Wednesday, November 30, 2011

KJ, SJ and a job? (Day 21)

I'm not the newest new guy anymore.

That became evident when Sean Jarrett, who I have taken to calling SJ, stepped on the field for the practice game and Whitey basically said to everyone, "Here's your new teammate."

But that was later in the day. So at least for a little while I wasn't old hat yet.

Whitey picked me up in the morning with intentions for us to head to the bank. I wanted to know if I could get a bank card yet, since I opened an account a week-and-a-half ago and I can't yet access it, and Whitey had to do an international transfer. Unfortunately for me, he had more luck than I did. That means I still don't have a bank card, for those of you trying to do the math.

Before we got to the bank I received a phone call from my mom. For the first time I got a call from home and it was a success! I think the gist of the conversation was that my mom asked if I had a paying job yet and I answered, despite knowing that she is a faithful reader of these journal entries. If you're trying to do the math on that one, I do not have a job. Or at least I didn't when I spoke to her. She also mentioned that my little brother had a job interview today. The 21-year-old Brudnicki has never really been employed and it would be a sad day for me if he had a job and I didn't. So we're both working on that.

From the bank Whitey and I headed to RBWH (Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, I think) for a meeting with someone from the foundation there. At the Ball Park Buster, a huge game event that we're hosting on December 10th, some of the proceeds from ticket sales go to the foundation and a program they support. The program is called P.A.R.T.Y. (Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth) so Whitey and the guy from the foundation were mostly discussing the events of the night and promotions for the event and the like. I don't think I really contributed much but Whitey brought me to talk to him about story ideas and the media side of things. I think.

Before we had the meeting though, because we were early to arrive, for some reason WW and I stayed in his car and listened to his friends who are in an acapella group from Harvard or something. They were definitely fantastic singers and I loved it, but I feel like sitting in Whitey's car waiting for a meeting listening to acapella singers is not something most people can say they do on an every day basis. Just can't be lucky enough I guess.

We had the meeting eventually though and I probably didn't contribute that much. I took notes and chimed in a couple times but that was the extent of my involvement.

When we made it back to the office Gonzo actually called me back and I was able to get the couple of quotes I needed from him for my story on KJ. Gonz called and said I was No. 32 on his list of people to get back to. Can't I get some preference around here? Jeez. 32 in the queue. Come on now. But I spoke to him and got what I needed so I guess I can't complain.

With that I was able to finish the story on Jordan and send it away to various people to look at and edit and give me their opinions on. I got Gonzo to read it and he seemed pretty happy with the whole thing and he thought KJ would be too so that's always comforting. I haven't really gotten used to the whole seeing-the-guys-I'm-writing-about-right-after-I-write-about-them thing. I usually don't have to take the heat if I say something like he has a 6:6 walk-to-strikeout ratio, an indication that he needs to command the zone a little bit better, which is exactly what I said about Durket and then heard about it several times afterward. Oops.

When the KJ story was finished though I felt like it was time for a solid lunch. I went with Carl to the place that everyone in the office calls "Cut in Half". I'm not sure if I mentioned the name before but I have definitely been there before and probably written about it. It's a place with wraps and sandwiches and stuff like that but everyone orders wraps. They make them lightning quick and then ask you if you want it "cut in half"? The first time I was there I didn't understand what the pita magicians were saying but it's all part of the Cut in Half charm. Hence the name.

Not too long after lunch I had to head to a prearranged meeting at Chalk with SJ. Whitey spoke to the owner again about getting SJ a job and I think he threw my name in there as well. And since Carl lives near the Chalk and had to go home before the practice game he drove to get SJ and then drove the two of us to the meeting. We got a little lost heading to find the newest new guy in town but I think Carl got mad at me when I called Whitey to ask directions and opened the conversation with "We're lost." That was apparently not the right thing to do. My bad.

We found our way to somewhere near SJ's place and I eventually just had to get out of the car to go and find it. When I got to where I thought it was I walked right in because the door was ajar and pretty much everything was wide open. Lucky for me it was the right place because that could have been very awkward. SJ grabbed his stuff and some food and we were off to the Chalk.

The meeting was only a little awkward and I don't know what SJ would have done if I hadn't been there. We met with a woman I'd never met or spoken to before and she just kind of approached us and was like, "Hey, what's up?" So I explained that I had met the owner and spoken to him about a job for Jarrett and then for myself and that he thought there might be some opportunity for part-time work. She seemed receptive to all of that and whatever else I was dishing out so that was nice. She gave us both her card and told us to send her our availabilities. She also mentioned that the bar would be busy this upcoming weekend to which I responded that I am available. So I am kind of hoping to get right into things this weekend and start making some money. But the meeting went well and I feel like SJ and I both came out of it with jobs though there was nothing actually done or set or anything. Wishful thinking is what I'm still running on for now.

After the Chalk, SJ, Carl and I all headed back to the office. Unfortunately for the pitcher he had to hang with us so he could get a ride to the practice game. When we were at the office I wasn't really doing anything either though so I pretty much just asked him an endless string of questions, to which he was very polite in answering them all. I found out that before coming here SJ was in Texas giving pitching lessons, and that his mom is in Colorado and works for the prison there, teaching Excel and Word and stuff like that. She's at a maximum-security facility but don't worry, she's been there 10 years and she's okay. SJ is from Colorado and is an Avalanche fan, just like me (for as much as I love hockey), but we didn't really get into any hockey talk. I was more interested in asking millions of questions. So SJ continued answering while Carl and Whitey tried to figure out where they are going to be staying when they head to Sydney this weekend. I do not believe they found any success.

So off we all went to Windsor, where the exhibition game would take place between the Bandits and the Brisbane All-Stars (I think) and SJ would make his Bandits pitching debut. When the game was about to start I made a beeline for the concession stand. I got a chicken burger and hot chips (french fries) and made sure there was tomato sauce (ketchup) around for them. It was a solid purchase. When Carl and I were standing around waiting for our food we got to talking to another girl in line and it turns out she's from Washington, or somewhere near there. She found the Bandits after applying to some sort of event job at the RNA Showgrounds and decided to come out to the free game. I think I have spoken to more American people in my time here than Australian people.

Prior to the game I was introduced to Greg Morriss, the father of starting pitcher Simon Morriss and also Australian scout for the Houston Astros. We didn't speak much before the game but I did want to see if he had a radar gun with him so I could find out what SJ was throwing. Morriss did indeed have one with him so I told him I was going to be coming to him later for information.

When the game started I went and sat with the elder Morriss and we got talking about players and teams and rules and Baseball America and Australian ball and anything else that has anything to do with the sport pretty much. It was a good talk and I learned more about Simon and then about a bunch of the other Australian players in the game. Greg had insight on most of them and it was nice to learn some more about these guys.

SJ came in for the top of the third inning. He only needed 16 pitches to get through the inning, though I was pretty worried when the first pitch was hard-hit for a single up the line. But that was the only hit allowed by Jarrett. He had two fly outs and a groundout but he topped out at 86 mph. It's my understanding that he does throw at a higher velocity on a regular basis, and he does deserve some slack for pitching basically right off the plane, especially not having thrown to a live batter since September. But we'll see what happens this weekend when he heads to Sydney.

At one point in the game I was operating the radar gun and so Carl came and joined me. He wanted to learn how and look like a pro. Though I couldn't really teach Carl to look like a pro, because quite frankly he doesn't really have it in him (just kidding), I could teach him to point the gun. Not so hard. I wasn't really interested in learning the velocities of many of the other guys though so I didn't really pay as much attention when SJ came out of the game. I've seen every other Bandit pitch now I think so I should be good. Now I just need to familiarize myself a little more so that when they're warming someone in the bullpen all the way behind the fence in left field, I will be able to tell who they are. That's next on my agenda of pitcher-watching.

Post-game I had an interview with Justin Erasmus scheduled. He's a righty originally from South Africa but has played on Australian national teams. He's actually been to more places in Canada than I have I think because he competed in like Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Langley...he went on and on. And I'm pretty sure I haven't been to most of those places. He also pitched against Adrian Gonzalez (if you don't know who that is, stop reading, look it up, and feel embarrassed) when he was 18 or 19 and gave up a home run and double to him. But come on, it's AGonz. So Erasmus and I had a decent chat and then I was off to interview SJ on the ride home.

Whitey had taken off at some point during the game and took the bus home so Carl was giving me and SJ a ride. I decided to try and do a story on Jarrett to introduce him to the Bandits, get his name out there a little bit, and we thought the ride home was a good opportunity to do that. Since I'd already asked him every question in the book at the office I might have been a little repetitive but it was still fine. Except for when I found a big bug crawling on my seat and I took it and put it on him. Neither him nor Carl appreciated me sending that up to the front half of the car. The interview was on hold until I got the bug and put it out the window. I did and we were back on track.

Carl dropped SJ off and I am sure he was pretty glad to get away from me and my interrogations. Then he dropped me off with plans to get me again in the morning. No walk to the office for me tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Sean Jarrett arrives (Day 20)

I'm honestly shocked that I have yet to be hit by a car.


I know I keep saying it, but I keep meaning it. If it took 25 years to teach me how to cross the road at home, looking left then looking right and all that good stuff, then I can't imagine it will be anytime soon that I learn where to look and where to walk here.


It doesn't help that I've been using  my legs to get me everywhere I go. What also does not help is the fact that the right of way works a little differently here. For example, at home if you are crossing a little side street or a road that just doesn't have any signage, the pedestrian always gets right of way. That is not so in Australia. People can run you over whenever they want and it will never be their fault. At least, that's what I have come to understand.


So once again, for those of you not paying attention before, my travel insurance information is in the picture pocket of my wallet, visible for all to see as soon as my wallet is opened. Just making it easier for you to help me. Don't worry mom, I've heard the health care is pretty decent here.


Obviously then it may be deduced that my day started with more walking today. If you managed to deduce that assumption after my rant, you are correct. I made the trek to the office once more, despite saying that I would never do it again. It didn't seem so bad this time, probably because I knew where the end was and I could prepare for the mountain ranges (minor hills) that I was about to embark on.


So with all of my walking and running on the weekend, in addition to the morning jaunt to the office, I believe that I made it the equivalent of a marathon from Friday night to Monday morning. A whopping 42 kilometres of wandering around Brisbane. I am definitely going to need some new running shoes before this trip is over. In case you're willing to donate to the cause (mom), my shoe size is a women's 6.5 or a 5.5 in children's. Kids shoes are cheaper so it's always an option I explore.


When I got to the office and changed out of my sweaty walking clothes I was set to work. With a few minor email and Facebook distractions I was proud of the amount of transcribing that I was getting through. Carl made his way in shortly after I had but he didn't need any help from me so I was free to do what I needed to do.


Pleasantly disrupting my day were several positive comments on the story that I wrote about Bandits third base coach and Development Officer for Baseball Queensland, Shayne Watson:
http://web.theabl.com.au/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111127&content_id=26044130&vkey=news_t4065&fext=.jsp&sid=t4065
Since Shayne works in the office, he was passing along all the nice commentary he was getting about the story. Maybe if people keep saying all these nice things my head will actually fit into my two-size-too-big hat sometime soon.


Another story of mine went up today as well, the one that I'd written on southpaw reliever Jon Durket last week. He's one of the guys that helped tear down the field during my manual labour phase of this job. He was gracious enough to give me some of his time last week and this is what resulted:
http://web.theabl.com.au/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111128&content_id=26045878&vkey=news_t4065&fext=.jsp&sid=t4065


So some of my writing is getting out to the world of Bandits fans. I'm hoping it can make its way to the Baseball America website when my friends and colleagues at BA come back from American Thanksgiving weekend. I'm excited, and I know some of the guys on the team are too, at the prospect of having more stuff about the ABL run by BA. Actually I'm sure the guys on the team just want their personal stories to show up in BA but I am thinking about the whole league. Plus, my name goes on every article, so I don't have to try as hard as the players do.


Around lunchtime Whitey showed up with the Bandits latest import, Sean Jarrett. He's a right-handed pitcher here from Colorado. He was last seen playing for the Tulsa Drillers and I think I shocked Carl when I knew that the Tulsa team was named the Drillers. But that's an awesome name. Come on.


Carl and I were headed for lunch when Jarrett showed up and since Whitey had been starving him all morning (not factual), he headed for food with us. I proceeded to interrogate him about when he'd last thrown, how much time he's been getting in to work out, how many innings he got this past season, how ready he is to play and more things along that same line of questioning. He didn't seem to mind so I didn't feel the need to stop.


I also mentioned the Jays and Baseball America (come on, if you were me, you would too) and Jarrett told me that he'd played with Brad Mills in college. For those of you who don't know who Mills is, he's a lefty soft-tosser in the Jays organization. He's had a few chances with the big league club but he can't seem to translate his success from Triple-A upward. He actually had an ERA under 4.00 last season with the Las Vegas 51s, quite an impressive feat in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but every time he made an appearance in Toronto he was less than stellar.


So we chatted about that and how I am incapable of crossing the street on my own and then further about the possibility of sleep deprivation. I'm sure I made a great impression on this guy.


We should get to see him pitch tomorrow though because the Bandits have a practice game at night. I am hoping this guy has something good to offer to the team and will further the chances of winning. When he was gone, I think it was Watto who mentioned that he was a nice guy. And I'm pretty sure my reaction was, "Nice guys finish last. And I want to win."


I continued my transcribing for the rest of the afternoon mostly, with the exception of helping Whitey out with some busy work he couldn't get to. It was a welcome change of pace from my constant typing so that worked out for both of us.


After about 3 o'clock I was the only Bandits person left in the office, since that's when Carl left. I decided to stay and try to continue working though. When I was finished transcribing I tried to start writing the story about KJ, the team manager, but my writer's block was interrupting any sort of progress. I also wanted to talk to Gonzo before writing anything to get a couple quotes from him about Jordan but Gonzo wasn't responding.


I started my trek back home at around 5 p.m. It was probably around 40 minutes later that I realized I was lost. How perfect. I thought I could handle it since I'd walked to the office now twice before. Apparently coming back the other way is not the same. Actually, I just wasn't paying attention. I ended up about an extra half an hour out of my way before I made it back to where I needed to be. Oops. Just putting some more miles on the legs. I really thought I could do it though. Another disappointing moment in the quest for independence.


Eventually I made it back. After a dinner of champions, consisting of toast with peanut butter and bananas, corn flakes and chocolate milk, I was back to work. No more writer's block for me. I finished the story on KJ, minus the quotes that I wanted to get from Gonzo. I left Gonz a voicemail and a text so I guess the story will have to wait until I see him. It's only fair to let some other content go up on the website after all.


And since I've managed to figure out the whole sleeping thing lately, I think I'll get some work in on that front.

Monday, November 28, 2011

You'd think since I walk so much I could figure out which side of the road to do it on (Day 19)

Top 5 reasons it's obvious I'm a foreigner:
5. I can't pay for anything without taking a good several minutes to figure out what denomination each damn coin is. And I'm Canadian, I can't imagine how hard this would be for Americans.
4. I'm never on my cell phone. Usually I am with all of the few people who know my phone number.
3. I don't speak in fortnights, poofs, mates or dunas (a duna is a comforter).
2. I love baseball more than anything.
1. Every time I try to cross the street I run the very real risk of almost dying. I just can't seem to get a hang of this other-side-of-the-road concept.

There are several other obvious reasons that I clearly don't belong here, but those are the Top 5 I am going to go with right now.

And like a true tourist this morning I decided to bask in the sun and soak up some rays. When I got out of bed in the morning, after a mediocre sleep which is pretty good for my standards here, I figured what better way to start the morning than to head down to the pool and get some sun? If I'm going to be wearing shorts every day maybe I should help my legs get past the translucent stage.

With a book and my iPod in hand I spent a couple hours in and out of the pool, though I'm not sure really how much of a tan I got. It's better than nothing though. And by nothing I mean it's way better than being at home with snow and freezing rain and grey skies. No thank you.

When I came back up to the apartment I talked to Erin for awhile about her Saturday night and she mentioned that she would soon be heading to a couple of stores if I wanted to come with her. She wanted to get some more dishware, which I believed she called 'crockery' or something like that. I said I would most certainly join her. I don't know that I needed anything, but it's nice to have the opportunity to figure that out when you're with someone who has a car.

After she'd had lunch and I'd had a shower we headed to some little kind of mall, though I'm sure that's not what they would call it here. I ended up getting a couple things at a grocery store but that was it. Erin got some dishes and we were on our way back.

Carl had texted before we had left to tell me that he was bored and wanted to do something. Obviously I am the curer of all things boredom so I'd told him I would get back to him when I returned from the store with Erin. I did and he of course, didn't answer. Obviously not bored enough to answer the phone.

When he called me back he asked if I wanted to head to South Bank and meet him there because he was going to check out some of the weekend shops they had set up. So I set out for South Bank. Before I even got there Carl was telling me he was about to head back home so I told him to grab a milkshake and just wait it out. He did. So we walked around for awhile and then went to the arcade at the movie theatre to shoot some hoops.

I think Carl played the basketball game once by himself before we decided to make a competition out of it. It was too bad we didn't think of a bet before the first game though because I'm pretty sure I doubled his score. I thought he was taking it easy on me and I think he thought he was too because we had to play again. I did even better the second time. We quit after that, probably either because Carl's a big baby or because I don't have it in me to try and mend any man's bruised ego. Or perhaps it was because Carl had to go for dinner.

He had plans with his roommate for dinner but being at the movie theatre had made us want to head back later in the evening with plans to see Moneyball. Again. So we decided to meet before the movie for another game of basketball, this time with the stakes high. Loser would buy the movie tickets, and as it turned out, the concessions too.

By the way, I don't know if I mentioned this before but the movies here come out way later than at home. And it really doesn't seem like there are too many new ones coming out. I think our options have been pretty much Moneyball or Twilight the entire time I've been here. I don't have any clue as to why they come out at such different times here but they do. Not awesome.

I walked back home and stayed there for like an hour before I turned right back around and went back to South Bank. I think I have definitely filled my walking quota for the week. One way to South Bank is a little over four kilometres, so by the end of the day when I eventually made it back home I had probably walked almost 17K. Add that to the 15K on Saturday and 5K on Friday and I am going to have to get new running shoes at some point during my stay.

We met at the theatre and the competition was on. I once again bettered my score and once again beat Carl. He asked how I was doing it and I told him my secret. Bank shots. Here he was trying to get nothing but net with every shot, failing miserably. With those kinds of games you have to bank it. That was my strategy and it obviously worked. I think he's still convinced that I was cheating or something. So for those of you scoring at home, the Sunday night arcade basketball score stands at 3-0 for me over Carl.

Carl paid for the movie and the popcorn and awesome slushie I had, much to his dismay. But I was going to reap the benefits of the bet while I could. And likely try to rub it in his face for a few more days. Or forever, who knows.

The movie must have started with a billion commercials before the previews even started. It was probably the longest wait for a movie I've ever had. Good thing we'd both seen Moneyball before and were in no hurry, though I did think at a couple points that Carl might fall asleep. If you're looking for a review on the movie, my opinion is varied.

The first time I saw it I think I read too much into it. I had been listening to critiques, reading reviews, and preparing for everything I was about to witness. I knew that there were several parts that weren't going to be accurate to the game of baseball or the happenings that go on in the front office of ball organizations. I was prepared for that. But because of my preparedness I think I thought about everything a little too much.

The next time I saw the movie I took it more for what it was, a Hollywood film with Brad Pitt trying to touch some hearts with a little baseball added in here and there. I enjoyed it much more that time. This viewing was my third and I think I will be actually seeing the movie again later this week with Erin because she hasn't seen it yet and really wants to. And third time's a charm I guess because I enjoyed it. Though I did interrupt Carl's viewing pleasure a few times, first to talk about my love for Billy Koch when he saved 31 games in his rookie year of 1999, and then to mention that Frank Menechino had come in to pitch for the Blue Jays one time in 2004 (this is a feat because he is an infielder).

But it was a good movie experience and thanks to my hoop skills it was free. I'd call that a good night out.

Afterward I think Carl was reluctant to let me walk home. He tried to convince me to get a cab but I didn't think that was necessary. Don't worry though mom because like I told Carl, all the streets I use to get to South Bank are huge and well-lit and have tons of people around. At all times of the day. I was safe and sound. He made me promise to text him when I got home though and I did.

So now I have two moms. Great. Don't worry real mom, it's not a stiff competition.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Walking, running, sleeping (Day 18)

My day started with another five-kilometre walk across the Story Bridge, only this time it was back the way I came since I woke up at Carl's place and had to get home. I'm sure a bus or a cab would get me home just fine but cabs are too expensive and I think it's easier to walk than to take the bus.

The walk was a good warmup for the run that I was going to go on with Whitey though. Whitey could probably run a marathon in his sleep and he has plans to do one next year. Along with my intentions to run faster and him probably needing to get more distance in, we might be a good running pair. When he dropped me off yesterday he mentioned that he didn't know what he was going to do with himself this morning since he didn't have work to finish and Julie was going to be working. He suggested we make an attempt at going for a run and I was more than happy to oblige.

So we set off in the late morning for a run on a route that Whitey had planned for us. I got to see parts of Brisbane I've never seen before, and run by another side of the river that I'd never been to before. Whitey gave me a tour of sorts and we talked a lot about his job here and the other people that work at Baseball Queensland and how great everyone is. I asked Whitey if he thought this job was something he could do for a long time but I don't think the money is quite there and I don't think there's a lot of room to move up a tax bracket if you're doing the same job.

I don't know if I would have been able to do what Whitey did, just picking up and leaving everything on no timeline. For me, knowing that this is a temporary thing and that in three months I'll be back at home heading out to Spring Training in Florida helps a lot. I think the idea of not knowing when I might be able to see my friends or family again would be almost enough to keep me away. This is a great place to be of course, but it certainly is very far from home. And since I can barely get through a day without a little hand-holding from Whitey or Carl, I don't know how Whitey did it.

We ended up back at the Story Bridge, but I was pretty desperate for water. Dehydration was definitely setting in. We looked around for a little while for a water fountain but in the end we went to a variety store. I was actually surprised Whitey wanted to go to the bridge at all, with his fear of heights. I had mentioned to him that I walked over it last night and then again this morning and that I thought the view was great. He had made an attempt at running over it once he said but when he got closer to the middle where you can see the water underneath you on both sides, he made a U-turn and decided against going over it. He said he would be okay if he was with me though and he was. 

I was the one holding us up, needing water and being overheated. I am pretty sure I was holding Whitey back quite a bit, running slower than the pace he's capable of and then slowing down even more when I became super thirsty and hot, so I was ready to stop when we made it to the store. I think I need to improve a little bit before I make him run with me again.

My pace has slowed a lot this year since I started guide running for blind marathoners. It's been great but I have to run with people slower than I am in order to be able to talk them through it and be able to pace them for a couple of hours at a time. Because of that, it's slowed me down. So now is the time for me to stop being lazy and get out and run on my own. Since the weather is so perfect here, I have no excuses not to do that. But after my 5K walk to start the day and then an almost-10K run with Whitey, I think I'm at least good for now. We'll see what happens tomorrow. 

I definitely went home and had another nap. Napping seems to be my thing now. I put on a DVD of one of the seasons of House and only lasted through part of one episode. I was pretty sore to go with my tiredness too. After my big workout with Erin, bench-pressing the bar and all, I still hadn't fully recovered. So I tried to sleep that off. When I woke up I hoped there was enough afternoon left in the day so I could go and pick up a few things at a store.

I walked to the post office first because I wanted to get some Christmas cards. It wasn't open. I continued on to the train station in the valley (Fortitude Valley, right near where I live) because I figured something might be open in there. I found a store that had paper and glue sticks and scissors, all the supplies necessary to make some cards, so I made some purchases. Unfortunately I had to buy paper by the individual piece so I won't be making too many cards right now. It's definitely cheaper to buy them.

When I got back home I decided to keep watching House and start card-making. I only finished one card though and it took me forever. I must have been away from this arts and crafts thing for too long. I'll have to get back into the cutting and pasting. I should ask Shayne's son Joshua to help me out sometime. I'm sure he could give me some pointers.

I have decided though that there is no way I can make a bunch of Christmas cards for people. I'm going to head back to the post office when it opens on Monday and buy some. Sorry to those of you who wanted a homemade one. I just don't have the time or the finger strength. Plus my mom mentioned that if I want to send cards home on time I have to do them by the end of this week. So that puts a much shorter timeline on this whole idea. I might just have to forget about Christmas cards altogether this year. Seems like a lot of work.

I'd had plans in my head to actually get some work done today. I wanted to get to transcribing the three interviews I did yesterday and then perhaps even start writing. No such thing happened. I was faced with a lack of motivation and the recollection that I had brought five seasons of House with me to Australia and I hadn't watched any of them.

At one point, Carl texted and mentioned that Whitey, Julie and Dave-O were all at the bar that he works at (by works at, I mean that this is the first time he's worked there since I've lived here) if I wanted to head there. I told him I had decided to stay home instead, making arts and crafts. I think I was just too lazy to get up and do anything. Plus I probably would have made an attempt to walk there and I'm not entirely sure that I had enough walking left in me for the day.


When it got to be late enough that it wasn't too early in Eastern Standard Time I decided to call my Uncle Big and my three littlest cousins, Krysia, Jozef and Emma. I miss them a lot and haven't talked to them at all since I've been here! I told them all about how awesome the weather is here and what the time difference is and they told me all about school and sports and how much homework they're getting. Krysia's upset because she didn't try out for the volleyball team at her high school, Emma is getting bored with French at her school because she is better than everyone else and Jozef is dominating Madden 12 at the highest level. I am really sad that I can't spend Christmas with them but now that I've figured out the whole calling-people-on-the-phone thing I think I can manage.

Jozef is already really excited for the Superbowl which makes me a little sad that I will be watching it here at nine in the morning with the time difference. Monday morning at 9 a.m. doesn't seem fitting for a Superbowl. But I am sure it will be a good time. My 12-year-old cousin's prediction is that the Packers will be playing the Lions at the end of the season and I didn't have the heart to tell him that they're both in the NFC North. But we had a good solid talk and I was ecstatic to get the chance to chat with them all.

I also tried to call my dad and brother after that but I had to leave a message. Another call for another day.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get some work done.

Fatigue sets in (Day 17)

I finally had a good night's sleep.

Or at least, the best sleep I've gotten since I've been here. It was almost eight hours. I don't know if it's jet lag or what, but whatever I was going through, you don't want to. If I had only been vacationing here for two weeks I would never have known a night's slumber. Fortunately, I am here for a good while longer.

So that was definitely the first highlight of the day though. I was super excited just at the idea that I had slept. Couldn't wait to share the news.

But since I was still up before 7 a.m. I had some time to kill. Whitey had said to be ready for 9:15 a.m. so I had a lot of time to kill actually. After showering and all that good stuff I decided to try and pack myself a lunch. I thought since I'd gotten some groceries last night I could try to be more efficient. I made a sandwich and then just grabbed a couple bananas and a protein bar. Though I had purchased groceries, they weren't really lunch-making friendly. But I thought that what I had put together would suffice.

With even more time on my hands I thought I would continue transcribing Watto's interview. That didn't last long before I got bored though. And soon enough it was time for me to head outside. Or was it?

It wasn't long before I got a text from Carl saying that he was going to Whitey's to pick him up and did I want him to get me too? My response was a simple 'yes, please', but I was really wondering why he had Whitey's car and if Whitey had forgotten about saying he would come get me altogether. I'm sure they would have figured it out eventually. When they did manage to get me just before 10 o'clock I am pretty positive they were both American Thanksgiving hungover so that explained a lot. I'm sure good times were had by all.

As soon as we got to the office I had phone interviews to do so I went outside because I feel too pressured to perform when everyone can hear me. I am sure they just ignore me but it makes me more nervous when there are numerous people that can listen to my interviewing skills. It's just easier to go outside.

The first phone call I made was to Andrew Marck. His interview was the one that I messed up at the ballpark on Tuesday. I figured out how to properly work my recorder this time though and had an even better interview than the one I think we'd had before. So that was a success. I still feel bad for making him do it twice and taking up more of his time, but he probably thinks I am an idiot anyway so we're all good. You would think I would be past the rookie stages of learning to use a recorder by now.

Then I called David Balfour, the GM of the Sydney Blue Sox and father of Grant Balfour, relief pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. I was making an attempt to get started on writing my story about the league. Balfour was around last time the league was active and it was suggested to me that he might be a good resource for my article. When someone answered on the other end of the phone I couldn't understand what they were saying, so I just said, "Hi, I'm calling for David Balfour." They could have said, "Hello, this is David Balfour speaking," and I still would have asked the same question. Good thing they didn't though. It wasn't him. And the voice I couldn't understand told me he'd have to call me back, so I left my number and went back into the office.

I contemplated staying outside until I received a call back, for the same reasons that I went out there in the first place. But I didn't know how long it would be and I had nothing else I could get done out there. In the end, it was a wise choice because I didn't hear back for awhile. Actually it took so long that I started to wonder if I had even given my phone number correctly. It's not something that I have down pat as of yet.

In the interim I got to work on finishing the transcription of Shayne's interview. I finally got it done and was ready to try and start writing when Balfour called. I guess I'd gotten my phone number right. We talked about the league but it was kind of a tough conversation because I was hoping it would go in one direction and it really didn't. I just want to write a story about the league before and the successes it had way back when and then what's happening now to make it better and why it will work now. He wanted to talk more about why Sydney was successful then and now and what Sydney has done and that there isn't enough brand awareness out there about the league. I think we probably exchanged the words 'brand awareness' 50 times. If not more.

So my 20-minute interview essentially gave me one answer. Brand awareness, for those of you not paying attention. That's the answer. You're welcome.

I tried to go back to writing the story about Watto but I was having temporary writer's block so I decided to break for lunch. When I came back from down the hall where my lunch was in the fridge I think Whitey might have actually been offended because he thought I went to get lunch without him. I assured him I did not and I was actually quite proud when I pointed out that I had brought my lunch from home.

Unfortunately, the lunch was not anything to take pride in. I had somehow managed to bruise both bananas I brought with me and the mixed nuts bag I got was unsalted and that made it highly disappointing. So I pretty much had my turkey sandwich and a protein bar and then when Whitey and Carl went to Subway I made them get me a smoothie. I just can't seem to give up on Subway smoothies. Do we have these at home?

Between lunch and the rescheduled appointment that Whitey and I had with the bar owner I befriended when I was drunk last Friday night, I managed to finish my story on Shayne. I tried to make it about the community involvement between the Bandits and Baseball Queensland and getting kids into baseball around here. Hopefully I got that message across. Whenever it finally makes it online somewhere, I'll post the link and will welcome feedback on that.

Just after Whitey had mentioned that we were leaving in five minutes to head to our meeting, KJ called me. I quickly tried to grab my recorder (making sure of course that I used it properly) so we could get the interview done. KJ was taking time out for me during his busy week of travel and trying to close his house, and I wasn't going to get him to call me back again later. Plus with the time difference it is difficult to manage at any time to have a phone conversation.

As I was trying to pack up my things at the office and talk to KJ while working my recorder, I realized that mutli-tasking is not my forte. I am sure I sounded like an idiot asking questions while running around, plus I dropped the recorder a few times. So I hope that it wasn't at those times when he told me something uber important. I think we had a solid conversation, though I was kind of distracted throughout. I guess I'll find out when I transcribe. I also think I may have cut KJ off a couple times because I couldn't hear him really well, so not only am I sure that I sounded distracted and all over the place, but I was also rude for interrupting. Damn it. No more multi-tasking for me.

When I did get off the phone with KJ we were almost at Chalk, the bar where our meeting was taking place Whitey and I headed in and first spoke to a bartender downstairs, trying to figure out where to meet this guy. She directed us upstairs, where we had to ask another bartender. As it turns out, the upstairs bartender was the girl from Markham with whom I had chatted last time I was there. At first I wasn't sure though, and if you're wondering why, allow me to refer back to the night I met her. My memory wasn't performing at its finest in its drunken state. But she remembered me so my suspicion was confirmed. All I could think about was how Carl said I was an idiot when I'd talked to her before. My bad.

The meeting seemed to go well and though there were four of us, Whitey and Steve did most of the talking. I think we will be able to work out a deal where Bandits players and staff get a discount on drinks and food at the bar and then every time we spend money there the team will also get money back. It seems like a good deal. And it would definitely make me go there more often than the one time I was there.

I also kind of slipped in that I am looking for a job and the guy that Steve had brought to the meeting with him, Sean something, told me to contact him directly about that. Of course I already did and I hope that turns into some sort of part-time opportunity. That could work out well for me. But right now I am running on wishful thinking.

On our way back to the car, Whitey and I of course had to stop at the second-hand store so that he could purchase his very own Hawaiian shirt. The one he'd been wearing had apparently been on loan so obviously he needed one just for himself. I almost bought one too but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it. I wouldn't want my tuxedo t-shirt to feel like it has to compete for my attention or anything. But Whitey made a solid purchase, obtaining a purple and blue number I believe. A lovely choice. And he mentioned that just walking back to the car with it in his hand made him feel a little more relaxed.

Whitey dropped me off at home and I definitely fell asleep for another nap. The lack of sleep I've experienced so far during my trip is certainly catching up with me. It's nice to be able to get some shuteye though. I don't know how long I slept but I woke up to a text from Carl saying that he and his roommate Dave-O were watching ESPN 30 for 30s and if I wanted to join I should.

I decided to make an attempt at walking over to their house. Google maps said it would only take just over an hour and it was a little more than five kilometres.  The walk wasn't bad and it took me over the Story Bridge, which had an amazing view. I wish I'd had my camera though it isn't the best at night. I will definitely take it back sometime though. I had a view of the downtown (CBD) on one side and it looked great with everything lit up at night and all the lights reflecting into the river. B-E-A-utiful.

Google did not deceive me on my trip as I still think it did on that walk to work There were no giant hills to deal with this time and so it was pretty accurate. I did make a pitstop at McDonald's to get a cold beverage though so that added onto my time a little bit. And did you know they have banana bread at the McD's here? Maybe they do at home too but it's been so long since I've been to one I found this to be a pretty awesome discovery. Obviously I needed some banana bread to go with my refreshing drink. Solid choice I think.

I made it to Carl and Dave-O's place in time to watch the 30 for 30 on the University of Miami. It was really awesome. I would recommend you watch it mom. There is a short cameo appearance of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who I know is your favourite. He played at the U, and he's in the show for like a half a second. But it should make it worth your while. After that one we watched the 30 for 30 on Auburn/Alabama. That one was awesome but mostly because it featured a crazy dude who poisoned some trees. Who does that? It's a must-see though.

Then we put on some East Bound & Down, but I definitely fell asleep and since I am into sleeping now, I stayed asleep for the night. Way to impose. My bad. Maybe it was the walk that did me in.

I guess I'm just an imposer now. Not an imposter. Imposer. New word.

Friday, November 25, 2011

American Thanksgiving (Day 16)

I finally spoke to someone on the phone!

Alexander Graham Bell would be so proud.

And of course, I mean someone other than Carl or Whitey. I finally spoke to my mom, the only person from home whose voice I've heard in the last couple of weeks. I'd purchased a phone card last night before I went to the movies and got the chance to use it this morning.

So that was fun. I got to inform her directly that here an ottoman is referred to as a 'poof', ketchup is 'tomato sauce', tomato sauce is 'spaghetti sauce', a pharmacy is a 'chemist' and all kinds of other fun facts. I am learning. Not quickly, but I am getting there. My mother also took the time to inform me that I have been spelling 'whingeing' wrong. I wasn't getting the 'h' in there. My bad.

It didn't seem like we were talking long though before I had to go because Whitey was coming to pick me up. I went and waited outside and found today to be the coldest day since I've been here. It wasn't actually cold by any means, but it rained for the first time that I've seen last night and it cooled things off for a little while I guess. I actually thought about going back inside and getting a sweater or something, but I thought against it. It wasn't necessary. I don't even know why I brought sweaters with me on this trip.

Whitey had some errands to run in the morning and I was with him just to keep him company. I felt like I could be sufficient at doing that, so it was a good plan. We first had to go to the field to get rid of a bunch of the stuff in Whitey's car. The biggest room-taker-upper was the mascot suit and all of its pieces. It was still sweaty from when Carl wore it so that was a pleasant surprise. In combination with the bag of dirty team towels in the back of Whitey's car, I'm sure the aroma would have been overwhelming if I wasn't fortunate enough to be used to it.

We dumped off a bunch of stuff and then headed somewhere to get rid of the bag of team towels. We were making progress on both emptying out the car and helping it smell a tiny bit better.

From there we had to head to Redlands, which is a club baseball place here. I don't really yet understand club baseball because I don't think there is anything comparable at home, but that's where we were. It was a little bit of a drive, so it made me feel for the people who I know have to come from out there to the games. The facility wasn't bad though. They had batting cages inside and there were a few diamonds around. The best part of the place for me though was a poster from like 1997 of Roger Clemens and Pat Hentgen in the old Blue Jays uniforms standing back-to-back as consecutive Cy Young Award winners. What a team.

During our drive to and from Redlands, I had more opportunity to learn things about one Whitey Wallace, so that I did. I should point out that one of the most important things that I know about him, and only because he stresses it every other day, is that he has never been in a car accident. He finds it pertinent for me to know this fact. I pointed out to him that if he had been in an accident at any point I still wouldn't hesitate to take rides home from him. We were driving in the rain though and I don't think the cars here are built for rain, so I think that was the reason behind why he mentioned it to me.

We spoke a lot about American Thanksgiving and I will take the time now to wish my friends at Baseball America a happy holiday. Last year at this time I was heading over to have American Thanksgiving with one of my roommates from North Carolina. I did not know her name then, nor do I remember it now. It was a tough situation and you can read all about it in my other journal entries from last year if you're interested.

But Whitey seemed pretty homesick about not being able to be with his brother for the holiday. He missed out last year as well and I'm sure it's not an ideal situation for him. His girlfriend was going to head home after work and slave over a traditional dinner for them though so I'm sure he will be alright.

We made it back to the office eventually and Carl was heading out to a post office to mail some postcards. So I went with him so I could send some out too. I don't know how long they will take to make it back to Canada, but some of you should be expecting them soon! Ish...soon could be a relative term.  We also took some Bandits posters along on the journey in an attempt to put them up in random storefronts but that didn't really go so well.

I did learn however that Carl's job for one summer was putting posters up on windows. He's a real winner that guy. I think we put up two of the posters before we broke for lunch. I got a chicken burger for lunch and then ordered the additional option of adding a drink and chips to my meal. I kind of just wanted to see what I would end up with when ordering chips. And much to my delight, I got an order of french fries. Ordering blindly worked out perfectly.

At the office I spent most of my time dealing with emails from players and starting to get ready for more interviews. Last night I sent an email out to the team kind of trying to introduce myself to them and let them know what I am attempting to do with my time here. I told them that I write for Baseball America, which I am sure helped my cause and that BA was going to post the articles that I write about the league. This was mostly in an attempt to get the players to not blow off my interviews and realize that I am trying to help us all. It worked at least a little bit because a few of them got back to me right away.

One of my stories from Tuesday night also went up on the Brisbane website. It can be found here for now: http://web.theabl.com.au/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111123&content_id=26031894&vkey=news_t4065&fext=.jsp&sid=t4065
I also sent it to Baseball America, along with the other one I did on Tuesday and we'll see what happens. During the day today, Carl and I were emailing back and forth with one of the other writers here, Anna. I think she works for a publishing company but is trying to get into journalism, so she is writing for the Bandits. I am (hopefully) going to help her learn the ins and outs of baseball, scoring games and stats and all the stuff that I am best at, but I don't know how good of a teacher I am. Though I'm sure I taught you what a poof is. Again, you're welcome.

Anna mentioned that the publishing company she works for is re-releasing the book version of Moneyball and Carl and I spitballed about getting the article I wrote on the topic up on our website or somewhere else. My article was about Stephen Bishop, the actor who played David Justice in the movie, and his journey from minor league baseball to the big screen. But to make the story more relevant, I had the idea of talking to our closer, Chris Mowday. Mowday essentially was a part of the whole process of Moneyball. Whether he knows it or not, he was there. The right-hander was sent to Oakland in 2002 along with infielder Mike Rouse from the Blue Jays organization in exchange for Cory Lidle. The As were looking to unload the payroll of Lidle in true Moneyball style, picking up cash and prospects in Mowday and Rouse. So I would like to update my article a little bit and make it relevant to the Bandits in that respect. I think it could work out.

Whitey left the office a little early, I think because he had to go to the field to let people in, but probably also for Thanksgiving. After all, Julie was cooking up a storm for him to have all the traditional stuff when he got home. Not long after he had left and Gonzo had left, Carl decided he was going to leave too. He suggested I come with him, and I really had no idea what I was doing in regards to getting home so I figured that was a wise choice. Carl was going to have to show me how to use the bus system once again.

It wasn't so hard since Carl told me exactly where to go and exactly what to do, but he did also say that my stop was only like two stops away. I got a little worried when I was at the second stop and I didn't recognize anything. But I thought I remembered that the place I need to get off at was the end of the line, so I figured I could wait it out and just see what happened. Another two stops passed before I was where I needed to be. But I did indeed get there and I was able to find my way home from where the bus dropped me off. It seemed very efficient. I just don't know if I could do it again all by myself though. Unfortunately Carl has to hold my hand through these things a little bit. I'll figure it out someday. Hopefully.

I'm almost positive that I fell asleep immediately when I got home. I had been texting Erin to see if she could take me to the gym with her and get me a temporary pass, but I didn't get her reply until she actually got home. Which was what woke me up. So I am going to have to assume I slept for like an hour or so. Oops. I guess that happens when you don't sleep, as I eluded to in the first paragraph of yesterday's entry.

Actually, a lot of people have been asking me how I have enough time to write these entries every day. The truth is, I haven't been sleeping. My internal clock is messed up. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night hungry, or because of my awful itchy mosquito bites, or because it's too hot. And then I just can't seem to get back to sleep. But I've been feeling more tired lately, so I think that's an indication that my body knows what it wants. It better get it soon. I feel a good slumber coming on.

But when Erin got home we did head to the gym. She thought she would be able to get me a five-day pass so I could try it out. And I figured I would just talk to someone there about how much it would cost for the three months I am around.

I spoke to one of the club representatives and I was pretty shocked at what I heard. She first told me that for three months at the gym it would cost me $399. Then she told me that I just had to pay a $40ish membership fee and a $50ish card fee or something and then pay $40 something every fortnight.

Obviously, I had to stop her and ask what in the world a fortnight was. In that moment was probably the time when I felt like the biggest idiot since I've been here. It was pretty embarrassing. And I will tell you, a fortnight is two weeks. What kind of language is this? Eventually she gave me a three-day pass and told me I could figure things out on Saturday. That was good enough for me.

Erin asked me what I do when I go to the gym and I admitted that usually I just do cardio. Weights are pretty much my enemy though I know I need to use them. She mentioned that she was starting a new weights program and offered to help me out. So I said I would do them with her at least for a little while.

And I am going to be sore tomorrow. First we did some hip thing, or maybe it's for your butt or your thighs. I don't really know but it seemed complicated. I'm not sure I was doing it right either because I kept looking at the little instructional picture on the machine and he looked like he was doing something incredibly different from what I was. But it was hard and it started to get hurty, so I was working something. Erin and I switched during sets and inbetween I did lunges. I hate lunges. What a terrible idea.

From there we did some hamstring machine with squats inbetween. I also think squats are a bad idea. The last thing I did before I gave up and went to the treadmill was head to the bench press. And I will have you know that I bench pressed the bar all by myself. That's right. Just the bar. I know I've mentioned this before but let me reiterate...I have almost zero upper body strength. This is why I need to do more weights. But it's just such a bad idea. Yuck.

So to the treadmill I went. I felt relief in my 30 minutes of running. By that time, Erin was ready to head out. Goodbye expensive gym. I doubt I'll ever be going back there again.

When we were there though I had happened to ask Erin about where I could get some hangers and she took me to Woolworth's so I could do that and get some groceries. For the first time I got some of my own groceries, though my basket wasn't filled with much. I already had peanut butter and bread at home so I got some bananas, sandwich meat, yogurt and pop. I think that's really about it. Aside from the hangers of course.

So I had a great snack when I got home and set to work on putting away my clothes. Now that I had the tools necessary to put them away, I was all over it. My room was spic and span in no time. Okay, it took some time. But you get it. Clothes hanging up, food in the fridge...it's like I live here almost. Two weeks later.

And then I just set to work starting to transcribe my interview with Watto. I got distracted by my emails and Facebook a little bit, but I got a little bit done. I'll get to it tomorrow for sure.

In honour of American Thanksgiving (can you belief I spelled a word the Canadian way and referenced an American holiday all at once?), I would like to give some thanks before I head to bed though.

First of all, I have to thank my mom of course. She's helped me to get to where I am and if I mess up huge, she will help me get back on track. Hopefully you don't have to do that mom. I'm just saying. But thanks for dealing with me and my love for baseball and loving it yourself, or at least going along with all the crazy baseball things I want to do. Thanks for coming to all the ballparks you've been to and for heading out to Spring Training to suffer in the heat and warmth when everyone at home is struggling in the snow and ice. I would be more thankful though if you would come here and check out baseball in Australia! Just thought I would throw that in there.

I'm thankful next to the Brisbane Bandits for having me out here. I love what I am doing and it's been great. I get a perspective on minor league baseball that I've never had before. I get to have my hands in on a little bit of everything and I can do what I love, write about baseball. What could be better? And in that, I'll thank Whitey for setting me up, Gonzo for keeping me around and Carl for dealing with me day in and day out. The whole organization is great but they are the guys who have to deal with me the most.

My thanks then extend to Baseball America for helping me get some information about the Australian Baseball League out beyond the scope of the people who are here. I am grateful for the chance to write baseball and then for the opportunity to have my stuff on the website or in the magazine. The people at Baseball America are a part of my heart for sure and without them I wouldn't even be recognizing American Thanksgiving probably.

There are tons more people that I should thank for everything but I just realized how long I could go on like this for. So if you're reading, thanks for that.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Buster the Bandit (Day 15)

In my sleep-deprived state of mind, I am forgetting things.

I don't want to blame it on age, so I'll blame it on lack of slumber. Yesterday I forgot to mention a few key points. First of all, I have been informed that RNA is actually the acronym for Royal National Association. I guess that makes sense. But I stand corrected. Again.

Also, I was informed of this by Alan, who came up to me before the practice at the field and asked me if I had yet learned what RNA stood for. He had been reading my journals. And much to my surprise, had been referred to them by someone else around here. My writing is spreading. I didn't think anyone here would be keeping an eye on it. Honestly, I pretty much thought my audience for this would be my mother. Hi mom.

So I warned Carl that he should maybe take a glance at them since readers actually might know him and realize that I'm talking about him, since I am in fact using his real name. He should have a chance to know what I'm saying about him when other people do. But since he hasn't been able to get rid of me since I arrived here, chances are that he already knows what goes on in my day-to-day life.

And another key point I forgot to touch on was my conversation with Gonzo before leaving the ballpark. Apparently the garbage-cleaning services that have been enlisted for the organization are really expensive. And if I could just do it, on my own or with someone else or whatever, we could cut costs and I could make some money around here. Honestly, I have never been so excited at the prospect of taking out the trash (rubbish, if you speak Australian). See mom, all I needed was a little incentive. I could have been getting rid of the garbage my whole life for the right amount of money.

So I am hopeful that can work out but I don't think I would have an opportunity to do that until the team is home again, on December 8. It's not that far away, but far enough that I may need to start thinking about money before then. My job hunt hasn't been going so well, seeing as I haven't been hunting. I will work on that. For now though, the idea of taking out the trash is a delightful prospect.

Despite my forgetfulness, the day today started really well. Whitey picked me up and we went to a place called Kelvin Grove, where Carl had to walk around in the mascot suit taking pictures and being filmed for the next edition of the Bris31 show. So that was hilarious. And I'm glad Carl got to experience the suit because if you haven't, you just can't comment on it. It's like wearing a snowsuit in a sauna under several heat lamps. Or something like that. I took a lot of pictures of that because I was enjoying it so much and here's where they can be found: 

After a long (not really) morning of being a mascot's assistant (also not really) we headed to the office. I had to get to work on sending out members' cards and writing names on envelopes and the like. Gripping stuff. At one point one of the interns, Jason, came to help me and we cruised through a bunch of them. I was kind of incompetent at using the lists of addresses that Whitey sent me though because somehow I had a bunch left over with no information. Or did I?

I actually did have most of the info for the people I was missing but I was illiterate at using Microsoft Excel. Whitey set me straight though and he tried not to make me feel like an idiot I think. Either that or I just chose not to feel like an idiot.

Later in the afternoon I made plans to interview Shayne Watson, the third base coach for the Bandits and one of the people who works at Baseball Queensland. Carl and I had previously discussed doing a story on Shayne, otherwise known as Watto, and so I figured I would just charge ahead with that and get the interview process started.

But Whitey and I also had an appointment with the owner of the bar I was at last Friday. For some reason when he offered us free drinks I decided to talk baseball and business, and it turned into a meeting. Since I don't really know anything about anything though, that's where Whitey comes in.

I was trying to get the interview done with Shayne without interrupting his day too much but before Whitey and I had to leave. When we finally sat down though, of course my phone rang. And since Whitey and Carl were in the office, I had no idea who it might be. It was the bar owner calling to cancel and reschedule. So that put an end to that but it gave me more time to talk to Shayne.

Just before we'd managed to sit down, Shayne's five-year-old son Joshua joined us in the office. He is adorable and he loves baseball. He's not even old enough to play t-ball here yet but he has a gun of an arm. When I was finished interviewing Shayne, me and Joshua hung out for awhile. I gave him all the different colours of highlighters and pens I had so he could draw some pictures and we talked about the best parts of Bandits games. For him, the highlights include hitting on the field with his dad, fireworks and Buster the Bandit mascot. A perfect night out.

Josh and Shayne managed to leave the office before I did but it wasn't long before Whitey was heading out and offered me a ride. I gladly took it of course.

When I got home, Erin was leaving to get some groceries and offered to pick me up whatever I needed. In the moment, I wasn't so good at thinking on my feet, so all I asked her for was bread and peanut butter. I had to take a moment though and make sure that peanut butter is the same here. It is. For those of you wondering, bread is also the same. You're welcome.

I ended up leaving while she was gone because Carl and I were headed to a movie. There wasn't really anything on at the normal movie theatre though so we ended up going to the Tribal Theatre. I have no idea why it's called that but they play a strange array of films, none of which happen to be new cinema. We went to see Casablanca because neither of us had ever seen it before.

In retrospect, hearing myself say it, it does sound like a date of sorts. Let me assure you though, it was not. We just went to see the movie because it seems like a movie that everyone should see. We also went to make fun of the people who were sitting in front of us. Okay, that was a modification to the original plan. But not a bad addition.

But it wasn't a date. Don't get the wrong idea here.

I enjoyed the film, but half the lines in the movie I've heard used somewhere else before. Also, the theatre was really cool because you can bring your own wine and beer and stuff like that. We didn't, though Carl made me hide cookies in my tiny purse (they took up the whole thing...so much so that I had to carry my wallet in my hand...I'm sure Iooked like an idiot).

I think there are actually a bunch of places around here, like restaurants and things, where you can bring your own drinks. I suppose that helps to supplement the cost of food. Maybe. I should reiterate to you how expensive things are. Very.

So it was a solid movie experience, minus the fact that I didn't have any popcorn. It's been too long since I've had movie popcorn. I'll just have to go to another movie. Probably not with Carl though, since I'm sure you think it was a date.

But it's just "the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Boom!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Sausage Sizzle (Day 14)

The morning began with a near-death experience.

I now know that the Australian version of 911 is 000, though I didn't have my phone, nor did I know that number at the time of said experience.

I wasn't near my death however, for those of you who might have been worried. You should extend your worry to Whitey, whose life was essentially in my shaky, sweaty, ladder-holding hands.

Whitey picked me up in the morning and we had to head to the ballpark to get the stuff that we hadn't got to yesterday. Though we couldn't find what we were looking for, we did accomplish a task that Whitey had been meaning to get to for awhile.

He brought the biggest ladder up to the members' stand, which is very much like bleacher seating, in order to wrap a bunch of wires around one of the rafters in the roof of the structure. Now, the first important thing to note here is that Whitey is afraid of heights. Second important thing, I am not exactly the postergirl for upper body strength, or really any strength at all.

My job was to hold the ladder in place while Whitey, growing increasingly anxious with any tiny movement of the thing, had to climb to the top and deal with wires and zip ties. In retrospect, I should have climbed the ladder instead. I am not afraid of heights, though I have now grown scared of holding someone else's life in the balance. You might think I'm kidding, but I most definitely am not. Whitey was super high up with only bleachers and cement below him, and me trying to support the ladder and make sure it moved as little as possible. I'm pretty sure I was holding so tightly that I gave myself a bruise.

We did get through it though. It was touch-and-go for awhile there, with me thinking he was going to die or that I was going to have a panic attack, but we both made it. I hope I never have to do that again.

After that we had some running around to do and I got a chance to learn a little more about Whitey outside of the office. Most importantly, I discovered that he was a fake guide-dog trainer for some amount of time. It's an interesting story, but not mine to tell. It also happened to be his two-year anniversary with Julie so he informed me of his plans to make her dinner and buy her jewelry at Tiffany's. He's a good man, that Whitey Wallace. He also, as if it could get any better, decided that he was going to shave off his dirty Movember moustache to keep Julie happy. Bonus points.

Whitey and I eventually made it back to the office where I am pretty sure I just did busywork until it was time for lunch. I also managed to snap the last photo of the 'stache before its demise. I worked a little more on what I was thinking about asking some of the players at practice and how we were going to get videos of them giving baseball tips on our flip camera for the website. At one point during the day, I also helped with invoicing some expenses, falling nicely into the category of my made-up job title, Treasurer of Awesomeness.

In the afternoon, Carl and I had to head to the field so we could get some things ready for practice, get the guys on the team to sign some balls, obtain missing headshots and so I could get the material I'd been preparing for. Carl first passed off the ball-signing duties to me, so I made a very classy introduction for myself to the players I haven't yet met.

"Hi, I'm Alexis. Can you please sign Carl's balls for me? Thanks!"

So I think I've met the majority of the players and most of the people I will be dealing with at some point or another before this 45-game season is done. First impressions are not my forte. 

The practice wasn't anything strenuous on the players so I didn't really feel bad bombarding them to ask them to help me out with things. After going 1-3 over the weekend against Melbourne, I think team manager and former Phillies infielder Kevin Jordan just wanted the team to get together again. They played a game of touch footy, my first experience of the sport here. It reminded me of the time Baseball America Editor 2 (see blog: Just another day at the office http://www.livingthedugoutdream.blogspot.com/) took me to my first college football game in the States. New sports are key.

It was extremely difficult to find players willing to be on the flip cam though. All I was asking was for them to say their name, position, team and give a tip on playing ball. They could have talked about using soft hands, using two hands, turning their hips into their swing, running, throwing, bunting, stealing, whatever. But no one wanted to do it. We were aiming to get a guy for each week of the season still remaining, and I got three. Only three of them were willing. Unsatisfactory. 

While I had spent my time trying to do that, the sausage sizzle had begun. I'm not really sure what the difference is between a sausage sizzle and a good old-fashioned barbeque but here are the key points: The only meat served were sausages; they were raw meat, not just the kind that you heat up on the barbeque; they are to be eaten on a slice of bread and not a sausage bun, though I've been informed they do have buns here for those purposes; and people seemed to only put ketchup (tomato sauce here) or barbeque sauce on them. No mustard or relish or anything like that. And that's a sausage sizzle. You're welcome. 

I must say it was really good, but inbetween trying to eat, I was scrambling to get at least a couple of interviews for print. Everyone was probably a little afraid that I was going to come after them with the camera again, but all I wanted was some writing material. I managed to get three guys to talk to me before they had all left, and of those three interviews, only two were usable. I did something with my recorder and ruined the second interview. I will have to make another attempt soon but how did I manage that? And as much as I want to blame it on the recording device, I am positive the problem was a user error. I hope the guy doesn't think I am avoiding his story when the others go up. I'll just have to let him know what happened.

I had really wanted to speak with KJ (manager Kevin Jordan) also but I didn't get the chance. I approached him after practice to see if I could call him sometime this week but as it turns out he is heading back to Los Angeles for a few days just to close the selling of his house. I don't think I would do it, knowing what just the flight here has done to me. But I got his email address in an attempt to set up something at a later date.

Post-practice Gonzo gave me a ride home and I immediately started transcribing and writing the two stories I could write. The first is on Simon Morriss, starting pitcher and home grown talent. He is from Brisbane and I believe I mentioned in one of my first journals that on Opening Night I had come to the field to find the evening's starting pitcher putting together the corporate boxes. Morriss IS a carpenter after all, but really, on a pitching night? My thoughts on this are, What Would Roy Halladay Do?

The second story I wrote is on Jon Durket, one of the two players that I deconstructed the diamond with. He's a lefty reliever from California and is just happy to be here playing. In order to find out more though, you'll have to actually read my stories when they're posted on their respective websites. I'll post the links when I get them!

The story that I ruined, the one that didn't work out, would have been on Andrew Marck, one of two New Zealanders on the team. He's also a pitcher, but I will have to see if he's willing to give me another five minutes of his time a little later on.

At that point it had been a pretty long day. I left for the park in the morning around 8, got home around 8 and then worked on some writing for a few more hours.

Hopefully tomorrow will be just as good!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

I am not yet capable of doing things on my own (Day 13)

Today was rather disappointing.

Not the whole day, just the parts of it in which I decided to try to exercise my independence. I was met with a great deal of failure.

I started the day with an attempt to walk to the office on my own. Whitey had mentioned last night to just let him know in the morning if I needed a ride or not and so I thought I would take it upon myself to get to work on my own. And because of my confusion with the public transit system here, I figured I might as well just walk. Four kilometres didn’t seem so bad. In theory.

I’m pretty sure that Google estimate of the distance was inaccurate though. It had to be. Either that or the number of mountainous streets I had to use was just slowing me down. It took me forever and a day to make my way to the office and I was pretty sweaty and tired by the time I did actually get there.

I am not about to complain about the heat, because no matter what it’s better than walking through snow at home. But I must say the hills here are even worse than San Francisco. Although, the only hills I’ve really come across were the ones I had to deal with today.

I wanted to take a picture of a couple of the mountain ranges I was faced with during my journey, but I figured getting my camera out of my backpack would be too much effort and I wasn’t about to spare the energy for that. Maybe another day.  

By the time I had changed my sweaty clothes and made it into the actual office I was pretty exhausted and I’m sure it showed. It didn’t take long for me to spill my guts complaining about my travels and mention that I was probably never going to choose to do that again. If someone offers a ride, I’m likely going to take it in the future. But if I may foreshadow into the later parts of the day here, I didn’t exactly learn my lesson.

At work I tried to help where I could, contributing to a mini-meeting with Whitey, Gonzo and Alan, and then attempting to take at least one task off their hands. We’ve been trying to give out the remaining membership cards and members’ packs at games (I don’t know if I mentioned this before but members are equivalent to season-ticket holders here), but still have a pile of stuff left, so basically that pile is mine to deal with now. I just need to get them to their rightful owners, or call their owners and tell them where to pick them up.

Any attempt to start on this right away was quickly squashed however, as the materials I needed to complete the task happen to be at the RNA Showgrounds. Please note, I have been informed that the acronym stands for the Royal National Agricultural Association, leaving me even more confused than before, because to me that would be RNAA, wouldn’t it? No matter. I will make no more attempts to guess what it means. I was way off.

So until Whitey was heading to the park with me to get the stuff I needed, and then drop me off at home, I pretty much just answered emails and tried to come up with story ideas for at practice tomorrow night. I wasn’t going to say no to a ride home, so I waited.

By the time Whitey was done with all his meetings and wheelings and dealings, we didn’t have time to get to the ballpark before he had to be somewhere, so he dropped me off at home and was on his way. I was grateful for the ride.

Since I didn’t have the memberships to deal with, or really anything work-related at the moment, I thought I would get out and explore the area a little more. I also had to send a package for someone and send some postcards of my own back home. Please note, if you are interested in receiving any mail from me from Australia, just send me your address and I will get right on it.  

After the post office tasks were finished, I was in search of a place to get my nails done. I know that sounds pretty girly, but that was what I was aiming to do. I figured Chinatown would be a good place to start. For all the nail places in Toronto, I haven’t seen once since I’ve been here, so I didn’t even know if there was such a thing. I wandered Chinatown until I realized that it might be easier if I just went into one of the other shops and asked.

I found success doing that. I was directed back to the train station, which I didn’t know was in my neighbourhood, but could prove very helpful in the future. And I accomplished the task I had set out to do. I got my nails done. And that’s enough talking about that.

While I was there Carl, who had been “sick” earlier in the day, asked what I was doing and mentioned that he would be at South Bank later if I was going to be around there. So I continued my journey back to South Bank. More walking.

By the time I got there though, he had already begun his trek back home. He said he didn’t think I was coming because I didn’t call him, but that allegation is false. I did call. No answer. But I wanted to head to his place anyway to watch the first edition of the Brisbane Bandits show, so I figured I could just continue my walk over there. Again, more walking.

I thought that I could find his place on my own. I didn’t think it was going to be overwhelmingly hard. He suggested that I take the bus, but I figured I could just start walking in what I thought to be the right direction and eventually if I gave up, it would just be a cheap cab ride from wherever I’d made it to.

Wrong.

I still can’t be sure, but I am pretty sure I started my walk in the wrong direction in the first place. I ended up walking around the entire outside of a children’s hospital because it didn’t seem right to me, and I kept looking for something that did. Then I somehow managed to get onto a path, enclosed by tall barriers on either side, that was meant for bikes only. By the time I realized this, I figured it would be faster to go forward to find an opening and a way out then to go backward. Probably also wrong.

I’m not sure how long I walked for until I found a way out but it was far too long. In combination with my journey to work in the morning, I was really beginning to regret the idea of independence. I wandered through a neighbourhood (which would be called a suburb here), looking for road signs or street numbers. I knew I couldn’t call a cab unless I knew what suburb I was in.

For a couple of blocks I honestly thought about going into several mail boxes in an attempt to figure out where I was. Finally though, I ran into a guy working on his car in his driveway, so I didn't have to break any federal laws. I politely interrupted him and told him how lost I was, and he felt inclined to help. I asked what suburb I was in and he responded that I was in Woolloongabba and he wondered where I was looking to go.

I knew the Woolloongabba bus station was the closest one to Carl’s place, so I figured I wasn’t as lost as I had suspected. I asked the friendly man to direct me to the bus station and he pointed me back in exactly the direction I had come and then even further. I was way off. He also told me to make a right and pointed left, so I wasn't sure I was in any better shape than when I'd stopped.

With his directions (I followed the direction he'd pointed in), I made it to the bus station and then just called Carl to figure out what was next. There was no chance of me making it any further, and so lucky for me, he came and met me there, directing the way back to his house.

At that point, I am positive I had been walking for a few hours. It was at least a couple. I’d had my share of walking forever I think. The entire time at Carl’s I am pretty sure I was just thinking about not walking home.

It wasn’t long before the Bandits show came on. It’s on a community channel here called Bris31, and unfortunately Erin doesn’t get it at her house. Neither do Whitey and his girlfriend so they came to Carl’s place to check it out too.

The show was actually pretty exciting to watch. It’s a half hour about the Australian Baseball League and about the sport itself. Though it may not be the most highly technical production in the world, I enjoyed it and I think everyone else I was with did too. With a bunch of people watching on one TV though, it’s not like we were spreading the viewership around. But it was good and there is more time to work on the next version of the show, since it airs the Monday after each home series. The next home series isn’t until the second weekend of December, so we’re in good shape.

After the show Whitey and Julie (Wigive and Kleenex) mentioned that they were heading home and I didn’t know how to ask for a ride without being rude. I mostly just ended up hanging out in the hallway with my purse in my hand until Kleenex asked. It worked. No more walking.

No more independence either though. I have come to rely on Whitey and Carl and hopefully they don’t hate it because as I have come to discover, I am not yet capable of doing things on my own.

At home I thought I would try to start the DVD workout program that I’ve wanted for awhile but wasn’t able to find for a long time. It’s similar to P90X I think, but it’s cheaper. It’s called Supreme 90-Day Fitness, but I couldn’t tell you any more about it because I didn’t start it. There wasn’t enough room in my bedroom. I figure (I reckon, if you’re Australian) that I should take my laptop down to the mini gym in the apartment complex and do it down there. So I’m saving it for another day I guess. That’s the idea.

My eight-hour-walk day had pretty much tuckered me out though so it seemed a good time to head to bed. I’ve got to rest the calves.