There is one important thing on my calendar for April 8th. Hint: It's not the all staff cultural awareness seminar.
April 1st marked one of my favorite days of the year; MLB Opening Day. The Indians didn't have their first game until the 2nd (WHICH THEY WON!) and the home opener isn't until the 8th (as seen on my work calendar) but it doesn't matter - it's baseball season. Baseball means summer and hot dogs and sunshine (hopefully) and (mostly likely) warm beer. And it's worth every sunburn from afternoons spent in the bleachers.
Back in 2011, baseball was a favorite thing. It's still a favorite thing. The Indians still haven't won a World Series since 1948. And it's too early to tell how this year will go, but I still think this might be the year. Some people lose faith, but not me.
Last year I wrote about how much I like Valentine's Day. It's still true this year and I still think it's dumb to hate it. YOU GUYS CAN CELEBRATE VALENTINE'S DAY HOWEVER YOU WANT. Hello, you can make it not lame.
This is me passing out my valentines
Here are some things I'm loving right now:
1) Making valentines. Duh. - I love making cards in general, but I think valentines are extra fun. This year's valentines feature robots.
2) Presidents' Day is coming up - Not a card-giving holiday (maybe I should start?), but it is a day off work and I'll be in Nashville for the weekend hanging out with my favorite valentine.
3) Spring training starts in NINE DAYS! - TribeTribeTribeTribe
4) Daylight - Valentine's Day marks the first 9 hour daylight day of the year. Finally.
Soon my world will look like this again. This was 10pm in June.
5) This picture of Snoopy the cat. I can't stop laughing.
In the spirit of Valentine's Day, the hot jam of the week is Question by Old 97's. It's 2 minutes of unadulterated love song, without being too cheesy. Scrubs fans might recognize it from when (spoiler alert?) Carla finally says yes to Turk's proposal. But gentlemen, if you are making your lady a mixtape this Valentine's Day, Question is probably not the best song to include. She might get the wrong idea. Unless of course, it's the right idea, then go for it. But, remember,Valentine's Day is a cheesy day to propose.
Usually I avoid writing about things I hate because that would be depressing. But there are a few things I LOVE to hate. I'm sure that says something about my psyche, but I don't care.
1) Bananas - I hate bananas with the fire of 1,000 suns. I hate banana flavored candy, banana bread, and bananas in my smoothies. If I was on a deserted island and had the choice to eat sand or bananas, I would pick sand. I haven't always had such a passionate hatred for bananas. They were never my favorite, but I could tolerate them. Then in 6th grade I developed a weird illness and the doctors thought it might be a potassium deficiency. Their prescription: eat bananas. A lot of bananas. I've never been the same. Thanks, pediatricians.
Enjoy this weird video someone made for Demetri Martin's banana joke
2) Twilight series - I'm fully prepared for hate mail on this one, but I'm steadfast in my dislike for this series. In theory, I should love this series. I love a good young adult romance, but even reading an excerpt made me want to claw my own eyes out. I would have no problem with them if they were well-written, but they are TERRIBLY written. When I worked at the library and (mostly girls) came in to check them out, I always tried to get them to read something else. "Oh sorry, all 17 copies of the Twilight series are checked out. Have you read The Hunger Games?"
3) Internet-Speak - Being the mid-20something I am, I was around when the internet was invented. (Okay, not exactly. Researchers in 1972 blah blah blah ) I remember patiently waiting for this sound to finish so I could hear "You've got mail!" and see what sweet forwards and quizzes I had in my inbox. Sure, at the time I used my fair share of internet-speak, but I avoid it these days. BECAUSE I'M A GROWN UP. I make quick work of deleting facebook friends whose sTaTuS LOoKs LyKe DiS.
Don't say "C U laterz" Because you won't. Because you'll be on my dunzo list. C U neverz.
4) Baseball teams ending in Sox - Duh.
Go Tribe!
This week's hot jam is not something I love to hate, but rather something I love to love. It's How in the Hell Did You Get Back Here by Backyard Tire Fire. I have a soft spot for Backyard Tire Fire being the Illinois boys they are. (Ed and Matt Anderson grew up 30 minutes from me. Not that I knew them, but still). I like to support my fellow Illinoisans (except the White Sox, obviously) so it's about time they made the hot jam of the week. I love that this song sounds like it's being sung through a megaphone and all the random locals in the video. It looks like home.
Southern rock/alt-country is a genre with little room for error, it's really obvious when it's good, but it's also really obvious when it's bad. Luckily, Backyard Tire Fire is good.
As I write this I'm grumbling at my computer. Mostly things like, "Really!?" and "Come on, guys!" and probably a few "You've got to be kidding me!"'s. Ah yes, baseball season is upon us. Baseball is one of my favorite things, and I am cursed with a love of the Cleveland Indians, hence the grumbling. I can hear you fellow baseball fans snickering, muttering about me being a poor sap. Yes, I know. They lose. A lot. (They've won 2 World Series', 1920 and 1948; and they have the longest World Series drought in the American League. It's the second longest drought in all of baseball. Topped only by my distant second favorite team, the Chicago Cubs' 102 year drought.) In fact, the Indians are losing right now. 8 to 3 to the White Sox. THE WHITE SOX of all teams! Horrible. Not to mention they lost on Friday 15 to 10 AND IT WAS THE HOME OPENER. But I love them still. (Edit: They finally won on Monday! Woohoo!)
It's really all my dad's fault that I love both baseball and the Indians. He's a big fan and it rubbed off on me and my sister. We lived in Cleveland until I was 8ish and I went to a few games as a kid. My sister even got to be a ball girl at one of the games. (Did you win an essay contest, Alissa?)
Alissa on the field. Check out that sweet jacket under her jersey
Alissa's friend Sarah and me before the game
I've been to a few since and I always love it. One time we got to use my parent's boss' season ticket seats at an Angels-Indians game. They were very good seats. Like 10 rows behind home plate seats. Did you know they come and take your order down there? Very nice. It's not just major league baseball I like though, I love it all, little league, minor league. I think it's all great. Remember that scene in The Sandlot where the kids play the little leaguers? That's what baseball is about.
I know a lot of people aren't baseball fans because they think it's "boring". Nobody gets tackled, it's not particularly fast paced, there's rarely a fight (although bench-clearing brawls do break out every once in awhile). But I think the more you watch the more you like it. When you know the players and see the subtleties of the game it gets very exciting. Which is why I'm sitting on my couch in my PJs on a Saturday morning "watching" the game on MLB Gameday. I know what these players can do and I hope to see them do it. I think there is nothing more exciting a well timed double play, or a diving catch in the outfield, or seeing a guy whack a baseball 500 feet for a home run. Or what about the be-all and end-all of baseball? Stealing home. You can't tell me that's not exciting.
Keeping with the sports theme this week, the hot jam is none other than the Jock Jams Megamix. Chances are if you are a 20-something like I am, you owned Jock Jams vol. 3 or knew someone that did. There's no real reason to own it, you're probably not going to be cruising in your car blasting the megamix. More likely you were making up dance routines in your basement. Don't deny it, you know you did. A popular soundtrack to many a sleep over, Jock Jam Megamix is a hot jam because, well, it just is, so dust off those cheerleader moves and turn.it.up.
