Author: Joe

Categories
Adventure

Day 6 With No Power

LaundromatSince the Super Derecho storm that hit on Friday (it was madness) I’ve been without electricity where I live. While it has been inconvenient, I really haven’t missed it as much as I’d of thought I would.

Since I’ve sill had running water and hot water due to it running on gas, I haven’t really missed too much. I’m still able to drink, take showers, etc. Though when I get out of the shower I do feel instantly sweaty since there’s no AC and it’s been very hot out.

I’ve found myself to read a lot more than I normally would (and I have been reading a lot recently anyway). Reading is cool, I think it’s much better than watching TV. However, I have found myself trying to finish up a chapter as the sun sets. Reading at a speed reading pace on a few pages so that I know how something ends before sunlight is gone.

I’ve found myself stopping at McDonalds for breakfast before heading out to the gym in the morning. I highly recommend their Blueberry and Banana Walnut oatmeal and a small orange juice to start the day! Then I bring over my trusty MacBook Pro and use their free wifi for a few minutes to get caught up on emails, and just the world in general. It’s really kinda fun and relaxing for me, McDonald’s patrons at that time in Northfield seem to be a friendly lot.

However this morning getting ready for work I realized that I’ve finally hit the end of road of clean clothes. While I did have some clean t-shirts, I do have a personal policy of not wearing a t-shirt to work. While I do dress down and wear sneakers and jeans many days to work, I draw the line with not wearing a t-shirt.

After driving around a bit I did find an open laundromat near Pep Boys. This was my first laundromat experience, so I was very excited. I figured all the machines out all by myself and after changing in the parking lot was able to get to work on time with a clean un-wrinkled shirt on. It was an amazing experience.

I also noticed that I have been snacking a lot less with no power. I guess it’s because there’s less edible food around with no working refrigerator and I’m not sitting around nor up as long as I would be. But I have been eating out more, so I’m guessing it’s probably a caloric wash in the end with both sides offsetting themselves.

All in all, while I do miss electricity at times it really hasn’t been that bad at all.  It’s even been fun most of the time.

 

Categories
Sports

Kickball Season 3 Week 1

There’s nothing like opening day of SJSL kickball! Filling out my waiver, being issued my new shirt for the season, meeting and greeting new faces; it’s really a fine experience.

This season we’re returning nearly all of our Honey Badgers with two key additions. Geoff “Golden Leg” is returning this season and new addition Julie has already made a major impact to the team. I really like our squad this season!

This week we found ourselves pitted against the Banzai Executioners. When last we met we had ended their season in the playoffs so we knew they’d come back strong hoping for some payback.

We got off to a strong start which always makes the game easier for us. The most notable stat on the day would be our amazing fielding. We turned an astounding four double plays with one nearly being a triple play, and really could have turned five. In a seven inning game, that’s pretty astounding!

To go along with our outstanding fielding we also were equally as dominant at the plate as well. It was a steady stream of hits coupled with some fine base running.

I was very glad to continue with my not kicking streak that ended last season. I really like my placement with kicks, it tends to go exactly where I’m aiming. What’s really impressing me has been my base running though. I completely stole a run going from third to home with two outs and took and extra base on a single that would eventually set me up for another easy run as well. I felt like Vince Coleman, minus throwing fireworks at kids of course.

I was very impressed with our girls. They all can catch, field and kick very well. I think they will win us a lot of games this year. They’re all very solid and know the game.

John B. continued to dazzle in the field. He seems to produce several web gems each and every week now. So glad that he’s healthy.

With out great game we went on to win 8-1. Despite the score the Executioners hung in there for most of the game. We did get some late insurance runs at the very end.

All in all a perfect start to the season. Very excited!

Categories
Uncategorized

Crazy Storm

Finally found some electricity at work today, so I figured I’d jot down some of my highlights from the most craziest storm I’ve been witnessed.

While the storm only lasted about 45 minutes or so on Friday night, the insane wind gusts sure left their mark. I knew that I’d wake up to some decent amount of damage in the neighborhood, but nothing near what took place around Linwood.

Massive oaks that I thought were unmovable were lifted taking up chunks of sidewalks with them. I honestly felt that the Hulk would’ve broken a sweat attempting to lift many of these ancient oaks. I still can’t believe how many had gotten torn up or broken.

Sadly what would break their fall in most cases were power lines. So there were many downed power lines throughout. In fact as of right now there’s still no power in Linwood and it isn’t expect back on until July 6th. Hopefully it comes back much sooner if possible.

I was without cell service for a while too. On my quest to get a car charger for my phone I wound up at a Radio Shack. I hate Radio Shack. The salesman was pretty insistant on selling me insurance on my $30 purchase. Why would I spend $11 to insure something that was $30? With all the craziness about, I think Radio Shack may’ve been the zaniest experience I had.

Not having power hasn’t been that bad though. In a weird way it’s a bit refreshing to be without it. I feel a bit less lazy since I’m not sitting around as much. Though air conditioning is quite nice to have especially when you’ve been outside moving trees and other storm clean up stuff.

This was the most damage I’ve seen in the area ever. Still a bit amazed at all the trees that came down, many of them will be sadly missed.

Categories
Sports

Shuffleboard

ShuffleboardHaving not played shuffleboard since way back at the M.R.A. probably during the late 80’s, I was looking forward to this last Honey Badger Fun Day. I’ve heard legends of the greatness of the Ocean City Shuffle Board Club facilites and was anxious to behold it in all it’s glory.

I am most pleased to state that all shuffleboard in OC lived up to the hype. There were a ton of courts, some shaded and others in the sun to choose from. Most importantly is was all free! I’m always amazed when I can find something free, just seems so rare anymore.

The rules were a little tricky to figure out, I just assumed that others would know how to play. I really should’ve looked them up beforehand in retrospect, but with smartphones we figured it out in no time. Or at least figured it out well enough to play (still not sure of the order of whom goes first during a game).

We had a really terrific best of 3 doubles match once we all got the hang of it. It was a very intense match with some nifty precise shots throughout. Lots of fun.

My favorite new terms that I learned was “the kitchen” and “liner” I will abuse both terms as much as I possibly can now. I do believe I’ve found a new game to play.

Categories
Sports

Kickball Season 2 Playoff Game 2

Our second game of the playoffs had us facing off against the undefeated Terror Squad. When last we met we lost a heartbreaker in extra innings. So we knew we were in store for a great game.

The game was originally set to be played the previous week, but was cancelled due to rain the predicted t-storms in the area. The delay couldn’t of come at a better time for the Honey Badgers. Sean was away and Kevin and John B. weren’t feeling well. The extra week really allowed some of our better players a better shot to contribute to the team.

Leading up to the game Irena and I really discussed possible lineups a great deal. She as usual had some great ideas and it’s so great to have her as an asset to the team. Not only physically, but mentallyI can always rely on her to help make game decisions.

Well 6:00 finally rolled around and the weather was perfect for kickball. The captains exchanged lineups and we finally got to begin.

The first innig we put a run on the board. I was hoping to get a few more, but it was still a good start.

The Terror Squad answered back with a few runs of their own. We all knew we were in for a tight game.

John B. made some amazing plays in the field. He really stepped up his defense and made several amazing and very important catches. His addition to the team has been big all season, and his uncanny ability to come through in the clutch has saved us countless times.

Offensively it was not our finest day. A lot of that goes to the very solid fielding of the Terror Squad, but I still thought we had a few opportunities that we could’ve capitalized on further.

At the plate I was fortunate enough to of had a pretty solid game for us. Going 3-3 and knocking in 2 big runs. I kept getting to second and threatening runs, but I never did make it home and they were just threats. I’m really glad I was able to contribute in our big game, I really didn’t want to let anyone down.

The game would continue to be played very tight as two good teams battled it out. At the end of the day, the Terror Squad would wind up winning it 6-4.

We were bummed and really felt we could’ve won that one, but hats off to the Terror Squad. They played better and didn’t give us many opportunities to capitalize on.

Despite the loss and an ending to our season I truly couldn’t of been happier. Our team was great and truly played as a team all season. I had so much fun with these guys and can’t imagine what I used to do on Tuesday’s before this.

What a great season.

 

Categories
Books

A Feast for Crows

A Feast for CrowsA Feast for Crows was a bit different than what I was expecting after reading the first three installments of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. It didn’t focus on the characters I’d gotten used to from previously. Very little Jon Snow, Daenaryes, etc.

The amounts of characters and various stories going on is getting a bit crazy. Early on I found it to be a bit confusing with the Dornish folks, but about midway through all was beginning to make sense again to me. That’s also when things started to pick back up for me.

It’s interesting to see the shift from one king, to five kings, now to pretty much three queens. Just when you think you know what direction things are going in, things tend to get mixed up a bit which keeps things interesting.

While this has been my least favorite of the books thus far, it was still an enjoyable read. Onward to the fifth book!