Hodge Podge

A miscellaney.

Softball

Uh... We sucked. This was the second weekend of round-robin (robbin?) play for the Big Apple Softball League. We played three abbreviated games (games were seven innings or one hour, whichever came first, and when you got up at bat you already had a count of one ball and one strike). The headline is we lost two games and tied in the third.

Softball Excuses: It was really windy! That made it tricky at bat. Blue (the ump) was a hardass where we were concerned but lenient with the other teams. Our pitcher was out of commission this weekend, so one of our new guys pitched, and did pretty well, although he was inconsistent.

And I sucked. One big error in the field, and I only had one good hit at bat. Mostly I struck out or flied out. Hate that.

Our first game was against the Diabolitos. Last year, they were not very competitive. We played them in one of our first games, and they had to forfeit because not enough of their players showed up, but we played them anyway. We loved the Diabolitos. Like we Ball Breakers, they were out there to have a good time.

Well. This year, the Diabolitos very much had their act together. Their pitcher was very much the strike out king. And they were doing great batting. Hits hits hits.

But, they are still very much about having a good time, so we still loved the Diabolitos. Even though they beat us 10-8.

Next up was our arch enemies, the Wings. Nothing against the players, but their manager is a dick. Sort of the opposite of the Diabolitos, he takes things way to seriously, and all the wrong things. Contesting every call. That kind of thing. We were not gonna go down to the Wings. But they ended up getting a few hits in their final at-bat to tie the game. This never happens in regular play, but it does in these round robins. So we tied with the Wings.

Finally, there was the Noreasters. Always a competitive team, they got the hits and we didn't. I think the final score was 8-0. We couldn't hit it out of the infield.

And the Big Moment came in our game with the Noreasters. Finally, one of our guys got a good hit, and there were two men on base, both of whom went tearing across home plate. But the ump called Time and cancelled out the play. It seems that the ball had sailed way out to left field, landing near a group of picknickers. And a little kid had run up, grasped the ball in his wee little fumbling hands, and tossed it to the Noreaster's player. And that counted as interference. So our guys had to go back to their bases, and we got no points. Our guy who had made the hit screamed over in the direction of the picknickers, "If we lose this game, I'm gonna kill your kid!"

We did, but he didn't.

On The Town

So... like... softball games are on Saturdays. And to get there on time, I'll have to leave early Saturday morning. And after a day of playing softball, I'm kinda spent. I can't really spend the night in NYC, since I have to get home to walk Faithful Companion. And it doesn't work to go out on Sunday nights as I get up for work at 5:15 a.m. on Monday morning.

So what this boils down to is that I can't go out on Fridays, and I won't be hitting the Bike Stop on Saturdays, and it's a quiet evening at home on Sundays. So... like... I'm not gonna get laid until August when the season is over.

Unless I manage to connect with somebody at the Raven in New Hope on Saturday night.

*sigh*

The Raven. When it comes to vodka-besotted, blond-tipped, clean shaven, cigar-averse retail queens, it's kinda the Hive.

But I have managed to pick up some tourists there. Bear guys who are spending a weekend in New Hope and venture out to check out the local action. It's always this 'I'm here so we can leave now' experience when I walk in the door.

Last night, I got there late, almost 1 am when I arrived. I ran into PipeBear, whom I had met before, and a buddy of his, this big goateed cigar smoking guy. And in short order, we were joined by a budding blond Top I know. The four of us sat on the porch, lamenting mostly. PipeBear was the first to throw in the towel. Then Cigar Smoking Guy and I decided to head out. I walked him out to the parking lot, and there, he gave me a nice kiss goodnight. He's a really good kisser.

Why didn't anything happen between me and Cigar Smoking Guy? Two reasons. First off, he lived somewhere in the wilds of New Jersey, making a spontaneous night together unlikely. And second... he was wearing docksiders, khakis, and a white oxford shirt. He even joked about his bad wardrobe choice. "What was I thinking?" kinda thing. If Cigar Smoking Guy and I run into each other and he's wearing jeans and boots, it's a pretty sure thing.

Now, that's pretty shallow, huh? Paying that much attention to superficialities. Yeah. I'll own that. But I'm sorry. I agree with M. Jean Paul Sartre: "Appearances are evil, but they're everything." It shouldn't matter, but it does.

Busy Busy Busy

And today, Sunday, I have my work cut out for me. I've got to get all the plants I bought last weekend into the ground. And to do that, I've got to till in manure, topsoil, and sand, and cover the area with peatmoss. And, I'll be doing all of that in a dreary drizzle. And I've gotta burn the trash, continue the campaign of cleaning up the yard, and do laundry for me and my father.

And, hopefully, get to the gym before I come home to make dinner.

Glory.

Best get to it.

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