Breaking the streak

The New York Yankees snapped their seven-game losing streak today, in a good game against the evil Boston Red Sox. Those seven games were their longest losing streak since 2000. But Boston still sucks.

In Memoriam

Betty Hands died this month. Chances are, nobody in the blogosphere knows her, but her passing will be mourned by legions of students who were in CCD classes at St. Catharine's Church in Pelham, NY, in the 1980s and early '90s.

Mrs. Hands was a somewhat scary force - tall and large, with short (probably died) blond hair and a thick Texas accent, she taught the Confirmation classes for years. One year, she also taught my 7th grade religion class, but only for about six weeks, before a promotion at her job forced her to give up our class that year. Mrs. Hands was quickly replaced by a string of teachers, all of whom quit because of the bad behavior of the boys in that class. Who can forget the day, after our school trip to the U.S. military academy at West Point, J.P. and T.J. tossing a brand new West Point football across the classroom. They hit that teacher in the head, and he stormed out of the room, never to return.

Mrs. Hands returned to our lives for Confirmation. I learned some important things from her. As a convert (originally a Southern Baptist, I believe), I learned that converts really are the most hardcore Catholics ever. But I also learned never to get off the kneeler until the priest is sitting down after Communion, and to always speak slowly while lectoring. If you're in front of a captive audience, you might as well take your time. Though I never did it in quite as slow a drawl.

I read her obituary in the paper today. I'd wondered what happened to her after my family left St. Catharine's. It looks like she and her husband left the parish around the same time we did, amid some unpleasant changes brought about by a new pastor. The obit said she taught CCD at another church. With all the changes as a result of the loss of that parish community, I'm glad she continued teaching.

My box, my box!

The 43 bus pulled into its stop at the foot of Parnassus Ave. the other night, and the guy waiting at the bus shelter hurried aboard.

He waved his pass and walked to the front seats, the ones reserved for seniors and the disabled. But instead of sitting down, he commented to the guy sitting in that row of seats that he was only looking for his box.

"Hey, there it is!" he shouted, reaching under the seats and pulling out a post-office bulk mail delivery box, filled (it appeared) with letters or some sort of paper.

"I found my box!" he shouted. "I've been waiting for this bus forever."

He then proceeded to run off the bus, so as not to delay its departure, and return from whence he came, rejoicing in finding his lost item on the bus. We may never see anything like this again.

No surgery necessary!

I got my (long-awaited) MRI results back today, and the news is really, really good. My knee looks normal, no miniscus tear, which means no surgery is necessary. That's awesome! And I've noticed less discomfort in the past few weeks. Now if only we could figure out why it's still all swollen. But Bay to Breakers, here I come! And bicycling. Slowly and on flat surfaces. It won't be like my days navigating through Golden Gate Park, but it's better than sitting on the bus.

So angry

On March 16 I sent a check and order form to the office at my place of business that provides tickets to several Giants baseball games each spring. Of the five choices, I paid $51 for a ticket to a Phillies game and to the first of the Yankees series.

When my check failed to clear and I hadn't gotten an email to pick up my tickets, I became concerned and called the office. Four tries later, I finally got somebody. Then it was two additional calls to find out this morning that they never got - or lost - my order.

Great. So now the check's missing and I'm shut out of opportunities to see any of those Yankees games, because the Giants are only making the tickets available as part of tickets packages. I am VERY, VERY MAD!!!

Photos!

Hey everyone, check out the new photos posted on my flickr page. I finally got the photos from St. Patrick's Day ready. Here's one of Brian, Steph, and myself at the Blackthorn Tavern. Enjoy!

Busy, Busy, Busy. And feeling lousy.

I think my lifestyle (such as it is) is catching up with me. I've had plans every night this week, and while they've been tons of fun, I'm really tired. And sick still, or battling bad allergies, or maybe I'll just wheeze and sniffle for the rest of my life.

I'd just like a nap. And a day where I don't have to spray or otherwise ingest probably toxic chemicals.

Ickyness aside, this has been a very interesting week. Here's a little recap, as I've been neglecting the 'nation this week:

Monday: dinner at Plumpjack's in the Marina. The restaurant, part of Mayor Newsom's empire, is pretty schwanky. A friend from work (who's obsessed with food and has eaten in all the city's A-list restaurants) and I were talking one day about how neither of us had ever been there. Then all of a sudden we had reservations for three - him, another co-worker, and myself. The third coworker belongs to a wine club, so she brought her latest bottle - which saved us a bundle, even if they did charge a corkage fee on "corkage-free Mondays."

I split an entree to save some money for dessert, and while the risotto was ok, I wasn't too impressed. Dessert, however, was amazing. It's called "chocolate decadence," and it was just incredible - a little chocolate cake with chocolate sauce and almond milk ice cream on the side. I'd skip dinner next time and just go for dessert.

Wednesday: Barry hit home run 738 (my first splash hit!) and the Giants won 6-5 in a 12-inning nail biter that ran almost 3 hours. It was pretty cold in the very last row of the ball park, but our seats were awesome and the game was terrific. And Rich Aurilia is definitely proving his worth. I've got to wonder why they let him leave in the first place.

Last night Shoeless Lou came for dinner. It was cold and raining, so she wore shoes. She also had to bring her own chair, as parties at my house are currently BYOC, since I have yet to acquire new ones for my kitchen table. But since I can provide the liquor, I figure asking guests to bring seating implements isn't too inappropriate. Her attendance prompted some frantic last minute house cleaning, and we had a nice visit.

And tonight, I'm off to see Dan Schutte in concert in Berkeley. Steph and Brian and I are hoping tickets will still be available at the door. But I'm thinking this won't be a sellout show.

And tomorrow, I sleep.

The Rain in Spain.....

As an undergrad, my friend Molly invited several of my dorm-mates to a party. She wasn't too sure about the crowd, and warned us it could be pretty lame. We were really going as reinforcements. We even devised a code to let each other know we needed to leave: we agreed to recite the famous phrase from My Fair Lady, "The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain."

I seem to recall all of us using the code within probably about half an hour of arriving. By the time we left, we were concerned that the flooding in Spain would have global ramifications. This party probably happened in late 1998 or early 1999, and I don't think I've thought about it since then - until last night.

I went to a party with similar people, in a similar situation, but without the Trinity girls to share the joke, I kept it quietly to myself as I fled the scene. I'd had high hopes for the party, hoping to solidify a few tentative friendships. I don't think that'll be the case, which made me a little sad, but telling the story to Cat today reminded me of the value of the friends I do have. And even though she doesn't read the 'nation, I wanted to give her a shout out - congrats on grad school and good luck in Pittsburgh. And I'm trying to be happier for you than I am sad that you're leaving the west coast.

42

Today is Jackie Robinson day - celebrating the 60th anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson integrated major league baseball.

Today's also the day I broke one of my most important rules: NEVER leave the game before the final pitch has been thrown. I left the Yankees-Athletics game at the top of the 7th today, with the Yankees trailing 2-0. They rallied, and almost won, except for Marco Scutaro's walk-off home run off of Mariano Rivera. He's the only player in the MLB who gets to wear #42 - he was grandfathered in when the number was universally retired in 1997.

Ironically, I've only ever once before left a game before it ended. In that instance, the Yankees won with a walk-off homer at the end of 17 innings. Never leave the game before it ends and the lights have gone out on the field.

Seriously the most frustrating part about moving; Or scavenging for take-out menus

I've stayed in the same city. I moved to a neighborhood I knew pretty well. I'm only about three miles from my previous home. But I have NO IDEA where in this neighborhood I can order take out food.

I realize how ridiculous this is, but tonight all I wanted was to order some Chinese food and watch some baseball. The Giants were winning, and I really didn't want to leave before the game ended (as the Giants have already lost so many games as to have been mathematically eliminated from the postseason), but then the Yankees were playing Oakland at 7 pm, and I didn't want to miss any of that game either. I NEEDED takeout food.

But I have no idea who to call. None of the places I'm familiar with in my new 'hood deliver, and the phone book doesn't have any take out listings for places close enough to deliver to my apartment.

So, I sacrificed the last two innings of the Giants game to walk the four blocks to Divisadero St., where I found a lousy burrito place and bought a lousy burrito. But this little walk in the wind turned out to be quite productive. I discovered that a local take out Chinese place had flyered California St. with menus today. And an Indian place had been by today too. So now, if I want Chinese or Indian, I know where to call.

Now if only Harry delivered burgers, I'd never have to miss an inning.

It's not that I hate kids, but....

I'm organizing a work event for my team, a night at a Giants baseball game. We've picked a date, and today were talking about scheduling and buying tickets. Upon committing to go, on co-worker announced she wanted four tickets. For herself, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's two sons. They're 11 and 3.

It's a night game. Bleacher seats. A work event. I think this is totally a bad idea, but as the most junior member of the team, I didn't feel comfortable saying so. And then a single parent said if kids could go she might be able to attend. Actually, her 10-year-old daughter is probably a riot, and it would be her first baseball game, so that would be kind of cool, but perhaps in another situation. A day game, maybe, in a part of the ball park that's not really cold and filled with rather, um, rowdy fans.

So now my whole team is going with three, possibly four kids under 12. I'm not too sure I want to go to this game, as I really think it's a waste to bring kids too little to be into the game. How would you have reacted in this situation?

Achoo

I don't know what's in the air this month, but can it please bloom and then go away. My nose is running. My eyes itch. My throat is scratchy.

Spring makes me sneeze.

Church and Chocolate

5: the number of evenings spent at St. Dominic's this week.
4: the number of Holy Week Masses I attended this week.
2.5 hours: the approximate length of last night's Easter vigil.
47: the number of candidates for baptism.
7: the number of readings, followed by psalms, read in the dark.
2: the number of CHOCOLATE FOUNTAINS that awaited those who struggled to sit through the entire vigil and then went to the Easter reception. TWO CHOCOLATE FOUNTAINS, COMPLETE WITH FRUIT AND CAKE AND CREAM PUFFS TO DIP INTO THEM.

This was the best Easter ever.

Baby Billy's 25!!

Big birthday greetings to my brother, who today reached the quarter century mark. Cue up the music and pass around the chocolate cake. Happy birthday Bill!!

In an early morning birthday conversation, he mentioned that he went to last night's Yankees game. It was the first game he's seen since 1995 in which the home team lost. This is a somewhat troublesome start to his 25th year, but we're hoping for better times ahead.

Bless me Father, for I have sinned

Read this article from today's San Francisco Chronicle and, please, don't scream in frustration and anger if you're in a public place. But I challenge you to tell your priest if you're on the pill or using other "artificial methods of birth control," or that you're pro-choice. Post it on your blog or take out a newspaper ad, or maybe just hang a sign from your window saying you support gay marriage, just to see what happens. This makes me very, very angry!

Gillette, Wyo. (AP) --
Leah Vader and Lynne Huskinson, a lesbian couple who got married in Canada last August, sent a letter recently to their state legislator decrying a Wyoming bill that would deny recognition of same-sex marriages. The lawmaker read the letter on the floor of the Legislature.
Soon after, the local paper interviewed the couple on Ash Wednesday and ran a story and pictures of them with ash on their foreheads, a mark of their Roman Catholic faith.
It wasn't long after that that the couple received a notice from their parish church telling them they have been barred from receiving Communion.
"If all this stuff hadn't hit the newspaper, it wouldn't have been any different than before — nobody would have known about it," said the couple's parish priest at St. Matthew's, the Rev. Cliff Jacobson. "The sin is one thing. It's a very different thing to go public with that sin."
Catholics deemed sinners in the eyes of the church are sometimes taken aside and privately advised not to take Communion. But Cheyenne Bishop David Ricken, gay Catholic organizations and a national church spokeswoman said they could not recall any previous instance of a U.S. bishop denying the sacrament to a gay couple in writing.
Now Huskinson and Vader say they are struggling to reconcile their devotion to the church with their devotion to each other.
"You spend half your time defending your gayness to Catholics," Vader said, "and the other half of your time defending your Catholicism to gays."
The couple, who regularly attended Mass and took Communion, have not been back to St. Matthew's since they received the letter a month and a half ago. Vader said they did not want to make a scene.
The 46-year-old newlyweds — Vader is a supervisor at a recycling center, Huskinson a coal miner — ran afoul of a sort of don't-ask-don't-tell policy on the church's part.
"I told my wife in good conscience that if I had known those ladies, and we'd have been having a beer, I'd have just told them to keep everything to themselves," parish music director John Chick said. He added that once news like this hits the papers, "someone's forced to deal with it now, aren't they?"
The parish priest said that after the couple put their engagement and marriage announcements in the local paper, he ran reminders of the church's teachings in the parish bulletin as a warning.
After the Ash Wednesday story, the priest sent this letter: "It is with a heavy heart, in obedience to the instruction of Bishop David Ricken, that I must inform you that, because of your union and your public advocacy of same-sex unions, that you are unable to receive Communion."
The bishop said the couple's sex life constitutes a grave sin, "and the fact that it became so public, that was their choice."
Last fall, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops overwhelmingly approved new guidelines that say parishes should welcome gays while telling them to be celibate because the church considers their sexuality "disordered." The bishops said that anyone who knowingly persists in sinful behavior, such as gay sex or using artificial contraception, should refrain from taking Communion.
Professor Carl Raschke, chairman of religious studies at the University of Denver, said of the Cheyenne bishop's decision: "It's no more surprising that the Catholic Church would deny Communion to an openly gay couple than a Muslim mosque would deny access to somebody who ate pork."
Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the church allows local bishops to handle decisions on who may take Communion, so there is no record of how many have been barred from receiving the sacrament.
Walsh said most cases she has heard of involved public figures. During the 2004 presidential campaign, the St. Louis archbishop Raymond Burke said he would deny Communion to John Kerry, a Catholic who supports abortion rights.
Vader said the couple never made any secret of their relationship. She pointed to statuettes of two kissing Dutch girls in front of their single-wide trailer home. She also said that the couple posed for a church directory family photo with Vader's children from a previous marriage, and that the church has sent mail to both of them at the same address for years.
Huskinson questioned why Catholics having premarital sex and using birth control are not barred from receiving Communion, too. But the parish priest said the difference is this: The other Catholics are "not going around broadcasting, `Hey I'm having sex outside of marriage' or `I'm using birth control.'"

Opening Day

10 in a row - the number of home openers the New York Yankees have won.

1993 - the year the Grateful Dead sang the National Anthem on opening day at Candlestick Park.

125 - the number of years the Giants (of varying locations) have been playing major league baseball.

2007 - the year I might get to view the first pitch and perhaps the whole first inning from the viewing area outside of AT&T Park.

Coming soon to an oyster festival near you

The Saw Doctors. At Fort Mason. For O'Reilly's Oyster and Beer Festival. For really, really cheap. I am so excited! And hopefully this time I'll get some better photos.