Animal adorableness courtesy of a coworker.  Just watch it.  DO IT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bmhjf0rKe8

Normally I focus on baseball here, but as anyone who knows me well knows, I am fascinated by children's television. Whilst on Long Island with soprano_no_eiji, c_for_cinephile, cootie_10 and dozaa, I discovered this gem of a DVD in Party City for the fantastic sum of $1. I could not resist buying it, as it looked horrifically bad, and we watched it during dinner that night.

We were not disappointed. It was crappier than it looked.



Here's the basic story...

( Full recap inside! )


Basically, that's the worst DVD I've personally ever purchased. And I loved the entire thing. Hopefully I'll be able to find more of the series...because they're just too bad not to own.

I feel pretty good today. And she may not know it, but it's all because of Holly. :)

This is also a therapy to get this one song out of my head. It's located in here and anybody who read my Twitter prolly knows the answer. So anyways, music meme awayyyy

( Yay? )

In Ithaca, NY, where I went to college and lived for quite a few years, there are a pair of 14-story dorms at Ithaca College called The Towers.  They're way up on South Hill, at the very top of the campus, and are visible for miles.  There is a long-standing tradition in which the north-facing rooms in each tower are lit on New Year's Eve with the numbers of the old year, and at the stroke of midnight the lights in West Tower change to form the number of the new year, after which the lights are left on for several days.  Used to be that the college would get volunteers to stand in every room and flip switches on and off, but no doubt it's all done by timer now.  Of course, this all happens while the students are home on break, but it's the college's annual holiday gift to the local area and is a nice alternative to the Times Square ball drop.  I remember hiking up to campus with a friend one frigid New Year's Eve during my "townie years" for a closeup view of the big moment, and it was quite a sight.

At any rate, I got an e-mail earlier today from the alumni association.  It consisted of this picture, which made me grin like a fool.  It's so pretty that I had to share it with folks here on LJ:



Last night, despite being really exhausted, I did stay up until midnight, although I skipped the ball drop, instead opting to watch MLBN until precisely 12:00, at which time I turned the TV off and was asleep within probably a couple of minutes of my head hitting the pillow.  It's unusual for me to sleep through the night without waking up at least once, but I did last night -- that's how tired I was.  I woke up around 7:00, then dozed until 9:30 (first time I've been able to enjoy sleep-in time in awhile) and am, so far, having a very relaxing New Year's Day.  I farted around on the computer for a couple of hours, then fixed myself a huge brunch of grits, sausage, and a Swiss cheese omelet.  I still have a vicious cold so don't plan to do too much today.  Pretty much everything beyond my sinkful of dishes can wait.   :)

It feels pretty depressing when you go completely out of your way to make someone feel better, and it seems they don't recognize it at all. Not that I want a medal or anything, but a simple "Thanks for everything," or "I really appreciate you" would help. Heaven forbid I would do the same.

While I was on vacation, I had occasion to do more walking than I've done since my MS exacerbation began in October.  Although I was able to use wheelchairs and transport shuttles during my time at the airports because the concourses were way too large for me to attempt, I otherwise walked everywhere, for example when we went shopping or sightseeing.  It was a bit of a stretch, but stretching is good, and my efforts bore fruit in that the more I walked the easier it got.

I also was forced to use stairs, both at my sister's house and at the neighbor's house where I was staying (my sister doesn't have guest space yet).  That too got easier.  And so, today, for the first time in more than 2-1/2 months, I took the stairs when I did my pickups and dropoffs at work.  I'm not gonna lie, going down the stairs was really hard (going up is much easier because of the muscles involved), but I did it.  My plan is to start taking the stairs during at least one of my downstairs trips every day, and once I can do that without getting jelly-legged afterwards, I'll do it twice a day.  Obviously this is small potatoes to folks who have no issues with walking, but to me, right now, it's a really big step.   :)

Yes, I fail at catching up here on LJ!  I was in a virtual media blackout during my trip -- less than an hour on line the entire time...the second time I asked, my sister said, "Wouldn't you rather hang out?" and I took the hint.  I actually got used to it, and oddly, I'm having trouble getting back into the swing of Internet things.  I've been having rather vicious insomnia, thanks to my jet lag, and I also have a pretty bad cold atm, but I'll attempt a 2009 wrap-up post, or the year-end "first line of the month" meme, or SOMETHING...tonight after I get home.

Yay for three-day weekends!  I can get the sleep I've been craving, maybe tidy up the mess in the house, and...FINALLY get to a post about my awesome trip.  I'll try not to write a book, although there's a lot to tell and many links to provide, as I want to share some of the pretty scenery I saw, and I'm too impatient to wait for my sister to send the pictures she took.

I thought I was working a half day today but it turns out that the office is open all day, so I'd best get going.

It's balls cold outside so the puppy thinks it's a good idea to pee in the house...ugh. I think she needs a coat or something. We can't use Mavis' old coat because Stella gets really upset :( But anyways nothing really is going on right now. Just chilling out and surfing the web. Wish there was more to do but alas tis not. The final days of December are winding down quite quickly. Overall 2009 wasn't good or bad. It was just is. It's either a Filler Episode/Breather Episode kind of year or a Midnight At the Firing Squad (in which it seems like Filler/Breather but you'll come to find out that it was important in the long run) kind of year.

So anyways New Years is coming up and lemme tell you, while I like the idea of a new year and start fresh and shit like that, New Years kinda sucks balls if you're over 16 and you don't drink. But that's how it goes. I'm staying at home puppysitting and junk. I'd invite you all over if you lived close enough (though saxy_clarinet may partake in shenanigans but that's really up to her and whether she isn't doing anything else) but alas. Where is everybody today, BTW? Also I'm gonna do that meme of the first thing said on LJ each month.

January: I hope everybody's New Year is happy with minimal hangovers.
February: The Super Bowl is tonight and after that -- we got ourselves some awesome baseball goodness!
March: Not much new to talk about. Still sick, still playing Wii. I watched some Spring Training today though. That was a fun change of pace. The Best of Tracy Morgan is on...dude is funny. He's just completely batshit.
April: Dustin Pedroia article alert. Why do I do this? He's not necessarily my favorite player but any article about him is always entertaining.
May: Hey there boys and girls. Alas it is May. Not much really going on for me right now. I'm hoping to hell that the Red Sox don't suck as hard as they did last night.
June: So anyways, I have a psychologist appointment that I need to go to at 4pm so I'm gonna keep this short and sweet.
July: Hey there boys and girls. So how about today's game? Way to turn shit around after last night's epic fail.
August: Everybody on my flist did something along the lines of "5 things I like about baseball" and whatever else. Random-like stuff for that.
September: What is the latest and greatest with you guys? Not a whole bunch here. Killing time before my 4pm class. My Senior Portfolio class seems pretty good and it'll be nice to help get a resume and all that jazz ready.
October: Hye look I'm gona write an actual entry today. Anyways, what's new with you guys? I've been kinda on a mini LJ sabbatical because I've been so boring and wrapped up in school.
November: I've been so totally out of it lately. Sorry about that folks. But as for what's new? School is school, we named the puppy Kelda and she is made of adorable, video games are still awesome, and I have videos posted up on Blip TV of myself making an ass of myself...with saxy_clarinet being the "translator for the crazy impaired".
December: 12:26:04: My school is doing swine flu clinics tomorrow thru Friday...I think I may hafta partake in such shenanigans...

Soyeah that's all for now.

So Jason Bay is a Met...something tells me he already regrets this move. I'll miss him but that's how ish goes. I pity the Mets fans TBH.

I haven't posted since exam week at college, and most of that was because my Dell's wire disintegrated (yes, you read that right - the copper wire just broke up and disappeared). Since my original college computer, the aforementioned Dell Alastair, had been causing me a lot of problems this past year, I am now writing from Alastair II, an HP Pavilion dv7.

The main reason I wanted to post today is because I have heard from a little birdie (okay, Twitter) that Jason Bay is officially going to the Mets. In return, the Red Sox are receiving two draft picks - a sandwich pick between rounds and the Mets' second-round pick. Although the Mets' first-rounder was protected, this still makes me wonder a bit about Omar Minaya's competency. I am a patient fan. I stick with my team(s) regardless of how well they are playing, because that's what a loyal fan does. I do not get upset when they do not play well over a long period of time - that happens to every team in every sport at some point, even the Yankees. New York, the city I live twenty minutes outside of when I am not studying military history in Pennsylvania, is not a patient city. And that is where Omar's problems begin.

Omar feels pressure from the impatient fans who demand championships rabidly, and he attempts to respond immediately instead of gradually working towards the goal of building a perennial contender. He signs big names, regardless of how old they are, hoping the fans will respond positively to this and praise him, but instead he tends to call upon the services of washed up players who are past their prime (two of the few notable exceptions being Johan Santana, who has done everything asked of him and more, and Jeff Francoeur, who came into an extremely difficult situation and played his heart out). The problem with signing recognizable names in this case is that Omar picks them up on the cheap, after their best years are behind them. He depletes the farm system to achieve this, saving the money for their salaries. Here is the major problem - Omar apparently does not trust untested youth.

I use the word 'untested' somewhat lightly - the best kids playing in Triple-A have been thoroughly tested for years and have proven they're ready to move up to the next level in most cases. My point is that Omar tends to go for experienced players instead of calling upon the services of his prospects, and when he does go to the Minors for a player he seems to do so at the worst possible times (Fernando Martinez, for one, was absolutely not ready in 2009). For example, instead of letting Daniel Murphy settle in at first base, where he was starting to get comfortable, Minaya and Manuel platooned him with Tatis. I adore Tatis - he's a gamer - but Murph needs to play every day in order to consistently improve. Once he got more playing time, his characteristic hitting returned, and he ended up leading the beleaguered team in home runs with twelve. It's not a high number, I know, but it's still impressive that a kid in his first full season in the big leagues who struggled defensively and was shuffled all over the place still led the team in homers. He probably would have hit even more if Omar and Jerry had shown more trust in him.

Omar only thinks about the current - namely, "How do I look to the fans today?" instead of "Hmm. Let's cultivate some minor leaguers down on the farm and put together a consistent contender." The reason my other team, the Red Sox, were so consistently good this decade was because of their farm system. Just a glance at some of the names on the current roster exemplifies this - Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, and my personal favorite, Mr. Jed Carlson Lowrie, are all former farmhands from the Red Sox's system. It is extremely difficult to do this with the current Mets - outside of David Wright and Jose Reyes, most of the players were brought in from the outside by trading prospects (though one or two prospects, like Bobby Parnell and the aforementioned Murphy, have survived). While Omar is very good at addressing current needs (or so he believes; he isn't actually the world expert in patching up offensive and defensive leaks), he does not plan for the future, and this, amongst other things, makes him a bad role model for today's children, who need to learn how to save their assets now to prosper later.

At this rate, Omar will never prosper later. He will not prosper at all. He's just wasting crops.

That is not to say I am against Jason Bay going to the Mets - indeed, I am not, because I like JayBay a lot and loved him during his stint in Boston. What I am against is the way Omar got him - two draft picks. At a time when Omar severely needs to rebuild his farm system, he passes up a chance to grab some great kids to help him out. That is not the way to do it. On the plus side, he did achieve the deal without giving up Josh Thole, but it's still something to think about.

My mom and I just got back to her place here in NC after a long and arduous day that began at 3:30 a.m. Oregon time.  A good time was had by all, but right now I'm really tired and have a LOT of e-mails to wade through and various news and sports sites to check, because my trip was a nearly total media holiday and I have no idea what's going on in the world.  So....just letting folks know that I'm back.  I'll return from my hiatus for real tomorrow and will post more about my vacation.  I hope all of you are having a great holiday season so far.

SMOOCHES!

So yeah I'm bored and I'm doing these memes and I'm gonna once again attempt valiantly to do up this whole posting everyday thing. (ps -- that sentence is supposed to be sarcastic)

First off the TV Meme where you pick 5 shows and then answer 5 questions about them. So here's my 5 shows.

1) MLB Baseball
2) How I Met Your Mother
3) Mad Men
4) Mary Tyler Moore Show
5) Top Chef

( Questions )


Yeah that's all I have right now. I wish I had more but I odn't :(

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and whatever else. Hopefully you all had a good holiday or are having a good holiday. I just got home from my uncle's house (dad's side Christmas party decided to be the day after Christmas) so alas I have time to make an entry. Yeah, I know, I'm flaky these days. I need to break out of that habit. However, those of you who requested a Christmas card should be getting one though mary_19 is getting hers late due to postage issues and I lost lissa_ann's address in the midst of things (you can try to shoot me it back via email and I can get you a super belated Christmas card). So yeah my haul this Christmas has been pretty sweet and I still have $48 dollars to spend :D (my mom spends $300 on each of us)

Thus far I got

*two long sleeved shirts
*two T-shirts
*pair of jeans
*comfy socks
*new sneakers (royal blue Etnies w/ black and white accents)
*new Red Sox hat (with the B in front because I couldn't find any good ones w/ just the socks)
*Wii Fit Plus (now if only I can get about 30 minutes with the Wii daily)
*Scribblenauts (actually very fun...it's just about creative problem solving)
*Peggle (because it's awesome)
*Mario Kart DS
*cheapie harmonica (stocking stuffer)
*pajama pants (fucking gigundo on me)
*American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson (I've started to read it and it's pretty good)
*various candies and such (stocking stuffers)
*Girly perfume stuff (ditto)
*Picture of George Brett (from Amanda)
*Baseball Trivia calendar (from Amanda)
*Book on Narragansett Bay history (also from Amanda)

Then we also got this thing from one of our cousins about my mom's side of the family genealogy...well my grandma's genealogy. It's pretty cool. My grandma was the youngest of 8 though 4 of them died before reaching their 30s (3 of them in college of tuberculosis, 1 died of brain damage after being pushed). So now I'm kinda interested in the early 1920s URI baseball program because my great uncle had a baseball scholarship there! So yeah that's something I wanna research if I ever have the time. So anyways that's all for now. :) Payce.

Check it out:

horsecrazyliza horsecrazyliza horsecrazyliza

And a new profile, too.

The title/subtitle is from Vienna Teng's "Harbor"--

You've got a journey to make
There's your horizon to chase
Go far beyond where we stand
No matter the distance
I'm holding your hand

Sail your sea, meet your storm
All I want is to be your harbor
The light in me will guide you home
All I want is to be your harbor


ETA: Continuing this fit of overhauling, I think I'm gonna get/make all new icons. Except for some. Hmmm.