Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Life is Definitely Amusing.....

Those close to me, which for whatever various reasons is few, you all know how rough the past 2+ years have been for me. Personal struggles and demons have haunted my very existence and I was more then willing to allow that to happen and mire in my own misery. But about 6 weeks or so ago I decided to climb out of the depths of my self imposed misery and start over. For better or worse I took a job in retail and while its trying at times, it seems to be somewhat working for me. With a job in hand, slowly my self esteem started to creep back to me and my ascent back to the "old me" was/is underway. This past Friday I decided to go out and get a drink at the local watering hole and sure enough I was back to form and having fun and yes even responsibly. After a fun and successful evening of enjoying some basketball, music, pool, and even the company of a rather attractive woman, I was all set for a hectic work week. Opening a new retail store is without a doubt a trying experience, but luckily I've done it before so I know what to expect and am doing my thing and taking care of business. (Again the "old me" is returning)

But the main jist of this post is to quickly illustrate how life is amusing, at least to me. So here goes: today was our store's Grand Opening. Normally this would be a "hell" day for retail but I got a decent night's sleep, and although I was sick most of the night I sucked it up and was prepared for my day. Now as the craziness of the day was unfolding, I kept busy and was helping customers as is the deal. But something, or should I say someone caught my eye today. A fellow co-worker who I've said hello in passing for the past few weeks was there and today I finally decided that it was time to formally introduce myself and have a pleasant chat. More details on this as they develop but lets just say that the "old me" is back and back without some of my faults when it came to the female species!

Friday, November 2, 2007

Been Awhile So Let's Catch Up....

Well I've been away from my blog and the internet in general for a bit so here's a run down of what's been up:

- I'm finally working again! Albeit not the greatest job ever, but hey $ is $. So yeah I'm back at Kohl's again, working in the new store opening in Severn on Quarterfield Road and yet aptly called the Glen Burnie Store. While I enjoy the company itself, the store has become a quagmire very quickly and hopefully this too shall pass.

- Wow the Ravens season has been a debacle to say the least. The offense is as pathetic as usual, the defense has been decimated by injuries, and yet again Matt Stover is the MVP of the team. Not to beat a dead horse, but I'm sick of this same old story from them.

- Oriole prospects are really impressing in the Arizona Fall League. 1st Round Pick Matt Wieters is shaking off the rust rather well and hitting for some pop, Jeff Fiorentino is back in the AFL and will hopefully build on a solid year and gain needed momentum for Spring Training, but the biggest surprise is Jeremy Arrieta our 5th Round Pick. A consensus 1st Round Pick to begin the year, his numbers tailed off a bit in his last year of college but were still pretty damn good but the biggest distraction was his agent's contract demands and we all know that can be none other then Scott Boras. All this allowed Arrieta to slip until to the 5th Round where the O's selected him and got him signed before the midnight signing deadline. All young Jeremy has done in the AFL is thrown 10 innings of ball with 8 K's and hasn't given up a run. His fastball is up in the mid 90's and his slider is already being touted as MLB caliber. He's been the talk of Arizona and folks in Baltimore better remember the name of Arrieta, because he's coming sooner then later!

Thats about it for this installment of The River of Deceit, so catch all my peeps later on the flip side!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Orioles' fans have, dare I say it, .................Hope?

Hope - A wish or desire accompanied by confident expectation of its fulfillment.

When is the last time that the Oriole fanbase, which I am now calling the Oriole Republic because if idiot Red Sox fans can be a Nation then we can be a Republic dammit!, had hope? Especially in the Peter Angelos' era?

The answer is 1997, that's right the last time the Orioles had a winning record and coincidently the last time they made the playoffs as well. What's also at times forgotten about that year, the Orioles were only the 2nd team in Major League history to go Wire to Wire, that's right they were in 1st Place from Opening Day to the last day of the season. Since that magical year its been a long suffering decade of being "mired in mediocrity" as I've been known to say from time to time. The downfalls of this depressing decade are numerous:

  • Baltimore was taken off the road jerseys
  • Mike Mussina was allowed to go to the hated Yankees
  • Davey Johnson was fired after the 97 season the day he was named Manager of the Year
  • Pat Gillick and Jon Miller were fired
  • Our beloved Oriole Park at Camden Yards is known as "Fenway" and "Yankee Stadium" South so road games for the Red Sox and Yankees seem eerily like road games for the O's
I could go on with this list but that would totally contradict the point of this blog. So even with all these travesties, I dare to dream and announce that the Orioles' Republic can rejoice in a renewed feeling of hope. Why you ask, I'll tell you:

The Baltimore Orioles signed 1st round pick Matt Wieters!

That's right, just by simply doing something they were supposed to do they have now given us a reason for hope. Signing arguably the best player in the draft, who fell to the 5th pick because of his agent being Scott Boras, is a step in the right direction. It finally shows that maybe, just maybe the front office is focused on competing in the American League East, something that signing a Jay Payton, Aubrey Huff, and Steve Traschel somehow failed to convey. (Yes that's sarcasm)

Now before you go lambasting me for drinking the Orange koolaid, I merely advocate this is the 1st step in the right direction. The front office still needs to extend the contracts of Erik Bedard, one half of The Lefty Canadian Contingent, and Brian Roberts. They still need to continue to rebuild the farm system and draft well in the coming years. They still need to put Baltimore back on the road jerseys. And I could keep going on with things that they still need to do to accomplish the goal of competing in the American League East, but as Conficius once said:

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Orioles Republic, the signing of Matt Wieters is that single step!

Saturday, July 14, 2007

How I LOATHE Rick Dempsey

Ok so I'm sitting here at home on a Saturday night excited to watch the Orioles/White Sox game, before any of you question that comment yes I am excited for an Orioles game, and low and behold they have Rick Dempsey as the color commentator. THANKS MASN FOR RUINING MY SATURDAY NIGHT!!!!!!!! Dempsey has to be the worst color man in the history of sports broadcasting. I mean seriously has anyone ever gotten as much mileage from being the World Series MVP as this miserable excuse for a color man? He is always comparing various players to him during his playing days, news flash dipshit YOU FUCKING SUCKED!, states the obvious way too much, and constantly refers to the Oriole Way and how the current O's compare to various O's of the past. Guess what ass clown, THEY DON'T! We are in the midst of our 10th straight losing season, something that could have never happened in the glory days of the Oriole Way.

I'm still an O's fan without a doubt but why they have this moron calling the game is beyond me.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Fishing: Is there anything better?

So is there anything better then to just be out on the water with a fishing rod in hand, shades on, and relaxing? Yes, when a 4 and a half pound largemouth bass thunderously strikes your rod so hard it damn near bends it in half! Setting the hook and fighting the beauty up to the surface to pull him into the boat are just sheer moments of joy. Its as though time stands still when your battling a fish, the only thing that seems to matter is the contest between you and the fish, the battle of man versus' nature if you will. I am proud to say I won this battle yesterday as well as a couple others while bringing home roughly 10-10.5 pounds of freshly caught Maryland bred largemouth bass. Although cleaning them isn't nearly as much fun as catching them, its all part of the process.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Dear God I'm Blogging

Well the title says it all, I'm blogging. Too many things I could go into but I'll keep this one short and sweet until I can devote some time and effort to a specific blog. But here's the things that are occupying my time so far:

The Chris Benoit Saga - Wow what happened in this situation to make a man kill his wife and child and then himself over a 48 hour span? A senseless set of crimes that unfortunately people will try to make sense of. My sympathies to the family, friends, and fellow wrestling fans trying to deal with this debacle.


The 38th World Series of Poker - Right now they're currently up to the 39th event which is the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E, arguably the most prestigious event in the entire world series, and my personal favorite Allen Cunningham has won his 5th bracelet so far. Unfortunately Chip Reese was eliminated in the H.O.R.S.E. event, so no title defense for one of the greats, but watch out for Mike "The Mouth" Matusow who has a seat at one of the final 3 tables, unlike many of the big names in Poker.


The Orioles - My beloved O's are still mired in mediocrity and on their way to consecutive losing season number 10. With that said, Perlozzo is gone, Andy MacPhail is now running the show, and Tejada is on the DL. Oh well the Yankees are in town and we won the first game and so far this year we are 4-1 against the dreaded Bronx Bombers so its not all lost.


Thats it for my first blog, talk at ya peeps later....