All posts by Sarah G

Number Six: Go to a Paw Sox Game

To be fair, this item on the Summer To Do List actually came from Pete. I was pretty sure it would be fun for me, too, so I stole it. I say that like Pete actually makes a list of things he wants to do each season, and I took this off his list and put it on mine instead. ;)

At some point in the spring, probably when the baseball season was still young and Pete was in the midst of his annual baseball fever, he told me he thought it might be fun to go to a Paw Sox game. Sometime in May, I received the quarterly email at work that details any free museum admissions or discounted tickets we can get by showing our work ID or calling the listed contact, and surprisingly there were two Paw Sox games on the list of discounted events. In the end we only saved $2/ticket, but that’s $4 we could use towards my $10 ballpark dinner, right?! I don’t think I looked to see if they were “good” seats – McCoy Stadium isn’t big enough that you need to be concerned about where your seats are. But for $9 each (plus a $2 ticketing fee), it’s cheap night out.

Bonus: the tickets we bought were for a game against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (awesomest team name is baseball, if you ask me!). The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are coached by Ryne Sandberg. Ryne Sandberg was Pete’s favorite player back when Pete was a wee boy. Probably right around when this photo was taken (thanks for sending the photos, Judy! We had a blast looking through them all!).

Barely related: when Pete was playing Little League, he was so much taller than the other players that his mom had to carry a birth certificate with her to his games to prove that he was the right age for the team and not some older ringer that they brought in to pitch for them! And then somehow he stopped growing…

He was cute then, huh? If you’re lucky, when (if?) football season rolls around, I’ll share the crazy adorable football-themed baby photos. But let’s not start the football torture early.

We had a really fun time at the game. For one thing, there was plenty of good people watching for me. The awesome commentary from the two older couples behind us (“COME ON! They need to pick it up! They didn’t use to take this long to play!”, “oh – the guy at bat is so-and-so’s ex-husband”) who then left after the 6th inning and we later saw eating dinner in their motor home kept me chuckling for half the game. There was a young couple in front of us where the husband was keeping score on his scorecard until about the third inning. I’m pretty sure they are at the park frequently, because he was cheering for all the players and may have been the fan most interested in the game in our section. There was a family with three young kids who came prepared: They each had a sharpie, a ball, and a small bucket with a rope attached so that they could hang it over the railing to dangle in front of the Paw Sox dugout below us. And then there was the guy next to Pete, who leaned over somewhere around the fifth inning and asked Pete how long they played for. Pete was confused and asked him to repeat the question before telling him the game is nine innings long.

The Paw Sox won, which was nice, and we fun providing our own interpretation for Sandberg’s signs when he was doing his duty as third base coach. “I’m hungry. I will get on my motorcycle and go to the grocery store!” I mean, I’m not a baseball expert, but I’m 90% sure that’s the point he was trying to get across. It was a smaller crowd, but there was a little league team who was doing a good job of cheering for a few innings (and it was a good thing, the organ player/sound guy was horrible and needs some lessons on how to get the crowd going). Pete was not into any of the cheering/chanting/clapping, even when his (not) relative Matt Sheely was at the plate! I mean, dude has your name and is on your home team, but you don’t want to cheer for him?! What kind of fan are you?

I’m pretty sure there will be some more Paw Sox games in our future, and I think all of you that have little kiddos who are into baseball should check them out! $11 for seats directly above the dugout on the third base line? You definitely can’t get that at Fenway.

Number 5: Attend the Forest Hills Lantern Festival

We haven’t lived in Jamaica Plain for four years now, but that doesn’t stop it from feeling like home every time I am there. It helps that we still have a lot of friends in JP and the neighboring Roslindale, so there are always familiar faces as well as familiar places! JP is a neighborhood with a very distinct community and feeling, and the (13th Annual) Lantern Festival was 100% JP: yuppie same-sex couples with their adorable babies who were adopted from third world nations, hipsters who arrived by bike and were drinking two buck chuck with their picnics, hippies who were trying to make connections to grow their non-profit organization, and artists galore. Oh! And one older woman walking around in her bathing suit. Don’t you wear only a bathing suit on a cool summer evening to an event in a cemetery?

I digress. My point is that wandering around the Lantern Festival is an awesome opportunity to see every demographic that lives in JP in one fell swoop. Also an awesome opportunity to enjoy a picnic (lesson learned: the Lantern Festival is made for indulging in an elaborate picnic) and good company.

Aside from being JP at it’s awesomest, the Lantern Festival was born out of the Japanese Bon Festival – it is a celebration to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors, when a door opens to send messages to the deceased.

The top right picture above is my lantern just after I launched it. Almost a year ago now, a classmate and friend from college, Neil, was killed long before his time should have been up. His smile lit up the world around him, and his hugs are missed by more people than you count. The first day I met Neil was the 4th of July in 1997, and after the fireworks we waited in the sweltering DC humidity to get into Union Station and onto the Metro. Eventually, Neil, a few other new friends, and I ended up wading in the Columbus Fountain to cool off while we fought the crowd. Neil and I “swam” in more than a few other fountains together in DC over the next four years, and it was only fitting that I honor him by launching a lantern with his name on it to “swim” a pond.

The other side of my lantern had the name of another friend lost recently – again, far too soon. I met Stephanie because she is the most talented massage therapist I have ever come across and I spent an hour with her every month for years, chatting about friends, relationships, and our love of dogs. She and I exchanged emails on and off over the last few years, since my migraines subsided and I no longer needed monthly massages to help keep them at bay. I introduced at least half a dozen friends to Stephanie’s magic, healing hands, and her sincere, caring, and gentle personality. Needless to say, we were shocked and devastated when we learned recently that she had passed away. It sounds ridiculous to explain how the loss of my massage therapist has affected me so strongly, but it is a testament to what an amazing person and friend she was.

The fourth side of my lantern had the names of more family and friends, and the calligraphy I chose means love (supposedly. I don’t know Japanese – it could mean “pork fried rice” for all I know) – the one message I’d send every person whose name was on my lantern. You are loved!

When I put this item on my life list (and consequently this summer’s to do list), I hadn’t imagined the emotional impact it would have. I had heard about the event for years and seen photos but had never actually read about the origins of the event or it’s meaning. I didn’t expect to spend the evening missing so many people and reliving so many happy memories while I “decorated” my lantern and then later watched it float in the pond. Truth be told, there is no way I would rather honor and celebrate my friends and family who have passed away, and I can only hope that the Japanese Buddhist beliefs are right and that all of those remembered on my lantern received my message loud and clear.

Just in case they didn’t, I just might make the Lantern Festival and annual tradition.

PS – you can see more photos from the festival, including one of my launching my lantern while I try not to drop my own camera into the pond, on the Boston Arts Festival page on facebook)

Coworker

Champ was keeping me company while I worked today (by which I mean that she was in the same room with me, but would not let me touch her. I may have saved her life and forced Pete to “let” me adopt her, but that doesn’t make her love me. Can we say UNGRATEFUL?).

She didn’t seem particularly interested in helping out on the go/no-go decision making.

1 Comment

by Sarah G on July 10, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Champ

Posted by Sarah G on July 10, 2011

https://mymonotonouslife.com/2011/07/10/coworker/

WFH? TC?

What’s it called when you are working, but instead of going into the office you’re logged on to the company network externally and at home (or a coffee shop, or a hotel, or wherever)? In my neck of the woods, we always refer to it as “working from home”, aka WFH. In my friend Norm’s neck of the woods, they refer to it as TCing – Telecommuting. I think that’s ridiculous, he thinks WFH is ridiculous….

Anyway, that’s not my point . My point is that we’re launching a new reporting system at work, which needs to be re-tested to ensure that the correct data is pulling as it’s supposed to go live on Monday, and I’ve been WFH this weekend. Luckily not all weekend, just a few hours each day. These are on the wall above the desk in our office. You know, in case we need some motivation to get our work done.

I shamelessly ripped off these awesome prints, because I ran out of office decor budge before I got to artwork. Clearly I need to make up for it by sending you all to buy pretty things from her store, and then by buying the actual prints themselves as soon as my next bonus/promotion rolls around (which will hopefully also lead to me WFH more often).

1 Comment

by Sarah G on July 9, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in home, work

Posted by Sarah G on July 9, 2011

https://mymonotonouslife.com/2011/07/09/wfh-tc/

The game isn’t over til the board says 15

I’m not sure this photo truly captures the excitement of badminton – I’ll work on my badminton photographing skills for next time! :)

We spent the evening at Jamie & Ryan’s (unfortunately without Ryan, who was visiting family in the UK) – the boys playing badminton while I provided color commentary, grilling dinner, and chatting with friends around the fire pit. It was a pretty perfect summer evening.

My Monotonous Life