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.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
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...
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...
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
"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.
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.
Monday, January 26, 2009
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.
-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.
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Two Week Update...
Hello, friends and family. I hope you guys have liked what I've done with the blog so far. I plan on doing a video blog after I do this written thing, but for right now, I have a lot on my mind that I felt would be better typed. I was informed by my mom that this could become a book someday when I look back on it, and I'm pretty sure it would be a great idea to do one. I think I'll look into it.
Well, the first two weeks are in the books, and I have to say that the job will prove challenging in the long run, but on top of that, I'm going to love it. Those of you who remember my feelings when I first arrived here of both sadness and anxiety will be happy to hear that those are now completely washed away, and although there is some apprehension in the mornings (I'm still not used to going there as opposed to KSVY just yet) it's getting to be good once I actually get to work.
It has its slow days, but when things get going...oh, boy, do they ever get going. The first week was basically me getting used to my surroundings, doing some busy work here and there, but in that first week, I basically got a grasp as to how things work around the office. In the office during the week, there are 13 people who are actually in the offices, along with the sports turf managers, concessions people, and cleaning crew. There are nine actual employees on the team and four interns. Three interns will be there the entire year, including me, and the one who won't, Jeff, is looking to get into baseball operations, which can lead you down the road of becoming a general manager. I've always been interested in baseball ops, as I am a huge stathead and love what goes into trades, but I also know that I can do that from a media standpoint, which is what I've been keeping my eye on.
It was the second week, however, that proved to be most interesting. After I wrote a couple of press releases noting the online ticket sales beginning on Jan. 12, I arrived that morning to see 40 or so people standing outside our box office. Immediately, I went to the office and found out that a newspaper release messed up and said that the box office opens on the 12th, and not the 20th, which is when we had it originally. So imagine our surprise when our day of cleaning in our "crap clothes" ends up being a day where we have to basically go through over 1,000 orders. So while we ended up staying until 6 p.m., I'd like to point out that my buddy Mike, the ticket manager, had a day that he won't soon repeat. I knew he would be home late, but after I fell asleep around midnight, I was surprised to hear someone coming in the door...at 5:30 a.m. Yep, Mike had been there for almost 24 hours. At that point, all I could do was fall back asleep shocked as all could be. Needless to say, Mike didn't get much sleep that night.
The next day, we helped out with more orders as we got our system logins and such, and then Wednesday saw us all clean up a couple of old offices, one being the legendary GM of the Dunedin Blue Jays for nearly 30 years, Ken Carson. He now works as a consultant for the team, but his old office was filled with a lot of fantastic memorabilia. We got the word that he wanted everything thrown out, but there was some stuff we couldn't bring to throw out. So we'll come back after the long weekend and see what he wants to do with it all. After filling up both dumpsters the best we could, we headed back upstairs, grabbed some lunch, and then I helped move some stuff upstairs. A couple of chairs, an ottoman and a couch, to be exact. They will be returned once Florida State League play starts, but at this point, the couch being in our break room can make for some interesting times. Any late nights? Get on the couch!
But it was the last two days that really put things in perspective. We took a late entrance on Thursday so that we could work on ticketing all those orders that we had up to that point. 1,700+ in all, and we had to print all the tickets out (About 20,000 or so), split them up individually, put them in envelopes and stamp them all to be ready to mailed all across the continent. Remember, we're talking about Canadians coming down for the Spring Training schedule. There were two things that absolutely destroyed this process, however:
1) About 1,000 orders in, I was looking at one of the printers to make sure they were all coming out okay, and when I took a look at the addresses on the tickets, I noticed that the street address was missing, which is a major problem when you're trying to mail the tickets!!! I let Mike know about it, but it never got resolved in time. This led to us having 1,700 orders that we couldn't mail. So, Mitch, our awesome IT guy from Toronto got together with our administrative assistant, Cile, and her brilliant idea of making labels for all the orders saved us the time it would have taken to write the street addresses on the tickets from Mitch's excel printout. It was still a hassle, but with 12 guys working on this, we got it going in a way where we were still outputting the orders in a timely manner.
2) We included letters to the fans saying that if they had season ticket orders that they would be arriving separately, because (and you'd know this if you're a season ticket holder) they are printed on separate ticket stock that is special and all that. There was one problem on the letters, though. Mike got dyslexic in his hectic time putting it together and switched two numbers in the office telephone number. That led to us realizing that we needed to get that fixed, but we also realized that the bottom of the letterhead had the right number on it. Thankfully, it was merely a hiccup as opposed to a complete overhaul. We couldn't take another one.
We were out of there by 11, but all upper-management stayed past then to finish up what they could before the morning. Crazily enough, I was ready to stay and help, but they sent us home. So, we got home to get some rest, for today, we were heading to Lakeland (a half hour east of Tampa, so an hour from here) so that we could participate in "Florida State League Intern Boot Camp." They fed us breakfast and lunch and held a seminar where people who are or once were associated with the FSL came in and talked about the various aspects of what we should be looking for in the nine months we were a part of this giant experience. I got some good ideas from the seminar, and I look to use them as I form my niche in the organization. Suffice to say, after talking to the Daytona Cubs play-by-play team, I think I have an idea or two of what to do. I'll just say this: All the people in Sonoma who know what KSVY had to go through in order to make those broadcasts great will enjoy my idea. I have to finalize it and make sure all is well, but once I present it, I'm sure management will like it.
So, that's the two week point for now. It's been an interesting experience, but a very good one, without a doubt. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens once the people from Toronto come down for Spring Training and I work with them. I'm going to relish the two months they will be here. Until then, it's all about working hard and getting myself prepared for the day's work. It's been a good experience so far. The tough part is over as far as getting situated. Now, I'm ready to work.
Outside of work, things are tough, but it's a hell of an experience. I realized yesterday that even if you feel like you're getting over your homesick feelings that they can come at any time. It'll be a month or two before I'm truly settled here outside of work, but that will all come with time. I'm certain of that. My friends and family have been so supportive of what I'm doing that I can't thank them all enough. They save me in my times of weakness and strengthen me for the times ahead. Trust me. When this becomes the experience of a lifetime, my times will be shared with all, and everyone will be able to see just what I've been able to do and how it has made me a changed man, and how it's changed me for the better.
I want to throw one final thing out there before I close this off and prepare the newest version of Cribs, and I find it fitting that we talk about this considering this morning's events in Oakland, CA.
For those of us who were rocked by the sudden and absolutely tragic passing of John Saleda, I know that his memorial was today. He has been on my mind all week long since I found out about his death last weekend. I remember my times with John as somewhat brief, as he was in my brother's grade and I only got a chance to see him around school during break time and lunch, but boy, when I did, it was never a dull moment. He had this way with people where he'd immediately make you feel a little bit uncomfortable, but it was always done in such a humorous manner that I couldn't help but laugh my ass off. Grab-assing, homoerotic undertones, cracking jokes left and right...John was just simply a joy to be around. I know that it hit Pete hard, as they were such good friends growing up (This picture that was on our fridge at home for a while with him and John hugging made me laugh every time I saw it) and from the outpour of condolences that I have personally seen on the Internet from 3,000 miles away, John has touched so many lives that I believe that God has a huge task in store for him when he reaches Heaven. It will now be John's duty to make everyone laugh in Heaven. Well, either that, or tell them to stop being a pussy and get happy because they're in Heaven, for crying out loud! Trust me: When I reach the pearly gates and St. Peter is standing there, I hope John is standing there when I walk in, ready with a joke and that smile of his.
My heartfelt condolences go out to his family, especially his siblings. I played football with his brother James and he and I always got along well, and when I heard about John's death, James was the first person I thought about. As someone who has three younger siblings, I couldn't imagine what would happen if I was to find out that one of them had died. There will never be a time harder in your life than dealing with the death of a loved one, and it's even harder when his death was so unsuspecting. Nobody should die at John's age, but if we learn anything in his death, it's that God has something special planned for all of us, and when we are summoned, that we make sure that the people we leave behind in our wake are blessed and are ready themselves when they are summoned. John Saleda, you will be missed, but you will never be forgotten. In fact, I'm sure that's how God planned it as I look back, because if there's one thing that anyone could say about you, is that they never forgot the good times they had with you.
Rest in peace, my good man. We miss you down here.
Thanks for reading, you guys. I will be up with a new video in a bit here, and then I prepare for the job fair tomorrow.
Well, the first two weeks are in the books, and I have to say that the job will prove challenging in the long run, but on top of that, I'm going to love it. Those of you who remember my feelings when I first arrived here of both sadness and anxiety will be happy to hear that those are now completely washed away, and although there is some apprehension in the mornings (I'm still not used to going there as opposed to KSVY just yet) it's getting to be good once I actually get to work.
It has its slow days, but when things get going...oh, boy, do they ever get going. The first week was basically me getting used to my surroundings, doing some busy work here and there, but in that first week, I basically got a grasp as to how things work around the office. In the office during the week, there are 13 people who are actually in the offices, along with the sports turf managers, concessions people, and cleaning crew. There are nine actual employees on the team and four interns. Three interns will be there the entire year, including me, and the one who won't, Jeff, is looking to get into baseball operations, which can lead you down the road of becoming a general manager. I've always been interested in baseball ops, as I am a huge stathead and love what goes into trades, but I also know that I can do that from a media standpoint, which is what I've been keeping my eye on.
It was the second week, however, that proved to be most interesting. After I wrote a couple of press releases noting the online ticket sales beginning on Jan. 12, I arrived that morning to see 40 or so people standing outside our box office. Immediately, I went to the office and found out that a newspaper release messed up and said that the box office opens on the 12th, and not the 20th, which is when we had it originally. So imagine our surprise when our day of cleaning in our "crap clothes" ends up being a day where we have to basically go through over 1,000 orders. So while we ended up staying until 6 p.m., I'd like to point out that my buddy Mike, the ticket manager, had a day that he won't soon repeat. I knew he would be home late, but after I fell asleep around midnight, I was surprised to hear someone coming in the door...at 5:30 a.m. Yep, Mike had been there for almost 24 hours. At that point, all I could do was fall back asleep shocked as all could be. Needless to say, Mike didn't get much sleep that night.
The next day, we helped out with more orders as we got our system logins and such, and then Wednesday saw us all clean up a couple of old offices, one being the legendary GM of the Dunedin Blue Jays for nearly 30 years, Ken Carson. He now works as a consultant for the team, but his old office was filled with a lot of fantastic memorabilia. We got the word that he wanted everything thrown out, but there was some stuff we couldn't bring to throw out. So we'll come back after the long weekend and see what he wants to do with it all. After filling up both dumpsters the best we could, we headed back upstairs, grabbed some lunch, and then I helped move some stuff upstairs. A couple of chairs, an ottoman and a couch, to be exact. They will be returned once Florida State League play starts, but at this point, the couch being in our break room can make for some interesting times. Any late nights? Get on the couch!
But it was the last two days that really put things in perspective. We took a late entrance on Thursday so that we could work on ticketing all those orders that we had up to that point. 1,700+ in all, and we had to print all the tickets out (About 20,000 or so), split them up individually, put them in envelopes and stamp them all to be ready to mailed all across the continent. Remember, we're talking about Canadians coming down for the Spring Training schedule. There were two things that absolutely destroyed this process, however:
1) About 1,000 orders in, I was looking at one of the printers to make sure they were all coming out okay, and when I took a look at the addresses on the tickets, I noticed that the street address was missing, which is a major problem when you're trying to mail the tickets!!! I let Mike know about it, but it never got resolved in time. This led to us having 1,700 orders that we couldn't mail. So, Mitch, our awesome IT guy from Toronto got together with our administrative assistant, Cile, and her brilliant idea of making labels for all the orders saved us the time it would have taken to write the street addresses on the tickets from Mitch's excel printout. It was still a hassle, but with 12 guys working on this, we got it going in a way where we were still outputting the orders in a timely manner.
2) We included letters to the fans saying that if they had season ticket orders that they would be arriving separately, because (and you'd know this if you're a season ticket holder) they are printed on separate ticket stock that is special and all that. There was one problem on the letters, though. Mike got dyslexic in his hectic time putting it together and switched two numbers in the office telephone number. That led to us realizing that we needed to get that fixed, but we also realized that the bottom of the letterhead had the right number on it. Thankfully, it was merely a hiccup as opposed to a complete overhaul. We couldn't take another one.
We were out of there by 11, but all upper-management stayed past then to finish up what they could before the morning. Crazily enough, I was ready to stay and help, but they sent us home. So, we got home to get some rest, for today, we were heading to Lakeland (a half hour east of Tampa, so an hour from here) so that we could participate in "Florida State League Intern Boot Camp." They fed us breakfast and lunch and held a seminar where people who are or once were associated with the FSL came in and talked about the various aspects of what we should be looking for in the nine months we were a part of this giant experience. I got some good ideas from the seminar, and I look to use them as I form my niche in the organization. Suffice to say, after talking to the Daytona Cubs play-by-play team, I think I have an idea or two of what to do. I'll just say this: All the people in Sonoma who know what KSVY had to go through in order to make those broadcasts great will enjoy my idea. I have to finalize it and make sure all is well, but once I present it, I'm sure management will like it.
So, that's the two week point for now. It's been an interesting experience, but a very good one, without a doubt. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens once the people from Toronto come down for Spring Training and I work with them. I'm going to relish the two months they will be here. Until then, it's all about working hard and getting myself prepared for the day's work. It's been a good experience so far. The tough part is over as far as getting situated. Now, I'm ready to work.
Outside of work, things are tough, but it's a hell of an experience. I realized yesterday that even if you feel like you're getting over your homesick feelings that they can come at any time. It'll be a month or two before I'm truly settled here outside of work, but that will all come with time. I'm certain of that. My friends and family have been so supportive of what I'm doing that I can't thank them all enough. They save me in my times of weakness and strengthen me for the times ahead. Trust me. When this becomes the experience of a lifetime, my times will be shared with all, and everyone will be able to see just what I've been able to do and how it has made me a changed man, and how it's changed me for the better.
I want to throw one final thing out there before I close this off and prepare the newest version of Cribs, and I find it fitting that we talk about this considering this morning's events in Oakland, CA.
For those of us who were rocked by the sudden and absolutely tragic passing of John Saleda, I know that his memorial was today. He has been on my mind all week long since I found out about his death last weekend. I remember my times with John as somewhat brief, as he was in my brother's grade and I only got a chance to see him around school during break time and lunch, but boy, when I did, it was never a dull moment. He had this way with people where he'd immediately make you feel a little bit uncomfortable, but it was always done in such a humorous manner that I couldn't help but laugh my ass off. Grab-assing, homoerotic undertones, cracking jokes left and right...John was just simply a joy to be around. I know that it hit Pete hard, as they were such good friends growing up (This picture that was on our fridge at home for a while with him and John hugging made me laugh every time I saw it) and from the outpour of condolences that I have personally seen on the Internet from 3,000 miles away, John has touched so many lives that I believe that God has a huge task in store for him when he reaches Heaven. It will now be John's duty to make everyone laugh in Heaven. Well, either that, or tell them to stop being a pussy and get happy because they're in Heaven, for crying out loud! Trust me: When I reach the pearly gates and St. Peter is standing there, I hope John is standing there when I walk in, ready with a joke and that smile of his.
My heartfelt condolences go out to his family, especially his siblings. I played football with his brother James and he and I always got along well, and when I heard about John's death, James was the first person I thought about. As someone who has three younger siblings, I couldn't imagine what would happen if I was to find out that one of them had died. There will never be a time harder in your life than dealing with the death of a loved one, and it's even harder when his death was so unsuspecting. Nobody should die at John's age, but if we learn anything in his death, it's that God has something special planned for all of us, and when we are summoned, that we make sure that the people we leave behind in our wake are blessed and are ready themselves when they are summoned. John Saleda, you will be missed, but you will never be forgotten. In fact, I'm sure that's how God planned it as I look back, because if there's one thing that anyone could say about you, is that they never forgot the good times they had with you.
Rest in peace, my good man. We miss you down here.
Thanks for reading, you guys. I will be up with a new video in a bit here, and then I prepare for the job fair tomorrow.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Trip Across the Country...Finally
A week to the night after I touched down in Dunedin for the first time, and after a tough couple of days of voice therapy with Mom, Dad, Grandpa, etc. about sticking through something like this, I've decided to do the cross-country blog. Not by day, but by state! Complete with pictures. Some that are mine, some that are not.
So without further ado, the 4-day trip that saw me go from Sonoma, CA to Dunedin, FL. And only in 2,970 miles!
California
Ah, California. The state of my birth. Where up until the 29th of December, I had spent basically my entire life outside of a trip to New York (Hi, Aunt Kathy and all) a trip to Tennessee (Mike, Esther, Mikey, George, Jonny, Audrey, I miss you all) a trip to Florida (by plane to Orlando) a couple of trips to Reno and Las Vegas (money was lost, not won) a trip to Washington that ended in a roadtrip through Oregon back to California (Congratulations on graduating, Jared) and a trip to see Mike and Esther and all in Arizona, the first plane trip that Pete and I took. Okay, so maybe I spent a little bit of time outside of the state.
Fun facts about California:
-It's the sixth largest economy in the world. Or seventh. I can't remember. First fact is a guess.
-It contains approximately 40,000,000 people.
-It thought about splitting away from the country for a second before it realized that National Guard couldn't even try to contend with the U.S. Army. Smart choice.
-My hometown of Sonoma was the state capital for a little bit. Or, was recognized as such. I can't remember, either. Maybe my facts aren't that good.
Now, for my trip:
-The trip through California to the Southland was nothing I hadn't done before. In fact, three weeks earlier, I made the trip south to hang out with Pete for a bit before I headed to Las Vegas for the Job Fair. Much drinking, basketball watching and drinking occurred. I enjoyed myself greatly. The great unknown for this trip occurred a couple of times once I got to the Southland. Once I got to the northern city limit of Los Angeles, I jumped on I-210 east towards Pasadena, the first time I had ever gone on this freeway before. Now, tons of looks at maps told me I was making the right call. I was to take this to Highway 57 (which is what I took from Fullerton to Vegas) and then off to I-10 I'd go, and that would be my best friend for like, oh, four days. One problem, though. L.A. traffic rears its ugly head as I hit east of the Rose City, and I have to kinda find a way around it. I'd like to bring I-605 into the equation. I-605 runs from just east of Pasadena and on south through east Los Angeles, and it goes nearly all the way to Long Beach. Luckily, I only needed a 10 mile stretch. There was I-10, and once I got on, I got cozy. I had about 2,500 miles on this damn thing. You gotta savor it, right?
-The point of no return officially happened when I passed I-15. In the Southland, I had never been east of that point. So then, it became clear to me: this was it. I had made my decision to leave California. I actually love the southern part of the Mojave Desert. Those of you who actually drive to Vegas see that there ain't a damn thing out there except for three things: Victorville, Barstow and Baker, which houses the World's Largest Thermometer. The southern part of the desert has places like Palm Springs, Indio, and Coachella. Little bit better than those, unless you like podunk. Now, I got down there as the sun was setting (see above) so when I was making my trek across the desert towards Arizona, I didn't get to see much, but what I did see, I loved. I ended up making the big climb, and as I got to the ridge, I got out and took a picture of the skyline. My little camera did good.
-As I took the dark trek across the desert, I realized that this would be the last time I would see California for a long time. So I kinda cherished it a bit. For the first time in my life, I took a giant plunge. Not for college or for a vacation, but for my career. As I got into my last minutes in California, I took a deep breath and headed across the stateline.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT CALIFORNIA: Ray Stevens is the greatest wrestler to come out of California. He owned the San Francisco territory in his heyday when the Cow Palace would get sold old routinely. Look up some stuff about him. Watch matches with him in it. I beg of you.
Arizona
Arizona is the home of John McCain. He lost the presidency to Barack Obama. I also know that Arizona was probably one of the places where the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius, did battle. It's a state that is part of the "Four Corners." It likes the sun a lot. I know that part. I had been here before for my first ever trip by myself away from home. I remember I missed my mom dearly, a lot like I do now.
Fun facts about Arizona:
-Arizona is not the 6th or 7th biggest economy in the world.
-Sonoma's Brett Wallace hit 45 homers as an ASU Sun Devil in his three years there. He almost hit .400 for his career. He's now preparing to hit home runs in the St. Louis Cardinals system. Let's just say he's going to do good.
-Randy Johnson won three Cy Young Awards as a member of the Diamondbacks. Or was it four? Yep, it was four. He also won an award in EACH YEAR OF HIS CONTRACT, which was 4-years, $53 million. Let's just say that was probably the best free-agent signing in history. Wow.
-Arizona is mostly desert, but not at too high of an elevation. Interestingly enough, once you go up the big hill to exit California, you come down into Phoenix, which isn't too far above sea level.
-I was once in Phoenix when it was 120 degrees. At the zoo, no less. Wow.
Now for my journey across the state:
-Traveling in the dark in the desert probably did me well. One thing I learned about Arizona right away was that they had a 75 MPH speed limit on I-10 through the state. I loved it. Helped out in my journey. I only had about 150 miles from the state line to get to Phoenix, where I would be staying with Mike and his grandpa. Thankfully, I got there at a somewhat reasonable hour (this was when I realized I needed to add an hour to the proceedings) and it was neat to get there and have a nice meal for my first day of driving. I settled in after a little bit of talking with Mike and company, with Mike being basically blind after getting LASIK surgery that day. So, I got some sleep, got up early and showered, and then got back in the car and headed east. It was a huge drive, 1,000 miles to Austin, TX, so that I could stay with my cousin Dennis, who I was really excited to see.
-There were some neat mountains (go to my Facebook page and see the pictures: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=11702031&ref=name) and from there, I got to Tuscon, where they were doing major road construction. That was kinda slow, but once I got out, I basically cruised to the New Mexico border. From there, I entered the first state that I had never been to!
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT ARIZONA: Mike DiBiase, father of "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, was the first ever Arizona Heavyweight Champion. His grandson, Ted Jr., is about ready to come back to WWE after a stint in helping film a movie.
New Mexico
Because Old Mexico just couldn't cut it. They needed a new one.
Fun facts about New Mexico:
-New Mexico probably has the world's 600th largest economy.
-It, like Colorado and Montana, is the home of the North American Continental Divide, the exact halfway point between the farthest west point and the farthest east point of the landmass. Pretty incredible when you think about it.
-I'm pretty sure you are constantly going up in New Mexico. Everything is way above sea level.
-The city of Las Cruces means "The Crossroads."
My trip through New Mexico was largely uneventful. I knew I had to just get to El Paso so I could revel in the glory that is The Republic of Texas. I stopped for gas there, because I had to, and I remembered that New Mexico was different from Arizona (No, seriously) because while there was much beauty about the desert in Arizona, there was a lot of dead grass in New Mexico, as opposed to a bunch of neat cacti and clay. There were some neat mountains, though. Also, there was this thing called "The Thing" that i probably should have gone to in Arizona, but I decided not to go to. Scott Daigle said it was something he would have stopped to see. I'm not Scott Daigle, so I didn't. I'm also not Scott Daigle because, well, let's be honest. He's an editing god. I can only wish to be as good as him. I basically just got through there, went up the second step and went into Texas.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT NEW MEXICO: The great Mick Foley, who has written countless #1 best selling books (Okay, three), hailed from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico when he undertook his original gimmick of Cactus Jack.
BANG, BANG! That would not be the only pro wrestling related picture I would take. No, siree.
Texas
See, now before that whole secession business, Texas was actually it's own country for a while. That's pretty sweet right there. I also like to think of Texas as the big keister of the United States: I dare you to try and kick its ass. In fact, it won't happen. You know why?
It's true, people!
Fun facts about Texas:
-It's the second largest state in the country, and was the largest state until Alaska was pronounced a state nearly half a century ago.
-It's where the Alamo fell. Davy Crockett owns you.
-I am pretty sure that the greatest players in the history of the game of football came from Texas. If you don't believe me, just ask them.
-HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS? Oh, wait, they didn't make the playoffs? Awwwww.
(I'm sorry, I had to.)
My drive across Texas was crazy. I hit El Paso at about, oh, 2 p.m., but then from there, it got crazy. When you get to West Texas, all you really see are mountains. Not too many plains. That happens once you get south after the big I-20 merge, which you take through Dallas and goes all the way to the ATL. Lil' Jon approves. From there, it was a long drive south through the plains of Texas. It was a lot of the same thing, but in the end, I got to see a lot of neat stuff. My biggest thing that happened to me before I got to Austin that day to see Dennis was when I stopped for gas in I believe it was Ozona. I couldn't find unleaded at either Chevron in town, so I went to a different gas station, got some there, and then saw a Sonic. I had to get food there.
So when I went to get back on the freeway, I was ready to get on the on-ramp when all of a sudden, the on-ramp was a bit off from the straight path! All of a sudden, my car ended up heading for a curb on a grassy little patch. I slammed on the breaks, but went up on it anyways. It was a traumatic thing, and knowing I was still about 3-4 hours away from Austin didn't make things better. The car wasn't damaged, so I just pressed on, with slushie spilled all over me and me being so mad I couldn't eat. I decided I just wanted to get to Austin already. I finally got there at around 11:30 after about a 2-hour trek on U.S. 290, where I navigated throughout the Texas plains in the dark like a madman possessed for his final stop. I got in contact with cousin Dennis, got into Austin (which is a beautiful city at night) and after navigating the west side of the city, got into the neighborhood and arrived...going up the wrong driveway in the process. I got a chance to see Anne and Dennis, got some water in me, and caught up a bit before heading to bed. I'd like to thank Kellen for letting me sleep in his bed, as Anne told me before I headed up that he had been crying because "it was the best bed in the house." For such a gracious cousin, Kellen, I appreciate you doing that. It was also a great little bed for me. It was the best sleep I would get on the road trip.
The next morning, I woke up to the sounds of the kids enjoying their Christmas gifts, with a bunch of them huddled around a portable DVD player with "Enchanted" playing. Kellen got his PSP out and was playing Iron Man for a bit, and after I got some cereal in me, Dennis took me out for a ride around Austin. He took us by his office, where he checked his schedule to see how long he had off for New Year's. With it being New Year's Eve, he was preparing a nice little get together at the house with some friends. So it was good that he figured out his schedule. After that, he took me through downtown Austin, which was neat. See, it's a city that is based around these three lakes, and the waterfront district was all lit up when I drove in the night before. There were a ton of places to hear live music. Remember, kids: Austin is the live music capital of the world. I'm trying to remember, but I think Dennis said there was at least 600 places with live music.
Anyways, he took me through downtown, which I loved, even with all the construction they were doing, and then from there, he took me to the State Capitol building, which was pretty incredible. I liked the California State Capitol, but there's something rustic about the Texas Capitol. It was really nice. Right behind the building is the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. It's a school that I started following about seven years ago after the College World Series. I watched Huston Street turn in a performance for the ages, and I was hooked. I was all about hookin' them Horns.
Texas Memorial Stadium, also known as Darrell K. Royal Stadium, holds 94,000 people or so, but for a big time game, it can get up to over 100,000 people for standing room only. While we couldn't get in to the stadium, and I had stupidly left my camera at the house, I couldn't get a picture, but Dennis did a really cool thing: He took me to the merchandise store and bought be a Texas beer coozy. It sits on my desk at work. After that, we had breakfast tacos waiting for us when we got back to the house, so we headed on back to the house, where the kids had all dispersed and the ladies of the house, Anne and Michelle, had decided they need to go shopping. It was getting close to my time to get on the road, but I stuck around for a bit, watched some entertainment TV, and then packed my stuff up. Oh, and we took a picture or two, as well:
Aren't we just the cutest? So, after I said my goodbyes, I headed east through the plains of Texas towards Houston. I loved this so much, because while the majority of my trip through the middle of Texas was in the dark, I got a chance to see all that made Texas what it is as I drove towards Houston. Neat little towns all along the way. I actually stopped for a second with the intentions of getting a cowboy hat, but I didn't see one I liked. Actually, I didn't see one I liked that was cheap enough. Stetson, I know you love your cowboy hats, but damn it all if they aren't damn expensive. I was also able to stop off and get some Texas BBQ: BBQ pork sandwich, potatoes with bacon and onions and some coleslaw. It was all good.
Houston is a neat city. Really great area, and I loved driving through the middle of the city on the freeway. I got into a little bit of traffic, but nothing major. I knew I had to get through there, and then I was on my way towards Louisiana and my next stop: New Orleans for New Year's!
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT TEXAS: Texas is the home of some of the greatest wrestlers ever: Stan Hansen, the Von Erichs, and of course, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who makes his home in Victoria.
STONE COLD! STONE COLD! STONE COLD!
Louisiana
There are lots of bayous in Louisiana. When people think of the "Dirty South," there are usually two places that they go to: Atlanta and New Orleans. I think that Louisiana is actually a very pretty state from what I saw. I don't have much else to say about the state other than that.
Fun facts about Louisiana:
-This is where the Mississippi River begins. Seriously. In Louisiana.
-It's the only state in the union shaped like a boot.
-Louisiana was only a small part of the Louisiana Purchase. In fact, almost everything east of the Mississippi River going to the original colonies was a part of the purchase.
-Shaquille O'Neal came from Lousiana. He's now practically a billionaire because he's tall and made the movie "Kazaam." Tell me how my ass tastes, indeed.
My trip across Louisiana...well, it wasn't the greatest, I'll say that right now. I got there at about mid-afternoon, early evening, and I realized I had basically made half of my trip on New Year's Eve. I drove through cities like Lafayette and Lake Charles, and basically set myself up to be in New Orleans by about 8:30. I got to Lafayette and got all filled up on gas and got a little snack, finishing off my McDonald's card, and off I went towards Baton Rouge, which was next. What happened next basically ruined my New Year's.
The picture above was taken by myself after I left my car in the middle of a traffic jam. An accident outside of Baton Rouge left traffic stopped, so I had to wait it out to see what would happen. I turned the car off like everyone else and ran the radio for a bit, scanning to see if there was any word on the accident, but there was no dice. About a half hour passes (this after I heard, of all things, a Flyers/Stars hockey game on the radio...huh) and the traffic moves. Hooray! But the car won't start...ohhhhh, no. I know exactly what it is. The battery died thanks to the radio and lights being on for an extended period of time, although I turned the lights off after like...2 minutes. So, a guy behind me was nice enough to push my car off the road and into the median. Yeah, did I mention I was in the left lane? Oi.
After calling my dad and telling him what happened, he said to call AAA, and that's what I did. Problem was that it would take longer than I would expect because of the accident, as tow trucks were looking to take away the cars from the wreck. Knowing that, I just kinda stayed put as best I could. A few minutes after I called, Louisiana State Troopers were driving back up westbound portion of I-10, where they could keep an eye out for anything crazy happening...you know, like a car dead on the median. They helped me push my car to the shoulder, safely, thank God, and then I sat there and waited for the help. After a couple of tries, I finally got the car jumped with the AAA guy, and away I went, into the night, and off towards New Orleans...with only 2 and a half hours left until midnight. I had 90 miles to go, so I knew I'd get there around 11.
Got through Baton Rouge fast enough, and then I realized that I had an hour til midnight, like I thought, as I crossed the big causeway into New Orleans. It was neat to see all these fireworks going off from a distance. So as I got closer, it turned 11. All of a sudden, I saw a hotel...but I realized I was about 15 miles from downtown. Yeah...I wanted something closer. Keep that in mind for later. I went towards downtown, looking for anything, but found nothing. I went down Canal St. and circled around Harrah's (through traffic, of course) as midnight drew nearer. It was about this time that Barb called me from work, and I told her how I couldn't find a damn thing. I did find a Holiday Inn downtown, but they were filled up. And it was just before midnight that they told me that, too. That about did it for me. As I drove towards the hotel that Barb directed me towards, I got increasingly sad. Then, midnight hit while I was getting back on I-10. I wanted to simultaneously cry and then throw shit out the window. Barb directed me towards the hotel, and after one wrong turn, I finally got into the parking lot of a Motel 6 in East New Orleans...15 miles from downtown.
I got in, contemplated for a second, called my dad, and then after being just absolutely pissed off and tired, I just went to sleep. I woke up at 7:45 the next morning, and after a shower and some ESPN, I decided to just get up and go. Got my bag and headed for the car, ready to get back on the road. One little problem though.
The battery was dead. Again.
This time, AAA was kind enough to come out and give me a new battery. The guy who hooked it up said that when he was checking the voltage that 6 amps were being pulled, but I didn't think there was anything on in the car at all. Lights were off, no battery charger, none of that. It was later on that I realized that when I was turning the key from outside the car, that I flicked the signal on...and pushed it forward, activating my brights, which couldn't be seen in the daylight. So, after the battery was installed, I got a chance to go to Pep Boys and get a diagnostics check. Everything was fine, so I was back on the road and ready to go. I was looking for breakfast. So, of course, one thing came to mind: Waffle House.
I went to the one down the street, but it was so packed I couldn't sit down. I decided that I needed to just move on down the road and look for one. Luckily, about 20 minutes up the road, I found one. It was glorious. A waffle, biscuits and gravy, and hash browns with cheese, onions and tomatoes. I put both ketchup and hot sauce on top of that. It was GLORIOUS. I haven't seen one in my travels around Dunedin yet, but man, oh man. I need to go back. That was just...wow. After that, I was on the fast track out of Louisiana. Finally. Jim Levy, your homestate gave me one hell of a ride, my friend.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT LOUISIANA: This was the state where many famous wrestlers in the 1980s got their start: Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Jake Roberts, The Fabulous Freebirds and The Junkyard Dog all were a major part of Lousiana wrestling before it was bought up by Bill Watts.
Mississippi
Four S's. Four I's. Two P's. The M is there to make sure you don't call it Wississippi. It is basically a mirror image of Alabama.
Fun facts about Mississippi:
-One of the states that decided to go against the Union in the Civil War.
-Had the first ever human lung transplant at the University of Mississippi in 1964.
-Both Archie and Eli Manning went to Ole Miss. However, they are not my favorite player from that school. That would be Michael Oher, who will be one of the best linemen in the NFL in 3 years. You watch.
-Elvis was born here. Yep.
-Root beer was invented here in 1898.
Mississippi for me wasn't anything too major. In fact, outside of going through Biloxi, it was a bunch of trees all along the freeway. I stopped off to get gas and some batteries, and it was about that time that my iPod decided to dive off behind my chair. So then I went into a mode where I had to figure out a way to get it out from under the seat, which was blocked by all my stuff that I had crammed in there. Luckily, after a couple of pokes with an air hose, I was able to jam my hand inbetween the seat and the damn thing was in reach. So, a painful pull later, and I was back in business. The drive on I-10 through Mississippi is really short, only about 60-70 miles, so my time there was limited. I saw a lot of trees. That was about as good as it got for me. After that, it was off to Alabama.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT MISSISSIPPI: Bob Kelly won the Mississippi Heavyweight Championship EIGHTEEN TIMES in a ten year span from 1968-1978. That's pretty crazy right there. I'm not sure even Jerry Lawler himself did that. Ric Flair won the World Heavyweight title 16 times. Bob Kelly owned Mississippi until Mid-South took over the territory in '79. Still, that's a whole lot of titles.
Alabama
Charles Barkley, ladies and gentlemen. The Crimson Tide. Bear Bryant. Forrest Gump. Yeah, Alabama is pretty sweet. For 70 miles, I definitely enjoyed myself.
Fun facts about Alabama:
-The first Confederate flag was flown in Alabama, and a smaller replica of it is on their current state flag.
-Joe Louis was born in Alabama. Dude could box. I know, because grainy old footage of his exists and he was knocking people out.
-Lynyrd Skynyrd loves them some Alabama. So much they wrote a song about it. You know the one. I think it's kinda popular.
-The two major colleges in Alabama play a game called The Iron Bowl, and that's because Alabama is the only state in the country that can produce it's own iron.
-This is more of a fictional fact: Forrest Gump is from Alabama. He was involved in many things throughout U.S. history. For some reason, he didn't make it into any of the history books....
It was a short drive through Alabama, too, but there were much less trees. In fact, Mobile was a neat little city, and it was the only tunnel I went through on my trip. I went over a lot of water in Alabama before I got back on land and headed towards the Alabama/Florida border. There wasn't much else outside of Mobile that I remember. In fact, looking at the photos, I didn't take too much. A couple pictures of the Gulf of Mexico, as I drove over a lot of water, but then, once Florida was on the horizon, it was back to the trees. Which brings us to the final state on our little tour.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT ALABAMA: "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton comes from Huntsville. This dude could wrestle. Part of one of the best tag teams of all time in The Midnight Express, and had a couple great runs as a singles wrestler, too. Some of the best right hands you'd ever see, and the Alabama Jam was a thing of beauty. But even with that, he had the best swinging neckbreaker I EVER saw. Guy also had the mullet rocking at many points in time, and even became English for a bit when he tagged with Steve Regal. I love me some Bobby Eaton.
Florida
The final stop on our little tour. I had driven 2,500 miles at this point. I was tired. I had been through a lot. But, I made it. Ladies and gentlemen, the southeastern most part of the United States.
Fun facts about Florida:
-It was owned by Spain once. Seriously. Look it up. Back when they had Mexico, Spain claimed Mexico as its own. Pretty funny stuff.
-Clearwater, which is literally next to my new hometown of Dunedin, has more lightning strikes a year than anywhere else in the country.
-Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida (Home of the Gators, hence, "Gatorade") in 1967. It's now the most popular sports drink in the world.
-It takes 3 and a half hours to drive from Miami to Key West, which is the southernmost city in the continental United States.
I had finally arrived to my new home state. I was so proud. I was actually very overwhelmed. I couldn't believe I had done what I had done, and I still had about 450 miles to go! The drive was weird. Pensacola is beautiful. It's a bay right on the Gulf, and you drive right over it on I-10, which is just gorgeous. Then, after that, it's 150 miles of forest. Not joking. Once I got through Pensacola, Florida became a giant forest to me until I got to Tallahassee, the state capital. That's where I stopped and got gas and a snack, because just outside of town, I'd be getting off I-10, which was my home for 2,500 miles or so, and head south on U.S. 19. It was called the Georgia/Florida Thruway, and I was on it for about 200 more miles as I headed towards the Tampa/St. Pete area. More forest surrounded me, but after about 100 miles or so, that cleared up, and I got into the middle of the state, and closer to the water.
I knew I got close enough once I made it to the first city over this causeway. I was finally out of those woods and into a city. Problem was that I didn't know how far I had to go because, well, to be honest, the cities were all next to each other! That's when I first realized how expansive the area is around Tampa/St. Pete. I got through about 50 miles or so of city before I saw my exit for Dunedin. I had finally come to my new home. It was time to start my career off proper.
Now, I'm sitting here in this hotel room while I wait for Mike's house to clear, and I'll tell you this. The last two weeks, including the week I stayed in that roach motel as a temporary solution, were some of the most trying times of my life. I thank you all for supporting me and getting me through a tough time, and now, as I look at my career moving forward, I'm ready to begin it. This week, it's one week closer to Spring Training. Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 14.
I say bring it on.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT FLORIDA: Dusty Rhodes owned this place back in the 70's and early 80's. Now, he does Florida Championship Wrestling broadcasts for the WWE minor league training facility. He's still the same ol' American Dream. Can't help but love the big fella.
Look for a new video coming soon, as Mike and I get our Cribs on.
So without further ado, the 4-day trip that saw me go from Sonoma, CA to Dunedin, FL. And only in 2,970 miles!
California
Ah, California. The state of my birth. Where up until the 29th of December, I had spent basically my entire life outside of a trip to New York (Hi, Aunt Kathy and all) a trip to Tennessee (Mike, Esther, Mikey, George, Jonny, Audrey, I miss you all) a trip to Florida (by plane to Orlando) a couple of trips to Reno and Las Vegas (money was lost, not won) a trip to Washington that ended in a roadtrip through Oregon back to California (Congratulations on graduating, Jared) and a trip to see Mike and Esther and all in Arizona, the first plane trip that Pete and I took. Okay, so maybe I spent a little bit of time outside of the state.
Fun facts about California:
-It's the sixth largest economy in the world. Or seventh. I can't remember. First fact is a guess.
-It contains approximately 40,000,000 people.
-It thought about splitting away from the country for a second before it realized that National Guard couldn't even try to contend with the U.S. Army. Smart choice.
-My hometown of Sonoma was the state capital for a little bit. Or, was recognized as such. I can't remember, either. Maybe my facts aren't that good.
Now, for my trip:
-The trip through California to the Southland was nothing I hadn't done before. In fact, three weeks earlier, I made the trip south to hang out with Pete for a bit before I headed to Las Vegas for the Job Fair. Much drinking, basketball watching and drinking occurred. I enjoyed myself greatly. The great unknown for this trip occurred a couple of times once I got to the Southland. Once I got to the northern city limit of Los Angeles, I jumped on I-210 east towards Pasadena, the first time I had ever gone on this freeway before. Now, tons of looks at maps told me I was making the right call. I was to take this to Highway 57 (which is what I took from Fullerton to Vegas) and then off to I-10 I'd go, and that would be my best friend for like, oh, four days. One problem, though. L.A. traffic rears its ugly head as I hit east of the Rose City, and I have to kinda find a way around it. I'd like to bring I-605 into the equation. I-605 runs from just east of Pasadena and on south through east Los Angeles, and it goes nearly all the way to Long Beach. Luckily, I only needed a 10 mile stretch. There was I-10, and once I got on, I got cozy. I had about 2,500 miles on this damn thing. You gotta savor it, right?
-The point of no return officially happened when I passed I-15. In the Southland, I had never been east of that point. So then, it became clear to me: this was it. I had made my decision to leave California. I actually love the southern part of the Mojave Desert. Those of you who actually drive to Vegas see that there ain't a damn thing out there except for three things: Victorville, Barstow and Baker, which houses the World's Largest Thermometer. The southern part of the desert has places like Palm Springs, Indio, and Coachella. Little bit better than those, unless you like podunk. Now, I got down there as the sun was setting (see above) so when I was making my trek across the desert towards Arizona, I didn't get to see much, but what I did see, I loved. I ended up making the big climb, and as I got to the ridge, I got out and took a picture of the skyline. My little camera did good.
-As I took the dark trek across the desert, I realized that this would be the last time I would see California for a long time. So I kinda cherished it a bit. For the first time in my life, I took a giant plunge. Not for college or for a vacation, but for my career. As I got into my last minutes in California, I took a deep breath and headed across the stateline.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT CALIFORNIA: Ray Stevens is the greatest wrestler to come out of California. He owned the San Francisco territory in his heyday when the Cow Palace would get sold old routinely. Look up some stuff about him. Watch matches with him in it. I beg of you.
Arizona
Arizona is the home of John McCain. He lost the presidency to Barack Obama. I also know that Arizona was probably one of the places where the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius, did battle. It's a state that is part of the "Four Corners." It likes the sun a lot. I know that part. I had been here before for my first ever trip by myself away from home. I remember I missed my mom dearly, a lot like I do now.
Fun facts about Arizona:
-Arizona is not the 6th or 7th biggest economy in the world.
-Sonoma's Brett Wallace hit 45 homers as an ASU Sun Devil in his three years there. He almost hit .400 for his career. He's now preparing to hit home runs in the St. Louis Cardinals system. Let's just say he's going to do good.
-Randy Johnson won three Cy Young Awards as a member of the Diamondbacks. Or was it four? Yep, it was four. He also won an award in EACH YEAR OF HIS CONTRACT, which was 4-years, $53 million. Let's just say that was probably the best free-agent signing in history. Wow.
-Arizona is mostly desert, but not at too high of an elevation. Interestingly enough, once you go up the big hill to exit California, you come down into Phoenix, which isn't too far above sea level.
-I was once in Phoenix when it was 120 degrees. At the zoo, no less. Wow.
Now for my journey across the state:
-Traveling in the dark in the desert probably did me well. One thing I learned about Arizona right away was that they had a 75 MPH speed limit on I-10 through the state. I loved it. Helped out in my journey. I only had about 150 miles from the state line to get to Phoenix, where I would be staying with Mike and his grandpa. Thankfully, I got there at a somewhat reasonable hour (this was when I realized I needed to add an hour to the proceedings) and it was neat to get there and have a nice meal for my first day of driving. I settled in after a little bit of talking with Mike and company, with Mike being basically blind after getting LASIK surgery that day. So, I got some sleep, got up early and showered, and then got back in the car and headed east. It was a huge drive, 1,000 miles to Austin, TX, so that I could stay with my cousin Dennis, who I was really excited to see.
-There were some neat mountains (go to my Facebook page and see the pictures: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=11702031&ref=name) and from there, I got to Tuscon, where they were doing major road construction. That was kinda slow, but once I got out, I basically cruised to the New Mexico border. From there, I entered the first state that I had never been to!
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT ARIZONA: Mike DiBiase, father of "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, was the first ever Arizona Heavyweight Champion. His grandson, Ted Jr., is about ready to come back to WWE after a stint in helping film a movie.
New Mexico
Because Old Mexico just couldn't cut it. They needed a new one.
Fun facts about New Mexico:
-New Mexico probably has the world's 600th largest economy.
-It, like Colorado and Montana, is the home of the North American Continental Divide, the exact halfway point between the farthest west point and the farthest east point of the landmass. Pretty incredible when you think about it.
-I'm pretty sure you are constantly going up in New Mexico. Everything is way above sea level.
-The city of Las Cruces means "The Crossroads."
My trip through New Mexico was largely uneventful. I knew I had to just get to El Paso so I could revel in the glory that is The Republic of Texas. I stopped for gas there, because I had to, and I remembered that New Mexico was different from Arizona (No, seriously) because while there was much beauty about the desert in Arizona, there was a lot of dead grass in New Mexico, as opposed to a bunch of neat cacti and clay. There were some neat mountains, though. Also, there was this thing called "The Thing" that i probably should have gone to in Arizona, but I decided not to go to. Scott Daigle said it was something he would have stopped to see. I'm not Scott Daigle, so I didn't. I'm also not Scott Daigle because, well, let's be honest. He's an editing god. I can only wish to be as good as him. I basically just got through there, went up the second step and went into Texas.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT NEW MEXICO: The great Mick Foley, who has written countless #1 best selling books (Okay, three), hailed from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico when he undertook his original gimmick of Cactus Jack.
BANG, BANG! That would not be the only pro wrestling related picture I would take. No, siree.
Texas
See, now before that whole secession business, Texas was actually it's own country for a while. That's pretty sweet right there. I also like to think of Texas as the big keister of the United States: I dare you to try and kick its ass. In fact, it won't happen. You know why?
It's true, people!
Fun facts about Texas:
-It's the second largest state in the country, and was the largest state until Alaska was pronounced a state nearly half a century ago.
-It's where the Alamo fell. Davy Crockett owns you.
-I am pretty sure that the greatest players in the history of the game of football came from Texas. If you don't believe me, just ask them.
-HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS? Oh, wait, they didn't make the playoffs? Awwwww.
(I'm sorry, I had to.)
My drive across Texas was crazy. I hit El Paso at about, oh, 2 p.m., but then from there, it got crazy. When you get to West Texas, all you really see are mountains. Not too many plains. That happens once you get south after the big I-20 merge, which you take through Dallas and goes all the way to the ATL. Lil' Jon approves. From there, it was a long drive south through the plains of Texas. It was a lot of the same thing, but in the end, I got to see a lot of neat stuff. My biggest thing that happened to me before I got to Austin that day to see Dennis was when I stopped for gas in I believe it was Ozona. I couldn't find unleaded at either Chevron in town, so I went to a different gas station, got some there, and then saw a Sonic. I had to get food there.
So when I went to get back on the freeway, I was ready to get on the on-ramp when all of a sudden, the on-ramp was a bit off from the straight path! All of a sudden, my car ended up heading for a curb on a grassy little patch. I slammed on the breaks, but went up on it anyways. It was a traumatic thing, and knowing I was still about 3-4 hours away from Austin didn't make things better. The car wasn't damaged, so I just pressed on, with slushie spilled all over me and me being so mad I couldn't eat. I decided I just wanted to get to Austin already. I finally got there at around 11:30 after about a 2-hour trek on U.S. 290, where I navigated throughout the Texas plains in the dark like a madman possessed for his final stop. I got in contact with cousin Dennis, got into Austin (which is a beautiful city at night) and after navigating the west side of the city, got into the neighborhood and arrived...going up the wrong driveway in the process. I got a chance to see Anne and Dennis, got some water in me, and caught up a bit before heading to bed. I'd like to thank Kellen for letting me sleep in his bed, as Anne told me before I headed up that he had been crying because "it was the best bed in the house." For such a gracious cousin, Kellen, I appreciate you doing that. It was also a great little bed for me. It was the best sleep I would get on the road trip.
The next morning, I woke up to the sounds of the kids enjoying their Christmas gifts, with a bunch of them huddled around a portable DVD player with "Enchanted" playing. Kellen got his PSP out and was playing Iron Man for a bit, and after I got some cereal in me, Dennis took me out for a ride around Austin. He took us by his office, where he checked his schedule to see how long he had off for New Year's. With it being New Year's Eve, he was preparing a nice little get together at the house with some friends. So it was good that he figured out his schedule. After that, he took me through downtown Austin, which was neat. See, it's a city that is based around these three lakes, and the waterfront district was all lit up when I drove in the night before. There were a ton of places to hear live music. Remember, kids: Austin is the live music capital of the world. I'm trying to remember, but I think Dennis said there was at least 600 places with live music.
Anyways, he took me through downtown, which I loved, even with all the construction they were doing, and then from there, he took me to the State Capitol building, which was pretty incredible. I liked the California State Capitol, but there's something rustic about the Texas Capitol. It was really nice. Right behind the building is the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. It's a school that I started following about seven years ago after the College World Series. I watched Huston Street turn in a performance for the ages, and I was hooked. I was all about hookin' them Horns.
Texas Memorial Stadium, also known as Darrell K. Royal Stadium, holds 94,000 people or so, but for a big time game, it can get up to over 100,000 people for standing room only. While we couldn't get in to the stadium, and I had stupidly left my camera at the house, I couldn't get a picture, but Dennis did a really cool thing: He took me to the merchandise store and bought be a Texas beer coozy. It sits on my desk at work. After that, we had breakfast tacos waiting for us when we got back to the house, so we headed on back to the house, where the kids had all dispersed and the ladies of the house, Anne and Michelle, had decided they need to go shopping. It was getting close to my time to get on the road, but I stuck around for a bit, watched some entertainment TV, and then packed my stuff up. Oh, and we took a picture or two, as well:
Aren't we just the cutest? So, after I said my goodbyes, I headed east through the plains of Texas towards Houston. I loved this so much, because while the majority of my trip through the middle of Texas was in the dark, I got a chance to see all that made Texas what it is as I drove towards Houston. Neat little towns all along the way. I actually stopped for a second with the intentions of getting a cowboy hat, but I didn't see one I liked. Actually, I didn't see one I liked that was cheap enough. Stetson, I know you love your cowboy hats, but damn it all if they aren't damn expensive. I was also able to stop off and get some Texas BBQ: BBQ pork sandwich, potatoes with bacon and onions and some coleslaw. It was all good.
Houston is a neat city. Really great area, and I loved driving through the middle of the city on the freeway. I got into a little bit of traffic, but nothing major. I knew I had to get through there, and then I was on my way towards Louisiana and my next stop: New Orleans for New Year's!
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT TEXAS: Texas is the home of some of the greatest wrestlers ever: Stan Hansen, the Von Erichs, and of course, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who makes his home in Victoria.
STONE COLD! STONE COLD! STONE COLD!
Louisiana
There are lots of bayous in Louisiana. When people think of the "Dirty South," there are usually two places that they go to: Atlanta and New Orleans. I think that Louisiana is actually a very pretty state from what I saw. I don't have much else to say about the state other than that.
Fun facts about Louisiana:
-This is where the Mississippi River begins. Seriously. In Louisiana.
-It's the only state in the union shaped like a boot.
-Louisiana was only a small part of the Louisiana Purchase. In fact, almost everything east of the Mississippi River going to the original colonies was a part of the purchase.
-Shaquille O'Neal came from Lousiana. He's now practically a billionaire because he's tall and made the movie "Kazaam." Tell me how my ass tastes, indeed.
My trip across Louisiana...well, it wasn't the greatest, I'll say that right now. I got there at about mid-afternoon, early evening, and I realized I had basically made half of my trip on New Year's Eve. I drove through cities like Lafayette and Lake Charles, and basically set myself up to be in New Orleans by about 8:30. I got to Lafayette and got all filled up on gas and got a little snack, finishing off my McDonald's card, and off I went towards Baton Rouge, which was next. What happened next basically ruined my New Year's.
The picture above was taken by myself after I left my car in the middle of a traffic jam. An accident outside of Baton Rouge left traffic stopped, so I had to wait it out to see what would happen. I turned the car off like everyone else and ran the radio for a bit, scanning to see if there was any word on the accident, but there was no dice. About a half hour passes (this after I heard, of all things, a Flyers/Stars hockey game on the radio...huh) and the traffic moves. Hooray! But the car won't start...ohhhhh, no. I know exactly what it is. The battery died thanks to the radio and lights being on for an extended period of time, although I turned the lights off after like...2 minutes. So, a guy behind me was nice enough to push my car off the road and into the median. Yeah, did I mention I was in the left lane? Oi.
After calling my dad and telling him what happened, he said to call AAA, and that's what I did. Problem was that it would take longer than I would expect because of the accident, as tow trucks were looking to take away the cars from the wreck. Knowing that, I just kinda stayed put as best I could. A few minutes after I called, Louisiana State Troopers were driving back up westbound portion of I-10, where they could keep an eye out for anything crazy happening...you know, like a car dead on the median. They helped me push my car to the shoulder, safely, thank God, and then I sat there and waited for the help. After a couple of tries, I finally got the car jumped with the AAA guy, and away I went, into the night, and off towards New Orleans...with only 2 and a half hours left until midnight. I had 90 miles to go, so I knew I'd get there around 11.
Got through Baton Rouge fast enough, and then I realized that I had an hour til midnight, like I thought, as I crossed the big causeway into New Orleans. It was neat to see all these fireworks going off from a distance. So as I got closer, it turned 11. All of a sudden, I saw a hotel...but I realized I was about 15 miles from downtown. Yeah...I wanted something closer. Keep that in mind for later. I went towards downtown, looking for anything, but found nothing. I went down Canal St. and circled around Harrah's (through traffic, of course) as midnight drew nearer. It was about this time that Barb called me from work, and I told her how I couldn't find a damn thing. I did find a Holiday Inn downtown, but they were filled up. And it was just before midnight that they told me that, too. That about did it for me. As I drove towards the hotel that Barb directed me towards, I got increasingly sad. Then, midnight hit while I was getting back on I-10. I wanted to simultaneously cry and then throw shit out the window. Barb directed me towards the hotel, and after one wrong turn, I finally got into the parking lot of a Motel 6 in East New Orleans...15 miles from downtown.
I got in, contemplated for a second, called my dad, and then after being just absolutely pissed off and tired, I just went to sleep. I woke up at 7:45 the next morning, and after a shower and some ESPN, I decided to just get up and go. Got my bag and headed for the car, ready to get back on the road. One little problem though.
The battery was dead. Again.
This time, AAA was kind enough to come out and give me a new battery. The guy who hooked it up said that when he was checking the voltage that 6 amps were being pulled, but I didn't think there was anything on in the car at all. Lights were off, no battery charger, none of that. It was later on that I realized that when I was turning the key from outside the car, that I flicked the signal on...and pushed it forward, activating my brights, which couldn't be seen in the daylight. So, after the battery was installed, I got a chance to go to Pep Boys and get a diagnostics check. Everything was fine, so I was back on the road and ready to go. I was looking for breakfast. So, of course, one thing came to mind: Waffle House.
I went to the one down the street, but it was so packed I couldn't sit down. I decided that I needed to just move on down the road and look for one. Luckily, about 20 minutes up the road, I found one. It was glorious. A waffle, biscuits and gravy, and hash browns with cheese, onions and tomatoes. I put both ketchup and hot sauce on top of that. It was GLORIOUS. I haven't seen one in my travels around Dunedin yet, but man, oh man. I need to go back. That was just...wow. After that, I was on the fast track out of Louisiana. Finally. Jim Levy, your homestate gave me one hell of a ride, my friend.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT LOUISIANA: This was the state where many famous wrestlers in the 1980s got their start: Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Jake Roberts, The Fabulous Freebirds and The Junkyard Dog all were a major part of Lousiana wrestling before it was bought up by Bill Watts.
Mississippi
Four S's. Four I's. Two P's. The M is there to make sure you don't call it Wississippi. It is basically a mirror image of Alabama.
Fun facts about Mississippi:
-One of the states that decided to go against the Union in the Civil War.
-Had the first ever human lung transplant at the University of Mississippi in 1964.
-Both Archie and Eli Manning went to Ole Miss. However, they are not my favorite player from that school. That would be Michael Oher, who will be one of the best linemen in the NFL in 3 years. You watch.
-Elvis was born here. Yep.
-Root beer was invented here in 1898.
Mississippi for me wasn't anything too major. In fact, outside of going through Biloxi, it was a bunch of trees all along the freeway. I stopped off to get gas and some batteries, and it was about that time that my iPod decided to dive off behind my chair. So then I went into a mode where I had to figure out a way to get it out from under the seat, which was blocked by all my stuff that I had crammed in there. Luckily, after a couple of pokes with an air hose, I was able to jam my hand inbetween the seat and the damn thing was in reach. So, a painful pull later, and I was back in business. The drive on I-10 through Mississippi is really short, only about 60-70 miles, so my time there was limited. I saw a lot of trees. That was about as good as it got for me. After that, it was off to Alabama.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT MISSISSIPPI: Bob Kelly won the Mississippi Heavyweight Championship EIGHTEEN TIMES in a ten year span from 1968-1978. That's pretty crazy right there. I'm not sure even Jerry Lawler himself did that. Ric Flair won the World Heavyweight title 16 times. Bob Kelly owned Mississippi until Mid-South took over the territory in '79. Still, that's a whole lot of titles.
Alabama
Charles Barkley, ladies and gentlemen. The Crimson Tide. Bear Bryant. Forrest Gump. Yeah, Alabama is pretty sweet. For 70 miles, I definitely enjoyed myself.
Fun facts about Alabama:
-The first Confederate flag was flown in Alabama, and a smaller replica of it is on their current state flag.
-Joe Louis was born in Alabama. Dude could box. I know, because grainy old footage of his exists and he was knocking people out.
-Lynyrd Skynyrd loves them some Alabama. So much they wrote a song about it. You know the one. I think it's kinda popular.
-The two major colleges in Alabama play a game called The Iron Bowl, and that's because Alabama is the only state in the country that can produce it's own iron.
-This is more of a fictional fact: Forrest Gump is from Alabama. He was involved in many things throughout U.S. history. For some reason, he didn't make it into any of the history books....
It was a short drive through Alabama, too, but there were much less trees. In fact, Mobile was a neat little city, and it was the only tunnel I went through on my trip. I went over a lot of water in Alabama before I got back on land and headed towards the Alabama/Florida border. There wasn't much else outside of Mobile that I remember. In fact, looking at the photos, I didn't take too much. A couple pictures of the Gulf of Mexico, as I drove over a lot of water, but then, once Florida was on the horizon, it was back to the trees. Which brings us to the final state on our little tour.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT ALABAMA: "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton comes from Huntsville. This dude could wrestle. Part of one of the best tag teams of all time in The Midnight Express, and had a couple great runs as a singles wrestler, too. Some of the best right hands you'd ever see, and the Alabama Jam was a thing of beauty. But even with that, he had the best swinging neckbreaker I EVER saw. Guy also had the mullet rocking at many points in time, and even became English for a bit when he tagged with Steve Regal. I love me some Bobby Eaton.
Florida
The final stop on our little tour. I had driven 2,500 miles at this point. I was tired. I had been through a lot. But, I made it. Ladies and gentlemen, the southeastern most part of the United States.
Fun facts about Florida:
-It was owned by Spain once. Seriously. Look it up. Back when they had Mexico, Spain claimed Mexico as its own. Pretty funny stuff.
-Clearwater, which is literally next to my new hometown of Dunedin, has more lightning strikes a year than anywhere else in the country.
-Gatorade was developed at the University of Florida (Home of the Gators, hence, "Gatorade") in 1967. It's now the most popular sports drink in the world.
-It takes 3 and a half hours to drive from Miami to Key West, which is the southernmost city in the continental United States.
I had finally arrived to my new home state. I was so proud. I was actually very overwhelmed. I couldn't believe I had done what I had done, and I still had about 450 miles to go! The drive was weird. Pensacola is beautiful. It's a bay right on the Gulf, and you drive right over it on I-10, which is just gorgeous. Then, after that, it's 150 miles of forest. Not joking. Once I got through Pensacola, Florida became a giant forest to me until I got to Tallahassee, the state capital. That's where I stopped and got gas and a snack, because just outside of town, I'd be getting off I-10, which was my home for 2,500 miles or so, and head south on U.S. 19. It was called the Georgia/Florida Thruway, and I was on it for about 200 more miles as I headed towards the Tampa/St. Pete area. More forest surrounded me, but after about 100 miles or so, that cleared up, and I got into the middle of the state, and closer to the water.
I knew I got close enough once I made it to the first city over this causeway. I was finally out of those woods and into a city. Problem was that I didn't know how far I had to go because, well, to be honest, the cities were all next to each other! That's when I first realized how expansive the area is around Tampa/St. Pete. I got through about 50 miles or so of city before I saw my exit for Dunedin. I had finally come to my new home. It was time to start my career off proper.
Now, I'm sitting here in this hotel room while I wait for Mike's house to clear, and I'll tell you this. The last two weeks, including the week I stayed in that roach motel as a temporary solution, were some of the most trying times of my life. I thank you all for supporting me and getting me through a tough time, and now, as I look at my career moving forward, I'm ready to begin it. This week, it's one week closer to Spring Training. Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 14.
I say bring it on.
RANDOM WRESTLING FACT ABOUT FLORIDA: Dusty Rhodes owned this place back in the 70's and early 80's. Now, he does Florida Championship Wrestling broadcasts for the WWE minor league training facility. He's still the same ol' American Dream. Can't help but love the big fella.
Look for a new video coming soon, as Mike and I get our Cribs on.
Friday, January 2, 2009
California seems so far away...mainly because it is...
Just a little update before I start compiling the bigger stuff for my next post. I have made it across the country and am in Dunedin, Florida. The park is sweet and I'm just hanging out in the offices right now. Mike's working away, but since my first official day is Monday, I'm just getting a lay for the land and catching up on stuff I missed while I was on my trip across country (Good-bye, Mike Shanahan?) Thanks to all who enjoyed my state-by-state texts and kept me entertained as I trekked across our great nation. 3,000 miles away, but The Bay and the Wine Country still hold true to me. It was also one hell of a road trip, which most of you know about already, but to the few who didn't hear, there are some pretty weird things that happened, believe that.
Anyways, just thought I'd throw an update on you all. Stay tuned for more "entertainment" as I document my time here in Florida!
Anyways, just thought I'd throw an update on you all. Stay tuned for more "entertainment" as I document my time here in Florida!
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