I always say I'm not a baseball fan, I'm a Yankees fan and as such, tonight's game will be one for the ages whether we win or lose.
The Yankees take the field today for the last time at The House that Ruth Built 85 years ago. I was lucky to experience several games at Yankee Stadium, including one against those pesky Red Sox (we won), and have memories of everything from beer in the nosebleeds to sitting behind home plate.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish.
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Have you ever wanted to just run off the edge of a cliff, fling yourself headlong into space, and soar through the air like a bird?
I now know how that feels.
It was around noon yesterday when I finally decided to go paragliding for the first time. I was with my family at the top of Grouse Mountain (elevation 4,100 feet) in Vancouver, British Columbia and just couldn't allow myself to pass up the opportunity.
I was glad to be the only "passenger" at the time. My First Flight guide, Gavin from New Zealand, got everything ready while I looked out at the landscape beneath me and wondered what I was in for. I didn't feel nervous, but rather strangely calm and contemplative. If this was how I was going to go out, at least it would be spectacular. I imagined myself running off the top of this mountain and never stopping, the wind on my face. Pretty heady stuff.
Gavin called me over and strapped a large pack with an attached seat onto my back, stuck a helmet on my head, and said seriously, "When we get in the air, you don't have to do anything, but first we need to get there and I need your help to do that. When I tell you to, start power walking. You'll feel a pull at your hips. Just keep going. Then when I tell you to, start running as fast as you can. Don't stop."
Now, every time I've ever seen paragliding on TV, people always seem to practice takeoffs ahead of time. So, I ask hesitantly, "Don't you think I should practice?" He said, "Nope. I'm pretty sure you know how to run." Okee dokee...
I stepped in front of him and the paraglider wing or canopy as it's called. He clipped us together and pointed to a
sign marker in the distance down the rocky slope and gave my final marching orders, "That's where we're headed, so go in that direction. We're going to wait for a little gust to help us and then we'll be off."
The air was still and quiet and I could hear nothing but our breathing. Then all of a sudden, I felt the wind pick up a little and his legs start moving. "Let's go and think positive," he yelled. (Yikes!)
My mind went blank. I just put my eyes on that sign and started running with utter determination. My legs were still going when we lifted into nothingness and left the ground behind. My breath caught. What an amazing feeling! I settled back and enjoyed the ride after that, while we flew 6,000 feet above the ground at over 20 mph. All I could hear was the wind rushing by me as we circled Vancouver. It was almost like time stopped. Totally surreal.
That is until I felt movement behind me and suddenly a camera appeared on a long pole. "Smile!" Gavin shouted as he took our photo in mid-flight.
We did 360s while he took a short video and then he asked me if I wanted to do some tricks. Um...yeah, right.
We landed in a soccer field with no mishaps. My stomach was a little fluttery, but other than that, I was no worse for wear. I'd survived. What's more, it was some of the most fun I've ever had. I just wanted to do it again!
According to First Flight Paragliding owner, Yaro Lahulek, Southern Oregon, specifically Ruch which is in the Applegate Valley about 40 mins from Ashland, is the best place in the U.S. to go paragliding. Something about the different valleys coming together and the air currents...
He recommended Kevin Lee for lessons--he's apparently a local instructor with some renown who was voted U.S. Instructor of the Year a couple years ago. I'll be giving him a ring. I think I might be addicted. :)
More pics of me paragliding are here. Video to come. Notice how happy my instructor looks in every picture. Do you think he likes his job? LOL--can't really blame him.
Thank you, Yaro, Gavin & First Flight! You guys rock. For more info about First Flight, visit them online at First-Flight.ca, call 604-671-4002, or email Yaro.
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It's been tough being a Yankees fan the last several years. I've stopped watching until after the All-Stars because lately we've been basically terrible until after the season mid-point.
I've decided to enjoy the All-Stars this year though and want as many NYY players on the team as possible, especially because this is the 79th Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the last to be played in the current Yankee Stadium.
This year's final fan vote is all position players. I'm obviously going for Giambi because he is a Yankee and I can't get over his '70s porn star moustache. It takes guts to sport that around town, plus it's being credited for an improvement in his play. Go IAMBIG!
Hurry -- the Final Vote ends Thursday, July 10 at 5 p.m. ET. VOTE NOW (but only if you're a Yankees fan).
Note: Thanks to Zell's Pinstripe Blog for the Giambi pic.
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This is just wrong. I wish I could say this was a picture from Halloween. :(
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Sing along and tap your feet to Kenny Chesney's anthem "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." Smell popcorn, hay and manure. Watch women in tight jeans and big hair juggling bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade and little kids in cowboy outfits. You've just been transported to Saturday night at The Biggest Little Rodeo in the West in Central Point, Oregon. YEEHAW!
First, a confession. I actually like the rodeo. I even watch it on TV from time to time. I *even* have a couple of favorites. Fred Whitfield, for ex, and the now retired Cash & Rope Myers (because with those names, what else would they be but steer wrestlers).
And admittedly this isn't just any old local event. The Wild Rogue Pro Rodeo attracts internationally renowned cowboys eager to qualify for the national finals in Las Vegas which is televised for 10 days in December on ESPN.
OTOH, I typically try to avoid situations in which I'm told "Miss, NO ONE leaves before the bulls ride" and the announcer calls Berkeley, CA "the cesspool of liberalism" (especially since Ashland is basically Berkeley in Oregon).
Don't get me wrong. I did have a good time last weekend, but after one night at the rodeo, I think I've gotten my fill for a while of waving American flags (excuse me, "Old Glory"), patriotic hyperbole, and Coor's Lite. Next time I have the urge for a little bull riding, I'll turn on VS., put on a little NPR and sip a Negroni.
For more rodeo pix from the event on Oct 12-14, click here.
Watch the video of "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."
Get the lyrics to "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." (Believe me, you won't be disappointed.)
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This was a rollercoaster of a week for me.
* The Yankees choked after fighting hard all season to get into the playoffs. What a bummer. Alas, no post-season Yanks/Red Sox match-up. I really thought this was our comeback year.
* The purchase of Guitar Center by Boston-based private investment firm Bain Capital finally closed. Glad that's finally over. I have to say it was interesting going through that process. It was stressful, hectic, and I'm sure I don't know the half of it. Anyway, we'll see what it ends up really meaning. I think it's the right direction for where we need to go.
* I saw my first coyote loping on the highway. Very cool.
* My DVR croaked for an unknown reason and didn't record one of my all-time guilty pleasures. Congratulations--You're still in the running towards becoming America's Next Top Hanger, I mean Model!
All these are lame excuses for why I missed putting up this week's Best Song. I'll be back on Monday when I'm over the trauma.
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I think I'm in heaven. I finally gave in and subscribed to MLB's online subscription service and boy am I kicking myself for not doing this earlier. Since this is regular season play only (plus archives, etc), with the 5-day risk-free trial, I can watch the last several games of the season for only $7.95 before the Yanks are in the post-season on TBS in a couple of weeks (I hope!). Totally worth it.
Out here in Ashland, Oregon, The New York Yankees games aren't on TV much and when they are, the utterly moronic duo of Tim McCarver and Joe Buck always seems to be announcing. When I was in NYC, I actually listened to Yankees games on the radio with the TV on mute to avoid having to listen to them. Yes, that's how bad they really are.
There is a real reason btw why Tim McCarver has such a high "annoying" factor at AmIAnnoying.com. His penchant for saying something completely wrong, inane, or obvious has resulted in sites such as I Hate Tim McCarver. Didn't realize how much I missed the YES network, Bobby Murcer, and Michael Kay until I moved here! It sure is nice to see them all again now that I've got MLB TV.
So, I'm drinking my Sun morning coffee, writing this blog, and watching the start of the Yankees vs Blue Jays. All I need is a decent bagel. Like I said before--heaven.
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Went white-water rafting for the first time this past weekend. I LOVED it. Outdoor sports are understandably huge in Southern Oregon and anything having to do with water, given the location, is very popular. I've done sea kayaking, but never white-water, so I was really looking forward to trying it out. This was just an intro course, so we started out with easy stuff and ended with a couple class IV rapids--the Powerhouse and Gold Nugget Run.
Noah's Rafting did a great job--very professional and friendly. Exactly what you want for these kinds of trips. We rafted the Rogue River--the section right below Gold Ray Dam and Gold Hill--just a half hour from Ashland. The Rogue flows 215 miles from Crater Lake to the Pacific Ocean and was one of the original 8 rivers included in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. (Fun bit of trivia: The movie The River Wild with Kevin Bacon and Meryl Streep was filmed on the Rogue.)
There were over 35 people on our trip and we had 6 rafts with a guide in each one. We ended up on a raft with just another couple--a mother and daughter visiting from the Willamette Valley--so we didn't have as much weight as that of the other rafts which had at least 2-3 more people...this would end up being important later on.
It was a perfect day for rafting--hot sun, warm breeze, cool refreshing water. Definitely got a little bit of a rush when we went backwards through one of the tougher rapids and there was a section where you could "surf" the current which was really fun. Near the end when we went over this big dam, we were 5th in line and we could see each raft going over almost vertically at one point. Our guide told us to paddle hard and then lean back, hold on to the grips inside the raft, and brace our feet on the front of the boat so we wouldn't flip. When it was our turn, I was ready.
As we go over the dam, I can tell something isn't right. There was a domino effect when the woman behind Jeff fell on top of him and the guide fell on top of her. The boat stays upright with me in it lying completely flat (nothing could have pried my fingers off that grip), but the raft was a lot lighter than it was before because everyone else had been thrown out! Oh well, no one was too hurt and it made for some extra excitement. After that, the remaining class IV rapids were no big deal. :)
Hoping to squeeze in one more trip this year--most likely will raft the Upper Klamath River's 7-mile "Hell's Corner Gorge" which is the nation's newest federally protected "wild and scenic" waterway. It's located right on the Oregon-California border and has 47 class III-IV+ quality, named rapids on the one-day run.
For more pics of the trip I took (although, thankfully, no pictures of me looking like a drowned rat), click here.
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So what that I wasted 12 hours of this weekend watching the Red Sox sweep my beloved Yankees in Fenway for the first time in 17 years. And just how is it that with the league's highest payroll, our pitching stinks so much??? It is a mystery to me, but say it with me, people: It's only April...
I went over to the Yanksfan vs Soxfan blog where I read this post which made me feel a little better because I was thinking the exact same thing:
OK...just let me get through the week and then we'll see you darn Red Sox in Yankee stadium.
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Guitar Center has a yearly corporate retreat for eligible employees. Last year, I had worked at GC less than 2 months before I attended, so I knew very few of the hundreds of guys who were there. Besides the all-night jam rooms, one of the long-standing retreat traditions is softball. It's a required event and considering the number of people in management now, just organizing it must be a feat.
As a child, I played teeball poorly (that damn tee was always getting in the way) and I was no star at softball either. I was usually placed in left field where I spent the majority of games humming, daydreaming, and every once in a while mustering up enough energy to yell "hey batter, batter, batter." I was marginally better at soccer which I played for a couple of years; my field hockey career OTOH was cut short when a monster of a girl landed her stick right into my gut. I've always been much better at individual sports like tennis, hiking, skiing, and more adventurous activities (I'm dying to learn how to hang glide!). Team sports...not so much.
When I found out I had to play softball, I was imagining a game or two at the most. Little did I know that this was the big leagues. Yes, I know, the fact that "winning" is one of Guitar Center's 7 core values should have been a tip-off.
I ended up playing from 4 in the afternoon to 1 in the morning. That's right--9 hours of almost continuous softball. My coach was Dave Weiderman who is in charge of the Hollywood Rockwalk. This guy was serious. A softball nazi. No drinking anything but water and almost no eating allowed...no nuthin' to come between us and the ball. People were diving left and right like we were in the World Series and the ambulance came to treat the injured (apparently also a yearly event). After all that, what do you know--we ended up winning the championship. I even got on first base. (It was the cheers of "pigtail power" from the sidelines that inspired me.)
This trophy's the proof. When I told my mom, I'm pretty sure she thought I was lying. Tomorrow, I'm off to this year's retreat. Wish me luck!
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at least our closer does not make a stupid face everytime he looks in. The sox had to make history to beat the yanks, they can't do it every time.