On a Stiiick, Day Two

Second Day at the Fair was Thursday afternoon into evening with Dad. Brenda was supposed to join us but she had a sore ankle and didn't think she could handle all that walking. So it was just pop and I.

We started by taking a picture with all my boyfriends. :)


Then we did a lot of walking around outside and people watching while Dad smoked a cigar and checked out the man-toys on Machinery Hill.

We did take the Sky Ride and got the cow car!


Unbelievably, this was Dad's first ever trip on this thing. He doesn't like heights, and even though we were enclosed it was still a little too high for his comfort, so it was probably also his last trip on the sky ride. :)





We ended with the Midway, which looked especially pretty during the "magic hour."








Also, in some live Twins blogging: Twins are full of illness and injury again and playing a very thin bench, Duensing gives up a grand slam in the bottom of the first, goes out with a strained oblique in the second, despite all of this Twins miraculously manage to tie things up, 6-6, by the top of the fourth, and then Gardy puts Dumatrait in? Followed by Mijares?

Is their death wish as strong and unavoidable as a tractor beam on the Death Star? Are they writing the book for a new musical, "How to Utterly Fail at Baseball While Really Really Trying"? Will this abysmal season ever end?

Take Me Out With the Crowd

Nana and Pa went to visit the bambino a couple weeks ago. Auntie C was the designated airport shuttler and cat caretaker while they were away. As a thank you, they took me to the ballpark yesterday. My not-so-secret crush was on the bench



as was Cuddy, but Justin and Danny were both playing, so that made me happy.





We had amazing seats



not that there's a bad seat in the house, really, but these seats were particularly sweet. :)

We lost, but what else is new? It was at least an interesting game and - funnily enough - right at the top of the 5th Nana said "Ok fellas, hit a home run now, let's get something going here." And then Hughes and Repko hit back-to-back homers to start the inning!

In a pleasant surprise, my friend Erik sang the national anthem for us



(dude, I thought you were moving out of the state. . .does this mean I'm going to see you at InVocation rehearsal this week?)


And, for the second time this season my old debate coach and I were at the same game and didn't know it until we were both posting about it on facebook after the fact. One of these days, Sunne, we'll figure these things out ahead of time so we can catch up in person at the game!

Oh No He Di'int!

Andy recently took our winter vs. summer debate to the blogosphere and managed to knock both winter and the Great Lakes as he did it.

As I sweat just sitting here in the 80 degrees Fahrenheit with 87% humidity that is still going on at midnight (which, sadly, does feel *slightly* better than the 84 degrees Fahrenheit with 90% humidity that was midnight around this time last week), I feel the need to defend winter's honor.

So let me tell you a bit about why winter is the far superior season:

+there are no bugs

+there are no ticks

+there is no outdoor mold or pollen

+dry cold winter air is crisp and refreshing and easy to breathe. humid hot summer air is suffocating

+water freezes over and snow covers the ground, making everything traversable with the right equipment

+you CAN still grow food in winter in these things called greenhouses, and when the things are done growing, mother nature provides you a free all-natural icebox so that the things you have grown don't spoil. In summer you've got to eat fast or do things that generate even more heat in order to preserve your food

+if you are cold you can always pile on another layer of clothes or blankets, put another log on the fire, or move around. conversely, in the summer you can be sitting absolutely still in front of a fan in your birthday suit, and still be uncomfortably hot with not much more you can do to make the situation better (outside of immersing yourself in cold water or searching out someplace with air conditioning)

+a worst-case scenario in winter is hypothermia, where you feel cold but then you feel warm and just fall asleep. a worst-case scenario in summer is heat exhaustion/dehydration, which involves a lot of headaches, cramping, and puking, among other things. I will take my chances with hypothermia over heat exhaustion any day of the week

+the sun still shines in the winter, so you can soak up plenty of vitamin D during all the good times and social events like going skiing, sledding, or ice skating with your friends

I could keep going, but I don't think that's necessary.
Clearly, I win this argument. :)

I will concede Andy three points. Summer is good for the long days, for swimming uppadalake, and (naturally) for baseball. These are the three things that make summer bearable to me. That, and knowing that the State Fair comes at the end of it. But that's really about it.

I will also concede that much of my defense of winter is particular to Upper Midwestern winter, not Mid-Atlantic winter, so he lacks the life experience to truly understand what I'm saying. Just like I'm pretty sure he doesn't understand the whole "the Great Lakes are like oceans" thing because his main experience of the Great Lakes is Lake Michigan as seen from downtown Chicago.

Having been to the oceans (Atlantic and Pacific, not to mention the Baltic Sea) and to the Great Lakes, I maintain the Great Lakes are like the ocean, only better because they are freshwater.

And having lived through several summers and winters in both the Mid-Atlantic and the Upper Midwest, I maintain that winter is the superior season, hands down, both places.

That's my side of this debate, and I'm sticking to it! :)

My Friend Tim is a Creative Genius

Just look at this beautiful video he made of the beautiful graduation blessing ritual that he also created.

He, Eileen, and I did a dry run with one of those lanterns back in January, to see how they worked and what it would look like on video. It was only after we had released the lantern into the sky that we thought to ourselves, "Uh. . .surely that fire is going to go out before it lands anywhere, right?" No reports of fire falling from the sky later that night or the next morning, so we figured they were safe. :)

Currently trying not to be too jealous that he is this very moment celebrating graduation in Kansas City listening to this:



but grateful he brought good MN mojo to KC - Pavano finally got his 100th career win down there tonight.

Hello Gorgeous

Days like today are why I love living in Minnesota.

Some people live in places where you get weather like this every day. It becomes old hat. You start to take it for granted.

But you get a day like today at the end of a long, cold, snowy winter - when you finally get a day like today when the sun is shining and the sky is blue and the trees are budding and it's not too cold but it's also not too hot and there are no bugs out yet, well, if you live in Minnesota you understand in the very marrow of your bones what a rare and precious gift such a day is and you do everything in your power to soak in as much of this beauty as possible. A day like today makes even dour and unassuming Scandihoovians visibly ecstatic to be alive.

It was just too nice not to be outside. So I went over to Dad's tonight and we played catch in the front yard.

There's this students vs. faculty softball game coming up, you see, and I haven't thrown an actual ball or swung an actual bat in close to a decade (maybe more than a decade. . .as far as this is concerned, Wii and whiffleball don't count). Not only do I not want to look like an idiot on the field, I also don't want to hurt for a week after the game. So I thought it might be good to get a little practice in, ease my muscles back into certain ball-playing uses and movements.

So we were playing catch, but the lawn was uneven, and I was scared to chase down simulated pop flies because I didn't want to turn my ankle in a divot being too busy tracking the ball to look where I was running. So Dad suggested we move into the street. Three or four throws into this change of venue, the ball drops out of his glove and rolls right into the gutter!

We ran over to the cover thinking we'll just need a stick to fish it out. But nope, as we hover over the top looking for the ball, we can hear it steadily rolling down, down, down, then SPLASH!

That was the end of the game of catch.

Somewhere out there tonight a brand new softball is floating down the Mississippi River. Finders keepers if you snag it. ;)

Thanks be to God for a beautiful day!

Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here

I am about ready to carve this above every entrance to Target Field.


The silver lining in tonight's dark cloud of a baseball game:

-The company I was keeping while watching this disaster could not have been better. Baseball is a game to be enjoyed with good friends. :)
-It could have been worse - it wasn't a shutout.
-Joe Nathan had a really solid 9th inning. That is something to be thankful for.

But still. . .

Also, I've noticed this spring, Target Field literally weeds out the fair weather fans. It takes dedication to watch crappy baseball in 49 degrees.

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Crackerjack

Now that was some good baseball - a beautiful night to be at the Field.

Thank you Twins!

PS to the Lutheran Zephyr: I've heard rumors you are moving this way and have asked for Twins Tweeters to follow. He tweets and blogs about more than just the Twins, but Aaron Gleeman knows this team (and generally, all of baseball) inside and out.

#wordsiamalreadysickof

"Well, today certainly wasn't the outing that [insert random Twin's name here] was hoping for. . ."



Oh my beloved Twinkies, in case you haven't noticed, we are in last place in the AL Central, and almost in last place in the whole stinking MLB. Kansas City is ahead of us right now, fellas. Kansas. City.

But let's not dwell on the negative. I'm here to make you a deal: you can have this slump now, and I will even quit complaining about it, as long as it's the only slump you will have this season. Agreed?

April Fools

Sojourners didn't send out an April Fools email today, or if they did, I didn't get it. . .they've gotten me the last two years, I bought it hook, line, and sinker (last year's joke was that they finally got Glenn Beck to agree to a debate with Jim Wallis; I don't remember two years ago but they got me with that one too).

Which means the best April Fools joke I experienced today was the Twins opening performance tonight. Very funny losing 13-3 to Toronto, boys, such a non-auspicious beginning for the team that's going to win the 2011 World Series, you've got me rolling on the floor with that one. Tomorrow we're going to get serious, right?

Right???

Honorable mention goes to Donald Miller for this review of Love Wins.


In what is totally not a joke but complete awesomeness, Bryce and Lily's baby sister was born today. I'm not usually one to cry tears of joy, but as soon as I got the picture text of the beautiful Zaylie Faye, the tears just came and they only stopped because I had to collect myself for the AAR/SBL regional meeting. Welcome to the world, baby girl - you cannot fathom how glad we are that you are here!

Everybody Loves Joe Mauer

even a diehard Red Sox fan who lives and works in the Big Apple:



Spring training underway, opening day is just around the corner. . . :)

Da*n Yankees

Since I completely failed to be all Midwestern Zen about these playoffs, now that we're done, in only 3 games, AGAIN, I'm trying to be all Midwestern Stoic about it.

Like, I really should be studying instead watching hours and hours of baseball over the next few weeks. It's better for my own personal schedule that we're out of the running.

And, at least I was in MN this time when we lost. Because I can tell you from personal experience where a Twins fan does not want to be when the Twins lose to the Yankees in the post-season: TGI Friday's in Penn Station.

And, it wouldn't have been right to get to the World Series without Morneau. Though they did really well with him on the DL through the second half of the season, he's a huge piece of backbone for the team, and he should be part of it all when they finally make it.

And, though it would have been poetic to get to or even win the World Series the last year in the Dome or the first year in Target Field, it will be even more poetic to make it (and win!) on the 20th anniversary of their last win (which was 1991).

And, if we peaked too late last year and were just too exhausted after battling our way into the playoffs, and we peaked too early this year and lost all our mojo heading into the postseason, then according to the general law of 3s, next year we are due to hit it all just right: to peak at the right time and have just the right energy and mojo to carry us into and through to the championship.

2011, here we come. . .




Damn Yankees.

These Crack Me Up

I never tire of these commercials!

Sports News

First, WGN America, why do you torment me so? The Twins were playing the White Sox all weekend, and the only game you broadcast was today's, when I had other obligations and couldn't be home to watch.

Second, I have a new personal trainer. His name is Bryce. He is three and a half. His regimen is functional, if rather unorthodox.

He works your lower body by:

1. Jumping off of Pap and Grammie's front porch. This is a lot harder than it sounds - the porch is pretty high and the lawn slopes downhill - it's a big jump even for somebody my height. I only stuck the landing, like, once. My trainer did a lot of tuck and rolling.

2. Hopping from stone to stone on the edge of the garden.

3. Sprinting races across the back yard (this is also good cardio).


He works your upper body by:

1. The Flip, in which he grabs your hands, walks up your torso, and does a backflip.

2. The Running Catch, where he runs at you then jumps in the air, at which point you are to catch him and lift him further into the air (this works except for when he tries to add a long jump and lands two feet in front of you!).

3. The Spin. This can be done in three forms: the hold 'em by the hands full body extension, the grab 'em under the arms half body extension, and the throw 'em over the shoulder like a sack of potatoes reverse extension (this move also works on your balance).


Finally, he works your mind with:

1. Horseshoes

2. Hide and Seek


He's got great motivation skills. He gets you to do a zillion reps before you even notice it, all without yelling, bribing, begging, or cajoling you to keep going. You finish one activity in his workout plan, and he simply smiles sweetly and enthusiastically asks, "Can we do that again?" How can you say no to that?

Though, I do hope his Aunt Kristie works some back and shoulder stretches into the yoga session tomorrow night. . .I've got a feeling I'm going to need them. . . :)

'night,
C.

That. Was. AWESOME!

I think I was on my feet pacing through the last four innings, but my Twinkies fought hard, fought back when the chips were down, pulled miraculous plays out of impossible situations, and are heading to New York as the Central Division Champions! Thank you, Metrodome fairy! :)

Goliath is a daunting foe, but a scrappy underdog has taken him down before. Stay focused, stay hungry, and keep riding the crest of this momentum, fellas!

Love,
C.

Wishin' and Hopin'

I'm trying to be all Midwestern zen about this tie-breaker tonight but. . .

. . .the Dome's had some very good mojo this week. There is all kinds of good momentum going into this game.

AND

. . .it would be poetic to crown the team's final season in the Metrodome with a World Series victory.


Fates, if you're listening, it's something to think about. :)

Happiness Is. . .

. . .Twins vs. Brewers as the featured game on ESPN tonight.

. . .a dinner composed of real brats, boiled in Leinie's, with a tabouleh-esque salad, followed by ice cream and fresh cherries for dessert.

But the real cherry on top of the whole evening: TWINS WIN! My boys Joe and Justin did us proud (Mauer started things off with a home run in the first inning; Morneau sealed the deal with a grand slam in the 7th), Scotty Baker put in a very strong 8 1/3 innings so is hopefully emerging from whatever psychological block he's been languishing under thus far this season, and now I can watch Twins baseball with a clean conscience because the curse is finally broken!

Happy Memorial Day!

The Curse Abides

The Twins have lost every game that I have watched in person or on TV since the post- season of 2006. I was really hoping they'd break this streak last night when Dad, Brenda, and I went to the Dome - they've been pretty hot lately, and they were playing the A's, which is who they were playing when my apparent curse upon them began, so it would be very fitting to turn it around with the same team.

Alas, 'twas not to be. Between a homeplate umpire that had it out for us and some seriously goofball fielding (honestly, sometimes it looked like Larry, Moe, and Curly were playing last night) the curse abides. Argh.

On a happier note, big shout out to Dad for teaching me a much better route to bike to Lake Harriet this morning - only one stoplight and significantly lesser amounts of traffic, potholes, and hills with which to contend. Woot.

Now back to my regularly scheduled vacay. . .

Salt in the Wound

Better to see Johan as a Met than a Yankee.

But did ESPN's art department really have to include a picture of BOTH Torii in an Angel's helmet AND Johan in full Mets gear in their opening day web graphic?

Certainly, other major trades happened in the off-season, they could have put any number of players pictures up in that graphic. To include both of Minnesota's major losses just felt kinda mean.

Some of us are still grieving, ya know. . .

Say It Ain't So, Jo

Alright, with a war going on and the economy in the tank and another funeral to preside over next week (why is it that the angel of death never takes my "Please stop" memos seriously?), I realize this is a trifling concern.

But I am deeply disturbed by this article in today's New York Times.

I am disturbed because Minnesota "raised" Johan Santana - we brought him up through our farm system and developed his talent. Though he's only 28, he's already been playing for the Twins for many years.

But now that everybody else wants him and he can command a salary beyond what this small club is generally willing or able to pay, now the current state of baseball dictates that the management is wise to trade him and at least get SOMETHING out of this investment rather than lose him to free agency the following year.

It just makes me sad that this is the way the game is played now. I grew up in the days of Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek. Maybe I'm romanticizing, but it seemed like team loyalty carried more weight with the players back then. I don't remember there being so many pre-emptive trades based on the fear that you could no longer afford you best players, so you better do something while you still have power over them.

The Twins have always been scrappers. They win by building up their talent and teamwork, and Minnesota fans suffered through many years of crappy baseball as the team rebuilt, as Johan and Torii and Justin and Michael and Joe and all the rest became the ballplayers, became the team, that they are today.

And it just doesn't seem fair, now that the team is clicking and MN baseball is once again fun to watch, that these other teams will swoop in and steal these guys we've supported through their developing years, and have really grown to love and claim as our own.

Which is why it is particularly disturbing that the Yankees, of all teams, might pick Santana up in a trade. Because the Yankees, to me, represent all that is wrong and reprehensible in the world of baseball today. They're driving up the cost of all these players, they essentially buy their victories because they can simply afford to snap up all the top talent, and I never see them really working as a team, they're just a bunch of individual primadonnas strutting their stuff - trends that are also increasingly prevalent, and equally bothersome, in the larger society.

It just turns my stomach to think of one of our best beloved boys of summer donning that uniform and becoming part of the machine that is driving the insane excesses and injustices of the market.

I guess what it really boils down to - I can't stand it when Goliath wins.

Peace,
Catrina