Well. What a three weeks this has turned out to be.
From National Parks and family to Spring Training and Phoenix to Vegas last night and Colleen on an airplane today. I'm writing this from my apartment, oddly quiet and dark in comparison to what I've become accustomed to over the past three months.
Exhausting would be a good word to describe how today went...in fact, when I saw my boss and she asked how I was, I told her "Awake. And that's just going to have to do for today." She laughed, which I appreciated.
Today was a tough day, up early, dropping Ms. Earp off at the airport, and heading to work sans breakfast. Thankfully, there was some granola in a mason jar in my classroom to munch on, and my handy Keurig to pump coffee out into my brand new Spring Training Arizona 2013 coffee mug. After work, it was softball practice and then home. I was missing Colleen all day, but it didn't hit me until I walked in tonight. It was kind of like Brad Paisley's "Fishin Song" (conveniently done in Camden, NJ)...except not as hilarious. And I'm genuinely excited for Colleen to be home with her family and friends, to be going back to a job she enjoys and another job she loves, and for her exciting news about New Orleans and the opportunities that exist there. So mostly it was like that song in that he realizes that when he gets home it'll hit him that she's gone.
But Colleen isn't gone with a capital G. She's just elsewhere. And we have a relationship that can confidently support the divergent geography that we currently share.
Hey. Ain't no thing. Just a very, very long day full of granola, coffee, and dirt from a softball field.
OH. And a sub. A real one. From Jersey Mike's...we found one in Vegas.
I walked into the sub shop and asked for a whole # (I don't remember). The kid behind the counter looked at me like I'd walked in, removed my pants, and thrown them in the air. So another employee took over, made the sandwich with just a few confusing questions (HOW HARD IS IT TO MAKE A SUB?!). As I paid out, I told her that the questions confused me...back east, you walk in, tell them "half a #4" and in 2 minutes there's a sandwich in front of you. She explained that she was from Camden, and that she gets it.
Ate the sub for lunch...split it with a coworker. Needless to say, it was a hit, a real sub made on correct bread and in proper fashion. I'm overly excited about this, yes, but there just aren't any good sub places out here. It's not a thing.
Another reason to want to come back east, and another reason to be excited about the summer.
I've decided to stay here for another year. Arizona, while trying, has treated me well, my coworkers are great, and I'm lucky enough to be doing a job I love. I wish it were closer to home...there are a lot of things about the east coast that I miss, including family and friends, and porkroll, and subs.
(At least I listed you all before the food...but be honest, you'd miss those things too.)
11 weeks until I'm home...
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
The 8 year old inside me screamed!
Spring Training. Usually just known to me as the end of the "Long, dark, nightmare of the soul" that is that time between the Super Bowl and the beginning of baseball again. This year, however, we went. The eight year old inside of me was jumping around all over the place. And it was glorious.
After a week of travels that involved some great National Parks, some great company, and ended with new tires (heh heh, oops) we headed south to the Sonoran Desert and the land of saguaros. Those things are crazy! They're all over the hills, and as you get closer to the city of Phoenix, they dot the landscape along with Joshua Trees next to the highway. After we arrived in Phoenix, we checked into the motel, went and had some Waffle House (!!) and then stopped to grab some beverages at a gas station. Coming out of that gas station, my car would not start. An hour and a half and a new battery later, we were ready to go.
We went to a night game our first day in town to see the Rockies play the Reds at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale. It was awesome; major league players in a minor league setting, like Lakewood. We spent $8 for lawn seats, bought a beer and walked around the park, finally settling behind the Reds bullpen to watch their starter, Bronson Arroyo, warm up. As he began to throw, we got into a conversation with him. Personable, funny guy. Brock wound up getting a ball tossed his way as Arroyo went to the mound to begin the game. Neat stuff. Since we didn't move our location all night, we were still behind the pen when Arroyo drove a double off the center field wall. This caused another round of conversation about whether or not the relievers would hear the end of his double. As it turns out, it's a good thing it wasn't Mat Latos who got the hit.
The next day was two ball games. The first game was at Hohokam Park in Mesa for the Cubs and Rangers. We spent some time walking around the park before settling into the grass in right field for the duration of the game. They had 24 oz PBR for 10 bucks! What fun. The second game found us in Peoria for the Giants at the Mariners. By this point we were totally exhausted from all of the sunshine from the afternoon and an all-you-can-eat stop at the Waffle House, but it is always awesome to see Major Leaguers giving baseballs to kids at every opportunity, which happened abundantly all week.
Wednesday found us thankful for only one baseball game. Dustin left before we headed to Surprise for the Dodgers at the Royals. Keeping up with this game was a little confusing because both teams chose to wear blue. Perplexing. During this game, we found out via the internets that Dodgers third baseman Hanley Ramirez will miss the first 8 weeks of the season. Go WBC!
Thursday was our final day in Phoenix at the Days Inn. We checked out and went to see the White Sox play the Brewers at Camelback Ranch. During this game, we watched little kids get the best baseball experience they could ask for...baseballs tossed liberally into the crowd, autographs by many established Major Leaguers as they exited the game, a great lawn to roll down.
It was incredible to see Major League players interact with fans, sign autographs, and just generally enjoy their work in such a setting. The weather was perfect, the venues small and cozy, the prices totally reasonable. While I imagine that going to Florida to see the Yankees or Mets would be more exciting (since I'd have a dog in the fight, so to speak) the fact that everything in Phoenix is a half hour from everything else makes it a great opportunity to see many new players, parks, and teams.
After a week of travels that involved some great National Parks, some great company, and ended with new tires (heh heh, oops) we headed south to the Sonoran Desert and the land of saguaros. Those things are crazy! They're all over the hills, and as you get closer to the city of Phoenix, they dot the landscape along with Joshua Trees next to the highway. After we arrived in Phoenix, we checked into the motel, went and had some Waffle House (!!) and then stopped to grab some beverages at a gas station. Coming out of that gas station, my car would not start. An hour and a half and a new battery later, we were ready to go.
We went to a night game our first day in town to see the Rockies play the Reds at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale. It was awesome; major league players in a minor league setting, like Lakewood. We spent $8 for lawn seats, bought a beer and walked around the park, finally settling behind the Reds bullpen to watch their starter, Bronson Arroyo, warm up. As he began to throw, we got into a conversation with him. Personable, funny guy. Brock wound up getting a ball tossed his way as Arroyo went to the mound to begin the game. Neat stuff. Since we didn't move our location all night, we were still behind the pen when Arroyo drove a double off the center field wall. This caused another round of conversation about whether or not the relievers would hear the end of his double. As it turns out, it's a good thing it wasn't Mat Latos who got the hit.
The next day was two ball games. The first game was at Hohokam Park in Mesa for the Cubs and Rangers. We spent some time walking around the park before settling into the grass in right field for the duration of the game. They had 24 oz PBR for 10 bucks! What fun. The second game found us in Peoria for the Giants at the Mariners. By this point we were totally exhausted from all of the sunshine from the afternoon and an all-you-can-eat stop at the Waffle House, but it is always awesome to see Major Leaguers giving baseballs to kids at every opportunity, which happened abundantly all week.
Wednesday found us thankful for only one baseball game. Dustin left before we headed to Surprise for the Dodgers at the Royals. Keeping up with this game was a little confusing because both teams chose to wear blue. Perplexing. During this game, we found out via the internets that Dodgers third baseman Hanley Ramirez will miss the first 8 weeks of the season. Go WBC!
Thursday was our final day in Phoenix at the Days Inn. We checked out and went to see the White Sox play the Brewers at Camelback Ranch. During this game, we watched little kids get the best baseball experience they could ask for...baseballs tossed liberally into the crowd, autographs by many established Major Leaguers as they exited the game, a great lawn to roll down.
It was incredible to see Major League players interact with fans, sign autographs, and just generally enjoy their work in such a setting. The weather was perfect, the venues small and cozy, the prices totally reasonable. While I imagine that going to Florida to see the Yankees or Mets would be more exciting (since I'd have a dog in the fight, so to speak) the fact that everything in Phoenix is a half hour from everything else makes it a great opportunity to see many new players, parks, and teams.
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