Harbinger of Spring (and other good things to come)

Being a pathetic baseball fan (pathetic mostly because of being a die-hard Red Sox fan), I spend my late fall and winter (aka baseball offseason) following the Celtics and Duke basketball (who only play a few times a week and even fewer, respectively) and desperately checking MLBtraderumors.com for any updates on the baseball offseason (trades, free agent signings). Those, especially the big and exciting ones, usually happen in December or early January, so by this time of the year, after enduring 4 snow storms in 10 days, I'm growing more and more restless for baseball, which also means warm weather, heading over to the Nationals Park or Camden Yards to catch a game, and hanging out at a ballpark eating junk food and cheering on my teams/players. It also means another chapter in the Boston Red Sox baseball saga, for which I cannot wait. A few days ago the Boston Globe part of the website dedicated to the Red Sox news began to have more posts than in the past few weeks, which could only mean that Spring Training is almost here!!! Some of the Sox players are already in Ft. Myers beginning their preparations for the season (we even got a few pictures to prove it). I can almost smell spring and can't wait for the baseball season to start.

Why 2009 was a horrible year in sports

Still being bitter after the Celtics' demolition on TNT by the Orlando Magic (hey, they do have (young) Superman), it's time to write down the account of some of the painful sporting events that happened last year. It is one thing when someone else, other than your team, wins. However, it is a totally different ballgame (pardon the pun) when it is your most hated rival who gets the ultimate prize. So, here are the reasons that I would like to forget 2009, in the order from worst to bad:

1) Reason 1: The New York Skankees (otherwise known as the best team half a billion dollars can buy) winning the World Series. This also means that everyone on that team that I utterly despise (A-roid, Texeira, Godzilla (Hideki Matsui), the Traitor (Johnny Damon), and yes, even Jeter) got a ring in the first year of the new stadium (oh btw, the attendance at the new toilet was down from last year while Fenway is always sold out---take that!)...Anyway, before I get into a long tirade about how much I despite that organization and how bad it hurts that they bought themselves a World Series, I'm stopping here.

2)Reason 2: LA Fakers winning NBA Championship. This means that Kobe got his fourth ring, Phil Jackson has more rings that Red Auerbach (Celtics legend), and the ugly Europeans with greasy hair (Pau Gasol and Sasha something) are NBA champions. Why, oh why did KG get hurt last year?

3) Reason 3: Carolina winning the NCAA championship. Since I moved away from NC, this hurts a bit less, but I am still a Duke fan at heart so this was very unpleasant.

4)Reason 4: other teams that I rooted for, to win the Superbowl(Arizona Cardinals) and the Stanley Cup (Detroit Red Wings), also lost. At least, these are not "my" teams.

One ray of sunshine last year: my newly beloved UConn women's basketball team winning the championship---you go, Huskie girls!!!

Here is to a better 2010! It is already off to a good start---congratulations, New Orleans Saints (reason for supporting this team: not a fan of the Manning brothers).

New Year's resolutions

Since I am a check-mark type person, I decided to make some New Year's resolutions this year and to make them public to ensure that I will actually do them:) Here is my to-do list for 2010:

1) Blog more: I'm making this blog more "public" and will try to post more to keep track of all the random things that occur in my head or around me (btw, facebook will never replace blogging:). Unfortunately for those who would once in a while glance at my blog, blogging more will involve blogging more about sports:)


2) Get rid of my VCR and VHS tapes (that have been sitting idle for over 2 years now): I know that it sounds like a very simple thing to do---just pack it all up and toss it. Well, not in Montgomery County where you are required to recycle your electronics---I have to find out where and how, untangle the VCR from all the wires and cords, move around my DVD player, etc....(this is why it has taken me so long to do it).

3) Not to get too stressed out when the Red Sox and/or the Celtics lose (both regular season games and in the post-season): I am getting a little tired of boycotting ESPN when my teams lose. For example, the Celts are without KG, Paul Pierce, Marquis Daniels, and Big Baby Davis, have lost 3 straight on the road, and have ceded the number 1 spot overall to the LA Fakers---I'm just trying to stay relaxed. The Sox have yet to sign a productive hitter while pushing the luxury tax threshold---I'm learning to trust the front office to make wise decisions. Both of these are very difficult to do, considering how horrible 2009 was for the world of sports in the US*, but I will try to learn:)


*A separate post will be dedicated to lamenting the outcomes of sporting events in 2009.

More life's randomness

Couple of random things that have occurred in the past few weeks and have kept me entertained:

1) I have finally found my candy kindred spirit...And even though he plays for the despicable LA Lakers, I can never ever hate Lamar Odom: the man loves his candy! (I'm, of course, not as bad as Lamar, but I do love my sweets. New favorite: salt water taffy from Rhode Island)

2) A few weeks ago I stopped at Border's on my way home and had a major "nerding out" incident: I was already on my way out of the store when I saw "Dictionary of Mathematics" on a shelf near the door. Even though I was a bit embarassed about taking it to the register, I was absolutely excited about the find! On the way out of the store, I realized that I just took my nerdiness to another level.

3) More pearls from my officemate. Once a month we have an institute-wide lunch and a short meeting introducing new staff and sharing updates. Last month they ran out of food pretty quickly, leaving half the institute hungry and disgruntled. My officemate described the blunder in a succinct way: "They did a headcount estimate circa 1995."

Life's randomness

For some reason, yesterday was one of those days when people said really random, but utterly hilarious things, which are worthy of a blog entry (even though they may only seem funny to me). I can't remember half of them this morning, but here is a sample:

~~~My funny officemate (telling me about her recent Kenyan safari): "They expected me to tip for toilet paper---of course, I didn't!"

~~~My ride to last night's bible-study (talking about a friend of ours who recently started dating a guy): "I basically told her that in order for S.R. to date her, he needed to grow a pair. When they finally talked about starting the relationship, S.R. grew a pair in, like, 2 seconds."

~~~A friend during Bible-study (sharing his impressions about the only luau he's ever attended): "There were a bunch of Mexicans dressed in Hawaiian costumes."

Homeward bound

It is amazing how our plans can change in a matter of minutes. Yesterday, I had barely got into the office and turned on my computer when a co-worker came in and excitedly said: "I think I know of something that might interest you." He then proceeded to tell me that apparently American Airlines had made a mistake on their website and that there were flights to Moscow from Reagan airport for around $230.00, roundtrip! Of course, I didn't believe him, but after going to the website and actually seeing the fares for myself, within 10 minutes I had a ticket to Moscow for end of April on hold for me for $233.20. Of course, it took me a while to calm down and realize that I am going home in 6 weeks. Well, the "cheap tickets to Russia" craze took over the office, so in a matter of an hour, another co-worker next door had several tickets on hold in addition to the co-worker who had found the fare (him and his buddy are going to Moscow for a weekend). Then the fever began to spread beyond the office when I started calling the Russian diaspora in DC. A bit later that afternoon, my friend Meg had a ticket on hold for her as well to join me for a few days. While I was thinking about who else to call, the airline realized the mistake and changed the fare back to the normal rate by about 3 pm. So, by the end of the day both Meg and I had tickets to Moscow for April 30, all sorts of plans for what to do once we are there, and an utter sense of disbelief that Im going to see my family for less than it costs to take a round-trip train ride to NYC.

We are moving!!!

Finally, after 2.5 years at my institute, I am moving to a window office, together with my awesome officemate!!! This is indeed exciting on some many different levels. Our new office, besides having a window, also has its own heating/cooling unit, so no more fleece blankets in the summer and sweating in the winter. Moreover, since our current office is right across from the conference room, we have been subjected to all kinds of noises, be it meetings, cell phone conversations, and people congregating to talk and laugh. No more loud people and noises. All our office possessions are packed, and we are ready to go. We have big plans for our new digs, including plants and possibly even a mini-fridge (to give our head of facilities an early heart attack:). Ahh, the benefits of seniority.