Boston was beautiful today. No clouds overhead, every color the richest and brightest that it could naturally be in the afternoon sunlight. Blue blue sky, brick buildings towering around me, the green of living trees everywhere in between. I even got to say hello to Louie, who happened to be riding his trike at a crawl through the Boston Gardens. Dinner was Boloco............. which was freeeee........... so I went out to get some frozen yogurt, which is my favorite though I never have it anymore.
I've got a few interesting stories this time around. I work hard, but living is pleasantly effortless in some ways these days. I've made surface friends, and now I'm starting to enjoy getting to know these people- and letting them know me.
Seems like I've settled into a good reputation with people at the Rox. I've gotten a number of comments from some "important people" (everyone's important... but in the hierarchy of the organization) about how I'm noticed. I was speaking with someone the other day, and teasingly said something like "I'm just an intern" and he immediately interjected "No you're not. You're a lot more than that and you know it. I see you running around this place working your tail off.." and that's the one that has stuck with me. But it has been an encouraging week in that way. I had a day off on Thursday of last week, and the team was playing in Worcester, so I headed west to catch the game. It was a beautiful, extremely hot, summer evening and I arrived 30 min before "gates opened" but just walked right in as no one stopped me from doing so. I met up with Scott, who is the Rox's broadcaster, then watched the Rox warm up in right field and leaned against a railing on top of the concourse while each player then made his way from club house to dugout over the course of about 30 min. (Apparently no tunnel under the stadium- both teams entered from gates in the outfield). A lot of the guys were surprised to see me, I think... just out of context. I wasnt wearing a navy blue polo- I actually looked like a 24 year old woman (ok, maybe a 21 year old girl).
HOME RUN CLYDE WILLIAMS!!
...while I was speaking with a couple of the guys as they were doing their game time stretches, the manager, Chris Carminucci (who is also an owner) came over, gave me a wave, and asked if i could run up and tell the ticket office to stick a friend of his on the guest list. An intern I remain, even on off days. Anyhow, I jumped up to get it done, and when I came back one of the guys I had been talking with told me that Chris had sung my praises a bit while I was gone. Big smile. Big, big smile, because I hadnt really officially met Chris though it would be impossible for me to not know who he was of course. A few minutes later Chris came back over and told it to me himself- said that Tom has been "singing (my) praises" to him, said that he notices my work around the stadium, etc. I seized the moment and introduced myself. Great exchange!! And that was all before the start of the game... the rest of the night was relaxing and enjoyable. I miss watching baseball more than I realize. Everyone at work the next day had the same reaction- they thought I was crazy, and at the same time werent surprised that I had chosen to spend my off day with the team. Kind of a half-amused, half-mocking smirk playing around most people's lips. But I'm helpless here... I can think of nothing else that I could have done with my evening that would have left me feeling so content- certainly not sitting at home watching movies, and though I love Boston, even just going on one of my walks around the city wouldnt have measured up.
Dom's host dad, Mark Lincoln/Link, was at the game as he generally tends to be, and we sat together and took pictures. He's a pretty cool guy, a bit older than my parents and one of those people who is easy to converse with on and off for 3 hours. Grant was also there of course- he's the team's attendant- and so between Link and Grant I was treated to a hot dog, a water, and a Coors Light. Haha, none of which I initially wanted, for the record. Wayne Lundgren got mauled... the end score was something like 9-1 and the first 5 runs against were all due to homeruns. Oh well, it happens. He's an Aussie, so at least he's got a killer accent. We've actually got two Aussies- our second baseman, Scott Wearne, is Australian too.
That's pretty much what I have to say about the game. The best parts were the experience of being at a ballgame, knowing the guys, and most of all spending time with Link and Grant.
Sunday was a busy one, as I had 5 birthday parties to manage. Got there at 8:30am to pull the tarp off the field, and then we were told we could do whatever until 11 when we would start officially. I worked on birthday stuff so that when chapel time came around at 3 (when the gates were scheduled to open) I could fellowship with everyone at chapel. Jean was on fire leading chapel, and there were about 7 of us there, so a pretty good showing of guys. The game went by as planned until about the 6th inning when a storm cell popped up on the radar. All interns reported to the tarp at the edge of the field incase we needed to cover the field, and though it rained, the umps didnt call for us. I spent the rest of the game out there and got to enjoy the tie that ran into the 11th inning and that was finally broken by Wearne's walkoff GRAND SLAM. Yeah, it was a pretty great night for baseball in Brockton.
As part of Sunday Family Fun Day we had autographs on the field and let fans run the bases after the game, so it was a good thing that we had started the game at 5pm (actually, one make up inning from a game that had been started weeks earlier was played starting at 4... weird, long day). After extra innings and a long autograph session, we shut it all down. I had been at home for Alex Burnham's wedding the day before, and I was starting to feel some of the happenings of that day by the time things had wound down, so when I finally got out to my car, and everyone else had left the intern parking area, I let some emotion out. Just sat in the hatchback of my car and let it go. Mike Smith (starting pitcher) had the misfortune of running across me on the way to his car (he's the only player who parks in the interns' area). It was one of those stereotypically awkward male-female moments, and when I remember it now I feel pity for him and none for myself. He was on his phone, and once I noticed that he was in my vicinity I turned away and hoped that our acquaintance status would allow for him to politely ignore me, continue his conversation, and leave. For his sake. (I didnt totally hate the idea of having someone to talk to at the moment.) This was about how things went... until he had stored his things in his car, at which point I heard him ask the person on the other end of his conversation if he could call them back. Here we go, I thought. Again, we were at acquaintance status, always cordial but superficial exchanges, so no practice for a situation like this. He asked if I was ok in a slightly frightened, very unspecific, but genuine enough way, and I replied in a similar manner, very vaguely, which I think left us both wanting to say or ask more while neither of us was really able to. He did have one card left to play in the end- he offered for me to join him and some of the others down the road for drinks. It was only 10:30, and I decided I'd stop in for a little while and smile and laugh a bit to end the night on a good note, then head out in time to get some sleep before waking up for a 9am start time.
I was a little farther out of my comfort zone going out this time around, only sort of knowing any of the guys who were there. I did know Clyde and his wife Amanda, but i was soon quite engrossed in learning about some of the others who I had only mostly said hi to and smiled at under the stadium before and after games. Mike, Wayne, and Keith in particular were all very gracious in engaging a very tired and fast-fading me in conversation throughout the hours I was there. SHOOT. Before I could blink, it was midnight, and I was still in Brockton. I was in disbelief at how quickly time had gone by. Keith, who lives with Falu and Cuadrado and Freddy Flores, was quick to suggest that I stay at their house for the night. He had me at "We live about 5 minutes from the stadium". I'd been offered this very generally a few days earlier, as well, so I felt comfortable with the option. I was thankful that out of anyone, Keith was the one extending the invite, because it was an offer I could safely accept, knowing that Falu would be there. Falu, someone who's character I'm at least getting to know. Anyone else, and I would have politely (and regretfully) declined.
I drove us to the house, and a few of the guys stayed up playing guitar and talking out on the porch, but I went straight for the couch and was out soon thereafter. The last thing I consciously remember was hearing Clyde walking across the kitchen toward me explaining animatedly that, "Amanda and I were talking on the way over and we figured out, there's no reason for you to have to go back to Cambridge EVER. You can stay here, and you can always stay at our house...." I must have chuckled, and then fallen asleep. Those two seem to have big hearts. What a nice drive to the ballpark the next morning...... I woke up "late" for me and got there right on time.
MIKE SMITH WITH 2 BIG BACK TO BACK K's TO END THE INNING!! OUT OF A JAM.
On Monday I got put in charge of the scoreboard during the game, which I love. I had a flawless night, and I fancy myself pretty good at running the scoreboard :) I ran home that night to get ready to come in for another early start time the next morning. We had a noontime game- Camp Day- and it was something of a blur, as it always is when we have tons of kids in the park. The one thing I remember about the game was that leadoff hitter Scott Wearne touched em all on one play in the first inning (there were some errors involved... but he made it safely to home plate). But we were all pretty excited for what was to come afterwards- the Staff vs Staff softball game! It was a lot of fun, but my arm was not in it to win it. Most of my offense was pretty weak even though I reached base 3 out of 5 times. I held down 1st base to minimize the usage of my arm but after an impulsive throw decided to sit for the last inning and a half. We won it in the end of course. I was discouraged that my shoulder and elbow were that bad. I feel like such a baby icing it... no one can know how acutely it hurts, but then again, it's my fault for playing catch every day. I wish it would just get better. But I feel it even when I'm picking up my backpack. I felt it today doing nothing out of the ordinary. I've read about it and it seems like Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation are the recommended self-treatments. Emphasis on the REST for me probably. I'm pretty stupid sometimes. Hey, I found a home plate shaped silly band in the Rox dugout, pretty cool huh? I left mine at my parents' house in Maine last weekend so now I have one again.
Wednesday was a scheduled day off for us interns, but Tom asked on Tues after the staff game who'd be willing to volunteer at a baseball camp that was having its last session on Wednesday morning and I thought it sounded like a good time. (HELLO Maggie... your arm.) I knew the guy running it and I didnt have anything else productive planned for the day so I said I'd do it. After softball and pizza on Tuesday I went to get some ice packs and ended up staying at the house in Brockton again, as I had to be at the park at 8:30am the next morning. Cool evening, tired evening. Cuadrado and Falu's families were there and there was a minimal amount of English being spoken. Cuadrado's wife and son actually live in the house too, and though his son doesnt speak English he would come right up to me and say stuff, and I'd say stuff right back at him, and he'd pose himself with his wiffle ball like he was ready to pitch it to me, and I'd put my hands out as a target and he'd hit them every time. I'm terrible with ages, but this little guy had to be around 2 years old. Great ball control. Typical little boy, had a ball in his hands the entire evening- beach ball, wiffle ball, basket ball. The All-Star game was on, mercifully, so I had a good reason to be down in the living room with everyone being "social" like I wanted to, though it was hard with the English-Spanish thing as well as with my level of exhaustion. Cuadrado's wife fed me, made this great penne with meat sauce dish that was so deliciously home-cooked that it just about made up for the quickly-put-together meals that I've had to throw together for myself over the past month plus. The pasta was eventually followed by a yellow ice pop(pineapple? something tropical but not quite identifiable), and then I called it quits and retreated to Keith's room- he wasnt there for the night and so had offered to let me stay there. I sat on Keith's bed, went through pictures that Megan had taken with my camera that day at the game, and watched as the NL proved to be victorious over the AL for the first time since the 1996 All Star Game. At least Jon Lester was incredible. And I saw Petey there in the dugout. I fell asleep chilly for once this summer, the AC unit overwhelming Brac's small room. It was blissful.
The baseball camp was easy enough- just 12 kids. They played a game on the field, took some hacks in the batting cage, practiced pitching. Dan McNamara, a pitching and base coach for the Rox, was leading everything, so the day was pretty laid back and informative. I believe that he was the first guy in a Rox uniform that I met... I was manning the front desk on my first or second day, it must have been, and he came into the office to fax something. He had a bit of trouble........ eventually introduced himself to me during that meeting as "Stupid" because he couldn't definitively figure out how to work the machine. I think it worked out in the end for him. My favorite part of the day was having the chance to walk through the Rox clubhouse. I've been in the visitors' clubhouse plenty of times, but never in our team's. I dont have a ton of experience with different clubhouses but this one seemed to be a pretty good space.
When all was said and done, Tom told me he didnt want to see me again till 3pm on Friday. I was glad he put it that way, because today proved to be a nice break.. me time.. and as it was I was going to stay to help with a clinic that was happening later that night (Wednesday night). Admittedly, that would have been a lot... a big gap of free time between the morning and evening clinics, and then the evening clinic running from 6-9pm. But I was in helpful mode, so I wanted to help. I would have gone in today, even- I didnt take the internship to get tons of time off, and I just had a few days off within the last week- I took it knowing that it would be a fast and furious action-packed summer. I wanted it to tire me out and push me to persevere out of love for what I was doing. Tom initially offered me time off through Monday because of my willingness to work the clinic on our day off. That's just not tasteful to me.. the schedule over the past month and a half has made it so that my community is at Campanelli Stadium. What would I do with that mini vacation? I've got momentum NOW. No time to risk losing that... it's 3 months that I've got to make an impression and to make a move towards whatever comes next. Month 1... making initial connections. Month 2... solidifying these relationships and networking. Month 3... start actively searching around for employment so that when my internship is over at the start or middle of September I've hopefully got something to move into. But when it came down to it, I remembered that today was the start of our big push on sales efforts. So........... it's probably OK that I have today and part of tomorrow off. :)
Tonight, Mike Smith is on the mound. I'm listening to the broadcast, and I've been blogging this over the course of 2 hours. Probably time to shut it down, get some water, get ready to sleep. Tomorrow I need paper towels and I need to go to the bank. Then work at 3 which is kind of silly. Maybe I'll call Tom about that... that would mean driving a little less than hour each way to be at the stadium for 2 hours. Well.. I hope that this has been one of those interesting insider entries. My minor league ball experiences. This might be the first time in my life where I am really enjoying hanging out with people who I'm very different from. Most of them dont try to change the things that make me "me", and I dont have to worry about losing myself in order to keep pace with them or risk being left out altogether.
I miss McCoy Stadium. And I almost went to the Sox game tonight. "If only it wouldnt go so late"... and writing this now is the first that I'm remembering that I dont have to be in until the afternoon tomorrow. Agh. Oh well.
Back at it tomorrow!
Showing posts with label scoreboard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scoreboard. Show all posts
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, June 18, 2010
There must be something wrong with me
I've always been under the impression that less sleep + more activity = increased exhaustion. Guess that's false because this has been a hugely busy, largely sleepless week and I'm still going per usual.
Tuesday was so long ago in some ways. Well, I remember that it was school day at the park, so tons of schools were there- in fact, it was otherwise closed to the public, save for season ticket holders. Things were uneventful at Guest Services where I was stationed with Dan. When the kids were lining up to leave, we got a whole class to swarm the booth when we started talking Silly Bands. My interest in Silly Bands came into existence about a week ago and is totally about interacting with kids, but I didnt have one yet at that point and it seemed like no one would trade me one in exchange for something else. Finally, a sweet little girl named Leanna slipped a green one off her wrist and flat out gave it to me. It was in the shape of a car. Soon, everyone wanted to trade with me. Dan also somehow got one at that point, and we traded back and forth with the kids for a good 10 minutes. I got a pear and a giraffe, and then another wide-eyed little girl held out her palm and I got suckered into trading my giraffe for her Snow White. Oh well, I didnt really want a princess but like I said, it's just fun trading. The kids get so into it. Now I have a conversation starter with 85% of the kids I come across day to day. Well, the Rox won 14-2. Not bad.
There was more high school baseball after Tuesday's Rox game, as the Rox game was in the morning. It was a spectacular day for once and there was almost nothing for us to be doing at the high school game so we all stood along the concourse and talked for a few hours. Afterwards, a bunch of us went to John's for the Celtics game (eventually)... very chill, nice to hang out in an actual home and watch tv. Well, they (Carly, John, Leo, another John) watched the Celts game, and I actually watched a few different games on my MLB.TV account online. Another short drive to work the next morning! Loved it while it lasted.
Wednesday .. I became the Birthday Girl. I am officially licensed and authoritied to oversee all birthday-related affairs. For much of the day, I touched base with some upcoming birthday party leaders and answered emails/made calls that were a few weeks overdue. It's fun talking to people who are psyched to essentially buy your product. The game that night went smoothly, and I got to man the front desk which was a nice thing considering the pouring rain we got towards the end of the game in particular. They pulled out the win 5-3, and here's something cool- Brian Daubach manages the Colonials, who we played that day (as well as on Tuesday and Thursday). He came into the front office and asked me if I had the fax number for the Can-Am league. I told him no... dot dot dot... but that I'd take care of it for him. He told me in a weathered and decisively approving tone that he liked that answer, and left the duty of faxing to me. Yes sir, Mr Daubach. I didnt even know who he was (only that he was somewhere in the park) but thankfully John H walked in at that moment and identified him. The only reason I care at all is that a co-worker of mine from my last job loves him. We all were making a deal about it among ourselves, as well, because he's sort of a known guy. But really, it just made me think of Bill (old coworker). Anyhow, Daubach came back into the office later on, we exchanged a few words, and that was the extent of it. I proceeded to transfer the calls that came in and monitor every MLB game going on that night. The front office is essentially closed down while games are going on to anyone who doesnt work there, so manning the desk is largely about hanging out on the internet. I provided some fantasy baseball updates to guys who would stop by on their way from one gametime task to another. It was fantastic and simple and air conditioned and dry.
Almost caught up! Thursday was a little tense, or that's how I felt at least. People seemed to be a little bit on edge, a little less easy going and a little quicker to snap. I lost my attitude of focus and positivity a bit myself. But then Tom assigned me to run the scoreboard and things started looking a lot better. I can imagine that running the scoreboard might be either tedious or boring or very difficult for anyone who isnt used to paying attention to every pitch in a game; however, I'm pretty cut out for it. I love scoring games, and this was in many ways one or two steps easier in that I didnt have to make any of the calls as long as I was paying attention. I messed up a couple times- getting used to the controller- but nothing detrimental to the game, and everything fixable. I hadnt been able to really watch a Rox game from start to finish so it was even better in that regard. The most nervewracking parts of the job were 1)the couple times where it was tough to tell if the ump had called a ball or strike- nothing like having the largest bit of the scoreboard, the count, wrong, heaven forbid; and 2)the very knowledge that I was the one telling everyone what was going on. It's one thing for me to score games on my own, and reference my own attention with what's up on the scoreboard- but there WAS nothing to reference by this time. The scorer was slower than I was so while he helped remind me to put up the number of the current batter, he often inputted plays and the count after I did.
Now that I'm doing birthdays during games, I wont be running the scoreboard very often.. but I cant wait to do it again.
The Celtics game was on during the end of the game, and 6 of us went to The 99 afterwards to catch the 2nd half. Poor decision Maggie... the game ended and I got home around 1:30; once there I needed to shower, let my hair dry, and straighten my hair before I could crash and burn at 3am. Getting up was tough and weird (initial wake up was at 6:30... the unrestful dozing until 7:30), and I actually reset my alarm a few times- which I rarely do- but once I got in the car, everything was fine. I'm still not tired from only having gotten 3.5/4 hours of sleep, and that's just strange. Tomorrow, thankfully, we dont have to be there till 11. I will probably get there earlier to take care of preparations for the birthday that's on the docket for tomorrow, but even so I will have the chance to really sleep in a tiny bit. If my body will let me.
Today was such a great time. I was worried that people were going to be in horrendous moods today because of Boston's great loss last night, but it really wasnt that way. I spent most of the day making sure that things were in order for the two birthdays that we had for the night, and I really enjoyed having something very specific to be putting my energy into. To give you a sense of the day-of itinerary:
I did some doublechecking of my google calendar (of all birthdays that have been booked to date) with a binder that Karissa (as ticketing head) keeps and with the Groups spreadsheet on the network, which of course lists all of the different types of groups coming to the park on any given day throughout the season. Just getting things in sync. I got a couple team autographed baseballs (special gift for birthday kid) from Hoffman, snagged Kid Zone tickets (3 for each kid in the party) from Mason, and collected cubes (to hold the baseballs) and mini bats (party gifts to each kid in attendance) from Leo. Leo does merchandising in the Rox shop and often he does it alone, so I packed up and headed over to sit in the then-cool merch store and bang out some emails. Towards the middle of the day, I went to track down the guy who is my point of contact for food coordination, and he sent me out to buy juice boxes and hoodsie cups for the rest of the week's parties. The production of a birthday party takes cooperation with a lot of different people as you can see. I collected John and Leo and we hit Shaws, grabbed some lunch, tried not to melt in the heat. After that, there wasnt too much else to be done. I printed off some signs to tape to each party's seats, and then floated around trying to find other people to help. The game was busy for me through about the 5th inning. After meeting the parties outside of the stadium with their tickets and gifts from the team, I lead them to their seats and left them to play in the Kid Zone/etc. End of first inning- bring food. End of second inning (man the first inning went fast)- bring dessert. Third inning, leave them alone. Top fourth- bring the birthday kids to the concourse in preparation to lead them to the dugout where they'll stand while the crowd sings Happy Birthday and K-O meets with them... mid fourth, emcee leads the kids onto the dugout. Fifth inning- deliver autographed ball to each birthday kid. That's how I did it, at least, and once that was through, there wasnt much else to do on the birthday front. Everything went extremely smoothly. The one hangup was that the hoodsie cups, which were knockoffs, didnt come with spoons. Luckily there were some plastic spoons in the direct vicinity so - disaster averted.
The rest of the game saw me walking around the park, asking anyone I came across if they could use any help. I stumbled upon the promotions crew just as they were looking for someone to take Leo's spot throwing out tshirts between innings, as he had to run off for the moment. I took the job and K-O and I got into trash-"talking" each other (K-O doesnt talk). He thought he could throw a tshirt farther than I could. HAH. Fat chance. Leo came back before we went onto the field and I almost lost my tshirt throwing position, but K-O wanted me out there- it was ON- and so he gave me a shirt, Leo pitched in with a shirt, and I was good to go. I think I proved my point when I got out there. John had told me to aim for the back of the section I'm throwing to, because it wont get there (basically, warning me of the pitfalls of trying to throw something up and into the stands). I absolutely launched the first tshirt to the back row, thankfully not onto the concourse. Then I changed my aim and launched the other shirt I had just as far- I couldnt help putting some oomph into it, after noticing the Rox players in the dugout in front of me checking to see how far my first throw went. I'm an idiot, always trying to prove something. A guy with a media pass saw me a few innings later and asked if I had been hurling tshirts on the field. I said yes, and with an expression that bolstered my pride in that moment said that I had the best arm out there, that he had been watching me launch those shirts. That made my night. I absolutely love being noticed for my physical ability even though the height of those days is certainly past. I can still do some things pretty well and I take pride in that silently (and sometimes not so silently, wiffle ball, haha). There were fireworks after the game, and things wound down efficiently. I came across a plastic dinosaur perched on an out-of-order sink (Carly found it.. I took it). And now here I am, wondering how it's 2am already. Today was a great day- a near-sellout, a win for the home team, lots of laughing and productivity and downtime and no rain.
Let's do it all again in a few hours.
Tuesday was so long ago in some ways. Well, I remember that it was school day at the park, so tons of schools were there- in fact, it was otherwise closed to the public, save for season ticket holders. Things were uneventful at Guest Services where I was stationed with Dan. When the kids were lining up to leave, we got a whole class to swarm the booth when we started talking Silly Bands. My interest in Silly Bands came into existence about a week ago and is totally about interacting with kids, but I didnt have one yet at that point and it seemed like no one would trade me one in exchange for something else. Finally, a sweet little girl named Leanna slipped a green one off her wrist and flat out gave it to me. It was in the shape of a car. Soon, everyone wanted to trade with me. Dan also somehow got one at that point, and we traded back and forth with the kids for a good 10 minutes. I got a pear and a giraffe, and then another wide-eyed little girl held out her palm and I got suckered into trading my giraffe for her Snow White. Oh well, I didnt really want a princess but like I said, it's just fun trading. The kids get so into it. Now I have a conversation starter with 85% of the kids I come across day to day. Well, the Rox won 14-2. Not bad.
There was more high school baseball after Tuesday's Rox game, as the Rox game was in the morning. It was a spectacular day for once and there was almost nothing for us to be doing at the high school game so we all stood along the concourse and talked for a few hours. Afterwards, a bunch of us went to John's for the Celtics game (eventually)... very chill, nice to hang out in an actual home and watch tv. Well, they (Carly, John, Leo, another John) watched the Celts game, and I actually watched a few different games on my MLB.TV account online. Another short drive to work the next morning! Loved it while it lasted.
Wednesday .. I became the Birthday Girl. I am officially licensed and authoritied to oversee all birthday-related affairs. For much of the day, I touched base with some upcoming birthday party leaders and answered emails/made calls that were a few weeks overdue. It's fun talking to people who are psyched to essentially buy your product. The game that night went smoothly, and I got to man the front desk which was a nice thing considering the pouring rain we got towards the end of the game in particular. They pulled out the win 5-3, and here's something cool- Brian Daubach manages the Colonials, who we played that day (as well as on Tuesday and Thursday). He came into the front office and asked me if I had the fax number for the Can-Am league. I told him no... dot dot dot... but that I'd take care of it for him. He told me in a weathered and decisively approving tone that he liked that answer, and left the duty of faxing to me. Yes sir, Mr Daubach. I didnt even know who he was (only that he was somewhere in the park) but thankfully John H walked in at that moment and identified him. The only reason I care at all is that a co-worker of mine from my last job loves him. We all were making a deal about it among ourselves, as well, because he's sort of a known guy. But really, it just made me think of Bill (old coworker). Anyhow, Daubach came back into the office later on, we exchanged a few words, and that was the extent of it. I proceeded to transfer the calls that came in and monitor every MLB game going on that night. The front office is essentially closed down while games are going on to anyone who doesnt work there, so manning the desk is largely about hanging out on the internet. I provided some fantasy baseball updates to guys who would stop by on their way from one gametime task to another. It was fantastic and simple and air conditioned and dry.
Almost caught up! Thursday was a little tense, or that's how I felt at least. People seemed to be a little bit on edge, a little less easy going and a little quicker to snap. I lost my attitude of focus and positivity a bit myself. But then Tom assigned me to run the scoreboard and things started looking a lot better. I can imagine that running the scoreboard might be either tedious or boring or very difficult for anyone who isnt used to paying attention to every pitch in a game; however, I'm pretty cut out for it. I love scoring games, and this was in many ways one or two steps easier in that I didnt have to make any of the calls as long as I was paying attention. I messed up a couple times- getting used to the controller- but nothing detrimental to the game, and everything fixable. I hadnt been able to really watch a Rox game from start to finish so it was even better in that regard. The most nervewracking parts of the job were 1)the couple times where it was tough to tell if the ump had called a ball or strike- nothing like having the largest bit of the scoreboard, the count, wrong, heaven forbid; and 2)the very knowledge that I was the one telling everyone what was going on. It's one thing for me to score games on my own, and reference my own attention with what's up on the scoreboard- but there WAS nothing to reference by this time. The scorer was slower than I was so while he helped remind me to put up the number of the current batter, he often inputted plays and the count after I did.
Now that I'm doing birthdays during games, I wont be running the scoreboard very often.. but I cant wait to do it again.
The Celtics game was on during the end of the game, and 6 of us went to The 99 afterwards to catch the 2nd half. Poor decision Maggie... the game ended and I got home around 1:30; once there I needed to shower, let my hair dry, and straighten my hair before I could crash and burn at 3am. Getting up was tough and weird (initial wake up was at 6:30... the unrestful dozing until 7:30), and I actually reset my alarm a few times- which I rarely do- but once I got in the car, everything was fine. I'm still not tired from only having gotten 3.5/4 hours of sleep, and that's just strange. Tomorrow, thankfully, we dont have to be there till 11. I will probably get there earlier to take care of preparations for the birthday that's on the docket for tomorrow, but even so I will have the chance to really sleep in a tiny bit. If my body will let me.
Today was such a great time. I was worried that people were going to be in horrendous moods today because of Boston's great loss last night, but it really wasnt that way. I spent most of the day making sure that things were in order for the two birthdays that we had for the night, and I really enjoyed having something very specific to be putting my energy into. To give you a sense of the day-of itinerary:
I did some doublechecking of my google calendar (of all birthdays that have been booked to date) with a binder that Karissa (as ticketing head) keeps and with the Groups spreadsheet on the network, which of course lists all of the different types of groups coming to the park on any given day throughout the season. Just getting things in sync. I got a couple team autographed baseballs (special gift for birthday kid) from Hoffman, snagged Kid Zone tickets (3 for each kid in the party) from Mason, and collected cubes (to hold the baseballs) and mini bats (party gifts to each kid in attendance) from Leo. Leo does merchandising in the Rox shop and often he does it alone, so I packed up and headed over to sit in the then-cool merch store and bang out some emails. Towards the middle of the day, I went to track down the guy who is my point of contact for food coordination, and he sent me out to buy juice boxes and hoodsie cups for the rest of the week's parties. The production of a birthday party takes cooperation with a lot of different people as you can see. I collected John and Leo and we hit Shaws, grabbed some lunch, tried not to melt in the heat. After that, there wasnt too much else to be done. I printed off some signs to tape to each party's seats, and then floated around trying to find other people to help. The game was busy for me through about the 5th inning. After meeting the parties outside of the stadium with their tickets and gifts from the team, I lead them to their seats and left them to play in the Kid Zone/etc. End of first inning- bring food. End of second inning (man the first inning went fast)- bring dessert. Third inning, leave them alone. Top fourth- bring the birthday kids to the concourse in preparation to lead them to the dugout where they'll stand while the crowd sings Happy Birthday and K-O meets with them... mid fourth, emcee leads the kids onto the dugout. Fifth inning- deliver autographed ball to each birthday kid. That's how I did it, at least, and once that was through, there wasnt much else to do on the birthday front. Everything went extremely smoothly. The one hangup was that the hoodsie cups, which were knockoffs, didnt come with spoons. Luckily there were some plastic spoons in the direct vicinity so - disaster averted.
The rest of the game saw me walking around the park, asking anyone I came across if they could use any help. I stumbled upon the promotions crew just as they were looking for someone to take Leo's spot throwing out tshirts between innings, as he had to run off for the moment. I took the job and K-O and I got into trash-"talking" each other (K-O doesnt talk). He thought he could throw a tshirt farther than I could. HAH. Fat chance. Leo came back before we went onto the field and I almost lost my tshirt throwing position, but K-O wanted me out there- it was ON- and so he gave me a shirt, Leo pitched in with a shirt, and I was good to go. I think I proved my point when I got out there. John had told me to aim for the back of the section I'm throwing to, because it wont get there (basically, warning me of the pitfalls of trying to throw something up and into the stands). I absolutely launched the first tshirt to the back row, thankfully not onto the concourse. Then I changed my aim and launched the other shirt I had just as far- I couldnt help putting some oomph into it, after noticing the Rox players in the dugout in front of me checking to see how far my first throw went. I'm an idiot, always trying to prove something. A guy with a media pass saw me a few innings later and asked if I had been hurling tshirts on the field. I said yes, and with an expression that bolstered my pride in that moment said that I had the best arm out there, that he had been watching me launch those shirts. That made my night. I absolutely love being noticed for my physical ability even though the height of those days is certainly past. I can still do some things pretty well and I take pride in that silently (and sometimes not so silently, wiffle ball, haha). There were fireworks after the game, and things wound down efficiently. I came across a plastic dinosaur perched on an out-of-order sink (Carly found it.. I took it). And now here I am, wondering how it's 2am already. Today was a great day- a near-sellout, a win for the home team, lots of laughing and productivity and downtime and no rain.
Let's do it all again in a few hours.
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