Tear me apart

A friend of mine posted a note on Facebook today that she actually wrote. It wasn't a quiz or a forwarded survey, it was a handful of thoughtful, caring paragraphs. It also happened to be about baseball and her love for the game. It was very well written and a breath of fresh air amongst the filler that has become Facebook.

I'm recovering from a sinus infection that has put me down for better than a week now. I went to Youth Fellowship last night and tossed the frisbee around with some of the kids. I had no idea how tired I still was until I got out there. Other than one trip to the grocery and two days at work, it was the first thing I'd done besides lay on the couch since last Friday. I'll be glad when my lingering cough goes away.

Nitro Circus is my new "favorite" tv show. It's kind of America's Funniest Home Videos meets Thrills & Spills meets Jackass, only better. It's hard to comprehend the talent in the group on that show with their actions, but it's there. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. And thankfully Comcast as it OnDemand free (in HD no less) so I can avoid the ignorant MTV commercials. Thankfully now that Making the Band 4 has come to an end, my MTV intake will be minute.

Let's make a note that the Moles' family had an original America's Funniest Home Videos towel featuring cartoon characters of some of the funniest original clips. Our grandpa got it for us and I'd guess it caused a fight or three around the house.

My sister returns home in two months from her almost-year-long stint in East Asia. Jeff and I both got a couple days off work after the weekend she gets back, which also happens to be Father's Day weekend, and we're both very excited to see her and also spend time with the entire family for a few days. The five of us haven't been together since a couple weeks before she left in September. It will be nice to have everyone in the same room again during those short three or four days. As you get older, you depend less on your family in many ways, but depend on them even more in ways you never knew you would while growing up.

Before I moved to Nashville, I worked 10ish-5ish five days a week and could take off almost whenever I wanted. Leaving at 3 a few afternoons a week was normal during our slow season. Being on hourly pay, this was not conducive to my bank account, but to my lazy-self it was the best thing ever. Having now put in a year working too many hours a week in retail and now almost six months at a desk job, I continually work for the weekend. I am so grateful to have a position that allows me to work 37 hours a week and get time off when I need it. Finding this job during the midst of an economical crisis is probably more of a blessing than I realize.

I am completely sucked into the NBA playoffs. I have watched at least part of almost every game that has been on cable thus far, partly because I was sick and did nothing but watch tv for a week and partly because the game is so great right now. I don't know if this kind of stat has ever been looked at, but without any knowledge of previous years playoffs point guard classes, I'd make the argument that this year's class is the best of all time. Chauncey Billups, Tony Parker, Aaron Brooks, Steve Blake, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Mo Williams, Rajon Rondo, Rafer Alston (should be Jameer Nelson), Mike Bibby, Mario Chalmers, Derrick Rose, Andre Miller, Derek Fisher, and Rodney Stuckey would have to be the most complete point guard lineup ever to grace the NBA playoffs. And keep in mind Steve Nash, who's great but overrated, didn't make the playoffs.

Besides the point guards, you've still got Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade, Superman, Jesus Shuttlesworth, Paul Pierce, Carlos Boozer, Tim Duncan, Yao, Brandon Roy, David West, Dirk, Ben Gordon, Joe Johnson, Andre Iguodala, and Rip Hamilton gracing the court.

You're not impressed that I could name every starting playoff point guard, but I am. I've said it many times and I'll say it again, the NBA is the best it's been since Jordan, Bird, and Magic. Take advantage of the opportunity before you to watch these guys. Kobe, LeBron, Dwight Howard, Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, and D-Wade will go down as some of the greatest players to ever play the game. And of those seven, Duncan is the old man of the group at 33 years old (Howard and Paul are only 23, LeBron is only 24).

One last NBA note: Jeff asked yesterday when the playoffs end because he's already sick of watching. Hopefully the middle of June isn't too far away for him. I guess he'll just have to countdown to Sarah getting home while I countdown to a championship.

I should get back to work now. I think I'm going to the Sounds (AAA Brewers affiliate) game tonight with some friends. My Iowa Cubs are in town. I'll feel kinda bad rooting against the home team until I see my boys in blue take the field.

Tear me apart?

Tear me apart 'cause this is the start of a new beginning

Open my eyes and cut through the lies that I tell myself

-Jon Hainstock "Tear Me Apart"

Today, I'm just a little bit cooler than you.

I'm 26 today.  That sounds old as crap to me.  Not because it is, but because I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20.  30 sounds light years away yet it will be here before I realize it.

I turn 26 with a great love for the life I live and for the people I am so fortunate to share it with.  I turn 26 with a heavy heart; a heart that aches for the family of a 22 year old I have never met, nor did I know his name until Wednesday night.  I turn 26 with a sense of pride in the way I have been taught and have chosen to lead my life.  I turn 26 knowing that I will have hundreds, if not thousands, of Facebook notifications when I check tomorrow morning.

That'd be the best present ever.  A little red flag at the bottom of my Facebook home page with tiny white numbers reading, "724."

I hope all of you who read this are doing well.  I hope you are all in good spirits and good health.  I am truly blessed and I thank you for sharing your lives with me; it means the world to me.  Thank you and good night.

Happy Birthday to me,

B

Say it ain't so...

It's tragically ironic that Nick Adenhart played for the Angels.  As someone who is very attached to the greatest game ever played, I feel pain for those who mourn and grieve the loss of a son, a friend, and a teammate.  There are very few days when baseball is not fun; today is one of those days.

Here are longtime Dodgers radio announcer Vin Scully's words.  I don't think it could be put any better:

If I may speak for every member of the Dodger organization, our heartfelt and deepest sympathies to the mother and family of Nick Adenhart, and to every member in the Angels organization, for the untimely accident and death of young Nick last night at the tender age of twenty-two. Nick, from Maryland, had pitched six scoreless innings and was in a car with three friends, and a driver apparently went through a red light and T-boned the car, killing three of the four, including Nick, and one other member is in critical condition. And if there is one thing I’ve learned in all my years — and I haven’t learned much — but the one thing I’ve learned: Don’t even waste your time trying to figure out life.

Ground ball through for Andre Ethier, and life continues for those who still have it. And with a leadoff single, Russell Martin will be coming up.

But I would say, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a moment and say a prayer in memory for Nick, especially for his parents. What a shock to lose a twenty-two-year-old.

Andre Ethier at first base, Russell Martin the batter, James Loney on deck, and the Dodgers try to strike in the second inning against Kevin Correia...