About to melt

it's a HOT one.

but at least i'm not wearing a navy blue polo today. yesterday was overwhelmingly hot and humid for our afternoon game. birthdays have been going extremely well, and i've picked up helping Leo with merch duties. i usually have a couple hours every afternoon (most days) where i'm not doing anything in particular, so helping with trying to get a handle on merchandising and the store is a good project for me.
lets go with a quick run down before i get out of here to find some AC. friday found me in the A/V room running the music for the night. i'd never done this before, but i was up there with Paul who runs the video board and Mike who is the announcer. They both helped me get through what turned out to be a more-stressful-than-necessary night. Mike in particular kept me from hurling myself out of the window into the seating bowl below. The soundbytes and songs were all organized pretty well- I had no problem with that- but the cues were hard to keep up with, and I couldnt see almost any of the seating area (where our EMCEE often was) and it was a stretch to be able to see home plate. Also, a lot of the clips' names werent very descriptive, so I was nervous about playing something inappropriate for the play or situation. All things considered, nothing went wrong. There was only one time where I played a sound clip over Mike's announcing (woops)... and since then, I've heard other people do that kind of stuff. Bottom line, we're mostly all new to some of these duties... mistakes are inevitable. That's a hard concept for me to swallow though.
After the game, I went out with the front office staff to the Charlie Horse. As soon as the game started to wind down, I realized that my committing to this post-game event was a poor decision. I was entirely ready for my night to be over, per usual, after we had broken down the concourse for the night, but Karissa had said that I could stay at her place that night and  part of me figured it would be a good thing to put in some intentional effort towards hanging out with these people- all of whom I like very much for knowing them so little. I was tired enough that I changed in the parking lot by the car we were taking, and when we got to the Charlie Horse I zoned out to enjoy my beer (compliments of Karissa) and watch the Sox game. Eventually, I had a few conversations, but soon got... well, dragged isnt the word for it, i wasnt THAT hesitant... off to the dance floor. That was a great time, and the majority of us danced till the band was done for the night. By the time we got to Karissa's house, it was after 2am. I flopped onto her futon and was out like a light. Of course, I was up by 7am that morning... didnt even take advantage of the rare ability to sleep in before work. We were due at the stadium by 10am, so we lazed around a bit and Karissa made cinnamon rolls.

Saturday and Sunday were both 1-birthday days. Pretty light.  I hope you all get to come out to a game this summer and see what we've created. Unfortunately, John and Leo were both scheduled to be out on Sunday for various reasons, which is a hefty blow since John's head of promotions and Leo's merch guy. As I've picked up some of the merch stuff lately, it seemed a natural progression that I would assume responsibility on game day in Leo's absence. It seemed doable, on paper at least... but as Sunday morning rolled on (8am work start time) it became more and more apparent that I was overcommitted for the day. The birthday was largely taken care of, but there were little stressors, such as the fact that I hadnt been successful in connecting with the leader of the party voice to voice. I also hadnt printed a few seat reserve signs out, I hadnt gotten the souvenir gifts that we give out to each party by half an hour before gates opened... just little things that were piled up. And then you throw on top of this the merch duties, which I had never had to take care of and wasnt wholly clear on. I was having a hard enough time printing out the inventory lists for the store and the concourse merch stands as updated ones had been typed out in a program that wasnt compatible with excel and on a computer that wasnt on the network. I hadnt even begun to seriously think about stocking the concourse stands or finding the money bags for each merch station. Even apart from all of this, I had volunteered to run to the store and get a bunch of balloons and party trappings for a season ticket holder's birthday being held in one of the suites (not my department). This intended quick trip ended up taking 45 minutes because Shaws was backed up with balloon and flower orders. When I got back and was working hard on getting one of the networked printers to print, someone came and collected me to go to the pregame meeting where we go over everything happening throughout the day. This meeting bumped right up alongside of the Chapel time, and that was another 30 minutes I wasnt going to have to be getting tasks done but I knew that it would benefit and bless me to devote this time that I suddenly didnt have to God and fellowship with the others.

Chapel (11am... gates at 12) was really pretty good this week. Jean, Dom, Falu, and I were the ones this time around but we talked about Radical Love and I got to let a thing or two off my chest and received some support. The people I work with are my friend group right now- I dont have the physical time to be around my friends here in Boston and Cambridge, so it's been so important that I find a few strong, likeminded people who arent afraid to live their lives in a spirit of radical love. I dont see that practiced on a day to day basis and it's burdening... I enjoy everyone I work with but the harsh comments are wearing. I communicate this, too, but it doesnt make much of a difference. Anyway, Dom talked a little about how he can relate and I felt surprisingly better just hearing from him that he would be around the park if I ever just wanted to chat. He gave me his number, and I think I'll probably track him down towards the end of the week. I dont know him almost at all, but I can tell that he is probably the best person I've come into contact with this summer simply by the way he treats people. He's also the only other person connected to the Rox who I know is really into Jesus- I'm sure some of the other guys are too, but Dom's personality seems to be a bit more outgoing, a bit more forthcoming when it comes to the Bible studies. Enough on that. Oh, he's the starting shortstop for the Rox. Melvin Falu plays the outfield. All in all, chapel was extremely encouraging in the most simple way. But once it was finished with, my immediate responsibilities came back into focus and I was off again, running around and realizing that with only 20 minutes till gates opened, there were far too many things to be accomplished. After having printed the price/inventory lists for the store and the stands, I ran back to the ticket office to snag some tape... and who was outside the door but Leo. AHHHHH, Leo, what was he doing here? But I was so glad in that moment, because I was facing impending failure. Or at least, that's how I felt. He had asked for the day off for his flag football semifinal game, and potential final game as well if they won the first one... and so I assumed that he had lost that first game but knowing a little bit about Leo I was shocked that he decided to come back here instead of taking the rest of the day. I only add these past few sentences to give you an idea of how completely unexpected this appearance was to me. He took over and I breathed for the first time in 3 hours.
Think what you will but I know God took care of my in my circumstance that morning.

The rain came but we didnt end up rolling out the tarp. The game finished, the kids ran the bases, fans got autographs down the third base line on the field, and then we stood at the gates handing out pocket schedules for about 45 minutes while a Christian concert was happening in front of the Rox dugout. I was not a fan.

Finally, eventually, got out of town around 6pm. It was a long, hot, humid day, and I treated myself to a veggie burger at Not Your Average Joe's so that I could watch the end of the Sox game. Jon Lester was awe-inspiring. Complete game on 101 or 102 pitches. Just amazing.

I'm helping at the Vineyard's Soccer Nights soccer clinic tonight. Very psyched! It was so much fun last year.  Kids are the best. Already looking forward to getting back at it tomorrow.