baseball analogy time

I have realized why I appreciate the role players, bench guys, and singles hitters more than the average baseball fan. Because in a certain sense, I am a slap hitter.

I'm never going to have that sweet Ken Griffey Jr. home run swing, or that perfectly balanced, completely even swing of perfection that is Albert Pujols. I'm like a mix between David Eckstein and his .250 avg and Ichiro and his .350 in that I'm not quite as successful or quirky as Mr. Suzuki, nor am I so short and limited in natural prowess like Mr. 2006 World Series MVP. I'm somewhere in between. Some of that quirk, some of that making do with a skinny frame and a weaker arm.

In the end though, even if I did have that home run pop, swinging for the fences makes me uncomfortable. Besides having cool names, Jack Cust and Russell Branyan are able to mash that homer every now and then, and it's pretty impressive. It's also instant gratification. But they also strike out a lot more. And even though they get that run across the board, there is nothing for the offense to build on. It's every man for yourself.

So I'll keep on building rallies. Sac bunting here, stealing a base there. Smart baserunning, sound baseball fundamentals. I might not score everytime. But it's alright. I'll be concentrating on building those rallies. It is, after all, how we won that softball championship.

. . .

Life isn't bad being on the backburner. This simmering provides a nice constant heat, and is completely necessary for the proper development of the meal. In any case, being on the stove is a lot better than being in the trash can. Or sitting on top of a disgustingly rotten (to the point of juices instead of meat) year-old fish in a neglected refridgerator drawer. But I just hope that the pot doesn't get forgotten on the backburner. Don't want to reach the point where all the soup has evaporated and it's just really chewy, hard, inedible pieces of pai gu left in the pot. No, the meat must be added to the meal at the right time. And then it will be delicious.

embarking on the unknown... and PB&J

First... inspiration from DNgo and a bowl of oatmeal I had during finals week. We were moving out soon so in an effort to finish the bit of strawberry jelly we had left, I just dumped it in my oatmeal.

After a few bites, I realized that the bland oatmeal was not doing enough to counteract the overly sweet preserves. The jelly had made its point. It needed some peanut butter.

In life, whether its from our parents or our friendships, we need both jelly and peanut butter.
Jelly is the sweet loving kindness that makes everyone smile.
Peanut Butter is that salty base that keeps you honest.

Without jelly, peanut butter just seems a little too mean and dry. Your mouth can only handle so much before it gets glued together. Without peanut butter, jelly just gets kind of old. You stop growing as a person and your character becomes stale without someone to kick you in the behind every once in a while.

. . .

So tonight begins my first Irvine experience without Yibs and Mwen. It's weird not having that constant comfort blanket of people to talk to or eat with. I don't even have Princess, and the availability that comes with her. I would go into some emotions and feelings such as loneliness and slight anxiousness yet excitement at the same time but Arkin's reading of that random journal will forever prohibit me from doing so in a blog. I will now stop name-dropping like a vatz of fat.
Summer '09 embarking... now.

Silly Nonsense #1

Tonight the thunder storms
and the lightning flashes
the small boy inside the man
remembers a time cozy and warm

Tonight the rain clouds roar
and the night brightens
the remaining childhood glee
pokes its head out a little more

Tonight the darkness quakes
the window an escape
the stresses of the hard day
slip and slide into the wake

epic amounts of fun

A list to capture the rest of one of the most fun weeks of my life, because obviously no one likes to read drawn out thematic formats, especially when they're not actually in choose-your-own-adventure books... and I won't even use the word hectic to describe anything.

Weds (eye of the storm):
Jennyfershurr visits... karaoke revolution
Families Forward Interview... eye opening experience
Officially named Sports Editor for the New U for 2009-2010! Hasn't even sunk in yet that I'm finally an editor.

Thurs
VDCn - Gao 6, VDCn 0 ... upset of the century... especially proud of Vanessa Anne and Linda who played with us for this game.
Quality Jennyfershurr time
Akkalaka stops by
The fabulous DLy is named Copy Editor for the New U for 2009-2010! Soo excited to have such an esteemed colleague.

Fri
Chicken and Broccoli at Le Dip
Strasburg at UCI... fail
Mini-Re:act
Banquet Practice

Sat
All day Edge Banquet extravaganza. Loved everyone's performances. Soo much fun. Even if my jai ho tutting was off from everyone else.
Quick stint as flower delivery guys.

Sun
2,600 word recap article... sports editor hazing.
Editor shadowing
Softball... VDCn - Gao 10, Laguna 9. Down 9-3 in the bottom of the 5th, really came together and pulled this one out. AWESOME game.
VDCn - Gao 15, Middle Earth 3. Opposite way singles all the way! From 0-4 in the regular season to 4-0 in the playoffs!!! Housing Intramural Champs!!!
Dave & Busters AA banquet... so fashionably late gucci would be jealous. Actually picking the 200 ticket case for the deal or no deal! Picking all the ugly girls' cases so they would leave the stage actually worked.

Week 9, so unbelievably fine...

Isn't it nice to know... that we're goldennnn

After getting by the three-headed serpent, you and Phineas feel immensely relieved. As the chocolate monkeys scream euphemisms, Phineas worriedly looks your way. "What do we do now?" he says, with a tired look. He hasn't been getting much sleep these days, and he looks the part. Suddenly, a phantom pterodactyl swoops by while a hidden cave door swings open simultaneously. The Phinster's eyes widen at the sight of such a cliche mystery movie gimmick and an extinct dinosaur appearing by his head at the same time. Before you know what to do, Bigfoot suddenly stomps by, with a shady photography lense mysteriously cast over him at all times. Phin, overwhelmed by the bizarre sequence of events, starts to hyperventilate. Oh no. To explore the dark tunnel behind the hidden door, turn to page 52. To chase after the mythical creature in an attempt to appear in the National Inquirer, turn to page 19. To find the nearest paper bag for Phineas, turn to page 26.

Page 52
You decide to go down the tunnel in an effort to be like Scrooge McDuck in your favorite childhood film. All of a sudden, Anteater Ballpark appears to your left, with its newly christened Cicerone Field looking all nice and professional. You squeeze into the new bleachers, when your friend Amy decides to try and set the record for shortest stay at a baseball game, lasting half an inning. However, Annie promptly shatters that record by staying at the ballpark for 10 seconds before departing, a stint that will truly stand the tests of time. Despite being surrounded by UCLA fans and associated parents, the game turns out to be epic. Kyle Knee-key shocks the college baseball world by striking out 8 in 4.1 innings of relief, while the 'Isch proves that you can be gangly and lanky and still hit home runs. The game heads into extra innings, when the Bruins burly first basemen crushes a home run, devastating the chants of UCI and random zot zot zot's. However, the scrappy Anteaters do what they do best... scrap. Tommy Reyes hits a one out double, forcing the Bruins to be all dramatic and bring in their best starting pitcher, Gerrit Cole, a first round draft pick out of high school, to try and Randy Johnson it up. Reyes manages to move to third on a groundout to Cole, but then the Anteaters appear to fall short when Ronnie Shaeffer grounds out routinely to the UCLA shortstop, son of former major leaguer Mike Gallego. However, he amazingly bobbles the ball, and the game is tied. After a wild pitch from the pressing Cole, Casey Stevenson strokes a clean single into left field, bringing the Anteaters out on to the field in a dogpile. Doesn't get much better than that.

Page 19
Bigfoot, despite appearing in a recent naked game, has struggled on the softball front this quarter. Losing all 8 games played in the regular season, hopes weren't terribly high for the playoffs. Indeed, things started off rocky as the first inning jitters produced a 2-0 deficit. However, the rest of the game became an outright domination, with runners taking extra bases, their mashers hitting their pitchers with balls, and Michael drawing the ire of a opposing girl fan who took offense to his aggressive home plate advancement. To top it all off, Jason hit a monster 3-run shot to put the icing on the cake. VDC Norte-Gao 23, Selva 3.

Page 26
Deciding to stay loyal to your friend, you rush off to the only place you know where you can find a paper bag: The Glass House in Pomona. Despite a haphazard journey that included mysteriously ending up on the 60, heading towards Montclair instead of Diamond Bar in a search for Banana Bay, going back to Pomona but failing to find the elusive Indiana Hills Thai restaurant, the trip was salvaged by delicious iced coffee and $1 strawberry sundae from Mickey D's. Meeting up with a somewhat random but fun group of RK aficionados, it was also your first time seeing Relient K in such a small club venue. While waiting in a long line wrapping around several blocks, your attempts to grow a goatee are noticed for the first time in your life. Rumors that the said facial hair was inspired by Singy were unconfirmed. Runner Runner started the night off, bringing out the teenage girls and emo claws. It was fun making fun of them and their interesting fusion of Metro Station, Simple Plan, All-American Rejects, and the Jonas Brothers in 5 years. Next, Owl City dazzled the stage with its 17 keyboards/synths/laptops, taking you on a starry flight through pleasant looking landscapes. Rainbow Veins, Hello Seattle, Saltwater Room, and On the Wing were nice, but not as nice as the main guy Adam after the show. Of course, Relient K proceeded to dominate the night. Unfortunately for two particular individuals, Matty T decided to skip out on Must Have Done Something Right and Pink Tux, but made up for it with a truly epic Deathbed encore. Just when you were satisfied over a solid concert, Jon Schneck from Relient K walks by, and is nice enough to take a photo with you. Then, in an amazing turn of events, Biff from Back to the Future happens to be at the show, and is nice enough to stop and take a photo as well. Truly on cloud 9 now, you somehow find a 7-11 while images of manure trucks and the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance flash through your head. With a tasty Lemonade Hawaiian Punch Slurpee in hand, you head back home. Who knew that going to look for a paper bag would turn into one of the most memorable nights of your life?

I always liked how you could go and read all three scenarios/possible paths in those books.

freaking fudge monkeys!

Too much fun/prior obligations over the weekend.
Absolutely screwed for tomorrow.
Tuesday of Week 8. A day that will go down in infamy.
chinese test - 8 AM (and hw packet due)
LJ article - 9:30 AM (and associated interviews)
Acct midterm - 12:30 PM (*&%*&*&$#&*^ in general)

Things I'll Miss About UCI #'s 57, 83, 91

57. Squirrels with ridiculously bushy tails that fluff around like cottontails while they drink from tiny streams.

83. Seeing national champion athletes on ESPN2 one day and in my classroom the next day.

91. TWO DOLLAR LOLLICUUUUUUUUUUUUPP!!!!!!!!!!!