A Break? Already?
June 30, 2006
Just as soon as I'm getting the blog going again, I will take a long weekend away with the gf. We leave today for a reunion with my college gang. I'm very excited for her to meet the troupe, and for us to have a special weekend in a city I just love.
The plan is to head out of here this morning for arrival this afternoon. This will leaves as a good few hours to ourselves before committing the rest of our time to the friends. Then we check in to the hotel, and the festivities begin through Sunday. My one hope about this trip is that we aren't wandering around the city trying to find where to go next after dinner, which happens a lot of the time we get together, and my pal Vegas is running the show. I already promised the girlfriend that if I sense tomorrow afternoon is going to be one of those aimless expeditions, we're going to do our own thing.
As for the guests of honor, it still blows me away that my pal, Big Red, and his wife have up their lives a couple of years ago to join the Peace Corps. Red's reasoning he said to me was that he wasn't feeling any sense of reward in his IT career. They discussed this move for a good year before finally doing it. I never fully understood why they packed up and left for another country, but as I waste away behind a desk in a dead end job I'm desperately trying to escape, I'm getting it. I believe what they did was incredibly selfless, and in the long run I'm confident this experience will not only enrich their lives, but ultimately strengthen the love they have. It's a true testimony of what a loving marriage is. I'm happy I'll get to see them again.
It's going to be a pretty big group and a lot for my girl to take in, but she's usually handled herself well in these situations. Unlike the women with my friends from home, the college buddies' significant others are much more welcoming to new love interests. It's going to be interesting to hear her assessment of this crew vs. the guys I grew up with. Believe me; they are two very different groups.
I'll see you all on the other side of Sunday. Have a great weekend!
posted by That 30's Guy @ 7:52 AM,
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See Ya, Greedy Petey!
June 29, 2006
The big homecoming of Pedro Martinez was undoutedbly a rude one. Well, maybe not as rude as Johnny Damon's, but at least from the on-field perspecitve, the Red Sox made Pedro their bitch.In winning 11 in a row, that's what is happening to a lot of the Sox's opposition lately.
Me and the boys made the trip to Fenway last night to see the big showdown between the former Sox icon and our beloved team. As a fan being fortunate enough to see Johnny Damon's return back on May 1st, I can honestly say this one lacked the same energy. I guess that's what happens when the returning "hero" gets run in 3 innings.
Sure, prior to the first pitch as Pedro made his way to the Mets' dugout, the Fenway "faithful" (can you call it faithful if you're cheering for the other team's starting pitcher), stood and gave a long standing ovation. Still, it lacked the passion of the booing that transpired that night Damon stepped into the batter's box. Must have been that Yankees uni. Pedro raised his fist, wrapped in a towel, to acknowledge the cheers. Then it was time for baseball.
The Sox gave us plenty of reasons to cheer as they absolutely clobbered Greedy Petey. While I opted not to cheer on Pedro with the rest of the fans around me before the game, I gave him his standing O on his final trip to the dugout after 8 runs in 3 innings. I loved every minute of the spanking he took. I took great pleasure in the fact that I predicted his stat line for the game: 6 earned runs. My only blemish was I thought it would be in 4 innings, and "Big Papi" would take him for a ride to the right field bleachers. I'll take the W regardless.
My buddy The Attorney, a huge Pedro schill, was noticably quiet the rest of the night once his hero departed. I got a great laugh in the men's room just after the third inning ended when Sox fans taunted the Mets fans with comments like,"Uh oh; Pedro isn't hitting 90 on the radar gun!" and "Just like when he was here before--can't step up in the big game!"
What can I say. Call me a jaded Sox fan for not giving the once-great Pedro his due, but his constant whining about "getting respect" (aka getting paid big bucks) over the last 3 years of his contract turned my stomach. Those fans who stood and applauded the guy last night must have forgotten Pedro constantly reminded the loyal fans he was prepared to walk when his contract ended in 2004. They must have forgotten how he never could stop the Yankees, outside of that phenomenal performance in Yankee Stadium in 1999 when he piled up 17 K's on the pinstripes. 7 years ago is an awful long time ago.
Oh well. See ya later Pedro. Hopefully we'll meet again in the World Series in October.
posted by That 30's Guy @ 12:41 PM,
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The Return You've Long Been Waiting For...
June 27, 2006
I'm Back.
No. This isn't Pedro Martinez' blog, but it's pretty damn ironic that I'm returning to the blog world the same day a Red Sox legend makes his return to Fenway Park. Ironic because, almost two months ago, I ended my first blog the day after Johnny Damon made his return in a New York Yankees uniform. I attended that game. Now get this: I'm also attending Pedro's homecoming. Blog reborn. Coincidence?
To those visiting for the first time, you won't have the foggiest who the fuck I am. To a lot of you, the visit comes courtesy of my "advertising genius." Hey--when you are building a website from scratch, you need all the pushing you can get for some traffic! So, for my reunited readers the likely #1 question is, what the hell happened?
Well, I think a lot of you are very sharp (I know because I still am a fan of your blogs) and were able to deduce that an event occurred that lead me to act swiftly. I discovered that in my sloppy way of trying to remain anonymous, a "fan" picked up enough clues to play detective. This fan found it necessary to play Sherlock Holmes and track down the identity of--not me--but my girlfriend. Fortunately, the revelation came about in an email to me, and not by my gf. The fan portrayed it as an exercise to protect me and my girl from being intruded upon. Needless to say, I wondered just what possesses someone to do this, and how many others out there would be following in the same footsteps. I had to act fast. All evidence of the old blog has now been deleted, and a lesson was learned.
This post is a valuable read for all of you out there who may be starting a blog, and wish to keep an online alias secret from your real world. You must be careful about what you divulge in your writings, because a few errant clues are enough to go by in this intrusive technolgy age we live in. I lost out on a hobby I enjoyed a great deal, and now I think it just might be safe enough to go back in the water. If I didn't act, it may have cost me a fantastic relationship. Now, consider this the big toe dipping in.
This first post may be the longest you're going to read, because one of my goals this time around is to be a little more direct. However, we've got a good 2 months to catch up on, and believe me it's been a great two months that were very blog-worthy. Unfortunately, there's too little time and space to get into it. In a nutshell, I could not come back under my old "pen-name" because, I'm not single and have not been for five months. That's right. Today was in fact my five month anniversary with the lady (I won't be using her old blog nickname, but I'll come up with one).
It's been a fantastic five months, and the last two have been better than the first three when we just got to know each other. A lot of you lived through that with me; unfortunately, you missed out on the good parts. For the first time in my life, I can honestly say I'm in a loving relationship that goes both ways. We genuinely care for each other, and support each other. We openly tell the other "I love you". I never was able to do that with any women outside my family before. With her, I can do it, and know I really mean it. Both of our families have welcomed the significant other in with open arms, and for the first time, our parents met. I was pretty damn nervous, but it turned into a 6-hour dinner that was loaded with conversation and laughter. I couldn't be happier with how things turned out. Good thing I listened to my mom about meeting doing the blind date-thing with this girl, eh?
On the job front, my prospects for leaving are hot. I've had a great deal of responses to my resume, and I've already fielded two job offers. Unfortunately, they weren't in line with what I need to maintain my financial responsibilities. In a twist, one of the companies is coming back to me about other opportunities that I appear qualified for, so there is hope that the two year sentence I've been suffering through may be coming to a finale.
So, what made me come back? What's the deal with this blog? Well, as you can see by the ticker, my 30th birthday draws near. I can't see a better theme for a blog than to get into the dawn of a new decade in someone's life. I consider turning 30 as the real initation into adulthood. I already sense that the crossroads I've been standing at since my 29th birthday is going to finally get tied into a direction by the time that ticker hits "0". My relationship has helped to focus me more on what I want, and what I need to do on the road towards becoming the man I want to be. I can be the guineau pig for the average guy turning "The Big 3-0."
I decided to come back because I missed the writing. I loved the spewing off on the latest sports topics, news events, and basically discussing my life experiences with an audience who may be able to relate and offer a different perspective. Afterall, it was the blog readers who got me through my hardest heartbreak last Fall, and that's something I'll always remember. I missed the critiques, the debates, and the encouragement. I had the itch to come back, and I'm ready to resume. Blogroll me. Link Me. Whatever. Let's tear it up like old times!
Well, I'm about bushed. I have a big game to rest up for for tomorrow night. The Sawks have rolled off ten straight wins with their 9-4 victory over the Mets tonight, and I'm praying they'll make it 11-in-a-row when my buddies and I sit on the 3rd base line and watch "Petey" get lit up like he did in the 8th inning back in the 2003 ALCS. I'll come back with a recap of the experience Thursday, and off we go with So...This Is My 30's?
It feels good to be back.
A brief moment please for the health of ESPN's Peter Gammons (above), a true gentleman and a great ambassador for baseball, as he recovers from a brain aneurysm. He certainly would have loved to be in Fenway Park Wednesday night when Pedro takes the mound against his former team. May he be back reporting quickly.
posted by That 30's Guy @ 11:36 PM,
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