Suitcases, you have done your job...

Well, it finally happened.

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

The relief is enormous.

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

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

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

-You can only control what you can.

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

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

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

Like what happened today.

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's a battle that I refuse to lose.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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