FallingLEAVes of Sunshine

Roller coaster called "Life"

2012-01-23T03:08:00.000-08:00

So, this is roller coaster ride that we call life... it has been quite jerky lately.

My job position changed several times since my last post. Thank God, that I still have a job, and the job changes before have proven to be quite useful. Again, thank God because it blows my mind just thinking about how His hand has been all of this.

I finally replaced my tires. My rear passenger side tire has been leaking air for ages. It was the one I had replaced last summer. Then yesterday morning, I noticed the rear driver side tire was low. As I was putting air in that, I noticed that there was a nail in my very balding tire! Time to replace my tires, something I had hoped to put off till tax time. No can do. On top that, even though I just got paid, I have no idea how I'm going to make my $500 payment at the end of the month, due to needing to get new tires. This also throws out going to the Dodgers' Open House and buying any mini plan of any sort. Sorry Edward.

And almost exactly to the date a year later, my dad is talking about moving to North Carolina... again. I'm hoping this too will pass.

It just seems like when trouble comes, it comes in packs. And it just keeps on coming.

I just gotta keep telling myself:

God is good, all the time.

All the time, God is good.

God is in control.

God will make a way.

And that's not even scratching some of the personal stuff that has come up and has me breaking out my journal and pen again. I wrote THREE entries in 2011. I wrote like 4 or 5 in the last two weeks.

Just gotta take a deep (deep) breath and take it one step at a time.

Things are supposed to get better

2011-06-30T02:11:00.000-07:00

Right?

Tuesday I picked up my car and went to work. No sooner than I had gotten settled in that I overheard a conversation about me. It was easy enough to overhear and boy did I feel rotten. Just when I thought I was doing fine ... I get a bomb dropped on me and find out I'm not. On the bright side, at least now that I know what I'm doing wrong I can fix it. Still, not a good feeling, you know?

THEN today, I felt so bad during the first part of my shift. It felt almost like I was starting all over again. The day went pretty smoothly. On the bright side, I didn't have to handle the difficult stuff on my own. I had assistance. I just hate having to have someone walk me through the stuff that I should already have down.

On my way home, I had just left work and turned onto the main street to go home when I noticed my car sounded funny. I pulled into the nearest gas station and got out to check it out. The tire I just had replaced .... was FLAT! I got out the stuff to try and change it ... and the bolts wouldn't come off. It took me half an hour before I finally gave up. I backed my car to the air thing and see if I just needed to reinflate my tire. The tire inflated and I prayed that it was all I needed to do. I hit the highway, stayed in the slow lane, and kept a moderate speed. I was worried about blowing out my tire or getting a flat on the highway.

As soon as I got off the 105 and onto the 110, I pulled off the freeway to check my tire. So far so good. I made it all the way the Nina's house without an incident, going at a snail's pace. Let's pray the tire holds up tomorrow morning.

It can only get better

2011-06-28T00:20:00.001-07:00

Right?

Today started off earlier than usual for a Monday morning. I got out of the house so I could go down to the Talbots in Pasadena to shop for some jeans. It was good to see some familiar faces, though it took me a while to remember some names. By the time I left, I didn't find any new jeans. They had some jeans on sale for $25. And if you know Talbots jeans, that's a great deal! Well, no jeans. But I did get like three new tops. They were on sale and an additional 25% off.

On my way out, one of the girls told me my former manager worked near by. I wanted to stop by and see if she was working so I could say hi. Well, I was going down the street and I saw that I was going to miss the drive way for the parking lot. I guess I wasn't going to miss it because when I turned to go in, I hit the curb. I mean, I really HIT the curb. When I parked, my tire was flat. I busted my tire! I tried to change it myself and then freaked out. Turns out I didn't jack it up high enough and I could've changed it.

So, I called work and my boss is very nice and cheery when he answers the phone. He's like, "how are you doing?" I'm like, you don't want to know. So I tell him I have a flat tire and I'm going to be late to work. He says to call if I'm going to be more than an hour late. 45 minutes later, the tow truck finally shows up. He tows me to a body show my friend recommended. I pay the tow truck guy. My friend's friend said I just need a new tire and rim. He changes the spare for me. I drive down the street to get a new tire. The tire guy is like, where's your rim? I'm like what rim? The one I bent? He's like, oh, if it's bent then you do need a new one because it'll just break.

Finally, almost two hours late I show up to work. Fortunately, my brother dropped me off. Since I didn't have time to get lunch and I didn't have a car to go get lunch, I was going to see if I could catch a ride with some of my coworkers who go out to eat. Naturally, they went to lunch before I could ask them and I was on the phone so I couldn't stop them on their way out. On my lunch, I started to walk one direct, changed my mind, went the other way. Then I realized I forgot to sign out of something, went back and signed out. Started walking again, then changed my mind. Went back to work and had ice cream for dinner.

About ten minutes before I got off work, my brother texted me if he could leave the house. We live about 25 minutes away.

Fortunately, the next day I got my car back and it only cost me $50 for the new tire and rim... but I can tell you know (since I'm finishing this post up on Wednesday) ... things haven't gotten much better ... or much worse I suppose ... but it sure has been a rough three days.

New camera

2011-06-21T01:56:00.000-07:00

So, yes, I finally gave in today and went shopping for a new digital camera before work. I found a great deal at Office Depot... and wouldn't you know it... they were all sold out! She said all the stores in the area were sold out. I asked her if that included L.A. because I am actually in the L.A./Glendale/Burbank area. She didn't go back to check. She just said it was sold out.

There was a Best Buy down the street so I went there and found a cheapie one for about $65. Now I'm having buyer's remorse. I have the receipt and haven't opened it. Maybe I'll return it tomorrow if I find a better deal else. I haven't opened it yet. I can still return it, right?

Why am I looking for a digital camera now? I finished that disposable camera and the photo guy at CVS said the photos may not come out well since the film is old (2008). Well, the photos came out but yeah, the quality is just ... not great. I couldn't even scan the negatives because the scanner wouldn't accept the negative. I might place an order at work and have the negatives scanned there. I definitely want to retake at least one of the photos with the players that I took using the disposable camera. The other two players were sent down already and Rubby... I'll think about it. If I have the opportunity, I might retake it. I still need to retake the photo with Marcus Thames. That was the last photo I took with my digital camera before I lost it. I never had an opportunity to download that one.

I did find some really nice ones at Office Depot, but they were about 79.99, which was about 20 above what I paid for at Best Buy. I really liked the Office Depot ones though :( I forget what the model was. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Man I wish I had a digital camera

2011-06-16T01:58:00.000-07:00

Today, I got three photos taken with three different players: Rubby De La Rosa, Josh Lindblom, and Javvy Guerra. I would love to see what the photos look like ... but I used a disposable camera. I'm still adjusting to using one. I keep forgetting to wind it. I wish it was wound up when Javvy leaned in to take a picture with me. He leaned so close I felt the brim of his cap! And the camera wasn't wound! So the actual photo doesn't show how close he got the first time. BUMMER!!!

Looking forward to Wednesday

2011-06-15T01:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know technically it is Wednesday. If I ever get to bed, I have to be up in about 7 hours or so.

Why?

I'm going to a Dodger game!!!

In the middle of day? Yup. This year, the Dodgers have 6 mid-week afternoon games. I lost count, but I believe this is game 3 of 6. Game 4 is next Wednesday against the Tigers, Game 5 is in August against the Phillies, and I believe there is one more. So far in these 6 games, we are 1 - 1. The first one we won in Walk Off fashion against the Braves. The second one we lost huge to the Cubs. Who wants to guess how we do this Game 3? Don't forget... the Reds are looking to sweep the Dodgers at home... when was that last time that happened??? We lost last years home series to them, but we weren't swept... fortunately.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day at work too. Today was much better than yesterday. I felt bad tonight because I kept accidentally hanging up on a customer. The first time, it wasn't my fault. Somehow our call got dropped or disconnected. The next two times were completely my fault. I kept pushing the wrong button. By then, I wrote their number down so I could call them back.

One of my coworkers almost dropped a box on my head. That's okay. It was light and hardly anything was in it. I've already dropped a box of DVD cases on me. No worries. It missed my head and got me in the back instead. He was nice enough to bring me a box of DVDs today. It was a nice thought. I usually have to go down and grab two boxes on my own. I ended up doing it anyway because I ran out. I found an order that needed to go out and when I couldn't figure out where to put it, I asked him where should I put it so it could go out right away. He said here and held out his hand.

Hopefully tomorrow there won't be such a huge divider between me and my other coworker. We're the only two out in the main reception area. I couldn't see her at all today and she couldn't see me. I couldn't even see the sun! I had to turn on the lights because it was so shadowy in my corner.

Time for bed! I can't wait to go to tomorrow's game. I get to see Trent for the first time since the exhibition games... same goes for Dee. I have yet to meet Javy Guerra and Rubby DeLaRosa. Am I missing anyone?

Law of Mondays

2011-06-14T02:25:00.000-07:00

Is there some rule that all Mondays have to be Manic Mondays?

No kidding. Today was crazy busy. Then again, maybe because it's the first day after a weekend and we have to catch up from people calling and e-mailing over the weekend and our office isn't open then. The funny part is when people accuse us of not having our office hours listed when it IS listed on our website.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting. I need to get my ticket for Wednesday game still. And Billy is taking my car in the morning to take his last final. Lucky for him, the gas light came on while I was driving home from work. I didn't want to drive to the 76 on Glendale Blvd so I pulled off on Manchester right off the 110. It's not exactly the neighborhood I'd like to be in at 1 AM but when you have to get gas ... I could've gassed up closer to work but it was 4.11 out by work. It was 3.95 at the one I went to. There was on person there when I pulled up by the time I got out, she was gone. The clerk was locked inside her little room and there was a bum asking if he could pump my gas for me. I had already pumped my gas and was just getting a copy of my receipt from the clerk.

Yes, I know. Pumping gas at 1 AM is a very bad idea in most areas. Even the well lit ones. There was no way Billy was going to put gas in my. Since we've been sharing my car, he's only put about $12 in towards gas... and he wanted me to pay him back for it!

He just got a new car (well, a used car but a new car to him) on Saturday. He has to get the paperwork taken care of at the DMV and then add it to our insurance policy. We just had our insurance policy changed so I told him to wait till after the 18th to change our policy again. My mom wants him to wait till my dad gets back from Cambodia. He can just drive the Wagovan around for a month. Though, he might not want to. He really likes having a cup holder in his car.

This is what happens when you leave Nina and I alone for an afternoon

2011-06-13T00:35:00.000-07:00

On most Sunday afternoons, our little group of friends (and it keeps continuing to shrink) go out to lunch after Sunday morning service, go have coffee, then go to evening service. Sometimes after evening service, we'd gather at Nina's house. We haven't done the latter very much lately. Our group ranged from 5 - 7 girls, now we're down to 5-6 girls ... and during the summer it'll range from 1 - 4, maybe 5 once Camp Meeting is over. Can you guess who the lone one will be for a Sunday or two? No big deal. I have plans for at least one of those Sundays. Maybe. Not sure yet.

Today, it was going to be Angelina, Nina, and me again. It was just the three of us last Sunday and we went to Corner Bakery, KMart, Coffee Bean, Dollar Bookstore. Christianne went home and Heidi went out with Caleb. Today, it was going to be the three of us because Christianne's graduation was this afternoon. Congratulations to Christianne!!! Then Angelina couldn't come because her family was celebrating her little brother's birthday. So, it was just me and Nina. We had already invited our pastor and his wife to lunch and so we included Nina's family so we wouldn't be so small a group.

The first choice was Olive Garden, which Nina isn't fond of. Our second choice was Fortune Inn. I love going to Fortune Inn. They have one of the best Orange Chicken dishes. We don't go very often. In fact, the last time I went was around Christmas/New Year's with the pastor's family, his nephew, and Angelina. Sister Janelle's fortune cookie read "You or someone close to you will be getting married". At the time, Nathan and Angelina hadn't announced their engagement yet but they were engaged at the time.

After lunch, Nina and I had some errands to run. She was looking for a purse at PacSun she wanted. I need some things from Target. We started with stopping by Sweet Factory to see if an old acquaintance of mine was working. No luck. We browsed through Bath and Body Works before heading to the other Pac Sun since the one in the galleria was gone. No Pac Sun. That was gone. We went into Old Navy to browse since I have a $20 Groupon to print and use by the end of July. I ended up finding a t-shirt and a polo in the clearance section. New clothes for work! I better pace myself. This is how I got into debt the first time around. Fortunately for me, this time I have no credit cards to use!

We headed to Rite Aid for some ice cream. Wouldn't you know it? The Thrifty Ice Cream is back to 2 for $5. I should've waited a week for my chocolate brownie ice cream. Maybe I'll pick up the vanilla for Eddie and rocky road for Ryan and the others so no one will touch my chocolate brownie. No, I'm not being selfish. I share my ice cream with my coworkers. It goes quick sometimes! We went through a cookie dough and a mint chocolate chip in two days once!

Nina wanted to look inside Gilly Hicks (I think that's what it was called). They had a special where if got a free undie with your purchase. So Nina found two things she liked and we made two purchases. She wanted to look inside H&M to see if they had a purse she liked. While we were looking, there was a pair of black ballet flats on the floor of the shoe area. I tried them on and they fit perfectly. They were 12.95, not $7 like the other shoes on sale around it. So I left them where I found them.

Finally, we made our way back to Target. First section we hit was the purse section since Nina was looking for a purse. She didn't find one, but I did! I've been looking for a new purse the last few weeks. Mine is falling apart. Literally. There are holes in all four corners of my purse. I've had it for at least 5 years, if not 6. I started working at Talbots in 2005 and probably got it either in winter 05 or winter 06. I know I got my big Talbots tote in 2006 because I took it with me to NC in 2007 and it broke while I was there! After finding the perfect purse for me, we looked at wallets. Nina told me she noticed it was time I replaced my wallet, too. She was right since it was worn out, dirty, and the zipper for the change part was broken. We found one I liked and we were set. A few more things later, and we headed to the check out line. I got in one line and Nina noticed another line was shorter. She got in line but by the time I got there, at least three people were behind her. I didn't want to cut in front of them, but Nina was only getting one item so I said I'd pay for it. The people behind us didn't mind at all. They were very nice and let me in. One of the last times I've been to that Target (if not the last time), something similar happened. My friend Pat got in line and I was right behind her. But someone got in between us. Pat told her, "Excuse me, but we're together." The lady was rude about it but let me in.

You'd think we were done after Target... but we weren't. We had to run to the dollar store for Nina to get some shaving cream for school. Not for other "extracurricular activities" like her brother. On Friday night (around 3 AM so technically it was Saturday) ... some of our younger young people paid a visit to our pastor ... and left him a lovely message on their suburban expressing their love for their pastor and his wife. While at the dollar store, I picked up a few items to use at the office.

I am not a shopper. I don't like to shop. I don't like to spend hours and hours walking around going from store to store and trying things on. Trust me. By the time we made it back to church, my feet were killing me. I even went home to change into a denim skirt (good thing too because Diane was wearing the exact same skirt I was earlier - I actually find it funny when we do this and we have done it before) so I could wear my canvas shoes. I don't even spend a lot of money on things very often. But whenever I'm with Nina ... I seem to find a hole in my wallet (and my debit card).

Fortunately, this will probably be my only shopping spree for a while. Sadly, it was mostly for necessities like toothpaste, chap stick, and some office supplies and two new t-shirts for work.

God is so amazing!

2011-06-11T01:32:00.000-07:00

Do you cringe when you hear advertisements for debt relief programs? I used to. Hopefully in about two months, I can be one of those debt relief program success stories. Well, not really a success story. But, at least I will be debt free!!!

About two months I ago, I called up one of my old credit cards. I had opened this account when I opened my back account. Naturally, at first I was good at paying it off and not spending to extravagantly. Well, needless to say, it got away from me eventually. It got to the point where they had charged the account off. I signed up with debt relief program and began making monthly payments of roughly a little over $100 a month.

Recently, I figured I should be getting close to having it paid off. So, since I didn't have a statement or access to my online account anymore ... I called up the company and inquired about my balance. They said it was around 300. I forget the amount now. So I figured, okay two more payments through my debt management program and then I can pay it off through the credit card company.

My next payment was going to be made in a few days. I get home tonight and discover a check from the credit card company issuing me a refund of more than twice the balance I was told that was left when I called. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe.

God is so good!

I honestly didn't think I'd ever get this debt paid off. Not only that... I have two store cards (both balances under 200) that I can get paid off within the next month or two. Then I will have absolutely NO credit cards or NO store cards.

Now if only I could set this up for my mom! I think I might have to. It took me less than four years to get completely out of debt. I can't believe it. It probably could've been a whole lot faster if I was fully employed and making bigger payments.

Believe me... I've learned my lesson. I thought I could handle it. Then it got out of hand and it handled me instead. Let's pray I don't repeat my mistakes in the future.

Maybe now I won't feel so bad

2011-06-09T01:53:00.000-07:00

I figure I'll get one or two mean/rude customers a week. Yesterday I got two in one day. Fortunately, I only had one today and it wasn't till the end of my shift.

Well, I got home and I saw I had an e-mail from Groupon advertising their special for Dodger tickets for the two day games on Wednesdays during the next homestand. I thought about it. Last time I checked it out, it came up to 13.90 just for my ticket. I coughed up the $14 for the Saturday game anyway at the Stadium. If I go to the stadium to my tickets, I can get top deck seats for $12 instead of paying $14 for the reserve ticket. The Groupon says it's $7 but there's about an additional $7 in fees you still have to pay. Plus, if I go when the team is on the road, I get to see my favorite ticket seller.

While on Groupon, I noticed an advertisement for a competitor's deal. I checked out the competitor and looked at their FAQ, prices, and "reviews". Then I went on Yelp and really looked at their "reviews". You know that you can't just go by the raving "reviews" on a company's facebook page. Who really likes to leave negative comments up for long that tells everyone how terrible you are?

After reading through everything, I still feel our company is the better of the two. Not that anyone will believe I have an unbiased opinion since I do work for the company that I feel is the better of the two.

Since I have yet to mention who my current employer is or who this competitor is, I'll leave those in anonymity. Okay, actually, I did mention who my new employer is. But I went back and edited that post! I don't want to break any confidentiality rules, you know?

Rough day

2011-06-08T01:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight was a 4-scoop ice cream night. When I'm having a rough day, I usually do 3 scoops. Today was extra rough, so it was four scoops.

Working in CS, I know I'll get my head bit off by customers at least two or three times a week. Not in a day. No bueno!

On the bright side, I went into the shipping room to ask a coworker a question. He had his back turned to the door and the music was on loud so he didn't hear me. I totally startled him. I gotta say... it was pretty funny the expression on his face. Though I'm not sure if it was a good thing or not I startled him. Am I that frightening? Still, the expression on his face and the reaction will keep me smiling for a few days till I forget about it.

Woo hoo! Four posts in five days!

Talk about a Manic Monday

2011-06-07T01:50:00.000-07:00

Long long day today. Where do I begin?

First off, I had to report for Jury Duty today. As I wrote earlier. They let us go for lunch around 12. I went down to the Los Angeles Mall because there was a Carl's Jr in their food court. Line was too long by the time I got there. I even skipped taking the elevator down to the ground floor by taking the stairs instead. No wonder my calves were hurting! They still do a little. Add the new shoes that aren't the best for walking shoes plus lugging my laptop bag around...

I ended up getting spaghetti that came with salad and a slice of wheat bread. Too bad I didn't walk around the food court more. I would've found the Sbarro and gotten that instead of the random little cafe type place I ended up at. I should found Ruth and asked her where she was going to lunch. Turns out, one of the ladies from church was in the same jury pool I was. She caught me during the break but when they dismissed us for lunch, she left before I could find her. After lunch, I went back to the parking structure to put my laptop away. I figured I could read for the rest of the afternoon since I couldn't go on Facebook.

About ten till four, they asked all the remaining jurors to return to the carpeted area. We were done for the day! My name was the second one read, so I was out of there. It took me a while to figure out how to get through the maze that was Downtown and then deal with rush hour traffic. What normally takes about 25 minutes from my house to work took 45 minutes from the Walt Disney Concert Hall to work!

As soon as I got to work, I had phone call after phone call after phone call. Then e-mail after e-mail after e-mail. Strangely enough... the live chat was non-existent! Interesting.

Since I got to work late, I went on break late. It was 9 by the time I took my dinner break. I usually go around 7 because that's the four hour mark, which is half of my shift. Since I got in at 5, it was habit for me to go at 9. I tried to go earlier, but I kept postponing it. I should have gone earlier. I went down to the Starbucks closest to work.... and they had just closed! They closed at 9. What kind of Starbucks closes at 9??? I guess the kind that doesn't get much foot traffic. Instead, I went across the street to Rite Aid and got two Double Shots with Energy (they were 2 for $4) and another tub of ice cream. We were down to the last tub of Thrifty ice cream. Unfortunately, they were back to regular price so I was only able to get one. Last week (and the week before), they were 2 for $5. Now they're just $5. Well, 4-something with tax. I guess if anyone doesn't want chocolate fudge brownie, they can get their own. I'm not spending $5 on just vanilla. And yes, I have a coworker who wants just vanilla.

When I got back, I only had about 10 minutes left to eat so I made instant oatmeal... but since I didn't have a measuring cup I had to estimate how much water to put in. I didn't put enough and ended up with slightly chunky oatmeal that turned into congealed oatmeal once it cooled. Lovely.

I didn't get home till almost one. One of my coworkers needed a lift home since her ride didn't show up. I offered to take her since it was on my way home. And then I would also have an extra person with me when I stopped at the gas station. My gas light indicator came on when I hit the 105 this afternoon. I knew I had enough gas to get to the station by my house, but I rather not drive the whole way home with the gas indicator on. I've done it before and rather not have to do it again.

So, hopefully the rest of the week calms down compared to this crazy Monday. Even though I spent about 8 hours of it doing nothing sitting in the juror assembly room.

Saturday is going to be crazy. I'll get home from work around 1 as usual and then have a birthday party to attend in West Hills in the early afternoon. Then in the late afternoon/evening, I have a graduation party in Downey. Not like my car doesn't get enough mileage during the week right? Between my brother driving it to Santa Monica and back, then me driving it to El Segundo and back. It's good thing my car gets decent mileage on the freeway.

What happened to the days when I could sleep over 12 hours when needed to? Those days are long gone! Like I was telling Nina last Saturday, free time is a luxury I don't have too much of these days anymore. Last Saturday was my only free Saturday of June. The life of a working gal.

And loving it.

Jury Duty

2011-06-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

Here I am ... sitting in the jury assembly room with nothing much to do since Facebook is blocked by the wi-fi. Twitter isn't... but maybe because Twitter isn't a big distraction like Facebook is. At least I can blog. Hmmm maybe I can catch up on all those entries I'm behind on. On the downside, I'll be late for work by about an hour or two :( At least I can still go in for work since I work the night shift. Which is a good thing. I have a lot of e-mails I need to respond to. Well, even though I can't my Facebook ... at least I can access my Facebook chat list via my AIM.

I thought about postponing my jury duty summons, but why put off the inevitable? Might as well serve since I'm here. And he did say technically if you receive the white postcard that notifies you that you failed to appear, you're not supposed to be able to postpone your service. The guy (Marcus) doing the orientation is pretty funny. Young guy, too, from what little I saw of him. I'm sitting in the other side of where the lectern is so I can't see him. I can only hear him.

We're on break right now. It took me about 20 minutes to get down to the first floor where the vending machines are. Unfortunately, they only had cans. I wanted to get a bottle. So I went into the cafeteria, where I was planning on going for lunch. They take only cash. I used my only cash ($2) to buy a bottle of wild cherry Pepsi. Two dollars!

Why did I get a notice that I failed to appear? Silly me thought because the jury duty summons that I received had my name spelled wrong that I didn't have to appear. Wrong. Not only do I have to appear, I have two summonses this year! I'm serving one now and will be excused for the other one later. I have to go to the voter registration thing and tell them to cross of my other name. AGAIN. I told them to cross off my other name the last time I voted. Apparently Linda Ear is still in the system.

Time for an update

2011-06-04T02:29:00.000-07:00

I am alive!

Wow. January 8 was really the last time I blogged on this blog? I only say that because I have been blogging sporadically on my baseball blog.

Now that I'm looking at my last blog entry, it's kinda funny that the subject of my dream then was named Charlie. In March, my dad brought home a stray puppy and I named him Charlie (because he was brown and I wanted to call him Charlie Brown). Charlie was the only name my brother and I could agree on. Because I was unemployed and couldn't afford to keep him, my mom made us give him away. We only had him less than two weeks and it broke my heart to send him up north with my friend's boyfriend. On the bright side, Charlie is happy, well taken care of, and he is loved.

The biggest change in my life since January 8 is that I am now officially employed! I guess you could say I was unofficially employed since I was working from home for a professional photographer. Work was sporadic then and I would occasionally babysit for my friend's little brother. I was barely scraping by when my cousin told me that the Los Angeles Public Library was hiring for two positions. As I was getting my applications together, I went on Craigslist to see what other jobs were out there.

I found a company looking for scanner technicians... I sent in my resume, got a response, and went in to interview. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that the equipment they used was the same equipment I used during my internship with PCC and my work for the professional photographer.

Long story short, I got the job. A few weeks into the job, they asked me if I would consider moving to customer service. I said yes and here I am, back in customer service after four years of retail and saying I don't want to do customer service again for quite some time. Well, I had about a year and half break from customer service. Guess that was long enough?

One of the nice things about my job is that I get to work with quite a few good looking guys. Okay, nice looking guys I suppose. Down side is most of them smoke.

Looking back, when I found out that I was going to lose my job, I knew it was for a reason. I didn't know it then, but God was leading me to this point. Even now, I don't know where He's leading but I know that I can trust in Him. After all, look what He's done in the last two years.

I lost my job in May 2009. In September of that year, I went back to school to finish my library tech degree. I accidentally sign up for the school paper thinking photojournalism was a class about pj and not actually the photography part of the school paper. Through that, I was able to meet the professional photographer who I now do some part-time work for, including some negative scanning at home. After I completed my library tech certification, I participated in an internship where I scanned hundreds of images for the Pasadena History Collaboration. In turn, I have used both those skills and my customer service time at Talbots in my current position. How great is our God?!?

Even now, I thank God every day for leading me here. And I pray for His daily guidance. I don't know where my next step is going, I just know who's going to lead me.

Yes, I have to admit... the last two years have been very difficult. There were times when I wondered if things were ever going to look up. If there was a light at the end of the tunnel. If things were ever going to get better. I got depressed. I got detached. But I held on because if Jesus is all I got, then Jesus is all I need. That's a little phrase Bro. Alan uses once in awhile that he remembers Bro. Ron saying. Sometimes that was all I had to get through the day. Just a prayer. Just a little thread of hope. Just barely hanging on, barely existing.

Now... well, I'm still hanging on and still existing. But before, it was more like one step at a time, just put one foot in front of the other. Now I've got a little more spring in my step. At least I know when things start going downhill, I know who's right beside me and will see me through the valleys, through the plains, and with me at the mountaintops.

If anyone is still checking in... thanks for stopping by! Maybe now that I've cut back on my facebook games and farmville, I'll try to blog more often.

It's funny how easy it is to write when everything is going wrong. That's a trend I've noticed over the years as I started my journal way back in 1999. I have to admit, I write in my journal as often as I blog on here. I guess I better dig that thing out of my closet or book shelf where ever it is. Who knows. Maybe if I have time during my lunch hour, I can park by the beach some where and jot down a few thoughts.

Twelve years of journaling and some times it seems like nothing has changed. Yet, everything has changed. But still, some things are still the same and some issues have never gone away.

I dreamt of Charlie

2011-01-08T15:45:00.001-08:00

Strangely enough, I think Charlie looked like Derek Morgan aka Shemar Moore. I think.

Wow, back to back nights where I had these crazy vivid dreams. This one wasn't as hectic or crazy as the night before. This one took place on a campus or campground or something. Not quite sure. I'm sitting on the grass with this guy, Charlie. He has his arm around me and he starts placing kisses like on my shoulder and working his way up my neck. He tells me how good I smell. Then he suggests we go some place a little more private so we can be alone. I say okay, just a little bit alone. I didn't want to be completely alone or in an inappropriate situation. As we're walking around looking for a spot, I notice someone is following me. It's Cheryl. She's either his ex or something like that. We keep walking and she keeps following. I see a teacher/adult, Mr. Reyes, who happens to look just like Will Schuester from Glee. I ask him if we could talk to him. He says not now, maybe later. I somehow trip and fall into a bunch of bushes, which happen to be poison ivy! Oh dear.

So, Charlie at this point disappears and the rest of the dream is a big drama between Cheryl and I. Because not only are we both interested in Charlie, we're both friends. Well, looks like our friendship is over because she refuses to talk to me. I need someone to ask for advice because I want to stay friends with Cheryl but don't want to lose Charlie. I find Ada preparing dinner and ask if I could talk to her. I'm asking her for advice when Cheryl walks in. She has a baby in a stroller and she is mad at Ada, thinking Ada is on my side. She is terribly rude to Ada. I tell Cheryl to leave Ada alone. Cheryl is telling me about the weather somewhere (California, I think) and how it's nice and warm there. She suggests I should go there, immediately. I tell her, why would I go there? I like the cold and the rain, she doesn't.

She leaves. I go looking for Charlie. I'm in the guys dormitory and asking around for Charlie. They tell me he's with Cheryl. I'm heartbroken. I grab my backpack and tell them I'm leaving. I hit the road, figure I'll hike to the nearest town or hitch hike. I look down the road and it leads into a creek. The sign marker says something like 59. I look up and the road inclines but the sign marker says 58. I start heading up the road.

A group of people on a little motor boat and two people on a motorcycle come racing up behind me, trying to convince me to come back. The guy driving the motor boat looks like John Corbit (dad from Ramona and Beezus, the pastor in Raising Helen, and the groom in My Big Fat Greek Wedding). I tell them I can't go back.

NCIS... Criminal Minds... and Goodwin???

2011-01-08T03:08:00.000-08:00

Goodwin, as in the Other in Lost who infiltrates the Tailies. Goodwin, as in Juliet's lover on the island. At least, that's who the guy in my dream reminded me of. A little bit of Goodwin, a little bit of Aaron Eckhart.

Why am I babbling about Goodwin/Brett Cullen and Aaron Eckhart?

I'm not sure how my dream started... but I remember taking out my camera. Gibbs (NCIS) was telling me he wants photos of everything, especially faces. Or maybe it was Gideon (Criminal Minds). I'm not sure. I was taking photos when I noticed something up in the trees. There's a guy hiding in the trees. He's either got a sniper rifle or a long lens camera. I don't remember and I don't think I could see all the clearly anyway. So I try to take his picture without him knowing it. Then I see two more guys in the trees. I point this out to Gibbs.

The scene changes and I'm at an apartment building. I'm asking this woman, "donde esta su hijo?" Okay, so I was demanding she turn over her child to me. We take two or three boys in the van. Now Morgan (Criminal Minds) is driving. We're going down the main road and we notice a truck is following us. I tell Morgan about it. He changes lane and so does the truck. He turns on a street and the truck follows too. Morgan makes a big u-turn and the truck pulls up next to us. A big guy gets out of the truck to say something to Morgan. I pull out my revolver. I have no idea why I'm using a revolver. I shoot the guy in the arm. He says something and gets back in his truck and drives off.

We get on the highway. We're on the 5 heading north. The driver changes. It's no longer Morgan. I'm not sure who he is, but he reminds me of a younger Aaron Eckart/Goodwin. One of the kids had something that appeared to have a tracking device on it. It looks like a paper or receipt of some kind. I take it, rip it up, and throw it out the window. I ask Goodwin if we should try to take a different route. He says no. The only other route takes us to where SHE died. I take the way he says it, or maybe I already knew, but the SHE he was talking about was his girlfriend/significant other who as killed. I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him. The weird part was, there was another agent sitting in the back with a kid or two and there's one more kid sitting between Goodwin and I. So I have no idea how I'm able to put my hand on Goodwin's shoulder. The next part is the best part of the dream. When I pull my hand back, he takes it and holds it. Then he tells me, "I can't lose you, too."

Naturally, after the best part of the dream comes the worst part. This SUV pulls up along side us and tells us to get off at the next exit. I pull my revolver out. We get off and Goodwin gets out of the car to talk to the people. It doesn't look good. He comes back and we hand over the kids to them. The other car takes off. Goodwin is visibly upset. I put my hand on his and suggest he and I ride together in the back and let the other agent drive. He shakes his head. I'm hurt and say, okay I'll get my things. Next thing I know, he and the other agent leave and I'm standing on the side of the road. Here's where it gets really weird. My pastor and his wife pull up in their surburban. She has a receipt for me that Nina said to give to me. I have no idea what the receipt is for. Next thing I know, this guy pulls up in his car and demands I give him the receipt for the tires. I have no idea what he's talking about. The only receipt I have is the one I just got from Nina. He says that's the one. He tells me to get in the car and we're going to go for a little drive.

What happens next? I have no idea. I woke up and my heart was pounding! I couldn't go back to sleep. It must have been the adrenaline from the dream. At least I was able to hold onto that feeling when "Goodwin" took my hand and said, "I can't lose you, too."

Where did 2010 go?

2011-01-07T02:13:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it really been that long since I last wrote in here??? Okay, so I know better than to write an entry at 2 o'dark in the morning. I'll try to keep it positive.

It is now 2011. I have been unemployed for a full year now... numerically speaking. Well, so to speak. I did some work for a friend, baby sat and picked up another friend's kid, did a short-term internship... oh yeah and did some office work for a professional sports photographer!

This past Christmas, I received a little note from two different friends in their Christmas cards. The notes told of what God did for them in 2010 and how God has blessed them. One of them talked about moving back home and the different things she's done and tried since then. The other mentioned many of God's blessings, including seven new babies in their church. SEVEN! Speaking of babies... off the top of my head I think I know or at least know of seven babies who will be born (and one already arrived) in 2011. There's Baby Hetrick born on Sunday, Baby Sule due later this month, Baby Blake due in February, my cousin's former boss is expecting a baby soon as well, Baby Jensen due in May, another baby due in June, and two more in July. Is it too early to know about babies due in August? And there are wedding bells in the not too distant future. Just not sure when yet the the Jensen-McCarville wedding will take place.

When I look back over 2010, the one thing that stands out me is God's infinite grace and mercy. He provided a job or source of income every time the previous one ended. He provided wonderful friends who were generous with more than they should have been. I pray that I can one day be able to be just as generous towards them and others in situations like the one I am in now. I am so thankful for the people and friends God has put in my life.

Who knew one small conversation in February was going to lead to an amazing work opportunity in the fall? Who knew what great friendships could be born out of something as silly as a Wolf mask/hat?

I've given up on New Year's Resolutions. They don't work. You forget about them almost as soon as you write them down. I've had the same New Year's Resolution for the last six or eight years. I don't remember how long. I wasn't asking to lose weight or make a million dollars. All I was asking for was a single date, a single kiss. Another year came and went and nothing. Don't get me wrong. I'm not looking for Mr. Right. I'm in no place right now to be ready for Mr. Right. I just wish I could get to the point where I was ready to start looking. All I'm asking for is a little tiny shred of hope.

Questions left unaswered

2010-05-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Kimmel asked, where did the polar bears come from? What about the Smoke Monster?
Did we ever get a definitive answer on that?

I also came up with the following:
Did they ever say why women couldn't give birth on the island? And why men became more ... productive? Did it have to do with the electromagnetism stuff? How about Locke and Rose being healed?

Why was Walt special? Where did his gifts come from? What about Hurley? How come Hurley was the only one who could see ghosts? We know where Miles' gift came from. He was born on the island.

Jimmy Kimmel Live - Lost Edition

2010-05-24T00:19:00.000-07:00

"Out of work Terry" - not good Terry or bad Terry.

Hmm Terry and Michael on the Amazing Race?

"We goof around quite a bit" - Matthew Fox

lol I can see Josh Holloway being the least professional. I want to see bloopers and practical jokes. That's funny that Terry asked if he was there or not.

"I've had a lot of great scenes that involved food" Michael Emerson. Love it that Michael's favorite scene was when Locke brought him food and said it was a rabbit. Ben asked, "did it have a number on it?"

Love the sound effects! The trombones and different sounds of Lost. Including the Drive Shaft music when they went to commercial.

Josh Holloway is sooo sexy hot! Even doing the snaking!

"What about the baby?" I didn't realize that. Jin gets on boat ... something bad happens.

"How many times were you beaten as Ben Linus?" - Jimmy
"How many episodes was I in?" Michael

LOL "wow, those really are natural" - Richard Alpert in the bookstore. I would love to run into Nestor.

"He's 8 feet tall and dating" - Michael on Walt

Loving this "tender moment" montage

Why is Claire (Emile) the only woman on the Jimmy Kimmel show?

Alternate ending # 1 - Survivor style
Alternate ending #2 - Sopranos style
Alternate ending #3 - Bob Newhart style - in bed with ... KATE!
"Looks like it's just the two of us, Freckles" - was he the one who never wore pants during the audio podcasts
Love the thing at the end about what each character is up to.
Charlie Pace - YouTube Sensation - Charlie bit my finger

Lost Series Finale

2010-05-23T23:13:00.001-07:00

So, I have seen a few shows come to an end. I've got to say. Lost is the best show to end the way it did. I absolutely love the Series Finale. Best Series Finale EVER!

Things I love:
Benjamin Linus finally doing something completely unselfish when he pushed Hurley out of the way of the falling tree. Glad to see there is some good in Mr. Linus.

When Juliet and Sawyer finally get back together.

After six years, Kate finally chose Jack.

Anyone else expected Charlie to call baby Aaron, "Turnip Head"?

Sun and Jin start speaking English right after they got their Island memories.

Shannon and Sayid! Then Boone talking to Hurley afterward. "We'll give them a minute" or something like that.

Was anyone else really concerned for Rose and Bernard?

And of course, the coffin is empty. Just like it was on the island. Craziness! Another Christian Shepherd ghost. Who is he this time?

"I died too." Anyone else's head completely spinning?

Boone looks so good! Glad to see all the other actors were able to take part in filming this final episode. Even the ones who are on other projects that are doing well.

I have to admit, I teared up when Vincent laid down next to Jack. I refused to cry... till the darn dog showed up.

Surprises:
Juliet is Jack's ex-wife. Who saw that one coming? Not I. Craziness.

Lapidus! I am so glad he survived. Someone had to fly the plane.

Memorable Quotes
"He's worse than Yoda."

"I don't believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape." Miles

The thing Lapidus said about him being a pilot. (I don't remember exactly, but I'll update it when I watch the finale again)

"I'm a little sore." Sun. "That's what happens when you get shot." Jin

DOES ANYONE HAVE...

2010-04-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Does anyone have a copy of the following newspapers from Sunday, April 4th they would like to donate to my Dodgers scrapbook/yearbook?

Pasadena Star News
LA Daily News
LA Daily Breeze

Thanks if you do!

Shaking and baking

2010-03-16T04:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I wasn't baking when it happened. Ten minutes ago, I was in bed, trying to fall asleep. I am a night owl by nature. So going to bed after 3 AM isn't unusual for me. What was unusual however was about an hour after I turned the lights off... I turned them back on again.

If you didn't feel it or haven't heard yet ... at 4:04 AM this morning, we had ourselves a little 4.4 magnitude earthquake. It was centered at 34°N, 118°W, which puts you in West Covina/Whittier/Hacienda Heights area. A little more exact, it's 5 miles NE of Downey, 11 miles ESE of Los Angeles.

Here's the link where I found it
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Maps/US2/33.35.-119.-117.php

I was actually a little surprised that when I pulled up the initial map of CA, there were so many little blips for earthquakes. Most of them appear to be small ones, under 2.5 for the most part. A few 3's here and 4's there. This is the first earthquake that's jolted me. I felt a small rolling one a year or two ago. I can't remember the last time an earthquake jolted me so much. Probably the Northridge one way back in the 90's.

"We meet again" - Jon Garland

2010-02-14T20:38:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, I drove down to San Diego for the Padres Fan Fest. Yes, you read that correctly. It says "Padres", not "Dodgers". Why, you may ask? Because, yes, I drove an hour and forty-five minutes to San Diego to attend a Padres Fan Fest. You may be having the same reaction my cousin did when I asked if she would go with me. She said, "But you're a Dodger fan! You bleed Dodger blue." I said, yeah, I do. But I also like the Friars (among several other teams) and at the time, there were several players listed on the website that I would like to get their autographs. And yes, most of them were former Dodgers. So, in a way, I wasn't going to get an autograph from a Padre... I was going to get one from a former Dodger. Anyway, I sent my photos to Costco to print and then checked the list again. The list had been shortened and two of the three names I wanted were gone. Oh well. I was still going anyway. We planned the entire day: Petco Park, Balbao Park, Extraordinary Desserts, and Pedro's Tacos.

Kevin, Jenny, and I left Jenny's place around eight. We got to Petco about a quarter till ten. It was free parking, so we parked in one of the lots on Imperial. Then we headed towards the end of the giant line that had formed. Season ticket holders got to go in at nine. The general public were let in at ten. By the time we found the end of the line, we were almost to the bridge that connects Petco Park and the Omni Hotel (which is the hotel the visiting teams stay at). When the gates opened, the line started to move. On our way towards the gate, I saw Eric, a friend I had just met two weeks ago. I wasn't surprised to see several people I knew. Jenny was concerned about our safety, since I'm a "die-hard" Dodger fan (her words). I told her we would be fine and there would be plenty of other Dodger fans there too. I didn't have my camera ready, but as we were moving towards the gate, we had to stop to let Adrian Gonzalez pull in. That would've been a neat picture.

The way the Padres did the autograph sessions were, they had two players per session in four different sections. Each session was an hour. For example, Jon Garland and Aaron Poreda were signing at Section 110 from 12 - 1. That was the session I wanted. When we entered Petco, there were four signs posted above the stairs leading up to Petco Park from the gates. Each sign showed the section, time, and name of the players signing. You were allowed one session per section. If you wanted to get another voucher, you had to get in line again. When we got there, Adrian Gonzalez's vouchers were all gone and there were only a handful of Chris Young vouchers left. Both were signing in Garland's sections before he was. So, we waited for Garland's. Meanwhile, Eric had an extra voucher for Rollie Fingers/Kurt Bevacqua that he gave me. So, I was able to go home with more than two autographs. Yes, it was a long way to drive just for Jon Garland. I was also hoping to snag a few more Padre players, but I didn't want to get in line to get more vouchers. Garland was paired up with Aaron Poreda (who also happens to be a former White Sox - he got traded to the Padres in the Jake Peavy deal. While I went to go get my autographs, Kevin and Jenny checked out the other things at the Fan Fest, including the Garage Sale.

When I got to my section, I saw a few more familiar faces. I showed the usher my voucher and he seated me with the other people waiting for our session. There was a Q & A session (the Broadcast Forum) going on with Dick Enberg, Mark Grant, and Mark Neely. One of them was asked something (it was hard to hear) and they mentioned Vin Scully. I forgot what was said, but it was something along the lines of Vin Scully is the best there is out there. Next up was the Kings of the Hill : Chris Young, Clayton Richard (he came with Poreda in the Peavy trade), and Jon Garland. Jon got there early and I noticed him sitting there … and he started signing things. A short line had formed and people were getting autographs from Richard, Garland, and another guy (don't remember who). I looked at my line which had just started moving. I looked at Jon. Was there enough time for me to run down to the dugout and get Jon's autograph and get back in time for Rollie Fingers. I took the chance. I ran down to the dugout and got in line. There were about three others ahead of me.The little kid in front of me either already got Jon Garland on his baseball or he didn't want him. It looked like the latter cause it looked like Jon was waiting for the kid to give him the ball, but the kid didn't.

When it was my turn, I held up a 8x10 photo of Jon and asked him if he could please sign it. I handed it up to him. He asked me, "did you take this here?" I told him, no, I took it in LA during the playoffs. I was right by the dug out when he was coming out. He looked like he liked the photo. I may see if he'd like a copy the next time I see him. Then I told him I had another photo I'd love for him to sign if he didn't mind. He said sure. He turned the envelope around to see it, but it wasn't there. I wasn't expecting him to sign more than one thing.

I told him it was in the envelope still. I took the envelope and pulled out the other picture. He looked at it and you could see he was trying to figure out where was the photo from. I wish I had taken a photo. It was quite cute how confused he seemed. I explained to him that it was at the Skateland event with Orlando Hudson. He said, "Yeah, I was trying to figure out where this was." He mentioned something about how he had his beard going. I told him it looked good. And yes, he was wearing his glasses today and boy does he look in his glasses.

After I got Jon's autographs, I ran back to my line for Rollie/Kurt. I got Jon just in time. They were about to start the Q&A. I wanted to stick around but I needed to get back. I think the usher thought I was cutting in line, because he took my voucher but no one else's. Everyone else got their voucher taken when they approached the table. I didn't have any trouble, but still... Meanwhile, I could hear bits and pieces of the Q&A going on. I heard Randy Wolf's name pop up. But I couldn't hear the question or the answer.

I didn't bring anything generic except for the Opening Day cap I got at last year's Padres/Dodgers game (yes, it was on Opening Day). I kept the cap for autograph opportunities like this. Kurt was first and he was very nice and conversational with the people in front of me. Since I didn't have a clue who he was, I didn't know what to say other than please and thank you. He signed the cap in blue to the left of the Padres' logo. Rollie signed on the other side in black. After that, I met up with Jenny and Kevin. Jenny and I saw the mascot for the Padres minor league team. He looks like he could be the Phillies' Phanatic's little brother. We took photos with it, of course. Kevin bought a SD baseball cap to get signed. Guess he's going to collect signed baseball caps. He already has a Dodgers one with several autographs. Jenny didn't have anything yet. I was going to have her get a baseball card signed for me by Jon. I told them about how I got Jon to sign my photographs already. That meant I could get him in my scrapbook. Jenny wanted to get something signed for her friend Phanny. We were supposed to bring her with us, but I had the dates wrong and it didn't work out. Jenny still wanted to get an autograph for her. While we were waiting for our session to start, Jenny went back to the Garage Sale and picked up two of the baseballs they were selling. I was going to have Aaron Poreda sign the ball. Jenny was going to get both of them on the ball.

They had us sitting on one side while the line for Adrian Gonzalez was going through. Once they were done, they moved us over. We would've been in the first row, but there were only two seats and there were three of us. Had we been in those seats, we would've been right behind Jon when he showed up. I had a feeling Jon would see me and go, "you again?" or something like that. When we lined up, the usher saw my scrapbook and asked me about it. He was quite impressed. Someone ahead of us was getting a baseball signed ... in a blue sharpie. I cringed when I saw that. The person in front of me agreed. Rookie mistake. I told Jenny when she asked Aaron to sign her ball, to ask for it in the pen. When we asked Aaron to use a pen instead, the Padre employee said we were real fans who knew what we were doing or something like that. When Aaron signed both our baseballs, he did it in a funny spot. Not the sweet spot. On mine, he signed right by the logo. On Jenny's, he signed on the blank side.

I pulled out my scrapbook for Jon to sign and the employee sitting next to him was impressed too. She was like, "wow, what's that?" I said "hi jon" and put the book down. He said, "we meet again." I knew it! After all, it hadn't been more than 45 minutes since I asked him to sign the photos. Yes, I know. I got a lot of stuff signed by him. What can I say? I have a soft spot for guys in glasses. He picked up the black sharpie and I asked him if he could please use the blue, it comes out better on the photo. I thanked him and told him, "see you at Dodger Stadium". I wish I could've asked for a photo with him. I like the other one, but it's so dark! Maybe when he's in L.A.

After that, we took a tour of the clubhouse. It was really cool to see the training room, the physical therapy room, the clubhouse, where the players ate and stuff. After that, we walked around the field. We stopped in the visiting teams' dugout and took some photos. I heard on the radio that the grounds crew equipment would be out. I totally wanted a picture of me on the big green John Deere tractor! After we walked around the field and took several photos, we headed back to the car. We passed the cutest sight. There were these two little kids rubbing their hands in the warning track dirt and then putting their hand prints on the padded outfield walls!

Here are some photos to leave ya'll with. I'll try to post the rest on my Flickr within the next few days. If you're friends with me on Facebook, they're already up.

‘Criminal Minds’ star Matthew Gray Gubler overcomes ‘legendary’ injury

2010-02-10T21:18:00.000-08:00

‘Criminal Minds’ star Matthew Gray Gubler overcomes ‘legendary’ injury

Great interview with MGG

Links to my Dodger blog

2010-02-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the links to my blog posts about the Dodger caravan and other things this week

Dodger Caravan Day 2 (Day One was closed to the public)
ESPN Zone - Here's a little snippet from that one
It was my turn to get my things signed. Andre was up first. With the help of others, we selected the photo from the paper when Andre "reacts after his bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning brings home the decisive run" against the Phillies in Game 2 of the NLCS. I asked him if he wouldn't mind adding the Silver Slugger on there. I had to think about it, cause I almost said "gold" but then I was like, no, wrong precious metal. So, he wrote "2009 Silver Slugger" and then he paused and added "+" and kept going. After he signed his name, he said "I added that." "That" being, he added "MLB Clutch Performer of the Year". How sweet was that! Since he wrote all that, I was holding up the line. .

At first I felt bad about it. But afterward, I didn't feel so bad anymore. I noticed people were taking photos with him, so I asked him if I could get a quick one. I apologized for holding up the line.

Dodger Caravan - Day 3 - Olvera St.
Matt signed a photo of him and me from Skateland. I asked him to please add "gold glove and silver slugger" on it.

A Wolf and A Coyote

No joke. I saw a coyote at Dodger Stadium.

It's been awhile...

2010-01-16T00:56:00.000-08:00

... since I've been asked if I have a boyfriend, which is usually followed by "why not?" when I tell the person asking that I don't have one and never have. And it took me a little by surprise being asked that today. When I was talking to my friend about it, she said they were probably just trying to make conversation. She asked me how many new people have I met because that's what people usually ask when you meet them. I told her I've met a ton of new people this year and none of them have asked me if I have a boyfriend. Talk about meeting new people ... I have met a TON of new people this year. So many that I can't even remember all of their names. Not quite sure if any of them have asked me the "boyfriend" question. I think a few may have asked me like if I go to the games with my boyfriend... but I can't recall any right now.

2009

2009-12-26T05:40:00.000-08:00

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 has become more than just seeing the players. And for that, I am very thankful.

Why?

2009-12-26T05:23:00.000-08:00

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 we can't do a thing without your opinion, your decision, or your presence. Why do you think I keep your at an arm's length? And when I say arm, I mean like an octopus' arm. Why do you think I've been pulling away?

When you've hit rock bottom

2009-12-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

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.

You know it's not good ...

2009-12-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

... 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

Unemployed

2009-11-19T23:53:00.000-08:00

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 ask me when was the last time I wrote in my journal because I have no clue. Even though I know exactly where it is, so I can't use the "I lost my journal" excuse for the reason for not writing in it. Okay, I better end this soon before I get too depressing. I'll try to write during the daytime so it won't be as depressing.

Joppa

2009-10-28T23:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-27T01:54:00.001-07:00

Cell Phone Apps Make It Possible to Carry Scriptures on Your Cell Phone

Posted using ShareThis

73 Days

2009-10-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

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.

School and rain

2009-10-14T19:20:00.000-07:00

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 rest of my Excel assignments. I'm an idiot!

Dodgers clinch the Division!!!

2009-10-05T23:10:00.000-07:00

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 told him, "It's the guy who sang the National Anthem. It's his fault. He set the tone."

Two years in a row! (10/3/09)

http://fallingleaves02.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/10/two-years-in-a-row-10309.html
Two years in a row have the Dodgers clinched the National League Western Division Champion title ... and both years I was at the game when they clinched!

I got Brad Ausmus to sign Julia's birthday ball. He was one of the handful of players she named she wanted. Her list was Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, Randy Wolf, and Brad A-use-mus. That's how she said his name the first time she tried to say it. And it stuck in our heads. Well, she is nine you know. She turns ten in less than two weeks. Manny might've been one of the names on the list too, but I was like ... fat chance me getting Manny's autograph. I got Randy's before the game started. I was talking with an usher (one I hadn't talked to before too!) when I noticed Randy was signing autographs.

He was standing on the top step of the dugout and signing autographs for the kids in the dugout club. Okay, so I know I was in the field level and no way was I getting in the dugout club. But, there is a wall that separates the dugout club from the field level. I went to the very first row that was directly behind Randy. I pulled out the ball and my Wolf mask.

Time to break out the bubbly!

http://fallingleaves02.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/10/time-to-break-out-the-bubbly.html
Last week when I thought the Dodgers were going to clinch in Pittsburgh, I went out and bought two bottles of apple cider to celebrate. The Dodgers lost on Sunday night, so the apple cider got to sit. Well, one of them. I drank the other one anyway. Guess you could say there was one to drown my sorrows. And the other one to celebrate.

Here come the bullpen guys. Everyone wants in on the celebration.

More photos to come! Some on my blog, and eventually the rest on the my flickr.

Dodgers Team Photo Calendar

2009-10-04T03:38:00.000-07:00

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?

Movies that give me nightmares

2009-10-03T00:41:00.000-07:00

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" - sharks. Not sure if I get nightmares from any of the "Jaws" movies, but I do from "Deep Blue Sea".
"Jurassic Park" series - yup. Dinosaurs

And of course ...

"Child's Play" series - CHUCKIE!!!! ::Shivers::

What about you? Anyone else out there gets nightmares from movies or TV shows? Or am I just special... in the head!?

Tonight's Episode of Criminal Minds

2009-09-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

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

Wish I could find better examples. But when I saw the actor, I really did think he looked like Casey Blake. And then when the unsub finds his dad, he's watching a baseball game. I'm curious to what games he was watching. The one in the flashback and the one in the present. Did this episode remind anyone of the movie "Changeling" with Angelina Jolie? Anyone see the parallels? Unsub kidnaps kids with the help of his kid. Takes kid to his place. Kills kid. Makes his kid help. Repeat. The case does sound a lot like the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders.

I can't wait to see next week's episode, featuring William Sadler. I love William Sadler, ever since I saw him play Sheriff Valenti on "Roswell". Unfortunately, I won't be home watching the show. Hopefully. Where will I be? GAME ONE of the National League Division Series!!!!!

Stupid dog

2009-09-28T23:02:00.000-07:00

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.

Autographs

2009-09-21T02:34:00.000-07:00

Check out my Dodgers blog to find out what autographs I've gotten this weekend! Lots of pictures!

http://fallingLEAVes02.mlblogs.com

This is why you don't make a left turn when it says "right turn only"

2009-09-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

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 between us. I heard the car hit the sidewalk (as well as watched everything from that point on unfold) and the tire blow out. I seriously thought he might jump the curb and that terrified me since we were in his path if he did. Looking at the skid marks, if he had jumped the curb, he might have just clipped the back of my car if he did. The other car was stopped in the middle of the street with its emergency lights on. The CHP officer got out of his car, looked around, and then motioned to that car to pull into the gas station. He eventually came over to us and asked us if any of us saw what happened. Then he asked if we minded waiting so they could take our statements. By then, we expected that. We had plenty of time to leave, but we stayed figuring they would need our statements. I had gone inside to get my receipt and the guy asked me what happened. He said he's seen so many people ignore that "right turn only" sign and make a left.

We were talking about what happened while we were waiting, and on the way home too. I was a little more apprehensive driving home. I jumped in my skin when we were close to Nina's and the car next to me honked at someone. We were talking about how fortunate it happened the way it did. There were a million different ways it could have turned out worse. No other vehicle was hit. No one was injured (hopefully! The only injury I can imagine is the whiplash the officer may have since the other car wasn't hit and I don't know how hard he hit the sidewalk). Nina said she saw the car swerve around the other car and come right at her. She said she must have the "deer in the headlights" look. She saw him jerk the wheel. We thought he did a good job maneuvering on the road. Angelina said if she was in his situation, she probably would've just hit the brakes and shut her eyes. I'm sure I would've done the same thing. I definitely wouldn't know how to maneuver like he did!

You can see the skid marks from the CHP squad car.

So, how often do you obey the "right turn" only sign???

Pictures for my photojournalism class

2009-09-06T23:42:00.000-07:00

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

First week of school

2009-09-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

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's the online description from the PCC website
"Picture series, essays and stories with assignments on various college publications. Historic and current trends in photojournalism and contemporary publications"
Guess I didn't expect to be taking photographs for the school paper when it says "various college publications." Yikes!

My other class is an English class. On Thursday, we took a little quiz about the assigned reading from Tuesday night. After the quiz, we took a break. I overheard one guy ask another guy about something. He was leaving early to go to a game. I asked him what game he was going to. The Dodger game, of course. I asked him where he was sitting, he said front row, loge. I told him I was sitting in the field level that night. But I wasn't leaving early. I wanted to. I ended up staying and wishing I had left early as well.

Saturday was the class meeting for my online class. When I first signed up for it, I couldn't find the information about when the first meeting was supposed to be. So, I e-mailed the professor. He replied back and said it was on Saturday, September from 9:30-11. I showed up a little late and about ten minutes into the class I started wondering if I was in the right class. There were a handful of student assistants walking around. So, I asked one of them because he kept coming up to me and asking if I needed any help. I understood what the professor was doing with excel... but I was just confused about being in the right class. I was right. I was in the wrong class. I pulled up the online schedule and there it was:
"No. 2608: Online. TWO on-campus meetings. Orientation:Saturday, September 5, 1:15-2:15pm in R216. Studentsenrolled in this section MUST come to the first classsession to obtain information regarding the class, OR YOUMAY BE DROPPED. Final Examination: Saturday, December 18,1:15 - 2:15pm in R216. The remaining class hours will beheld ONLINE. Student needs to have easily availableInternet access to complete this course."

What a first week back this has been! What did I end up doing? I went shopping! Well, just a little. I stopped by the store I used to work for (well, the location in Pasadena anyway since my store is now closed) and chatted with some of the managers there who I know. I bought a top that was on sale that I had liked when I was working in Glendale. Then I went to Borders and found a few bargain books. It was buy two get the third free. So, I got a baseball quote book, a sketchbook (for my scrapbook), and another little sports quote book. By then I was hungry and knew what I wanted. Spaghetti. Pasta. Something along those lines. See, years ago, I would've just gone across the street from PCC to Coffee Club and got spaghetti. They closed about a year or two ago. No more. I went to the PCC cafeteria to see if they were open and had spaghetti. Yes it was open, but the grill was closed. I ended up with pizza.

Anyone have a copy of the OC Register????

2009-08-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

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 Dodgers rotation would have careened off its axis long ago.

He has started 27 times and gone six innings or more in 24. In his past four starts Wolf is 3-0 and has made it through seven innings every time. He is left-handed, which helps, but he is not tossing Frisbees up there. Wolf has given up an on-base percentage of .284, seventh in the NL and lower than that of Johan Santana and Roy Oswalt.

The velocity is deceptive and so is the story. Wolf was a Dodger before, in '07. He was shut down that season by shoulder problems that turned out to be operable but not structural. Before that he was in and out of rotations because of an elbow problem that required Tommy John surgery.

Wolf, who turned 33 on Saturday, is grateful for health. He patiently corrects those who assume he hasn't maintained it.

“It was one injury,” Wolf said the other day. He's a 5-foot-10 redhead, chatty and inquisitive. He probably has a broadcast booth in his future, or a coaches' room. Think Orel Hershiser with about half the theories.

“It just took three years to get over it,” he said. “It was difficult, going on and off all the disabled list and people wondering if you were durable enough. I was trying to pitch with a clipped wing.”

So when Wolf's shoulder began barking in his first Dodger tour, he initially rebelled. “But there's no way I only throw 84 mph,” he said.

One night he pitched a rehab game at San Bernardino and drove home, with a dull ache and a sharp anxiety. Lying in bed, he reached for the remote control, and knives plunged in.

“I couldn't even pick it up,” he said. “I was a little concerned at that point. I'd had a chance to sign for three years elsewhere but I signed for one year here because it was home (Canoga Park, Pepperdine). But when they went in there they didn't find anything that really needed fixing. They just cleaned some things up. I've been fine ever since.”

As you might have noticed, pitching is weird.

Wolf enjoyed three 200-inning seasons in Philadelphia, and some upper-deck kids formed the “Wolf Pak” and cavorted in unison when he worked. Wolf won 48 games in a four-year stretch. Then, when health returned, he was dragging through a 6-10 season in San Diego last year and got traded to Houston.

One day he was playing catch with reliever Clint Sampson and the light went on, although it was more like a fluorescent light that works gradually.

“I was trying to break down my windup,” he said, “and when I did it slower I was getting better results. I could command the ball again. I thought, hey, this might be something. I put it into games and it worked great.

“It's like golf. It doesn't really matter how fast your backswing is. Your downswing is what matters. But I was maxing out my windup and I didn't have anything left. It's OK to give max effort as long as it's in the right places.”

As Houston charged up the NL Central standings, Wolf was 6-2 in 12 starts. The Dodgers signed him for $3 million less than in 2007.

Now they hope his efficiency and command can infiltrate Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw, the putative No. 1 and 2 starters. Of course, Billingsley is 12-7 and Kershaw 8-7 with a 2.96 ERA.

“Clayton is, what, 21 and Chad 24?” Wolf asked, as he smiled. “They both came right out of high school. They're fine. They've made progress, but when you throw pitches like they do, a lot of them are going to get fouled off. Sometimes you have to pitch to contract and that involves throwing off-speed, which they're leaning. We talk, but I think they're learning a lot on their own.”

Wolf won Friday night and then said he thought the word “ace” was used too often and not very intelligently, since, after all, a deck has only four of them. Playoff series often turn on which pitcher most resembles one. If the Dodgers get there, maybe Wolf deserves Game 1. It's nine innings, like all the others, and nobody asks to examine your holdings.

Source cited:

Whicker, Mark. "Dodgers rely on $5 million bargain." OC Register 24 August 2009.

Same Old, Same Old

2009-08-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

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 I just said games knowing how they felt about that). It's true. I haven't been getting out much. I went out a little more last week to get my laptop and things for it. Other than that, I've been at home. The first week after being out of work, I was still waking up around ten or so. After that, my nocturnal habits kicked in, along with getting up even later. Is it redundant to call myself a night owl? Is there such a thing as a day owl?

Guess since not too many people comment on here, I'm never sure how many people read this thing. LOL, okay, other than Roberto who has admitted to reading my blog.

I'll try to keep the rest of this short. I don't like to be up and writing at three in the morning because everything seems doom and gloomier at three in the morning. Maybe that's when T.J. Simer and Bill Plaschke write their articles. At three in the morning, that's things seem more hopeless and the antidepressants have worn off. Just kidding about the antidepressants. I'm not on any. Long story short? Even though I love being single. I love being independent. I love being to do things as a single woman ... I am lonely. There. I said it. It may not be there long. But I said it. It doesn't happen very often. Usually more so after I read another silly romance novel where the two main characters always fall in love in a matter of days or weeks. At this point, I'm not even sure what love is sometimes. Even more so... I start to wonder if it's even possible. For me, I mean. I guess that's part of the reason why I am so fanatical about the Dodgers. It's something for me to focus on. So I don't have to notice this nagging little hole in my heart. A hole that I don't want to be there. That I don't want to know is there. A hole I try to cover up. A hole that only opens up at three in the morning.

Is it plagiarism when...

2009-08-24T18:02:00.000-07:00

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 was it the loge level? I may be wrong. So, I started searching the web for an answer. I found this on wikianswers posted by Smokefan21. Unless Smokefan21 and the blogger are the same people, I found it interesting that it was word for word except for one little insert the blogger added ...

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 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.

Coincidence? I'll leave that up to you. I didn't say who the blogger was, for anonymity sake. But this blogger also takes photos from the web and posts them on the blog without giving credit to the where it came from. If this blogger ever takes one of my photos without permission, you better watch out!

[And yes, I did copy and paste this DIRECTLY from my other blog ... but I won't get mad at myself for copying and pasting my own stuff]

Bobblehead, beach balls, bad night (8-19-09)

2009-08-20T01:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Casey Blake Autograph Signing

2009-08-18T23:27:00.001-07:00

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 spot. As people were arriving, the owner of the donut shop would come out and question the people. If they were here for the autograph signing, they were told they couldn’t park there. I got nervous and went to my car. There was a sign there that said parking was only for the donut shop and the pet shop. I don’t remember seeing that sign there earlier. There happened to be a spot behind Alex on the street, so I moved my car there.

Want to read more? Find the rest at LEAVes of Dodger Blue, fallingLEAVes02.mlblogs.com

My Take on Jonathan Broxton

2009-08-18T03:34:00.001-07:00

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 save opportunities. That's at least five blown saves. Who are the top six ahead of Broxton? R. Franklin (Cardinals, 30/32 with 2 - 1 record); Heath Bell (Padres, 29/31 with a 5 - 2 record); Huston Street (Rockies, 29/30 with a 3 - 1 record); Brian Wilson (Giants 28/34 with 5 - 5 record); Trevor Hoffman (Brewers, 26/28 with 1 - 1 record); Francisco Rodriguez (Mets, 26/31 with a 3 - 4 record). Broxton also has more wins than anyone else (7) and no losses. Brad Lidge, last year's closer extraordinarre is 10 with 23 saves in 31 chances, has a record of 0 - 5.

Read the rest here: LEAVes of Dodger Blue at http://fallingLEAVEs02.mlblogs.com

Quick Question

2009-08-09T00:12:00.000-07:00

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.

My favorite security guys at work

2009-08-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

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

Excerpt from my Dodger Blog about getting hit by a baseball

2009-08-06T02:01:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

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 a beautiful slide to score!

Unfortunately, Kuroda got disctracted when a fan decided to make a dumb move and sprint onto the field. He waved to Manny as he passed him too! The security eventually caught up with him. Great job by security! Especially since I know two of the guys who tackled him. The two who had to run back to their regular spots once the guy was carted off. Game resumed ... and the Brewers got on board with three runs! Uh-oh, that means... we're only up by one run!

If you want to see the rest of of the entry, go to LEAVes of Dodger Blue at http://fallingLEAVes02.mlblogs.com

I will try to post more about the other games I've gone to and autograph signings too! There's already an entry up about all the signings I went to in June.

I am alive

2009-06-26T23:51:00.000-07:00

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 today, first time all week. I wanted to go to tonight's Dodger game, but passed because of my recent illness. But I already made plans with friends for Saturday and Sunday. We'll see how that goes. Especially Sunday, cause we're sitting in bleacher beach. All you can eat. And no appetite. We'll see how that goes.

I've joined the MLB Blog network

2009-05-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

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.

Dodger signings this weekend

2009-05-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

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.

What a crazy game!!!

2009-05-19T00:28:00.000-07:00

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 we know, Pagan's on third, Church had scored ... and the inning was over! I heard Charlie Steiner on the radio explain what hapened. I jumped up and down, started yelling/screaming at the top of my lungs (probably because the radio was loud and so was the atmosphere at the stadium). CHURCH MISSED THIRD BASE! Yup. Ryan Church as he rounded third to score missed the base. Mark Loretta called for the ball, the umpire called the play, and the run was taken away. Then came the bottom. Starts off with a walk to Mark Loretta, then Xavier Paul doubled. Then they intentionally walked JUAN PIERRE. You got that right. They intentionally walked him to get to Rafael Furcal. Who made an out. Then came Orlando Hudson. By then, they pulled in Carlos Beltran to have a five-man infield. How often does that really work? After all, the Pirates tried that two years ago and guess what? They didn't need a five-man infield because there was no way they were going to catch Russell Martin's walk-off grand slam. Orlando Hudson hit the ball to Reed, who you thought would get the for sure out at home. That's where another error comes in and guess what? Casey Blake was probably relieved that he didn't need to be the hero of the night. Because Mark Loretta scored and game over! LOL I told someone in the bottom of the ninth that we were going to win off a walk-off walk. Well, a walk-off error is good enough for me.

Randy walking off the field after a fine performance

Andre's amazing catch

Russell rubbing Loney's head for good luck. It worked

Casey Blake saying something to Loretta, wonder what it was

Wisdom Tooth

2009-05-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

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.

Fire!!!!

2009-05-10T00:41:00.000-07:00

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.

May 7, 2009

2009-05-08T01:46:00.000-07:00

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.

I WON!!!!

2009-05-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

If you listened to tonight's Dodger Talk, did you catch the tail end of the show??? Especially the part when Josh and Ken announced who was the winner for the night????

If you don't listen to Dodger Talk, lately they've been giving away free Dodger ticket(s) to who they picked as the best caller of the night. I called in because I had a few things to say. I had no intention or expectation of winning any ticket. I was completely stunned and shocked when they announced my name. Wow.

If you didn't catch the show tonight, here's a run down of what I said.

First, I told them "this is what happens when you put me on hold too long." They were talking about fan attendance and how small tonight's crowd was and mentioned the Royals' game. So, while I was on hold, I pulled up all the games from today and looked at their attendance. Only three other games had attendances higher than ours (Red Sox vs. Yankees, Giants vs. Cubs, and Phillies vs. Cardinals). There were four teams who had 13000 (I'm not rounding up by the way), I think two or three with 19000 (I didn't mention them), one team wtih 11000 (Reds vs. Marlins), and the lowest attendance of the day goes to... Brewers at Pirates with a paid attendance of 9,775!

The next thing I talked about was the All Star Ballots. I told them how last year my friends and I sat in the top deck and punched out 191 ballots! They said the team should fly us out to St. Louis for punching out that many ballots. The final thing I said was that I am not afraid to tell people how long I've been a fan, and it hasn't been that long. You wouldn't know it by talking to me, but I haven't been a fan as long as other people have been. They asked me about why I've been a fan since the specific date I said and I told them why. They asked me why did I become a fan, and I told them I went to my first game and got hooked.

What was funny too, the caller after me said he's been a fan much longer than I have (and he even called me by my name). Another caller called and talked about fans jumping on the bandwagon and how he didn't like it. Josh and Ken mentioned me and how fans like me come to their first game and instantly become fans. Out of curiosity, I listened to the rest of the program to see who won. I just about fell out of my chair when they said my name! I couldn't believe it. Half and hour later, I was still in shock and stunned about it. Wow. I wasn't even planning on going to tomorrow night's game. I was just about to write in the date of my next game in my scrapbook and thought, "Maybe I should wait and see if I win. I probably won't, but you never know." Oops. I just looked and I already wrote in the date for Thursday. Oh well. It will just have to be out of order! I can't believe it!

Mannywood! Here we come!!

A month of baseball

2009-05-02T02:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the day is now May 2 and the first month of baseball is over. Well, it hasn't been 30 days yet. But April has gone by. Instead of doing individual posts of each game, I shall just summarize it on here. I may have to split it into two posts if it gets too long. We shall see. I'll post the pictures up on my other blog and link it up to here.

April 6. Opening Day. I bought my tickets about a month in advance. I figured, it would be easier to get tickets to the Dodgers' season opener than it would be to the Dodgers' home opener. Well, I was right. I bought two tickets in mind, thinking either JoAnna, Sherisse, or someone would be able to go with me. As it turned out, I ended up taking a friend from church (Jeffrey) who is moving to Arkansas this summer. He has been wanting to go to a Dodger game, since he has never been to one before. The game started at 4, so we left L.A. around 10:30. Silly me took the 5 and we had traffic all the way to Anaheim. I think it took us about an hour to get that far. Just as we were getting close to our lunch stop, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It was a car full of guys. Nooo it wasn't the guys who caught my eye. It was the blue caps they were waving at us! Too bad we were just about to get off. We stopped in San Clemente at Pedro's Tacos for lunch. I recommended the carne asada tacos. Jeffrey ordered his, I ordered mine. We were puzzled why he was charged more than I was. Turned out, he got carne asada burritos (which were HUGE) instead of tacos. We got back on the road for the last leg of the trip. Just as we were approaching the city of San Diego ... Jeffrey fell asleep! Too bad, because he woke up as soon as we got off the highway. We drove around for a bit, looking for a place to park. We got to the Stadium. It was crazy! They had a huge block party for Opening Day. Had I known they were going to do that, we might have left earlier. When we finally got to our seats, it was nice to see a few Dodger fans in our section already there. Turns out, Mauricio and I went to the same high school. He graduated twenty years before I did though. He brought some friends who were Giant fans. Now that it's almost been a month since the game, there's what I do remember. I was most annoyed by the guy in the row behind us. His daughter was cute. But I was concerned about her leaving marks on my brand new jersey that I was wearing. I could feel her hands on my back and then hear the mom telling her to leave the lady alone. The dad would say "get this clown out" or call whoever the Dodger up to bat was a clown. Apparently everyone was a clown to him. Either that, or "clown" was the only word in his vocabulary because he used it practically all the time. Thankfully it was "clown" and not some other X-rated word that I couldn't mention on here. During the first part of the game, when the sun was beating down on us, I noticed my knees were starting to turn red. When we were in the shade, it went back to its normal coloring. If I remember anything else, I'll add it in later in italics.

April 15
Jackie Robinson celebration night. As well as opening night. Sherisse called me that morning to let me know that she got the day off work. I had planned on taking the bus, walking to the stadium, and meeting her there. Our plans changed. I got to sleep in, pick her up, and we found a spot on the street to park. While we were waiting for the gate to open, this car pulls up in front of us and shows us that they skipped the "parallel parking" section of their education, test, and gave us a good laugh at their lack of ability to parallel park. Sherisse and I went in an went to my usual spot where I hang around during batting practice. JoAnna shows up and tells me about Opening Day and the dove getting stuck in the Dodger Vision screen. While we're talking, we hear someone call out Jo's name. We look and I see Cat in the very front of the field level. I call her name, she calls mine, and we greet each other like lifelong friends who haven't seen each other in forever. She is the sweetest thing! She showed us pictures of her newest relative, Caitlyn (not sure if that's the right spelling) who is absolutely adorable (as most newborns are) !!!! Later when I went back to Sherisse, she was chatting with someone else. They had ask her if she knew them (me, Cat, and Jo) and Sherisse told her she only knew me. Cat had two seats that day, and offered us one since she was sitting in a better section. Well, since there were two of us, we were hoping that the people in at least one of the seats wouldn't show up. Just our luck. Everyone showed up. So we had to abandon our seat (much to the chagrin of the people sitting there). I think I over heard one of them call us "stupid". It was the same people who I offered to take their picture for them. Okay, so I had the ticket for one of the seats, which I could've stayed in if I wanted to. But I didn't want to leave Sherisse alone. Long story short... the game was quite exciting. Kershaw struck out a career high 13 batters, striking out the side for his final three. Everyone stood up for the final batter, anticipating his 13th strike out. And who says a walk-off walk isn't exciting? It's certainly nerve wracking. You wait and anticipate with every pitch, every swing. Is it a strike? Is it ball? James Loney finished the night with no hits, with three RBI's. How? He had a bases-loaded walk, a sacrifice fly, and another bases loaded walk that brought home Manny Ramirez, the game winning run! It was great seeing JoAnna and Cat again, after a long offseason.

In the month of April, I have gone to four games. I have seen

Go ahead. Call me a nut. I am. Let's hope my May stats can be an improvement from this. I am projected to go to the following games:
May 4 - against the Diamondbacks
May 20 - against the Mets

Possibly
May 7 - against the Nationals
May 18 - against the Mets
So, probably not as many games. We'll see about that :-)

Neat article by Brad Ausmus

2009-04-22T22:42:00.000-07:00

Who knew Brad Ausmus was such a great writer? He really should become a journalist once he hangs up the cleats.

You Guys Just Can't Get Enough

Written for ESPN magazine back in 2007

Anyone hear when Ausmus got the pilot to relay a joke while the team was in flight? (This was back when he was with the Astros). Didn't know Ausmus was such a character!

ITunes MLB Games of the Year

2009-04-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

Two weeks into the season and here's what they have to offer...

4/3 Cubs at Yankees (Spring Training) - Yanks open Stadium with power-full win
4/5 Braves at Phillies - Cool, calm Lowe tosses gem in debut
4/8 Braves at Phillies - Phis look like champs after getting rings
4/10 Red Sox at Angels - Angels fight off pain, rally past Red Sox
4/16 Indians at Yankees - Indians spoil Yankee Stadium Opener
4/17 Brewers at Mets - Sheffield clubs 500, Mets walk off

Hmmm notice something here? Can you say EAST COAST BIAS!!! Not a single Western division team (except for the ONE Angels game after Nick Adenhart's death). And every single game has an Eastern division team. GRRRRRR I get it. They can't post every game where a player hits their first home run for their new team (as requested in lots of the reviews on Itunes). And they can't post every game or every team or even a game per day. I know a lot of times they only offer mile stone games or some really big games ... but come on... a Spring Training game? Lowe's Braves debut? Yankee Stadium Opener (and not Citi Field Opener)?

If we lived in a perfect world, every team would be able to offer their fans the chance to buy and download any game they want. Personally, I'd have a tough time because I would buy so many games! To start off, I'd buy every game I went to. Then, I'd buy the ones I think were really good that I missed or should've gone to or my favorite players did really well. I still have a few older games to purchase on Itunes. Just haven't gotten around to it.

What games do I think they should add?
1) Dodgers Home Opener 4-13-09 Orlando Hudson hits for the cycle (in fact, they should have Ian Kinsler's cycle game too - on Jackie Robinson night no less). Not only does O-Dog become the first Dodger in what? 30 years? to hit for the cycle... but Billingsley strikes out 11 along the way. On top of that ... It's RANDY JOHNSON pitching for the Giants.

2) Athletics at Angels 4-8-09 (I think that's the right date). Nick Adenhart's final game. Need I say more?

3) Rockies at Dodgers 4-18-09 Manny Ramirez clubs two homers against the Rockies, becoming the 11th player to homer against all active 30 teams. Without looking it up, can you name any of the ten other players???

4) For the fun of it, Dodgers at Padres 4-6-09 The season opener where the Dodgers beat JAKE PEAVY for the first time in ... a long time

Okay, so I'm a little Dodgers biased but that's the only team I really watch. And two of the three games I suggested are pretty big deals, wouldn't you say so? I'd say beating Peavy was a big deal to the Dodgers too. I'm sure there are other games out there that other fans want (like Kinsler's cycle, the Indians huge win over the Yanks, or Pujols' grand slam)... so far, what game this year do you think Itunes should offer that isn't on that meager list?

Love's Unending Legacy

2009-04-21T23:52:00.000-07:00

If you watch the entire Love Comes Softly series and have gotten this far, congratulations! You were able to sit through them. And by now you have realized that the movies are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from the books. Granted, most books turned movies are different. But for the most part, most movies follow the plot lines of the book. In this case, if you have ever read the book... take what you read and throw it not only out the window but out of this universe! The movie may share the same title and a few of the same characters but that's about it. (If you continue reading this, be forewarned. There will be spoilers!)

One, they kill off Willie!
Two, Willie and Missie's family in the movie is NOT the family in the book.
Three, they introduce Belinda as a 14-year-old orphan, rather than have Marty and Clark have a late-in-life baby.
Four, Clark never had the accident that takes his leg.
Five, the movie is centered on Missie, instead of Ellie because... there is NO Ellie (as well as no Luke, Nandry, and the other Davis children)

Over all, if you have never read any of the books, you will enjoy the movie. If you have read the books, just forget that you have and you will enjoy the movie. Or if you're not as particular as I am, then you will enjoy the movie.

Poor Kerwin Danley

2009-04-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

Anyone remember what happened last year...? Let me refresh your memory. It's Saturday, April 26 (almost exactly a year apart) ... the Dodgers are creaming the Rockies big time. I don't remember if it was the fourth or fifth inning, but I think it was the second pitch of the inning. Well, poor Danley had a similar experience... except this time with a piece of a broken bat rather than a 96 MPH fast ball. Prayers and well wishes to Kerwin Danley!

Kate Gosselin Book Signing

2009-04-20T00:25:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's the entry about the Kate Gosselin signing.

So, I arrived at Barnes and Noble about 9:30ish for the book signing. I expected there to be a huge line outside the store ... but nothing. I went inside and got my wristband and browsed around. The associate said to be back by noon. I figured, might as well stay. I got a magazine, went up to the third floor. On my way there, I saw people already lining up on the second floor. I got a sandwich, drink, and coffee cake from the cafe, got a book, went back downstairs to pay for my book and magazine. And then I settled in for the long wait. Which, wasn't so bad compared to the other autograph signings I have been to. We were inside, in an air-conditioned building (which turned out to be horrible for my allergies) and it was only about three hours away anyway. The nice thing about the Dodger signings ... you can actually talk to the people around you. It would be hours before the people in line in front of me even talked to me. And there was no one behind me for awhile. A few people would show up, sit down, get back up and leave. People started showing up somewhere before noon.

They had put up little papers with letters on them. They started with "b&N" for their members and then "C" (which is where I started). They had 75 member wristsbands, and fifty for each letter. They apparently didn't now how to space the letters apart because when the "members" started showing up... the associates realized ... we can't fit 75 people into this little corner. So, they started backing the rest of us up. And we kept moving, and moving, and moving.

Kate didn't arrive till about a quarter after one. She came down from the third floor escalator. Then the line started to move. And it moved VERY quickly. I was out of there within half an hour of when she started signing. She was nice and polite. She said hello and thank you and took photos with fans. The employees had told everyone that she was not going to take posed photographs, but you could take one of her signing your book. We know how well that goes over at the Dodger signings. They almost ALWAYS say yes to taking a photo with you. Everyone asked me later, was she nice? I guess so. I didn't really get to interact with her or see anyone else interact with her.

Afterwards, I walked outside and there was a father and his young daughter looking up at where Kate was. The little girl asked me, did you see Kate? Did she seem different to you than on TV? Did she seem brighter? My answers were yes, no, and no.

On Field Photo Day at Dodger Stadium, Part Two

2009-04-18T22:46:00.000-07:00

Russell Martin and me (ahhh my first love)

Joe Torre

Cory Wade and Me (I had no idea he was put on the DL)

Andre Ethier (he did not take ANY photos with anyone)

Casey Blake (he never got to our area.
Not bad for a shot where there was a huge crowd in front of me.
I didn't know what I was taking.
Just snapping photos every time the crowd parted enough for me to see him_

On Field Photo Day at Dodger Stadium, Part One

2009-04-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

Randy Wolf (I cropped myself out cuz I didn't turn out very well)

James Loney and Me (and the lovely Cat behind us in pink)

Nina and Raffy (I love Raffy now too!)

Brad Ausmus and me (he's my second favorite back-up catcher)

Hong-Chih Kuo and me
(second time around. In the first picture,
he wasn't looking.
He was talking to Cat)

Kate Gosselin comes to Glendale!

2009-04-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

And who says 13 is unlucky?

2009-04-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard by now ... Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle today! As I was looking at pictures, I came across this realization. The O-Dog wears the number 13. He wore 30 during Spring Training and changed to 13 for the regular season. Today, the day that he hit for the cycle, is the 13th. Any one out there know what the stats/probabilities on a player hitting for the cycle on the same day as his jersey number? Hmmm Furcal's number is coming up on Wednesday (and I'll be there for that!) and Ethier's the day after that ...

McDonald pushed back

2009-04-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

LOL, I can't get a break when it comes to seeing Wolfie pitch, can I? Had the Dodgers stuck to their rotation, I would have seen Wolfie pitch on Saturday. Now that Mac is being pushed back three days, Wolfie is pitching on Friday instead of Saturday. And I get Bills. Now, don't get me wrong. I love seeing Billingsley pitch. But I had every intention of going to the Dodger game decked out in my Wolf gear. Not anymore I suppose.

Coming up next, what I love best about Dodger Stadium and what they need to improve, thanks to the Sunday night sports talk for the inspiration

Google Map - Dodger Stadium

2009-04-10T18:08:00.001-07:00

How to get from Dorris Place Elementary School to Dodger Stadium by Public Transit

Okay, so I'm trying to figure out how to get to Dodger Stadium on Wednesday without driving. I put in my address, and this is what I got!

Well, not exactly. But close. For the sake of the blog, I put in the address of the local elementary school. The same school that can be seen in the Criminal Minds episode 2 in season 3, "In Birth and Death". Crazy huh?

Dodger tickets, Manny, and Adenhart

2009-04-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to Dodger Stadium to buy my tickets for Saturday's game against the Rockies. I told the ticket guy that I wanted tickets in the Left Field Pavilion, as close to the Bullpen as possible. He goes, "ah, you want to see Manny, huh?" I told him, no. I said bullpen. I wanted to see Wolf. First he had me in section 311. Then I asked him if there were any in 301. He looks them up and says, "well, you can still see Manny." Again I said, I wanted to see Wolf, not Manny. When I was leaving work, a coworker asked me if I was excited about Manny. I told her my story about when I went to go buy my tickets. I want to see Wolf, not Manny.

If all goes according to plan... Wolfie should be the starter that day. Then again, you never know. You don't know what's going to happen from one moment to the next. And here's where we pause for a moment of silence for Nick Adenhart.

If you haven't heard by now ... Angels' pitcher Nick Adenhart's career and life was tragically cut short by a drunk driver who ran a red light. I was listening to ESPN radio and they were taking calls about the news. A physician called in and he talked about why he thought the Angels didn't need to postpone the game. He said if he died that night, his clinic would not close the next day. If the Angels didn't postpone the game, would there have been callers questioning that move? Personally, I think that postponing the game was the right move. It would be very difficult for the players to play when less than twenty-four hours ago, Nick Adenhart was standing on that very same mound, pitching six scoreless innings and striking out five A's players.

Here are some links to articles written about his death. The last link is for complete coverage on Nick Adenart, including his stats, quick facts, articles, and videos.

Angels to play with heavy hearts
Angels' Adenhart Killed in Accident
Tragedy Hits Angels family
MLB Fraternity Staggered by Adenhart's death
Friends, Teammates Mourn Adenhart
MLB.com Nick Adenhart stats page
Complete Coverage

Opening Day!!!!!

2009-04-06T23:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm a bit tired from a long day. Five hours on the freeway, three hours at the game, about two hours pre-game... well... you get the picture. And if you don't, here are a few pictures to tide you over till... probably Wednesday.

Criminal Minds Van

2009-04-03T00:58:00.000-07:00

So, I was driving to work as usual this afternoon when I noticed the van in front of me. It had a Criminal Minds sticker on the back of the van. And it looked like the same van that was parked in front of my house when the tv show filmed two houses down from mine. Hmm ... could it ... nah... well ... maybe. The windows were tinted and I couldn't see who was inside the van. They do film in the area, so maybe it was them. Who knows. But I will look for some Glendale background in future episodes!

Newsboys Concert!!!!

2009-03-22T01:59:00.000-07:00

I went to a Newsboys concert tonight. It was being held at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village. Will Call was at 5, and the doors opened at 6. Since Will Call was at 5, I figured I should get there early. I got there around 4:15, went inside about 4:55. I got my ticket and found a spot to sit down to wait for the doors to open. I had talked to one of the guys there, trying to find out some info about when Will Call was going to start, since it was nearly five and no one was there yet. Well, he saw me sitting down (reading) and came over and invited to me join a Q&A session that Duncan Phillips (of the Newsboys) was going to be doing. One of the questions he answered was about Pete Furler stepping down from the touring side of the Newsboys. When the Q&A session ended, the doors were almost ready to open. Once they did, I went inside to sit down. Found my section, found my row... but I could not find my SEAT! Why? I was in section B. No problem. The sections were labeled. Then I found Row V, the very last row. No problem, there. The rows were labeled too. Then I looked at the seats to find seat 22. Let's see... the first seat in the row was seat 24. Wait. That can't be right. My ticket said Seat 22. But there was NO 22. How could that be? I have no clue. Even the ushers were baffled. Even the people at the ticket table were baffled. So, what did they do? Did they move me to another seat? Nope. They just brought me a chair. It was quite funny. One of the ushers joked about it later too. I made a new friend with the person sitting next to me. Her name's Misty and she recently moved to California from Texas. We chatted as we waited for the concert to begin. And then, it turned out, my seat wasn't the only seat missing! A young mother and her daughter in the row in front of us were missing their seats as well! The concert began with Bread of Stone. I'm not sure if I ever heard of them before, but some of their songs sounded familiar. The lead vocalist and guitarists are brothers, from Indonesia. After them, it was VOTA (formerly known as Casting Pearls). I was videoing them and taking a few pictures with my camera during their set. I think it was during the last song, one of the ushers tapped me on the shoulder and asked me something about taking pictures. He said to be careful. During intermission, I asked him if I wasn't allowed to take pictures. He said I wasn't supposed to. So, during the Newsboys' set, I didn't take as many photos. Until everyone else started taking them. Then I figured, it probably wasn't as big a deal then. Everyone really started taking pictures when they moved from the main stage to their "B" set so they could "B" closer to the fans. That's when they went down "memory lane". It was pretty fun. They sang a few choruses of their older songs. Jeff did "not ashamed" and Duncan did "Shine"... they even did a few dc Talk songs. They even did a whole dc Talk song later. And Duncan got to do a little bit of his spinning drum kit. They did their fake exit and came back for a song. You know, I had forgotten that the Newsboys are more than just a band. They're a ministry too. They're involved in the Baja project as well as other things. They're not just out there to play music and make money ... but to minister to others and fight "physical and spiritual poverty".

Why am I so big on the other side of the Newsboys? It's been two and half years since I've last seen a performance by them. I kinda stopped following them so closely since then. Recently, someone had asked me if I had heard of a group called the Newsboys because they saw a video of them. When I said yes, and that must've been their new DVD that came out and how I wanted to get a copy. They said, they certainly hoped what they saw wasn't what I wanted to see. Basically, they didn't think very highly of them. And me being me, I get defensive about things I like. And that's how I feel about the Newsboys, especially now, after going to their concert. Now, I haven't gone to to many concerts. But I can tell you, there was a lot of prayer at this one. There were scripture readings in it and messages spoken. The Newsboys aren't just a band. It's a ministry as well. And that's something that someone didn't know about they group. They just judged them according to what they saw. They didn't judge them on their message or what they did ... just what they saw. If you want to know more about them and their ministry, here are a few links.

Newsboys - their official band website
Wipedia site - here's your crash course on the Newsboys, courtesy of Wikipedia
Global Tribe - Official Website

The Price is Right

2009-03-19T00:06:00.001-07:00

Did anyone watch today's (3/18) episode of "The Price Is Right"? This is the one with the Dodgers guest starring on it. I haven't watched it all yet. I skipped some parts. So far, I've only seen a little bit with James Loney and James McDonald on it. They didn't say anything. What was hilarious was ... the contestants had to guess what the retail price was to go to the next "Under the Lights" event. The guy who won the bid ... only bid $1!!!! All the other people bid over 1000, which was the retail price for the event. Now, I listened to it twice. Nowhere did he say it was for two people. Correct me if I'm wrong... but the retail price for one person is 500. Then for two people it would be 1000. And the guy isn't even a Dodger's fan. He was from Atlanta!

Interesting Dream

2009-03-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

So, right before I woke up, I had an interesting dream. I was at a Dodger game with Nina. I don't know who they were playing. It might have been the Padres. Roberto was there. He had several players signing things for him. It was like laid out on the top of the outfield wall or something. We were in the the field level seats, by the left field foul pole. As soon as one player would sign a baseball, Roberto would hand it to a different player. The baseball had several autographs on it. The funny thing was ... he was using a black sharpie to sign them. Andre Ethier was signing to our left. Matt Kemp was signing to our right. Russell was hanging out with Kemp. He was telling Matt how he likes to knit, "you know, knit one, purl one." The players were leaving and the game was about to get started. I leaned over the wall, trying to get Kuroda (I think) to sign something for me. I started to fall over, but Roberto pulled me back. I told him thanks, he saved my life (Or my day or something like that). But I had dropped the baseball I was holding. It was the baseball I got from the Cubs game. A security guard picked it up and threw it past me into the field section seats. I went to go get it back. Some people were throwing it back and forth. Finally, they threw it towards me. It bounced on the step and hit me smack in the middle of my forehead. So, I went back to my seat. We were sitting in the first row, to the right of the left field foul pole. Nina got up to get something. Kuroda was the starting pitcher that day. And he gives up a lead-off home run. It lands in the left field level seats, bounces towards us... and lands on my seat! Cool. On the next pitch, it's foul. And it bounces and rolls under Roberto's seat. Sweet! I think there might have been one more foul ball into our section somewhere in the dream, because I thought Roberto already got one and then we got another one for Nina. Anyway, that was my interesting dream.

Don't know what to say

2009-03-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

I know I've been quiet lately. My uncle Tony (my dad's oldest brother) has been in the hospital for the last two weeks. Long story short, he traveled to China for some treatments for his cancer. He returned around the beginning of the month. His chances weren't good when he left. Now we're preparing for the worst. I mentioned his situation a while back (December). Things haven't gotten much better. On one hand, he has lived longer than the initial prognosis. But now... we've been having tons of family coming through to see him while he's here. I'm not sure when he's going to fly back to North Carolina. But they've pretty much told us that it's over. They're out of answers. It's hard to imagine, that his grand-kids will grow up, never knowing him. He has five right now and two more on the way. The next couple weeks are going to be tough. I've never had anyone close to me pass away, except for my grandmother who died when I was in high school. I don't know why, but this time around it's different.

Josh Groban and Michael Buble

2009-03-11T21:18:00.000-07:00

I didn't drop off a cliff

2009-03-09T22:54:00.001-07:00

Or anything like that. Has it already been over a month since my last post? I had intended to post while I was in Richmond (California) but didn't get around to it. Long story short, my trip was extended an extra day when raging storms dumped snow on the Grapevine, shutting it down for a few hours. We decided to stay rather than to drive down and see if it was going to be open by the time we got there. Then the day after I got home, I broke out into hives (!!!) ... most likely from my friend's dad putting a ton of chlorine in the hot tub.

Opening Day is coming up. April 6. And do you know where I'll be? Sitting in section 129, Row 20 at Petco Park, to see my Dodgers facing the Padres. I figured, since I had pre-sale privileges, might as well use them. And since Opening Day tickets are actually available, I had better luck buying opening day tickets at Petco Park than I did at Dodger Stadium. Which, was true. I am so excited. Now I'm even more excited ... because I will be wearing my brand new Russell Martin jersey for the very first time at Opening Day!!! My cousin (Michael) wanted to surprise me with it. But then he had to come ask me, what size did I wear... and well... that ruined the surprise. Now I can't wait for it to arrive!!!!

My Autographs

2009-02-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

There's my giant scrapbook

Here's the inside cover. Since it's basically in two columns, here's who I have. Left column, top to bottom: Bobby Castillo (Dodger caravan, day 2), Kevin Kennedy (Fabulous Fiftieth event), Derrel Thomas (Fabulous Fiftieth event). Right column: Ken Landreaux (Dodger caravan, day 2), Charlie Steiner (Fabulous Fiftieth event), and Tommy Davis (Fabulous Fiftieth event)

First page of scrapbook. In no particular order: Mark Loretta (Dodger Caravan, day 2), Delwyn Young (Dodger Caravan, day 2), James McDonald (Fabulous Fiftieth event), Sweet Lou Johnson (Dodger Caravan, day 2), Rudy Law (Autograph Alley), Joe Beimel (Staples), and Chad Billingsley (AT&T)

James Loney

Russell Martin (Dodger Caravan, Day 2)

Matt Kemp (Fabulous Fiftieth Event)

Andre Ethier (AT&T Store)

Blake DeWitt (Dodger Caravan, day 1)

Andre Ethier (Dodger Caravan, day 1)

Rudy Law (Dodger Caravan, day 1)

You're sending in the Wolf?

2009-02-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

YES!!!!!!!!!! RANDY WOLF IS COMING HOME!!!!!!!

Randy Wolf signs 1 year deal with the Dodgers.

Hehe ... no more driving to San Diego for his starts (and then having that start moved up a day because Peavy returned to the lineup)

Dodger Caravan, Day 2

2009-02-04T22:20:00.000-08:00

James Loney and Me

Me, Mark Loretta, and Nina

Me and Russell Martin

Nina and Sweet Lou Johnson

Nina and Ken Landreaux

Me and Ken Landreaux
Nina and James McDonald

James McDonald and Me

Dodgers Caravan

2009-02-03T22:18:00.000-08:00

I'll post later ... I still haven't posted about last year's! Here's some pictures for now.

Blake DeWitt signing a picture for Nina
It's of his first major league home run

DeWitt signing the same picture for me

But it's in my scrapbook

Steve Garvey signing Nina's ticket from 1981 World Series Game 4

Garvey signing a baseball card

Andre Ethier signing a picture for Nina
April 1st, 2008 game
It's of him, Matt Kemp, and Andruw Jones
Kemp and Ethier are both blowing bubbles

Ethier signing an 8x10 of a picture I already have signed
The first one was in blue (or black) ink, so it's not very visible

This time, he's signing in silver
After that, he put his fist up and gave me a first bump

Guess that makes me Mrs. J. Martin now?

2009-01-29T22:53:00.000-08:00

LOL, just kidding!!! Serious ladies, he's taken now ... dating a model from Quebec.

Anyway, the news finally came out about this year's caravan! I've been waiting weeks for it. I happened to be online when the e-mail notifier popped up and I saw the e-mail announcing it.

Then I went to Ralph's, and when I came home, I looked up and saw the scrolling news...
Russell does yoga and is changing the name on the back of his jersey to "J. Martin"!

Thirty!

2009-01-26T23:52:00.000-08:00

I made it! Thirty posts in thirty days!

Wow. I tell ya, it wasn't easy. There were some days were I either didn't know what to post or didn't want to post or didn't want to turn the computer on to post ... but I managed it somehow.

LOL ... now that I've done thirty posts in thirty days ... should I see how long I can go without posting?

Getting caught in funny places

2009-01-25T22:04:00.000-08:00

This morning, after our orchestra number, I tried to put my clarinet down. It didn't get very far. A single strand of my hair was stuck to the ligature. I pulled on my clarinet a few times, and it was still stuck. Only one strand. ONE strand. So, I pulled on the one strand, and it broke ... leaving about an inch on the ligature. This reminded me of the many different things and times that my hair gets stuck in weird places.

Cars.
One time, I was leaning into an open car window to talk to a friend. When I leaned back out, he had rolled his window up and caught some of my hair in it. Another time, I was leaning against my car and talking to my friends. When I started to walk away, I didn't take more than a step. A few strands of my hair was stuck along the window frame. I don't know how. But it was.

Refrigerator
I was leaning against the side of the refrigerator at home, watching TV, and doing something. I don't recall what. Might have been homework. My mom opened the fridge to get something and closed it. I leaned forward... and realized when she open and closed the fridge, it got some of my hair caught! I hollered to my mom to open the fridge to get me loose. That has to be the weirdest one.

Blow Dryer
Ever since this incident, I have rarely used a blow dryer on my hair. Our blow dryer has like a grill in the back of it. I was drying my hair, and then I felt this big tug and the smell of something burning. My hair had gotten stuck in the grill. Ever since then, I've rarely used a dryer.

Beginning to Lose My Mind

2009-01-24T23:15:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, I started to get up and get ready for work. My morning routine is that I tell myself what time that I need to be out of the house. And it usually works. Well, that morning, I told myself I needed to be out of the house by a certain time ... then I thought about it ... and realized I was wrong. Because if I left the house at the time that I told myself to ... I would've been half an hour early to work. This morning, I did the complete opposite. And I haven't figured out why yet. I tried to figure it out, tried to reason it out, yet couldn't wrap my mind around it. It still doesn't make any sense to me.

You're sending in the Wolf?

2009-01-23T23:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I hope so! So, I was curious when I got on my phone onto the MLB webpage and it said the Dodgers were interested in three pitchers. I wondered which three, hoping Ben Sheets would be one of them. Turned out, he wasn't. But guess who is? RANDY WOLF!!!!!!! I was super excited to see that. Then I get home and find out that they're in "talks" with him. I just about fell off my chair.

So, at work today, I came back from my break and one of my coworkers comes and tells me about one of the customers she had just dealt with.I'm not positive what happened, but she told me that she overheard the customer calling our store stupid, our associates stupid, and our manager stupid. Well, if we're so stupid, why does she bother coming in? And no, we're not stupid. Even though we have to deal with these ridiculous people some times.

Anyone catch the most recent episode of "Criminal Minds"? Anyone recognize where they shot the mall scenes? It was hilarious because when I saw the parking lot scene, I thought to myself ... hmmm those buildings look familiar. Wonder where they ... THAT'S THE EAGLE ROCK PLAZA!!!! Sure enough, there was the entrance and Chuck E. Cheese's. Later on, they showed the interior ... yup ... that's Eagle Rock for you. At least they didn't show the Seafood City, Jollibee's, and stuff like that in the mall. Still, it was pretty funny. Wonder when did they film that.

2009-01-22T23:59:00.000-08:00

Maye I should start carrying a little notebook around with me to write down my post ideas. Because during the day, something will happen, and I'll tell myself, "oh, I can write about this when I get home." Then I get home, get on the computer, and forget what happened earlier.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong ... I'll relay a story to you and you be the judge of it.

A customer comes in and asks me, "where is the blue sweater you have on display? The one with a belt." Since I dressed the mannequins, only one sweater comes to mind, and it's a navy belted cardigan. I show it to her. She says, "no, it's blue." Correct me if I'm wrong ... but navy is a shade of blue. And she tells me again, it's blue with a belt. I walk over to the windows to see what is she talking about. Sure enough, there's the navy belted cardigan in one window ... and further down is a blue sweater that has a belt on it. There is a difference, right? The sweater with a belt, and the sweater and a belt. Because one sweater comes WITH a belt, and the other has a belt ON it. She asked me for the sweater WITH a belt.

Onto the Dodgers...
This year's back-up to Russell Martin apparently is going to be ... Brad Ausmus. Let's hope he does better than last year's back up ... what's his name again? You know, the guy who disappeared after he went on the Disabled List in May ... oh yeah ... Gary Bennett. Anyone remember that guy? Well, I liked Danny Ardoin. Sure, his bat didn't do much ... but how many shut outs did the guy catch? At least TWO, I can tell you that much. Maybe more.

Pop quiz... now with the likes of Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, and Olmedo Saenz ... who on the current Dodger roster has been a Dodger the longest? When I asked my friends that, one of my friends replied "Greg Maddux". She thought the way I phrased it that I meant who was the oldest. I had to remind her two things. One, Greg Maddux isn't a Dodger anymore, he's retired. Two, he probably has less than a year of service total in Dodger uniform. Any guesses?

Jeff Kent ... retired?

2009-01-21T21:00:00.001-08:00

Jeff Kent is to announce his retirement.

Now that most of the vets are gone ... who is the current Dodger who has been on the team the longest?

I had to look up the roster and then find the answer.
Here are the top three.

Jason Repko
Hong-Chih Kuo
Rafael Furcal

My 2009 Mini Plan games

2009-01-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

MasterCard Value Plan
Day	Date	Opponent
Wednesday	April 15	San Francisco Giants
Monday	May 4	Arizona Diamondbacks
Monday	June 1	Arizona Diamondbacks
Saturday	June 6	Philadelphia Phillies
Monday	June 29	Colorado Rockies
Sunday	July 19	Houston Astros
Tuesday	July 21	Cincinatti Reds
Tuesday	August 4	Milwaukee Brewers
Monday	August 17	St. Louis Cardinals
Tuesday	September 1	Arizona Diamondbacks
Saturday	September 5	San Diego Padres
Saturday	October 3	Colorado Rockies

Oddly enough, it's different from last year's in that I see one team three times and another team twice. Last year's plan included twelve games and twelve different teams. This year's plan does cover more days. Practically all our games last year were on Mondays. There was only one Saturday game, two Friday games, no Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday games. That I can recall off the top of my head. I like having three Saturday games, and the rest are still mostly Monday games with three Tuesday and one Wednesday games. I'm looking forward to this season. Can't wait till they announce the lineup and locations for this year's caravan.

Blake DeWitt interview

2009-01-19T22:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know I already blogged for today. But I can't wait for tomorrow to put this entry up, so I'll do it now. Watch the video below! Pause it at 0:48

It's MY PICTURE!!!! See picture below

It's the same picture on the side as well. I couldn't believe it.

The Americana

2009-01-19T20:09:00.000-08:00

Okay, so tonight we went to the Americana to watch a movie. We parked in the parking lot, saw the movie, and then left. We went to the kiosk to take care of our parking ticket thingy that you get validated to park there. The first machine would take it, then say canceled, and spit the ticket back out. We tried again. Didn't work. So we tried the next machine. It showed "3.00 hours" and "$5". Apparently, it didn't get validated. So, Sherisse took the ticket, my movie ticket, and went back to the movie theater. So, Heidi, Christianne, and I waited for her. We were leaning on the railing and looking at the water fountain. Next thing we know, there's a security guard on the floor level shining his flash light at us. He yells at us to not lean on the railing. So we back off. Then he yells at us to step away from the railing. He yelled some more until he couldn't see us anymore. And, our ticket wasn't the only ticket that wasn't validated. Angelina's wasn't either. Back to the railing ... there was no sign anywhere that said "No leaning on rail" or "Do not pass this line" or anything about going near the rail. So, naturally, we leaned on the rail.

Still no voice

2009-01-18T23:31:00.000-08:00

Well, actually, I do have a voice. It's just a certain range. Like if it get's high pitched, then I get squeaky. I'll give it a week to get back to normal. If it doesn't, then I guess I'll have to go to a doctor.

Speaking of voices... Daniel got to open up testimonies at church tonight. He mentioned that even though he doesn't always get to go to church on Sundays, he's thankful for Christian radio stations. It reminded me of the two months I spent in North Carolina a few years ago when I didn't have a church to go to while I was visiting my family. And I also didn't have anyone to take me to church. It reminded me of this awesome Christian radio station that I was listening to while I was there. It was one of the best radio stations I ever heard. You would think that living in L.A. that we would have lots of great Christian stations right? After all, we have tons of diversity. Apparently it doesn't apply to the radio waves. Because we only have two Christian radio stations. And one of them doesn't always get the greatest reception. So we have one and a half radio stations sometimes. We've got the Fish, that plays the same songs over and over. It's mostly praise and worship songs. It also plays a lot of older songs. Then we've got Air1, that comes and goes depending on where you are. It has a lot of great new stuff, but it's mostly Christian alternative music. I loved that other station and KLOVE because they were sort of in the middle. They played praise and worship music, alternative, and things in between. I liked them because they were inspirational as well. It's been a few years now. I can't seem to remember the name of the radio station. I'll find it. It was like 106.9 or something like that ... in North Carolina, mind you. It was funny. After I returned home, a customer asked my cousin, "what happened to the nice young girl who was always listening to the Christian radio station?" Then my cousin told her that I went home.

No more voice...

2009-01-17T00:09:00.000-08:00

For the moment. My voice has checked out for the night. We shall see if it checks back in in the morning.

Here's my thought for today. Why do women (particularly the middle-aged women) wear white blouses ... but no undergarments other than their bras? Even black ones! I cannot tell you how many times I cringe when I see a customer come in, wearing a white blouse, that I can see their bras and everything else underneath it. Do they just not realize how see-through their blouses are? And I'm not talking teeny-boppers, teenagers, or even young adults. I'm talking about middle-aged women! Women who probably had teeny-boppyers, teenagers, and college kids. Women who should know better! I'm not talking about solid blouses. I'm talking about cotton blouses, linen blouses, blouses that are not solid enough to hide a white bra or black bra or anything else for that matter. I don't know. Because whenever I wear a blouse, I either have a camisole or tank top under it or a sweater or vest over it.

So, after I'm done with this episode of "Jon and Kate Plus 8" I'm going to bed. My throat is feeling scratchy and so is my voice.

February 14

2009-01-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

Less than a month till...

The catchers and pitchers report for Spring Training!!!!

LOL did you think I was going to say something about V-Day? Because I wasn't. Let's just say ... my friends made plans for V-day and I plan to have nothing to do with it.

Speaking of Spring Training ...they have set the dates for this year's Dodger Caravan. As guessed, it falls on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of February ... being February 3rd and 4th. I've already got my request in for those days off. Last year, I didn't know about the caravan till like the day before. Fortunately, I had the day off for one of them. That's where I met Jo! The year before that, I was on the East Coast. I had flown out that morning (it was 12:05 AM so technically, it was that morning) and knew nothing about the caravan. Until Angelina texted me! And, that was also when I was still a new Dodger fan (prior to that day, I had only been to ONE Dodger game). I'm excited about this year's caravan!