In which Pat turns 23

I've got a new phone.. that's the big news of late. I like my old phone better but it just got ridiculous trying to use it.

No, it's not an iPhone :( that didnt quite fit my budget.

Let's see... Sunday was the last game of the homestand, and I was on scoreboard duty since there were no birthday parties during the game. I was cool as a cucumber (I really just used that phrase) this time around and had absolutely no issues until the bottom of the 8th when a connection came loose and the scoreboard itself went blank. Everything was still there on my console, but the wires kind of drape outside the press box and through a window into a neighboring room so once in a while things become a bit less securely connected than they should be. The board came back on and went off again a few more times but there wasnt anything I could do about it... just keep logging the balls, strikes, outs, runs, etc so that when they were showing up out on the board, they were showing up accurately. Running the scoreboard ... I love it. I dont get to hang out with the others during the game or help with any of the promotions, but I do get to actually sit down and focus on what's going on on the field. The scorekeeper, Alan, is a nice guy and we have no problem conversing for 2 1/2 hours.

After we wrapped things up around the park, we were directed to one of the suites where there was lots of food waiting for us. Generally there are extra hot dogs for us after a game but I gave up on those weeks ago. I dont want my summer to be filled with hot dog consumption. They had a good spread for us, though, and we all sort of crammed in and watched Blue Streak on a tv for a while, zoned out, tired after 7 straight days of working. We're a good group, still all getting along peaceably. I'm thankful for that. We're all pretty different so it could have been a lot different. Something that's currently uniting us is the Silly Bandz fad... to varying degrees, we're almost all of us pretty into them... I think the draw is being able to trade with kids because we have the chance to interact with so many kids each game. Mason and Karissa got this going, I think, because I didnt even know about them two weeks ago. Dan and I got some kids to give us one each, and a whole world of trading opened up :) a new way to relate. Now among ourselves we kind of try to see who can get sweet ones. After Sunday's game, a bunch of us were on the field overseeing an autograph session that was taking place with all of the players. These two little boys walk up to me, and Greg was standing by as well, and I ask which Silly Bandz the older one had. After a minute and without a word, the younger one (4 years old?) takes a small football band off his wrist and hands it to me. Then he removed a green Boston Red Sox "B" and gave it to Greg. (You can imagine how immediately jealous this made me... actually, I hope you cant, it's kind of embarrassing.) The B is the best in my book, the best I've seen so far at least. I got a Pat the Patriot band later that night, by chance, so that one has some real value too even if I dont really care that  much about it. Carly brought in several packs for us all and I snagged a Seahorse and a Helicopter.

Yep, I just wrote an exegesis on Silly Bandz. Right.

Monday, Monday, Monday. We split into teams and delivered pocket schedules. It was supposed to be a competition, with the winning team receiving Tuesday off, but of course that's not how it turned out. The team I was on- team Mason Law- won. Of course. I'm a winner :) heh. But considering that we had all just worked 8 days in a row, and have another long homestand coming up starting on Thursday, I figured Tom couldnt possibly only let 4 of us off. Some of us were off today (Team Law plus a couple others) and the rest will be off tomorrow... then it's full force on Thursday for the game. Competition is always fun. I didnt even really need today off to be honest. Nothing much happened... I did chore-ish to-do-ish things. I paid loans, which I'm feeling reallllly good about because I'm about to be completely done with one of them. On top of that, one of the rewards programs that I'm part of through Citibank has racked up enough points for me to put $375 worth towards loans! Awesome! So that feels good... I'll have that check in another month, and by then I will be DONE with that one loan. Woohoo!

Ah, I almost forgot to mention that I decided not to go to church on Sunday. It was a game day, and I'm committed to being at the park this summer... however, it's not more important. It's just very important. Which was why I was pretty excited when I found out that it's ok for me to join the players' chapel time. So that's what I did instead of going to the Vineyard- I joined the guys for a 20 min chapel. We focused on a passage from Genesis and a passage from Matthew. The point that was highlighted was "All that glitters isnt gold". There were 5 other guys there, as well as the one who had come in from an area church to lead. He recognized the Vineyard (I had met him about a week ago and we had chatted in the front office when I was manning the desk) and recalled hearing Pastor Dave speak at Inside Out Soul Fest years ago.

I'm glad to get back to it tomorrow. I'll be working with John 3, John 1, Leo, Max, Alex... I think that's our crew. Should be a fun day, not sure what they'll have for us to do. If we were distributing pocket schedules on Monday then there cant be a whole lot of upkeep type stuff left to finish up for Thursday. I will have some birthday stuff to figure out but most of that is day of game. Maybe we'll get some wiffle ball in. Or I'll get to try out the jousting suits that we use for promotions between innings.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT! I love you, wish I could be around to celebrate! Next time I see you.

Packing.. my oh my

This morning I began the daunting task of packing my things into a couple of bags. There's nothing to look forward to in this duty. It will include loss, the spending of money. There are a few things that I'll give away, but for the most part, anything that I've acquired I still want. At beginning of the trip in particular, I bought a wardrobe of great gently used professional attire. Hopefully Pat brings me some extra space in his suitcase.

Yep, Pat is coming tomorrow AM. Still hazy on what exactly we'll find ourselves up to. So far, my ideas include the Getty Museum, Yogurtland, the beach in some way/shape/form, a movie, the Grove, a ballgame, Century City mall, 3rd St Promenade, catch the finale of LOST, a harbor cruise that I tried to go on with Tiff (we missed it).... that's a good start for a 5-day visit, I think. Oh, and I'll have him help me get packed... yay :)


What an eventful weekend. Nadine turned 88 on Sunday, and the family got together at LA Country Club for a Saturday night celebratory dinner. According to Nadine, LA Country Club is classier than the CC she takes me to- Bel Air Country Club. You know, they're all nice. There it is. I dont want to think about how much my meal (chicken tostada salad) and drink alone must have cost. Anyhow, it was a nice time and I know that it meant a lot to Nadine, so mission accomplished! Church was powerful on Sunday, and after spending some time cooking and cleaning around the house I went to Bel Air Country Club with Nadine. We ran into some friends of hers- Marcella and Will- who invited us to dine with them. I had charbroiled pork chops with apple chutney. I've learned not to choose the cheapest item on the menu anymore (you all know how i am, whether I'm the one buying or not) because it draws too much attention. I still try to take it easy, though the prices climb to be pretty steep at these places. Anyhow, Will is 90 and from Boston. We talked quite a bit, or he told me about his Massachusetts experiences and I listened intently. He was there for about 25 years so it was home to him for a long time. Everyone I meet here, or ALMOST everyone I meet here, really likes Boston. (probably because it's the greatest.)


Amazing. I have found a frequency of sound that actually confuses my mind. Not sure that's technically what happens, but whenever I listen to this opening piece to a song by Thom Yorke, my brain feels like it's going to explode and I cant focus. So strange- addictive too.



Can you believe it? I certainly cant- has it really been a week since the last episode of LOST? Time flies I guess. And after this, there's Sunday night's Series Finale, and then that's that. ...meaning, every LOST fan starts watching the show from the beginning with new eyes, with the missing information that we are all still waiting to discover. I've cooled down from last week, after reading other blogs and analyses and at least being able to hash out the valuable parts of the episode. This time around promises to be great. AND it better involve Ben. How long must we wait? Maybe I'm the only one in the world who cares how his story turns out.


It was still a decision, though, to reserve the night for LOST. The Quakes are playing up in Lancaster, about 60 miles away, and wont be home again to Rancho Cucamonga till Friday. Hopefully I can convince Pat to go to a game.
So I made my nearly daily trip to the The Coffee Bean down the street today and once again ran into a guy here who've seen at least twice before, recently. Our meetings remind me of when I met my old friend Shawn Biggs on the commuter rail from Boston to Beverly.... we kept ending up sitting in the immediate vicinity to each other. Well, LA's Shawn is Kevin. I sat across the table from him about a week ago, and he asked me to watch his computer while he was outside talking with a friend (who was wearing a Yankees hat... I HAD to abandon my post for a moment to poke my head outdoors and give the poor guy flack for that- turns out he wasnt really a Yankees fan, was actually from out of the country, and had been harassed several times already for wearing the symbol of the evil empire). Yesterday, the only seat in the house that was open was again across a table from Kevin so I sat there in a comfy chair and once more told him I wouldnt let anyone snag his seat while he went down the street for a few. I got a free chai out of it.... and I've decided that I want to be a professional seat-saver :) Wouldnt mind that for a job. Today he was standing around taking a break from his writing when I walked in. Third time's a charm and we finally formally introduced ourselves. He's a writer, as I mentioned before, and he is currently working on his own memoir. He also showed me the trailer for a short film that he wrote. Too bad I'm only here for another week because when I mentioned that I can do audio editing he said that his editor flaked out on him recently. I told him as I realized it that in coming here I had hoped to meet many more people like him. The way he told it, he's got several creative projects going and is making things happen. I just didnt come across too many proactive dreamers in my time here. I know they're here somewhere, but I've missed out on being inspired by them. When I found creative spirits, they were either lazy, unmotivated, unaccessible/unrelatable, or their flame had burnt out leaving them jaded.


Really, it sounds like Boston has been warmer than LA. This stupid breeze is killing me. So sunny but so chilly. There were no open seats in the cafe so I'm outside with goosebumps.


Just a quick update on the moving process, before I head out for the evening. I have a place to live a block away from the Vineyard in Cambridge (woohoo) and also have a buyer for my car (yessss). This has been perhaps the most simple move ever. Usually around this time something goes wrong, but it really doesnt seem like that'll be the case. I'll be back in Boston on Monday afternoon/evening, and THERE BETTER BE WARM WEATHER LEFT FOR ME!

The Long Lost Blogger- dedicated to Katie

Well. I suppose it really has been 17 days since i posted here. I've been writing once in a while at http://pavilionsro.blogspot.com ... but my thoughts are pretty much all over the place on that site, and I tend to write out of anxiety and longing for my team. Coherency is not 1st priority.

It's hard to recap the span of a couple weeks. In no particular order, I received a coupon book that I bought for $15 which has some incredible discounts and have been taking advantage of this often, I've seen Clash of the Titans and Hot Tub Time Machine (neither of which I really liked, but there was some redeeming entertainment value to Clash of the Titans- and thanks to the coupon book, the movies were $6 and $7.50 respectively), I had a visitor, I was a visitor myself, I accidently broke something of Nadine's :(, I was taken out by Nadine to a very nice dinner, I signed up to clean up the school that my church body inhabits on Sundays, I made chicken curry, I went to the Grove, I went to Yogurtland, I went to the beach, I caught a Quakes game on a heartbreakingly perfect Sunday afternoon, I talked to my brother, I watched LOST, I mourned over the fact that LOST is a repeat tonight, I started to wind down at my current job, I got part of this song down pat:

(~53 sec to about 1:20)

Yes, as most of you know, I made the drive up to Laytonville out of love for my cousin and his family, which is my family too. The drive north was fascinating, and I wasnt bored for a second. I owe it all to a filled-out music selection, sunny weather, no traffic woes, fantastic gas mileage (only took me about 1.25, 1.5 tanks of gas to get up there), and plain old anticipation. Ah.. and how could i forget the ever-changing, gorgeous scenery? What a beautiful drive. I cant wait for an excuse to do it again, I really cant.

When I arrived, it was late- not sure if it was 12am or just before, but I had such a sense of serenity as I stepped out of my car onto shaky  legs and looked up through the trees to see brilliant stars. Mmm, just lovely. Wild life was humming gently around me. I was welcomed with hugs and about 20-30 minutes of chat, and then we all decided to call it a night.

The next morning, I awoke to the sounds of various farm animals outside my window. Everything else was quiet, and I could see the sun out my window. The grass was covered in early morning country mist. Absolutely picturesque. I just laid there for a few minutes, and soon heard Ryder across the house talking with his mom. Then, the pitter patter of little feet, and then silence. From bed, I glanced through the gap in the open door of my room to see a curious little face framed by wild feathery blonde hair gazing back. 

I invited him in and, friendly fellah, he entered the room with a smile on his face and started chatting away with me. I asked him if he wanted the wet willey that his grandpa had told me to give to him, and he grinned before  declining. In no time, he had me up and out of bed, and we sat on the floor of his play room and made castles for quite a while. 

Throughout that morning I received a fairly thorough tour of his toy room and everything in it. We were eventually joined by Mat's friend Jacob and his son Griffin, who's a bit younger than Ryder. (Ryder just turned 3, by the way- had a great birthday party, lots of fun presents, and a racecar pinata!) 

We all played together until breakfast was served- and of course, Mat is a ridiculously good cook. I generally dont eat pig meat, not on principle but just because I dont like it, but the ham he made was fresh and tasty. Hash browns, eggs, oj, and I was better than good to go. Thank you, cousin.

We went for a walk down their country lane, came back and played some more (ABCs for Ryder, reading, more castles), and settled in for lunch (perfect chicken salad- big chunks of chicken, walnuts, grapes, onions, consumed with pita bread). 

Mat and I had a chance to talk one on one during and after mealtime. I wonder if we had ever really talked, or spent concentrated time together. When I was little I remember thinking that he was the coolest. Now of course I love all of my cousins for the unique people that they've become :) Anyhow, before I dig myself into a hole here, haha (because the fight for the Favorite Uncle title is about to break out, I can just feel it) ...in the afternoon, we (minus Erin, who was wiped out at that point and opted to stay home) drove down the street a bit to pick up some groceries and "visit" the family on Skype. WOWWWW Ryder is so cute. Every time his grandpa (Mat's dad, my uncle) came into view on the computer screen, Ryder would wave and shout Hi Grandpa! Mat doesnt YET have a computer or internet, so this stuff was pretty novel to Ryder. When I videoed him earlier in the day, he was mesmerized by seeing himself on my computer. In any case, it was bittersweet but overall so very wonderful to see everyone gathered, and to be able to be a small part of it. I know that it meant a lot to Mat as well. What a great family I have.

Skype ended all too soon, and we returned to the house for steak and porkchops, asparagus, and shoot, I'm sure there was something else but all I can think about is the asparagus :) Yum. More chatting ensued. Cousinhood is an interesting sort of relationship. In my experience, it's essentially that you're cordially bound to certain people by blood/family ties, but you dont really have the pressure that comes along with a straight up friendship to keep in touch consistently. In a way, it's kind of nice to have people who care about you by default, even without too much of a reason. Anyhow, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Mat better. He is so sweet to Ryder, and he and Erin seem to have a great home set up in this new place (they bought it late last year). The house itself is really nice. They've got fowl running around all over the place, sheep, horses, a pig (Garret!), a fluffy cat, and two dogs. Really quite peaceful. 

The night ended on a high note, with the consumption of Erin's blueberry upside-down cake. So good!! Then Ryder buried us all one by one in his stuffed animals (which he lugged from his room) and then it was time for bed!

The next morning was short, but sunny and summery and idyllic. We built a few more castles for good measure, and Mat cooked us up omelets with potato, carrot, and asparagus. Avocado on top. AHHHHH, this was mindblowing. I made the same thing a few days after I got back. As you can tell, I was a fan of the menu the whole weekend. 

Mat, Erin, and Ryder were off to the beach for the day, and eventually I said my goodbyes and commenced my return journey. It only took about a half-hour longer than before, as I hit some light traffic around Oakland. Just a warning- the stretch of road about 45 min north of LA- the 5- is DANGEROUSLY beautiful. I couldnt keep my eyes on the road. I wish I could describe it to you, but just think towering mountains, green everywhere, grass and darker dots of trees, everything soft and rolling... and even worse, I drove through there during the Golden Hour period of the evening, so everything looked even more perfect.

Where the 5 meets the 580 (i believe it's the 580), it's a lot of green rolling hills, and an army of windmills/wind turbines. That was fascinating, especially on my drive up, when I wasnt expecting it. Three-armed turbines of all different sizes were spinning at varying speeds... very interesting to watch. Around exit 325 on the 5, i noticed an amazingly potent, floral, sweet smell. It was there on the way up and on the way back. I wish I knew what was growing in the fields along that stretch of road, because the smell was unforgettable.

What else? My friend Tiffany came to visit this past Thursday, Friday, Saturday. I met her during my Music Semester on Martha's Vineyard- the CMC. 

 (Shawna, Me, Tifftastic)

(Andrea, Tiff, Me somewhere in LA)

She's living in NC right now and decided it was a good time to visit, while she'd have the dual benefits of seeing me and escaping to LA for a few days! The first time I visited LA was actually during that CMC semester, so Tiff and I have some history in this part of town even. We had a blast!  Unfortunately, I had to work on Thursday and Friday, but we made the most of it. She got her fill of Century City, and took my car down the road to Westwood Village on Friday to explore a bit. We made chicken curry on Thursday night, and then went to Yogurtland. She was very similar to me in my initial reaction to Yogurtland. I had been talking it up all day to her, and when we got there she tried a few flavors and agreed that everything tasted pretty good; was happy for the toppings bar, and noted without yet fully understanding the significance that the price was by ounce (30 cents/oz). This was just how my first experience went. And then, we got to the register, and I told the cashier that our yogurts were together, and Tiff started to protest.. until the cashier gave us our total, and the total was something like $4.30. At that point, her eyes went wide and she got pretty darn excited- as I had done, too. Cheeeeeap! A little money goes a LONG way at this place. You can get a TUB of froyo for under $3. Anyhow, she was sold.

The next day was work for me, as I mentioned, and Tiff did some exploring. Then, we were going to catch a sunset cruise around the bay in Newport Beach (I got 2 for cheap as part of a www.livingsocial.com deal). Unfortunately, due to several unexpected delays, we missed the cruise... so we went to the Grove instead, caught Clash of the Titans for cheap (thanks to my coupon book! woohoo!). Snuck coffee and cookies into the theatre, because we baaaad. The movie was ridiculous, but it was a leisure activity, and we could laugh about it afterward, so no real complaints.

Saturday... hmm. Saturday we visited Buffalo Exchange (in Westwood Village), which is like a thrift store but people sell their clothes to the shop instead of donating. They were having a $1 sale, and while I purchased a couple duds, I also bought a few great items. It was a madhouse so we didnt last long there. UCLA, which is directly next to Westwood Village, was holding The Festival of Books, so we walked up that way and ended up perusing for quite a while. We eventually came across a $5 or less books tent, and I got some great bargains! $17.50 for a large hardcover coffee table type book called The Chronicle of Baseball, a large softcover Encyclopedia of Soccer, an old nifty looking Complete Works of Shakespeare, and Interviews from Red Sox Nation. Tiff got a piano book. We lugged everything back to the car, went back to Nadine's for a quick lunch, walked to Century City for a dessert of a See's Candies sample each, drove out to the beach in Santa Monica and were beach bums for a while, returned to Nadine's, walked to get coffee down the street, came back to the house and crashed for a while, made dinner, drove to Yogurtland one last time, then headed out for a drive until it was time to go to LAX. We ended up on Hollywood Blvd near all of the constant hubbub area, and decided to find a place to park and walk around. 

We strolled along the walk of stars, saw Grauman's Chinese Theatre (as well as its less flashy sibling, Grauman's Egyptian Theatre), and people-watched from the top level of a plush, gorgeous outdoor mall complex. Lots of over-excited teens; lots of costumed hooligans (spidey, superman, a sparkly-shirted ape man, etc). Never a dull moment. Eventually it was time to head, and I dropped her at LAX without incident. It was a super fun time. I need to find my camera and post a few pics.

Lastly, because this is feeling long now... I went to a Quakes game on Sunday. 

Got those glasses for $1 at Buffalo Exchange. They're ok. They'll do.

It was the kind of day that's perfect to spend at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. Fenway, well I love Fenway whenever, but I especially love it in the evening/at night. McCoy is great for sunny Sunday afternoons. The Quakes won, and I got some color sitting and scoring the game. It was such a relaxing few hours... I wish the stadium was even 10 miles closer to West LA. Before the gates opened, I had Boba Tea which another CMC friend had recommended to me all of 5 years ago. I chose Pineapple, and, well, it was ok. VERY sweet. It was more of a pineapple slush, ice and pineapple, with tapioca bubbles at the bottom. All in all, it was too sweet for me to get even halfway through, but I'm glad I finally tried it. Also before the game, there were 3 coed softball games happening around the stadium (it's called the Epicenter, hee)... a bunch of nice baseball and softball fields surround the Epicenter. AND it was Little League day, so all sorts of teams were there and the kids marched around the field before the game. Cute.

Any good road trip ideas? I still need to see San Francisco, but I'll wait to make that happen around Mat's wedding. San Diego is also on the radar. Taking suggestions.