Two hours and twenty minutes left

Till the New Year. That means I have two hours and twenty minutes left before my 2008 New Year's resolution goes incompleted. That's okay. I can make the same resolution for 2009.

A few thoughts to finish out 2008.

No matter how fast you drive, you can't drive away from your feelings. No matter how loud the music is, you can't drown out your thoughts. No matter how fast you run, you can't run from yourself. These were the thoughts that was going through my mind while I was driving over to my friend's house for New Year's Eve. What thoughts were running through my mind?

The same things that have been going thorugh my mind for the last ten years. Nothing much has changed. Okay, so maybe a lot has changed. But this one thing is still the same. I am still alone. Probably more alone now that I have ever been. At least, ten years ago I had Juan and Parker and Cindy and Leah. Even though at the time, I was beginning to lose Leah and Cindy. Now I have lost Parker and Juan. Probably forever. This morning, I found a list of phone numbers from when I started working. I tried calling the number that I had listed for Gabriel. I didn't think it would work. But, it was worth a try. And I was right, it didn't work.

Parker was always good at making me feel better. He would tell me that the guys at school were idiots and blind not to see what a great person I am. Juan, he was just a great buddy. Gabriel, however ... he was totally different from any guy I have ever known. He made me feel special. He made my heart skip a beat. He sent tingles down my spine. I have never felt that way before. Unfortunately, he never felt the same way towards me. Unfortunately, he never knew how I felt toward him. Unfortunately, I may never feel the same way about a guy again. Unfortunately, he was only just a friend. Unfortunately, he was just a coworker. Unfortunately, I will never see Gabriel again. Just like I will probably never see Parker again. He has completely disappeared from my life. Just like Gabriel. Just like Juan. Just like the current "Linus" in my life. After this week, I may never see him again. Well, I may. At holidays. But again, I may not.

The last guy who told me that he loved me was back in the twelfth grade. And it was only just as a friend. He only said that because we had been talking about his feelings for one of my friends. He didn't know what to do about it. But he was glad to have someone to talk to. Then he told me he loved me. What happened to him? He moved away. Then shortly after, we lost all contact. Recently, I found out that he moved to the Midwest. Again, never to be heard from again.

Notice the trend here? Maybe the problem isn't them. Maybe the problem is ...

ME

Glasses

I know most people hate wearing glasses. They hate how they look in glasses.

But for some guys, I think glasses look cute on them. I guess that means I have a glasses fetish. For example, I once saw a picture of Josh Groban with glasses on. It made my heart skip a beat. I loved how he looked with glasses. Not everyone looks good with glasses, I agree. But I still think glasses can enhance a person's look. For example ... I met this guy last year ... and I didn't know he wore glasses till the second time I saw him. I thought he looked nicer with the glasses on. I completely forgot about it since it was a long time before I saw him again. No glasses, of course. Then I stumbled across the picture of him with his glasses and it reminded me of how good he looked with glasses on. The first couple of guys I had crushes on back in middle school ... all wore glasses!

Two days left

At last year's New Year's Eve party ... right after we rang in the new year ... I made a special New Year's resolution. I've got two days left. It's not going to happen. That's okay. I'll just make the same resolution for next year. Okay, so it's not really a New Year's resolution. More like a wish. More like a desire. More like a longing.

Remember the scene in "Little Women" where Laurie is taking Amy to her Aunt March right after they find out that Beth has scarlet fever. And Amy says that she's never been kissed. She didn't want to die without ever being kissed. That's how I feel. It's not much. It's not a big deal. But I can't help but feel like I'm missing something.

Another year. Who knows what this year will bring.

Why do I do this to myself?

Why do I bother? I just checked one of my friend's pages ... and I looked at Alpha's top friends ... and I'm not even in the first ten. I've known Alpha longer than anyone in Alpha's top ten .... if you average the years Alpha's known them, I've still known Alpha much longer. Why am I surprised? I really shouldn't be. It's always been like this. Like in high school. I would go to Alpha's page ... and Alpha listed all of Alpha's friends around the border of the page. Naturally ... I didn't rank high enough to make that list. Funny. Even in college, Alpha would say I was probably the person who knew what was going on in Alpha's life. You'd think I'd figure this out by now. I keep Alpha at an arm's distance. Yet it still hurts to see that I don't matter that much to Alpha. Why does it still hurt? You'd think the distance would soften the blows.

I just read a book where the main character tries to avoid a relationship with this amazing guy. She was still hurting from losing the love of her life three years ago. Her life had never been easy. But, she thought she had found the man of her dreams and that her life would finally get the happy ending she always wanted. Then it all went crashing down when she lost her fiance. At that point in her life, she stopped believing in happy endings. She stopped dreaming and hoping and wishing.

I feel like that. Like I have no hope for a happy ending. That my dreams will never come true. That my wishes aren't going to come true. I feel like Kelly from the book does before Mitch walks into her life. That all I can do is try to live my life as it is. Alone. That I should be just resigned to it. I'm not going to find Prince Charming. Actually, I already have given up on Prince Charming and fairy tales. Prince Charming only exist in fairy tales. And fairy tales aren't real. I've given up on fairy tales and happy endings. I should just resign myself to a life that is just my own. Face it. I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life, however long or short it may be. I'll always be spending holidays and special occasions with someone else's family. Never my own. I'll always feel out of place because I haven't find my place in this world. I just want to find a nice person to call my own. I just want to find a nice person to spend the rest of my life with. But, let's face it. It's not going to happen. Not now. Not ever.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

As I was leaving work the other day, my boss asked me what I was doing for Christmas. I told her that I was spending it with Nina's family. She said, "awww, you're family doesn't celebrate Christmas, either?" I know, we've gone over this before. How my family doesn't celebrate anything. At least I have Nina's family to celebrate things with. We had dinner on Christmas Eve with Nina's extended family as well. That being the family that sponsored Nina's mother when she first came to the states. They're family to them too. We had dinner and then played some games. We played Cranium (me & Nina vs Harold & Dominic vs Jonathan & Justin). It was a close game between Nina & I and Jonathan & Justin. Harold & Dominic were behind for awhile and then caught up. We also opened presents. I wasn't expecting much. Well, I got more than I expected. I was pleasantly surprised. I usually don't expect anything for Christmas. After Cranium, we played a game of Mafia. Jonathan wanted to play so I narrated instead. It was hilarious. During the night phase of the game, you're not supposed to say anything. Jack, however ... forgets that part of the game. When he got the "medic" card ... he's supposed to point to the person he's supposed to save. However, he'd forget ... and say the person's name instead. Of course, that gave away his card and told everyone he was the medic. After mafia, Jonathan, Nina, Harold, and I played a game of Spoons.

After Spoons, Jonathan, Nina, Harold, and I settled down and played a game of Risk. It took us about three hours to play it. It was the first time for Jonathan. We taught him how to play. And he ended up winning. Not only did he finish his missions ... he controlled Australia, Asia, Europe, and Africa ... in that order. We didn't up going to bed till almost two in the morning. Like I said, it was a long game. But it was still fun.

Here's to Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa

I cannot imagine what these men went through ... to save their lives ... and the lives of the other survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 that crashed in the Andes Mountain on October 13, 1972. The odds were against them. It was virtually impossible that anyone could have survived that plane crash. It was virtually impossible that anyone could survive in the mountains for three months on nothing but little squares of chocolate and a cap of wine. They were given up for dead. The only way out was to hike out of the mountains themselves. Even the rescuers could not believe the feat that these two men accomplished. It was not humanly possible that these two men could have trekked out of the Valley of the Tears. But they did. Their story, as gruesome and tragic as it may be, is an amazing story. A story that should never be forgotten.

On this day, thirty-six years ago, these men walked not only out of the Andes Mountains ... but emerged from death to reclaim their lives. On this day, thirty-six years ago, these men delivered a Christmas miracle to their fellow survivors and their families. These men were the modern day Lazaruses.

Only eighteen days left

To get my new year's resolution done.

And it's not going to happen.

Dodgers host Fabulous Fiftieth Event

And fabulous it was!

I found out about the event a few weeks ago via e-mail. The day came to put in my reservation ... and I nearly forgot about it! How was I invited? Because I purchased a mini-plan this year. I RSVP'ed for five people, since I didn't know who would want and who could come with me. Figured I could fit five people total in my car. Turns out I didn't need a reservation for five. Two was enough.

Since the event started at noon, Kevin and I were a hour late. The first thing we had to do was check in. They were set up right outside center field. We didn't get very far into the stadium after we checked in. The first thing we did was check out the "Holiday sale" that was going on. They had all sorts of things on sale. For the most part, they were selling things that were left over from their give-away nights. They had bobble heads for two or three dollars. Since I got most of them already, I only got the Joe Torre bobble head. They had a few fleece blankets for sale. I got a few Build-a-Bear teddies that they were giving away to kids, Russell Martin batting practice jerseys, and the Team photo calendar! I was really excited to get some of the give-aways that I wasn't able to get before. After we paid for our things, we went back to the car to put them away. Good thing we didn't park that far.

We went inside the stadium and checked out what was going on. We took tons of photos. We started on the outfield, then went into the dugout, and then the infield. We started with the pitching mound, the grass, and then second base. We were trying to figure out what to do. We noticed a group on the field level concourse. We headed that way and discovered that this was where they were holding the autograph signings. So, we got in line. The line wrapped around one side of the wall and then on the other side of the wall. There were tables set up, one table for each player. While we waited in line, I saw Roberto in line ahead of us. We chatted for a bit before the lines moved. While we were in line, the two ladies behind us had to leave to take their photo with Tommy Claus (aka Tommy Lasorda dressed as Santa Claus). The security guard let them back in, but told them not to leave the line again. I was showing Kevin what I brought to get signed. They saw the picture of Andre and asked me where I got it. I told them that I took it. They couldn't believe it. I offered to send it to them. While we waited, Matt Kemp showed up with a beanie on. Super cute. When we got around the wall, James McDonald, Matt Kemp, Ron Cey, Tommy Davis, Andre Ethier, and Delwyn Young were signing autographs. Matt Kemp must've just switched with another player. When Kevin and I got to the front of the line, Delwyn Young asked one of the security guards a question. He pointed out the answer to him and escorted him around the line. Pee Wee and to go take a wee wee. Kevin and I wanted to wait for Delwyn to come back, but they were going to cut off the line to change the players. So we went on.

Next in line was Andre "Smoking Hot" Ethier. He looked at the picture I brought and said it was a nice picture, and he especially liked the dirt on his face. After Andre was Derrell Thomas. He was switching with Ron Cey, who had just left. I think it was Ron Cey. Kevin had already moved onto Matt Kemp, but I wanted to wait for Derrell Thomas to settle in. Then it was Matt Kemp's turn. I apologized for holding up the line. Matt Kemp said, "that's okay. I've got plenty of time. I've got nowhere else to be." I opened my gigantic scrapbook to his page, where I had an article taped, two baseball cards, and a photo. I told him that he could pick something to sign. I couldn't make up my mind. I told Andre the same thing, and he signed the photo. Matt Kemp asked me what I wanted to get signed, and I ended up picking the article since it was in the scrapbook. He noticed one of the baseball cards and commented that he never seen that card before. I contemplated on asking him if he wanted it and to let him have it. But I decided that I'll just wait till I get another one. After Matt Kemp was James McDonald. He's the newest of all the guys who showed up.

After that, Kevin and I sat in the field seats to get things together. That was when I noticed there were some guys at the FSN booth. We headed that way, and sure enough. There was my buddy Steve Lyons. Charlie Steiner and Kevin Kennedy were there too. I talked to Steve a bit before having him sign a photo of him and me from last year. I mentioned that I knew someone who knew him back in high school. Then I asked Kevin Kennedy and Charlie Steiner to sign the scrapbook too. I think it was Kevin or maybe someone else who commented on Charlie signing with his left hand. While Charlie was signing, they were also trying to take a group photo. As soon as he finished signing, he looked up for the group photo. I've been looking everywhere to see if I could find a photo to see if my scrapbook is in the photo or not. Right after, I called Diane to tell her where I was and who I just saw and spoke with. Then I told her to hold on. I brought the phone to Steve and said, I've got someone on the phone who would like to speak with you if you don't mind. They talked for a bit. Then Kevin and I ventured around the field again. We stopped by this cute little car/cart that was in the shape of a baseball. Got some ice cream. Took pictures on the blue Dodger fire engine. Then look who comes strolling across the field. Delwyn Young. He did a quick interview. We waited for him to see if he would sign some autographs and take pictures with us, since we missed him in the line.

After that, Kevin and I got in line for the tour around the stadium. We didn't have to wait long. The tour was cool. It took us inside the stadium, the press box, and the sweet suite seats. After the tour, we got our food and left. We also stopped by the booth where they were selling the postseason shirts. We should've stopped sooner. They were out of a lot of sizes. They were selling the postseason shirts for four for fifteen dollars. Kevin and I pooled our money. And we were a quarter short! I scrounged around my purse for the last quarter ... and then a lady next to us gave us a dollar!! That was so nice of her. We left and were walking on cloud nine. It was one of the best Dodger events I've ever been to.

It feels like forever

Since I last posted in here. Guess since the Dodgers are having a quiet offseason then so am I. Actually. It hasn't been that quiet for me. I just haven't gotten around to posting on here. In fact, I've been quite busy with the pen and paper.

So, real quick.

I've been going through a lot lately. Some of it has been reflective. Most of it self inflicted. A lot of it internal. For about a week and a half, I felt like I was walking around in a fog. A really dense fog. It was like I had these huge weights on me. Then, one day, it was like it was all gone. Okay, so not all gone. The weights, the baggage, it was still there. They were still there. But it didn't seem as bad. I don't know if I can explain what I was feeling or what I was going through. But at the time, I was having a really hard time with it. I still am. But it seems easier now. I don't know how to explain it. It's like, things got really blurry and muddled. And now even though I'm still dealing with the same things, it feels like my vision got clearer, like my mind got clearer. So, does any of that make any sense?

About the same time I posted my last entry, things felt like they just went downhill superquick. It was like I was walking through quicksand and I couldn't get out. Then that following weekend, I got a bomb dropped on me. For a few weeks now, I've been waiting to hear news on a relative. Things didn't look good. But there was a little hope still. And for awhile, I was hoping that no news would be good news. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I haven't told anyone yet about this. Just one person knows so far. I've been putting off talking to my boss about taking time off to see this relative. But I'm not even sure if and when I will be able to visit. I want to. Just not sure when. And when I do, I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to say or do. The first two days after hearing the news, it wasn't easy. I cried a lot. Not because I was super close to my relative. But I cried, nonetheless.

It goes without saying that things have been feeling like my world is crashing down all around me. And in some ways, I still feel that way. But like I said before. Even though everything is crashing down around me, I'm okay with it now. I guess you can say I have a peace in the midst of my storm. I'm not quite sure if peace is the right word. I don't know what I'm trying to say. That's how it's been for the last few weeks.

Do you know how it feels

To lose one friend after another to you?

To see someone else take my place even when I'm standing right there?

To know that given a choice, you would always be chosen and I will always be left alone?

To see everyone rather pick you than me?

To see that there is no room for me at an already crowded space?

To know that I'm not wanted unless needed to be used?

To know that I am not worth as much as you, that I'm not as important as you?

To feel invisible?

To be bound my silence when all I want to do is scream at the top of my lungs?

That no matter what I say or how loud, I will never be heard?

That nothing that matters to me matters to anyone else?

When everything I say is shot down?

"Breathe once more. Live for one more breath. As long as you breathe, you are fighting to survive."

What do you do when you want to talk to someone and tell someone everything that is going on ... but don't know who to talk to?

What do you do when you want to talk, but at the same time, you can't. You can't find the words to say how you feel. You can't find the courage to say the words that you bury deep down in your heart, time after time. You can't find the words to say, even when your body is wrenched with heartbreaking sobs that you have buried until you couldn't dig a hole deep enough.

What do you do when all you know how to do is bury your feelings so deep that it can only rise when your guard is down, when you're too tired to keep the walls up around your heart?

Not sure if it's the lack of sleep talking. Or exhaustion. Or depression. Or my mind is being affected by the smoke inhalation from the fires. Or I just may be losing my mind period. Because all I know is.

Tomorrow is another day. Everything that bubbled up to the surface tonight we be pushed back down and forgotten for another day.

"Breathe once more. Live for one more breath. As long as you breathe, you are fighting to survive."

"Make plans for 100 years, but you must be ready to die at any moment." Roberto Cannessa

Los Angeles times article about the documentary
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-stranded7-2008nov07,0,4314034.story

Video about the documentary

Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains

I want to drive all the way out to Santa Monica to watch a movie on Tuesday. Why Santa Monica? What movie? Santa Monica because that is the closest theater that is showing "Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains". Can you guess what the movie is about??? If not, here are some reviews.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1101/p25s03-almo.html
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10009384-stranded/
http://fest08.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=81
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/07/DDLD13VV9H.DTL&feed=rss.entertainment

I confess. As a kid, my favorite movies were "La Bamba" and "Alive". Which explained my fear of flying till I was about 19. I have read the book by Piers Paul Read. When I went to buy it, it was in the sports section, believe it or not. More recently, I bought Nando Parrado's book, Miracle in the Andes. For those of you unfamiliar with the fate of those aboard Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, Nando Parrado is one of the sixteen survivors of that tragedy which claimed 29 lives. Parrado not only is one of the survivors, but he is one of the two survivors who hiked for days to escape death from the Andes Mountain. It's a great story of survival, of brotherhood, that no matter how desperate things may seem, no matter how bad things get, we can survive. We will survive.

You'll never guess who I ran into on Friday...

Initially I wanted to post this ASAP but when I got home on Friday night, my internet decided not to work. So, here it is ... a day late.

On Friday, I went to the Top of the Park gift store at Dodger Stadium to get two birthday presents. After I bought my purchase, I went to take a look at the field. Since I had my camera with me, I wanted to get shots of the field since they had some Halloween decorations up. I wanted to get a picture of the Dodgers dug out. In order to do that, I had to walk over to the one side of the Top Deck. I had noticed the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Park Observatory and just finished taking some photos of those when I noticed someone was talking to the two guys sitting in the top deck. This is what probably went through my mind at that moment: OH MY GOODNESS! THAT'S FRANK McCOURT! IT'S FRANK McCOURT!

As in ... the man who owns the Dodgers! (Not the author). Seeing as I missed my photo opportunity with Jamie McCourt at the last Dodger game I went to, I wasn't going to let this one slip by me too. So I headed back towards the center of the Top Deck. By the time I got to where the two guys were sitting, Mr. McCourt had already left. He was almost at the exit of the Top Deck when he stopped. He said "hi" to me and I replied, "Hi." Then I asked him if he wouldn't mind taking a picture with me. By now I've forgotten what I said. All I remember was my heart beating pretty fast. Not as fast as when I meet the other Dodgers like Russell or Andre. But it was beating pretty quick. He said, "Sure. Do you have a camera?" Funny thing. I almost left my house without my camera. Good thing I almost ALWAYS have my camera on me. We went back to the seats and asked one of the guys to take the picture for me. As we're getting ready to take the picture, Mr. McCourt asked the guy to "come around to this area so we can get a nice view of the field for the background instead of this elevator thingy". So, we reposition ourselves and ...



VOILA!

People can be ...

Where do I begin???

Saturday, we went to a symphony. Sherisse got tickets through her music teacher. During the first part (there were three parts), it was a Beethoven piece. Towards the end of the piece, I accidentally tapped the chair of the guy in front of me with my foot. He whips his head around, and very nastily says "Can you stop doing that?" He looked furious enough to punch me! That's how mad he was. As soon as he whipped around, I started saying "I'm sorry". Sherisse dropped her bobby pins on him earlier. I think she might've tapped his chair as well. Either way, I guess I was the straw that broke the camel's back. I wouldn't have thought anything of it except for the nasty way he said it.

Today ... I was folding some sweaters and a customer asked me, "what's the style?" I told her, "it's just a V-neck sweater." She gets mad at me and says angrily, "JUST A V-NECK? I CANNOT OPEN IT? I CANNOT OPEN IT??" Then she stormed out of the store. Where in my answer did I tell her she couldn't open it??? If she hadn't stormed out and overreacted, I would've told her it came in other colors and asked her if she wanted to see a size, I like I do with plenty of customers.

Happy Birthday to me!

Okay, so now I'm 24. Nina and I went to school then met up with Angelina for lunch at Islands. Angelina had gone to Marshall's earlier, so Nina and I went because she said there was a bunch of Dodgers stuff on sale. I got two t-shirts for Joanne. I also found a Red Sox book for Sherisse and a framed photo of Nomar for Angelina. Why am I saying this on my blog? Pretty certain they don't read it ... at least I don't think they do. So if they know what I got them, then I guess they do read this. Nina wanted to find the Boston book, so we went to another Marshall's that was close so she could find one. Instead, she found a Dodgers' warm up jacket (authentic Majestic one too!!!) for 20. Wow. I went home and took some pictures of the stray kitties in my backyard. I heard a strange popping noise when I was walking back to my car. Not sure what it was. Well guess what? I was trying to take some pictures tonight and my FLASH wouldn't work!!! Was that the popping noise I heard???? After picking up Nina, my brother (who even told me happy birthday!), then prayer meeting. After the prayer meeting, we went to Baskin Robbins for $1 Tuesday scoops (okay so it was $1 for kid scoops and 1.50 for regular scoops). I got a scoop of jamoca and a scoop of chocolate fudge. I meant to get a scoop of jamoca almond fudge but didn't see it till later. That's okay, because guess what? Once I got to the scoop of jamoca ... it wasn't there anymore! Yup ... it fell off my cone and onto the floor :-)

Almost 24

Okay, so it's been a long time since I've written anything in here (especially anything NOT related to the Dodgers). Now that the season is over, I've gotten quite a bit of time to reflect. Especially so since my 24th birthday is right around the corner. And to be honest ... my birthday wish has been the same thing for the longest time now. It's the same as my New Year's resolution/wish/whatever. I'm not asking for much, really. It's not like I keep wishing for a husband, because I'm not. All I'm asking for is to go out on my first date before I'm 25. All I want to is have my first kiss before I'm 25. All I want is to know how it feels to hold a guy's hand, to be hugged in a "more than friend or acquaintance" way, to be asked out by a guy who I'll actually say yes to (not some random stranger or someone who's twice my age or not someone who I just plain didn't like or not someone who was asking but only as a joke and yes all of these things have happened to me) ... just once that's all I'm asking for. Is that really too much to ask? I'm content being single and being on my own. But for once ... I'd like to know that there is someone out there who finds me the least bit attractive ... who thinks I'm special (in that more than a friend way of course). Is that really too much to ask? Sometimes when I look in the mirror I see that maybe that is too much to ask and maybe I'm just not cut out for that. Perhaps that's why I avoid looking in a mirror when at all possible. So why do I always feel like I'm not even cut out for second best. That I'll always be last in everything. That no matter what ... I'll always be the odd one out. That given a choice ... I'd be left standing in the dust as everyone scatters away from me. That I'll never be good enough for anyone, whether it's as a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a friend, a girlfriend, or a wife. That I'll never be good enough in what I do, whether it's being a student, a sales associate, a writer, a photographer, a musician, a singer ... that "amateur" doesn't even begin to describe how inadequate I am. If I was a baseball player and life was a baseball game, not only would I strike out every time I'd get up to bat, but I'd screw it up every time I was on the field. If I was a pitcher, not only would I probably give up a single by not fielding the ball correctly thus crediting me with an error, hit the next batter, walk the next to load the bases, then give up a grand slam to the opposing pitcher. If I was a bowler, not only would I throw the bowling ball into the gutter ... but it would get stuck less than halfway to the pins. If I was a novel, it would be shelved in the deepest darkest part of the library collecting so much dust that it would take the world's strongest vacuum to clean it off. If I was a television show, you couldn't pay the extras enough to be on the show let alone the actors. If I was a photographer, every photo would be black because I forgot to take the lens cap off. If I was a musician, every note would be either flat or sharp because I would basically be out of tune all the time. As I'm getting near to the end of this, I'm seriously considering whether or not to post it. Then again ... I'm not sure how many people I actually know actually read this. Most of my hits come from random google searches so who knows if anyone actually pays attention to my random ramblings. Especially ones as bleak as this one. Don't worry. I don't really have this bleak of a view on life... most of the time. It usually hits me when it's late at night. And more so around my birthday. I remember in high school how much I dreaded my birthday because it was so depressing then. Like in the game of baseball, we can only take it one game at a time. You can't play Game 7 of the World Series until you play the first one. Because you can't even guarantee that there will be a Game 7. Sometimes I can't even just take it one day at a time. Sometimes I just gotta take it one hour a time. One minute to the next. We'll see how long this post stays up.

Game Two Results

Now if you thought the results of Game One was bad ... don't even look for a summary of Game two. It was awful. They played like the Cubs. In fact ... they may have played WORSE! It took four pitchers to get out of the third inning! Need I say more??? Let's hope we can sweep them at home and steal one more from them to get to the world Series. They need to stop playing like the Cubs and play like we know they can play!!!

So... I got asked out the other night...

On the street, of course. By a complete total stranger. Of course.

After work, I had to go to Nina's. But I stopped by a used book store. I was looking for a specific book. When I found it, I took it to the counter to pay for it. As I was paying for it, this older Hispanic guy came up to the counter too. He asked, "So you found something interesting?" He looked at the book and said, "oh, gossip." Since he was totally wrong and didn't know what he was talking about, I didn't bother answering him. I paid and left. He followed. He then asked "Hey girl how are you doing? Can I buy you a drink?" I said a quick no and kept walking. Why do I always get the random strangers??

Bad Day

Where is the moment we needed the most / You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
You tell me your blue skies fade to grey / You tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low / You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line / You're falling to pieces everytime
And I don't need no carryin' on

Because you had a bad day /You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know /You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day / The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day / You had a bad day

And I thought Ryan Doumit was having a bad day on Monday. Who's that? He's the catcher for the Pirates. I was watching the dodgers/Pirates game on Monday. Doumit was hit by a pitch by Kuroda (I think that was who was pitching) as well as getting hit by his OWN pitchers. The pitch would bounce in the dirt and hit him ... in the knee ... in the shoulder ... in the balls.

First off ... I checked my bank account ... not only was I overdrawn ... but THREE times. Don't ask. Then I go to work ... which isn't fun anyway because my job is on the line ... and I had to work my least favorite person. I get home ... and get on my computer ... and an hour later... WHAM! BAM! I got a virus. A computer virus. So yeah. Not having a good week. On top of it all... the Dodgers lost to the Pirates ... 15 - 8. Now that's insulting. To add salt to their wound ... the Diamondbacks won. At least it wasn't as embarassing at the Angels losing to the Athletics. Oh. And throw into the mix the Mets fall out of first place ... and Nomar hurts his knee going around third!

hehe maybe I shoudln't have gotten out of bed today. Nina and I get to school ... and our class is canceled? Dare I ask what next?

Old friends

So I looked up an old friend on Myspace and was about to leave him a comment ... but changed my mind about it. Why? Because I haven't talked to him in forever. I haven't left him a comment since his birthday I think. As I thought about what to say him, there was nothing I could think of that didn't come out awkwardly. Too much time has passed and we've gone our different ways. It's probably best if I just let the past go. We had good times in high school, but that was a long time ago. We had good times in college, but that was awhile ago. We've changed a lot since then. We're no longer the people we were. And I think we've changed too much to try to overcome it. Sad, but true. Just like I am realizing I really have to let go of some people from my past. One such person who has since disappeared out of my life. And I've come to realize that I have to let go of who this person was, because obviously it's not who he is now. I've come to realize that if he can walk out of my life without looking back, I guess I can go on through the rest of my life without looking back as well. I've come to realize that if he wants to completely disappear off the face of the earth, that I should probably let him.

But that doesn't mean I won't hold a few memories close to my heart.

Vote for the Roberto Clemente Award

Vote for JAMES LONEY here ...

Other candidates for the Roberto Clemente Award are ...

American Leage
Melvin Mora
Jermaine Dye
Magglio Ordonez
Justin Speier
Johnny Damon
Raul Ibanez
Kevin Milwood
Kevin Youkilis
Grady Sizemore
Mark Teahen
Michael Cuddyer
Mark Ellis
Carlos Pena
Vernon Wells

National League
Brandon Webb
Ryan Dempster
Jeff Francis
Lance Berkman
Jeff Suppan
Jimmy Rollins
Albert Pujols
Kevin Frandsen
Tim Hundson
Brandon Phillips
Luis Gonzalez
James Loney
David Wright
Jack Wilson
Trevor Hoffman
Joel Hanrahan

It's been a long day ...

And it certainly wasn't a happy ending.

I get to work, and an hour into my shift, one of my regular customers show up. I let her browse around. She spoke with one of the other associates. But then she comes to me and asks me to put two things on the counter for her. I do. She goes to use the restroom. When she comes out, the other associate approaches her again. My customer tells her that I am helping her, and the associate tells her my name. My customer looks at me and tells me that she realizes she didn't know my name. The associate proceeds to tell my customer her name. Well, my customer goes over to a table of sweaters and starts going through them. I go over and help her try on several sweaters. I notice the other associate talking the with key holder, in their language of course. And from the way they were looking at me, I knew that they were talking about me. The associate's shift ended and she left. My customer was ready with a purchase for herself, a friend, and her niece ... most of the things were things I had helped her pick. And then the key holder goes and tells me that the SALE BELONGED TO THE OTHER ASSOCIATE. Excuse me? Who was unbuttoning cardigans and helping the customer put them on, the doing the same for two other sizes???? I was mad as a hornet.

After my break, Bella shows up. She's shaped like the liberty bell, and probably just as big. Though she somehow manages to squeeze herself into a large, and occasionally an XL. I don't know how she does it, if she has a magic wand in her purse to make herself to fit into a large, but I would love to know how she gets the material to stretch enough for her. She even is brave enough to try on mediums. And believe me when I say that she is definitely NOT a medium when she is barely an XL. Though don't tell her that. She might knock you over with her hips when she walks by. Once she sat down for about fifteen minutes after waddling around the store. And she leaves a messy trail of clothes behind her as well. Unfortunately, after she left, she came back with a friend who was just as messy. Fortunately for me, the friend didn't shop in my department.

To top it all of, I picked up the phone and the person on the line was asking for the store manager and the number to customer service. She wanted to make a complaint that she was in the mall a while back and she was with her daughter outside our store. She was shocked when we called security because they thought she left her daughter alone when she was with her. She said that we should be watching our store and not what was going on outside. Well, that's her story. When the key holder hung up, she asked me why did the customer wait so long to complain? It happened over three weeks ago. Then she started to say maybe the customer was there and maybe we just didn't see her. If she really was there, then why was no one around to watch the little girl? There was no adult around except for another set of parents who were watching their own kids. If she really was there, why was security able to come and take the little girl to the security office? If she was there, she couldn've stepped in and say, hey, that's my daughter. If she really was there, why would she show up half an hour or more later, not knowing where her daughter was?

Want to know what really happened?

I hate going to the DMV

In approximately eight hours, I will be making another trip to the DMV ... the third day in row ... fifth DMV office total. Why??? Because my dad needs to get his registration sticker for his car. Why do I have to go? Because his English isn't good enough. Let's start at the beginning.

August 11
Nina and I go to DMV #1 to pay for his registration and fill out the application for her CA i.d. card. I pay for his registration, but they won't give me a sticker because we have to send something to the state DMV for our proof of financial responsibility. And he needed a smog test. Nina didn't get her ID because they couldn't find her in the system via her social.

August 25
I call the state DMV to find out if they received our "proof of financial responsibility" and yes, they did. I take my dad's car to get a smog check, and yes, I survived. Driving his car is like choosing a slow agonizing death from either suffocation or from the heat or asphyxiation (isn't that the same as suffocation?) or lung cancer. Plus, it's like 96 degrees out and he has no air conditioning and he has leather seats. I take the car to the place my dad told me to. They send me somewhere else because he probably just needed a smog test. Get the smog test done. Go home and switch cars because there is no way on God's green earth that was I was going to drive his car any longer than necessary. I drive back to DMV#1 and the line is ridiculously long. So I know of another DMV that I went to another time. I drive to that DMV and guess what? The line is also ridiculously long. So long that they had someone at the end of the hallway limiting the number of people going in. So I leave.

August 26
I go to DMV#1 and see the same line. Go to DMV#2. I actually get in the hallway this time. By the time I get remotely close to the counter, it says wait time was 40 minutes. And that's once you got your ticket. I was a good 20 minutes away from the counter after waiting 20 minutes already. Seeing as I only had like an hour before work, I knew I wasn't going to make it. So I leave. Guess what the wait time at DMV#1 was? 20 minutes. Rats. Should've stayed. Then I get home tonight and my dad is super angry and said he shouldn't have me do anything for him anymore. That's fine by me. Because if I had done this, I would've done this like in JULY instead of waiting till now. Then again, where was I in July? Oh yeah. At Nina's. Why? Because I had virtually been pushed out of the house. And when they wanted me to come back home, I wasn't going to till I absolutely had to. If he wants to take care of it by himself, that's fine by me.

Burst my bubble why don't you?

Okay, so last week I went to the Chad Billinsley signing at the AT&T store on Wilshire. There were two lines, one for "Dodger Fanatics" and one for "AT&T Customers." They let the "AT&T Customers" go first ... even though my friends and I were the first ones in line and we had showed up at 8. But that's okay, because they let us in after the first ten of the "AT&T Customers". Today, there was an autograph signing for Andre Ethier at the AT&T store in Culver City. Because I had to be at work at two o'clock, we left at seven to get there. Naturally, we were the first ones there. After about four hours of waiting, they announced that they were going to let all the "AT&T Customers" go first before even TOUCHING the other line. You can imagine how upset I was and the people in line with me. We had been in line longer than anyone else. And with the long "AT&T Customers" line ... there was NO WAY we were going to get our autographs. I was quite upset. I voiced my opinion to the person in charge, and she didn't like it one bit. I guess I was a little rude ... not as rude as some of the other people in line behind me. I was just told her that it wasn't fair because we had been in line since 7:30 and waited all this time to see Andre. Had I known they were going to to do it this way, I wouldn't have come. She said that's how they did it. I said no, because I was the first person in line at the Chad Billingsley one and they alternated between the two lines. She said, that's how they did it last year. But I told her the Chad Billingsley one was last WEEK. She didn't like it. Basically told me, too bad, "AT&T Customers" come first. The other AT&T representative was very sympathetic ... and I think she got in trouble with the blonde boss lady. Poor thing. I felt very bad for her. But I was tired, upset, and hot. We stood in line for nearly FIVE hours in the sun ... before they finally decided to let us go in as well. One lady kept coming up and complaining that she had been waiting for two hours and it wasn't fair because most of the "AT&T Customers" probably hadn't been in line as long. One lady in the "AT&T Customers" line waited just as long and didn't like her complaint. Another fan in line complained and I guess it was hers that got the boss lady to change her mind. They said the "radio" advertised that "AT&T Customers" got to go in first. Actually, the radio said that if they showed their AT&T phone, they'd get "front of the line" privileges. Does that equal "going in before everyone else"? And online, there was no such disclaimer. That isn't fair to those of us who saw the autograph signing online but didn't hear about it on the radio. Naturally, it was a no-win situation because they said one thing and someone said another. They originally said they would alternate between the lines. Then the boss lady changed all that. Had they left it alone with the alternating ... it would've been fine. But when the boss lady told me basically too bad ... I was almost in tears. Nina was almost in tears. The girl behind me was almost in tears. And we had been there way longer than anyone else. It was probably around 12:30 before they finally let us go in. Andre signed Nina's picture first. She mentioned the smudge of dirt on Andre's forehead in the picture ... and he said, "it's a dirty game." I wish I had on it video! Nina had Andre sign a picture I took of Andre in the Dodgers' dugout from Saturday's game. Everyone around us loved the photo and wanted a copy. We joked about running down to RiteAid and making copies. I had Andre sign my scrapbook. I think I heard some murmurs when I laid down my scrapbook and opened it up to a certain page. I had thought of some things to say to Andre when it was finally my turn ... but I forgot all about them because I was still quite upset. One of the AT&T workers was handing stuff out and made a comment to me that she saw my scrapbook and wondered what it was, and how long I worked on it. By the way ... the sunglasses I'm wearing in the picture ... I have Andre's autograph on the right side ... and Russell's autograph on the left side. I enjoyed seeing Andre and getting his autograph on my scrapbook ... but the whole ordeal with the boss lady left me with a bad experience overall ... and it soured the rest of my day. Though I may have inspired another fan to start a scrapbook too.

The picture Nina got signed

Andre arriving ... late as usual

Nina and Andre

Me and Andre ... and my giant scrapbook

3 + 9 does not equal 7

Randy Wolf's new number on the Astros is 39. 39. 3 + 9 does not equal 7. Every uniform number he has had always equaled seven. Why? It has something to do with his parents and when they got married. Hmm maybe Scott and BR should ask him that next time they talk to him. And I hope they talk to him soon.

Meeting Joe Beimel

The Joe Beimel Bobblehead

Joe signing my scrapbook

Okay, so it's been almost a week. But my computer at home hasn't been recognizing my camera. And I didn't want to put up a post until I uploaded some pictures. I was only able to take four. Being first in line means you don't get to take as many photos. But it does mean you get to take close ups with no one in front of you. Where did this begin? Well, on Thursday night's game, they announced that Joe Beimel was going to be signing autographs from noon to one at Staples in Burbank. I got super excited. Joe Beimel. Okay, so I'm like the only person besides Troy from West Virginia to get excited over an autograph from Joe Beimel. And if you don't know the story yet, Troy from West Virginia is a huge Joe Beimel fan. He has an EIGHT MINUTE video called "The Legend of Joe Beimel." I'm only going to link the original video, but there are more out there now.

Onto the signing ... Kevin and I get there as soon as Staples opens, which was at seven. There's no one there. There's one guy at the copy center who's setting everything up. He tells everyone about how last year James Loney was signing and it was a madhouse. There was no order to anything. And when it was one, the Dodger representatives were pulling Loney out there door by his shirt, as Loney is madly trying to sign more autographs. He didn't have to worry about the crowd this year. He said last year, there was a line outside of people when the store opened. It was just me and Kevin till about 8:30-8:45. More people started showing around ten, and the majority coming at 11:30. Staples went all out and printed out prints of Joe for sale. They also had laminations and mountings available, but those had to be prepaid and picked up the next day. At one point, Roberto shows up and I pointed him out to Kevin. I told him that Roberto gets around like nobody's business. He's at EVERY autograph signing it seems. And he seems to know when and where to run into the players off the field as well. A little after noon, Joe shows up. The Dodger representative shows him to the counter, hands him a jersey, and sits him on a stool. At first, I waited to for him to say something. Then I finally ask him something and the signing got started. Yup. I was the first person in line. Hopefully I'm just as successful at my next two autograph signings! Why was I the first person? Mainly because I had to be at work at one. Which I made it on time. We had enough time to get Wendy's and get to the Galleria. Funny thing happened while we were eating our food. Someone asked us if there was a Wendy's in the mall. Nope. We brought our food from the outside.

Say it isn't so....

I got in the car this morning and put on XX sports radio for my drive to work. Right before 12:48, they were talking about Randy Wolf and there were some hot trade rumors going on. One source was saying he was in the club house. Another source was saying Randy wasn't going to be a Padre very much longer. And they were talking hours. They went to break at 12:48. And right when they came back, they confirmed it. Randy Wolf was TRADED to the ASTROS. Say it isn't so. Scott and BR must be bummed. I hope they chat to Randy about it. I was bummed. I spent most of the short drive to work yelling at the radio. Sadly ... the Astros don't play the Padres or the Dodgers at all the rest of the season. There goes my chances of seeing Randy in any kind of uniform this year. Sigh. I was planning on taking the week off when San Diego comes to LA in September. I still probably will just because I'm planning on going to two of the three games that week. I was hoping to go to all three and hoping to see Randy. I'll probably wear my Wolf shirt to them anyway. I just looked at the Astros roster. Wonder if Randy will keep his #25 or will he go back to the #52. I wonder what number he'll end up with. He's not on their roster yet. I thought it was also funny that when I walked out of the store today, there was a guy with a Houston Astros' t-shirt on. It was Carlos Lee's. I wonder if I can get a Padres' Wolf shirt really cheap now ... and where... Oh well. No more road trips down to San Diego to see the Wolf.

Michael Robert Coolbaugh

A year ago today, thirty-five year old Mike Coolbaugh was struck by a line drive as he stood in the first-base coaching box. He was the first base coach for the Tulsa Drillers, the AA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. A year ago today, a wife lost her husband, their two sons lost their father, and their unborn daughter would never know her father. I wanted to make an entry in his memory. So this day won't be forgotten. So he won't be forgotten. When the Rockies made their improbable run to the playoffs, and an even more improbable run to the World Series, I was rooting them on ... not only because of their incredible winning ... but for Mike. For his family. And the Rockies organization showed that they take care of their own. They voted that a World Series share would go to his family. That's something else. His wikipedia file and the ESPN article.

I think about this tragedy at every game when I see Bowa or Duncan standing in their respective coaching boxes. I remember that these men put their lives on the line every time a line drive is hit foul. Anytime I hear someone ask about why the coaches have helmets on when they didn't have them last year, I tell them about Mike. Me being a Dodgers fan, find it interesting that my team is playing the Rockies on this day. I wonder if there will be anything said today. Or if it will go forgotten. I won't be able to watch or hear the game, so please, if something is said, can you let me know?

So, on this day, let's remember a man who loved God, who loved his family ... and who loved baseball.

Sports' Illustrated Remembering Mike Coolbaugh

I'm on someone else's website!

Interesting ... I was checking my stats and noticed that I was getting a lot of referrals from a Criminal Minds website. Curiosity got the better of me. So I went over there and checked it out. Lo and behold ... there was one of my pictures! And below it said:

"Fan Takes Criminal Minds Set Photos
Interesting Blog Post with actual Criminal Minds Amateur Photos taken. A Criminal Minds fan takes a few snapshots of the set and actors of an episode being filmed in front of her house. The blog is worth taking a look at. It is always fun seeing the behind scenes set ups.

Actual Site with Actual Amateur Street Pictures from a Criminal Minds Episode"

Funny thing was ... at the time I wasn't a Criminal Minds fan! I am now. I wish I was then. I would certainly have taken MORE photos and taken photos of the actual cast. Cool. The only other person's blog I know I make appearances on is Ernesto's Dodger blog.

I can't believe it!

At work today, I told my boss, "I'm going to laugh if Kuroda pitches a complete game shut out." What I should've said was a perfect game. Because guess what? Hiroki Kuroda pitched a COMPLETE GAME SHUT OUT, allowing only ONE hit, no walks. He was ONE hit short of a perfect game. And why is this funny? I had tickets to the game. Why didn't I go? I had to work. It's funnier because I mentioned the above quote before the game even started. Hilarious. I turned on the radio just in time for the final two outs. The reception wasn't the greatest, but I got the last two outs of the game. I really really HOPE this game is available on ITunes MLB.com games of the year. When was the last time a Dodger pitcher pitched TWO complete game shutouts in the same season? When was the last time any pitcher pitched two complete game shutouts?

Standings as of 7/13/08

One more week of the "first half" left to go.

National League
East	W	L	PCT	GB
Philadelphia	48	41	.539	-
Florida	45	43	.511	2.5
New York	44	44	.500	3.5
Atlanta	42	47	.472	6.0
Washington	34	56	.378	14.5
Central	W	L	PCT	GB
Chicago	53	36	.596	-
Milwaukee	49	39	.557	3.5
St. Louis	50	40	.556	3.5
Cincinnati	43	47	.478	10.5
Houston	41	48	.461	12.0
Pittsburgh	40	47	.460	12.0
West	W	L	PCT	GB
Arizona	44	45	.494	-
Los Angeles	43	45	.489	0.5
San Francisco	39	50	.438	5.0
Colorado	37	52	.416	7.0
San Diego	35	54	.393	9.0

Don't look now ... but the Dodgers are HALF A GAME behind the first place Diamondbacks.

Interesting injuries ... Troy Tulowitski cutting his hand ... and Chris Snyder fracturing ... well... look that up if you want to know.

Rumor is ... the Brewers are trading for C.C. Sabathia! Any rumors out there about Randy Wolf? His name keeps popping up.

Standings as of 6/29/08

National League
East	W	L	Pct	GB
Philadelphia Phillies	44	39	.530	--
Florida Marlins	42	39	.519	1.0
New York Mets	40	41	.494	3.0
Atlanta Braves	40	43	.482	4.0
Washington Nationals	33	50	.398	11.0
Central	W	L	Pct	GB
Chicago Cubs	49	33	.598	--
St. Louis Cardinals	47	36	.566	2.5
Milwaukee Brewers	44	37	.543	4.5
Houston Astros	39	43	.476	10.0
Pittsburgh Pirates	38	43	.469	10.5
Cincinnati Reds	38	45	.458	11.5
West	W	L	Pct	GB
Arizona Diamondbacks	41	41	.500	--
Los Angeles Dodgers	38	43	.469	2.5
San Francisco Giants	36	46	.439	5.0
Colorado Rockies	32	50	.390	9.0
San Diego Padres	32	51	.386	9.5

Interesting. Only one change in the NL this week. It's the Astros taking the fourth place slot in the NL Central away from the Pirates. And after getting swept by the Mariners, the Padres manage to stay three percentage points above them. And the Rays are now the best team in baseball with a .605 average. The Cubs are tied with the Angels for the third best. I'm keeping this short in lieu of what's going on in my house.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Today was a fairly decent day at work. After work, I went out with Sarah and Rachel for dinner. We went to Mimi's Cafe, hadn't gone there in awhile. Then I went to Nina's to feed the dog. I get home, and my mom tells me to call Tina (in case you're wondering ... she's a relative who I share the same parents with, but I will not call her the title for someone who is related to you and you have the same parents). I call her. She tells me that she's moving back in on Tuesday and needs either my room or the room my brother is in. What the heck? How does she expect us to empty out one of our rooms for her in less than two days? In fact, I only have ONE day to do all this. And why? Because I have no backbone. Neither do my parents. Because they are letting her move back in. And letting her take over. Because that's what she does. She takes over. She steamrolls anyone who gets in her way.

Not only does she expect me to give up my room ... but she also expects me to help her set up her things, like her cable and computer. Are you serious?

What's the plan?

Tomorrow morning, I'm going to get up, drive some stuff over to the Public Storage in our neighborhood. I already have a unit reserved. I'm going to rent that unit and start packing my stuff in it. I'm going to leave the necessary things in the house. I am so angry.

I don't even want to think about what living with her is going to be like. It was HELL the first 20-something years. What do you think the next YEAR is going to be like? I don't want to even think about what the next WEEK is going to be like. Makes me want to take my baseball bat and smash some things in .... like my skull. That would be difficult to do, wouldn't it? SIGH. I'm contemplating going to sleep so I can get up early tomorrow. Or start packing things up NOW.

In case you missed it ...

Geoff Blum talks on the Scott and BR show about what went down between Astros' pitcher Shawn Chacon and general manager Ed Wade. Also appearing on the Scott and BR show earlier this week was umpire Jim Wolf, the older brother of Padres (former Phillies' and Dodgers') pitcher Randy Wolf.

Believe it or not ... someone picked up pitcher Brett Tomko (aka Bombko). Who would be fool enough to pick him up? The same team who picked him up towards the end of last year. The Padres. Guess third time's the charm. Different situation coming in this time. Last time, when they signed him, they were in a tight race for the pennant. I think he was a big part of the reason why the Padres didn't make it to the play-offs. This time, he comes in ... and the Padres are already in the basement. Guess they figured it couldn't get any worse, right? Hmmm maybe they'll pick up Loaiza next. Isn't there a saying that goes... "fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me." What happens the third time?

And one more time... the Dodgers beat the Angels without getting a single hit.

More on the Chacon incident.
Chacon-Wade incident a rarity in player-manager confrontations
Astros pitcher Chacon attacks GM

It's almost been a year since the death of Mike Coolbaugh, the first base coach for the Tulsa Drillers, the AA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. I'll try to put up a page for him when the day comes. But as the days tick by, please remember his family as this will be a difficult day for them. His two young sons ... his wife ... his baby girl who will never know her father ... And again ... pleae remember the Montoyo family as well. Pray that baby Alex is doing well and that his family may one day put this all behind them.

Dodgers WIN while being HITLESS

		LA Angels			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	2
		LA Dodgers			0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	X	1	0	2

WP: C. Billingsley (7-7) S: T. Saito (12) LP: J. Weaver (7-8)

Ok, so I can't get the Box Score to past correctly ...

If there was ONE game I got to be behind home plate for, this would've been it. The Dodgers manage to WIN a game against the ANGELS without even getting a hit. The Angels kept the Dodgers to ZERO hits, but still LOSE the game. Why? Two errors, a stolen base, and a sacrifice fly. That's how.

I really really really hope that they offer this game on ITunes' MLB.com games of the year!!!

My first complete game SHUT OUT

That's right. Shut out. As in ZEROs all across the board. The Dodgers BEAT the White Sox today, FIVE to ZERO, with ERIC STULTS pitching NINE shut out innings. When the top of the ninth came, I was very EXCITED to see Eric Stults come out and finish the game. I'm going to make this real quick. This time, I went to the game with Nina, Kevin, Sherisse, Roxie, Jon, and their girls Julia and Natalie. Man, you thought the White Sox were going to get ahead in the very first inning when they had Pierzynski on third base, Dye on first ... but thankfully Swisher flew out to end the inning. Then the Dodgers struck in their half of the first inning. Pierre singled, stole second, and advanced to third on the error by Pierzynski. Then Ethier singled him in. Ethier himself got to third when Kent reached safely on the error by Dye. Martin brought home Ethier and advanced Kent to third. Unfortunately, Kent would be thrown out at home in the following play.

Kevin noticed an interesting thing. When the third out was a fly ball to one of the other outfielders, Andre would start running in before the ball was fully caught. I joked that it was probably because he had the longest distance to go. There were a few balls hit hard by the Dodgers that you thought might've had a chance to go out. During the game, Sherisse was trying to explain a few basics to little Natalie. So she wouldn't get confused by the White Sox wearing gray, she broke it down to the team wearing white and the team wearing gray. The cute part comes when Natalie starts calling the White Sox the "Stinky feet" or "stinky socks" (no offense to any White Sox fans out there). And then Sherisse would ask her who was on the field and stuff. Natalie would say "White team!" and then later "Dodgers! WHOO!!" Super cute. Jon got up to use the facilities and he stopped to get Natalie a pink Dodger hat. Julia, who already got a camo Dodger hat the last time we took them to a game, saw Jon coming down and got real excited. She told Natalie, "Look! Daddy bought us Dodger hats!" Turns out, it was just for Natalie. Who actually asked her mom earlier in the game if she could get on.

One more thing. SoSG's very own Steve Sax was the guest in Autograph Alley today. The one game where I didn't leave early for batting practice. Normally I leave to get to the game when the gates open so I can stop by Autograph Alley and get into the field level for batting practice. But that's usually when I go with a friend or a smaller group because then it's easier to get everyone to agree to go. With a larger group, it's a little harder. Funny thing was. Both Julia and Natalie wanted to get autographs. Too bad. Steve Sax would've been a GREAT one to have. I have several of his baseball cards that I would've given Julia and Natalie to get one signed.

That's it for now. I want to get off early enough to play a little MLB the Show. I haven't played since before baseball season started. Then I played three games the last two days ... EACH. Unline the real Dodgers, my team is 21 - 1. I only lost the first game of the season. And in the last six games, I've only allowed less then two runs if any ... except for one where I gave up five. And I usually get like three home runs each game ... sometimes from the PITCHER. Then again, that's why it's a video game.

Today was the last day for in-stadium voting for the All Star Game. We punched out 140 ballots!