Saturday, May 14, 2016

Nights in White Noise

The simple version left out some dirt, drama, and details (which is what this blog is for) so welcome back to the life you want to know more about. Thank you for that. I still dream that bass will join me and my metaphorical sis string orchestra, ya know? Just tell us you love us so we don't feel alone.

I came back to the laptop to find the Kaspersky scan was completed with no threas found but the Windows Update was barely started. I started a Spybot Immunization, then a scan, then left again and came back again and Spybot was done, but the Windows Update was just starting the installation process. I shall leave it running as I sleep (which better come soon as I have a very long day tomorrow - softball AM, softball practice at noon, dinner with helena at 5, then cards and games after that. Definitely need more than the five hours I will get, but at least I should try to get five.

Yes, so as I was saying, sleep is good and twelve hours of sleep is excellent. Waking in mid-afternoon was sweet and I started showering more often here, which is sweet too. I used to two-a-day shower as a younger kid (I will always be a kid) and I am finally adjusting to this new space and tiny cramped uncomfortable shower (yes, three adjectives... and I could easily have added more... hush, it's not negativity, it is facing reality, accepting reality, and move on) enough to want more showers here. Showering is soothing and relaxing and energizing all at once, even when the comfort of the space is low and the temperature of the water is not as hot as I'd like it.

Relaxing made softball go a lot better than last Friday. We won 22-1 in a three inning run ruled game (a team twenty runs ahead after three innings is declared the winner, in case you forgot). I hit well, going went three for three. Batting last again, there were just three of us who only hit three times. Everybody else got to bat a forth time. Alas, that is life at the bottom of the lineup. Not fair, especially when I probably have one of the highest averages on the team, but I usually don't complain so I get stuck there. I politely encouraged everyone to keep hitting so the bottom of the lineup gets to hit the same as the top each of the three innings this week, so maybe my ending of silence about it will get me moved up too, at least now and then.

I pitched two inningsscoreless innings and it was 22-0 at the start of the third so I moved to third base and the third baseman moved to pitch. He was obviously not fielding well (or so he said, but that might have been an excuse for making an error as few people are conditioned to field at the pitcher position because reflexes have to be a whole lot faster than any other position). The umpire came out from behind the plate to give the pitcher and our team a warning that if we did not play better he would call a forfeit. That is called a "travesty rule" and is meant to keep a good team from mocking a bad team, but all we were trying to do was give the other team three runs so they could play another inning and they were all for it and saw no disrespect from us. It turns out the umpire behind the plate was stepping up to protect us from the umpire on the field who wanted to take a break early and told the ump behind the plate he would call the forfeit if it went another inning.

That is so wrong is so many ways I will be letting the park manager know. First, he arrived to his job (umpires are paid employees) late in the second inning. Second, he does not get to pressure paying customers (us) because he wants an early break. He is paid to umpire for the full game. The practice of moving players around to positions they are not familiar with when a team takes a large lead is common in recreational softball. That gives the players on team with the big lead a chance to learn new skills and enjoy a different perspective of the game. That also gives the other team a chance to play more than a few innings. We pay the field for a one hour game, after all. What he did is the equivolent of a restaurant server telling a customer to eat faster because he/she wanted to go on a break and worse, the food the customer paid for would be taken away if the customer did not eat faster. Not to mention bring the food late to begind with. Our coach will be letting the park manager know as well.

I know the ump behind the plate from other places and he can be weak and easily influenced by players (and apparently other umpires). I let him know that I understood why he came out with the warning, but it was not right and not acceptible and the park manager will have a complaint about the other ump. I pointed out that discussing the warning before the third inning even started was unethical and the warning came on our first error and a second warning came on the first walk of the game by our team. Wrong all around.

After softball I did not feel like going home so I called Harpo and picked him up and went to the new Whole Foods to try their buffet. Not bad, not great, definitely not worth the $9 a pound. Maybe it is better earlier in the day, but still not worth the money. Nothing tasted good enough to want more of it. Golden Corral (I don't eat there often anymore because quality is not so great) has similar foods and is much cheaper. After that I drove to Jeremiah's (ices and soft serve ice cream are twisted into what they call a Gelati... there are a few dozen flavors to choose from) for dessert. Foolish spending, more calories than needed, but yummy.

I dropped Harpo home and headed here, played Ruzzle (still in first place at the end of day three) and then went to sleep as I have a long day tomorrow. Softball with the seniors in the morning. Softball practice with the Saturday team at noon. Dinner with helena at 5pm. Then cards and games at Excel and the Commodore's place after that. I'd love an afternoon nap, but somehow I think it won't happen because I might oversleep and do not want to be late to meet Helena. Respect. In the ideal world, I'd be having dinner with my life partner and a nap would fit in because she'd wake me for dinner. Life is not like that these days, so I stay awake more.

Sleep now (at least try... I am not too sleepy). Maybe leaving both fans on will help. I understand white noise is effective for some people. For me, all it takes is someone with whom I am comfortable sleeping. How do you sleep?

Nite nite :)


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