10/31/07

Happy Halloween!

That's all I have!

10/28/07

*yawn*

Friday: slept until 10am

Saturday: slept until 10am

Sunday: slept until 11am

Life is good!

10/18/07

Drive Safely!

Yesterday at work I had to drive over to the Wedding Pavilion and drop off some paperwork.

Exiting off the highway, I see a bunch of cars pulled over and people running around.

I thought about it for 2 seconds, and then pulled over myself. I thought maybe something cool was going on, and I didn't want to miss that!

Unfortunatly, it was not something cool at all. It was a white car, in a deep ditch full of water, 80% submurged. There were 5 guys in the water, splashing around.

I just stood there stairing for a second, then I figured all I could do was call 911. They already knew about the accident.

I stood there for another 2 minutes, listening to a woman screaming, and watching the 5 guys splashing around. Just then I realized that somebody must still be in the water.

I'm literally watching somebody die right now.

I couldn't stand there any longer. I had to get in my car and leave. It was a very creepy feeling.

It was all over the news that night. Luckily, I didn't watch anybody die, but 2 kids are in critical condition in the hospital.

Follow the speed limit everybody! Especially on exit ramps. Be safe.

10/9/07

Baltimore Blog – part 9

Lucky number 8!

After putzing around the convention, we headed back to the waterfront for some lunch. We’re in Baltimore – home of crab cakes and seafood … so I ate a huge slice of pizza and Jonathan got Subway.

We had 1pm Camden Yards tour tickets (I should’ve tried to sneak in!). It was Jonathan (Cardinal’s fan), me (Cubs’ fan) and 23 Boston Red Sox fans. And our poor tour guide – the only Baltimore Orioles fan on a Baltimore Orioles ballpark tour.

We saw the dugout (we got to sit in it - AWESOME!), the press box and the announcer’s area, the luxury boxes (which we had already seen at the game) and a party box that you can rent out.

As we were in a luxury box, Terry Fancona (Red Sox manager) was hitting some balls to some players. It was a casual batting practice 5 hours before the game. All 23 Red Sox fans started yelling, “HEY TERRY, HIT IT UP HERE!!!”

To my surprise, Terry Fancona actually acknowledged their cries, and started swinging right in our direction. Unfortunatly, it’s nearly impossible to hit a ball in the luxury box. He came close twice – the balls went in the section below the luxury box.

Our tour guide went to go find the balls. He came back with 1. Now was the hard part – which one of us would get the ball. There are 23 hungry Red Sox fans foaming at the mouth! One girl whipped out her driver’s license to prove it was her birthday, but the tour guide ignored it. He decided to write a number on the ball, and the first person to guess it would win.

Luckily he started asking numbers near me. Some bonehead in front of me picked #20. WRONG. I was next!!!! Now, any baseball fan who grew up in the 80’s, and is in Orioles territory knows what number to pick. This is Cal Ripken country baby!

I proudly guessed, “8?!?!?”, and he handed me the ball. SCORE!!! I think I even let out an embarrassing victory “yipee!”, and hid my ball in my purse.

I am now the owner of 2 Major League Baseballs!!! And I didn’t have to go thru any bodily harm to get this one. (the 1st ball hit me on 1 knee, and bounced over to my other knee).

Up next – This is the longest trip report ever!!!

10/7/07

Baltimore Blog - part 8.5

In the Baltimore Oriole's dugout.

More on this later . . .


I thought their Oriole bird mascot (who's name is "bird") was a cutie.



View from the pressbox.

Fight! Fight!

View from when you first walk into the stadium






10/5/07

Baltimore Blog - part 8

"It's Don Rosa Day!"

Jonathan woke up very excited! It was actually quite adorable. He was finally going to meet Don Rosa!

If you’ve never heard of Don Rosa – he is the author and artist behind the Scrooge McDuck comic books. I believe he took over in the 80’s? The Scrooge McDuck comic have only had 2 men behind them – Carl Barks, who created Uncle Scrooge and all the duck characters (except for Donald, and maybe the nephews???). When Carl Barks passed away, Don Rosa took over. I’m sure that little autobiography is way off. If you’re really interested (actually, it is quite interesting), just wikipedia Carl Barks and Don Rosa.

After taking the slow train to the Baltimore Convention Center (which is right across the street from Camden Yards – that was awesome), we walked into NERDS-VILLE, population: A TON OF PEOPLE! The line to get tickets was huge (we already had them), and the line to enter the convention was huge!

I stood in line while Jonathan went off to see why everybody had a wristband. My line started to move. As I wound my way up and down the convention center hallway, Jonathan wasn’t back yet. He still wasn’t back. Where is he? By now I’ve almost wound my way into the convention. I don’t have a ticket or wrist band. My line gets to the door of the convention . . . and I walk right in . . . no ticket checker, no wrist band checker. I’m in – for free!!!

(not really, because we pre-purchased tickets)

Man – I rule at sneaking into places.

I finally found Jonathan (who got 2 wristbands), and we ran to Don Rosa’s table. I was expecting mayhem, because there were thousands of people at this convention, and I’ve been to Star Wars weekends. It’s a lot of line waiting.

DON ROSA WAS SITTING BY HIMSELF! Score!!! I couldn’t believe it! So Jonathan got him to sign a bunch of comics he brought. He had Don Rosa sketch old man Beagle Boy. He chit chatted with him. He bought some prints.

All in all – we spent hundreds of dollar to vacation to Baltimore to meet Don Rosa for 15 minutes. Doh! But it was totally worth it!

Up next – lucky number 8!

10/3/07

Baltimore Blog – part 7

“Take me out to the ball game!”

It was finally game time, and I was relieved. My feet were killing me, and I was exhausted. I felt like a pansy, but I just had no energy. I couldn’t wait to sit down for hours at a time.

Of course, we got to Camden Yards at 5pm, and they don’t let you in until 5:30pm. So that was another ½ hour of standing that nearly killed me. Jonathan foolishly wore a t-shirt with Orioles colors, so he wouldn’t stand out. What he should’ve done it wear Boston colors, b/c 75% of the fans were wearing red!

All trip I was excited to buy my 1 souvenir – ice cream in a mini baseball helmet. I buy one at ever game I go to. AND THEY DIDN’T SELL THEM! I couldn’t believe it. Even spring training stadiums sell ice cream in a helmet. I was so bummed.

I drowned my sorrows by signing up to be a designated driver (we were taking the train, so we weren’t driving anyway), which got me not 1, but 2 free sodas! That’s a $7 value at baseball games.

We had seats on the ‘club level’. It was the level where all the luxury boxes were. Of course, our seats were outside the luxury boxes, but we still walked down a long, fancy, air conditioned hallway to find our seats. It was pretty swanky. There were big screen TVs and leather couches in this hallway, along with super nice, clean bathrooms! That club level was where it was at! (still, no ice cream in a mini helmet!!!)

Red Sox 4 – Orioles 0.

Wait at the light rail to get back to the hotel = 45 minute of torture!

Up next – “It’s Don Rosa day!!!”