EMDAT

A bunch of guys in the department here have an intramural softball team, and for a variety of reasons, I haven’t made it to either of the previous two games. Tonight, I finally made it out, and it was a blast. But it made me realize how much I miss playing baseball.

I played shortstop, and if it had been Little League, I would say I went 3-3 with a single, a triple, and a homerun. One damn double shy of the cycle. But since this is not Little League, I’ll be honest about my scoring and say I went 1-3. In my first at bat there was a runner on first and 2 outs, and I drilled a line drive back through the box and the runner froze, so they threw him out at second base from center field. Score it a fielder’s choice–no hit. My second at bat, I knocked the ball over the left fielder’s head for a home run–my only legit hit of the evening. Technically, it was an inside-the-parker because there were no fences, but I’m confident that it would have cleared the fence on a softball field had there been one. My last AB, I hit the ball hard, but I got under it and it should have been a routine flyball to the leftfielder. Fortunately, he missed it, and I made it to third.

I hit the ball pretty hard all three times. For being the first time I’ve swung a bat in about five years, I’m pleased.

I’m thinking of trying to find an over-21 league to play in, although I really don’t have the time. I may also try to find a summer league team that needs an assistant coach (I’ve actually been considering this for several months now, so it’s not just the softball game). I just want to get back into it, one way or another.

It’s been almost a month since I posted–I feel bad about this. However, I have a couple of sneaking suspicions about this blog. First, I doubt that many people actually read it anymore. Second, I find that these days I have less to say that other people might find interesting. I’m not going to stop the blog, but I’m going to accept the fact that I probably won’t post more than once a week or so.

But without further ado, here’s an update:

I just got back to Alabama after 10 days at home in Virginia. It was pretty much exactly what I needed–some time with family and old friends, some fresh breaths of Virginia air, and for not a lot of money. Unless you count the airfare and the $88 it cost to get my car out of the parking garage at the airport. But other than that, I didn’t spend a lot, which was good.

I also turned 23 while I was there, and pretty much cleaned up in terms of gifts. I finally got a new Flash drive (2 GB!), a new watch with 3 easily-changeable leather bands, a couple of books that have been on my list for a while, a gift card to buy a Smokey Joe Grill, a Shearwater Pottery baseball player “figurine” (which brings me one step closer to completing my collection), a Defend New Orleans shirt, and plenty of cash. Not bad a’tall.

Of course, when Emily and I returned to our apartment here, we found a nice leak in the ceiling of our hallway. The ceiling was sagging and nasty wet, and the carpet underneath was soaked. I have no idea how long it was leaking because I had been gone for a week and a half. Turns out it was a pipe running from a water heater across the attic above our apartment. Also turns out that there are three (or more) water heaters directly above our apartment. Hopefully this does not become a way of life, because there is a somewhat rank smell already emanating from the floor or ceiling–I’m not sure which.

On a more positive note, the weather here is absolutely gorgeous. Highs in the 70s all week–maybe in the low 80s a couple of days. I know that it will soon be 110 degrees in the shade, but for now, I’m enjoying the weather. I’m planning to cash in that gift card for my Smokey Joe later this week, and Emily and I are planning to have a picnic down by the river sometime very soon.