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It was supposed to be a great day today.

It was all over my Facebook feed this morning along with similar comments- it’s opening day for baseball, the Red Sox, and Fenway Park.

This morning I took the Red Sox broadcast schedule and copied national broadcasted games to my outlook- as a Red Sox fan away from Boston I have to know when I’ll be able to watch my team. I’m already excited to try and catch some games this summer in DC and Baltimore.

Right now Josh Beckett was supposed to throw out the first pitch in Fenway Park to start the 2009 season but it appears rain will postpone that moment til tomorrow.

I can’t wait.

Tags: baseball, blog, nationals, orioles, red sox

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I’ve written before about how I wanted to travel more often so when I ran across this idea I seriously gave it some thought.

As I become a bigger and bigger fan of baseball- two things came to mind:

1. I need to start seeing more games at Fenway Park.
2. How cool would it be to try and see a game at every Major League Baseball stadium?

It’s a goal many people embark on and I like it because it’s an on going journey that will require me to travel to different parts of the country- and watch baseball!

I think it’s going to be a goal I’m going to work on as I make annual travel plans. In thinking about the topic I found two sites I thought were nice resources for the future:

1. ESPN’s Page 2 did a similar trip where they visited all the major league ballparks and gave them reviews.
2. Baseballparks.com contains photos and reviews of all 30 MLB ballparks.

Tags: baseball, blog, travel

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You would think that I would need a vacation after my beach vacation but that wasn’t happening at all. I welcomed myself back to DC with a string of baseball games. Monday after my trip I drove up to Baltimore with Cynthia to see the Red Sox/Orioles game. The game was going well for the Sox and halfway into it I decided to walk over to the bullpen area. At Camden Yards the visitors bullpen is very accessible to views and hollers from the fans so I decided to see who I could see.

In between the sixth inning I saw Mike Timlin run from the dugout to the bullpen and there he was standing there watching the game. I figured he had to start warming up if he was going in for the seventh but he was just chillin’. David Aardsma was out there earlier with his own camp chair- looks like he wasn’t going to be palying anytime soon. Timlin turned around and started to head back into the ‘pen. Our eyes met for a moment and I give him the cool and collected headnod- he shoots one back to me and ducks back inside. Visiting the bullpen is something I’m doing way more often.

Things got real exciting when I got to see Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon start to warm up. I told Cynthia how Okajima was from Japan and she tried yelling some Styx lyrics at him. It was great to see the relief pitchers warm up and ultimately walk through the bullpen doors and enter the game. Unfortunately I saw Okajima walk through those doors and blow the game. Oh well we can’t win them all, but I’d love to actually go to a Red Sox game where they won.

The next day I took some of the Maryland crew out to Nationals Park to see the Cardinals/Nationals game. I did a pretty good job of packing the suite- I also invited Wendi and gave guest passes to Sarah and Mike since they were already going to the game. There was a two hour rain delay but luckily with a suite we were able to stay dry. Our suite attendant also did a great job in keeping us entertained. He walks in all excited to teach us a new dance he called, “The Cha Cha Slide.” Of course we knew it but we played along and at the end he came back with a cookie platter since we danced with him.

Just another great time at the ballgame- the event of choice for the summer.

Tags: baltimore, baseball, blog, camden yards, cardinals, cha cha slide, david aardsma, fun times with friends, hideki okajima, jonathan papelbon, mike timlin, nationals, orioles, red sox, styx

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Earlier last year I wrote about how I watched the Red Sox win the World Series at a local Red Sox hangout spot in Georgetown. Well there was a photographer there that took photos of LJ and I to use for a story- however he decided not to use our photo but he did decide to mix up our names:

Guess I’m pretty fly for a white guy.

Tags: baseball, blog, favorites, georgetown, gwu, hatchet, red sox, world series

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So I’m sitting here on the last Sunday of March, watching the Nationals home opener on ESPN and President Bush came out to throw the first pitch in the new Nationals Park. He walked onto the field to a great crowd of boos and cheers. I thought it was more boos than cheers but other media sources, like the Baltimore Sun, thought otherwise. Burak and I laughed at the President’s welcome and the following “high heat” he threw on the mound. At the third inning he joined the ESPN broadcasters in the booth and commentated during the game. I thought it was very entertaining to hear the President ramble on about baseball and how he used to own the Texas Rangers. What’s also entertaining is the lead the Nationals have against the Braves here in the bottom of the seventh. Maybe this will be the start of a winning season for the Nats. At least the Os will be right down there with them if they have another losing season.

It’s been a rather quiet week here on the home front. It’s been getting too quiet- I need to get out and do something next weekend. At least April will be busy on the social front.

Tuesday I got to catch up with Rebecca at her new place- which is actually in the same gated community as her old place. I love to pick on her about it since I live in a regular ol’ house and she lives behind pearly gates. Sitting and watching TV at her new place makes me totally want to upgrade my digs. It’s something I’ve thought about once in awhile but I love my roommates right now and I’m quite content living in my old dump.

Thursday I went over to LJ’s new place (also very nice) and watched some March Madness. I think it’s amazing that all four #1 seeds got into the final four this weekend- first time it’s happened ever I think. Of course that really killed my bracket but at least I’m still in the running- I think I have an outside chance to win it all if things go right.

Ok well that’s all for now- I’ve been thinking about a lot of things I want to get done this year, and a face lift to my blog is one of them. I hope to start work on that and get something up soon. Maybe start blogging like a real blogger. That’ll be a first.

Tags: baseball, blog, fun times with friends, march madness, nationals, president bush, rangers, webpage

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First off I got to express my joy to see the Sox clinch the American League East as well as the best record in the MLB this week. I’m psyched to not see the Red Sox totally screw it up at the end of the season (see end of 2006 season.) Too bad it appears I’m about to settle for 4th place in my fantasy baseball league. It’s a drop from my third place finish last year but at least I have fantasy football.
I’ve been busy with lots of work this week. Long hours have really kept me from doing anything fun. I did get a break however on Friday where I went bowling at the Naval Medical Center with Melissa and Hollie (it appears they have a pretty cheap bowling center.) The part I love the best: cheap subsidized food. Makes me wish I actually worked at NIH, but then again I’m not that smart.

Yesterday I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival with all my favorites. It was quite the experience, turkey legs, sword fights, and jousting were abundant, so were the extreme fans that actually dressed up in costumes. It wasn’t that bad, the shows were pretty entertaining. I’d still call my Diana and Kim dorks for going to them however.

Ok well it’s almost time for week 4 of football. Here’s to a big fantasy comeback!

Tags: baseball, bethesda, blog, bowling, fantasy sports, nih, red sox, renaissance festival, stress

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I would like to offer my congratulations to Clay Buchholz. He’s only 23, and last night he threw a no-hitter against the Orioles. I was glad that it was one of the rare Red Sox games I was able to see while down here in DC. I wish I could do so many things at 23- but I think I’m not doing so bad.

Wednesday Laura came down from Massachusetts and I took the day to show her things off the beaten tourist trail.

We went to the Maryland State Fair and enjoyed the sights, smells, and sounds of the classic carnival. Laura and I really got a kick of all the animals (what can I say we are city folk) and I had a blast with the Alpacas. They are like Llamas with emo haircuts. There were also cows… lots of cows… We walked up to a herd and started feeding it grass- and they took a huge swipe at my hand. So awesome.

After the fair we drove down to neighboring Baltimore to catch the Devil Rays/Orioles gane. We definitely got our money’s worth- it was a close game that went well into the 12th inning. Of course the Devil Rays won. It’s gotta be sad when the O’s lose eight in a row with one of them being to the D-Rays.

Man I’ve been to a lot of baseball games this summer- I am so lucky to have such great opportunities to see one of the sports I love. Of course I’m not through yet, the Red Sox are in Baltimore next weekend and I think I need to go check them out.

Thursday was an awesome day at work. I got to fly to Atlanta to a business meeting. What made it awesome was that I got to fly on the company jet. Let me tell you that flying on your own jet is 200% better than flying commercial. No lines, no waiting, no hassle. I loved it. I left Dulles at 7 AM and was back by 6 PM. Man the jetset lifestyle is not that bad.

Friday I went over to Carolyn’s where a group of people were enjoying the comforts of her basement. What basement party wouldn’t be complete without drinking games. Man that was an interesting night.

Yesterday Marjorie and I went to Kotobuki for dinner. It was a small place in a beautiful neighborhood in the Palisades. The food was terrific definitely some of the best sushi I’ve had here (sorry Harris Teeter.)

After watching the Red Sox game, I popped in a movies off Netflix. I’m really starting to like the instant download feature, too bad I can only watch nine hours worth of stuff in a month. So I watched Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and I really enjoyed it, gave me a whole new hate for Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, but it also amazed me in how other companies were involved and how Enron was played a role in the California Blackout Crisis.

Man all this blogging makes me want to eat more sushi. Too bad Kotobuki isn’t open for another five hours. I’ll have to go settle for something else.

Tags: alpacas, atlanta, baltimore, baseball, blackouts, blog, california, clay buchholz, corporate jets, devil rays, enron, food, girls, harris teeter, jeff skilling, ken lay, llamas, netflix, no-hitter, orioles, palisades, red sox, state fair, sushi, travel, work

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I walked out of the door to see that my car was not anywhere near my house. That’s when you know you had a great night last night. But first…

I took Marjorie to the Rangers/Orioles game on Tuesday. I got to see my fantasy baseball starter, Erik Bedard, pitch an excellent game (those 11 strikeouts will do nicely for my fantasy league.) He even broke a franchise record during our game. I have been on a roll of great baseball games it maybe my luck or maybe it maybe my company.

Talking about rolls I need to kickstart my productivity roll. I’m not falling off that horse yet.

Things can get busy now that I’ve started playing Kickball. Laura convinced Burak and I to join her team in the DC Lightning division. Our first game was this past Wednesday and it was a pretty fun time. It’s quite an interesting thought to join many other people drinking and playing games on the National Mall. I wasn’t that bad for someone that hasn’t played since middle school. I got a single on my first at-bat; however I did pull a muscle while kicking and running to first. The fun part was that it was my right gluteus maximus (aka my right ass.) I’m going to have to work on my lower body to make sure that doesn’t happen again. Well we won our first game and it was quite exciting (I found out that Laura’s team lost every game last season.) After the game we all went to Kelly’s Irish Times to partake in post-game Flip Cup. It was more crowded than usual apparently, another Kickball division was also at the bar. The basement was more crowded than a Sigma Pi cellar party at FSC.

On Friday I watched Man of the Year with Carolyn. It sounded like a cool movie but a lot of the jokes were pretty unoriginal. Also there was a major genre change in the middle of the film. Oh well, at least I’m waiting to watch Superbad next weekend. Judd Apatow is blowing up the film scene now- makes me wanna go watch Knocked Up.

Ok now to last night. So it was the Kickball season opening party at Mathatter and I meet up with Laura and Burak with my colleague Neal in tow. The party included free beer and cheap rail drinks all night long. That only means one thing. Trouble. So after several hours of drinking we decide to pile into a taxi and hit Adam’s Morgan. Our cabbie was blasting Dr Dre, Biggie, and T.I. and we were all singing along. What can I saw we were all drunk and like white people we sang to every word. It was quite the sight. Oh and imagine us riding and signing with Laura laying across us in the backseat- because we were trying to fit four into the cab. Quality. So we arrive on 18th and Neal brings us to a place we need to check out- Dan’s Cafe. We arrive and I ask Neal which bar it is- he points to a boarded up building that looks like it’s more condemned than open for business. That is just the start. I walk in and I’m greeted with a smell that I can only describe as urinal- very urinal. The lighting is beyond dank and there’s a silent TV mounted into the far back wall. Besides that, fake plants hanging from the ceiling and an aging jukebox make up the decor of the slum. The plants looked so old they looked dead- and they are fake plants. The bar was a mashup of bathroom tile and wood, but behind it was the answer to why I was standing in this ghetto fabulous place. Liqour. Lots of Liqour. The bar had no taps, but instead it had shelves upon shelves of small bottles of liquor. Sizes ranged from small nips to larger fifths. I saw patrons ordering drinks and receive the following: a larger glass filled with the liquor of your choice (it usually takes an entire fifth to fill it), a can/bottle of whatever mixer you request, a bucket of ice, and as many glasses as you need to mix all this stuff yourself. All of this for only $10. I saw this happen and I knew this place was going to be trouble.

After enjoying a couple of drinks my roommates and I realized it’s that time- time to get back home before we get into any more trouble. So we all share a cab back to Cleveland Street and we proceed to drink even more. Oh we were going to have a fun night. How much fun? I ended up in my basement with Burak and Laura in a jam session. Burak was playing guitar, Laura was playing the keyboard and for some reason I was playing the drums. I don’t play the drums. But apparently I knew how. I really don’t know how to play the drums but it was fun to play anywho. I think we were playing for an hour or two before I somehow ended up back in my bed. An end to a quite adventurous night.
Now if I only knew how to play the drums when I’m sober…

Tags: adams morgan, baltimore, baseball, blog, debauchery, drums, fun times with friends, girls, kickball, knocked up, man of the year, orioles, rangers, superbad, washington dc

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I told Rebecca I’d start my blog with these words: I’ve been drinking for four days straight. More on that later.

Let’s start from the beginning. Tuesday I went out with Marjorie to the Phillies/Nationals game. The Phillies are one of her favorite teams so we were rooting for the visiting team (I like to say I was just rooting for the sport in general- I just cheered for anything that happened. Also had to root for my fantasy players Pat Burrell and Jimmy Rollins) It’s really not that hard to cheer for the other team when you’re watching the Nats. For once I actually got to the game in time to catch the pre-game food spread at the Diamond Club. It was pretty nice food.

Thursday I went out with Wendi to Recessions for happy hour. It may not be the prettiest of places but with $2.50 appetizers and jumbo-sized $2.75 beers, we had lots of fun. We later took the show on the road and walked to
Dupont Circle, but not before sneaking into Renaissance Mayflower Hotel for a break. We then tried to play some inebriated billiards at Buffalo Billiards. This would mark day one of chaos.

Day two continued at Clarendon Ballroom Friday night. Now I would not normally show up at this haven of d’bags but Rachel wanted to go there to celebrate her last day before going back to JMU. Perez Hilton was hosting a little black dress party and I guess Rachel and a lot of other females love him. So I waited an hour in line to meet them inside, but once I got in I had quite a good time. $80 worth of alcohol will do that to you (don’t freak out, drinks are just expensive in there.)

Last night Carolyn and I met up with everyone else for Emily’s housewarming party. She has a nice new place near U-Street and Falkor, Doug, and I could only do one thing to housewarm her new place- play tons of flipcup. What started as a 2 v 2 match quickly gathered interest from the throngs of people that didn’t even know what the game was. Soon we were flipping cups well into the late of night.

You would think that after a weekend like that I would be resting today. Oh hell no. I got up early to pick up Rebecca and join the rest of the TMG crew for a day at Charles Town Races and Slots. Dan was nice enough to arrange a day of betting on horses with a great brunch buffet… complete with free beer and wine… score. I have never gambled on horses before but I quickly got into it. Rebecca told Dan to bet on Jetstorm on the second race (that was called the McGinn MS&L Company race) and Jetstorm won! It was a great time had by all.

Ok now I’m thinking about going to bed early and drinking nothing but water for the next few days. I’m going to need it.

Tags: baseball, blog, charles town, clarendon, dupont circle, fun times with friends, girls, jimmy rollins, nationals, pat burrell, perez hilton, phillies, rfk stadium, u-street, washington dc, work

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When life gets slow during the day, I’ve been getting really into Fantasy Football. Well I gotta get into something since Fantasy Baseball is slowing down soon. So far I’m doing well in my Yahoo! League, and I completed a couple of mock drafts to prepare for my office football league- I don’t wanna suck like I did last year. I know I must sound like a dork, but fantasy sports are pretty cool. It is one of the rare times I enjoy analyzing lots of information.

So it’s been a really up and down week for me- but luckily the ups ended up being better than the downs. Wednesday all of my friends gathered for a goodbye dinner for Evan, Diana, Lindsay, and Ben at Buca di Beppo. It was an Italian restaurant specializing in “Immigrant Dinners” as the window read. The place had a real family look- the walls were plastered with old black and white family photographs and the food was served in gigantic portions for 2-4 people. It was a good way to send off our friends. This fall is going to be really different without them around- I know that my life down here will be totally different without them.

Thursday Adam and I traveled to Baltimore to check out the Mariners/Orioles game. The weather held out for the most part- there was a 15-minute rain delay when we arrived and once the game started we got wet from some more rain, but it wasn’t too bad. We met up with Adam’s friend LJ where they proceeded to drink 40s in a matter of five minutes in the parking lot. It was a real high scoring game and it was great to see Ichiro up-close.

Friday Krissy invited me to go out with Mark, Gina, and a bunch of her friends. We went out to Tony and Joe’s before heading over to Old Glory and Mie n Yu. It was a really great night out- Krissy’s friends were really nice people and I had a real quality time. Highlight of the night had to be the bathroom at Mie n Yu. The whole place had this really nice Asian lounge feel and the look went all the way down to the unisex bathroom in the basement. The stalls were the nicest I’ve ever seen in a bar and the sinks were old oaken barrels with rocks. I think we took 30 photos down in that bathroom, luckily the attendant didn’t mind.

Saturday Marjorie and I went to Nissan Pavilion to see Dave Matthews Band. For my 30th show- I had such a great time. My review of the show will be posted on Nancies.org soon. Before the show I was able to meet up with LJ and Kevin and I enjoyed a lot of great drink and conversation. I am surprised that Marjorie and I finished an entire bottle of JD- and I was also surprised that Gatorade and Jack did not taste as bad as it sounds. You gotta do what you gotta do when you run out of Coke. After the show, we went to Marjorie’s favorite place in all of Prince William County- Wa-Wa. It’s a mid-atlantic chain of gas stations/food marts. It’s kinda like Sheetz. After that we got lost for awhile but we eventually made it back to the district.

So it’s been a great week and I’m sure another one is just around the corner. Right now I’m starving and I need to get some lunch.

Tags: baltimore, baseball, blog, dmb, fantasy sports, food, fun times with friends, georgetown, girls, ichiro, montgomery county, orioles, sheetz, wa-wa

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So on the Today show this morning Tiki Barber did a segment at Fenway Park. Always cool to see a little of Boston on TV, the segment was part of their “America The Beautiful” series. It gave me the idea of a cool goal- to visit all of the Major League Parks.

A lot of people have had the same idea but unlike my co-worker Chanelle, I do not travel enough throughout the year.

So besides the fact I wanna go on a cruise, I think that I need to see a game in Fenway Park next season- and I want to think about seeing different ballparks throughout my life, maybe eventually I’ll see them all.

Tags: baseball, blog, fenway park, tiki barber, travel

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I’ve been working a rather intense schedule. It all started on Thursday, I had to get up at 6 AM to help out at an event at the National Press Building, home of press contacts worldwide. If you were on 14th street in Washington DC- you would of seen the Chevrolet Volt, General Motors newest electric car. While I won’t spend the entire blog talking about the fact it runs 40 miles without gas, and has an estimated 150 MPG when going 60 miles, I want to concentrate on some of the reactions of this sweet looking car.

It was parked outside the building and it turned heads and stopped traffic. Cars slowed down to catch a peek of it- even Prius drivers couldn’t resist taking a look at the next best thing. It’s a really beautiful looking car, people were walking up to us asking how much for just the rims- a man even pulled out $2,000 cash on the spot for just the wheels.
On Friday I was with the car from 4 AM - 3 PM at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center. It was really exciting to deal with more excited people and the press that came out to cover the car. What got even more attention was when the car was loaded back on the truck at the end of the day, to see an electric car actually come to life really excited the crowd. It looked a lot like the unload that happened the day before on 14th street.

Last night was another long day, I went out to film yet another wedding- this one for one of Chanelle’s friends. It was a relatively smooth day- just a long affair. After three days of long hours- I’m looking forward to a restful week- too bad it’s starting with another long day/night at Union Station for work tomorrow.

I did manage to have one highlight of fun amongst lots of work. On Wednesday I took Marjorie out to the Astros/Nationals game. It was her birthday and what couldn’t have been a better way to celebrate than behind the plate at RFK Stadium. It was certainly a great time, we had Diamond Club seats which gave us a great view and free food. A waitress even comes directly to your seat to deliver it- how cool is that? The Nats even won the game, something that definitely doesn’t happen very often.

Well I’m going to get ready to run some errands- some which include another stop into the office- work never ends!

Tags: baseball, blog, general motors, girls, national press building, nationals, rfk stadium, ronald reagan center, stress, washington dc, weddings, work

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Ah another great week, of course with all this fun I can’t forget about all the video projects I really want to work on. Oh the balance of work and play.

Last week’s Diamondbacks/Orioles game with Rebecca was a great great time. Even though they screwed it up in the 8th, it was a great day to see a game in Camden Yards. She told me we need to keep in touch more often and I agree- we were doing so well back in the day.

The beginning of this week was when I actually had time to really open up my Wii and go shopping for all the required Wii accessories. It took me a couple of shopping trips but I now have a couple of games and an extra controller and a case. I got Mario Party 8, Wii Play, and Madden 07 to complement my system; but nothing beats baseball on Wii Sports. I guess it’s because I love playing basebal video games. I can’t wait til The Bigs comes out this week, so I can play a game with some real players. If it’s any good I’ll be buying it with my next bonus (which I hope comes soon).

At work I managed to hook up the system to the staff conference room projector, so my work favorites and I had a nice Wii party at lunch on Friday. Mallory surprised me by bringing her favorite game- Mortal Kombat Armageddon. Nice. I definitely need to get that game now, in fact I may go out and rent it after this blog post.

Wednesday Dave drove up from one of his crazy crabbing adventures. He, Ben, and I checked out the Tigers/Nationals game. Of course I don’t have to tell you who won. It was cool to see Todd Jones play, I’m a fan of his column in the Sporting News.

Thursday we all had a birthday dinner for Doug. We all gathered for Tacos and we had a real great time setting up a “cheesy surprise” for him. We had Laura take him out to distract him and we just acted really silly when they came back to the house- complete with door wide open with a sign that said “Doug’s Surprise Party. Nothing.” We all started screaming things like “QUIET, DOUG’S COMING” when we walked up to the door. It’s those moments when we’re acting totally ridiculous that make me realize what a great group of friends I’ve made here. It’s up there with Hershey Park last summer (which we are totally doing again in July).
Last night I went out with Neal and his friends. First we were going to go to Adams Morgan, then it changed to Dupont, then it changed to Georgetown, then it changed to Falls Church. We ended up at a party full of people that went to Yorktown High, Neal’s old high school. It made me wonder if this would be the kind of party I’d be at if I stayed in Chelmsford. Of course this party had it’s share of drama, late into the night I witnessed two girls just start fighting each other right in front of me. Later after that two guys almost duked it out- at that point we thought it’d be a good idea to leave.

Ok I’m seriously thinking about running out right now and getting Mortal Kombat. Let’s hope a place has it.

Tags: adams morgan, baseball, blog, camden yards, diamondbacks, dupont circle, falls church, georgetown, hershey park, madden, mario party, montgomery county, mortal kombat, nationals, orioles, stress, tigers, todd jones, wii

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Another Sunday and another great week passes me by. Tuesday I went out with Mallory and Krissy to see Blades of Glory at the Arlington Drafthouse. The drafhouse was really cool, it’s this vintage looking theatre that serves drinks and food while watching second-run movies. The tickets are cheap and the drinks are a little expensive; and I heard that the food should be avoided at all costs. The movie was funny, a typical Will Farrell character movie, it had it’s moments and quote, but not as great as Anchorman or Talladega Nights. Between coffee and rockstar that night I was up at all hours. I even went out on a midnight run around town- it’s not as shady as it sounds. Arlington is pretty safe when all the hoodlums go to sleep.

Thursday I caught up with Wedni, an old colleague from high school who just moved to DC. I moved down here really not knowing anyone and it’s nice to see a few CHS people are around. Besides Rebecca and Wendi I know that Colleen Foley is spending the summer in VA. I think some FSC people need to move down here- but of course it’s Boston, LA, New York for FSC grads.

Last night I went out to the Waterfront to celebrates Ms. Christina Scripps birthday at Tony and Joe’s. Any time out with my work favorites is always a good time. Rachel and I drove down there, Rachel being an TMGer who likes to pop her collar- it must be part of her sorority/preppie chic. I’ll pop my collar to mock her. Damn maybe I should get some topsiders and some Lacoste.

Ok well I need some food before I go out with Reb to Camden Yards for a little baseball this afternoon- nothing like sports to keep me and Reb together.

Tags: anchorman, baltimore, baseball, blades of glory, blog, camden yards, chs, columbia pike, fun times with friends, georgetown, talladega nights, will farrell

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After an amazing adventure like last week I should have taken the week to just recover. I just kept the week grooving all to this weekend. Tuesday I hit up RFK for the Braves/Nationals game. Sarah, Doug, and I enjoyed watching the Nats give up yet another game. As of right now they are 15-28, only 72 games more to 100 losses. Thursday Burak and Nicholas decided to introduce me to the Royal Lee, the bar down the street that has karaoke almost every night. It reminds me of Hooligan’s but a little more trashier.

This weekend I’ve been chillin here in the crib. We are holding an open house to find another roommate (Nick is moving out in June). So far I haven’t seen a lot of peoples but I hope today will yield someone. Last night Doug and I hit up Dreamo’s. There an usual amount of people there, we apparently walked into a party for the Washington Area Frisbee Club. I’ve never ran into so many crunch granola types/preps.

This week should be fun, I’ll be celebrating Margaret appreciation week with multiple parties in her honor. Also Diana is graduating this weekend, and then- THE BEACH! My new annual kick-off to the summer season. This year we have a great house and I am going to rock out with sixteen of my favorites. Can’t wait.

This weekend I watched Swingers, and I think it’s one of my new favorite movies. It really gave me a new view on life and women, that and Vince Vaughn is in classic form. It was money baby.

Tags: baseball, blog, clarendon, fun times with friends, karaoke, nationals, obx, rfk stadium, roommates, swingers, vince vaughn

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I just finished writing a blog post on my company’s blog, check it out:

America’s Pastime?

Tags: baseball, new persausion

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I just found out that Roger Clemens will be returning to the Yankees when comes back to play baseball this season. He was also considering The Astros, and of course, The Red Sox. While I am very disappointed with his decision, it makes sense. Roger probably sees a challenge in trying to help the last place Yankees (wow I don’t believe I’m saying last place and Yankees). Also the Yankees should of been desperate in trying to court Roger into coming back to the Bronx. I mean look at the Yankees rotation right now, it’s been in shambles all year (when you’re current Ace is Chien-Ming Wang, you have major problems. It’s also a shame that Kei Igawa is imploding- I was trying to root for the fellow Asian, but then again he’s a Yankee so I’m not that sad he’s doing bad.)

So is Roger going to take the Yankees out of the basement? I’m not so sure. I suppose pitching has been the missing element to their game- especially with a powerful line-up such as theirs, but Roger and Andy Pettite are only two parts of a five man rotation. Maybe if Mike Mussina comes back from the DL, then they have something going.

Maybe I’m just sore that Roger didn’t choose the Red Sox, but whatever, we still have a better rotation (sans Tavarez).

Tags: andy pettite, astros, baseball, blog, chien-ming wang, julian tavarez, kei igawa, rants, red sox, roger clemens, yankees

Originally published at The Definitive Dmbosstone. Please leave any comments there.

The Asian Sensation, no not me, I’m talking about Daisuke Matsuzaka. He’s the newest addition to the Red Sox rotation, creating a big buzz in his first season since arriving from Japan. But more on that later. I am going to talk about a lot of baseball in this post.

Monday I celebrated Tax Day and Patriot’s Day with dinner with my parents. After a very good meal we all looked at my Aunt’s and Uncle’s vacation photos. It was cool to look at them on my uncle’s PS3, it’s nice to know that $600+ gets you a machine that does a little more than play video games.

Tuesday I went to watch a little of the Braves/Nationals game, I really just stopped rooting for the Nats on the most part- I really enjoyed watching John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, and Andruw Jones.

Friday night I went out to Dupont Circle with Jennifer. We stopped by what is becoming one of my favorite stomping grounds, Buffalo Billiards. We watched the end of the Boston/ Yankees game and had some nice conversation. After Boston beat the Yankees, we took a walk to Adams Morgan and talked with the works over at Maggie Moos.

Yesterday I had dinner again with my parents (on their way back from Florida). We enjoyed traditional Vietnamese fare at Eden Center. I live only 10 minutes away from the place but you won’t find me there very often. However after discovery a bubble like drink I can buy there, I may stop by more often. I just said bubble like drink- sounds like I’m becoming more Asian by osmosis.

Today the weather was fantastic- it really felt like a lazy summer afternoon. I did some hardcore Costco shopping with my roommate Adam, and I enjoyed the Red Sox/Yankees game on ESPN. It’s always a treat to get to watch the Red Sox play, living here in DC it’s not a luxury I had back at FSC. Allow me to put on my sports anchor hat on so I can blog about the wonderful game.

I usually don’t recap or talk about games in detail, but I really enjoyed this matchup. It was Dice-K’s first game against the Yankees, and of course any new player in Red Sox Nation needs to understand the huge rivalry in play.

Matsuzaka hit a couple of the Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, showing that he understands how much we hate ‘em Actually he was probably trying to pitch to them inside, but I loved how ESPN showed a clip from Friday of Dice-K and Julian Tavarez (a player I first came to know as the pitcher who broke his hand after punching a cement wall). They were discussing how to handle the Yankees and you can see Tavarez pantomiming to Dice-K to hit A-Rod in the head. It appears that he took his advice to heart.

Other memorable moments, has to include one of the most amazing baseball moments I have seen (outside of the Red Sox winning the World Series or defeating the Yankees on their way) was the back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs. I was checking some e-mail when Manny hit his first one, I thought, “good for him, he’s been having a slow start”. Then I saw J.D. Drew hit one and I told Adam and Burak (who I was watching the game with), “See I told you J.D. was going to come up big.” Then Mike Lowell hit one and I just started laughing and feeling sorry for Chase Wright (the rookie pitcher who was pitching his second major league game ever). Our other roommate Nick walked in to see what we were all hollering about and then Jason Varitek his a home run. At that point we were all laughing and cheering. I love the Red Sox.

Jonathan Papelbon closed out the game and was lights out as usual. I remember watching his first major league game back at FSC. I even think I blogged about it. Who knew he would become a whirlwind force in the bullpen. The other night the commentators on Fox made notice of his delivery: he stares at the ground and when he’s ready to pitch he picks up his head and turns and stares down the batter, a very menacing and intimidating look. I notice it now everytime I see him pitch, if you ever watch him take a look- wouldn’t it just freak you out if you were the batter?

Well I guess you could tell I enjoyed watching the Sox sweep the Yankees.

Baseball has really been a favorite sport of mine, I remember back when my neighbor and good friend Dave introduced me to the sport and eventually got me to play little league (a comical attempt at that). The love for the sport was revived with NESN in our dorm rooms and lots of fellow students who loved the Sox.

Makes me wanna pick up a bat and pick up a sport again. Hell I need a side activity right?

Tags: adams morgan, alex rodriguez, andruw jones, baseball, blog, braves, chase wright, chipper jones, costco, daisuke matsuzaka, derek jeter, dupont circle, eden center, girls, holidays, j.d. drew, jason varitek, john smoltz, jonathan papelbon, julian tavarez, mike lowell, nationals, red sox, seven corners, yankees

Originally published at The Definitive Dmbosstone. Please leave any comments there.

Last night was what Margaret would call a late night. Raging party at Sarah/Doug/Lindsay/Diana’s place, and whole lot of people showed up- even some peoples from out of state. Doug and I were representing the dragon on the beruit table- writing that just sparked memories of the Jonas Pinwheels, the old college team I played with. The best shot I made last night however had to be throwing a chocolate chip cookie into someone’s cup in a food fight that ensued later that night. Ballin’.
Amongst other games I was convinced by several parties to take part in a little something called Dance Dance Revolution. Unlike my sisters, cousins, and any other Asian; I never played the game. However with Jessica already playing- the thought of an Asian match-up quickly became just as exciting as the Dice-K vs. Ichiro matchcup. Classic moment as I played for the first time, Diana had to make the observation: “Look he’s never played and he’s perfect- it’s because he’s Asian!” I hope I made my race proud in embracing my heritage. Did you know that next month is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month? I wouldn’t of known if it wasn’t for the timely NBC 4 PSAs. Towards the end of the night Cliff, Laura, and I found some questionable content on Doug’s CPU. This led to a large and somewhat disturbing viewing party in his room. Seeing the entire crew together only made me more excited for Hatteras. It’s going to be a great week.

Oh and the quote of last night: “Patrick you need to embrace your Asian half.” -Jessica
My roommate and I had a drink at King Street Blues on Friday the 13th. It is a really nice, cozy, place. The bartender was real friendly and I would consider grabbing another drink there again. A trip to Dr. Dreamo’s was cut short when I realized I lost my ATM card. Figures it happens on Friday the 13th.

My parents are here this weekend, and I’m probably going to spend some time with them today. Cleaned up the house all last night in preparing for it. It’s been really rainy and cold and I’m not really a fan of the weather. But I am a fan of the Red Sox- they are kicking major ass right now, next weekend is the first Yankees/Red Sox series, sounds like I need to make some plans to watch those games.

Tags: baseball, blog, clarendon, daisuke matsuzaka, dance dance revolution, debauchery, food, fun times with friends, holidays, ichiro suzuki, jonas pinwheels, montgomery county, porn, red sox

Originally published at The Definitive Dmbosstone. Please leave any comments there.

Sometimes I think about creating a blog with a purpose, like a green/eco blog, an auto blog, or maybe a mommy blog. If I had a news blog or a celeb gossip blog I could write all about Larry Birkhead. But in reality it’s a cool thing to know but I think I’ll be moving on now, not that this drama has kept me from living life.

This past Sunday I went to the Diamondbacks/Nationals game with my roommate Adam, Rebecca developed an ocular emergency that day. I’m glad she’s ok though. It was a good game even though the Nats lost.

The DC losing streak continued into the week. I had the luck to end up with a few tickets for the Wizard’s game tonight. Doug, Sarah, and I enjoyed what was a really close game. However in the last minute, the Nets came out on top. Tonight was a key game for the Wizards to make the playoffs, but they lost. However because The 76ers beat The Pacers, they Wizards are now playoff bound. The announcement was made as the entire crowd was leaving the Verizon Center. Not many people seem to care. I had a really fun time at the game however. Sarah and Doug make life fun.
I heard about this article on Washington Post, after I saw a story on ABC World News. A world famous violinist puts on some plain clothes and plays inside the DC Metro. Nobody notices his talent. I think it’s amazing.

I mentioned my dreams from last week to Chanelle, and she thinks that it must mean that someone has been on my mind. If she’s right I really don’t know if that’s a good thing. As much as I’d like to have someone to think about, should I really be putting my eggs into one basket? A part of me wonders if I am setting myself up for disappointment.

Tags: baseball, blog, diamondbacks, dreams, fun times with friends, larry birkhead, metro, nationals, verizon center, website, wizards