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

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

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

My love for football has grown steadily since college. From watching Patriots games freshman year to fantasy football last year. Now I’m in two fantasy football leagues and I’m even enjoying watching college football games. My how love flourishes. I think I may have reached the point where Sundays are just going to be useless.

This past week I drafted my team in my office league, I’m satisfied with my choices. I grabbed Shaun Alexander and Tony Romo and even drafted two players that caused me grief last year, LaMont Jordan and Joey Galloway; however with all the preparation I did this year I made sure I grabbed them later in the draft so I wasn’t wasting my picks. Man I feel like a football dork.
But back to Earth for a minute, I enjoyed Labor Day by watching Superbad with Doug. It is by far one of the best movies I’ve seen since Anchorman. It’s the American Pie for a new generation… which really doesn’t make sense since we are the American Pie generation… oh well.

Wednesday’s kickball match was an utterly disappointing loss but we made it up in flipcup afterwards. Ya I woke up the next day without my contacts, car, and sharpie on my left arm. It was one of those nights.

Friday we all celebrated Emily and Laura’s birthday at, where else, Union Jacks. It was an ok night- I wasn’t feeling the tunes the DJ was pumping out.

I don’t know why but last week was all about not sleeping. After three hours of sleep on Wednesday I got just about the same amount after Union Jacks. Why? Because I was smart enough to schedule to bring my car in for an oil change at 8 AM on a Saturday. Ugh- never again. The state inspector was out so that means I gotta bring my car back- and I have to fix my turn signal light before I can get it inspected… great…

At least last night was fun… kinda. Sarah, LJ and his sister Leigh, and I went to the Red Sox/Oriole’s game. LJ and Leigh are Sox fans and I was excited to get a chance to see Dice-K pitch. However Dice-K kinda blew the game and I had to put up with mocking from Sarah instead.

The times after the baseball game were much better. We all went to Fells Point and met out with Cliff and Eliza at Max’s. It was a pretty cool bar with all kinds of different beer but more importantly, multiple TV’s showing all kinds of NCAA games. LJ and I were engrossed with the SFU/Auburn game. It was an intense game that came down to overtime. If you arn’t familiar with NCAA rules for overtime in football, then you should check them out, it lends for lots of suspense.

Ok enough writing I gotta get back to watching the Redskins game- Portis isn’t doing that bad so far… maybe I should of drafted him again too.

Tags: american pie, anchorman, baltimore, bethesda, blog, camden yards, clinton portis, daisuke matsuzaka, fantasy football, fantasy sports, football, joey galloway, kickball, lamont jordan, orioles, patriots, red sox, redskins, shaun alexander, superbad, tony romo

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

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

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

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