FallingLEAVes of Sunshine

There's a week of 2009 left. And I can say, I am glad 2009 is almost over. Looking back over it, I can say that I thorough enjoyed the 2009 baseball season. I love all the new friends I've made through the Dodger caravan, autograph signings, the 51 regular season home games, 2 road games, and 3 play-off games. 2009 has been an incredible season and I am thankful for that. Especially since I don't know what to expect for 2010, since I am unemployed. I can't thank JoAnna, Cat, Pat, Roberto, Ernie, Miguel, Mickey, Linda, Kenneth, Robert (both of them), Cari, Stacey, Kristin, Laurie, Michael, Rudy, and anyone else I may have missed to making 2009 such an amazing experience for me. It's hard to believe I've only known JoAnna for two years and Cat for less than a year. I can't imagine going to a game and not seeing the same people every game. I look forward to every handshake and every hug and every smile. It has become more than just going to a baseball game. It ...

Why is everything I do ridiculous? Why is it the things that hurt me are hysterically funny to you? Why is it you can share your pain and your hurt but I can't even get a word in edgewise when I want to talk about something that's hurting me? And when I do get to say something about what I'm going through, you laugh about it. You find it hysterically funny. You find something that causes me to stay up all night or cry myself to sleep something to laugh about. Why does it always have to be about you? Why is it when it's everyone else agree to something, except for you, we have to change it? Yet, when I don't agree, I have to keep quiet and go along so everyone else will be happy? Why is it the things I like and are interested in are stupid or not interesting? Yet, the things you like and find interesting HAVE to be liked and found interesting. Why does everything have to go your way? Why is it that I'm always left alone or forgotten or neglected or left out? But...

You think things can't get any worse right? Well, they usually do. And it's usually when you're least expecting it. And there's only one thing left in life that you're holding onto ... yet you're still tempted to throw it all away. Why? Because it's the last thing you have. Yet, because it's the last thing you have, you cling to it even more tighter. Because if you don't have it ... what else is there? Then you tell yourself that things are going to get better ... and okay so things calm down for a little while ... and then the storm breaks all over again and we're back to where we were before. A mess. Broken. Two words for you. Life sucks.

... when you get home and there's broken furniture on the lawn... ... when the living room is trashed ... ... when there's a car backing quickly out of the driveway ... .... when that same car comes back and is followed by a clanging/banging sound in the backyard ... ... when you know you're not going to get any sleep at all

Being unemployed stinks. Okay, so I don't miss having to deal with the customers I used to deal with. But I do miss having a steady income, as little as it was and as fast as it was spent. Okay, so I like sleeping in and staying up late. But it's time for me to get back into the work force. So, I applied for a job tonight. With the Montebello Unified School District, as a library media assistant. And this is the kind of position I would love to get. It's the kind of position I wanted when I was in high school. In fact, when I was looking at the list of duties ... I performed most if not all of those duties when I was in high school. Pray for me. I've been doing a lot of praying lately for guidance and direction. I feel like a boat without a rudder (is that the correct term?), like a compass without a needle. I've been feeling useless the last few weeks. And yeah, I know I haven't been blogging since I lost my job and since baseball season ended. Don't even a...

Tonight, my cousin jenny and I went to Red Robin to use the free gourmet burger coupon I had received for my birthday. Tonight was the last night before it expired. After we ate, we walked around the mall for a little bit. We walked down to where I used to work. Honestly, I was a little apprehensive about seeing where I used to work. It was even weirder to actually see the store that replaced my store. It was weird to see the red doors that I used to walk through now painted gray. It was funny. One of the first things I noticed was that one of their light bulbs was out. Now that I think about it, it would've been interesting to see what else I could have noticed. I did notice they posted a paper on the women's bathroom door that said it was for employees only. There was also a rolling rack placed in front of it. I wonder how many people go into their store to try to use their bathroom. And how many people go in there asking for the store that used to be there.

Cell Phone Apps Make It Possible to Carry Scriptures on Your Cell Phone Posted using ShareThis

That was how many days it was before I returned to the Galleria. That's also how many days I have been unemployed. I've been meaning to go back to the Galleria to see a few people who work there. But haven't. I finally went on Wednesday. My brother wanted to go to Target. I took him to the one in Eagle Rock the night before. But they didn't have what he was looking for. So, I took him to the Glendale Target the next day. I was trying to see how long I could stay away from the Galleria.

Yesterday was the first time in a long time that I had to drive home in the rain. It's been a long time. I can't remember the last time I had to drive through rain and fog. I was going so slow that nearly everyone was passing me by. Yes, I was the snail holding up traffic in the far right lane. I was being extra cautions because driving home from school the day before, I almost got hit about three times within a ten minute window. All in the left lanes. So, I moved over to the right. On top of that, I got my first paper back from my English class. I totally screwed up. I've never gotten a grade that low on my paper before. He said I totally misunderstood the assignment. Fortunately, he's letting us rewrite the paper. Unfortunately, he assigned another paper that's due next Thursday. Sigh. Oh. And my online class? I missed one of my assignments. So, in order to get an A in that class, I pretty much have to get 24/25 on the rest of my quizzes and perfect scores on the...

In case you haven't heard, the Dodgers clinched the National League Western Division on Saturday night. It took them long enough! Here's what I've posted so far: So Close (10/2/09) http://fallingleaves02.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/10/so-close-10209.html There were a lot of close calls last night. Me getting to the game and getting a ticket. A couple close pitches to Kemp. The close call at first that the umpire called out and everyone else was sure it was safe. The close game. It was a really long game for such a low-scoring, low hitting game. Then again, maybe having almost twenty strike outs combined might have something to do with it. Or the guy who sang the "National Anthem". That had to be the LONGEST rendition I've ever heard. There was another girl earlier who took a long time too... but man... I think this guy takes the cake! I was talking to a security guard after the game ... we talked about how it was such a long game for such a low-scoring game. I t...

Okay, so who got a Dodgers 2009 Team Photo Calendar on Saturday night? If you have one, take a look at the picture for January. Team photo right? One problem. I want you to look closely at the players in the team photo. Anyone missing? Anybody?

Okay, so maybe it's because I have an overactive imagination ... but certain movies will give me nightmares. And it's not always right I see the movie. It may be days, weeks, months, even years ... and I'll still get nightmares. What brought this subject up? I got home from the Dodger game about fifteen minutes ago. My dad turned on the TV and I happened to recognize the movie. It's a movie I've only seen once or twice. But it was enough to give me nightmares. And still does! I recognized it because it has Bill Pullman in it. And ever since I saw him in "Independence Day", I love Bill Pullman. Especially in "While You Were Sleeping" . And no, neither of those two movies gives me nightmares. Actually, I don't know if I've ever had a dream or nightmare that had to with aliens. But I have had nightmares to do with crocodiles/alligators. Movies that give me nightmares "Lake Placid" - crocodiles/alligators "Deep Blue Sea" -...

After watching the Dodger game for about an hour and a half, I knew I wasn't going to watch the last half. As soon as nine o'clock hit, I was changing the channel. "Criminal Minds" came on at nine. The way the Dodger game was going, I wasn't going to miss much. Boy was I right. When "Criminal Minds" ended, the Dodgers were batting in the top of the ninth inning ... down five to zero. Matt Kemp was up to bat ... he was the only Dodger to get a hit in the game. A single. What does he do? Draws a walk. So, Loney comes up with Matt on and two outs. What does he do? He strikes out swinging. Back to "Criminal Minds"... really good episode tonight. Breaking it down, the opening scene was INTENSE. Definitely something you don't want your young children seeing. Really. Didn't see that coming in the opening scene. Anyone else watching the show think the actor who played the doctor (psychiatrist) looks like Casey Blake? Bjorn Johnson Casey Blake...

So, I was driving down the street to go pick up my mom. There's a stray dog in our neighborhood that likes to hang out in our street. He comes into our backyard sometimes, especially when my mom puts leftovers out for the strays. Well, this dog was just sitting pretty in the middle of the street. You would think it would move when I stop right in front of it. Nope. It just sits there. In front of my car. I honk at the dog a few times. It still didn't move. A car pulled up behind me. So, I got out of the car and yelled at the dog to move. It finally moved. No wonder dogs get hit when they run into the street. They don't get out of the way when a car stops right in front of it.

Check out my Dodgers blog to find out what autographs I've gotten this weekend! Lots of pictures! http://fallingLEAVes02.mlblogs.com

Especially when there's a CHP squad car coming your way! We were in Downey for Heidi's birthday party. For her birthday, she wanted us to go to JC Penny's for a group photo. Then we went back to the house for lunch and we watched a movie. On the way home, I needed to stop for gas. So, I stopped at a gas station in Montebello. I have stopped at this gas station before. I usually go to this one when I'm coming home from Heidi's and I need gas. As I was cleaning my windows, I noticed this car pull in, turn around, and start to head out. What caught my eye was how packed their backseat was. I thought it was odd. I also noticed they were making a left turn when it's a right turn only. So, I go back to cleaning my windows. Next thing I know, I hear a screech of tires. I turn around and see a CHP squad car swerve around the white car. He swerved to the right, so he wouldn't go into the oncoming traffic. It came straight at us! Fortunately, there was some sidewalk b...

For our next class meeting, we're supposed to bring some of our best pictures to show. I picked these to show.

Tuesday was my first day back as a full-time student at PCC. I haven't been a full-time student since I started working. Now that I'm not working, I went back. Interesting thing happened on the way to school. I was at the intersection where I get onto the 5 freeway and the truck in front of me went. As he was making the left turn, two long flats of wood, a lawn mower, and something else fell out of the bed of his truck. Fortunately, I wasn't moving and was able to stop before I hit one of the things that fell out. The lawn mower however rolled across the intersection! The guy got out and collected his items. By then I was completely stopped since the light had turned red right after everything fell out of his truck. My first class of the day was photojournalism. Maybe I didn't read the description correctly, but when I signed up for the class, I thought it was to learn about photojournalism. You know, the inception, the rules, what photojournalism is all about. Here...

I think it was either in Monday or Tuesday's paper of the OC Register. Anyone out there still have a copy they're willing to give up???? Dodgers rely on $5 million bargain The Dodgers' Randy Wolf has been as consistent as any starting pitcher they've had. Wolf paying big dividends for Dodgers The Orange County Register Monday, August 24, 2009 Mark Whicker Columnist If this is indeed the year of the Freeway Series, it also might be the year of the Five Million Dollar Men. Bobby Abreu is making $5million, for one year, an obvious windfall for everyone west of Goldman Sachs and a major league park, but a bitter horse pill when you're as rich as Abreu. Yet the outfielder has connected the loose ends of the Angels lineup. Randy Wolf is also making $5 million, for one year, which makes him worth about as much as one of CC Sabathia's feet. Without him the Dodger...

I know since baseball season started, my blog has been neglected of late. And anytime I get on here, it's usually baseball talk and nothing but baseball talk. Looking back, I'm amazed I only had ONE entry in June. Wow. That was also the month where I went to nearly every Dodger home game, and I was sick for about two/three weeks. I think it was the flu. I had a temperature and the energy sucked out of me. Since then... let me do a quick summary. July: Other than baseball games ... it was my last month of work. Our last day was supposed to be August 1st. Then it got moved up a few days when we only had a couple of racks of merchandise left by the last week. Since being unemployed, I've done nothing much other than going to baseball games. I was telling friends the other day that I couldn't remember the last time I had fast food. Because now, I only leave the house to pick up family (mom and brother mostly), go to church, or go to games (well baseball related things, but ...

You copy and paste something out of wikipedia onto your own blog??? I was checking some blogs that I follow and I noticed this one blog mentioned Matt Kemp's monster homerun on Saturday. The blogger then posted this: Willie Stargell is the only person to ever hit two home runs out of Dodger Stadium. His first was a 506 foot bomb off of pitcher Alan Foster on August 5th 1969, and the other was a 470 foot shot off of Andy Messersmith on May 8th 1973. It wasn't for over 30 years before Mike Piazza became the second player and only Dodger (until yesterday) to ever hit a home run out of the park. On September 21st 1997, Mike Piazza hit a 478 foot home run off of San Francisco Giant pitcher Mike Lansing. July 17th 1998, Mark McGwire hit the longest home run at 511 ft over the right field pavilion at Dodger Stadium against pitcher Brian Bohanon. Now, I thought I've heard Vin Scully said there were five players or five times that a homerun has been hit out of Dodger Stadium. Or w...

Bobblehead, beach balls, bad night (8-19-09) Let's see if tonight's game can fit into one post. And yes, I tried to get the subject to be an alliteration. ..... It didn't take long for the beach balls to come out. The two guys in front of us didn't like it when they started popping up. I don't care for them either. I usually ignore them. One of the guys said he would hit over the railing (which he did). The other guy said he would pop it. Which he did. Which then led to a debacle that lasted the rest of the game. He didn't pop it. But he did deflate it. He said he came to watch the game, and if they wanted to play with beach balls they should go to the beach. Then the boos started raining down, followed by peanuts! I'm serious. Want to know what the rest of the night was like? Read about it here @ LEAVes of Dodger Blue Plus, see what other kinds of "inflatable" objects were smuggled into Dodger Stadium that night.

We passed time mostly by conversing with one another. The funniest conversation revolved around why all the women thought Andre Ethier was the hottest Dodger. The guys asked me for my opinion, after all, I am a girl. I had to think about it. Because, I do have to admit, he’s pretty good looking. But as the hottest guy on the team? Not sure. Everyone has their own opinions. As I’m pondering who the hottest player is, one of the guys realize what he was saying and goes… “I can’t believe I’m even in this conversation” or something like that. Then Roberto realizes, “Oh yeah, you’re not a regular girl fan. You’re a stats fan.” Lol, guess that’s why he’s been calling me a funny fan on the web. The parking lot directly in front of the sports shop was blocked off. They brought in a Mizuno truck, tables, and merchandise out later on. The problem was, the other stores were not willing to share the lot with the fans lined up for the autograph signings. I got there early, so I got a nice parking...

After Jonathan Broxton blew the save on Saturday, I knew everyone was going to be all over him. What was it? His third blow save in five chances? Sure enough. It was just like Wednesday all over again. Except instead of everyone bashing Guillermo Mota, it was Jonathan Broxton. It's kinda funny how on Wednesday, there were tons of callers who wanted to know why Broxton wasn't put in on Wednesday. Yet, on Saturday, there were just as many callers who wanted to know why Broxton WAS put in on Saturday. Then today, I was listening to the Mason and Ireland show on 710 ESPN (because they actually talk sports over there, whereas I only listen to KABC when the game is on and for Dodger Talk). They were asking people about what Joe Torre should do with Jonathan Broxton. Plan A) Keep putting him in there. Plan B) take him out of the closer role and put Sherrill in instead. Those were basically the two sides. How about some stats now? Jonathan Broxton is 7th in the NL with 25 saves in 30 s...

Do you prefer reading my Dodger game entries on this blog or my MLB blog? I can post on both, but I don't know if anyone is actually reading them. I've been trying to catch up and keep up with posting this week, as I am quite behind. And I haven't seen any recent comments, so I'm not sure. Maybe I just cover everything so there's no need for comments. Just wondering.

They're the blonde guy and the hispanic guy (the second one) who tackled the runner.

No Dodger got hit today ... but I sure did! After two Dodgers getting plunked yesterday, none got hit today. However... I did! I'm sitting at Cat 's seat, watching Russell warm up Never saw it coming till it bounced off the padding of the wall and hit me in the mouth.It bounced to my right and someone else got it. I got up, bleeding... LEAVes of Dodger Blue http://fallingLEAVes02.mlblogs.com

An excerpt from my Dodger blog Cat came down and gave me a copy of the Dodger magazine. I was flipping through it, mainly looking for Erika's nephew. He's supposed to be in one of the upcoming Dodger magazines. He was dressed like Manny the first home-game after Manny's suspension was over. Wouldn't you know it? I didn't find him but I did find this .. ME!!!! I was in shock. Not a flattering picture, but still. I was in the Dodger magazine!!! After batting practice was over, I headed up to my seat. I purchased this as part of my twelve-game mini-plan. When I got up there, I noticed this cloud layer that I realized ... that's the smoke from the fire that's off the 134 freeway! The game started off well enough. Kuroda struck out the first two batters, and before you knew it, it was the Dodgers turn to bat. The Dodgers came close to batting around the in first inning. By the time the second inning began. Kuroda had a very nice lead to go with. Matt Kemp making ...

LOL, for anyone out there wondering... yes, I am alive. A lot has happened since my last post. Life, minor car accident, Dodger games, family drama, Dodger games, more life, Dodger games, and I have been sick the last week. It started off with that feeling in your throat. Then that developed into a cough, which developed into a really bad cough. So, for the last week, I've had a really bad cough, hardly any appetite, and barely getting a good night's rest because the cough wakes me up every two to four hours. At first it was every two hours, but lately it's been stretching out to four. On top of that, on Saturday morning, my nose started to run. By Saturday night, I had a 102.6 fever. By Sunday afternoon, it was down to 101.6. Well, it went down in between and back up. By Monday afternoon, it was back down to the 99s. But I had also developed a cold sore/fever blister on my lip. I've had little energy, but slowly getting it back. I was able to work a full shift at work ...

Thought I'd try to do my game posts on a MLB Network blog. Here's the address. http://fallingLEAVes02.mlblogs.com There'll be posts from the games I've gone to, along with pictures. And some other baseball related things. I've just recently started posting. So far I've posted with each game I've gone to this week. Maybe while the Dodgers are away, I may backtrack to the beginning of the season and catch up. Or maybe not. We'll see.

Friday, May 22 Jonathan Broxton at Sam's Club 4901 N. Santa Anita Blvd., El Monte, CA 91731 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. *I called. This is a membership only store, which I already knew. So the signing is for members only. Bummer Saturday, May 23 Cory Wade at Super A Foods 5250 York Blvd., Highland Park, CA 90042 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. I called. The line should start outside. They open at 7. I don't know what time I'll be there yet. Don't think Cory is that popular of a player yet, like Beimel. For Beimel's, no one started showing up till ten. I was there at eight. Saturday, May 23 Will Ohman at JONS Marketplace 5211 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. I'm probably not going to this one cuz I don't know if I'll make it on time. Since I haven't even started this year's scrapbook, I don't think I have anything for him to sign.

I was at the game tonight and could've believe it! We had just as many hits as the Mets had errors! It seemed like every time I looked up at the scoreboard, they were putting another error up. Randy Wolf did awesome! He left the game with a 2 - 1 lead, which was blown just shortly after. He got a rousing applause which he responded by taking his cap off to the crowd. We scored our first two runs in the first ... and didn't score again till the ELEVENTH! Though there were about three errors scattered between the first ten innings, and two more in the eleventh. The craziest thing happened in the top of the eleventh. I was so thankful to have a little radio with me. The funny thing is, I don't really bring my radio to the game. And if I do, I don't always have it on. But a little birdie said to turn the radio on during this game. I might need it. Well, in the top of the eleventh, Angel Pagan with one on and two out, hit a triple that would score the winning run. Next thing...

So, on Friday, I got my wisdom teeth pulled. Well, just two of them. I got my lower left and upper left pulled. About two or three weeks ago, my lower left wisdom tooth started to really hurt. So, I gave in and finally went to the dentist. Before I could have my wisdom teeth pulled, they had to do a deep cleaning. I also got some Amoxicilin and Peridex to help me with my gum inflammation. I was awake while they were pulling my teeth. The top one came out pretty easily once it was loosened. The lower one took longer. They had to crack it and break it into several pieces before it could come out. Two days later, I want to eat regular food. But I'm still limited to soft and easy to chew foods. It took me 30 minutes on Friday just to each a mashed potatoe bowl. It was that hard to chew even a little. Now, I can handle foods better. My jaw is sore the most, but that's about it. My friends were surprised that I wasn't that swollen. Let's see hw this progresses.

Yes, folks, it's fire season. Starting off with the blaze in Santa Barbara. Well, I got a phone call from my friend Sherisse at ten till midnight. She told me to step outside and look. There's a fire in the hills above our neighborhood. It's the same hill that Dodger Stadium sits on the other side of. It's a fair distance away, so Dodger Stadium should be safe, if the fire is contained. As of now, a quarter till one, it looks like the fire is out. There's still a helicopter outside, shining light onto the burn area. Guess to make sure it's completely out. Here are few shots of the fire. The pictures are in reverse order. Here's what it looked like earlier.

Matt Kemp hits a grand slam, third of his career, second one this year. I wasn't taking photos of the hitters yet, but I had a gut feeling about this at-bat.