Love me some Saturday. No work. No place to go. Bliss.
Mel and I had a fun Friday night, consisting of driving out to Pinewood to see if we could find a restaurant there that we (read: I) wanted to try. We found it. It wasn't open. But then we headed back to Sumter (a thrilling drive with my gas light staring at me in bright green), and we settled for dinner at Georgio's. YUM! Way good. Then we rented and watched a movie I've wanted to watch FOREVER: The Big Lebowski. It was ... different.
Then today, we woke up at the crack of dawn. Had some coffee. Then a little bit of early morning yard-saling with Mel, Jamie and Jamie's mom. Then home for more coffee. Must rejuvenate. Waking up at 6 a.m. on Saturday is rough..
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Baseball in the summer
In Sumter, during the summer, baseball is king. While in other parts of the world, American Legion baseball is a memory that goes hand in hand with drive-in movie theaters, carhops and soda fountains, it is alive and well in Sumter, S.C.
American Legion ball draws to the ball field the men with white hair -- and no hair -- and the young couples and the moms with children and the teenagers who want to show off in front of their friends. Summer nights in Sumter mean baseball.
Riley Ball Park has seen decades of Sumter's teenaged boys don the signature blue and red uniform of the American Legion Post 15 team -- or as folks in Sumter fondly call them, the P-15's. The park has seen some mighty wins. It's seen enthusiasm and disappointment. Sweat from the brows of hundreds of boys has watered the field of green grass.
The stands hum with conversation, occassional cheers to the batter or jeers to the umpire.
Breezes are few. The air hangs thick with humidity, and fans' skin glows with a summer stickiness they've become accustomed to as South Carolinians. Hair sticks to faces. Cardboard fans rat, tat, tat against the air in front of those flushed faces. Mosquitos and gnats and flies feast on legs barely covered by shorts and t-shirts.
But the heat and the bugs don't matter. When a P-15 hits the ball deep and lands a spot on base, when the bases are loaded or when a streak of blue and red whizzes past home plate, a cloud of dust flying, it's all worth it. The old men, the couples, the moms, the kids, the teens, they all clap and whistle and howl.
The smell of boiled peanuts mixes with the smell of sweat. Peanut shells litter the concrete floor of the stands. Boys and girls tote trays filled with sodas and popcorn through the crowd. And sometimes trips have to be made to the snack bar for hot dogs topped with sauerkraut.
No one's a stranger. Everyone sitting around you is your friend and wants to share with you their enthusiasm about the P-15's, about how things are at work or about how the kids are doing.
In Sumter, Riley Ball Park is abuzz with life in the summertime.
American Legion ball draws to the ball field the men with white hair -- and no hair -- and the young couples and the moms with children and the teenagers who want to show off in front of their friends. Summer nights in Sumter mean baseball.
Riley Ball Park has seen decades of Sumter's teenaged boys don the signature blue and red uniform of the American Legion Post 15 team -- or as folks in Sumter fondly call them, the P-15's. The park has seen some mighty wins. It's seen enthusiasm and disappointment. Sweat from the brows of hundreds of boys has watered the field of green grass.
The stands hum with conversation, occassional cheers to the batter or jeers to the umpire.
Breezes are few. The air hangs thick with humidity, and fans' skin glows with a summer stickiness they've become accustomed to as South Carolinians. Hair sticks to faces. Cardboard fans rat, tat, tat against the air in front of those flushed faces. Mosquitos and gnats and flies feast on legs barely covered by shorts and t-shirts.
But the heat and the bugs don't matter. When a P-15 hits the ball deep and lands a spot on base, when the bases are loaded or when a streak of blue and red whizzes past home plate, a cloud of dust flying, it's all worth it. The old men, the couples, the moms, the kids, the teens, they all clap and whistle and howl.
The smell of boiled peanuts mixes with the smell of sweat. Peanut shells litter the concrete floor of the stands. Boys and girls tote trays filled with sodas and popcorn through the crowd. And sometimes trips have to be made to the snack bar for hot dogs topped with sauerkraut.
No one's a stranger. Everyone sitting around you is your friend and wants to share with you their enthusiasm about the P-15's, about how things are at work or about how the kids are doing.
In Sumter, Riley Ball Park is abuzz with life in the summertime.
Stories in all of us
Sometimes in the summer, I hate my job because it gets sooo boring. Since I primarily cover education, school being out for the summer = tres very bored Mary. Mary writes lots of filler pieces in the summer.
But sometimes, I get to write about the coolest stuff. And it makes me remember that I really do love my job. This week I got to hang out with our local cobbler (shoe repairman for those not down with the lingo), and he was just the neatest guy. I have always been fascinated by his shop. You walk in it and it just smells like leather and shoe polish. It's the coolest thing. I got to spend a couple of hours just hanging out with this guy and watching him fix broken heels, sew pieces of leather and glue soles together. It was really, really fascinating. He talked to me about how shoe repair shops are a dying business -- as are many specialized mom-and-pop businesses, which made me really sad.
And then yesterday, I got to interview this guy who's 68 years old and digs graves by hand! Who knew that anyone even still did that?? He was the neatest guy and told lots of neat stories about his life. He's seen and done quite a lot in his lifetime -- from boxing in his younger days to getting shot by a family friend! It's the stories like these that I live for and that make me glad to be a writer. It's these people whose stories I long to tell.
Never let me tell you that I don't love what I do.
But sometimes, I get to write about the coolest stuff. And it makes me remember that I really do love my job. This week I got to hang out with our local cobbler (shoe repairman for those not down with the lingo), and he was just the neatest guy. I have always been fascinated by his shop. You walk in it and it just smells like leather and shoe polish. It's the coolest thing. I got to spend a couple of hours just hanging out with this guy and watching him fix broken heels, sew pieces of leather and glue soles together. It was really, really fascinating. He talked to me about how shoe repair shops are a dying business -- as are many specialized mom-and-pop businesses, which made me really sad.
And then yesterday, I got to interview this guy who's 68 years old and digs graves by hand! Who knew that anyone even still did that?? He was the neatest guy and told lots of neat stories about his life. He's seen and done quite a lot in his lifetime -- from boxing in his younger days to getting shot by a family friend! It's the stories like these that I live for and that make me glad to be a writer. It's these people whose stories I long to tell.
Never let me tell you that I don't love what I do.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Not too much longer...
I'm getting increasingly excited about England. I can't believe in less than two months, I will be boarding a plane and a half a day later I'll be landing in London! And from there it'll be off to Peterborough for five weeks of soaking up everything around me. I absolutely cannot wait.
I still feel like there's so much left to be done. I have to purchase some more stuff for our GSE team outfits, I have to buy gifts for my host families, I have to meet more with my team members and finalize all our plans. I'll have to pack like a madwoman. I'll have to get everything situated with work ... SO much to do!
I only hope I can make it the experience it needs to be. I hope I try new things, that I'm able to be open to new experience and that I'm just able take away everything I possibly can from it.
I still feel like there's so much left to be done. I have to purchase some more stuff for our GSE team outfits, I have to buy gifts for my host families, I have to meet more with my team members and finalize all our plans. I'll have to pack like a madwoman. I'll have to get everything situated with work ... SO much to do!
I only hope I can make it the experience it needs to be. I hope I try new things, that I'm able to be open to new experience and that I'm just able take away everything I possibly can from it.
Conclusions from the past few days
I made darned good chocolate icing.
Birthdays are fun, no matter your age. And even when they're not yours.
I'm going to miss my roommate when we part ways in five or six months because she has to go live with a boy.
Dinners at Outback, going to movies, attending baseball games and eating cupcakes never grow old as ways to celebrate.
Birthdays are fun, no matter your age. And even when they're not yours.
I'm going to miss my roommate when we part ways in five or six months because she has to go live with a boy.
Dinners at Outback, going to movies, attending baseball games and eating cupcakes never grow old as ways to celebrate.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Reasons to smile
Ya know how some songs just make you happy? Keith Urban's "You Look Good in My Shirt" is one of those for me right now. I know I talk a lot about music, but I really can't help it. Next to writing, music is my next biggest love. And next to writing, it's my next best therapy.
It's there for you when you're giddy, there when you're lost, there for whatever occassion, whatever mood. There's a song for every feeling, every moment in time.
But seriously, this song just makes me smile. It's great. Every time I hear it, I can't help but turn it up. I'm already a huge fan of Keith Urban's, and this song just further solidifies that fandom.
"And maybe it's a little too early
To know if this is gonna work
All I know is you're sure looking
Good in my shirt
That's right
You look good in my shirt"
It's there for you when you're giddy, there when you're lost, there for whatever occassion, whatever mood. There's a song for every feeling, every moment in time.
But seriously, this song just makes me smile. It's great. Every time I hear it, I can't help but turn it up. I'm already a huge fan of Keith Urban's, and this song just further solidifies that fandom.
"And maybe it's a little too early
To know if this is gonna work
All I know is you're sure looking
Good in my shirt
That's right
You look good in my shirt"
Friday, July 18, 2008
Notes
I'm becoming my parents. Though I don't drink coffee every day, I could. And on those days that I don't, I'm not really awake. I'm really in a sleepwalking/pseduo-awake state and am only responsive through habit. So if I don't remember a conversation or an event, I'll likely blame it on a lack of coffee. It's amazing the depencies we effortlessly fall into. Ahh, coffee...sweet, sweet caffiene-rushing-through-my-veins addiction.
I've been reading some Nicholas Sparks books, which is much-welcomed easy reading after finally finishing beast-of-a-book Atlas Shrugged. I do feel smarter for having read A.S., however, so no regrets.
Shoes make me happy. I'm highly superficial, I know. My shoe storage thingy is burgeoning with flats and heels and flip flops. And yes, that makes me happy.
I'm trying to figure out whether there are any runs I can do before I go to England. I'm worried about whether I'll be able to run or not while I'm over there. Shannon, who went to Australia last year, said a couple of her team members managed to squeeze in a run from time to time, so that was encouraging. I guess I'll pack my sneakers and shorts and hope for the best. I'd love to do a 5k-10k before I go, but it's not looking like that's going to happen with a fast-filling schedule on the horizon.
The next weeks and months are going to be hella crazy. Wedding prep and festivities with Lee, GSE England team meetings, the beginnings of wedding stuff with Mel, etc., etc.
I've been reading some Nicholas Sparks books, which is much-welcomed easy reading after finally finishing beast-of-a-book Atlas Shrugged. I do feel smarter for having read A.S., however, so no regrets.
Shoes make me happy. I'm highly superficial, I know. My shoe storage thingy is burgeoning with flats and heels and flip flops. And yes, that makes me happy.
I'm trying to figure out whether there are any runs I can do before I go to England. I'm worried about whether I'll be able to run or not while I'm over there. Shannon, who went to Australia last year, said a couple of her team members managed to squeeze in a run from time to time, so that was encouraging. I guess I'll pack my sneakers and shorts and hope for the best. I'd love to do a 5k-10k before I go, but it's not looking like that's going to happen with a fast-filling schedule on the horizon.
The next weeks and months are going to be hella crazy. Wedding prep and festivities with Lee, GSE England team meetings, the beginnings of wedding stuff with Mel, etc., etc.
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