Sport?

It has been a weird week at the Stadium Club. Outside the glass as normal, is the ongoing game. But on the TVs above and behind the bar, half of them are on the basketball playoffs. I'm almost confused. Another round please!

Blue

You know I'm feeling well if the Dodger's are home and playing. Too many people know me there, though...
I have my tickets for the season and my lunch reservation for opening day, I'm ready to go.

End of 50 years in LA

I'm feeling a little better now. Dodgers still lost the NLCS for 2008, but some foolish mortal decided to invite me to the after party in this huge tent in the parking lot outside the stadium club after the game. I was found sulking at the bar going over the game with a few other patrons when one of the bartenders says to me, 'George wants to talk to you'. Usually that means he wants to buy someone a drink, or give you his business card, or just catch up before heading out. This time, as I was finishing up the current conversation, George couldn't wait and walked over and handed me the ticket to the party, seen to the upper left here. Wasn't sure what it was, but I said sure, I'll see him there, and introduced him to the others that were discussing that were also discussing the game at the bar. When all that broke up, I asked one of the security guards I knew if she thought it was going to be a good party to go to. She assured me it would be worth my time, so I left the comfortable stadium club and walked outside to the tent's entrance. The music was very loud, and a dj was having fun playing a safe mix. Video screens everywhere showing slides of various dodger activities and events throughout the last year. Saw a lot of folk I've met at various game through the last few seasons. Four open bars, half a dozen tables of finger food and dodger dogs all laid out. I had fun celebrating and commiserating and eating and getting a bottle of water at the bar. Already had enough to drink earlier. Took a short video and a few pictures. You can see them on my flickr page from the badge on the right. Shook Rick Monday's hand. He's the announcer, former player, that when he was with the cubs, picked up a usa flag from two protesters in center field of dodger stadium who were trying to light it on fire. His success and their failure makes him a hero in my mind, and I thanked him for it. Not sure if he heard everything I said, but he was patient, understanding and I went away happy.

Tough Loss

I'm so sad. One because of the idiot first timers sitting in the row in front of us who had no idea we were season ticket holders and were standing up in front of us at all the wrong times. Two because the Dodgers lost at home and are now behind three games to one in a best of seven series. Three because of traffic downtown after getting off of work at five PM and not getting to the game until six PM in rush hour plus game traffic for a five twenty two start time when it normally takes me all of ten minutes to get there. And four, because I wanna be. I'll cheer up in time for Wednesday night's game. Promise.

People Are Strange

When you,re strange
Faces come out of the rain
When you.re strange
No one remembers your name
When you're
Straaaaaange.
Great win over the phillies tonight, though most of the folk in the stadium club were oblivious to it, or just accepted it and moved on. It seems almost every person I had met in the last five years were in the club before and after the game. It took over an hour for traffic to die down, so I was glad that the club was still open ofter the game, where we could look out the glass and see the river of red brake lights go on and on. Dozens of folk I hadn't talked to in months were all there and all wanted a few minutes. I was happy to give. Before and After the game. During the game I was in my seat, jumping up and down with every great play the team made. Showing up two hours early was even better, easy in, easy out. I am so glad I had conversations to make and beer to drink before leaving the park nearly an hour and a half after the game ended. I'm renewing club membership for next year. The weird part was snippets against one person from various groups about a member of every other group I talked to. Didn't catch any talk about me, but separated a couple of groups so they would not be too close to each other. Our opponent is the phillies this series, not each other. All fans, in different ways, I like drifting between each of the groups. Amazing how so many can handle me, but not others that can too. Not that it is all about me, it's about the team on the field that we are all there to support. Pick one group and shun the rest? hardly. All of them are great in their own right, and I have fun floating amongst them all. Just sorry that they do not all mix. Goes to show that it takes all kinds to be a fan. Even if some think them strange...

Cubs Lose

Not only did the cubbies lose, but the dodgers swept them in three straight games. Sorry cub fans, but I am very happy. Other fans that I hadn't seen for half the year started buying me drinks after the game at the stadium club, so I bought them drinks back. Though there was no way I could drink them all, at nearly midnight after the game had ended, security finally came in to clear us all out and I head through the suites back toward my section and out of the stadium. The only folk though this part of the parking lot were drunks and security. Which was I? Definitely not security. I did make it home safe and sound and able to let you know how happy dodger fans are tonight. Twenty years since this team had won a post season series. Poor cubbies and their hundred year quest will have to wait another year, Go Dodgers. I even have time to record for librivox.org tomorrow, but for now, sleep, wonderful sleep. g'night all.

Playoffs, Baby

Got my playoff tickets in the mail the other day. First home game is not until Saturday, but I am already excited. First two games will be in Chicago. Can not quite make those, this time. I hope we sweep them in three and get the first series over with, but I know it will not be that easy. And if LA's team does not make it to the World Series of Baseball, then the fee just rolls over to next year's season ticket pool. First, boo the cubbies, then off to the next round.

Think Blue

Fun to watch the standings and see the Dodger's increasing their lead in the national league's west division. Anyone want extra playoff tickets?

Closer to Normal Week

Had fun attending three Dodger home games this week. [All wins] They are off tonight, so I am home typing this up. I'll be attending three more this weekend. Wouldn't you?

Mariah

And then, the winds came. The winds stayed for the first five innings of Wednesday night's game. Took a little washed out video with my cheap camera. Notice how the flags are just streaming in flat out. Debris was flying everywhere at times. Grounds crew kept it as nice as they could between innings.

Wandering Week

Listening to the Dodgers lose five straight is never fun. Though there were moments of fun. Streak finally broken in Wisconsin this evening. One more game there on Thursday afternoon before moving on. Enough of baseball for today. Took mom out to a nice restaurant last Sunday afternoon and got current on family history. We are flung all over California, with some in Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and soon New Mexico. Arizona was so forty/fifty years ago for any of us. Southern California Electric is now billing a tiered system. If you use a nominal amount, which I do even with all these computers because no air conditioning, one stays in tier one. Use a lot of electricity in a month, and you could get a bill that includes tier five rates. Here in the LA basin it is not so bad. In the San Fernando Valley, it gets very hot, very quickly, and longer to get to tier two to make it 'fair'. Fair is a concept that eludes me. Whenever a large organization, like a utility, tries to be 'fair' someone is going to feel put upon. I haven't heard a major outcry yet, but this next month should be a good test as we start having triple digit days and very cool and breezy evenings. If I ever get my air conditioner rolled out of the closet and hooked up, I may jump straight to tier three rates and have a lot of fun figuring out my bill. It might even be over thirty bucks a month! Sure was lucky to find a place upstairs with windows on all four sides. If only it was closer to the beach, like fifteen miles closer. Or to the mountains. No, it would only add to my commute four point five days a week. And paying fifty bucks for twelve gallons of ninety one octane is about half-way to my point of consideration of an alternate method of transportation. In the mean time, the cooper is still my favorite toy.

Weekly Fun

Another fun week so far at Dodger Stadium. No more whining about being in last place as for the last two weeks they've been the hottest team in baseball and worked their way up to 2nd in the west. Just took two out of three from the Metropolitans and pushed them from tied for 2nd in the east to tied for 3rd. Poor Mets. They'll do better elsewhere. Today was a day game, so I took a vacation day from work and enjoyed sleeping in late, and being served my brunch and brew all game long. Fun, fun, fun. Until we lost the game, but hey, it's not what's happening, it's who you are with, and I was with folk whose company I value. Just a few snaps above, one is a railroad map that I finished working on and uploaded to hooked gamers railroad site, two of them are folk playing the baseball video games on the club level of the stadium. Yes, they play those while the real game is going on. The second machine from the left had the Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death blinking, so it wasn't working so well. Sometimes when I walkby, I may pull a trigger or two pitching and batting who knows who to who knows what. Today I snapped photos of those staying at it a bit longer than I do. The fourth picture shows last night in the parking lot where a helicopter with a search light [night sun] leading in a few police cars to break up twenty folk from having a post game tailgate. Too bad the story does not come out in my cheap little camera's attempt at capturing it. I would get a new camera, maybe one with an optical zoom, if I knew I was going to use it more than once a month like this one. I take it with me a lot of places now, just haven't been using it. Maybe I'll break down and buy a cell phone that would do the work too, and send it to this site. Nay, it's the old circle. No cell phone, no girlfriend, no girlfriend, no cell phone needed.

Different Strokes

It's tough being a fan of a last place team. Having fifty thousand fellow fans about you helps. Friday night was Joe Torre Bobblehead night. This thing looks silly, yet brings a calm smile to my face. My camera is in the car, maybe I'll post a picture of it tomorrow or Sunday. After Wednesday night's game, I'm leaving early, fore I know that my alarm will go off in a few hours and I want to be at work as close to on time as possible, if not a bit early, and as I'm walking through the employee parking on my way to the lot where I park, a new white caddy creeps up behind me. I move out of the way and wait for it to pass in the narrow lane. I get a wave from the driver, Tommy Lasorda. I wave back and off he goes. Maybe he thought I might have been an employee walking through down this lane. Whatever, good to see him still at the games. The night before that Ron Howard walked right by me and I did not even recognize him until my buddy pointed him out to me. Then I saw his back heading for the exit. Tonight I stood in line to have Steve Garvey sign his new book for me, as he was doing for everyone who purchased one. He seemed in great spirits and it was good to see him again too. A buddy took my picture with the author on his cell phone. Hope he sends it in the next day or so. Too many things swirling in my head, must rest... cya.

Long Week

Since the Dodgers were home for a week of games, I spent most of my free time at the Stadium. Last Saturday and Sunday were triple digit hot and by Tuesday night I was shivering in sixty degree weather. Very strange weather from clear blue skies to foggy nights. A couple on their first date was sitting next to me at the bar one night and when their friends finally found them, the bartender had fun lying about all the drinks he served the couple and what was in them. One of my friends is job hunting. His kids are raised and his wife is still teaching and his last foriegn employer fired him for having a bad heart. Physically, not emotionally. Hard to sue a foriegn employer when he was actually contracting to sell their goods and not an office employee. I've learned a lot about the procedure to be inline for a heart transplant, not that I ever want to go through such a process. Amazing how a couple of other bar managers like to come in and be customer's at the stadium club. Fourth year coming in here and I still like it. Introduced my seat mates to it, and they are thinking of adding it on to their seats next year. The Dodger's themselves are hovering just above the last place Giants. It certainly won't be wire to wire first place this year, either. Fifty years in LA, the last twenty without a world series win. Dodger's are due. Found out I share a birthday with Roy Disney and the Pope. Cute. Now what party will I throw for my fiftieth next year? Hmmm, will have to start planning now.

Opening Day 2008

Wow. A lot of fun today. Picked up a friend who wanted to go two and a half hours before game time and headed for the stadium. As opposed to years past, parking at dodger stadium was a breeze this year. The most congested spot for me was turning onto exposition blvd from sunset. Being a state holiday, traffic downtown was light. Once inside, left our coats and door gifts at the seats and marched through the suite level to the stadium club. Long line to get in, we bypassed that with the story that we were just going to the bar, and not there to eat. Place was already hopping. Three people deep at the hundred foot wide bar and restaurant seating was proceeding. Found some buddies at the bar to stand behind, and with a wave and a wing ordered two of my blue off menu specials. Greeted several folk as they filtered in, asked where they were sitting now, etc. After the second round, headed back to the seats, and watched an emotional opening ceremony with just about every living dodger in the hall of fame was there. Their names would appear on the scoreboard and their picture on the diamond vision and then they would walk out to the position they use to play at. Only the first day and already I've clapped and hollered myself sore and hoarse. What followed was a great game over the hapless giants. Nice to shut them out on opening day. Eighty more home games in the season, and one hundred and sixty one left total. The next six months should be as memorable.

Blue Haiku

A box in the post
Season tickets have arrived
Park and drink, happy

So long dinner

One of the couples I met at the Stadium Club this year threw an after season thank you dinner for the bartenders and wait staff that treated us so well over the last few years and asked me to participate. I gladly accepted to help show my appreciation for the wonderful professional and friendly service I always get there. We met at a BBQ Restaurant at a mall in the valley, and the one that requested a non-sushi place went to Arizona to watch her cubs in the playoffs instead. No worries, the other nine of us showed up and had a great time. I'm glad I showed up to help thank them for another wonderful year of service.

Season's dead, friendships still there

Commiserating with fellow fans after the team was mathematically eliminated at the stadium club last night during the last couple innings was both painful and helpful. Talked turned to off season gatherings and e-mails and phone numbers were passed around. Sounds like a fun off season in the making. Well after the game, we were getting kicked out of the club and said our goodbyes. I noticed a group of twenty somethings going down the ramp ahead of me. They were moving slow since one of them was hopping on one foot. As I passed one of the girls asked, 'can my friend ride to the car over there on your back?' Amazingly I answered 'absolutely' and kept on walking. Three strides later, there is a leap onto my back and just as amazingly I did not stumble but proceeded to clamp my hands behind her knees and kept walking to where the first one pointed. The things a greybeard has to put up with now and then. About twenty yards through the parking lot, she exclaims that she can walk now. Then repeats it a few seconds later. I let go, she slips off, we wave and I walk towards the mini, remotely lowering the top. Motoring away, I just grinned and waved again as they piled into their sedan. Go home, Proto.

Rec-Re-Ate

Dodgers are back in town for one last week. I've got the tickets, might as well go...

Thanks Dodgers

With four straight loses to the Colorado Rockies, and thereby moving into fourth place, the chances of post season play are nil. This weekend in Arizona should cement the deal. Six more home games next Tuesday through Sunday the thirtieth. Want to go with?