Some thoughts on the World Series



So, the Red Sox won the World Series again. Wow, I sure like typing those words. I guess there are a lot of people who thought they might never see those words in their lifetime.

I'm not one of those - I was never a long-suffering fan. I started watching Red Sox baseball in 2003 (maybe 2002?), because Victor didn't give me much choice to do otherwise. I was never a baseball fan... I grew up in a football household. But the more I learned about the game, the more I liked it. I liked that it was as much about the individual as it was about the team. I liked how much Victor and Mark could nerd out about it. I started paying attention, and found that a lot of people I knew were baseball nerds. I learned a lot, I became indoctrinated into Red Sox fandom, I began to be able to hold my own in baseball conversations. I lived through the heartache of Aaron Boone.

And then 2004 came along. I watched a lot of baseball that year. We went through an incredibly stressful postseason. The unthinkable happened... the Sox made a comeback, and Oh my God, we're in the World Series! And after four butt-clenching games, they won.

This year's World Series was different. In many ways, it was more enjoyable, although nothing will ever take away the amazing feeling of the 2004 win. Anyway, here are a few thoughts on the series.

It wasn't tense. At least, it wasn't tense compared to 2004. I admit, I was a little tense during the ALCS when the Sox were trying to make their comeback. But, for the most part, I was able to relax a bit during the World Series. There was no bloody sock, no "oh my God, Foulke's arm is going to fall off with that next throw" no "holy crap, how did they do that??" - it was pretty much smooth sailing. I had a lot of confidence in this team. They weren't the loveable idiots of 2004, they were just a strong, confident team. And while we did try to wear the same unwashed outfits during the games, it wasn't a crisis if I changed out of jeans to sweatpants or whatever. It just wasn't that kind of year. It felt nice.

Pitching - my new favorite sport. This year, I really started getting into pitching. Not personally - I'm still as inept at sports as ever - but more as an informed spectator. I used to love watching at-bats and while I understood the importance of good pitching, it never really moved me. But I'm way more into it now. I think I enjoy it more now than watching someone slugging away. Maybe it was Josh Beckett's hard-ass, precision pitching. It definitely has something to do with Jonathan Papelbon's crazy-intense closing. I guess I just understand it more now, and it gives me such a thrill to watch a 1-2-3 inning or an amazing strike out.

Yay, rookies! I loved seeing the young guys steal the show, and I loved how the veterans gave them props for doing so. Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury were just fantastic, and my love of Jonathan Papelbon is well-documented (now that the World Series is over, I can finally wash my Papelbon shirt!). I bet those guys are just on top of the world right now.

Slow and steady wins the race. Well, maybe not exactly slow and steady, but watching someone like Mike Lowell win the MVP award was fantastic. He's not one of the big names (like Papi or Manny), he's not flashy, he's just consistently good. He wasn't even supposed to be good when the Sox acquired him - he was just part of the trade for Josh Beckett. Oh well, little did they know. He seemed really thankful and humble when he accepted the trophy. And I think he totally deserved it... even if the mustache in his goatee makes me cringe a little.

And now for a few things I won't miss now that the postseason is over...

Dane Cook If I had to hear him say, "There's only one Ack-tober!" one more time, I would have ripped the TV off of the wall with my bare hands.

Fox baseball coverage I don't think I have to explain this one.

"This is oooouuurrr countryyyyy" Oh wait, that commercial will never go away. It's like a biblical plague or something.

Labels: baseball

I'm a reader, because I read.
We're starting a book club at work. Anyone that knows me fairly well knows how much I love to read, so I'm excited to be in my first book club. I'm also very interested to see what everyone picks for us to read (each month - or however often we meet - the book will be chosen by a different book club member). I have no idea when I'll choose a book, but I'm already fretting about it. Do I choose something I've read or something I want to read? Do I choose a classic? Pop-culture non-fiction? Something nerdy? A play? Chick-lit? Young adult fiction? Will people still like me if I make them read Thomas Hardy? What about Marian Keyes or Shopaholic?

I've been thinking about the phases I've gone through as a reader. As a kid, I read books about horses or teen detectives. In my early teens, I lived on V.C. Andrews, romance novels (shut up!), and Anne Rice. Once I became a "serious reader," I wanted to read only classics (or old) books. More recently, I've started reading modern literature, the It Books of the moment, and books I've read or heard about in the press. Now, I'm pretty indiscriminate in my reading, while still focusing on favorite authors or themes. I love a good book set in medieval Europe, or a Newbery Award winner, or those kinds of books you see on college reading lists. But I'll devour crime novels my mom gives me and chick lit that I pick up to read on vacation. I'll buy an old book because I like the cover, because the title sounds interesting or funny, or because I think the cover typeface is pretty. I'll even read books about baseball (and understand them!).

Yes, these days, I'm an equal opportunity reader, and I guess that will work well with the book club.

P.S. Ryan has a recent, interesting post about books, too. It's a little surreal.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!

YES!

YES!

YES!

I'm so tired. I'll have to blog about the World Series tomorrow. But YES! YES! YES!

Love, thy name is...
... blueberry mojito! Some friends and I went to Trece for their Ladies Night. $2 frozen blueberry mojitos and frozen margaritas, plus free quesadillas. We sampled some of their appetizers. So, so yummy. I want to try this place for dinner sometime. Or lunch.

And yes, in case you were wondering, I'm not writing about the World Series on purpose. No need to jinx things.

Danger, danger!
Yesterday afternoon at work, I got a call on my cell phone. The caller ID said it was a 1-800 number, so I figured it was a telemarketer. Prepared to give them a piece of my mind, I answered the phone. Turns out it was ADT, as in our home alarm company. The motion detector in our living room had gone off. Did I want to meet the police there? Hell yes!!!

So, I flew out of the office, yelling that my house was being broken into, and jumped in the car. Couldn't get Victor on the phone. I was almost out of gas. I ended up stopping for gas, and of course the pump wouldn't accept cards, so I had to go inside to prepay. All the while, I'm imagining some dudes making off with all of our stuff. Wondering if my good jewelry would be gone. Worrying about the TV and computer. Becoming outraged that said dudes were tramping through our house. And where on earth could we find replacements for the windows they must have broken? Pumping the gas took forever.

Of course traffic was bad. Of course they were doing construction on the road.

Eventually, I made it home. There were two police officers there. They said the house looked secure from the outside, and we went in together. Nothing. Everything was fine. No broken windows, doors still locked, house still semi-messy from the morning. I have no idea what could have set off the motion detector. The mail comes through our mail slot every day without setting it off (it seems to be facing the opposite direction from the mail slot). So what could it be? Maybe it was just a malfunction. Maybe a giant raccoon got in (and out) of the house. Could a ghost set it off? Anyway, the good news was that everything was still safe.

I hope I never get a call from ADT again. Then again, I'm so glad that we have an alarm system and that they call the instant the alarm goes off. I'm so glad that we made the decision to pay a little bit each month for peace of mind.

Hell of a way to get out of work early, though.

Do do do... feelin' groovy
Lots of things to feel good about today! Let's list them, shall we?

1. It's cold! It's rainy! It's 54 degrees in Dallas! Autumn is my favorite time of year, and October is my favorite month, but I was afraid I was going to miss any semblance of beautiful fall weather this year. Heck, I was suntanning in the hammock in my backyard yesterday. But today's weather was definitely snuggle-under-the-covers, and I'm totally drinking hot chocolate right now.

2. The Red Sox are in the World Series!!! I do feel bad for Kris's Cubs and Mark's Astros... and even for Grandma's Cardinals. But we totally pulled it out the last three games, and I can't wait for Wednesday!

3. It's my anniversary! Well, to be fair, it's also Victor's anniversary. Two years ago today, we got married in a little church in Arkansas. We already gave each other our presents a few weeks ago (an iPhone for him and an iPod Nano and super cool sunglasses for me), but we're still celebrating tonight by having dinner at Stephen Pyles. And he sent me flowers at work! Awwwwwwwwww.

4. Did I mention that it's cold outside?

5. I'm blogging again!

To wrap things up, I'll leave you with a meme from Mark and Ryan.

List 5 things that certain people (who are not deserving of being your friend anyway) may consider to be "totally lame," but you are, despite the possible stigma, totally proud of. Own it:

1. No matter how evil a corporation they may be, I still enjoy going to Wal-Mart. It's probably because I grew up in small-town Arkansas directly in Wal-Mart's corporate backyard (in fact, the store in my hometown where I shopped as a kid is Store #1... as in the first Wal-Mart). I sreally enjoy going to the upscale Plano Wal-Mart, where they have a good wine selection, sushi, and there's no threat of getting shot in the parking lot. Wal-Mart has been really, really great for the economy of Northwest Arkansas, so I don't feel bad supporting them.

2. I'm really proud of growing up a 4-H kid. Through my 4-H clubs, I learned how to properly set a table, give a demonstration, serve a pancake breakfast, and judge livestock. I won trophies showing cattle and my dog at the county fair. 4-H was just a natural extension of growing up on a farm, but while most people in my school knew I was a farm kid, most never found out about my dark 4-H secret. But now, I don't care - I'm proud!

3. I still enjoy musicals. Even the really cheesy ones, like Andrew Lloyd Webber's. Sue me, I don't care.

4. I will watch bad romantic comedies on purpose, because I love to revel in the cheesiness. Don't get me wrong, I like smart rom-coms too, but I really, really enjoy watching two or three terrible rom-coms in a row while on a flight or while home sick. So if you see me rating License to Wed or From Justin to Kelly on Netflix, know that I'm watching them completely on purpose.

5. Like Ryan, I still have rock star fantasies. I often think about songs I like and whether or not my band will cover them in concert. And then I practice singing them and think about whether or not we will have to change the key. This often happens in the car, and I know other drivers can see me singing my guts out. Maybe Ryan and I should start a band together.