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I'm a die hard Angels fan. I went to my first game when I was 4 weeks old and vow that I'll take my kids when they're just as young (provided they're born at the right time of the year). Outside of baseball, I have no real team loyalties. I love watching hockey, but usually root for the team that my friends root for, or barring that, the team with the nicest uniforms. I couldn't care less about basketball really. I root for the Lakers sometimes, and other times root against them.
Football is a little different. I have no team loyalty over a long period of time, but I do pick one team each year that I'll root for, and I stick with them the entire season. I've been a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan (coincidentally, they won the Super Bowl that year), a New England Patriots fan (they won that year too), an Indianapolis Colts fan (they didn't win the year I officially picked them, but they won when I was just in love with Peyton Manning) and a Green Bay Packers fan (no wins in any year I was a fan, dangit). This year I'm picking the Pittsburgh Steelers as my team.
Now, I know squat about the Steelers, except that their QB is Roethlisberger, and their kicker is number 3. I am under no delusions that I am a real Steeler fan. In fact, I've declared that I'm only a fan-by-association, and cannot be held responsible for knowing things a real fan should know (Like the name of the aforementioned kicker, which I think is Jeff Reed, but I'm not entirely sure). I only chose the Steelers because I've started dating a Steeler fan, and have become friends with his crazy Steeler fan friends. Plus, I value my life. (I kid!) (mostly…)
I don't remember who's in their division, I don't remember if they're AFC or NFC, but if you're a fan of whoever they play, consider this the requisite smack-talking that a real fan might throw down. Because us fan-by-association types are just too classy for that. Or so we like to pretend…
When I was a kid, my dad would sometimes take us to the bowling alley on Saturdays for something to do. Occasionally we’d go miniature golfing or to the movies, but most of the time (as far as I can recall) it would be bowling. I loved it. I sucked, but I loved spending time with my dad. When I got into high school, I’d go bowling at Rock n’ Bowl with my friends on Saturday nights. I still wasn’t very good, but it didn’t matter. We had a great time.
About 10 years ago I talked my dad into joining a doubles bowling league on Tuesday nights at the locale alley. It was super cheap, and tons of fun. Dad and I bowled there for a few seasons, before his hand and eyes got to the point where he didn’t want to bowl anymore. But I met some great people in that league, which caused me to join another. And another. And another. At one point I was bowling 6 nights a week at the same place, and loving every second of it. I took a second job at the coffee shop inside the bowling alley, just because I was there all the time. I figured if I was going to be there, I might as well make some money. That lasted all of 4 months. But I kept bowling and making new friends (including my husband). Progressively, I got better at it too. I won a few tournaments, and started bowling with better bowlers. I was totally addicted.
Then time went on, and the people changed. I still loved to bowl, but certain people there made me want to be elsewhere. So I cut back on the amount of leagues I bowled in. I started a league in a center that was 30 miles away with Jenn, a friend that I’d bowled with near home. It was great. I loved the bowling alley, and the people there. Eventually, I quit all my leagues close to home, and only bowled 30 miles away. As luck would have it, Jas and I moved within 10 miles of the center, so I didn’t have to drive as far. Sadly, the center I loved closed down, and we moved to a different place. It’s only 4 miles away now, but it’s not as great as the other was. Since I spend most of my waking hours on the computer, I began to have wrist problems, and bowling was becoming more painful than fun. So in summer of 2006, I quit bowling altogether. I missed it a lot, but every time I thought about starting again, I remembered the pain, and decided I was better off without it.
Last November, Jenn asked me to start bowling on her team because they were losing a member. I missed bowling a lot, so I decided I’d try it again. I didn’t know the other two guys on the team (only by name) so I was a little nervous. The first night I started, Jenn was out sick, so it was just me and these two random guys. I’m pretty shy, so I thought it would be awkward and uncomfortable. They turned out to be pretty damn cool. Over the last few months we’ve all become good friends, and I’m enjoying bowling more than I ever had. I look forward to every Friday night. Even when I was unable to bowl after surgery, I went down and hung out and still felt like part of the team. These past three weeks I’ve been able to bowl again, and despite the agony I’m in (my stomach muscles haven’t fully recovered yet) I’m bowling very very well, and having a great time doing it. Every week we stay after bowling and just hang out together. Our league goes to Laughlin for sweeps the first weekend in June, and it’ll be the last week we bowl together until September. I’m looking forward to Laughlin because it’ll be a blast, but I’m dreading Laughlin because it means the league is over. I don’t know what I’ll do on Friday nights this summer. I won’t have Jenn to make bets with when she leaves a huge split. I won’t have Pitter to worry about, when he lofts his ball 50 feet down the lane, and looks like he’s going to fly with it. I won’t have Donald to laugh at when he misses the 5-pin. Again. (Of course, I also won’t get myself confused with Donald, since we share initials, and I always want to bowl when it’s his turn.) I hope we can still get together during the summer and drink or bowl or even play darts. This has been the most fun I’ve had bowling since I joined my first league 10 years ago. I’m really going to miss it.
Yesterday was my follow up appointment at UCLA. It lasted 45 seconds, I kid you not. I got there 20 minutes early and was called into the room 15 minutes before my appointment. I waited approximately 3 minutes for my surgeon to come in. He took a look at my incisions, answered a couple questions I had on some pain in my stomach (totally normal), and it was over. I literally said to him "I drove all the way up here (60+ miles) for that?" It’s a legal thing, apparently. They have to see me at least once after surgery to make sure I’m alright. And I am! I’m clear to resume life normally. I thought it would be more blood & urine testing, weight, height, blood pressure, etc. Nope! Just a quick glance, a couple questions and I’m out! Thank you drive through!
I can’t lift anything over 10 pounds for another week (which is fine by me, since it hurts to do so). I can start bowling again on May 2, and I CANNOT WAIT! I hung out at the bowling alley with my team last night, and I was DYING to bowl with them. Of course, my stomach was hurting halfway through the evening, not from bowling, but from laughing too hard. They’re hilarious. I’d gone to the alley to visit them a week after surgery, and while they were still funny, I was in a lot of pain and couldn’t appreciate the funny appropriately. Last week I was feeling crappy, so I didn’t even bother to go down and visit. But this week I realized how much I missed them. Trying to bowl while laughing is going to be painful, but worth every second of it.
Jas comes home on Monday, which means I should be cleaning the house in anticipation of his arrival. A feat I’m obviously not accomplishing, as I’m sitting on the computer writing this post. The house doesn’t look TOO bad, but it could use some work. I’m still hoping that if I wish hard enough, little house cleaning elves will show up and handle it for me. Think that’ll happen?
Holy cow! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve posted. So much has happened in the last week, I’m not even sure where to begin. I suppose I should go chronologically.
Wednesday was Jason’s 30th birthday, so we tried to go to our favorite Italian place. The wait was over an hour. So we went down the street to the Cheesecake Factory. Same wait. On a Wednesday. Craziness! We finally ended up at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery. They have Pizookies, which are the BEST DESSERT EVER! (Love you, Tessa). It turned out to be a nice dinner, even though I’d had a really long day, and my head was pounding. Jas has a tendency to try and be very tough and strong, and never admit that he has weaknesses. During dinner he admitted that getting older and hitting the big Three Oh was a little intimidating and scary to him. It was kind of sweet to see him actually act human. 
Jas doesn’t do Valentine’s Day. He never has, and I’m guessing never will. He tells me it’s a Hallmark holiday and totally sexist. If you love someone, I’m told, you should show them all year long, not just one specific day. That last part I can agree with. However, why can’t you show them all year long AND on Valentine’s Day? Wouldn’t that make everyone happy? So I went to dinner with some of my coworkers, and we had a very good time. Of course, we had to go to 4 different restaurants before we could get a table. And where does a restaurant get off charging $85 for a 3 course meal that would cost $24 any other night of the year? That sickened me.
When Jas got home from school that night, I talked him into going to BJ’s (yes, again) so I could have another Pizookie. There didn’t seem to be a lot of couples in the restaurant that night, but I did notice lots of large groups (8+) all eating together. And they sure looked like they were having a lot more fun than the couples did. Perhaps they’ve found the secret to enjoying Valentine’s day. Don’t just celebrate with the one special person you love, celebrate with everyone you love! I’m thinking I might try that strategy next year. Just invite everyone I know out to dinner and have a blast, instead of moping about the fact that my husband is anti-valentine’s day. Yes! That is my plan!
Friday night was pretty exciting! Jas subbed for one of the guys on my bowling team. The first game he shot 298! For those of you who don’t know bowling, a perfect game (all strikes) is a 300. Jas had the first 11 strikes, and then left 2 pins on the last ball. It sucked that he just missed the perfect game, but it was still awesome that he did what he did. I think I was more nervous than he was. I could hardly look every time he was up. On th last ball I was hiding behind my friend Jenn, because I was too scared to watch. I didn’t even see the ball hit, I just heard everyone else’s reaction. But I was super proud of him, even if it wasn’t perfect!
In addition to all those fun things, I had a 3 day training course at work, that turned out to be one of the best things I’ve ever done. It also left me freaking exhausted every day after work. I can’t wait to tell you all about it, but my pizza has just arrived and it is calling my name! Until later then!
I am a huge Angels baseball fan. I’ve loved them since I was a kid, and that continues on today. When Jas and I lived in Anaheim, we went to the games at least once a week, if not more. Now we live a little further away, but we (or I) go at least a couple times a month. Watching in person is much more fun than watching on tv. Most of my fun, aside from watching the Angels win, comes from my intense love of people watching (and mocking). Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of scary trends at the ballpark, and recently I began compiling a list of dress code rules that I would have at Angel Stadium, should I ever own the team. After you read the rules, you’ll notice that I won’t have a whole lot of people left who actually pass the test. But come on people, it’s quality, not quantity, right?
Disclaimer: This list is intended to be humorous in nature and is not an attack against any specific person or persons. Unless you’re a Yankees fan. Then it is.
1. You may not wear articles of clothing that have logos or names of other Major League Baseball teams, if that team is not playing on the day you enter the park. So if the Angels are playing the Red Sox, you may have Red Sox paraphenilia. However, if they’re playing the Twins, that Red Sox stuff needs to stay home.
a. You may not wear Yankees attire. Ever.
2. You may wear articles of clothing that have other sports teams on them, provided they are not Major League Baseball teams. This includes, but is not limited to, minor league baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, or educational institution teams.
a. Should you choose to wear articles of clothing from other sports teams, you are subject to being laughed at for not knowing what sport you are watching.
3. You may not wear articles of clothing that have the names of Angels players who no longer play for the Angels, if they are still active in Major League Baseball. Yes, Joe Schmoe played for us last year. Yes, you have a shirt with his name on it. But he plays for someone else now. Get a new shirt. Support CURRENT players, not guys who deserted us.
a. You may, however, wear articles of clothing with the names of past Angels players who are now retired, even if they did not retire as part of the Angels organization.
b. You may also continue to wear clothing of a player who has been sent down to the minors, as long as he is still on an Angels farm club team.
4. You may not wear heels to a baseball game. Bring a change of clothes if you need one. But heels are for fancy venues, or walking the streets. They are not for a baseball game.
5. If your shirt does not cover your fat roll, you will be required to purchase a new shirt, or leave the park. Plain and simple.
I think that should cover it. I tried to ban Yankee fans from the park altogether, but I figure I’ll just raise the beer prices on the days New York is in town. That should be punishment enough.
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