Torpedo-ed

Remember yesterday I said I felt so bad I was just trying to hang in there until 5 so I could go home? At 4:15 I finally got called in for the inventory meeting, and it lasted past six. I took my box of Kleenex in with me. The GM was asking if anyone had a report while I was stuffing a used Kleenex in my pocket. I said I had it, and Dale thought I'd just blew my nose with the report. Almost got invited to dinner (not because of that!). With everyone out of town it would’ve been the perfect time, but I felt terrible.

Got sucked in to buying one of those new Quiznos Torpedo sandwiches for $4.00, but it wasn’t worth it. Enjoyed Benjamin Button, but the nighttime drugs I’d taken almost made me go to sleep. This morning is still felt bad/tired, although the drugs were working on my sinuses. Fell better this afternoon, just not enough to go golfing or exercise…though I didn’t bring any clothes or workout shoes.

Another supposedly quiet Friday filled with emergencies. Will watch the Braves/Pirates tonight, I guess. Any Hawks playoff predictions?

Batchin' It

Stayed up late for the second straight night trying to help get things ready for the school trip. Ceil got up at 3 am to get ready, and they all left the house at 4:15. They left Woodstock at six and were in Metter getting gassed up at ten, and arrived in Jekyll Island by 1:30. Since they’re going on an all-day field trip Sunday to the Okefenokee, there’s not much sense in me doing down there this weekend. They wanted to tour the swamp on Saturday, but can’t because of an Earth Day celebration.

Any Expedition 2 students reading this blog just got treated to inside info, but I doubt that’ll happen.

Got chilly last night, and all day today I’ve been sneezing. Gone through a box and a half of Kleenex. Supposed to have an inventory meeting today, but they’ve yet to call me in. Don’t feel good enough to do nothing but just lay low until I can go home.

Wanted to work out every day the fam is gone. The house is such a mess, it’ll take me most of the weekend to straighten up: Kitchen, School room, Den, Upstairs bedrooms, Downstairs bedroom, Get out summer clothes from attic, Utility room, Garage, Civic Emissions. We’ll see how much gets done. It would also be a good weekend to hit Macon.

The Marlins always seem to beat up on the Braves, but I read where this would be the Marlins’ first-ever 3 game sweep at the Ted. Boyer doesn’t seem to be getting any better, but right now there aren’t many options in the pen. Good to see Francoeur have a big day. G Anderson is such a class act, you wonder if they wouldn’t keep him around as a PH even if he falls on his face in the OF.

Our first NP group in about 2001 was that Crown study on finances, and we pretty much stuck to the text and didn’t share hardly any specifics. Still see one couple on Sundays from time to time.

$$$

While we both agree about schooling, ballet, and baseball (& other opportunities we can’t afford, like art & music) our day-to-day spending is not cut to a level where we can afford the choices we’ve made. Cutting it so close drives me crazy, making time together tense (& worse).

Ceil’s mom sent money for clothes. Whenever she does, more is spent. C just got Will a bunch of clothes for the trip from Dick’s. Even on sale it was more expensive than similar items at Kohl’s, Marshall’s, or TJMaxx. I took Will to return a pair of a too-large pair of shorts. There weren’t any in his size, and Will didn’t understand why I wouldn’t pay ten bucks MORE for a pair.

Last night Will & I went to the Barrett Dicks SG and came up dry, so I got our money back. Then we found a cooler pair down the street at Marshall’s that was cheaper. But he found this Braves cap he liked for $7.99, and I found a fitted 1974 Braves cap in my size, so I wound up spending $17.00 more. Just what we needed. This time Ceil wasn’t happy…more about Will’s ugly cap than the money.

It is therapeutic to write. I was thinking about Andy’s story of the small group that completely opened up their finances to each other, and whether that would work with Ceil and me. Today my office neighbor Brad had a comment that let me know he’s of a similar mindset. Yesterday at Chickfila we both separately “splurged” because whatever we bought, we could later get the same items free. He added fries to his order. I got TWO sandwiches (still used a coupon!).

I’d opt out of more SC trips, but the long drive is tough on Ceil, and it’s quantity family time, though the quality isn’t great. By doing the packing and stuff, it gives the rest more time with cousins, etc. I consider it taking one for the team, though my attitude could be better. I do get to sleep in, eat good (too good), relax, and catch up on computer/internet stuff.

The Marlins always play the Braves tough. G Anderson was having a tough time in LF. Cox had some funny comments, being positive about calling up JoJo.

Our company is closing the Knoxville plant, because many customers have shifted that business to other parts of the country. Mentioned that to my UT friend Jim, who just lost his IBM programming job. His friend was a long-time Weather Channel on-air guy who recently was laid off, who was interviewing at a small Knoxville station. He’d have to do early mornings and the late news, as well as weekends…a lot of work.

Got a comment on my blog about a post I’d written over a year ago, from a GT guy I’m friends with on Facebook. I figured he found the blog through my Facebook page. I responded to the blog post, telling him to tell his wife I said hello. He responded back saying he didn’t know who I was. Bob!

May go see Benjamin Button at the Picture Show tomorrow.

Anna the Slugger

Again in SC Anna and her two girl cousins were more active participants in the boy’s whiffleball games. Anna was consistently hitting the ball hard, almost always out of the infield. Will and Anna play hard and have a fun time, smiling all the while.

I often have a hard time with those offering biting comebacks, meant in jest. A completely different personality type than me and Ceil. Makes me clam up all the more. Should I make similar comments, they’d come across as bitter and hateful, as I wouldn’t be delivering them as humorously.

Jefferson SC is 300 miles away, but a world apart. Ceil’s mom didn’t realize Will didn’t play baseball this spring because we lacked the money.

Nike Shox Monster Metal

Van Earl

A Facebook friend is friends with Fox announcer Van Earl Wright. Van Earl is friends with Kenny Albert (& Buckhead Church, where brother Scot is an “elder”…but not the similar Johnson Ferry group, where other brother Bryant is pastor. Hmmm). Looks like Van Earl currently lives in Salt Lake City.

Took Anna Thursday night to get a new pair of new balance shoes, at Rack Room. Thought Friday would be quiet, but early on a vendor called…our plant had cut almost $20,000.00 an inch too short. So I spent over have the day trying to find a very scarce item.

Ceil picked me up Friday at 6 pm after my day full of emergencies. I let her stop and shop the Gwinnett Talbots outlet, not knowing about the storms til almost 7 pm. Matthew had to get something to eat, so we stopped at the M of Ga ChickfilA. Rain, lightning, and wind started after we got on 85 North, & continued the next 5 hours…one of the rougher drives I had. Had I known earlier about the rough weather, I would’ve headed out sooner. Someone had put C’s cell on vibrate, so she was out of contact all Friday. Didn’t pay attention and missed my exit in Greenville (I’ll blame it on the rain!)…but that only cost us ten minutes.

Listened to some of the Braves game on the way. Sutton had Pete on…they should’ve let Pete call Escobar’s home run. On the radio Sutton thought he was a lefty, but writing is the only thing he does lefty. Also the rain delay show with Chip and the Lemmer. Bout time they started back I lost the signal…but picked up the end of the Indians/Blue Jays game from the Cleveland AM clear channel.

Didn’t do much Saturday…great weather for a run over country roads. Watched the Masters and took Matthew to Burger King.

Not a great Easter Service where we were Sunday. Left about 2:30 to come back…Will drove the first 2.5 hours to Augusta without me having too many heart attacks. Listened to the dramatic Masters finish on the radio. All the Moes were closed last night, so we picked up a PaPaJohns Pizza.

Found out our company does have Braves tickets this year…the Ogre offered me tickets for Sunday’s game. I think Darryl went.

Going to be busy for a few days…we really shouldn’t have gone to SC with all there is to do. I cashed in MyCokeRewards points for a Nike gift certificate, as Will says he needs new spikes. Will order them after we get his size. Should be able to get a decent pair. Also need to reorder SI…my subscription is about to run out.

Haven’t been doing a good job on the van’s MPV lately, since I rarely am the one to get gas.

Thursday

Games like yesterdays will drive me crazy……glad I missed it. Nice that the Braves are hitting.

Going to SC this weekend. Plenty to do at home, which I reckon I’ll do the next weekend when everyone’s gone. Would be nice to go down to Jekyll for that weekend, maybe take off Friday. We’ll see. Matthew is sick, and Will has been having headaches. My headaches have to do with the pollen, I think.

Tied up almost all day yesterday in meeting/emergencies. We’re all busy and are filled with tasks not in our job description. He took me to lunch, the first time in over a month. I’m sure it has to do with the downturn…he hasn’t taken Brad out either. The Ogre doesn’t know if the layoffs & salary cuts only have to do with the economy, or if our owners are doing it to cut costs because everyone else is doing it. He likened them to Richard Gere’s profession in Pretty Woman, which is pretty accurate.

BTW, my salary cut did turn out to be only 5%. Today & tomorrow 3 co-workers are on vacation, but it’s slow. I won’t get caught up that much.

weekend on the go

Everyone had a blast at the Braves game (& Varsity afterwards). I was concerned about two of the quiet girls, but their mothers later told Ceil they had a great time. Alyssa’s dad was great company, as he was a good fan (before Friday I had only met him once, briefly). He brought up things like pitch speed and selection, and how Gonzo lost the perfect game with a walk in the 5th.

Went to Macon Sat AM with A and M and did many hours of yardwork. Anna was a tremendous help (my parents paid her $30.00 before we went home). I had told Matthew when we got there that he might get paid if he worked hard, but after messing with the fire (leaves) for a while, he went inside to watch TV.

Traffic was terrible. On the way down on 75 in Cobb, I took 285 around the west side. South of the Perimeter 75 was still bad, so I continued on to 675, but the problem was construction on 75 south of 675. On the way back it was bad at the same point. Almost took 675 and 285 east, to say I pulled a Pasqual Perez.

Will had morning and afternoon meetings at school, then watched the Final Four at the Normans. So Sunday he had a big project to work on instead of practicing baseball. My concern is a sore arm. Plus, if he gets off to a slow start on this new team, he may find himself on the bench. Everyone else is already playing on school teams. Ceil says he needs to learn for himself. With my pay cut, it will be an expensive lesson.

Got back from small group to find the Braves up 4-0 in the 5th and watched the rest. Looked like a fine start. The announcers also mentioned what a tough call relieving Lowe was. He had thrown about 95 pitches. They showed Soriano getting ready in the bullpen. I still say Gonzo is better in a close game than with a four run lead. He may just need more work to get to midseason form. He did strike out Ryan Howard and another guy. At least Cox didn’t put in Boyer.

This AM the Ogre says the pay cut could very well be a 10% cut for me and my neighbor Brad. Guess I’m a bigger shot than I thought. A little unexpected, but not completely…better than the alternative. Ceil took it OK, but I don’t think she completely understands the impact, no matter how much I try. She thinks the bonus and tax return will cover us, but it won’t.

Friday Braves Recap

On a beautiful Friday night for baseball in Atlanta, the early-afternoon grey clouds cleared away, allowing the Braves and Tigers blue skies and brilliant sunshine for batting practice. Javier Vasquez threw four perfect innings, then Mike Gonzalez and Jeff Bennett extended the hitless streak for five more outs. Omar Infante’s two-run homer to left was enough offense, and the Braves went home 3-1 winners.

Fresh off preseason training sessions, Turner Field parking attendants, ticket-takers, and ushers were all smiles, welcoming us to the park. Indeed, they are usually most friendly, but tonight it seemed more so. Perhaps their higher-ups reminded them they’ll be fighting for customers in this tough economic climate. Even a young male employee in the parking lot greeted us…while chatting on his cell phone.

Leadoff hitter Yunel Escobar singled the first pitch up the middle for a single, but then was hit in the bicep by the first pickoff throw. He had to leave the game.

When Gonzo was introduced in the top of the fifth, the giant video screen caught him kneeling to tighten his spikes. He was rocking a pair of red-swooshed Shox. Rookie phenom Jordan Schafer, he of the celebrated Nike contract, had his shoes mostly covered with extended pants legs. Vasquez’s adidas had red accents. Clint Sammons joined buddies Francoeur and McCann on team Mizuno. Curtis Granderson sported orange-swooshed road Nikes. Several young Tiger outfielders wore high-cuffed pants and stirrups. In our party, Amber rocked a cool pair of brown/beige Pumas, and Alyssa broke out green Nikes with yellow swooshes. The young pirate Matthew wore his familiar black Converse, which were showing some wear.

Granderson broke up the no-hitter with a two-out 6th-inning double. Twice Schafer got to show off his accurate arm. Infante made two tough back-handed stops filling in for Chipper at the hot corner, both times accurately one-hopping throws over to first. After snaring a line drive to end the sixth, Omar carried the ball with him, to toss to a fan. He found the top of the dugout filled with the Tomahawk Girls starting the Home Dept Tool Race, so he patiently waited for the race to start before finding a young fan to toss the ball to.

The game moved along quickly. The seventh inning was reached by nine o’clock. Saw a few regular faces: the white guy who’s at every game dressed as an Indian, and the gregarious, always-smiling learning-impaired black guy (who Lemke and Chip Carey were razzing).

We got off to a late start Friday afternoon leaving Living Science. This was to be a team-building exercise, a chance for the Group Eight Servant Leaders to spend time together. It appears the other seven groups weren’t able to organize get-togethers, quite understandable this busy spring. The entire seven-member Group Eight was able to attend.

Being LSA (Living Science Acceptable), the boys rode in my van, and the girls rode with Alyssa’s dad Craig. Pulling out of Living Science at 4:15, traffic didn’t slow our little departure caravan until we hit the Connector. Had I not stuck to my beloved HOV lane, we would’ve arrived at the park 15 minutes earlier. This gave us time guys to chat up many topics, including the old Pepsi commercial were the old lady “likes Rock, but prefers Rap.”

Still, there were dollar seats remaining, and we made it into the left field stands in time to see the Braves complete BP. The Tigers took over, so Craig and I sat back while the teens took up a front row. Christy’s dainty wave to the Tiger players quickly became contagious…soon all the girls were daintily waving. I noticed one difference right away: no piped-in rock music. Instead the old-school pipe organ cranked out tunes. Nice.

The waving worked…soon all four were holding baseballs. Kaitlin gamely tried to catch a ball tossed by a Tiger. She bobbled it, but stuck with it, and soon secured it. Alyssa had no problem making a catch. Christy also stuck with it. Kevin’s long reach snagged him a ball, which he immediately handed to Amber. Later Alyssa caught a ball, then seeing a lady behind her, generously handed her the ball. Will and Kevin also gave balls away. Interestingly, three of the four balls were International League balls. After BP the girls got the balls autographed by ex-Brave Mark Lemke.

During BP Tigers manager Jim Leyland sauntered out, making his way to the bullpen, stopping to sign multiple autographs…unlike Tiger ace Justin Verlander, who took a break from his daily running to very nicely decline. Magglio Ordonez also begged off. Nearby, I determined an Oriental in street clothes was the interpreter to a skinny, young, Tiger hurler. One line drive narrowly missed a youngster in foul territory…who hadn’t been paying attention. It reminded Craig of a story: At a minor league game when Alyssa was quite young, he caught an errant warmup pitch headed their way.

We leisurely chose seats down the left-field line, in section 222. In front of us was a spry old usher who was on the move all night: leading cheers and chatting with fans. He was quite popular with the young Tomahawk Team girls, who were always sure to stop by to give him hugs. The oldster was hip, wearing his Braves cap with the shiny holograph sticker still on the brim. Can he keep up this frantic pace for 82 more home games? Will he wilt in the summer heat? What about day games after a night game? We thought that perhaps he was on the Braves retirement program…whereby older executives are later put out to pasture as ushers. Was this the guy who discovered Hammerin’ Hank?

Whatever the case, this usher was having the time of his life (however short that may be). I wondered out loud “I bet he drinks Pepsi.” Amazingly, we even saw him STARTING THE WAVE! All this time I thought it was heathen fans committing this crime.

A very old WWII colonel (in uniform!) was selected for the NAPA Cap Shuffle. Looked a little like a skinny Col. Sanders. Since I can barely keep up with the high-tech, fast-paced puzzle, I knew he had no chance. Did he even know where to look? After losing, they still gave him the prize.

After the game ended (before 9:30!) we cruised over to the Varsity. The weather was on the chilly side, and I thought Mrs. D’s greatest hopes (and worst fears) were realized: the team had a great time, but they may have froze to death at the same time!

Five Percent

Our CEO just announced a company-wide pay cut on all salaried personnel, from 5 – 15%. "Luckily", I should be in the 5% group. They’d already cut warehouse employees back to 32 hours. One competitor let all their outside sales force go, and they only had 2 on the inside. The inside sales force here has been calling out to customers, asking if they have any metal to buy. If they get an order, they ring a bell, and everyone claps. Lately the bell will ring 4-5 times a day, which isn’t bad.

Found out today that the warehouse manager, a guy I’ve known for a while, used to play high school baseball against Chipper. Said Bolles usually beat them bad at Bolles, but they played almost even at home.

Seven teens (2 boys, including Will), me, and Alyssa’s dad are going to the game tonight.

Wednesday

Not much new…survived the month end. We’re holding our heads above water, but doing better than other companies. Wrote up two reports for the new boss, the Ogre, who said I did a good job…wouldn’t change a thing.

UGA needs to hire someone quick, before all the good ones are gone.

Didn’t realize Watterson’s son David was an associate pastor at FBC Amarillo Texas.

Pretty much stopped entering many sweepstakes like I used to do, since work and home has been so busy the last year.

Almost Opening Day

No surprise about the Braves trading J Anderson while they could…hopefully Shafer can keep it up. If he does, I’ll learn to spell his name. Nice about Chipper’s contract extension.

Last night Fox Sports had the top 50 catches, baseball and football. Had a few of Andruw’s, and the Otis catch. Made me think for the first time that I used to compare Andrew to Mays. No more.

Looks like I’m going Friday night to the Tigers game. Will is leading a group at Jekyll, and his team of leaders needed a team-building activity. Hopefully I can leave early…we’ll see.

weekend

C and M braved the Zoo despite the rain. Today they just got back from the doctor…he has exhema real bad. Yesterday he made this hilarious video while spying on the neighbor boys. What was so funny was his running commentary.

Anna and I had a rare Friday night out. We ate at Willie’s, hit Target and Wal-Mart looking for her some shorts, and rented City of Ember at Blockbuster. We also worked a bunch on her Isaac Newton presentation.

Watched most of the Saturday Braves game while doing laundry, then a bunch of the PGA tourney the last two days, as Tiger methodically came back. Jordan Shafer was batting when the space shuttle sonic-boomed overhead, so we quickly switched to CNN to watch the landing. Orlando to Cape Canaveral in 4 minutes…not bad.

Will had a big weekend. Went to one friend’s house Friday night to watch the NCAAs with a bunch of boys from his Wednesday ECPC youth group, & didn’t get home til after midnight. Saturday he went over to the Normans for a party. They got all wet sliding on the grass field by the river, and many wound up jumping in the Hootch (Will was first, of course). Yesterday he went to Holt’s birthday party at Discover Mills and saw a movie. No time for baseball with the rain, but he’ll be real busy the next month as well.

Anna’s best-friend’s father was laid off from his IBM programming job Friday, something he hadn’t seen coming. Our contact at my big customer was not laid off, at least not yet. Things are still crazy here. I’d like to think I would be the last of my 4 person team to get laid off, but since I’m probably the highest paid in my boss’s department, that may not be the case. I’ll trust that God will provide.

Layoffs

Man, it’s busy at work these days. My temp’s last day is Tuesday, then the 4 of us who remain will have more work to do. Another department also laid off a long-time employee yesterday. Times are rough. I’m trying to take off this afternoon, since Ceil’s leaving at 1 pm to spend the rainy night in the zoo with Matthew and his class. (Friday morning Ceil asked me to take her place, half-jokingly).

The kids are taking their standardized tests on Wednesday, so Ceil wants to minimize activity early next week.

Wednesday night Will put on the new Brewers jacket and wore it the rest of the evening. When I picked up him and Abby at school last night, it appeared he had worn it all day today as well. The pickup made me miss the Braves on TV last night. Matthew was watching SpongeBob and forgot his beloved American Idol (Ceil was gone).

Doing these exercises on the days I don’t run. One exercise was a leg curl, and as I had been doing them the last month or so I had thought more than once that it would probably make me somehow pull a muscle. Sure enough, I think something pulled Sunday afternoon on the baseball field, making my runs Monday and yesterday most painful. Happened to glance up at our building during my run, remembering the Ogre was meeting in the corner conference room next to my desk, close to the track. Damon was watching me, and we exchanged waves. The Ogre didn’t believe him.

quote of the day

Albert Pujols is like pizza…even when it’s bad, it’s good.

--Sports Illustrated

Costco

Don’t know if we save anything by going to Costco. We buy bigger quantities, so the kids eat it up faster. The pizza is cheap and good, as are the Cokes. Hot dogs are big and cheap, but not that great. Ceil still likes to drive all the way over to the Dekalb Farmers Market once or twice a month. Swears it’s tons cheaper than Harrys. She’s finally figuring out WalMart groceries are cheaper. There’s a quilt shop over there in Decatur she also likes to visit.

Anna was just talking about going to Destin yesterday. Will has games every weekend in May and June, and half of August. Perhaps we can work in a few days at some point.

Only can keep my temp thru month end. We’re having to buckle up, even if some don’t like it. All the rest of the office is getting hit with stuff. Better than the alternative. But vendor-managed inventory at EZGo should make things easier for us.

Found a bunch of co-workers on Facebook last night. This AM a guy asked if I was on. We’ll see if he looks me up.

Weekend On The Go

Will’s 29-0 JV team lost at least 2 in Missouri because Connor got hurt. The Girls also lost early, but still won their division (just not overall). The Varsity Boys finished 6th in the nation…not bad, considering at least three key players didn’t make the trip.

Almost home Friday, I found Will running the 3/4 mile to his sleepover. Took him the rest of the way, since I hadn’t seen him the night before. Then had to backtrack to Kroger to get A/M pizzas. C and I visited Plato’s Closet and joined Costco, then ate at the Chipotle on Windward. She was pleased. Back home, she watched her favorite…What Not to Wear.

Sat AM I cruised around, seeing what was wrong with the Civic. Oxygen sensor, but by Sunday the light had gone off. Got gas and stopped by the Walton High garage sale, as well as a smaller church yard sale (looked big from the street). Took Ceil back to Walton, but she wasn’t impressed. Later I picked up Will and got the Civic oil changed/washed at Carnetts, hit Kroger, and took M to a birthday party.

That night we went over for a small group dinner, at a friend’s house. Me and another guy (& his small 9 year-old son) beat Will and two younger teens in basketball. Late that night (& again Sunday night) I watched the Apprentice, to see how Herschel was doing (OK, nothing spectacular). Rodman should be fired, based on Trumps standards (but he keeps him around for the ratings).

After church we returned to Costco to look at some Adidas shorts for Anna’s trip. Got a pizza while we were there, to M’s delight (he had eaten 5 pieces at the Sat PM party). Took Will to the baseball field, then Home Depot for rakes. In the car we listened to the Braves game on the radio. The new announcer Jim Powell had Frank Wren on…both are well-spoken guys. Powell sounds a lot like Uecker, which I might’ve already said. Worked in the yard until dark…it looks better.

I was exhausted, but hopefully I’ll run later this afternoon. Ate too much this weekend!

Meriwether

Reading a great book on Meriwether Lewis and his Expedition. Didn’t realize how perfectly qualified he was for the job, both physically, mentally, educationally, and politically. Served as President Jefferson’s right hand man up to his departure, and even lived in the White House with the widower President. Jefferson taught him much about astronomy, determining latitude & longitude, and other things Lewis would need on the journey. Lewis recruited friend Clark to be his co-commander, and they were perfectly complimentary. Must’ve been similar to the space program in the 60’s.

Just finished “Washington’s Crossing” about the Revolutionary War. Informative but dry, and on the boring side.

Next to my desk is a small conference room. They’re not quite through with construction, so a couple of ceiling tiles are out of it, that carry over outside the room, both on my side and the other side. It’s easy to overhear what’s being said in the room, even with the door closed. We just finished a conference call with our quality guy, who keeps messing up things. During the call I finally reached my limit with him and let him have it. Monique and Randy were in there, and knew my outburst was justified.

After the call we came out. My friend Sherry was sitting nearby. I smiled and asked “You didn’t hear that, did you?” She told the lady next to her that I used to yell at her like that when I was her boss (I didn’t, of course). Next to me, Brad said the guy sitting all the way across the building had come over, asking what the racket was.

Natasha Richardson was one of my favorites.

Wednesday

From time to time DOB brings up the name of the unsigned reliever he likes so much. Olman? With Stockman cut, think there’s any chance they spend more to sign him? Guess they’re waiting to see how the relievers they have pan out. I suppose next spring Freeman and Heyward will be in the place Hanson is at this year…bordering between the majors and minors. Guess they’ll time it to when Casey’s contract is up.

See that Rowland’s Office post about the fight between Duane from Forest Park and the old man Claude? A reader named David objected to the stupidity of the post, and the comments were almost as good as the post itself.

Bought a coupon book from a co-worker and used a coupon here or there. Should re-coup my money, but not save hundreds. Lang’s parents went to the Elton John/Billy Joel concert and had a good time.

Finally got Will’s baseball schedule last night…every weekend from the first of May thru mid-July. The great thing is they moved the beach trip from Florida to Myrtle Beach…the week Ceil’s family is planning on being there. Don’t know if we can make it to Destin or DC this summer. Either trip would have to be in early August…that’s when Ceil is most stressed about school starting up.

My temp is finally trained and becoming an asset. Was in meetings for 4 hours today, but I got to lunch with the bigwigs.

Weekend

It was a weekend on the go. Friday I drove the 20 miles home, then to Sandy Springs for Will’s basketball practice. M and I ran some errands, working our way back home. Ate at Moe’s. Anna called, she and Ceil were finishing up her dress rehearsal. I figured they would stop at Willies, so we met them there and watched them eat.

Realized the Saturday recital was at 11 am, so on the way home I called my parents with the new time. My dad hadn’t been feeling well, so I offered to chauffeur them. This meant W was needed at home Sat AM, so he couldn’t attend a sleepover. He was hacked when I picked him up. Got home after 10 pm.

Got up early Sat & drove to Macon, grabbing a Chick-fil-A. Didn’t even go in the house, we immediately drove back, arriving at Eastside a perfect 45 minutes early. Anna did great, once dancing with older girls, with her in the middle. Afterwards we ate at the Varsity. Got back to Macon around four, and got on the roof and blew out the gutters. Wound up working in the backyard past dark, getting a bunch done.

On the drive back I stopped at the McDonough Arby’s (had a good coupon). A women’s college softball team from Minnesota was just leaving. Saw an interstate sign that northbound 75 was completely blocked, so I had to go around 675 & 285. Picked up Will at the Normans on the way back. Again, we got home after ten.

After church I worked Will out at the ball field. Matthew came and ran down some balls. Later at home I pitched him tennis balls, so I wound up throwing over 200 pitches for the day. I was bushed! Still managed to get out and run Monday after work.

Wren Builds a Team

On not making re-signing Smoltz and Glavine a top priority this past November: It says the Braves are more committed to building a winner than placating aging, injured arms. Last year everyone slammed the Braves for putting together an aging staff, that succumbed to extended injuries (Smoltz, Glavine, Hampton, Hudson, etc.). Back in November and December it was quite uncertain when Smoltz, Glavine, and Hudson would be able to return in 2009, if at all. Today, still nothing is certain. Smoltz MAY be back in June. Glavine reported to camp 3 weeks late with a “cranky” left shoulder, uncertain if he’d be ready for an April 18th starting assignment. Hopefully Hudson will be back in August. Had Wren made resigning Smoltz and Glavine his top priority, the Braves would’ve lacked money to rebuild the decimated rotation. He did make resigning Hampton an immediate priority, though he didn’t make it a huge deal in the press. Hampton was free to sign with any team, and probably figured after all the bad things that happened to him in Atlanta, he needed a fresh start somewhere else. With only a few years left in his body, Hampton did what any of us would…signing at the market rate. Given the choice to be paid several million or pitching for free (as many suggested), what would you do? And Hampton has already missed some action this spring. Spurned by Burnett, Peavey, and Griffey, Wren still assembled two better options: Lowe and Garrett Anderson. No team can afford more than one # 1 starter (except the Yankees, Red Sox, and maybe Mets). By also obtaining the White Sox pitcher and Japanese pitcher, sophomore Jurrigans isn’t pressured to carry the team. Phenom Hanson is pressing Glavine for the 5th spot, and there are several more starters waiting in the wings. Surely you’re happy the bullpen won’t be relying on Boyer most nights. Chipper, McCann, and Diaz are healthy. Kotchman had 2 months to acclimate himself to the NL and should be improved…as should K Johnson, Francoeur, and CF Anderson. SS Escobar will hit .300 and play spectacular defense. Pinch-hitting will be stronger, with last year’s league leader returning, along with Diaz or G Anderson, Blanco, and the other .300-hitting middle infielder. The future looks bright, with CF Jordan Schafer, RF Heyward, and 1B Freeman almost ready to step in, a great improvement over those they replace. With Chase Utley and the Mets’ ace hurting, Jimmy Rollins pouting, and the Ryan Howard setting strikeout records, the Braves should be in the race well into September. The team looks a lot better than this time last year. Soon I’ll even know everyone’s name! Even Ceil can’t wait. The New England Patriots achieved their long Super Bowl run by using a strategy of replacing older, expensive stars whose career is in decline with cheaper, up & coming players. Bill Belicheck learned this in Cleveland, where the Browns’ opponents were eating up the aging, immobile, weak-armed (but beloved) Bernie Kosar. I still say Smoltz wanted to shoot for the postseason, and be where the action is…more so than the money.

Connor

Connor brings the ball up, after taking the inbounds pass from Will.

The Marvel

DJ drives, with Kevin open downcourt.

Kara and Danielle

Rocking her new black Nikes, Kara dribbles against a Crown defender. Danielle looks on.

Abby

Abby played in one game, and wound up getting photographed.

busy Tuesday

My snow day: I took yesterday afternoon off at the last minute. Last night the basketball banquet started at six at FBC Atlanta in Dunwoody off 285, meaning that’s when the food needed to be there for the pot-luck. W, A, & M got out of class at five in Woodstock, then I had to take a boy home, then get Anna dinner, then drop her off at ballet at Eastside Baptist on Lower Roswell. Avoided 285 traffic and got to FBC at 6:20, before they had kicked off the banquet.

I had forgotten Will’s team went 28-0. The Varsity Boys should be seeded no worse than 5th overall out of 80 teams in the national tourney in a few weeks. The MC used me as his main comic relief. Here’s a link to some of Will’s basketball pictures (only one of Will) http://web.mac.com/patcahillpro/ACCE_Sports/BB_2009.html

This spring training hopefully stories about Hanson and the young 1B and RF will make fans realize why Wren didn’t panic over the off-season. Still, when the Braves lose a game or three, fans will panic and demand immediate results/trades/etc…forgetting it was the FREE agent’s choice to sign with other teams for relatively the same money. Some deals should turn out better, like Griffey vs. Garrett or Andruw, and Lowe vs. Burnette. It wasn’t the case of either Burnette OR the Japanese pitcher (OR the ChiSox pitcher) - they were to fill out the rotation.

Had a chance to stumble across a 2002 Chattanooga Lookouts bobblehead with a remarkable likeness…Corky Miller. Couldn’t pass it up.

slow weekend

Friday night I met Ceil at the Paradise Grille, a favorite sports bar of some friends of ours. In the shopping center between Publix and Home Depot. It was ok, not the greatest ever. Kids enjoyed it. That night we got into “What Not To Wear”

Worked around the house Saturday AM, then took Matthew to NP for a kids event…he had a good time. Traffic in Roswell was jammed. I hung around the area, ran some errands, and picked up three bargain shirts. Will got home around 9:30 from his week at Amelia Island, so I went and picked up him and Abby.

Sunday I stayed out of the snow, but didn’t do much. Ceil went to a friend’s kid’s baptism at JFBC, later we watched Star Wars 3 on Spike. Saw Francoeur and Derek Lowe interviewed on ESPN, and part of Hawks/Cavs. Ceil may want to watch some of the WBC.

Monday there was a homeowners association meeting I skipped to run errands and watch 24, then Tuesday the basketball banquet.