What Dreams May Come

I had a dream last night that I was watching a Dodgers game (at a stadium, but it didn't look like Dodger Stadium), and they were making a big comeback. I came in when they were down 7-6, but the Dodgers had clawed back from 7-2 down. In the inning after the comeback, Jason Schmidt hit a two-out double. Suddenly, it was my turn to bat. I saw my name up on the board, and for some reason I was barefoot so I was struggling to put my shoes on so I could get up to the plate. But somehow, my turn never actually came. In the dream, I blamed Torre for messing with the lineup enough so that I would never get the chance to bat.

I don't know what that means, exactly, but I'm taking it as a sign that I should step up to the plate, if you will, and start writing again. I mean, the season starts in ten days, so it's about time I get back in the swing of things. Spending three months on a tropical island is no excuse for laziness. Or maybe it is. The point is, I'm back.

I will not preview the teams. I haven't paid enough attention thus far to attempt to analyze either of my teams. That said, here are the bullet points I can think of off the top of my head:

• I'm glad Curt Schilling retired. He's not going to be out of the news, I'm sure, but at least I don't have to worry about rooting for that self-righteous blowhard anymore.

• I'm worried about Boston's offense without Manny, even though they made it to the ALCS without him last season. All I can do is pray that Ortiz and Lowell are healthy, and that Youkilis and Pedroia have great years again. I don't know how the Yankees will be this year, but having Mark Teixeira certainly isn't going to hurt them.

• The Dodgers are having issues in the pitching department. This is a concern.

I think it's going to be a struggle for me to watch games for the first part of this season. I have DirecTV in my apartment down here, but I don't know if I can get the owner to add Extra Innings. We'll see. If not, I'll have to get the MLB.tv online package, and then hope that the internet can hold up so I can actually see the games. I'm moving into a different apartment on April 1, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the signal at the new place will be better than it is in my current abode. If not, I'm in trouble.

I showed you my prom picture in an earlier post, and you clamored for more. Well, your wish is my command, so here are pictures from my trip to Florida and my first week in Puerto Rico (click to go to another site to see the pictures in a larger format). Hope you enjoy them.

Florida and Puerto Rico

Island Livin'

I am in Puerto Rico, and good lord, it is gorgeous here. I am in Old San Juan, and I spent the morning walking around a little with my dog, just to get a feel for the area. And it's nice. Very warm, but nice. More exploring to come later, along with many, many pictures.

But now, down to business. I'm down here, and I have baseball tickets that I need to sell. So, let's refresh our memory on which games are available:

Monday, April 13 (Opening Day) vs. San Francisco Giants, 1:10 pm

Saturday, April 18 vs. Colorado Rockies, 7:10 pm

Saturday, May 2 vs. San Diego Padres, 7:10 pm

Wednesday, May 20 vs. New York Mets, 7:10 pm (Casey Blake bobblehead night)

Friday, May 22 vs. Angels, 7:10 pm (Friday night fireworks)

Saturday, May 23 vs. Angels, 7:10 pm

Sunday, May 24 vs. Angels, 1:10 pm (Webkinz Pet Giveaway, for kids 14 & under)

Wednesday, June 3 vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, 7:10 pm (Dodgers Collector's Edition Poster)

Saturday, June 6 vs. Philadelphia Philles, 12:50 pm (probably the Fox day game)


The prices for Opening Day on ebay are outrageous, and I hate to be a greedy American, but I think I need to make a bit of a profit there, especially since I might not sell the others. Don't be angry with me. You can make me an offer, but do it soon. Otherwise I'll be putting them up on ebay, probably late tonight (Thursday) or early Friday morning.

If you want to buy any of the tickets, I guess the best thing is to do it through PayPal. My tickets are in Los Angeles, since I didn't want to bring them down here. So, if you pay through PayPal, I can have someone ship them to you, or we might even be able to work out a pickup. You'll have to trust me, even though you've likely never met me. You'll have to decide soon if you want to buy them, because I'd like to get all of them up on ebay and/or StubHub as soon as I can. So, just let me know in the comments, or email me at erin@robotsareeverywhere.com

Coming soon: my thoughts on the 2009 season, Manny, and Puerto Rico.

Here's a photo I took on my iPhone. The camera on that phone can't handle the bright sunshine, so you can't really see how spectacular this view is (just about two blocks from my apartment), but I'll be posting pictures taken on a real camera soon enough. This is just a preview.

Gulf Breeze

I'm writing from the lobby of the officers' quarters housing on Eglin Air Force Base.  Out the window is the Gulf of Mexico, and fifteen minutes away is my beloved "hometown" (since I've lived here four different times in my life, but never more than three consecutive years, and I wasn't born here, though it is where I graduated from high school) of Niceville, Florida.  I haven't been back here in more than seven years, and it really feels good to be home.

 

I arrived in town yesterday after flying from LAX to Memphis, meeting my sister (who had flown from Denver), and flying into VPS, which technically makes it the Valparaiso airport, but what everyone now seems to be calling the Ft. Walton Beach airport.  No matter.  I made it here, and with only two pills to help me stay calm on the flight.  My parents got to town a few hours later.  My brother is in Afghanistan, so he will not be joining us this weekend.

 

I'm here because my prom date, Raaen (pronounced "Ron") is getting married on Saturday.  I've had several very close friends get married in the last few years, but I've never been able to make it to their weddings (sorry Ashlie, Heather, Stacey, and anyone else), so this is new to me.  I'm not often much of a girl, so all this dress shopping and planning for an event is driving me crazy.  No jeans, t-shirt and ballcap for this one.  Just wait until you see the pictures.

 

Anyway, I've seen my former debate coach (and current friend) McGill.  Her house was the first place we stopped when we got into town.  I drove all over looking for one of my best friends in the world, Ric, because we lost touch a couple of years ago when I lost his number.  But I've always known his mom's phone number, and it turns out he's been taking care of her house.  So I went there, talked to his wife, then drove 30 minutes to where he was working and surprised him.  Good times.

 

Tonight I'll be having dinner with my parents and some friends.  Tomorrow is the rehearsal dinner, Saturday is the wedding, and Sunday I'll be hanging out with both McGill and Ric.  Monday is up in the air at the moment.  All the in-between time will be spent hanging with my family and taking lots of pictures of Niceville.

 

This is a boring post, but I thought you all deserved to know where I am, since I never write anymore.  I promise a funny story or two from the wedding, or at least some good pictures.

Speaking of...