Last game

Darby's last game of the Spring season was today. I was hoping they'd go out with a win. But fielding fell apart pretty early and we couldn't catch up. Darby struck out for the first time in awhile, but did also get a base hit. Next week we'll have the end of season party, and really it's only about a month before we have to start practicing for the Fall season.

New blog tool testing

So I'm testing a new (to me) blogging tool called Thingamablog. In the process of testing this tool, I've created a new (old) blog with which to test. I may continue this new blog as it develops, but for now it's an experimentation, and way not integrated into the fabric of this site (but will become more integrated as I test). If it all goes well, maybe I'll suck the News blog into the new tool, but we'll see. There are pros and cons. In the mean time, enjoy the stories.

You mind if we play through?

Darby's team played the best team in the league tonight. I don't think we got a single hit the whole game. It was pretty bad. Twenty-something to zip.

Who you gonna call?

Well, now I know just who to call, I guess, should I ever need such services.

Not to give them free press or anything, but this is what I saw when I parked the car at work this morning. Now tell me that wouldn't make your morning feel out of this world. I felt a little out-of-body the rest of the morning.

Knocked-out (of the park)

(AKA Elementary Bedlam Softball)

Today was arguably Darby's biggest softball game of the year, for a couple of reasons. First, they were playing their schools' other machine pitch team, which was quite interesting since both sets of bleachers were filled with parents that knew each other from classes and other school activities. While our team is more experienced in the machine pitch league, the other team has a more disciplined coaching staff, in addition to the fact that the team has been together for more than two years as a t-ball team (in contrast to our team just now concluding its first year together as a machine pitch team) and so play together very well. Shelby was actually on that team the first half of its first year.

Most expected the game to be a good one, but I was personally nervous that our girls would suffer a crushing defeat (just losing at all, not in terms of score) because of our fielding woes. I was glad to be wrong.

The second reason tonight was such a big game for Darby was her three hits and two runs scored (not to mention several RBI). Or should I say four hits. Her first hit, the first of the game since she is lead-off batter, was a single, which started an early rally that loaded the bases. Her second hit was another single, and her "third hit" was straight to the forehead.



Between innings, while the infield was tossing a ball around, Darby tipped a ball with her glove, which bounced straight to her head, a good solid thump. I had to run out onto the field, check her finger-counting ability, and rub her head for a minute before she decided she could play through it (she's such a tough-girl).

The top-half of the inning was over pretty quickly, and she was due up to bat the bottom-half. And for the first time I think all season, she hit the ball quite a ways out of the infield, which, thanks to fielding snafus, rolled nearly to the centerfield fence. It was quite the "fourth hit" for her. She ran her little butt off and had rounded second before the ball began to make its way back in. I could see that she was wearing out and not running as fast, so I yelled out to her, "It can be a homerun if you run faster!" which did light a fire in her. She picked up the speed and barely beat the throw home, but she did beat it, and got her first homerun of the season. I believe she drove in two runs on that hit alone.

The team as a whole played very well. Three girls that don't traditionally hit consistently got multiple hits (mulit-base hits at that, in fact every girl got a hit tonight, which is not typical), and fielding errors, while still not shaken, weren't bad enough to lose the game for us, so they won quite handily, 8-1.

I think the lack of intimidation (both teams were playing together, hugging each other, before the game) was a big factor, as several girls played much more confidently than they had all season, both on the field and behind the bat. All of the girls (and parents really) were so proud and happy about the victory. It was a big pressure relief to not lose to the younger team. A loss would have been long-lasting and particularly stinging at summer camp the next day.


After the game, Darby asked to call her mother. She had a debt to collect. During the weekend tournament just past, her mother promised her $20 if she hit a homerun. As many things as Darby forgets (ie piano recitals), she wasn't going to let that be one of them.

Intellectual Shelby

In between our tire-replacement project and Darby's ballgame, the three of us had eye-doctor appointments. Mine, and annual checkup, yielded the discovery of a slight change in the right eye, while Darby got a clean bill of health. Shelby, however, will be joining her father in the four-eyed club.

I'd suspected for some time now that Shelby might have some vision issues, and wasn't terribly surprised by the outcome. Turns out, unlike her father, that she's far sighted, and that she has a significant astigmatism in her right eye.

She's taking to the news mostly well, though she's nervous that her friends will laugh at her. Personally I think it will be an interesting thing trying to get Shelby to take good care of her new glasses. I'm wondering how many pairs I'll have to pay for. Fortunately the pair she has chosen today were 100% covered by my vision plan, and I only had to pay $28 for the scratch coating that will cover free lense replacement if she does get a little careless with them.



Here's a funky pic of Shelby's dilated pupils.

We don't need no stinking plan

The original plan for the day:

- Take the girls to summer camp
- Stop by the tire shop for a replacement
- Go to work for a couple hours
- Pick up the girls for lunch
- Go to the school uniform sale
- Take the girls to the eye-doctor
- Take Darby to her softball game


The actual day went like this (in brief):

- Take the girls with me to tire shop (they insisted on going with me, despite my assurance it would be a boring experience for them)
- Sit in tire shop for five hours (and pay THEM for my time) with two very bored children (gameboys, books, toys, and CMT on the TV only occupy children for so long)
- Reschedule eye-doctor appointment (for later that day) when it's clear we won't make it on time
- Miss uniform sale entirely
- Drive VERY fast on new tires to eye-doctor
- Bite nails at eye-doctor's office while optometrist tries to finish exams on children that aren't exactly in the mood to sit still anymore, and have never had their eyes examined so were a little weirded-out
- Make many disciplinary threats to children that are running around the doctor's office touching everything while own eyes are being examined
- Zip through drive-thru fast-food before Darby's game in 20 minutes
- Drive VERY fast on new tires to softball field in tail-end-of-rush-hour traffic while kids eat in back seat


So I'll not elaborate heavily on all details, but I'm sure the tire question is looming. When we first got to the tire place this morning, based on yesterday's inquiry, I knew they didn't have my tire in stock and that they'd have to locate one. It was nearly an hour into my visit before they even found a tire. It was more than two hours into the visit before they said the tires were on their way. It was more than three hours into the visit before they said there was some kind of computer glitch, the tires weren't actually on the way all this time but were still being located, and would be on their way very soon.

You get the idea of how it all went. But throw in a non-stop VERY packed store, two or three other bored kids aside from my own in the not-exactly large waiting area, and the fact that early on in the process I decided, what the heck, I'll spend $400 dollars while I'm just sitting here anyway.

You see, my tire-paranoia has had me worried for months about our fabled trip to California this summer. After the experience in March (flat tire on the way back from Tulsa), noticing of late that it was not much longer for this world for my tire treads, and the recent development of my father having two flats on his own trip to California, well, the sales guy hit a nerve. He walks me out to the car with a tread-gage, shows me what I already know about my treads, explains that all-wheel-drive vehicles such as mine really should have four similarly-worn tires to prevent problems with the "differential" (whatever that means), and notes that they only have five of my type of tires left at the warehouse so if I want to get four fresh tires now would be the best time so he can have them all delivered at once.

He really knew how to get me. He saw that look of "tired desparation" on my face. But the fact that I only had to pay for three (since the fourth was covered by hazard insurance I bought back in March) clinched it. After various discounts (due to my wait time) I paid just over $400 for three new tires, but it would have been more than $600 for four and without any discounts. Again the "stupid size" of my tires was attributed to the cost. It certainly didn't help that I don't make $400 in a day's wage and wasn't even at work to be earning-off the cost of these tires. But I did get free chrome caps (that will be stolen soon I'm sure), a free oil change, and a free alignment out of the deal as well, so I wasn't completely burnt. And let's not forget, most importantly, that I now have tire-peace-of-mind come time for the California trip. As most NASCAR fans would concur, four fresh tires in that regard is certainly better than one. Oh, and I kept one of my old tires. I'll be getting a wheel for it and will be taking it with me to California somehow. Given my luck with tires of late, and given my dad's experience two weeks ago, I think I'm going to need all the assurance I can muster.

Trashed

My mother called me, very upset, last night. My aforementioned step-father, having been exceedingly (and unexpectedly) nice to my mother for the first time in years, returned to his more familiar less-nice self apparently.

After a recent, very humane gesture on his part (the purchase and installation of an A/C unit for my mother's work-room during the 90+ degree heat wave in Philly), I bought and sent him a thank you card as a token of my respect and appreciation for his assistance with my mother. And because he hasn't seen them in a couple years (and seemed to like them quite well the last time he did), I sent him recent photos of the girls.

My mother didn't realize I sent the card or the photos, and was very distraught to have found them in the trash. When confronted, he said he didn't want anything to do with her or her family. He said he wasn't looking for a thank you for the A/C, as he just didn't want her health or death on his hands.

Perhaps eviction is not such a bad idea afterall.

Well, I know what I'M doing tomorrow

(AKA Return of the GLwFTK)

After mass, the girls and I got some lunch and had big plans for the day thereafter. Well, medium plans anyway. But none of that is meaningful anymore. Because of this.

Yes, that is indeed a foreign object sticking out of my tire. And not just any run-of-the-mill foreign object, like a nail or screw or shard of glass. It's a drill bit. A freaking drill bit of all things. And a sizeable one at that. Here are a couple better views. By the way, it's still there, as I type, but more on that in a bit.

And it was no ordinary tire into which the bit had intruded, mind you. It was my brand newest tire. Of previous post fame. Since that previous post, and others before it, I am quite the victim of "tired paranoia". Now, almost every time I get out of the car I check the tires. For foreign objects. For inflation level. For tread-wear. Periodically, I even turn off the A/C and stereo, roll down the windows, and listen. You know what for... That signature, fast, tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-etc sound of something metallic stuck in a tire as it rolls along the road. I've gotten so bad about my paranoia in this regard that I've actually chased people down (in one case I even called the person, who had their business number on their window) to let them know they had something in their tire.

Well, over the last several days, I've heard the tick-tick. But not consistently. It would strike and fade, leading me to believe it was another passing car, or some other strange noise. I would stop, check the tires, roll forward, check the tires, and nothing. I didn't think it was me. Were it not for the paranoia, I'd have let it go entirely, waiting unknowingly for some future misfortune.

Today I was certain. I just knew it had to be me. There were no other cars around. And darn it, I know that sound. It's distinctive. There had to be something in my tire. I checked more than once and nothing. But I didn't give up.

And finally I found it. After getting down on my hands and knees, embracing the blazing hot asphalt, I found the culprit that would put an end to the day's festivities. It was on the inside (or, non-outward-facing side) of my tire. Somewhere you don't generally look. And my jaw dropped when I saw just how bad it was. I mean, that had to be the craziest thing to have seen on a tire. At least while still inflated. On a flat tire, sure, not so amazing. But to see that photo and fathom that my tire would be anything but flat, would seem by most to be a non-sane thing to think, or even imagine.

It just so happened that our lunch choice was mere minutes from a tire repair vendor. So we got back in the car and headed that way. Unfortunately, they were unable to help, though not for lack of trying. Even the last time I had a tire problem this vendor had to acquire a tire from "the warehouse" since my vehicle uses such a "stupid size", according to the clerk, meaning they had none on-hand.

So, I am left to cross my fingers until tomorrow, when I will have to go and sit and wait for them to find me a tire yet again. Fortunately, as nasty as the wound looks, the tire is holding up surprisingly well (I say with virtual wood-knocking). Also fortunately, I am told the hazard coverage I previously (though unknowingly) purchased would cover the cost so I won't be out more than a hundred bucks as with the last time.

This whole incident will certainly not help my predicament of paranoia with regard to tires.

Win one, lose one

Darby's team hung on to win a game this morning, keeping them alive in the tournament. Darby had a couple of hits (one a double) and two runs scored in the effort. But, having played that noon-ish game (at already 85+ degree heat), and with several of the girls not getting enough rest (in my opinion... I had Darby lay down and watch TV the whole couple-plus hours between the games), the team was clearly pooped-out come the second game, with temperatures in the mid-90s.

It was a shame because in the last tournament they played, they nearly won against the team they played today, but it was clear the other team was more into it this day. Early on in the game, a single mistake on our part was made that permitted four or so runs to come in thereafter (should have been the last out, with no further runs). I suppose it didn't matter, as we only scored one run (it was Darby that scored it after one of her two hits). The opposing team's infield was top-notch and we found it difficult to get past first.


I did get a few decent pics that I added to the album (click on Events, then Softball), which is unusual because I've gotten squat for pictures this season since I've been a first-base coach (I don't thinked they'd be so keen with me bringing a camera onto the field). Today while we were fielding (i.e. not at bat and therefore not in need of a first-base coach) I grabbed the camera every chance I got. The season is almost over and I need some pics for crying out loud.

Short tourney ahead?

Darby's softball team started their tournament tonight. And they'd have ended it, too, were it not a double elimination tourney. Darby got a hit and a run scored in the loss, though in my opinion we SO should have won that game. We mostly lost that game on fielding. But in the end, it was the tying run coming in to home that was tagged out. (Though a few parents blame me for not having one more out, since I sent a slow runner from first to second earlier in the last inning. But it was a close call and I was being aggressive because we were down and needed runs.)


The highlight of the game for me, as a parent, was Darby's nab of a well-hit line-drive straight to third that she caught in the air. We really needed that play, and she has missed her last several attempts at pop-flies that weren't hit as hard as this one, so it was awesome to see her come through when the team really needed it. (damn me for not having my camera at the ready)

Eminent Domain

I don't like to get political on this blog, but the ramifications of today's supreme court decision... ugh.


I'm cool with the concept of eminent domain as specifically limited in the Fifth Ammendment of the US Constitution, ratified in 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights...

(In case you haven't read it in awhile [emphasis added]:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.)

...but to set a precedent where any private developer, that establishes with a municipal governing body that what he can build on my property is probably (because really he doesn't know for sure) somewhat more beneficial to "the public" than my house, can just thereby take my house and leave me with no apparent legal avenue to resist... well that's just bad news for all of us. Ironically, even for the developer that might want to take my house.

My thought is, maybe those of us that comprise "the public" should get together, form a "private non-profit entity" operating in the public interest, and then propose a really kicking economic development package to be built on the very spot where the head of the New London Development Corporation (Michael Joplin) lives (there's only one Michael Joplin listed in New London, CT... 35 Union Street Unit 416). Then maybe that person would go back to the Supreme Court and say, "um... yeah, that whole taking the land thing... can we just forget that ever happened, you know, say nevermind and all?" I'm just making the "what's good for the goose" point here.


Personally, I'm with the dissenting Justice O'Conner on this one. Here's significant portions of her statement from the official court opinion if you haven't read it (and you should read the whole thing):

Over two centuries ago, just after the Bill of Rights was ratified, Justice Chase wrote: "An ACT of the Legislature (for I cannot call it a law) contrary to the great first principles of the social compact, cannot be considered a rightful exercise of legislative authority . . . . A few instances will suffice to explain what I mean. . . . [A] law that takes property from A. and gives it to B: It is against all reason and justice, for a people to entrust a Legislature with SUCH powers; and, therefore, it cannot be presumed that they have done it." Calder v. Bull, 3 Dall. 386, 388 (1798) (emphasis deleted).

Today the Court abandons this long-held, basic limitation on government power. Under the banner of economic development, all private property is now vulnerable to being taken and transferred to another private owner, so long as it might be upgraded--i.e., given to an owner who will use it in a way that the legislature deems more beneficial to the public--in the process. To reason, as the Court does, that the incidental public benefits resulting from the subsequent ordinary use of private property render economic development takings "for public use" is to wash out any distinction between private and public use of property--and thereby effectively to delete the words "for public use" from the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Accordingly I respectfully dissent.
--
..the absurd argument that any single-family home that might be razed to make way for an apartment building, or any church that might be replaced with a retail store, or any small business that might be more lucrative if it were instead part of a national franchise, is inherently harmful to society and thus within the government's power to condemn.
--
...the Court today significantly expands the meaning of public use. It holds that the sovereign may take private property currently put to ordinary private use, and give it over for new, ordinary private use, so long as the new use is predicted to generate some secondary benefit for the public--such as increased tax revenue, more jobs, maybe even aesthetic pleasure. But nearly any lawful use of real private property can be said to generate some incidental benefit to the public. Thus, if predicted (or even guaranteed) positive side-effects are enough to render transfer from one private party to another constitutional, then the words "for public use" do not realistically exclude any takings, and thus do not exert any constraint on the eminent domain power.
--
Even if there were a practical way to isolate the motives behind a given taking, the gesture toward a purpose test is theoretically flawed. If it is true that incidental public benefits from new private use are enough to ensure the "public purpose" in a taking, why should it matter, as far as the Fifth Amendment is concerned, what inspired the taking in the first place? How much the government does or does not desire to benefit a favored private party has no bearing on whether an economic development taking will or will not generate secondary benefit for the public. And whatever the reason for a given condemnation, the effect is the same from the constitutional perspective--private property is forcibly relinquished to new private ownership.
--
Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random. The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms. As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result. "[T]hat alone is a just government," wrote James Madison, "which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own."

Non-cohesion

Two girls from Darby's team were sick today, and two others (including Darby, who's out of town) just weren't there, so we were on the cusp of forfeiture. Fortunately we got four volunteers from another team to fill in the gaps so we could still play. The last time this happened the team surprisingly won, but not this time, and the trouncing was fairly thorough. It's a shame because they mostly hit and played well. Most of the big errors (which were pretty big) came in areas I felt were due to the girls not being used to playing together. In fact, I think we'd have won this particular game with our full team intact, because the spots where there were areas were some of our strongest areas.

Fragged

MAN. In all my years in the biz, I don't think I've ever been so fragged.

Feeling the burn (part duh!)

After mass, the girls and I went for a short, easy going bike ride. In all we went about 4 1/2 miles, but it was a flat lake trail and we really took our time. Yet, as a reminder of my Friday experience, my thighs still burned.

Why you ask?

Because, though I had the girls do the opposite, thier father didn't think to apply sunscreen. My arms get dark early on in the Spring via lawn work and other outdoor activity, but I just don't wear shorts all that much. So my pasty white(ish) legs got rather cooked today while we were riding. See the rather telling pic for a good laugh.


After riding we grabbed some lunch and then hit the playground for a couple hours before going over to the Vicker's house for some pool time.

So it was a pretty active day, and only the beginning for the girls. This evening I met up with their grandmother and they went with her for part of the week. I expect they'll be doing LOTS of outdoor activities.

Final reports are in

Well, I got the girls' report cards in the mail today...

For the fourth quarter Darby had four As and three Bs. For the year she got a pleasing six As and two Bs (I know, it doesn't add up... there's a subject they only do for three quarters).

Shelby officially has a C on her report card for the fouth quarter (in math), though luckily for the year her math grade was solid B. Shelby had three As and three Bs to go along with her C. She had five As and four Bs on the year.

Here's the fun part... tallies! I think they like to play, let's see which sibling can get the most tallies or something, as I am displeased to announce this years winner... Shelby! But, she narrowly edged out her older sister for this distinction, with 75 tallies to her sister's 74. On the good side, both girls had a 40% reduction in tallies for the fourth quarter, though the damaged had already been done back in the third quarter when each of them had their worst behavioral spats (I blame it on Christmas).

Feeling the burn

I intended to try out the south Oklahoma River trail tonight, after having checked out the north trail last week. However, I worked until almost 8 and didn't think I'd have enough daylight to get there and complete the 14 mile round trip. So instead I went to the old standby, the 3.3 mile trail at Tinker AFB. While it may be a much shorter trail, it's VERY hilly and twisty in contrast to the mostly straight and flat river trails.

It took me less than fifteen minute to complete the trail, but my thighs were barking at me by the end of it. After stopping for a couple minutes to take a drink, noticing the sun was still up, and thinking that I had at least another fifteen minutes of daylight, I went for another lap.

That might not have been the best idea of the week, as maybe a mile into it my thighs felt like they were about to cramp up. But I pressed on, full speed, though slower as it turns out, completing the second lap in just over seventeen minutes.

When I stopped and got off the bike I nearly fell over, my thighs were so sore. And for the next couple hours afterward, I literally had to push or pull myself up with something if I sat down for more than a few minutes.

On the one hand, I feel like that wasn't such a smart thing I did (going around twice), but on the other hand, I feel like doing that more often would probably be good for me. First, I guess I should wait to see how long it takes to stop hurting when standing up.

A beginning that shouldn't have ended

Darby's ballgame was cancelled tonight due to rain earlier today, so while Shelby was at fencing practice, Darby and I went to see Batman Begins. Knowing that Shelby would not be able to see it for a few years (she thought the Scooby Doo movie was scary), this was the best opportunity for me to take Darby up on her request to see the flick that I, admittedly, was pretty darn excited to see myself.

Let me just say, for those of you that haven't seen it or maybe weren't all that fired up about seeing it, that this is the BEST BATMAN MOVIE EVER. I would personally say it was nearly the best comic book/superhero movie of all-time to-date, but I'm a little biased in this regard. My opinion of this movie's place in history doesn't mean there weren't moments of imperfection, but they sure did a good job of putting this flick together, making the seams are hard to find. This opinion comes from someone who collected Batman comics and books as a kid (with more than 600 Batman comics in the library) and so knows a thing or two about the Dark Knight. If nothing else, I think everyone who sees it will agree that this is the Batman movie we should have had all along.

Overall, I felt the story was good, and flowed well, with no lulls that I could sense. The character development was well balanced, the action was plentiful, the technical explanations were "reasonably plausible", the humorous bits weren't overdone, and there wasn't any ridiculously over-the-top romance. Even the villans, which have been notoriously a bit lame and circus-like in the Batman movies of old, were done well in this movie.

The big-name actors (Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine) weren't in the film for bit parts or gratuitously added to the story for star-power. They all had important roles that were well written and well executed. In particular, having only seen a few small pieces of Ms. Holmes' part, I thought, going into the movie, she may have been the token eye-candy. But I was very wrong. Her part was important, and she did a surprisingly good job at it (she never once stooped to the "I'm a damsel in distress, oh please help me Batman" role or attitude like other supposedly-tough Bat-ladies from the previous films). I'm not saying she was the best person for the role, but I'm not going to take anything away from her either. Or, for that matter, from Mr. Bale. I really wasn't too impressed with what I saw from him in the trailers, but he, too, swayed my opinion by movie's end. That doesn't mean I think he was better than Michael Keaton, but for this role, in this film, at this stage in the Batman mythos-development, he did quite nicely, and I'd be just fine with him being the crusader of capes for many films to come.


And if my review means nothing to you, Darby thought it was awesome. When it was over she gave me a big hug and thanked me for taking her to see it, which I don't think she's done in a good long while (not even for Episode III). So there you go... Batman Begins, the ultimate father-daughter bonding flick for the Father's Day weekend.

The kindness of bloggers

The girls and I went to a RedHawks game tonight. Only instead of our typical general admission tickets, we had great seats, thanks to fellow blogosphere resident Steph (her company has season tickets). Steph previously offered the use of unused season tickets, and having not been to a game in awhile, I inquired about their availability. We would have still gone to the game the GA route, but it worked out for the better.

Everybody had a good time, though the RedHawks lost. It was a shame because they came back from a 6-0 deficit to tie it up, but then couldn't hold their opponents back. For added entertainment, there were plenty of bad calls, lots of drink spillage, far too many errors for the Hawks, one of the worst renditions of the Star Spangled Banner I've heard (not that I could do better), 30 hits between both teams, newly learned silly faces, and a managerial ejection. I have some pics (in particular of silly faces) that may make it here at some point.

Thanks again Steph. It rocked.

Old age, what is it good for?

Listen to me complaining. A 31 year-old griping about age. The audacity...

At Darby's softball practice today, the coach got all the parents to run bases while the kids tried to get us out. I was never tagged out and went around the bases several times, but in the process have instigated arthritic feelings in my right knee. I know it will get much worse at increasingly shorter intervals, but I don't like dealing with this reality any more than my 30-something peers presently reading along (you know who you are).


Old age is the worst kind of paradox. As you get older, you get wiser, but you start to fall apart mentally and physically, so you can't apply that wisdom. And unfortunately when you're young and vigorous, you're also wisdom-less.

Yes, yes, we missed it, let's move on...

I got the call today. I didn't want to hear. But I knew that it would come.

Okay, okay, enough with the Don Henley, but it sure fit. Darby's piano teacher called today, as expected, and gave me the third degree about the recital.


Moving on, Darby's team had practice tonight and it was probably their best practice all season. If they do a similarly good job tomorrow at practice, maybe they'll gain some momentum and actually win one of their last few games of the season.

Missed recitals and nearly scared to death

I learned the hard way that Darby missed a piano recital today. I was pretty upset with her for not having passed on the word, when I'm certain her piano teacher hounded her with many reminders. That said, I'm disappointed that her piano teacher didn't relay such reminders to me when I was at her studio twice in four days last week in preparation for Darby's Piano Guild audition. The real shame of her missing the recital was the fact that she wasn't there to accept her guild diploma.



The girls and I went to dinner with my father. We went by his house afterward, and when we got there, there were two stray (larger than one might expect) puppies on my dad's lawn. I told the girls not to touch the puppies and to just keep walking to grandpa's door. But as expected, the puppies approached, and Shelby got scared (the puppies stood about half her height) and started to move away from them. Shelby had a large-puppy-face-scratching incident when she was four, so she's had a bit of a strange-animal phobia since then. Of course the puppies thought she was playing with them, so they immediately gave chase. Right away I yelled at Shelby NOT to run into the street, but by that point she was in a full-out flight-not-fight run and into the street she went. In one of those slow-motion moments, as I saw her hit the street, I heard a car coming from behind us and I yelled at the top of my lungs for her to stop. She didn't. But I think the driver of the car heard me (I yelled loud enough to make my throat sore) and stopped. Which was a good thing, because he never would have seen her in time. She sprinted out so suddenly and from behind my car nonetheless. I'm reasonably certain that she could have been serioiusly injured today had things gone just slightly different. Needless to say I'm quite thankful they didn't go differently.

My dad had to use the water hose to chase the puppies away. But that only worked on one of them. The other just kept coming. So he had to go into his work arsenal (he's a postal carrier), which includes a mild pepper spray (made for use on animals). I know it sounds cruel, but animal control doesn't work on Sundays, other means of scattering the strays were not effective, and given what happen with Shelby, taking them in was not on the list of options. Neither puppy was seriously injured in the making of this incident. They basically went to other people's yards and laid on their grass. We checked periodically but they never came closer than a couple yards over.

Biking the crosstown

The OKC locals call the section of I-40 that traverses downtown "the crosstown bridge", or some variant of that. Today I rode my bike along the fairly new Oklahoma River Trail, which follows much of the same path as the crosstown. On my twelve-mile round trip (six-miles to the end and back again, just the north side of the river), I discovered a trail with potential, but that isn't quite in the same league as the Lake Hefner Trail just yet. I plan to post a full review, but who knows how long that will take. For now I leave you with a pic of the new OKC Dell building, and a couple of sky line pics from different parts of the trail.

Am I stupid?

Okay, so don't answer that all at once.

Here's the deal... I ordered (a $200) something on the web early this week. At the time, the site I ordered from read "1 item left", so I figure I got the last one. Actually, I wasn't planning to make the buy at that time (was just doing research), but it was such a good deal, the fact that there was only one left sort of drove me to push ahead with my grand scheme.

Two days later I got a phone message from the vendor that said, "sorry, apparently we had already sold that last one before you bought it and our site wasn't up to date, so we've cancelled your order". I was distressed, because I had bought other stuff supporting the overall effort for which this now cancelled item was purchased (meaning the other stuff that was already bought would be otherwise useless).

This morning, however, I got a delivery. Strangely (I thought), it was from the company that had cancelled my order. So I opened it, and what do you know, it was the cancelled item I had ordered and thereby should not have received. I double-checked my credit card, and it had not been charged for the item. So I called them to explain their error, and they are presently trying to rectify the situation. I assume that if I get to keep the item, that they will then charge me the $200.

I've been told already this morning by others in the know that this was a stupid move on my part. While I can't say that I disagree in certain contexts, I do believe that in most regards it was the proper thing to do.

So what's the consensus? Stupid or not stupid? Take the poll.

Am I Stupid? Flat-out Friggin' Idiot! Maybe a little You did the right thing, but that doesn't make you suck less You chose wisely Free polls from Pollhost.com

Lunchless and beat by the rookies

I got a call from Darby today from summer camp. She left her lunch outside after I dropped her off this morning and it poured rain. At first I was rather upset about the issue, because when I heard, I was at lunch myself, but had gotten a ride, so wasn't in a position in which I could help without burdening someone else. Fortunately when I called the school back, they said everything worked out. They recovered the lunch from outside and the ziplock bags did their job keeping everything dry.

Darby's game tonight was against a former t-ball team that just moved up to machine pitch. We should have won that game, but fielding errors killed us, costing us the game by a run. Darby made several good plays and got a couple of hits along with a run scored.

Free lunch, free shirt, free crap

On average, it's been more stressful at work than what can be considered typical, so it was nice that I had a little vendor presentation to attend today, at which they provided lunch. Free lunch has that way of quelling the mind in that one-less-thing-to-worry-about kind of way. And then to have gotten a free t-shirt for asking a good question, who can beat that? Certainly not the office. Not on this day.

As soon as I got back to work I learned I had a meeting thirty minutes later. And there's nothing like meeting with people to explain to them exactly how to dismantle everything you've built, your professional pride and joy, over the last seven years. It's all crap I tell you (I'd tell them, but they stopped listening to me years ago, if they ever listened to me at all that is), and they've been giving that away in droves, too, the last few years.

Unlike free lunch and free shirts, I've yet to find anyone lining up for their free piles of crap. Though, much more disappointingly, they seem to let that crap be dished upon them and continue taking it with a smile. Wake up people! Them's chunks o' crap in your teeth!

Not so much

In contrast to yesterday's hardness of playing, tonight at Darby's ballgame, it's like they were barely playing at all. I think more than half the team had a field trip of some kind at their respective summer camps (Darby and Shelby got to go to the zoo), and it really showed. Everybody had butts-a-draggin' (hehe, I started to type "everybutty" just then), so like the Michigan of yesterday, they were quite stomped (and here I thought a trip to see how the big girls play would reflect at their game the next day).


I did take the girls for ice cream after the game, for Darby's piano performance yesterday, and because I'm told Shelby did very well at fencing practice today.



Update
Michigan won tonight, forcing a final game tomorrow. If it didn't cost so darn much ($45 is what I spent for the three of us) for a few hours of entertainment, I'd take the girls to see that final game.


Updated Update
I have to admit, I was rooting for a UCLA three-peat, but Michigan did the job tonight, and earned their place in history as the first NCAA softball champs East of the Mississippi.

Them girls play hard

Playing Hard...
It started last night (well, early this morning). Knowing that I was going to take the girls to the Women's College World Series tonight, I checked the scores to see who won the day's games and thereby who would be playing tonight. So, at 1:11am, I was astonished to find that THEY WERE STILL PLAYING. Tennesee and Michigan were in the 11th inning of a 0-0 ballgame. Wow. I watched the rest of the game in astonishment. They played hard.

Playing Hard.
This afternoon Darby had her Piano Guild Audition. First we had to go by her teachers studio for a last run through, then on to the show. I'm please to inform the world that Darby passed her audition and is now a member. She was nervous, but she played hard.

Playing Hard!
As noted, I took the girls to the WCWS and watched UCLA stomp Michigan 5-0. Sitting in the outfield bleachers, we had a great view of the UCLA left fielder make a leaping, glove-over-the-fence, homerun-robbing catch. I was upset I didn't have my camera at the ready as that would have been a great shot. Anyway, regardless of the score, both teams played quite hard.

Playing Hard?
Shelby wasn't exactly interested in the game after the first two minutes (I'm being generous). But, then, her idea of playing hard is picking grass, doing situps, and attempting hand-stands instead of watching the game. So maybe she didn't play hard, so much as she played hard.

Just when I was starting to worry

The Phillies have been living in the NL East basement all year. I blew it off in April, tried to ignore it most of May, and was a little worried come June. But they've won six straight and are now a game out of first (granted, ALL of the NL East teams are within 1.5 games of each other). Much can happen between now and even the All-Star break, but maybe there's hope yet.


(and hopefully I haven't jinxed it)

Evicting your (former) step-father

Not that it's anybody's business, but it servers as background... my mother and step-father have been going through a divorce... for THREE YEARS. For about the last year of it, I've been the almost owner of my mother's house, where I lived for a few years in high school. The back and forth of the whole process has dragged the effort out that long. Finally, the whole last week of May I was working the paperwork to refinance the mortgage in my name so that my mother, who gets the house in the divorce and will be renting from me, can live there in peace once this thing is finally over (though we're in what must be our tenth attempt at closing the deal).

So the mortgage process is almost complete, and the deed has already been signed over to me, which means here soon I'll have full run of the place. Well, a couple nights ago I was talking to my mother on the phone and she asked me, so when is he supposed to leave? You see, because he pays the mortgage, he has refused to leave, and my mother doesn't want to leave because she wants the house and has been afraid of losing it if she left, so they've been co-habitating in a war-of-the-roses atmosphere for three years now.

As it turns out, because my step-father-for-the-moment shows no near-term signs of vacating my property, I may be forced soon to draft an eviction notice. So when my mother asked me when he should leave, I told her once the divorce was final, if he showed no effort in vacating, that I'd send an eviction notice. And then, as the rightful property owner, I'd have him removed by the police if he didn't leave by the terms of that notice.

All I can say is that this is a strange turnabout that I would not have foreseen a number of years ago. My most memorable (adverse) incident with my step-father was during my senior year when he refused to drive me to school for a week because I was late for a pickup (not that I minded taking public transportation, but it was an hour-long commute via two busses, an "L" train, and still with about ten minutes of walking to get to my school from where we lived). So the fact that I may now have to evict him from his home of so many years is an interesting position to be in.

"We can't seem to find your daughter"

Shelby got to swim about seven hours today. She went swimming with her summer camp class, and then we had a pool party/birthday party tonight, which lasted three hours.

Darby stayed with me today (went to work with me) because she had a piano lesson today (in preparation for an audition on Monday) and it was easier to not have to pick her up from the pool as the piano studio is 25 miles on the other side of town from where the school goes swimming.

But in the process of creating that convenience we also created a panic at the school. Apparently someone saw me drop Shelby off, saw that Darby was with us, and signed Darby in as well. So when lunch time came about, they were looking all over the place for her, seeing that she had been signed in. They called me to let me know they couldn't find my daughter and were relieved to learn she was with me.

What's funny is that they said they said they asked Shelby if her sister was dropped off at school today and Shelby said yes (which validated their panic), though she knew better than that. So when I asked her later on why she responded that way and she said that she thought they were asking about her (Shelby). So I had to slap my forehead on that one. Why would they ask you about you, Shelby? She just shrugged her clueless shoulders.

Hey kiddo, watch me be an idiot

Darby's softball team played a far superior team tonight and it showed. Their shortstop and first baseman were so good in making plays that our top hitters were hitless most of the game. It wasn't until they were so far ahead and switch those positions to alternates that we even got any hits. We did score a couple runs eventually, but they were peebles in the ocean.

Just before the game, Darby was practicing sliding into a base (because she had botched a slide in a previous game) and she kept doing this both legs first, fall on her butt, and use the momentum type of slide that I just couldn't live with. So I was trying to explain to her how to slide and she either wasn't getting it or wanted to see me make a fool of myself (knowing that I wouldn't disappoint). So I said, no no, like this, and I threw my 31 year-old body for a maneuver it hadn't attempted in years, which may have been an erroneous decision. Not only did I tear the knee out of one of my newest pair of jeans, but I put a nice, modestly painful, strawberry on my knee as well. I hope no one else was watching.

I've been fake-numbered

Let's set the record straight right up front. No, I did NOT hit on a girl to then be issued a fake number. Please read on...


So when is it not cool to get a call at 1:47am?
(yes, that's one forty-seven ante meridiem, as in, NOT P.M.)

Okay, okay, it's never all that cool... but when is it especially not cool?

Let me tell you when. Because for once in my life I have the answer.

It's especially uncool getting a phone call at 1:47am when the call is from a guy who is clearly drunk and thinks he's calling your ex-wife because he was hitting on her all night long and, though she's married, she finally succumbed and gave him "her phone number", only to discover it was a "fake number" that, as it turns out, wasn't all that fake because in all actuality it was HER EX-HUSBAND'S CELL PHONE NUMBER.    (dammit)

Very.

Un.

Cool.

(In case you were wondering, or at all unclear on that point)


So here's roughly how it went down...

[ring, ring]
Me: What, the...
[ring, ring]
Me: What time is it? Who the heck would that be?
[ring, ring]
Me: [looking at unrecognized number on caller ID] Who the heck is this?
[ring, ring]
Me: Hello?
Drunk Dude: Is Amy there?
Me: Nnnnnnoo.?.
Me: Why would she be? Wait, Amy who?
Drunk Dude: Um, I didn't get her last name. I met her at a club tonight.
Me: Oh. Well, my ex-wife's name is Amy, so that's who I thought you meant, but surely this is just a strange coincidence.
Drunk Dude: Your ex-wife is Amy?
Me: Well, probably not the same Amy, but... nevermind.
Drunk Dude: So was she at the Blue Note tonight?
Me: Um, well, she's my EX wife so I DON'T KNOW!
Drunk Dude: [click]
Me: [pondering]
Me: [thinking aloud] Come to think of it, I remember Amy saying [her husband] had a show last night. [editor's note: her husband's the lead singer in a rock band]
Me: [while typing address of band website] Well, let's see where the show was...
Me: [jaw drops] OMG. The Blue Note. This can NOT be a coincidence.


So I emailed the ex-wife explaining what went down, and expressing how I hoped this was all some strange, however unlikely, coincidence, though it sure seemed like there was no freakin' way it could be coincidental. I mean, a guy meets an Amy in a club where I'm 100% certain my ex-wife -- also known as Amy -- was located, gets a phone number from said Amy and that number coincidentally turns out to be my cell phone number? There's just no way!

Some time later the ex-wife emails me back, explaining that it was in fact her that gave the number to the guy, but that she thought she gave him a fake number, and that she's not a good liar, and so apparently accidentally gave him a real number that must have somehow been my cell phone number.


Hmmmm.

Still uncool. Every time I think about it.


In a later phone call I told my ex-wife that I was just going to have to blog this experience, that the world simply must know the truth of fake-number collateral damage.




[For the truly sick and twisted:
If you were a sick bastard/ess or were just looking for a good time, you could theoretically call drunk dude at 405-947-9246, and ask for some fake name or other. If you were REALLY sick but also female, you could call and say you were Amy and really have some fun with it. But be forewarned, I speak merely in hypotheticals and don't actually condone the harassment in any way of the probably otherwise swell guy that tried to pick up my presently married former wife. I must also disclaim that I have not independently verified that the noted number is the actual number of the aforementioned drunk dude rather than say a pay phone number or the number of an innocent bystander or local business. Please take all necessary precautions in your theoretical prank calling exploits.]