Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

The last  (And ONLY!) time I ever went to a professional Base Ball Game was back in the 90's.  When Cheryl had free tickets through her insurance job.  It was to see the Whitecaps and the "seats" were on the grassy knoll back in left field.   I don't recall staying for the entire game, but it was certainly an experience.  One that I had very little motivation to ever repeat again. 

But two days ago,  Tom got tickets to the Local Minor League Team:  The Kingfish!   And invited Dave and me to join him.... Behind Home Plate!

WOW!  What a difference a good seat makes!  You could see the pitching and watch the players as they battled for runs in the sun.  I'm not sure how Tom negotiated the seats, but there was a table and menus with handy dandy helpers to cater to our food and beverage needs.  Since we were at a Ball Game...  It only felt right that we should order a beer.

Judging from last time at the Concert,  I assumed the cost of the food and beverages were going to be HUGE!   So I kept my ordering to a minimum.   I was just grateful to be there in the first place as it was.   Tom offered to buy everyone a round and I had intended to pay him back for his hospitality.   

Turns out,  All of the food and drinks were FREE!  Good thing I did not know that from the beginning, or else I might have taken full advantage of the Ball Park Staples of unhealthy Comfort foods!   Not only because hotdogs and hamburgers are extra delicious at the Ball Park.... But also because I find free food IRRESISTIBLE!    

Dave joined us around inning three.  He had pastor stuff to do.. ( Being a Pastor has its responsibilities...)  and by then, the Kingfish had a fairly sizeable lead over their opponents.  They were taking on the Battle Creek Battle Jacks.   Not really knowing each of the competitors,  I felt it would be standard protocol to cheer for the Home Team.  By the time we left,  ( Around inning 7, I believe.)  The Kingfish had a commanding lead over the Jacks.   I think it was safe to assume the home team would carry the day.  

While enjoying out beverage and chatting about things other than Baseball,  there were a number of events that happened between the innings.   A kid run, toilet race, a Mascot Zip Line, a T-Shirt toss, and a cheese throw.  Dave managed to capture a cheese stick.  It was the one prize of the night.  

Well,  three grumpy looking guys could not have possibly gotten any better seats that night.  Unlike the Concert,  we seemed to have already had the best seats in the stadium.  It was certainly first class treatment that my scrooge-like discipline would not allow me to take advantage of.   But in the end, it all worked out and we all managed to enjoy ourselves.  Chalk up another new experience I may enjoy again in the future.   ( even if it is not behind home plate....) 

Other than that,  I managed to work out the kinks  with the Bank and Pearson was nice enough to send me my check!   Hurray for money!   Funny how things work out when you don't panic or unravel.  (Ok, I might have wigged out a bit last  Saturday... But not as much as it could have been.) Work continues and tomorrow will be my Friday, as I have to work Sunday through Thursday.  I'm not sure what I will do on those free days, but I imagine I will catch up a little on my running.   This week has been kind of bad for keeping the running up.  Either there are errands or the weather is too hot to run in the evening.  We shall see how things work out, as rain is predicted for Friday. 

And there it is.  Funny how time flies when you have a job.   ( except at work... then time can drag sometimes.)  So far, I'm enjoying the challenges that Warehouse Work provides.  My position and the start up of the new location has me running around multiple areas doing a number of jobs.   I kind  of like the opportunity to see and do  a number of tasks to get familiar with the inner workings.   We shall see how long that lasts, as they will soon be assigning full time locations for people.I really don't know where I should hope to be assigned.  Fingers crossed it turns out to be a good one. 

Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far.  And I certainly hope everyone is having fine Summer weather at your Location.  Even with the heat and humidity, being three miles from the Coast of Lake Michigan is a dream compared to the Oven-like heat of Summer Iowa.  I am truly Grateful.  Amor Fati! 

One Day Off And Then Back To Work...

 So yeah... Kind of a lot of pressure for this day to be relaxing.  And was it?   Of course not!  

Well, I'll be fair.  A lot of things went fine and I was being productive for the most part.   I got up early, I ran, I even had time to hunt for a few mushrooms.( Didn't find any ...)  My goal was to figure out the 401k on the new job.   And, surprisingly, it was fairly simple to do and I had completed it with hardly any ill effect on my mood. 

But I got paid by Pearson on Friday.   And every time I wanted to check on the money that was being forwarded to my new bank account, it would show an error.  So.. With my new found time, I decided to go to the bank directly and ask what the heck was going on. 

Turns out... Three days before my first pay check was wired in.. They cancelled my account.  Because they could not verify my new address.  Because I need MAIL to actually verify it or a pay stub.  Well wasn't that nice of them.  Now I have to lose sleep wondering where my money went and if I will be able to get it back.   IN the mean time, they are sending me the initial $100 I used to open the account.. TO the very address they can't seem to prove.  At moments like this, I think I'm just being messed with. 

So now I have to reset up an account and start over.  They did not tell me about simply reopening my account.   That would be too convenient.   No.. It would be so much better if I had to go back into Pearson and GXO to re-set up the account routing number. And I have to do it before my GXO check clears this Friday!    Goodness, what a Mess!

Well,  that little event managed to unsettle the rest of my day.  For the most part.   I did manage to purchase a few additional clothing items from Goodwill.  Turns out, only one pair of shorts and pants are not enough.  I also picked up a couple silk ties because Polyester Ties are Junk!

But finally,  I got home and was able to pet the Dog that has found his way into Dave's house. Her name is Ladybird and she is adorable!   She hung out with me while Dave and her owner ( Christina.) Are out enjoying the sights and sounds of Kenosha.   Ladybird is a cutie.  I was told she was shy, and I can see that.   But she seemed to warm up to me nicely.   

So.  Looks like a long week of working and trying  to get my account squared away.. AGAIN!  What ticks me off is this was all set up weeks ago!  I was not slacking!  but one little hiccup and I have to fix all this trouble.  Irritating!  

Hope everyone is having a longer and more enjoyable weekend this weekend.   I just wanted to vent and st a note to myself so I don't forget to somehow let the Bank know where I live.   ( Not even a warning Email!... But plenty of spam trying to get me to invest more money with them.... Where is the Customer Service???) Thanks for stopping in.

Music for the Heart.

 Sometimes we all need a little Music to tell our story.

Happy 5th Of July! The Day After Independence Day.

Yesterday was so full of things I simply did not have time to blog about them all.   However!  I now have time on the day after.   I took a lot of pics, but I doubt many of them will make it to the blog.  But I shall do my best.   Because.... The blog demands nothing less!  

So, first things first!  Cheryl ran the Firecracker run in Davenport.   She came in 2nd in her age group.. and Got a trophy... Again!  Too bad I could not be there.   She told me that She missed me and wished I was there.  Which is kind of a nice thing to say.  That made me feel rather important. 

Here in Kenosha,  Dave and I decided to go to the local Parade.   Apparently,  Dave got invited to a parade party ( being a Pastor has its Perks!)  where there was chalk, hot dogs, hamburgers,  And BEER!   Luckily,  I  was able to tag along.  

The food was awesome, the people were awesome.... And then there was the actual Parade!   

Did I mention there was a run before the parade?   I initially thought we both would run in it, but after that humbling Crossfit session,  Both of us decided against it.   And who wants to run after drinking beer?

I had forgotten just how fun Parades are.   We used to see them every year in Dorr Michigan... where My uncles and aunts and cousins were actually IN the parade.  VFW, Fire Department, Band, Or some other society, they would stand on wagons and throw candy at us.  

Ah the joy of free candy!   But, this parade was even better!  And NOT  just because there were no relatives in the crowd...  This parade was handing out Chocolate!   

And Shirts!  

And Cozies!  I think they are called cozies.   Not very cozy... I think it is for beer. 

They even threw Corn and onions at us!   Dave was very possessive of the corn. 

I got to pose with several Mascots..  Which is always a good thing.    

And finally,  there were all the people who knew Dave... Including one of the Sheriff hopefuls. Dave also knew a bunch of the Firemen and EMT people.  ( I think... I lose track of all the people he knows.) 

 We finally finished as the last vehicle drove down the road.   It began to sprinkle ever so slightly.   We were fortunate that the rain held off until then,   And even then, it was not a downpour.  

 

But then there were the fireworks!   Another one of Dave's friends invited us  to watch the fireworks from his camping area near the watch area.   They also had a bunch of food...  Hamburgers, BBQ, hotdogs, And Potato salad with chips.    And BEER!    Yes, more beer to kick off an American Holiday right!  ( Or Irish?  German?   Who else would drink beer? )   

The conversation was great and the food was excellent.   We watched the Fireworks for a little while, but decided to beat traffic by heading out early. And it was a good thing we did.   Because on the way back, the rain began. It was a full blown thunderstorm!  I wonder if they were able to finish the fireworks before the rain got too bad.   Or maybe they just fired them off despite the rain. We will never know because we managed to get inside just as the rain became a downpour. 

So that was it.  Fun day for everyone!  I had forgotten the cook outs and the conversations with people that the 4th of July used to be known for.   

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend and had a wonderful 4th.   It was a great time that I  i had not enjoyed in a very long time.   Well, not in the same way as I did this year anyway.   But that is why we try new things... even if they end up not being as unfamiliar as they might seem.  ( Yes, That is a double negative...  But I figure most of the readers can figure it out. So I'm leaving it in place. )  

Thanks for stopping in.

Music For The Soul.

 Music is lost on some people. 

The Big Kick Off For The Holiday Weekend!

What a busy day!  First, I want to say I have not been blogging much because I got a job at GXO...  a Warehouse distributor.  We had training for three days and then got our feet wet at the actual warehouse on Thursday and Friday.  It starts early, but it also finishes up at 3P.M.!   Nice!  

I then went right from there to scoring at "home"   Until 11 P.M.!   Burning the candle at both ends does not leave much room for anything else.  Including any running or blogging.  But Friday GXO  informed us that we will be taking the weekend and the 4th off.  ( holiday pay for the 4th!  YEAH!) And last night,  just as I finished my 40 hours,  Pearson ran out of papers.  So no scoring this weekend either!  I have the entire Three day weekend off!   Yeah!

So what do we do with our new found time?   Well,  Dave had plans!  And I decided to tag along. 

First!  7:30 CrossFit! This was my second engagement with those crazy people and they totally SMOKED ME!  I can't do Chin ups.   I can barely do push ups any more.  ( but I'm getting better)  And I thought I would be able to hang with the 400 M Sprint/Run.   I wasn't!  I ran out of fuel about half way through my first lap.   Sprinting is Hard!   And exhausting.  I spent most of the 36 minute suffer-fest trying to catch my breath.. While Dave continued to do all of the heavy lifting. 

But it had to eventually end.. and I officially felt like I had worked on my arms and upper body today.   I hurt from the waist up, but it was a "good" kind of hurt. I certainly have a long way to go...

After CrossFit,  Dave needed a Massage from a Local Physical Therapist.  He had pulled his back and hip flexor several days ago and it had been bothering him.   So while he did that... I investigated Tenutas!   An Italian Deli!  

I guess it is famous.   Famous people visit there and I can see why.  First,  They are Connected!  ( if you know what I mean....)  George Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dr Ruth just to name a few.  

Second!   They had lots of Italian stuff.   Olives,  Olive Oil, Wine, Pasta...  All while Dean Martin sang over the intercom.  Followed by Tony Bennet and Frank Sinatra.  If there was any place to capture the Italian Atmosphere, it was here.   Lots of goodies and deli stuff as well.   I would say that Beer and Wine was over 50 % of the store.   They had a HUGE selection of craft beers.

And the wine ranged from affordable to UBER expensive.  The "good" stuff was locked behind glass, so I'm sure those are for special events. 

Did I get anything.  Well, no.  Currently, I'm trying to limit my pasta and alcohol intake.  And I never really cared much about olives or Mediterranean stuff. 

After that,  Dave picked me up and we went home.   I took the opportunity to dismantle his truck door in an attempt to fix his driver's side mirror.  Because..  I was bored!  And I enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together.  Sometimes I even fix things!

His mirror had been wobbly ever since he purchased the truck, so I figured it would just require a tightening of a bolt  or nut.   I was wrong. 

The entire mirror assembly needs to be replaced.   The fixture that holds the mirror in place was totally rusted out.  So.. Until he gets a replacement.  I decided to use the Handy Man secret weapon...  Tape!  

Duct tape would clash with the paint of the truck,   so I used electrical tape instead.  It works!  For the moment. But once it rains or the snow flies,  it will need to be replaced properly. 

Now that was already a pretty full day!  But it was not over...  Dave and I went Fishing.  Because...  4th of July Weekend!   Dad and I used o go Perch fishing on the 4th every year.   We would bake out under the sun and sometimes actually catch the mother lode of Perch from Lake Michigan.  ( Saugatuck!  Michigan.)  

Well, No Perch today...  But we did catch some nice bluegills again.  Some of them are still on the beds, so  they are large and fairly easy to catch.   Not quite as voracious  as last time...  But still plenty of fun. 

We decided to keep our catch to a reasonable number.  Unlike last time, when we got three meals out of the bluegills.  I think we could get two meals easy.    We cleaned them up and then Dave tossed some steaks on the grill.  

I can't remember the last time I had a steak.   Or any beef for that matter!  ( Maybe on a pizza?)   The steak was perfect on its own...  NO steak sauce required.   But Dave did add some onions to the top for a tasty Photo Op.   

And that was all!   That was enough!  A full day and a heck of a start for the 4th of July Weekend.   Tomorrow will be Church and perhaps I can get in a nice run.   I could also  take a really long nap in he middle of the afternoon.  Oh the possibilities!  

I hope everyone is having a fun and festive 4th of July weekend so far.   Get out those grills and enjoy the summer weather.   And thanks for stopping in.