a whirlwind, but with that whirlwind subsiding, it was led to, well, the title of this e-mail, coincidentally.

Yes, I will be returning to Sonoma some time near the end of September. I talked to my GM on Friday about my future in Dunedin, and he painted me a great picture of things to come. Even though my term ends next month, he told me that there is a job waiting for me starting in January, where I would basically do what I did this season, but with a better title (Communications Coordinator, no intern for me) and a pay raise, which is always nice. He told me that he knew my aspirations to broadcast were #1 for me, and he'd love to accommodate my dream to be a full-time broadcaster, but it's just not in the cards with the Blue Jays because of where we are. Tampa Bay is the Rays market, without a doubt, and while broadcasting is always nice, it's not a money generator right now. But, he told me that since he knows I want to follow my dreams, he and the Blue Jays are going to help me out. So while I'm here, I'm going to talk to some people with the TORONTO Blue Jays about what my next step could be and see what to do from there. There's even talk about me doing an inning with Toronto when they come down to play the Rays in a couple of weeks, which would be incredible.

So the next few months is pretty simple: To get my resume and a tape together so that I can attack the job market that will open up at the end of the baseball season. I'm going to go after every broadcasting job I can find with the guidance of the people in Toronto. When I get out to California after my latest cross-country trip, I'll be looking to see what is out on the West Coast for me, and go from there. If nothing comes up before the Winter Meetings in December, I'll head there and try my luck. If nothing comes out of those, I'll head back to Dunedin for another season. To have my "worst case scenario" being coming back to a place I'm familiar with and a place that is close to my family down in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, that's pretty good, right there.

But now, to reflect on the season I've had...wow, what an experience. I was homeless for nine weeks. I stayed in almost a dozen places in the eight months I've been out here. I've laughed, I've cried. I've seen almost every part of Florida. I've broadcasted. I've met professional players. I've seen Alex Rodriguez hit a home run. I saw Roy Halladay shut down teams like it was the middle of the season and not Spring Training. I've seen players rise and fall. I've done All-Star games. I've done TV spots! I've done statistical analysis and research for our coaches. I've been on boats, been to concerts, seen tons of movies...and I've realized a lot of things about myself that a move like this wouldn't have allowed me to realize. For that alone, I am more than grateful for the experience, and to come home a better man than when I left is the best gift I could have given myself.

So now, I take these last few weeks here in Dunedin, make the best of them, and then take my time coming home. I hope to be making a couple of stops along the way to see some people I might not be able to see otherwise, and then stay with my brother in LA before heading on home. When I get back, I'll still be on the job hunt, and I'll be looking for a little something in the Sonoma area to hold me over in the mean time, so if any of you have a lead for me to get a job over Oct-Dec, let me know! I'm open to anything at this point. I'll be happy to come home for a little bit before I head back to wherever my next job is, and for me, just to know I'll be doing something in baseball next year is a fantastic blessing.

Mother Nature does not like me broadcasting

(Written at 11:30 p.m. on Friday, 8/14)
I love to broadcast. It's my lifeblood, my energy. Outside of my family and friends, my time behind a microphone is the best time I have in my life. (Insert “If only I had a girlfriend”-type reference here.) It's just...it makes me feel good. It's not even an ego pumper. It's like it's a validation of time and effort; that for me to be able to say anything behind a mike makes me realize that all the hard work I've put in to making this happen was worthwhile.

Many times this year, Mother Nature has been a bitch to my broadcasting aspirations. I say that with love and kindness, for Mother Nature has also given me plenty a sunny day so that I may enjoy my normal day-to-day job that I do with the Blue Jays. But, on the days where I've been allowed to broadcast, it has decided to rain on my parade more often than not. Now...I'm one for the realization that Florida is in a drought and the rain is necessary, but good lord, for three hours, could you turn off the waterworks just ONCE?

Well, apparently, Mother Nature decided that it didn't just want to destroy my thoughts of broadcasting a Friday night game. Oh, no. It decided to try and make a run at my TV spot, as well.

It's funny to think that on Thursday afternoon, life decided to throw me a curveball or two. C'mon. I write about baseball for a living. As if that cliché wasn't going to come up during any of my writings. No, I'm talking about how a drive across the state of Florida almost made me turn around and head back to Clearwater.

Am I a pansy? Eh, at this point, for me to complain about something as mundane as the weather in Florida in August seems pedantic (Thank you, Peter Griffin) at best, but good lord...I had never experienced anything like that in my life.

Around 1 p.m. or so that day, a good storm came through the Tampa Bay area and hit Dunedin pretty hard. Hagler/Hearns hard, so to speak. It was one of those that was quick, but you felt its power. So, around 2 p.m., after the Blue Jays staff enjoyed birthday sundaes for Kathi, who turned 25 (Welcome to the club. Enjoy feeling old for a while before realizing you're not even 30 yet.) I ventured east to Viera, which is just north of Melbourne on the east coast of Florida. I had been asked by Bright House Sports Network to come on for an inning during their Game of the Week for the FSL that involved Dunedin and Brevard County.

Now...weather patterns as they are, with me being inside, I really didn't get to feel how strong the storm was. Usually, the cells that are strongest are heard on the aluminum roofs of our office buildings. So, after going through a shower as I headed for I-4, I thought I had seen the worst of it and it would be clear skies to Viera.

Yeah, about that...for those of you who have not experienced weather in Florida during the month of August, this is the time of year when hurricanes begin to occur. Now, I'm not saying I went through a hurricane, but the weather is such that cells are usually strong around this time due to increased amounts of humidity, causing more clouds to take in water, and, because of the hot temperatures (Haven't seen the heat index under 100 in about four weeks) it makes the hot air able to mix with the cool air of the clouds to not only create the hard rain, but allows for electric currents to roam freely, causing the variety of thunderstorms that are seen in the Tampa Bay area every summer. Now, most of it is the heat lightning generated by the clouds, but every now and then, a cloud gets rid of a bolt via a lightning strike. No big deal, right? Unless you're afraid of lightning, which I'm not.

So as I exited the Tampa area heading east on I-4, I looked ahead to see nothing but dark skies and thunderbolts crashing down upon central Florida. It wasn't exactly doomsday, but for me, it wasn't something I looked to enjoy in the least. In fact, I got my first true taste of tropic thunder when I saw a lightning bolt crash on the shoulder of the west side of the freeway. About 50 feet away from me. And I saw it crash.

Gulp.Did I say I wasn't afraid of lightning?

So imagine my unsurprise at what followed: copious amounts of rainfall that pounded the freeway and would not stop as I got to Plant City, 20 miles east of Conjunction Junction. It started out like a hard storm would normally start, but then it got stronger. The rain fell at a faster rate. The highest possible setting on my windshield wipers wouldn't go fast enough. I was clinched at 10 and 2 on the wheel, peering out over it to look as closely and as attentively as I could to the traffic ahead of me, slowing down due to the cars that had been stymied by Mother Nature's best rendition of the last time she saw the end of “Terms of Endearment.” We all cried. C'mon, now.

And Mother Nature was bawling. I mean the type of bawling that only happens to 13 year old girls that find out that the Jonas Brothers broke up and that the new “Twilight” movie was never to be released. Like the type of crying Rams fans did when Adam Vinatieri made the Field Goald Heard 'Round the World in Super Bowl XXXVI.

It rained hard, I guess, is what I am trying to say.

I looked down to my speedometer to see that it was only at 35 MPH, half the speed limit for the freeway at that time. My HAZARD lights were on. Not brights, not high beams...HAZARD lights. It was about five minutes in that I seriously considered turning around and heading back to Tampa to hang out with the guys at work for Kathi's birthday. But then I realized that since I was moving faster than the storm that I should just suck it up and it will all be over soon.

So for 15 miles this kept going. All through Lakeland, I didn't see anything. Not even the Hooters that's right there on the freeway. I saw none of it. I instead saw barely 25 feet in front of me, with only flashing lights and my own damn instincts to guide me through this test of nature's strength. I remember texting with a couple of people when things were fine on the drive, but this was not that time. This was me thinking about how the hell people in Florida drive through this every August. I sure as hell wouldn't. This wasn't even a hurricane! I had driven through some strong storms down here, but this was something else. Clouds about 50 feet off the freeway pouring down endless streams of precipitation and throwing in lightning for good measure because they figure the tall aluminum structures in the Lakeland area didn't get enough juice for a Thursday night.

When I finally came out of the damn thing after about 20 minutes of me wondering if me traveling 155 miles to do one inning of TV was truly worth it if I had to go through this to get there, I breathed a sigh of relief...and then immediately called Garrett back at the stadium to see if this cell was going to head for Viera (A storm that would have ended the thoughts of the game being played that night. No questions asked.) and he informed me that it was instead heading northeast towards Orlando and then Daytona. Thank you, Mother Nature.

Oh, but then Mother Nature got crafty. Once I arrived at the park at 6 p.m., I was greeted at Space Coast Stadium (I originally typed Space Ghost, which is hilarious) by the Manatees staff and the Bright House Sports people, including former AL Cy Young Winner Frank Viola, who's as nice as they come and truly enjoys what he's doing. I caught the crew up on the team and then took in the view from the press box...where we could all see a storm pouring rain out in the distance.

Mother Nature, you're a cruel bitch.

We were hoping it was just crossing to the west, heading across Melbourne and over towards St. Cloud/Kissimmee, but it wasn't. It was heading for the stadium. The tarp was on the field. The TV time was in jeopardy once more.

The storm hit the field and it hit it pretty hard, but two things saved me: First was that it was a short storm, but wasn't nearly as strong as the one I went through to get here. Second, the tarp was on the field in plenty of time and the field had not taken water in a few days, meaning that it was ready to soak some stuff up. The drains in left field were ready for the water and the field took it well. When the tarp was taken off the field and the excess water was squeegeed off, I waited for Manatees GM Kyle Smith's announcement on the game. Thankfully, it was still on. It was to start at 8:15. My TV time was intact and I was happy.

I thanked whoever has power over Mother Nature for allowing me the chance to do the game and I pressed on for my inning, a phenomenal piece of sports talk in the middle of two quick half innings. Much too quick for me, of course, where I wish I could have stayed the rest of the game.

The game itself was something else. 1-1 until the Jays got two home runs, one from Kevin Ahrens and another from Jesus Gonzalez. We had a 4-1 lead in the 9^th with Tim Collins, the best reliever on the team, on to close the game out, but a bleeder fell, a line drive wasn't caught, and the Manatees took advantage of a bases-loaded walk and a couple other hits fell, tying the game at 4-4. When Trystan Magnuson somehow got a line drive double play out of the situation and then got a fly out to end the inning, we were looking at extras. It was 11:30. The day wasn't over yet.

But, the Manatees won on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10^th to win the game and the series, sending Dunedin to Daytona with a gut-punch of a loss. As bad as I felt, for me to go through so much rain for one inning of TV time was worth it. Made me feel good to be behind a microphone and tell a story for a while. I guess what you realize is that if you feel like it's something that's worthwhile in your life, you gotta go after it, regardless of who it is, what it is, where it is...or why it's even there in the first place.

And now, here I lay in Delray Beach, 24 hours later, and looking back on a Thursday that was much more than I expected. Couldn't have asked for anything else out of a day like that. I'm now in Delray Beach, fresh off muchos fried potatoes, talks of desperate women in need of loving (Thanks to my uncle and aunt, no less) and a viewing of “500 Days of Summer”, which was a good romantic comedy that will hit close to home for those looking to figure out their views on love. (Ahem...) In eight hours, I will surf Deerfield Beach and continue my march towards my uncertain future, wondering what will happen next and being ready to handle it when it happens.

(Editor's Note: Bad weather forced the free surf lesson to be canceled. Sad face.)

It's been a long time/I shouldn't have left you...

Well, it's August. To think I was here seven months ago and was writing about my troubles adjusting to this place seems like it was a long time ago. And honestly, it has been. I know that everybody I was close to has been doing their thing since I left back in California, just like I've been doing here since I arrived, but honestly, it still feels weird; as if I'm about to find out after my senior year of college whether I'm heading home or staying put to follow my dreams.

The last time that happened, I ended up heading home as I tried to break in with KTVU and keep my broadcasting aspirations afloat. I did a good job with that, taking a job at Friedman's for a little while before finding my spot with ThreeHouse when it was at its peak, which in turn, allowed me to get my current spot here with the Blue Jays. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I got here, but my seven months in Dunedin, as far as my career is concerned, have been some of the most fulfilling time of my life because it allowed me to become aware of what I needed to do in order to be successful. Not just in my career, which I always had my nose to the grindstone with, but just with my life in general.

The gym is no longer some place I go when I feel like it: It's another hour and a half added to my work day. It's some place I go because I've realized I don't like being this big dude anymore. I want to be able to slim down and feel good about it. I haven't felt this way about anything in my life since my senior year in high school, really, and I'm about to become as small as I was back then if things keep going well at the gym. I still have a long way to go to get where I want to with my physical self, but it seems as if my emotional side is turning a bit; where confidence and determination has replaced self-loathing and doubt. Although, as the people who I have complained to over the last few months know, it hasn't been an easy process!

To be honest, I don't know what the future holds with me here in Dunedin. I know that the Blue Jays would love to keep me around, but they also know that I want to broadcast, which has been my dream and my passion for five years now, and is something I hope becomes the fixture in my career much sooner than later. For the longest time, broadcasting has been an aside; almost a perk to my full-time employment with whoever I worked for. I've been chasing a dream, and to an extent, that dream has come true: I'm broadcasting professional baseball. Even on a small level, that's something I can be proud of (and something that goes on the resume).

Hell, I even realized a small dream last Thursday when Bright House Sports Network (what would be the equivalent of Comcast Sportsnet back in the Bay Area) had me on for a couple of innings during Dunedin's TV debut for the season when they took on Clearwater. They loved having me be a part of the broadcast and I helped out with them being prepared well for it, and I really came off looking like an asset to the program. That's all I could hope for. Now, the Blue Jays are on again this Thursday and it looks like I might get another shot to help out on the TV side of things. Perhaps this leads to something.

If there's anything anyone ever learns in life, it's that if you get any opportunity that might lead to something that you want to do, seize it. That's what I did when I went to the Baseball Winter Meetings in Vegas last December, and thankfully, it led me to this spot in my life where I am in professional sports: I'm good at what I do, and the sky is the limit. For seven years, I've worked my ass off to get to this point and I'm not about to let something get in my way. Within the next few days, I should find out what my future is with the team, and whatever is presented to me, if it's an opportunity to do something that might lead to the next big step in my life, I'll do what I've tried to do since I was an intern under Steven Serafini in sports at the I-T: I'll seize the opportunity, and I'll do everything I can to not only do the job, but add something to it so that it's my own.

Never before in my life has the phrase "Carpe Diem" meant more than right now. I intend to do that from now on. In my work, in my life, with myself. It's time to stop living with what isn't in front of me and start living with everything that is. And if anybody is doubting their abilities with anything in their lives, remember that whatever change you hope will happen begins with you. Always has, always will. For me, I just hope that the changes I've been making pay off in the long run.

My last 10 Recently Played Songs on my iPod: 6/22/09

This is something I'll try and do from time to time as kind of an updater on what I've been up to lately and gauge my musical tastes recently, as they seem to be in a constant state of flux depending on when and where I'm listening to them. So here is how this works: On my iPod, as there is on all iPods, one of the default playlists is the "Recently Played" playlist, and it's one I actually go back to a lot, because I like to listen to it and remember where I was the last time I played. So, I figured, why not write about it? I'm going to keep it to 10, and I'll do the lists at random times. I'll also include a small background about each song to keep them in context. So without further ado:

1. "Black or White" - Michael Jackson, Number Ones
LAST LISTENED TO: On my way home from work, last...I'm gonna say Thursday. Yep, Thursday. I believe I craved Taco Bell.

Ah, Michael. What a career you've led. Daddy Joe was a jerk while you were the center of attention with the 5, and then after going solo, you became a megastar thanks in large part to the incredible work of producer Quincy Jones, whose trio of albums turned you into the "King of Pop." Now, we can only look at you as, and I'm quoting Katt Williams here, the King of "Smelling Like Little Boys' Booty Holes." This was one of his last hits, with the video for this showing him, if I remember right, standing in a water tower of some sort. I don't know. I just remember that hearing Michael sing about the subject was pretty hilarious, mainly because his pigmentation surgery turned him whiter than Powder. Not like talcum powder, but Powder from the movie, "Powder" powder. The song itself is fine, but pales (heh) in comparison to his previous works.

2. "Thugs Get Lonely Too" - 2Pac (feat. Nate Dogg), Loyal to the Game
LAST LISTENED TO: I think on the same trip. Maybe a shorter trip to get gas. Nope, same trip.

I recently watched some old "Chappelle's Show" reruns and it brought me to the hilarious skit where he was dancing in the club and heard the new 2Pac and the lyrics made it sound like 2Pac recorded the song 10 days ago instead of 10 years ago. They stop at lyrics like, "George W....Smith/He used to be the mayor, of Oakland, a long time ago!" And then they keep hollering at Chappelle for hitting on a woman when he's married. Dave, come back to us. Please. The song itself I actually picked up when it was Logan Schafer's walk-up music in Brevard County and I loved the intro. Now, the intro to the song itself is a little longer than what Schafer used (he picked it up from the first drum beat) but the song is the usual post-death 2Pac fare: A beat he probably never would have used, but at the same time, worked for what they were going for. Plus, it had Nate Dogg on the hook, and that's always good, no matter what. I could write the worst rap ever (and I probably have, ask Lenny Della Cella) and have Nate Dogg on the hook and my shit would be hot. Then I'd truly change my name to Posstrofee and start my true calling as heir to the white rapper throne. But I think I'll just follow sports, instead.

3. "Fish and Whistle" - John Prine, Souveneirs
LAST LISTENED TO: Aforementioned trip.

My dad records music, and in talking to my Uncle Jay about him and his musical stylings, I told him that when I first listened to John Prine sing, I realized exactly who my dad sounded like. Now, of course, Prine was somebody who turned out to be one of the greatest acoustic guitar players ever, and my dad is someone who plays because he loves it and doesn't intend on getting famous (although if he did, it's not like he'd turn down the fame) but the way Prine sings his songs, the tonality, the strumming of the guitar, the slight raspiness, it's all in my dad's songs, too. It's nice to know that when I hear a John Prine song, it's a reminder of what my dad looks to for influence and inspiration.

4. "Behind Those Eyes" - 3 Doors Down, Seventeen Days
LAST LISTENTED TO: Aforementioned trip, but I remember exactly when I heard it: Just as I was going through the drive thru at Taco Bell. Weird.

I have a few songs that I absolutely played down to the bone in my iPod history, and the problem is that when I had to reset it or move songs to a different computer, I lose my play history, so this song, at one point, was played at the very top of the list along with another 3 Doors Down song, "Landing in London." Now, that song had Bob Seger in it, and he's pretty awesome, but I remember seeing a video that recapped a WrestleMania a few years back (I think it was 21, when Batista won the big gold belt from Triple H) and this was the song it was set to. For someone who was learning the producing ropes, that was a pretty sweet video package to watch. So it got into heavy rotation, made my Top 100 list, and I played it out until I got sick of it. I think it was about 40 times. It was #1 for like, 2 months. If Billboard consisted of only me, 3 Doors Down would be the most popular band in the United States. And not because of "Superman." That would be fine by me. The song itself is fine, but it's not as much anymore because now all those 3 Doors Down songs blend together for me. I liked them a lot at one point, but not so much anymore. Thought it was worth a listen for nostalgia's sake, though.

5. "Theme from 'Shaft'" - Isaac Hayes, Shaft
LAST LISTENED TO: Coming home from work, but before deciding Taco Bell was the place to be.

So I mentioned Quincy Jones earlier, and as if you needed any other reason to love the man, we throw this one down and you guys all bow down at the greatness of him. Now, he has two incredible themes to his credit: This one, and the theme from "Austin Powers." Yes, he wrote the theme to Austin Powers. The best of the three movie themes was the one from "The Spy Who Shagged Me" where he extended it out a bit and flared it out in the end. I almost thought they would go full James Bond and have different people do opening themes for the movies. But, alas, they instead got Britney Spears' head to explode. I guess that's a win-win? Although I'm digging "If You Seek Amy" a lot more than the other pop songs out there (I'm looking at you, Black Eyed Peas). The best part of this song isn't the lyrics. It's the layering of the instruments. Quincy figured out a way to slowly incorporate the instruments so that it was like they were all coming to a party one after the other, and then right before Isaac starts to sing, it's like Shaft had arrived to the party and they were all applauding his arrival. Of course, Isaac lays it down thick and it's an iconic piece of pop culture. Pretty incredible when you think about it.

(Sidenote: Quincy Jones has to be a Top 5, maybe Top 3 producer ever, doesn't he? I know people have their faves, like Phil Spector or Sir George Martin, who were the main producers for The Beatles. I like more recent guys like Dr. Dre, Mannie Fresh, Timbaland for hip hop and Roy Thomas Baker mostly for "Bohemian Rhapsody" but also for his work on the final album from The Darkness called "One Way Ticket...To Hell and Back". I just realized I'm writing a side note as if I'm The Sports Guy. Forget anymore sidenotes.)

6. "I'm A Flirt (Remix)" - R. Kelly (feat. T.I and T-Pain), Double Up
LAST LISTENED TO: First song that hit after I left work that Thursday.

Oh, Robert. I'm gonna lay it on the line: On pure musical talent, I don't think there's anyone in hip-hop today that has more than him. Kanye, Lil' Wayne, Eminem...you name it. P. Diddy might have invented the remix, but R. Kelly mastered the damn thing. Everyone loved the remix to "Ignition." He's written songs called "Feelin' On Yo Booty" and "Sex Planet." And the first line of this song, after the dude went to court for charges of lewd sexual misconduct with a minor are "I swear to tell the truth and the whole truth." This guy made of Teflon or something? Also, add in his part in a phenomenal episode of "The Boondocks" and his part in the "Make It Rain" remix. Oh, and then he did "I Believe I Can Fly," a song that when performed in full chorus at the MTV Video Music Awards back in 1997 was one of the best award show performances ever. Throw in new hipster icon (????) T-Pain and a guy who just came off his best album in T.I. and you got yourself a hip-hop #1 hit. Done deal.

7. "What I Got (Reprise)" - Sublime, Sublime
LAST LISTENED TO: On my way into work that Thursday.

I have bought this album three times. I first bought it, then lost it when my CDs got stolen. I got it as a gift for my birthday, then it got busted. The third time I got it, it got stolen again, but by that time, I had it saved on my computer and could burn it. I think if you were a kid in Sonoma when this came out and you weren't listening to it, people wondered what the hell was wrong with you. It's weird to listen to it now, with the only true memory I'm getting from it bringing me back to the same time: My sophomore year at Sonoma Valley High School. It's another group who I have kind of soured on, but, just like the Chili Peppers, when the summer time rolls around, this group comes to mind immediately, and usually, it brings the good times. This was one of them.

8. "Runnin' Away" - Sly & The Family Stone, There's A Riot Going On
LAST LISTENED TO: Driving home from the Wednesday day game.

So in our times where we drove to San Francisco on what seemed like a weekly basis, Blake and I would pop one of his CDs in, and we'd get in a rotation where this would be near the top of the list. Why? Because one time, when this song came on, we saw about a half dozen beautiful women driving by us on the 101. So, like most one-hit wonders, you keep playing and hope that the second and third time around bring the same results. Not so much the second time around. That being said, Sly is ridiculously cool. Will's mom knew him in high school. Literally. Played at school rallies and all that. Guess he knew way back then. So Vallejo's four greatest exports are Sly, Jeff Gordon, C.C. Sabbathia and E-40. Not bad.

9. "Mainstreet" - Bob Seger, Greatest Hits
LAST LISTENED TO: That same Wednesday, just before getting home.

Bob Seger was one of the first artists I remember listening to, along with Willie Nelson, Queen, Jimmy Buffett, The Eagles and The Beatles. I always loved his music, just because the way he sang made it sound like he was eeking out pain. Like he was looking for a way to describe heartbreak. THIS song is awesome because it talks about that heartbreak, about a guy wanting to find love in the heart of a dancer late one night downtown, probably in Detroit, but it, of course, becoming a trial and tribulation to do so. For some reason, people will talk up Springsteen for all he's worth, but Bob Seger gets left behind because he didn't write a bunch of poppy singles about the American Dream. Instead, people remember him for things like being the song in those Guitar Hero commercials where they copy "Risky Business" and being the song in the Chevrolet "Like A Rock" commercials. So two songs became commercial jingles. Awesome. I don't remember Bob Seger for those songs. I remember him for songs like this, "Night Moves," "Turn The Page," and "Hollywood Nights."

10. "Oh!" - Eric Hutchinson, Sounds Like This
LAST LISTENED TO: On the way to the ballpark early that Wednesday morning.

Alex Anthopolous, assistant GM of the Toronto Blue Jays, gave me an overview of what he'd like from me to do during Spring Training before the first game of the year against the Yankees back in February. I remember sitting down, getting the things together, and then all of a sudden, Alex calling me over and dropping a cardboard box full of CDs in my arms and saying, "Here, you can have these if you want. Welcome to Spring Training." This was on the first day I met him. Suffice to say, it's one thing to be nice, but a completely different thing to be generous. Luckily, he was both. One of his good friends was attending one of the games that weekend and dropped those off as a way of saying thanks, but Alex didn't want them and sent them my way. So I put EVERY ONE of them on my computer, and Eric Hutchinson, who I had never heard of, was one of them. He's another one of those fringe indie pop guys that sound like the music you'd hear on a teen drama like The OC or something. I guess Gossip Girls is the way to go now. Anyways, this is a song that I listened to for the first time a while back and I really enjoyed it. Good piano work (I contest to this day that the piano is the most important instrument in pop music) and I liked the lyrics well enough. He's like a poor man's Ben Folds.

Wow...it's been three months...

Go figure. Things get crazy, I forget to keep track. I guess here's the Cliff's Notes version of what has happened in the last three-plus months since I last wrote a blog entry:

-Mike got let go from the Blue Jays and moved back west to Arizona.

-I moved into a new place in Clearwater, having been looking and finally finding a place on the outskirts of town, near U.S. 19, as I'm living with a 50-year-old woman. At least I have my own room.

-Two days after I moved in, my car totally broke down on me. A couple days later, I was back on the road, but not before I thought my car was truly done for.

-I MCed the final seven games of the Spring Training season, showing off that I can do more than just write, which was a great shot in the arm.

-On the final day of spring training, I drank and ate so much afterwards that I threw up on the porch at Eddie's in Dunedin. True story. I would not drink for a long time afterwards.

-Two days later, the idea of broadcasting became relevant to the staff, and they put me in place to do a few broadcasts here and there.

-I went south for Easter with the family, enjoying a hell of a good time in the process.

-I went east toward Melbourne/Cocoa Beach to go see Brevard County sweep Dunedin, and meet some good people over there in the process as I took a player across to join the team.

-Went south and spent time on the beach with my Uncle Jay, which is always a good time.

-Did my first professional broadcast, a loss to the Tampa Yankees. I have done two more since.

-I played a lot of poker and almost won a tournament.

-I got out and saw a little bit of the area around Dunedin, and found a couple neat spots.

-Saw an amazing WrestleMania at Winghouse.

-Most recently, I celebrated my 25th birthday down in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, and it was a weekend I sorely needed.

-I came back with a bump on my head without knowing what it is, as it hurts anytime pressure is put on my head.

And now, here I am. June 18, 12:25 EST, and I'm finishing up this blog post with one more home game to go before this weekend's All-Star festivities. I won't have another weekend until July 16th, when I head back west to see family and friends for a couple of days, but if there's anything I've learned, it's to give yourself checkpoints if you feel yourself down. I have one month until I head west. With that as the goal, it's up to me to work my butt off and work towards that weekend as an ending point. It's been a rollercoaster of emotions, with plenty of ups and downs, but life is all about finding balance. I still haven't found it, but it's something that's always a work in progress...and something I hope to find much sooner than later.

Suitcases, you have done your job...

Well, it finally happened.

After 10 weeks and eight different places that I have stayed at (which included four couches, a Motel 6, my little cousin's bed and two efficiencies) I have finally settled into my place that will be mine until I decide to leave.

The relief is enormous.

I really sat down and thought about this today at work and it's really incredible to me. For 10 weeks, I basically did what I could to get by without truly finding a place to call "home." I've stayed at other people's houses, family, friends, co-workers...I even spent a night in the clubhouse at the field! That being said, my 10 weeks have taught me so much about life. Here's what I've learned:

-Make sure that you realize that if you really think hard, you can make the best out of any situation.

Going across the country at first, I found it difficult to truly grasp the situation I was in. I enjoyed the drive and seeing so much that I had never seen before, but it was something else to experience so much hardship, like my incident with my car going up the curb in Texas and my travels in New Orleans that led to me needing a new car battery. However, what I realized was that I just had to keep going to get to my goal, which was to get to Florida to start my new job.

-You can only control what you can.

Everything in life falls into one of two categories: You can control them through your own actions or you can't control them. For me, one of the things I had a tough time dealing with was the fact that for me, this was less than ideal as far as my situation went. My whole first week was spent trying to figure out whether or not I made the right decision in coming out here. I didn't know anyone except Mike, and all I did was come home from work and sit in my bed all night long unless there was a football game on. I did what I could to find happiness, and I tried hard, but living in that motel for a week just didn't make me feel good at all.

It was only after I had made it down to Delray Beach to visit my Uncle Jay a month ago where we talked about how life has to be taken in a certain way. You have to look for good things in your life, and that there are things you can control, but the ones you can't, you have to accept. It's also imperative that you don't live in the past. If you made a mistake, you can learn from it and move on, but you can't dwell on it or it will eat you up. I did that a lot, thinking about so many things that have happened in my life that were bad, but in the end, what good does it do? Why do we do so much damage to our psyches by living in the past?

It's a question I've pondered for a while, and I'm looking for answers just like you all are, but I also realize that for me to feel truly happy, it is to accept what is around me.

Like what happened today.

I moved in to my new room. I unpacked all my stuff that wasn't in storage. It's looking pretty good, but the big thing was that I had all these clothes that needed to go up on hangers. So I decided I would go to Target and get some. I also decided to stop by Radio Shack to see if I could pick up a cheap RCA cable for my PS3. Since I couldn't find one, I just decided to head for Target. Only I felt my car starting to slow down on me. I saw the oil light come on, and thought that maybe I need an oil change. So I headed for the Jiffy Lube down the street, but when I got there, it was closed. Sadly, they wouldnt let me in, but the manager looked and saw that my oil was fine, but I had no coolant. Well, that would explain the heat coming from the radiator.

So I headed to Wal-Mart (Yes, Wal-Mart) to try and get some coolant when all of a sudden, the car just died on me. There it went. So, I put the emergency lights on and away I went, running to Wal-Mart as I talked to my dad, telling him what happened as I looked for a solution. When I got the Prestone, I started pouring it in to the car, and it actually worked out alright. The car sounded good in idle, and I thought that I had it all sorted out. Well, when I tried to get the car going again, I still felt it a little slow on the acceleration, and on top of that, I noticed it was still doing some of the stuff it did before. So instead of going to Target, I decided to just go back to the house, let the car cool down as I unpacked, and then head for Target to get some hangers.

Plan didn't work out as well as I thought.

As I went to turn the car on, it wouldn't start, and it's not like it was trying, either. I turned it, but it almost sounded like the car was grinding a bit. That wasn't good, so I just gave up and called my dad again, who told me to call AAA. So I did, and after figuring out the place to drop it off, I figured out somewhere close, and called the tow truck guy, who eventually came to pick my car up after an hour or so. When he got there, he thought it sounded like the timing belt might be done, which would make sense because my dad thought that might have been the issue from how I explained it to him. So he towed it away, and I had to get Mike to take me to work tomorrow. (Thank you, Mike. I'll pay you back somehow.)

So tonight, the crossroads of my recent life have finally come into play: For 10 weeks, I haven't been able to be settled, but I've learned to accept it. Tonight, I have to accept what I can't control, but I should also revel in the fact that I have a place that I can call my own and that it's MINE. I want to thank so many people for helping me get to this point, especially my friends and family who have helped me from afar, my Uncle Jay for his guidance, I want to thank everybody who gave me a couch or a bed to sleep on, no questions asked, and finally, I want to thank Mike. He and I have been through hell and high water the last 10 weeks, looking for a place to stay and dealing with many of life's hardships along the way. I feel that while neither of us weren't exactly weak, we became stronger through experiencing this stuff together. He's a great guy and someone I'm happy to call a good friend.

So, I'll settle into bed tonight and be ready to get up early tomorrow so that I can get to tomorrow's game against the Pirates. Fergie Jenkins, the Hall of Fame pitcher who became the first Canadian to be inducted into Hall of Fame, will throw out the first pitch, so that will be a lot of fun. I might even be the MC. But, if there's anything I know from all of this, it's that life's battle is to figure out the balance between control and acceptance. Good and bad, bad and good, let life come to me as is and I will fight for my happiness if need be.

It's a battle that I refuse to lose.

From the "I Did Not See This Coming" department...

I could tell you the last 96 hours have been unbelievable (in many different ways) but I guess it might be better for me to just list them:

-Wednesday was Spring Training Opening Day and it went off VERY well. I heard from everyone with the team that it was one of the better Opening Days ever for the team. That's good for me, because it means I did my job well. Now, there were other things about it that were great, but the one thing that will stand out for me was Alex Rodriguez.

With the Yankees being the Opening Day opponent, we all thought that A-Rod wouldn't be coming for the game, what with all the steroid controversy and him preparing for the World Baseball Classic, but the day before, ESPN had a report up about how he's preparing for his first Spring Training experience. It definitely brought people to the park, as we were just over 5,000 sold for a 5,509 capacity. Of course, we all know what happened in the game itself. A-Rod would walk in his first at-bat (after coming out to huge boos from the non-Yankees fans in attendance; Tampa is the Spring Training home for the Yankees, so they draw well in the area) and then in his second at-bat, he gets a hold of a 3-1 pitch and parks it over the left field wall. For those who say A-Rod couldn't hit under pressure, there you go right there. It was surreal. Everyone on the Blue Jays side just couldn't believe what they saw and booed him to death while the Yankees fans stood and applauded him.

To me, it made the entire Spring Training experience worthwhile. I can't think of another moment that was that impactful for me as a sports fan, and to be there and witness it live...there isn't a better feeling in the world.

-My day itself is actually most busy early in the morning. I got an 8 a.m. arrival time on game day so that I can help get paperwork to the Toronto front office staff, including general manager J.P. Riccardi. Suffice to say, I'm rubbing elbows with powerful people in the Toronto front office staff, and if you add that to getting to know some of the players, it's been a great experience. I basically just get different things together for them: pitching rotations, lineups, stats, scouting reports, rosters, etc. My main deal is to get a visiting roster as quickly as I can so that I can be prepared for the hundreds of copies I need to make for our programs.

That's the other part of my day. Before the game, I take the papers around to the ballpark so that the media and our fans can have the information as well. So I take giant stacks to our Game Day Operations to put in programs and to the media rooms so that they can have them. I then deliver the script to our PA announcer and our MC. After this is all done, I basically hang out until the game starts. When the game starts, I hang with our MC and make sure it all goes according to the script. I help out with the prizes, picking contestants...if something needs to be done, I make sure I do it. The great part is that I get to watch the game while I do all this! It's too good.

-My non-game days are all about making sure things get done for the next game. I basically go over script, get rosters and schedules, etc. I also make sure the Toronto front office people get their information and that our GM gets his ticket information from all the other Spring Training games. Then, I can look at other stuff that I might be able to add to the game. Thankfully, it's been a smooth transition into Spring Training, and now, I'm in a good routine for my day-to-day activities, whether I have a game or not.

-We also held our season ticket holder barbecue after the game on Friday, and it was a lot of work, but still fun. Got a chance to man the autograph table and hang around the players a bit more. Michael Barrett is a great guy, as are Vernon Wells and Travis Snider. They all stayed basically the entire time signing autographs and were really gracious about it. I also got to make the closing announcement over the PA system, where everybody got to hear how good I can sound with a mike in my hand. I say that because everybody said I sounded good, not because I'm narcissistic. Although I have to admit it's pretty sweet that I got a chance to be on the mike for once. I miss it!

-Saturday, I got to see Roy Halladay pitch, and that was an absolute blast. He's just a machine out there. Doesn't waste time, very economical with his pitches, knows exactly what he wants and where to put his pitches...he's an absolute pro. I hope I get to see him again before the Spring Trainign season ends. He's a treat to watch and I really hope he can anchor the rotation again this year. In fact, I hope he gets himself another Cy Young award, as last year, the only thing stopping him was Cliff Lee's ridiculous year. The day once again went very smoothly, and I have this stuff down pat.

Outside of work, it's been interesting. There has been some stuff with Mike at work that I'm going to keep private, but it has led to a couple of things happening. First, I'm writing this from his friend's house, where we are staying this week after our six-week stay at the Amberlee Motel had to end due to the rates going up. Secondly, the thing that happened with Mike at work has caused him to stop in his quest to purchase a house, so now, I have to look for something on my own. It's all a very weird situation for the both of us, but we're both moving forward and both perservering through rough times. I'll be taking this week to find a place where I can move in, and from there, it'll be my FINAL move. Thankfully. I've lived out of a suitcase for two months, and at the least, I would have liked to had a place to call home, but we'll see what happens in the next couple of days as I ease into yet another transition.

At the very least, I have a place to call home for the week, for free, and from there, I can carve my own path. This week, we host five games: The Phillies tomorrow, Team Canada on Tuesday, Team USA on Wednesday, the Phillies again on Friday night, and then another game on Saturday against I believe the Reds. After that, things calm down a bit, but this is a hell of a rush as I get used to Spring Training. I'm hoping everything continues to go smoothly, and I'll keep a good eye on things and keep you all updated.

Spring Training truly is something incredible, and I hope that all baseball fans can experience it at some point, because you will truly not have an experience like it at all in your baseball fandom. It's something that will stay with you forever.

A Morning With the Big Leaguers

I was told last week by our GM and my highest-ranking boss in Florida, Shelby, that I was to go over to the Blue Jays Training Complex on the other side of town to help out with some pictures that were going to be taken. I didn't know anything about this except that I would be working with the media staff from Toronto.

It ended up being a sweet morning.

I got there about quarter to 8 and found out that I would be guiding the players from one picture taking spot to the next. I mean ALL the players. This includes all the Major Leaguers along with the other invitees to Spring Training. Upwards of 70 players. So starting with J.P. Arrencebia and ending with Scott Rolen, I was able to meet and greet basically every player associated with the Toronto Blue Jays today.

While I was basically just another face on the staff, I was very happy with the fact that so many of them were so personable. Some of them were downright hilarious, including some of the more well known players. It was a good experience for me because I got a chance to be in more of my element and I was able to interact with the players. Plus, the people I worked with in Toronto (like all of them are) were great and they really just kinda let me get into my groove and work within their little circle they had set up.

I know I'm going to be seeing more of the players as they come in on Wednesday, and I might even get to know them a bit better, but for right now, I'm happy that I was able to get some media back into my work. I had been missing the fact that I couldn't be talking to players or around them in a locker room and hear them talking about baseball stuff, so me being able to be a part of it really makes me happy.

T-minus 38 hours til first pitch. I'm ready for this. Let's do it.

The Calm Before The Storm...?

Ah, Spring Training is Wednesday. Let's let that sink in for a bit.

Wednesday.

That is a mere four days away. That is...well, I dunno. It's an interesting thought. I think it signals a change for me. I've been preparing for this. I've been doing all I can to just go to work and do my best and see what happens. Now, for a five and a half week stretch, it becomes non-stop work for literally 40 days. I have experienced a stretch like that, around my birthday last year, where I worked five days a week at ThreeHouse and then worked weekends at KTVU for four straight weeks, and then worked through the 4th of July until that next Friday. It was a stretch I won't soon forget. 33 days. Absolutely crazy. For me, it was very draining, mainly because my ability to just relax after work during the day got suddenly boxed in by more and more work during the summer, trying to keep me busy while the school year was over with. I guess it was worthwhile (I made a whole lot of money in those five weeks) but in the end, when we went to Santa Cruz for a weekend excursion, I figured out why I did it.

Now, I look down the barrel of a true challenge. 18 home games, all to be taken at their highest level, even though they are considered exhibitions games. It takes a lot of work to make sure things go well for a baseball game, and I got a taste of it last night, when Dunedin Stadium hosted the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. (Or is it Big East/Big Ten Challenge? Either way...) I made sure all our sound was up and running, made sure I had scripts for the game, and once the game started, I settled in and enjoyed the games from the PA Box. While I just watched during the first game, I got a feel for what goes into the game from our end: Music, the scoreboard, including our "video board" (I say it in a very loose term because, well, it's not digital so much as it is a bunch of flickering red lights. It's not what you'd see at say...AT&T Park) and how scoring happens. The guys I'll be sharing the box with are really cool, but while I'm running around for Toronto during Spring Training, I'll be looking into what's necessary to make the FSL games entertaining. It's a good experience.

Lately, I've felt some apprehension, though, as it usually is, it's away from work. It's still the same stuff, as well: I'm in a motel, not a house. My money situation isn't the best. Pressure is on everyone to perform, even though I'm always in a helpful mood. It's a different situation, but what I've realized is that this is very much a business, and I still see my end of it as a media outlet. Is that going to stay the same? Probably not, but I think my main thing is that I really only know a scant bit about how business works. I think it'll be beneficial to me down the line, without a doubt, but right now, I still feel lost in figuring out exactly what goes in to everything with the team. It's a lot, too.

At work, though, I've been doing good work. The team website, www.DunedinBlueJays.com, has been looking good thanks to Mike's guidance and some help from the people at MiLB.com. I'm getting the hang of it, and people really like my writing style. The bios for the programs were all my doing, and they really enjoyed them (even with a couple of mistakes here and there, which is expected) but it was still a really good thing to see work presented somewhere. When people read the programs this year, the bios and stats were all compiled by me. That's so sweet. I'm going to make sure and get one before too long here, so I'll have a good souvenir for my time here.

As I look at the clock, it's about 8 p.m., so I'll be looking for a cheap dinner and then settling in. Might watch a movie on TV, might finish off my "30 Rock" Season 2 DVDs, might watch some professional wrestling...there's a lot I could do. I gotta head in to work tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., as we will open up to 7 days a week, but I'm looking forward to it. It'll give me some time to really work on bettering some stuff before Wednesday, as Monday, I'll be in a tough spot. I'll probably get some fishing in today, as well, and I think I'll do some more media related stuff at work tomorrow. Next time, maybe I post a video. Maybe I post another long blog. We'll see...

A Weekend In Delray

For those of you who have been talking with me or been following my time out here in Florida extensively, you know that while there are many good things about my move out here, there are also things that have been troublesome for me. Mainly, it's been the idea that everything around me is unfamiliar outside of work. I have never been this far away from my family and my friends before, and outside of four hour trips to visit family in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and my roommate here in Dunedin, Mike, I am without a great many things that made me feel complete in my life back in California.

On my trip to Delray Beach this weekend to visit my Uncle Jim, I was ready for a chance to spend a lot of quality time with the family member who was closest to my own Dad: A philosophical man who loves the sea, loves fishing and is very creative. The weekend was something that I won't soon forget, and unlike the first time where I went down south to visit family, where I was basically searching for familiarity in an unfamiliar place, I saw this as an opportunity to gauge where my life was at this very moment, and through conversation and a search for answers to questions that had escaped me, I came out of this visit with perhaps a clearer idea of what my life should be like.

For me, familiarity and comfort went hand in hand all throughout my life. I never lived anywhere outside of the San Francisco Bay Area, and after getting the job out here, I never could have imagined what my life would have been like in the first six weeks away from home. I have had many good things happen to me in my time here, but there have been many moments where I felt life slip away from me; as if for a scant moment or two, I didn't have control of the one thing that I couldn't lose control of.

In spending time with my uncle, who himself has been going through challenging personal times, I have realized that in order for me to live this life the way it deserves to be lived, I have to be willing to accept life as it is at this very moment in time. Amongst the things we talked about, we discussed how accepting life for what it is allows us to not dwell on things we have no control over, or, in other aspects, things that we no LONGER have control over, which is everything in our past. Mistakes that we've made in the past should not be something that lingers after we make them, but rather, they should be kept in the past as they were and should be learned from.

For me, there were a many great thing that happened this weekend. I got a chance to hang out with my young cousin Nate, who at 6 years old can charm you and amaze you at the same time. He has the unbelievable ability to entertain those around him and keep them entertained, and his creativity shines through in every activity he does, which I'm sure comes from his father. His ability to take something as simple as a baby carrot and a goofy hat and turn it into a half-hour circus display is something that very few people in this world, let alone 6-year-old kids, can do, and he'll always keep you involved, just in case you somehow drift off.

I got a chance to do a lot this weekend: I saw Al and Rose and Martina for a couple of hours (Jessica, you were missed), I broke in my new fishing pole, I got a chance to walk around downtown Delray, I watched some great Family Guy episodes and saw "Frost/Nixon" (Good, but outside of Frank Langella's performance, nothing ground breaking) and I got a chance to read "The Tao of Willie," which was a really good read for me considering my state of mind this weekend. Willie Nelson lives a simple life for someone who has achieved so much, but in the end, all he asks is that you love and respect one another, because for the majority of us, to live without either or both leaves us without a basis for a fulfilling life.

The only thing I thought about constantly this weekend was how much I had to improve on my situation outside of work. My life had become somewhat unfulfilled, but I'm slowly looking to change things up. I have a membership to the YMCA. I play poker for free on Thursdays. I've been able to read a little bit, even if it's only fun little humor books. I still do the other stuff I'm prone to doing: Spending time on the Internet, watching TV, etc. However, I'm realizing that in order for me to feel satisfied, I have to look at what I have around me and not what I don't have. I have to accept my situation as is, and do what I can with it to be happy. It was something I read in "The Tao of Willie" that he got from the great philosophy book, "Tao Te Ching," which I had read previously, and is something that rings true with me at this very moment:

"Those who know others are wise;
those who know themselves are enlightened.

My quest now is to know myself. I was who I was for 24 years in the Bay Area, and now that I'm in the other Bay Area, I need to find out if I can still be the same person. In my quest for happiness, the base has been built; I need only build upon it and bring myself happiness and joy. I disclosed a lot of tough feelings this weekend, and I let my mind wander through the depths of sorrow that grabbed at me, but in the end, it was the realization that I had nothing to live for but the happiness of my own life that stayed with me the most. I thank my uncle for helping me realize it, and thank Willie for the assist.

It was on the way home Sunday evening that I heard from my mother that a close family friend had died. Betty Gaston, who was my grandma's best friend and partner in crime, died on Sunday. While I truly only had one grandma while I was alive (my mom's mom died when my mom was a teenager) I like to think I had three others. My Aunt Sandy is like Grandma-lite, as she lives in the true essence of my grandma. Lately, my friend Ben Casias' grandma has become this watchful person in my life, where every time I saw her, she treated me as if I was her own grandson. This being after the death of my grandma a few years back, her undying affection for someone she barely knew was all I need to know to have her as basically another grandma to me. That and she hugged and kissed me as if I was her own.

But Betty...wow, what do I say about her that hasn't been said already? If any of you were lucky to see her at her peak, she was the absolute best. My family would go visit her and her husband, Earl, as we headed down to Disneyland. She and Grandma went way back to the days where my dad's family lived in Port Hueneme, CA, just outside of Ventura, which is where Betty and Earl resided. They would set us up at their house for a night or two and treat us like family, because for the longest time, the only way her family survived was through the Livingstons, and vice versa. Her and Grandma were a dynamite team: Navy wives who didn't take crap from anyone, and who were stern enough to keep things in order, but loving enough to keep you in their good graces.

It also didn't hurt that when the two of them were together, they terrorized my Grandpa. Not so much Earl, who knew of Betty's crazy ways because, well, he married her, but Grandpa would always try to match being a hard-ass with Betty, only Betty knew my Grandpa so well that it would slip off her like Teflon. As much as they adored each other, there was always a jockeying for position there, and as a young kid, it was fun to watch. Now, knowing where she is in Heaven along with my Grandma, they're God's problem now. I mean that in the nicest way possible, by the way. I think God knows that in the meantime, they will have their fun in Heaven, scheming and joking away while they wait for their husbands to return to them, just like back in the Navy days. I'll say this much: between the entrance of both her and John Saleda in the last month into Heaven, that place got a whole lot crazier awfully quick. God better be prepared for a whirlwind of fun with that dynamic duo.

Then again, if Betty had her way for so long down here, it wouldn't surprise me to hear that she's trying to make Heaven her own, as well, and that Grandma, spry as she ever was, has been awaiting her arrival with baited breath, looking to "Raise Hell in Heaven," so to speak. Betty, I got a chance to spend many good times with you, and I'm sorry I never brought a girlfriend down meet you. I know that you, like my grandma, would have looked her up and down and hoped she was half the woman either one of you were, and I would look you in the eye and hope you gave me the old wink and a smile, or the thumbs up like Johnny Carson would give to the comedians he liked.

You were someone who always kept me on my toes, and you were someone who I looked to for a good laugh and sage advice whenever I saw you, and when I saw you on that couch with Grandma, I was always happy to nuzzle in between you two so that I could get both ends of it. You always treated me like I was one of your own, and you being so gracious to me in my life has allowed me to grow that much more as a person. As I look now at my life and strive for happiness, balance and enlightenment, I think about how you showed me so much, and that even though you're gone, your legacy lives on with Earl and the stories that will come from "Bob's kids." I love you and I will miss you, and if you and Grandma find a couch, save some room for me. I'll be ready to kick back and spend much of eternity listening to your stories.

Rest in peace.

Wednesday Night at 8 p.m. becomes...Must See TV?

So in my time here at the lovely Amberlee Motel in Downtown Dunedin, the only source of entertainment I've been able to have is via phone, whatever Internet connection I can find in one of two spots in my room (either in bed or in one of the reclining chairs by the door) and basic cable TV. With the addition of numerous other things to my computer, and a smidgen of DVDs at my disposal, I can find other means of entertainment, but suffice to say, the TV is what I go to as something that can keep me going.

Normally, Wednesday nights are slow for TV for me. Mondays, I have a great four hour block to choose from if I decide to stay in. Two hours of How I Met Your Mother reruns, a Big Bang Theory episode, and then another How I Met Your Mother. Then, Monday Night RAW until 11, which then begins an hour of Family Guy, whereas I can go between that and Letterman. Tuesdays, I can kinda go for a little while with reruns and/or sports, and then from there, ECW at 9, Nip/Tuck at 10, and then Family Guy/Letterman. Thursdays has the NBC Lineup, with TNA Impact! (If I decide to partake in a little bit of self-damaging behavior) and then Friday's has SmackDown!...or, I go out and do something, if I have the money.

Wednesdays are usually bereft of ANYTHING worthwhile. It's basically a night where you're spinning the wheel and you hope you find something good. Well, what happens if you spin that wheel and you come upon not one, not two...but FIVE things that just say to you, "Watch this, already. Trust me. It's worth it." It's even better when those five things are varied and awesome in their own ways. SO...without further ado, here's what those five choices are! They will be ordered from low cable channel to high, and the final choices have been made and will be revealed at the end. Feel free to play along at home and try to figure out which one I picked!

1. Heat - Ion Network (Local Cable Channel 17)



Oh, boy. Heat, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Let's forget about how long it takes Val Kilmer to get from the shootout to the getaway car for a second, and why DeNiro decides to go get Serrano at a Waffle House or something at 3 in the morning. (Did everyone get the Major League reference that's going to get it? Good. I guess I can also accept "The First President from 24" as well) Let's remember that this might be one of the greatest ensembles casts ever. That the sound effects in this movie are absolutely amazing, which stems from the fantastic shootout scene that is the best in movie history, perhaps save "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" and its three-way shootout. Oh, did I mention it was the first time that Pacino and DeNiro are in the same scene for the first time ever, and that the meeting is so tense and awesome that it basically makes the movie? It's major drawback on a night like tonight is that it's 4 hours on TV, meaning you have to invest a while, but boy, if you take on the investment, it's worth it.

2. Animal Planet - Colossal Squids (Cable Channel 35)



This is probably the one where people kinda think to themselves, "Really? Colossal squids?" Okay, first off, look at the picture above. Those things are literally 25 feet long from the bottom of their largest tentacle to the top of their heads. They have been known to eat WHALES as food. They are found off the coast of Japan, and the first time it was ever captured on film, it nearly ate the camera. This isn't your giant squid from "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" or anything, either. They are truly out there, and when it was found last year as opposed to just being documented, it suddenly became one of the biggest things in the history of the study of animals from the sea. Seriously, it's fascinating stuff, but the other thing is that a show like that isn't exactly entertaining. Informative, sure, but entertaining, maybe not. Still, GIANT SQUIDS!

3. Aladdin - Disney Channel (Local Cable Channel 40)



My favorite Disney movie of all time. I love Lilo and Stitch (Which is my 2nd favorite Disney movie of all time) but this movie is about as perfect a Disney movie you could find, as it somehow managed to follow up "Beauty and the Beast" and become this absolutely phenomenal movie that spawned two sequels, and two sequels that DIDN'T COMPLETELY SUCK. That's rare when there are sequels out there like "Pocahontas II" and that "Beauty and the Beast" Christmas movie. Seriously, what's that all about, Disney? You didn't squeeze enough out of the last animated movie to get nominated for a Best Picture Oscar? C'mon, Disney. Really, c'mon.

It's got great comedy (probably the one time other than his Broadway show where Robin Williams going crazy actually had its perks) a nice love story, great songs, and one of the best villains ever in Jafar. He was simply perfect for this role, as both he and Scar in "The Lion King" are very similar in their motives, but Jafar has this greasiness to him that just resonates with me a little bit better. Add in Jasmine's unbelievable hotness for a hand-drawn cartoon character (seriously, you have to give me that one, at least) and you got a great Disney movie. The downside with this one is that with it being on Disney channel, you're subjected to all those damn Disney commercials. None of us want that...

4. The Karate Kid - ABC Family (Local Cable Channel 52)



The definitive 80's movie, and the movie on this list that made me realize I was basically almost writing a Bill Simmons article with this blog post. Seriously, do I have to describe this movie to you at this point? It's a movie I've seen at least 50 times and even now, with it being ingrained in my head for so long, I still love so many scenes: The Halloween Dance, The "moment of realization" in Mr. Miyagi's backyard, the tournament finals. It's a movie that deserves the full attention of a viewer, but on this night, maybe it's not for me. I don't know...

5. First Blood - AMC (Local Cable Channel 64)



Stallone had made "Rocky" and "Rocky II" at this point, and now he was in a movie that was along the lines of the macho image that he had made for himself at this point. Remember this about the movie: Rambo never kills anybody on purpose. He merely tries to avoid the kill, and would rather incapacitate his enemies. It's an extreme case about what war vets go through when they return home to the life of a civilian, but it's still a great movie, no doubt about it. The movies get gorier and and more violent when you get to parts II and III, but this was the movie with the best story and had Brian Dennehy as the small town cop who believed Rambo's nature wasn't welcome in his town. It's probably the definitive macho movie. I'm a big fan.

So, what was the decision? Well, I decided to go with the approach of what I had available to me, and what I didn't. Heat, Aladdin, and The Karate Kid, I all had on DVD. Giant squids...well, the entertainment value just wasn't there, so, it went to First Blood, with commercial breaks being used up by flipping between The Karate Kid and Heat. This led to being able to see the realization scene in "Kid" and the Pacino/DeNiro stare down in Heat before the big heist. Phenomenal stuff on a Wednesday night, especially when you weren't expecting much in the first place.

Video Blog #3: Extra Long Video Podcast!

Don't even consider this a Video Blog, even. This is like a video podcast. About twenty minutes. I think you could split it up into two. Eat dinner and watch it. Do something. Anyways, enjoy. I'm going to go write e-mails and listen to music while I do it.

Video Blog #2: From Tuesday...

Note that this was from Tuesday. I'll be doing a new one right now. Seriously. Right now. But watch this one, still.

A Turnaround?

Well, for those of you who haven't figured it out lately, I have had my ups and downs out here as I've gotten settled. There have been times where doubt has creeped its way into my mind and has kind of pushed away the confidence I gain every day I go to work...but there's something about taking a step like this that makes you realize that for everything you think it isn't, there are many more things that make you realize what it is.

Take Thursday for example. I had a bad Wednesday after I got home from work where I just sat around and I felt kinda miserable. I talked to my Mom about it, and then the next day, two things happened: My buddy Ian told me where the YMCA is out here, and I met a former major leaguer that turned out to be another fun experience in the last week for me.

The YMCA is about 10 minutes south of work, which is good for me because that means I can go there right after. I know that the gym at the complex is for free, but the thing is that starting next week, I won't be able to use it too much thanks to the players arriving, so having a gym I can go to on my own that has so many things available (at a pretty cheap price, by the way) is a great thing to have. Also, they have a basketball court. I've always felt good when I can go play basketball inside and pick up games. I can't wait to get in there. In fact, in a few minutes, I'll be heading over there right now to get started up. Hopefully, I can find my shoes in Mike's storage unit.

The other thing that just came out of nowhere was when I went to Eddie's on Thursday night. I had heard about this Amatuer Poker League that the World Poker Tour hosts, where people can just come in and play on Thursday nights. It looked like they were playing for points, and that you can get some cool things once you accumulate enough points. So I got there and found out you play for FREE. Sign...me...up. Erica, the girl that Mike is seeing, was working bar and told me all about it, so I signed up and then got some dinner. Note to self: I know you love buffalo wings, but the killer sauce just doesn't taste good. Go with hot sauce w/garlic.

So we sit down at the table and I'm obviously the new guy amongst these regulars. They ask me where I'm from and I told him how I just moved out here from Sonoma and that I worked with the Blue Jays. The guy next to me asked how long I had been working there and I told him about three or four weeks. Then he said, "Oh, alright. I used to play for them." When I looked closer, I realized who I was talking to. It was former Oakland A's and Toronto Blue Jays closer Billy Koch!

Now, Koch hadn't really changed too much. He still had the same beard thing going, so it's nice to know that some things never change. On top of that, he's a really laid back guy, and after a couple of normal baseball questions, we were just sitting around hanging out playing poker. He even offered me a beer! That meant the fun was just beginning. I had just won a huge pot with pocket 5's and I was getting ready to try and make my move, but break time came and we had to switch tables. So the two of us went over to a table where his buddy was sitting. Gary never played pro ball or anything, but he was happy to meet me and the beers kept on getting shared. I then knew of his tendency to tell the truth playing poker. Yeah, I got truthed out of over 10,000 chips. I never really recovered from that, but I played well enough that before they got to the final table, I was able to hang on until they made the move. I finished 8th, I believe.

While Billy, Gary and I had shared many a bucket of Bud Light while playing free poker, the night wasn't done yet. They decided to play darts, and they teamed up against myself and this other guy whose name escapes me. They proceeded to whoop our asses for three games, but after the third, Billy was ready for Jager shots. Of COURSE, I'm going to take a shot with Billy Koch! After we downed them, it was about ready for the second go around, but I had to get up the next morning for work and I wanted to get home in time to watch Burn Notice. So I shook his hand and Gary's and that was that. Not sure he'll be coming up to Eddie's anytime soon as that was his first time, but if he does, I'll be damn sure to order a bucket of beers for the both of us.

It was something that allowed myself to view the rest of my situation for what it is instead of what it isn't, and when I received a care package yesterday from the family with a bunch of cool things in it (My Dad's music, a gift card to Starbucks, a Ruth's Chris Steak House gift card, my PS3 controllers, and, because she's my Mom, Goldfish) I realized that perhaps I need to turn around my thinking again. Mike told me yesterday about the house he just put a bid on, and until 5 p.m. EST on Saturday, send positive thoughts, as he'll find out today whether it got accepted or not. If it is, and it passes inspection, then the final step of my move will be complete in about three weeks, which means that for the first time in two months, I might actually be settled in somewhere other than the Bay Area.

Talk about a turnaround...

"The Wrestler"

If we are lucky enough in life, our jobs will be something that we enjoy doing. It'll be something that is beneficial to us financially, emotionally and personally. It will be something that doesn't feel like work, but at the same time, the hard work and energy that is put into that job would make us feel good about what we've done. That basic premise is the thing that distinguishes a man who loves going to work and the man who's doing what he can to get by.

But what happens when your job is essentially both?

As a professional wrestling fan for 20 years, I have been an avid follower of an athletic exhibition whose competitors willingly destroy their bodies for the love of the business, but for the most part, they are doing it for very little money, or in some cases, none at all. When you ask a professional wrestler why he does what he does, the answer is usually the same every time you ask it: They do it because to them, there is nothing better than hearing the crowd react to whatever they do. The high they get from the energy of the crowds they perform in front of is the balancing positive act that supposedly cancels out the negative aspects of a business that has destroyed countless lives, and has sadly ended others.

When the horrible acts committed by Chris Benoit occurred in 2007, those of us who were "smart" to the business knew that for all accounts and purposes, Benoit had basically done this to himself. Over a 25 year period, Benoit had injected himself with so many steroids, pills, painkillers, and other body debilitating substances that when he looked at his life on that fateful day before killing his wife and son before eventually killing himself, that he saw nothing right in his world. That even by destroying his body for the sake of a business that consumes and spits out even its biggest stars as it struggles to thrive, in the end, it didn't matter for him. It was the idea that the positives of being in the ring and hearing the pop from the crowd was simply a self-fulfilling prophecy: In the end, they could cheer for you as much as they wanted to and as loud as they wanted to, but in your head, it was never enough. You always wanted more.

That is the pitfall of a business that is construed by many of its most avid followers (such as myself) as a piece of art. It's an intricate soap opera, sure, but when you pick it apart and look at it piece by piece, you realize exactly what goes into it that allows us to view it as art. "The Wrestler" is not only the film that allows us superfans a chance to view wrestling as art within a different medium, but it reminds people that for the fleeting moment that you feel at peace in the world, that something around you is crumbling.

To me, Mickey Rourke's performance goes beyond the normal boundaries of what acting is all about. For all the talk that Heath Ledger has gotten for his role as The Joker in "The Dark Knight," it is Rourke whose life-mirroring role should get not only more press and more notice, but should GUARANTEE him an Oscar for Best Actor.

There is something about somebody who is committed to his art. Remember that Rourke's major downfall in HIS career was that he got sidetracked by a bunch of side projects that derailed a life that was supposedly on the fast track to stardom. It would take him almost 20 years to find a role in a movie that would get him noticed again, in Frank Miller's "Sin City." It wasn't the performance that brought him all the way back, but what it did was get him on the right track towards being what he might have been in his prime.

This role was something that Rourke absolutely embraced. In order to act like a professional wrestler, you literally have to be one, because to be a professional wrestler in real life, you have to know how to act. Rourke did everything in this movie basically to a "T" when it came to depicting an aging, broken down professional wrestler. Psychologically, he was somebody who absolutely loved being out there in front of the fans and soaking in their adoration. Physically, he knew that even at his advanced age, he had to look the part. He took numerous painkillers, he injected steroids, and he bleached his hair so that he resembled what he was at his peak: A man on top of the professional wrestling world, making tens of thousands of dollars and selling out arenas everywhere.

That's where the happiness stops, and that's where the brilliance begins.

Rourke took every bump in this movie, including a graphic hardcore match with cult favorite Necro Butcher. Everything in that locker room after the match, where doctors basically traced out a road map on his body full of scars, scratches and puncture wounds, and I'd even bet the throw-up was all real. Rourke understood that in order for people to truly get what he was feeling and what he was trying to portray that he had to go all in for this role. People need to remember that Nic Cage was the guy who was originally supposed to play this role. One viewing of the movie will make you realize he never could have done what Rourke did.

Rourke's Robin Randinski (Randy "The Ram" Robinson is his stage name) was full of dichotomies that are pretty cut and dry; you can tell them as soon as you watch the movie. His relationships inside the wrestling world are many and good, but he can't keep up even two outside of it that would be worthwhile to him. Even falling for Marissa Tomei's Pam (Cassidy is her stage name) shows that he doesn't want Pam as much as he wants Cassidy. All these relationships that are blurred between stage and the real life...never would the two meet. Randy wanting Cassidy could happen on the most platonic level, but Robin and Pam would never work. Neither of their stage personalities can allow it to happen.

Even the most basic, loving relationship between a father and daughter is the hardest thing ever for Rourke, as his daughter Stephanie, played by Evan Rachel Wood, does what she could to keep even a sliver of love in her heart for him...but when he goes back on a promise as soon as she gets comfortable, it takes away all her will to even fathom being around him. It's a short, biting performance that is very well done on both ends, especially once Rourke realizes he had messed up what should have been a sure thing.

The end will be talked about because of its ambiguity, but what should be remembered from the end of this movie is that Rourke's character decided vehemently to love the wrestling world above all else, sacrificing his daughter and the woman he "loved" for the sake of feeling happy. Do we feel happy for him? Do we try and relate with him trying to figure out the different aspects of his life? Do we even respect him as a person?

To me, the answers to those questions don't matter. What matters is that the movie itself paints the picture of a man striving to relive the times that made him happy, and that everything else around it was simply platonic. It's a weird, disturbing path that pro wrestlers take. They live for the time they come down that hallway and go through that curtain. In the movie, there are so many shots taken from behind Rourke as he walks through hallways and through doorways that he starts to have flashbacks to his glory days. He always looked for happiness in some way or another. He tried everything he could, but in the end, it was the thing that gave him those scars and a heart attack that made him happiest. The adoration of 50 fans in a gym, 500 fans in a VFW home, or 20,000 in Madison Square Garden at his peak allowed him to be happy, even if it cost him everything else in his life.

The movie isn't for everybody, but to me, it represents everything that I know about wrestling presented in the most real possible form outside of viewing it in real life. It shows that you have to be either amazingly strong or amazingly stupid to lead a life of a professional wrestler. There is a scene where Rourke is buying drugs from a steroid-injected, musclebound wrestler and he asks him to show him the big guns. That scene alone shows you enough to make people realize what happens in professional wrestling behind the scenes: Here's the image we want you to portray, but do you have what it takes to do it? Should you have what it takes to do it? Should you do it at all? For Randy "The Ram" Robinson, it was his decision to let Robin Randinsky's life go awry that allowed "The Ram's" life to prosper. In the end, there isn't a thing he would do the change it, but to us and to the most important people in his life, perhaps he should have.

A Trip For Family...

As I lay here on a Monday night, sunburned from a great trip, I present to you, in list form, of course, my weekend getaway to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and Weston. It was all good, folks. Here are the highlights:

-Before I even leave Dunedin, I find out that the payroll check I put in to my new Wachovia account on Tuesday was not ready by Friday evening, as the receipt they showed me from the deposit said it would be available on Saturday. Now, I had $35 on me. I needed to get gas for the trip, still. Then, the teller tells me (heh, I just realized what I wrote) that the money might not be ready until late on Saturday. Truly...that set me off. I calmly left, and told my cousin Jessica that money would be tight for me this weekend. I even considered not going. She reassured me that if money indeed got tight, that her and the rest of our family wouldn't let me be stranded down there. So, with that, I gassed up and got going.

-The drive down was long because A) It was the first time I ever did it and B) It was at night. It was 275 miles approximately to Miami, and I needed to get out to South Beach, where Jessica's apartment is. I left Dunedin around 5:30 p.m. I wouldn't get there until 10. I was able to park the car with the valet after some confusion and then Jess and I kinda sat down and caught up for a bit, noting the surreal nature of me sitting on her couch. It was only the beginning, too! She drove me around South Beach and showed me Ocean St., which is where all the ritzy, expensive clubs and hotels are. It was neat at night, but I was also tired from getting down there, and we were getting hungry. So we went to this place called Big Pink and got some food. I ordered the Pizza Burger and a Red Stripe (awesome) while Jess got a chicken sandwich with buffalo sauce and a glass of red wine. I should preface that by saying that Jess' sandwich was literally as big as her head. By the time she was finished eating of it what she could, she had cut it up like she was attacking it from 20,000 different angles. I told her she was a schizophrenic eater. It was pretty funny to watch. After that, we headed back to her apartment and got ready to sleep. She took the couch because she needed to get up and do some lawyering, so I slept in her bed.

-At about 2 a.m., I heard a voice, but it was what I didn't hear (or feel) that was the funniest. I would be told the next morning by Jessica's roommate Andrew and his girlfriend Marianne that Marianne came into Jessica's room and had patted me to wake me up...but thought I was Jessica. It was only after she realized how big my head was that she figured out I wasn't her, which was hilarious for obvious reasons. Meanwhile, Andrew had a rough night and was pretty wasted, and saw that when Jess was on the couch, that he knew "she would get cold tonight." So he tried his damndest to take a comforter that he had just bought out of the plastic packaging to cover Jess up with it. Needless to say, I wish I could have seen this in all its glory. It would have been phenomenal. I didn't even feel Marianne nudge me, though, so who knows what I would have found out if I went out in the living room. I could have made the night that much more legendary!

-When I woke up that morning (at 7:30, no less, as my internal clock has basically told me, "Tim, you will wake up every morning at this time) I chilled in bed and watched TV for a bit, but as I got up to go to the bathroom, Jess noticed me through the crack in her bedroom door. So I got a shower and we hung out for a little bit before going down to this bagel shop and getting some breakfast. After that, we came back and saw Andrew come out, where he told of the events from the night before. Suffice to say, he was still hurting, and got himself a nice greasy breakfast to get him going again. After that, Jess and I got ready for me to find out if I would have money this weekend, and where I'd get to see the thrill of the entire trip.

-Wachovia was right down the street, basically, so I went in and looked to withdraw money. 80 bucks. Thankfully, the check cleared and I was ready to enjoy myself! When we headed to downtown Miami to Jess' offices at the Four Seasons, we were about to make a turn when I looked over and saw these kids jumping stairs on their skateboards. There were these two guys watching in their basketball gear. Who were they? Well, a double take from me led me to realize it was none other than defending NBA Slam Dunk Champion Dwight Howard (who led all All-Stars in votes this year) and his point guard, Jameer Nelson. I forgot that the Magic were in town! That was pretty awesome right there, folks. We were in the middle of an intersection, though, so I couldn't say anything to them, sadly.

-Jessica's office was nice. It was cluttered (c'mon, it's a law firm) but still nice. She had an office that overlooked downtown and had all her law stuff up on the wall. I was very proud! Sadly, the work she was trying to do turned into a mess. She couldn't print out these cases she needed to study, and they came out in some type of symbolized jargon that wasn't what she needed, without a doubt. So we finally got that taken care of after about 30 minutes more than either of us needed. We then found this little bistro just outside of downtown that had some good food. Bread with oil and vinegar, I had spaghetti and meatballs (Yum...except for when the sauce got on my white shirt...bleh) and Jess had the linguine with marinara. We had copious amounts of water with lemon.

-From there, we headed to Biscayne Bay and the Baywalk, which is a little bit like Pier 39 in San Francisco, but it's more expansive. We walked a bit before sitting on the dock by the bay...you know, wasting time. We then headed back to a bar and had a mojito. An AWESOME mojito. When we headed back to the car, we saw this guy who was giving away kittens, but unfortunately, I couldn't take one with me. Stupid living arrangement. From there, we went to Jessica's apartment and packed up our stuff because after we talked with Andrew and Marianne about the night before a bit, we were heading to Weston outside of Ft. Lauderdale to have a good ol' fashioned family dinner!

-Weston is this neat little suburb that is about 15-20 minutes outside of Miami and literally right next to the western side of Ft. Lauderdale. When we got there, it was just really a good experience to walk into the house for me. I had never been to Al and Rose's house ever. Rose was so happy to see me, and when I walked into the living room, I also saw my Uncle Jim and my little cousin Nate. It was then that I walked out onto the patio and saw Al there, cigar in hand and scotch in glass. It wasn't Sonoma, but I was sure as hell feeling like I was home.

-I caught up with everybody and the one thing that went through all of our heads was just how great and how surreal it was for me to be in Florida visiting them, with me right up I-75. Martina came up and gave me a hug, and I swear to God I didn't know it was her until after the hug. She had changed so much since the last time I saw her! She looked a lot like Jessica, now. We all got ready for dinner, but before that, Jess and Nate had to go on a covert operation. Donning sunglasses, they went to different places around the house with a light, looking for places to hide pieces of lettuce. Nate was especially sneaky, making sure that he put them in places where nobody would find them...like the kitchen table. For a 6-year-old, he certainly had a way of entertaining us all.

-At dinner, I had been telling Rose about my cross-country trip (that particular blog entry is right below this one...go read it if you haven't already) and all of a sudden, Nate farts. Now, it's not uncommon to hear a 6-year-old fart, but it was the reaction of Jess and Uncle Jay breaking into near uncontrollable laughter that made us all take notice. Well, that, and what Nate said after he farted. He turned to his dad and told him, "Dad, I tooted!" Jessica nearly fell out of her chair, and I just busted up laughing. Even after finishing my story, I felt like I couldn't follow up that particular little piece of comedy.

-I had developed a cold a day or two before, so I was hurting a bit, sneezing and coughing and generally looking tired, but I was happy to have a Hot Toddy as a dessert drink with Jess and Al after Uncle Jay took Nate home for the night. It cleared up my sinuses and tasted damn good, too. Jess needed to wake up and work early in the morning again, and Aunt Rose had already headed to bed, but Al and I weren't ready. No, sir! So he then declares that we watch...FAMILY GUY. Needless to say, I was ready for some Griffin family action. After the third episode, Al had basically fallen asleep and I was fading fast, so I just got up and went to bed soon after.

-The next morning, I wake up looking at the printer in Al's office where I was sleeping, and saw that it was 9:30. That was good for me, sleeping over nine hours. Except that it was an hour ahead. Oh, well. Went downstairs to humor Jess during her work, and Aunt Rose was up as well, preparing coffee and tea for us both. Jess and I were heading for the Chili Cook-Off, a country music concert put on by KISS 99.9 FM. Some of her friends were going to meet up with us at the house and we would caravan over to the concert. Rose made us a bagel and then we got all showered up and ready to go.

-Jessica's boyfriend Justin had sent down matching cowgirl hats for her and Martina, but the crown jewel of all of it was the redneckwear that Jessica could have worn, but then decided against. I guess the happy couple were on a road trip when they stopped at a gas station in Alabama and got these shirts and hats that were lovingly adorned with the Confederate flag. I really wished she could have worn it, but I was later happy to see that her friend Junilla wore a shirt just like it. So after we all got ready to go, we were off to the Chili Cook-Off. Beer, rednecks, country music...oh, it was on.

-The concert was fun. We showed up and met up with some other people who were just drinking and drinking...of course, I joined in. I had to! Then, we took the long walk around the lake to get inside, and once we got there, we had to figure out where we'd hunker down for the concert. Jessica wanted to watch Jason Aldean, and we got there in the middle of his set. So after that was over with, it was time for Jessica Simpson. That was when we all decided we need food. That wasn't even the funniest part of the set. During her last song, all the audio went out. That's how her set ended. We all got a nice little laugh about it, but still, it was kinda sad.

-While I basically just hung out where the blanket was, Jess and the girls went out and explored a bit. Junilla was a huge Alan Jackson fan, so they went up and got closer. Jessica forgot about the fact that I left my phone at her mom's house, which rendered her texts to come find them useless. They came back near the end and found me, and we enjoyed the rest of the set. I guess while they were walking around, they met some interesting people. Of course, they got to meet all the cool folks.

-We eventually got out of there and headed home after some drunk people harassment...which is always the best kind. Let's just say this. It's AFTER concerts that can get you in positions you don't want to be in. Thankfully, we were able to get to the car and not get into trouble. Some people are just crazy...I drove the girls home, with Jessica's friend Rebecca getting a little sleep in the car on the way back to the house. When we got back, we all kinda unwound a bit and decided to get food, but it took a while for us to actually get going. We went to Flannigan's, a chain restaurant that reminded me of a really nice Chili's or T.G.I. Friday's-type spot. We all got appetizers and kinda pigged out a bit. Rebecca ordered these nachos that were roughly the size of the table itself, piled on with sour cream and guacamole and all kinds of good stuff.

-When we came back, I started to feel sick and had to go make sure I would be okay for the big drive home, and the girls left before I got a chance to say good-bye, sadly. After that, I packed my things and sat down with Jess and Al for a little bit. Then, I had to get on the road. Rose was at the office preparing some stuff, but I got a chance to talk to her on the phone before I left. She insisted that they show me where the nearest Starbucks was (I had been trying to get there all weekend to use my gift card) so I had something for the way home. So I followed Jess and Al to the Weston Town Center. One last stop...

-So I got my Venti Java Chip Frapp, which I always get, but while we were waiting for the drinks, we were looking at the traveler's mugs and noticed how they were able to be clipped onto a hiker's backpack...but the water bottles weren't. Al then asked if I had a mug, and I told him I didn't. So he took the time to check every one of those mugs to make sure I got the right one. So finally, he actually picked the "generic" one, which was the plastic mug with the Starbucks logo on it. He bought me it, and then after I got my "tumbler," they led me back to the main drag and let me go forward while they headed home. The last thing I heard was Jess saying good-bye to me and saying she loved me, and then Al saying good-bye and saying, "You have family here!" It was a great capper to a great weekend.

The drive home was a lot faster, and from there, I was heading back home from a great trip of family, fun, country music and sunburns. I'll say this much: For all the times I felt homesick, it's something else to think that I'm literally three and a half hours away from family. I'll be making more trips, without a doubt, but the first trip, the one that solidified my family in Florida, is one I'll remember for a while, and it's one that will make my transition into being in Florida a lot easier.