A Welcome Back To The Big Hurt!

The Oakland A's resigned (& already played) Frank Thomas today after he was released by the BJ's a couple days ago. I wasn't too excited about this initially. Probably cause I'm always a bit skeptical when someone is let go... I mean, there must be a reason right?

But then, a strange thing happened. One of my roommies & an ex both sent me text messages about the events surrounding this acquisition. So I started thinking maybe this is something I should be excited about. I mean, just because Canada dropped him like a hot potato after only 16 games, doesn’t lessen the fact that he did do good things for the A’s. He was a great influence on the A’s club the last time around, so it must be some kind of karmic delight bringing good news right? Maybe rather than listen to the reports that he was livid at being benched by the Blue Jays more often than not, I should choose to believe that fate has a hand in this. I think he even got the award for the Comeback Player of the Year – but I have zero time to figure out where to look that up. What I did look up was that he had 39 dingers with the A’s. That pleases me, & makes me a tad bit more excited than I was initially.

So thanks boys for lighting a fire under me to think about baseball for a bit. It has brightened my day more than you can possibly realize. I cannot wait to spend some of my upcoming time off relaxing in the sun & watching our boys continue to kick ass. I keep you updated on all my A’s ogling adventures…

In other (Yankee Hating) news – this delighted me to no end!

Ortiz Gets His Head Burned Servely While Trying On A Yankees Hat

This cracked me up!

Poor Wally!

Why I Won't Be Renting With Avis Anytime Soon

Hockey (Playoffs!) & A Bit About My A's!

I've been so very obsessed with my dog & my life lately that I haven't had much inspiration to write about my love of hockey & baseball as I intended when I started this blog. Sorry to my one fan who also loves hockey & to my other fan who loves baseball.

Here's the jist of how I'm feeling about my Ducks right now...

I found that over at one of my favorite hockey blogs - The Battle OF California

As for my A's - they've been great on the road (6 & 2) & they're coming back tonight to battle the Seamen at home. I can't hardly wait for them to win so I get to start bragging to my buddy Sofia up in Washington!

What A Fun Idea!

This Guy Plays With His Balls A Lil Too Much...

I'm Alive! But Busy Busy Busy!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately folks! I appreciate the emails of concern, chastising & worrying… But I am alive! I’ve just been busier than a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest! As many of you know, I’m part of a group of people set to be laid of sometime this month so I’ve been interviewing & testing & trying not to freak out too much about what I’m going to do next! Part of me wants to get back into dispatching full time & so those are the kind of jobs I’ve been testing for, but part of me wants to find a way to do something that requires little, if any, thought. And as of today I may just have found that!

I start a bartending job at a fancy golf & country club tomorrow.  Not that bartending doesn’t require any thinking; it’ll just be a different kind of thinking than I’m used to! I’ve spent much of my career focusing on people during their greatest time of need, & this will give me a chance to focus on people during their minor moments of want. I expect it will be a pleasant change in scenery. Not only that, but I lucked into a spot that has a great atmosphere, a great boss & and couple of great former co-workers from our previous lives to work with again, although much differently. It’s so close to my house that I can ride my bike every day too! I’m excited & I’ll keep you posted of how it all comes down! (Did I mention I won’t have to be to work before 10 a.m. very often either? Yay for sleeping in!)

So there’s my #1 excuse. My other excuses are sillier;
• I had to find a new roommate, which I did. Nikkie will be moving in sometime after the 15th of this month & she seems nice & fun & and overall good fit for the household. The sexes will be balanced once again – yes!
• I started a blog that will just be about King… Since he is such a huge part of my life, he needed more dedicated proof! There’s a link on the side to check his page out…
• I had to sell my car & buy a cheaper one. I did that 2 weekends ago now so that’s a huge relief. I brought a brand new car, which came with a cheaper payment, better gas mileage, a better engine & its much bigger inside for King! The backseats not only fold flat, but they fold up again for extra height storage & even come completely out it the car so he has plenty of room to roam around!
• King’s training – he’s 11 months old now & a registered Service Dog in Training! That’s taking much time too, but it’ll be completely worth it when he’s a certified Therapy Dog! (More on that soon at King’s place!)
• And… I hate to say this one. I have very little interest in sports right now. Hockey seems too involved to discuss & no one cares about it anymore; & baseball seems trite. Plus my A’s are in a scary ‘rebuilding’ cycle that’s utterly heartbreaking. And my fantasy teams are taking too much time too! I had to cut back somewhere, but hopefully, being at a golf course all day will pique my interest in all things sporty soon. I may even get to perfect my tan at work!

So – There’s my update – sorry it’s so long! Hope you’re all doing well too - & thank you again for all your concern & support!

Brown Noser Carl...

Who's On First!

Here's a fantastic visual of the famous dialog...

Billy Crystal Struck Out

I find that kinda sad.

I'll try to keep everyone interested updated in this dream of his come true, just in case you all don't have access to MLBTV right now...

Found this here, a live blog from the game...

Billy Crystal’s at-bat:

First pitch: Fastball away, he took it.

Second pitch: Fastball, foul down the first-base line.

Third pitch: Fastball inside, took it for a ball.

Foruth pitch: Fastball up, took it for a ball.

Fifth pitch: Swung and missed at a fastball.

Sixth pitch: Swung and missed at a slider.

The crowd gave him a standing ovation and he waved on his way back to the dugout. Hey, he made the pitcher work.

Coming From a Firefighting Family... This Cracked Me Up!

So funny I had to post!

If Only Everyone Saw You The Way Your Dog Does...

King & I near Annadel...

Just a couple of shots of the King & I from last Sunday:

Point Isabel: A Dog Heaven On Earth

This weekend King got to go to the ultimate dog park. Seriously - It's the best in North America! We took the hour drive over the bay to check out the place the Great Dane Meet Up Group will be visiting next weekend cause we wanted to see the place & how the little King would react to it. I had no idea what we were getting into! We could have spent the whole day there! It's very easy to get to & once you're out of the parking area, it's completely off leash. There were hundreds of dogs there, but it's on 23 acres so it wasn't crowded. The dogs can run free along a path, in tree lined grassy knolls, or even take a dip right in the bay! (That's where all the silly labs were even though it was pretty cold out!) Anyway, here's some pics of King having a grand time running around, making new bestest friends, & then eventually posing for some cute pics with Mommy.













Look for new pics next week after King meets up with about 30 Great Danes!

Let’s Make a Band:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
(you might have to click new random quotes at the bottom)

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

You then take the pic and add your band name
and the album title to it, then post your pic.



Thanks Amy - thanks was kinda fun!

Pics of the puppy King...

My friend Sofia's dog Niobe is ill right now in Washington with Parvo. While keeping them in my prayers, here's some current pics of the (thankfully) healthy bouncy baby boy...

King already outgrowing his couch:


King playing with his toy (He LOVES stuffed animals, the bigger the better!):


King outside & dying for someone to come play ball with him:


King posing with Santa, who he kinda wanted to eat cause he's dressed in a fur suit (not unlike all his favorite toys!):


King under the Christmas tree lights:


My roommate Kenny getting King to do some tricks:


Alyssa taking King for a spin on her birthday:


More pics soon I promise - I'm getting the New Years Disneyland pics all sorted through...

Nick Swisher Traded to the White Sox... :-(

Yep it's true. For 3 Triple A-er's no less. At least one of the new kids sounds promising & is fairly cute too! Meet Ryan Sweeney folks...
Let's just pray they have game, & more importantly - heart!
The full article is here...

As you can imagine, I'm sorely disappointed. I think Swish is too: