Ballgame! That's what we heard about halfway through our second softball game last night when we were mercy ruled 21-1. Last night was the first night of the Raleigh church league softball tournament and as a D league team we had a play in game at 6:30. The play in game was pretty good for both teams and we almost gave it up at the end but held on to win 13-12. I went 2-3 and scored two runs (I think) and struck out on fouls for the first time this season (argh). I played right field for the first time this season as we had a few people that couldn't make it and had to move some people around. I made a couple of circus catches and had a pretty good time.
Our second game started 15 minutes after the first and was against the #1 A league team that won the regular season and tournament last year. We knew these guys were serious when they were playing pepper before the game started. As I said we lost 21-1 and were glad to not get shut out. They had us played perfectly the entire game. Everytime somebody got ahold of the ball it went directly to one of their players. Their bats were even more impressive. I have never seen a display of hitting like they put on last night. Their second hitter, a lefty, on his first AB launched one over my head in right and it just kept going over the fence. The fence was 300' and the ball probably flew at least 330'. Very impressive. When the balls weren't flying to the warning track they were place hitting in the short field. I played decently well in right catching several flys. Unfortunately when I rush my throws they dive straight at the cut offs feet and when I got that fixed it would go over his head. My goal for next year is to work on my throws a little more. I've never had a good arm but it's improved over last year. I only got up to bat once in this game and again fouled out which was very frustrating to say the least given the blow out.
Overall, it was a great season and I had an awesome time. We finished the regular season 10-4 and overall 11-5. We tied for first in the regular season with the team we beat last night so I guess you could say we won D league!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Improvement
During the summer we can take Friday afternoon off if we've made up the hours earlier in the week. Well I have plenty of hours from the last couple of weeks so I took Friday afternoon off and hit the golf course. I wanted to play on the course where we are having our tournament in two weeks but it was $68 which made me say "bump that" and I headed to Brevofield for a $27 round. I played the first nine holes by myself and then a coworker joined me at the turn.
I think I've found my swing! I shot 103 which isn't good but it's my best ever by 5 strokes. I could have easily broken 100 if I hadn't blown up on a hole and shot a 10. It was very nice to see the ball fly perfectly straight multiple times. While I did have a few errant shots like normal they were reduced and also able to be managed with improvement in the next shot to recover. I'm hoping that it wasn't a one time thing as everything felt in sync. I almost didn't watch any of the Open yesterday or read any of my new golf digest for fear of messing something up, but I watched and read anyway :). Golf is an amazing game of highs and lows and internal competition. It's a mental test requiring emotional control. I love it...well most of the time.
In other news, I had a blind date on Wednesday set up by a coworker. It was pleasant and a good experience but I don't think there's anything there. I was hesitant going in but I'm glad I stepped out there and tried something new.
I think I've found my swing! I shot 103 which isn't good but it's my best ever by 5 strokes. I could have easily broken 100 if I hadn't blown up on a hole and shot a 10. It was very nice to see the ball fly perfectly straight multiple times. While I did have a few errant shots like normal they were reduced and also able to be managed with improvement in the next shot to recover. I'm hoping that it wasn't a one time thing as everything felt in sync. I almost didn't watch any of the Open yesterday or read any of my new golf digest for fear of messing something up, but I watched and read anyway :). Golf is an amazing game of highs and lows and internal competition. It's a mental test requiring emotional control. I love it...well most of the time.
In other news, I had a blind date on Wednesday set up by a coworker. It was pleasant and a good experience but I don't think there's anything there. I was hesitant going in but I'm glad I stepped out there and tried something new.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Going Places and Doing Things
There was a lot packed into last week. I returned to work after a few days in Massachusetts to a big, big pile of e-mails and work. I won't go into the gory details of the work week but suffice it to say I was the most stressed I've ever been in my life. Normally I don't get too stressed over things I can't control but when people outside of the company aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing which then reflects badly on me and the company and has the potential to kill a deal it started getting to me. It was on crisis after another and I could feel physical reactions from my body coming off the high of trying to get something solved. Even with all of the issues +I did close my third deal on Wednesday! It's $2.7 miilion equity investment in a 78 unit apartment community being rehabbed in Corbin, Kentucky.
Friday was a much needed day of little work. In the morning, a coworker and I went to a local golf store that was having a megasale to purchase prizes for our company golf tournament coming up at the end of the month. We bought 10 different clubs (4 hybrids, 4 60 degree wedges, a driver, and a putter), a couple of hats, some nice balls, two coolers, and a windshirt for $1,141 saving over $500 off retail! We even came in under my budget of $1,300.
Friday afternoon was the annual office bowling tournament. I ended up scoring the second highest with a whopping 143 beating my boss by 1 point! I also had the highest speed bowl with 22.45 mph! I won a $40 gift card for my score and two $20 gift cards to Frankie's Fun Park for the fastest roll. No need to slow my roll on Friday! (I just wanted to say "slow my roll")
Saturday dad and I met at my sister's new apartment in Charlotte to move her new bed and two couches she bought at Ikea. It was blazing hot but a nice, sunny day in Uptown Charlotte. I'm really jealous of her intown location. She's going to have a great time. Sunday Emily arrived after attending a wedding on Saturday and we finished putting together and arranging her furniture.
It was a busy week but it's time to get going again. Thankfully I think the late work nights are over for the time being!
Friday was a much needed day of little work. In the morning, a coworker and I went to a local golf store that was having a megasale to purchase prizes for our company golf tournament coming up at the end of the month. We bought 10 different clubs (4 hybrids, 4 60 degree wedges, a driver, and a putter), a couple of hats, some nice balls, two coolers, and a windshirt for $1,141 saving over $500 off retail! We even came in under my budget of $1,300.
Friday afternoon was the annual office bowling tournament. I ended up scoring the second highest with a whopping 143 beating my boss by 1 point! I also had the highest speed bowl with 22.45 mph! I won a $40 gift card for my score and two $20 gift cards to Frankie's Fun Park for the fastest roll. No need to slow my roll on Friday! (I just wanted to say "slow my roll")
Saturday dad and I met at my sister's new apartment in Charlotte to move her new bed and two couches she bought at Ikea. It was blazing hot but a nice, sunny day in Uptown Charlotte. I'm really jealous of her intown location. She's going to have a great time. Sunday Emily arrived after attending a wedding on Saturday and we finished putting together and arranging her furniture.
It was a busy week but it's time to get going again. Thankfully I think the late work nights are over for the time being!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
"Not to be ministered unto, but to minister"
I know, I know, after calling you people out for not updating while we were in San Antonio last weekend I’ve been slack about posting, but I have an excuse. I’ve been in Boston for the past three days to attend my sister’s graduation from Wellesley College. I’m writing this post from the Philadelphia airport which is a story for later, but at least I’ve know been to PA.
After returning from San Antonio late on Monday night I had every intention of only going to work for a couple of hours on Tuesday for a conference call and to get a few things done, well that didn’t happen and I stayed at work all day which led to me waking up at 4:00 AM on Wednesday to pack as I had to wash clothes from the previous trip and had softball (we won). The flight to Boston via DC was uneventful and I rendezvoused with my mom at Logan around noon to head west to Wellesley. Wednesday we didn’t do much other than relax.
Thursday was a busy day with a picnic that was moved inside due to the chance of rain and the baccalaureate ceremony. Unfortunately I had a conference call during the baccalaureate and since we were only allowed one ticket I skipped it but everyone said it was great (normally I wouldn’t have participated on the call but since we’re closing early next week and this project is very problematic I needed to stay in the loop). After the ceremony, Dad, Matt (Emily’s boyfriend), and I moved most of her stuff out of the dorm into my dad’s Yukon XL. Luckily she had whittled down her stuff this year and was the most painless dorm move I’ve experienced. That night was the big family graduation dinner which featured the guest of honor, mom, dad, my aunt, Matt, and me. We went to a great local restaurant in Watertown called Stellina. I had the honey mustard glazed salmon which was better than the time I attempted to make it and some excellent calamari for an appetizer.
Friday morning was graduation and a beautiful day in Massachusetts. Commencement was in a humongous white tent, the largest tent I’ve ever been in. It definitely earned the moniker of the “Big Top.” The ceremony lasted for a couple of hours with Madeline Albright (a 1959 alum) delivering the address and all 560 graduates walking across the stage. Emily seemed very glad to graduate and we were all beaming with joy and pride. For audio of the speeches go here.
After graduation Dad and I ventured to Concord to visit the Walden Pond State Reservation and see the site of Thoreau’s respite in the woods. The pond (actually I’d call it a lake but pond sounds better) was clear and was being enjoyed by swimmers all along its banks from secluded rock steps to the water’s edge. It was hard to imagine that it was an oasis of trees amidst clear cut agricultural land in the 1800s as the forest has reclaimed much of the area. Unfortunately we were a on a tight time frame so we weren’t able to hike around the entire lake but we accomplished our goal after four years of traveling to the area.
That night Emily attended a fancy dinner at the Boston Public Library sponsored by the college trustees to honor the retiring college president after fourteen years in office. After chauferring her and a friend to the dinner, dad, Matt, and I drove over to Cambridge and had dinner at Emily’s favorite Boston area restaurant the Border Café which is a mexican resturant with a cajun twist. I had the best fajitas I’ve ever had with blackened chicken and the other two enjoyed their food as well. After dinner we walked around Harvard Square, campus, and just enjoyed the beautiful late Spring weather.
Now to why I’m in Philadelphia, my original travel plans were to fly from Boston to NY LaGuardia and then onto Raleigh. However, when I checked my flight status this morning I found out my first flight to NYC was cancelled. When I arrived at Logan, the ticket agent said the flight was cancelled because of a lack of crew. Well I guess that’s as good a reason as any to cancel a flight. She redirected me to Philadelphia and then I’ll arrive in Raleigh between 5:00 and 6:00 PM (it’s 2:00 as I type this) which puts me back home about 2.5 hours later than anticipated but that’s fine because I’m typing this post while I wait. While my travel plans were frustrating this morning, I’m not letting it get me down as I had a great time seeing Emily graduate! For those of you that don’t know, she’ll be working for Bank of American in Uptown Charlotte for the next two years with plans to go to medical school afterwards. This summer she’ll be at home during June and will then travel to NYC for training all of July and will live in a hotel in Time Square. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. I hope she likes it.
As for San Antonio, that trip was a lot of fun. I’ve come to the conclusion that we to need to have somebody get married once a year from here on out so we can have one big WCF/Tech vacation reunion. In lieu of a recap, here are the top five sayings/events from the weekend.
5. Where am I sleeping?
4. “French kiss” – Me overhearing and misunderstanding Daryl talking to Melissa about her manicure and French tips.
3. Chris, Meagan and Eric: “... in Miami Dolphins clothes and ... in cleanliness and messiness”
2. Melissa: “Hey, there’s a drive through beer store!” In reference to the “Beer 'N All” drive through with the skanky girls where you can get margaritas to go.
1. “I do”
Here are the links to the trip photo galleries:
Johnson-Schwartz Wedding
Graduation
Walden Pond
After returning from San Antonio late on Monday night I had every intention of only going to work for a couple of hours on Tuesday for a conference call and to get a few things done, well that didn’t happen and I stayed at work all day which led to me waking up at 4:00 AM on Wednesday to pack as I had to wash clothes from the previous trip and had softball (we won). The flight to Boston via DC was uneventful and I rendezvoused with my mom at Logan around noon to head west to Wellesley. Wednesday we didn’t do much other than relax.
Thursday was a busy day with a picnic that was moved inside due to the chance of rain and the baccalaureate ceremony. Unfortunately I had a conference call during the baccalaureate and since we were only allowed one ticket I skipped it but everyone said it was great (normally I wouldn’t have participated on the call but since we’re closing early next week and this project is very problematic I needed to stay in the loop). After the ceremony, Dad, Matt (Emily’s boyfriend), and I moved most of her stuff out of the dorm into my dad’s Yukon XL. Luckily she had whittled down her stuff this year and was the most painless dorm move I’ve experienced. That night was the big family graduation dinner which featured the guest of honor, mom, dad, my aunt, Matt, and me. We went to a great local restaurant in Watertown called Stellina. I had the honey mustard glazed salmon which was better than the time I attempted to make it and some excellent calamari for an appetizer.
Friday morning was graduation and a beautiful day in Massachusetts. Commencement was in a humongous white tent, the largest tent I’ve ever been in. It definitely earned the moniker of the “Big Top.” The ceremony lasted for a couple of hours with Madeline Albright (a 1959 alum) delivering the address and all 560 graduates walking across the stage. Emily seemed very glad to graduate and we were all beaming with joy and pride. For audio of the speeches go here.
After graduation Dad and I ventured to Concord to visit the Walden Pond State Reservation and see the site of Thoreau’s respite in the woods. The pond (actually I’d call it a lake but pond sounds better) was clear and was being enjoyed by swimmers all along its banks from secluded rock steps to the water’s edge. It was hard to imagine that it was an oasis of trees amidst clear cut agricultural land in the 1800s as the forest has reclaimed much of the area. Unfortunately we were a on a tight time frame so we weren’t able to hike around the entire lake but we accomplished our goal after four years of traveling to the area.
That night Emily attended a fancy dinner at the Boston Public Library sponsored by the college trustees to honor the retiring college president after fourteen years in office. After chauferring her and a friend to the dinner, dad, Matt, and I drove over to Cambridge and had dinner at Emily’s favorite Boston area restaurant the Border Café which is a mexican resturant with a cajun twist. I had the best fajitas I’ve ever had with blackened chicken and the other two enjoyed their food as well. After dinner we walked around Harvard Square, campus, and just enjoyed the beautiful late Spring weather.
Now to why I’m in Philadelphia, my original travel plans were to fly from Boston to NY LaGuardia and then onto Raleigh. However, when I checked my flight status this morning I found out my first flight to NYC was cancelled. When I arrived at Logan, the ticket agent said the flight was cancelled because of a lack of crew. Well I guess that’s as good a reason as any to cancel a flight. She redirected me to Philadelphia and then I’ll arrive in Raleigh between 5:00 and 6:00 PM (it’s 2:00 as I type this) which puts me back home about 2.5 hours later than anticipated but that’s fine because I’m typing this post while I wait. While my travel plans were frustrating this morning, I’m not letting it get me down as I had a great time seeing Emily graduate! For those of you that don’t know, she’ll be working for Bank of American in Uptown Charlotte for the next two years with plans to go to medical school afterwards. This summer she’ll be at home during June and will then travel to NYC for training all of July and will live in a hotel in Time Square. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. I hope she likes it.
As for San Antonio, that trip was a lot of fun. I’ve come to the conclusion that we to need to have somebody get married once a year from here on out so we can have one big WCF/Tech vacation reunion. In lieu of a recap, here are the top five sayings/events from the weekend.
5. Where am I sleeping?
4. “French kiss” – Me overhearing and misunderstanding Daryl talking to Melissa about her manicure and French tips.
3. Chris, Meagan and Eric: “... in Miami Dolphins clothes and ... in cleanliness and messiness”
2. Melissa: “Hey, there’s a drive through beer store!” In reference to the “Beer 'N All” drive through with the skanky girls where you can get margaritas to go.
1. “I do”
Here are the links to the trip photo galleries:
Johnson-Schwartz Wedding
Graduation
Walden Pond
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