Afternoon at the Ballpark

I went to the Mets game yesterday, and between this

Mets Lineup at Citi Field

And this

Mets Celebrate Victory on the Field

Final Score on Scoreboard: Kansas City Royals 3, Mets 4

I got hit by a foul ball that caught the back of my head on the rebound. We get quite a few foul balls where our seats are, but it's been a few years since one has come directly at me. I ducked and it went over my head, but the row behind me was empty, so the ball caught either the concrete floor or the seat and bounced right up to the base of my head. It hurt a little, but not too much. I heard some kid shout that he got the ball, but I figure as the injured party, I should've gotten to keep it. I honestly have no idea where it ended up, though somewhere behind me for sure, and I doubt anyone knew I'd been hit. Ah well. At least the Mets managed to win despite two players leaving with injuries. Nothing is ever easy with the Mets.

~~~o0o~~~

Monday Morning Links

So much fun on the internet lately! Here are some things I liked.

This adorable Corgi cosplays as all the Doctors from Doctor Who.

I've been enjoying the baseball playoffs and am ecstatic that my beloved Mets are in the World Series. Here's a video from the time the 1969 Mets were on the Ed Sullivan Show.

A congressman bet on the Dodgers to beat the Mets and he lost.

Here's one reason why Jacob deGrom is one of my favorite Mets.

Some of the current Mets appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Jimmy Kimmel also presented a sequel to "Do the Right Thing."

"Iconic Movie Scenes Recreated with Balloons" is just the coolest thing.

John Oliver created this quote generator to make a point about how untrustworthy quotes are in internet memes.

Some political brilliance, in song, from Stephen Colbert.

Peter Noone recorded a song to honor John Lennon.

A wonderful collection of paper airplanes.



~~~o0o~~~

Baseball, Hot Dogs, and Links

Citi Field Scoreboard

Baseball is back! Yesterday was the home opener for the Mets. Beautiful weather, a Mets win, and my first hot dog of the season. Can't beat that.

Nathan's Hot Dog and Fries

And now for some links....

• Stephen Hawking Covering Monty Python's Galaxy Song is delightful.
• Jon Snow ("Game of Thrones") makes a terrible dinner guest. Or does he?
• 30 Facts You Never Knew about Chocolate. (I really hate overblown titles like this, but the internet is full of them. Really, it's presumptuous of them to think they know what we do or don't already know.)
• NYC has a Pencil Shop.
• These Artworks Made out of Peeps remind me a bit of LEGO creations. Only made out of Peeps! which can be eaten afterwards, but who would dare take apart these wonderful creations.
• Those aren't to be confused with the annual Peeps Diorama Contest winners.
• And for yet more Peeps fun, there's this Peeps remake of Hitchcock's "The Birds."

~~~o0o~~~

Play Ball

Flickr has removed support for Blogger, so I thought I'd test the embed code. It means I'll have to keep opening Blogger to post, rather than use a button on flickr. It seems that so many more people photoblog from flickr to Twitter and Tumblr now and so few of us who use Blogger, that they felt they could cut us off. I never thought I'd be blogging for so long, I'd be doing it from the time Google brought Blogspot to a time when Blogger and similar services (WordPress has also been booted to the curb by flickr) become less relevant than microblogging services. But I am still here and have no intention of leaving. So there.

Anyway, the official start of the baseball season here in the US is less than a week away, so I thought I'd commemorate that with a photo. And test that embed code thing I mentioned above.

Nope, can't do it. Can embed only a slideshow of my entire photostream which I do not want to do. So, it'll mean uploading pics directly to Blogger, which means using up my free Google storage. I'm not sure how long that will last. But here's the photo.

The Peeps Eagerly Await the Start of Baseball Season

~~~o0o~~~

Day at the Ballpark

Beautiful day at the ballpark. Would've been better if the Mets had won. Would've been even better if I hadn't been surrounded by Giants fans who had ventured into enemy territory.

I brought a little friend to his first game. Here's Domo!

Domo is Excited!

Domo Roots for the Mets!

Domo Enjoys a Hot Dog and Garlic Fries with Parmesan Cheese.

The Garlic Fries with Parmesan Cheese were amazing.


~~~o0o~~~

Signs of Spring

There are two sure signs that spring has sprung. The first is the return of baseball!

Mets Opening Day

Emmy Rossum Sings the National Anthem

The Mets Honor Superstorm Sandy First Responders

The Mets beat up on the Padres, 11-2 and hold the best Opening Day record. It's what they do after the first game that's the problem. heh

The second sure sign of spring is my allergies start up. Ah-choo!

Feeling: sniffly

~~~o0o~~~

Fudgy Goodness

I can't believe I forgot to post this!



I went to a Mets game last week (and they won!), and for the first time since Citi Field opened, had dessert after my Nathan's hotdog and fries. I got a cup of chocolate Carvel and was pleasantly surprised by how dark and chocolaty it was. Turns out, rather than the usual bland chocolate custard, it was chocolate fudge. It had an almost gelato-like texture and a true chocolate flavor. Sorry for the poor focus on the cup, but doing closeups on a digital phonecam with one hand isn't easy. ;)

Feeling: mellow


~~~o0o~~~

Nothing Like an Afternoon Ballgame

I went with a friend to see the Mets take on the San Francisco Giants this afternoon. Except for the wind, it was a perfect day for a game. Even "Gavin" here agrees!



And the Mets won!

Feeling: content


~~~o0o~~~

Play Ball

Went to Mets Home Opener. And really, if I managed to sit through the entire game freezing my butt off (including the coldest toilet seat I've ever used when I visited the ladies' restroom), the least the Mets could've done was win the damn game.

I did manage to eat my first hotdog and fries of the season.

Hot Dog and Fries

Feeling: warm, finally

~~~o0o~~~

In Spring All Things Are Possible

There is something special about Opening Day. Every team can be a winner. And after the game, the Mets were a winner! The weather was perfect. The game was great. Let's Go, Mets!

Feeling: happy
~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: baseball

1969

It was a magic year.The Jets won the Super Bowl, though I didn't follow football back then. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, which had my parents and I (I don't think my sister cared much) enthralled in front of the TV. There was a big rock concert in upstate New York called Woodstock. And the Mets, improbably won the World Series. Last night, hubby and I went to Citi Field for a game (the Mets lost) and an opening ceremony honoring the 1969 team. Most of them attended and Tom Seaver spoke on behalf of his teammates. He wasn't nicknamed Tom Terrific and The Franchise for nothing. It was very cool.



Feeling: okay, but have been better

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: baseball

Hazy, Hot, and Humid Equals Win

Day off. Got my hair cut, then went to the Mets game with a friend. It was brutally hot and humid, the first real 3-H (hazy, hot, humid) day this summer. The Mets won in a rout 9-0, but lost 2 more players to injuries. Really, it's getting way out of hand now.

Picutred: Jeero Ugly Doll pleading with the baseball gods to stop the Mets from getting hurt.

Feeling: comfortable

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: baseball

Online Addictions

I'm addicted to Pet Society on Facebook. I admit it. I play that damned game every night and when it's not working, I go through withdrawal. It's sad, really. I'm a grown woman, addicted to a silly little animated online game. It's been mostly down the last few days and I seem to have forgotten how I used to spend my time before the game came into my life. Now that's really sad.

So, I was reminded by this how once I spent too many hours reading blogs and writing blog entries. Or the nights I spent making user pics with Photoshop for my LiveJournal. Or cruising flickr, especially reloading Explore/Interestingness over and over and over for hours on end.

And because I need a post over on The View from Here, I'm reposting part of this.

Meanwhile, the National League blew the All-Star Game, again. That was frustrating and annoying. The pre-game ceremony was very nice, though, honoring real people "All-Stars" and the first pitch thrown by Pres. Obama.

Feeling: frustrated

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: internet

Mets Home Opener

Last night I went to the home opener of the Mets 2009 season in their brand new stadium, Citi Field. I'd gone last Saturday, for an exhibition game, and froze my butt off, so I dressed more warmly. It did get rather chilly after the sun went down. There I was in flannel lined jeans, down jacket over a sweatshirt over a sweater top, ear muffs, and gloves. In mid-April.

The night was wonderful, even though the Mets lost. On a damn balk. Among the firsts:
Home run (by the other team, in the first at bat, by Jody Gerut, in what was the first time someone hit a first home run in a new ballpark or some such, so his bat is going to the Hall of Fame)
Mets home run (David Wright)
Broken Bat (twice)
Cat (A tabby, it leaped onto the area behind home plate apparently from the stands.)
Pinch hitter (Gary Sheffield, who didn't get his 500th home run)
Pitcher to slip and fall on the mound (Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey)

I also got to see, and snap a couple of pics of, Frank Robinson who was in the wonderful Jackie Robinson Rotunda before the game. My pics are on flickr. The link is to the first of the night, so just keep moving forward.


Feeling: okay

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: mets

So Long, Shea, Hello, Citi Field

I went to the exhibition game between the Mets and Red Sox at Citi Field today. This is a picture of the magnificent Jackie Robinson Rotunda.

Some thoughts and observations.

Much as I'll miss Shea Stadium, Citi Field is beautiful and comfy.

It was, however, too cold and windy. I was shivering down to my bones. Since the Mets were down 6-0 before batting in the first, I walked around the stadium after the third inning and took a lot of pictures.

The seats are wider and lower to the field. Because of the overhang, I couldn't see much foul territory in left field, which is the side I was on, left field just past third base.

There was nearly no toilet paper left in the stalls of the women's room I went to after the third inning. But the toilets were nicer than Shea's were and they flushed well. Given the stadium, as was Shea, is in Flushing, Queens, that's how it should be.

There are cupholders!

There are lots of food choices, including the Shake Shack on the Field Level. The food lines everywhere were enormously long. There's also pizza, seafood, Nathan's, sausages, and more. I had a potato knish.

The seats past third base angle toward home plate!

You can listen to the Mets telecast in the restrooms.

You can see the field from almost anywhere in the concourses and there were plenty of monitors for while you're standing on food lines. The concourses are wider than at Shea.

There was a boutique for female fans. Like all the other shops, there was a line to get in. They were limiting how many people could crowd in the shops at a time, which was a good idea. I didn't go into any of the shops, however. I didn't want to wait on lines when I knew I wasn't going to buy anything. I'm saving that for later in the season.

The Mets lost in a game that didn't count, and their starting pitcher, Ollie Perez, pretty much sucked. Citi Field, however, is a winner.

Feeling: content

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: mets

I've Been Tagged

Annie tagged me for this meme.

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules.
3. Tell six unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag six bloggers by linking.
5. Leave a comment for each blogger.

Well, I've done the list 5 or 7 or whatever interesting things about you. Not sure what unspectacular would be. And for me, unspectacular and quirks seem mutually exclusive.

So, let's see.

1. I'm obsessive compulsive about locking my front door when I leave.
2. I hate going to bed and I hate getting up in the morning.
3. Uh, I like doing laundry. It's reading time.

And that's all I can think of. And I started working on this nearly 10 hours ago and have thought about it on and off during the day, and basically, I've got nothing. Zip. Zilch. Bupkiss.

Anyone who has read this blog for a while knows I'm not big on tagging, so if you want to do this, knock yourself out, and if you want to link back to me, cool.

Went to the Mets game this afternoon. Beautiful day for baseball. But the Astros won, damn it. And there were two drunk idiots behind us, one of whom was loud and obnoxious, too. At least, I hope he was drunk (he was throwing back the beers at a healthy clip), cuz I'd hate to think he's that annoying sober. It was Jewish Heritage day, the Mets names were in Hebrew on the scoreboard, and a recording of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in Yiddish was played. It was also a promotion day; they gave out free tee-shirts honoring the last year of Shea Stadium.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: memes

Fun on the Fourth

Hubby and I drove to Philadelphia yesterday to see the Mets play the Phillies. The Mets lost, it rained pretty much the entire game, and there were no fireworks. But we had fun and enjoyed the relatively new Citizens Bank Park. The hotdogs came on club rolls that were larger than the hotdogs (no foot long hotdogs like at Shea). The fries were really good. And the restrooms were clean. I just wish the Mets had managed more than 2 runs for Johan Santana.

Got home late last night, or rather early this morning, so I slept late and am still feeling the effects. Since I sat most of the day, in the car and at the ballpark, it wasn't as if I did a lot, but still, it can take a lot out of you.

Now, it's hot, humid, rainy, and pretty much a yucky day, with more of the same scheduled for tomorrow.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: baseball

Bugs and Bats

Gosh, I love when I can come up with cute subject lines.

First, the bugs. Well, one. Possibly a giant cockroach or beetle. It was brown, about an inch and a half long. Last night, I heard odd, scratchy noises in the kitchen on and off. Finally tracked it to inside the tall "pitcher" thingie I keep cooking utensils in. Damn bug somehow dropped in there from somewhere and couldn't climb out. Noise was his antennae and/or legs knocking against the smooth sides as he made the attempt, over and over, to climb out and kept sliding back down. Guess he couldn't climb up the utensil handles, either. It was him or me. I carefully pulled out most of the utensils, then with the remaining one, bludgeoned him, then dumped him into a freezer bag and down the chute to the building's compactor room. Bye bye buggie.

Bats. The ones the NY Mets didn't use very well today, managing only 2 runs in their home opener against the 5 they gave up to the Phillies. A friend and I took off work today to go to the game, the last home opener at Shea Stadium which will be torn down after the season. Next year, they play in Citi Field, being built on one of Shea's parking lots. It was beautiful out, though, clear and sunny and warm until the sun sank below the stadium's upper deck and we were in shadows. My friend, my stormtrooper pal (pictured at the left), and I had a good time.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: bugs, baseball