Spring Training 2007

okay, i'm finally recovered from spring training...so you get the opportunity to hear about it. i'm in full baseball obsession.

i think i'm going to only include highlights, as you can take a trip down my memory lane through the photo album...click on the picture below and you should be able to access the album.

Spring Training

1) dodgertown

dodgertown has to be hands in my top three of grapefruit parks. its small. intimate. vero beach is beautiful, at least the ocean front areas. too bad this was the last year for ol' dodgertown.

Game 1: Dodgers and Nationals
got to see nomar (up close and personal...see pictures), luis gonzalez, betemit, furcal.the dodgers won.


2) Tim's Birthday aka Day 2 of Spring Training

We were seeing two games on tim's bday.

Game 1: Yankees and Astros
astros stadium leaves some to be desired. sat through my first rain delay...yes in a green poncho.got to see cano, damon, a-rod. i just asked tim who won the game, because after the beer we drank at the game...i'm not sure i'd remember...but we are pretty sure the astros won. take that yankees.)

Game 2: Braves and Cardinals
we had to head straight to cracker jack from game 1.i'm not a big fan of the stadium, because its very large, very commercial, very Disney. the line up for our first braves game: johnson, renteria, andruw, mccann, frenchie, and diaz. tied ballgame, called over at the end of the 10th inning. in one day,we saw 2 ballgames, about 6 hours of baseball, spent about 8 to 9 hours in ball parks. man, what a birthday, eh tim?


3) The Black Angus Bar
after the game, we drove the 6 miles to our hotel and decided to check out this bar attached to the hotel. it was called the black angus bar. they had karaoke. it was fucking fantastic...not necessarily the people singing, but it was ripe with fiction stories...so tim and i had some shots.

4) DAY 3
it was our last day...honestly, i was a little tired. it was st patricks day. we were seeing the braves and cardinals again. we had press passes, which wouldn't allow us into the clubhouse. the highlight of this day was watching the minor league team. many people don't know this, but the minor league teams play games during the "main" game...so we watched some of the myrtle beach pelicans play. we saw sammons, ka'aihue, elvis andrus, among others. it was a great experience, reminded me of a high school baseball game (with the dug-outs and player conversation). during the game a sky writing plane wrote, "JESUS LIVES" in the sky.

so those are some of the highlights. there were many great moments...i'm devising a plan so that i an stay at spring training for an entire month. here's hoping.

4 games, 3 days

this is me after the spring training trip. 4 games in 3 days.

its over now. we are back home. the bags have been unpacked. toiletries put back in their proper place. so i'm feeling mournful.

and when i'm done mourning the florida sun and baseball games, i'll give you a trip synopsis. while i write it, i'll drink beer out of a plastic cup...just to recreate the feeling.

i think it can best be summed up by something i heard uttered by a man who was attending the first game of our trip...we passed by him and he said to his companion, "spring training is GREAT!"

yes, indeed. great.

the hour is upon us...

leaving for spring training in two hours....

the latest toughs of spring break

okay, so its not that i'm feeling like i have more to say...i'm just behind on relating my happenings. and since i use this blog as a sort of "dear god, its me margaret" diary....i like to keep up. not to mention, we are heading down to spring training tomorrow afternoon.

yes, i'm on spring break. i decided to have some dental work done to begin the spring break. i mean, what is better than 3 valiums in a 24 hour period? well, perhaps the valium without the dental work...but that's not really appropriate at my age anymore.

yes, i'm doing fine. my dental work went well. and surprisingly, dental work + devil town...you'd think i would have run from the charlotte city limits...but i actually had a really great time.

i spent alot of time with my family. my brothers were both home for break too, so it was an impromptu family reunion. i spent most of my post-op time with my mom. it was fantastic. i'm so happy for her and her unemployment (yes, it was by choice). she is not also addicted to LOST, so we sat around drinking beer and speculating on theories and such.

that evening, i had dinner with my dad, sister, brother in law, and my brothers. my sister is 2 weeks away from her due date...so it was extremely exciting to imagine that in a couple of weeks, i'll be auntie kathy. reminds me of in the movie About a Boy when he refers to himself as cool uncle will, king of the kids.

anyways, later that evening...i spent more time with my family. i drank some beer and it was fantastic. i felt like a young girl of 22 again. it was just what i needed to fully realize my vacation. i think i spent the rest of the evening trying to express my discontent about bam margera to my brothers, but that's a different story.

the next morning, i had brunch plans with eric and stephanie. we were meeting at city tavern, but apparently it didn't open until 11:30...and i had set our brunch time for 11. so we made a trip down to starbucks. i think all three of us were a bit hungover...so this made for a very interesting experience. the greatest thing to me was thinking of the three of us walking down a street in dilworth with our starbucks on our way to brunch. three walking contradictions. the farm will have no starbucks!

after a couple of mimosas at brunch, i decided to head back to the beach. i had a lovely mid-afternoon drive home. i was honestly happy to have had such a positive charlotte experience this time. it felt nice.

so...other than that..tim and i have been eating at irish restaurants for a story he is writing. the one on saturday night was packed. there was apparently a going away party for a fella who was going to iraq within the week. there was something about that....that freaked me out. apparently it freaked him out too....he was almost passed out in the parking lot.

on sunday night, we went to another irish restaurant in little river. they were having karaoke. most of the clients were well in their 50's. it made for an interesting dinner. we heard some johnny cash (performed by a man dressed all in black), as well as springsteen. at first i was irritated by the loud dinner experience, but instead i decided to just enjoy it. and before i knew it...i was having a fantastic time. these old couples danced during the slow songs. everyone cheered. i decided if i was to EVER perform karaoke, it'd be here. and i'd probably do bonnie tyler's total eclipse of the heart....though tim and i did joke about doing paradise by the dashboard light (is that the full title?).

other than that, i've been preparing for spring training.

today, i thought i'd enjoy beach living. i took a notebook and the book i'm most recently reading, the latest kundera the curtain. oh yeah, i took my ipod too. i sat out in the sun for a few hours and just enjoyed the fact i live here. it was wonderful.

the beach was packed...as it is spring break. there were alot of people playing football, volleyball, baseball, throwing the frisbee, etc. now, some of you already know this...but i swear, in school i was always the kid that seemed to get hit in the face with the basketball, volleyball, frisbee...so being on the beach today was sort of like overcoming a fear of being hit in the face with balls (ha....don't you dare!)i was successful...and i even caught a fly away frisbee for a couple of drunk college kids.

so...its happening. tim and i are heading out for our annual spring training trip. this will be our 3rd year. on the agenda this year: astros, yankees, dodgers, nationals, braves, and cardinals. there will be plenty to update upon our return.

but while you are sitting at home wondering when i'm going to update you on my happenings...there is so much good music out right now (or on its way out)...so you should be listening...the new shins album (which has been out for a while) is fantastic...there is a bright eyes ep, the arcade fire is blowing my mind, the modest mouse is growing on me everyday.

i also found out about this band called okkervil river several months ago. i found a song online about the president...i'll forgo actually writing the song title for fear my blog will be on a "list" somewhere...but i looked them up again the other day and apparently they re-released an album with additional songs. its really good. i've been listening to it most of the day. so check it out.

"i don't know what notes you want to hear played, i can't think what lines you'd like me to sing or say, and i'm not sure what subjects you want mentioned. so pause and add your own intentions. just pause and add your own, let's pause and add our own. just pause and add our own intentions. right here." -okkervil river

tartare and dark hearts

so a couple of weekends ago, tim and i made a trip to charleston to attend the food and wine festival. as we made our plans, we discovered that the band sparklehorse was also playing in charleston. it couldn't have been designed better...

we drove into charleston on saturday morning. the festival was made up of cooking competitions, demonstrations, book signings, etc. as we walked around, we stepped in for a moment to a cooking competition that tyler florence was participating in. you know, tyler florence of applebee's. i don't have anything against him, but in the 5 minutes we listened to him... he made the suggestion that using freshly ground pepper and sea salt would "really" make your food more spectacular. pepper and salt? that's the suggestion?

the rest of the food and wine discussion may at times seem vague...as i'm trying to protect the innocent.

we also attended a demonstration that was being conducted by a local chef and a food writer. afterwards, we spoke with the writer (who tim knows), who invited us to have drinks. as we started heading off for drinks, we realized it was a group of 7 of us. we walked through downtown Charleston for several blocks. i didn't know where we were going or who these people were, but i knew there was a cold beer waiting for me at the end of the journey.

finally we arrived at our destination. as we began talking, i slowly realized we were sitting at the table with an editor from an extremely well-known magazine, as well as a chef from a well-known restaurant in the south. i'm not trying to say, "oooooh, look who i was hanging out with"...which is why i'm not providing names, but it was more of a situation where you look around and think, "how the hell did i end up here?"

so, one beer in....people kept asking me if i needed anything else to drink...then they started ordering appetizers. the chef from the restaurant (who also happened to be the chef from the demonstration) came over, introduced himself, and then informed all the waitstaff that we should NOT be allowed to pay for anything. even better, right?

like charlie on lost said, "guys...where are we?"

the appetizers were so fucking delicious...so much in fact, that yes, it warranted me saying the f-word. it was a combination of sausage with pimento cheese smeared all over it. and i'm sure it helped that the beer just flowed freely.

after drinks and food, the group decided to head to yet another bar. so we all filed out into the streets of charleston. it was a perfect moment to be drunk in the daytime. the sun was starting to rest in the sky. there were people everywhere.

walking down the street, a suburban pulls up next to us...and a couple of guys from within screamed out the names of some of our co-conspirators. they jumped out and started talking to us, inviting us over to their loft apartment. so, just like that...we started going in a different direction.

next thing i know, we were in a fancy loft. someone handed me a whiskey. we sat around laughing, talking, and watching the sun start to set on downtown charleston.

afterwards, tim and i figured it might be a good idea to grab a bite to eat, so we stopped in the restaurant fig to have a couple of appetizers before the show. we ordered a cheese plate and steak tartare. tim broke his vegetarian rule for the tartare. there are few places and times that you would want to try this dish and we both figured this was the time, and most specifically, the place. given the fact that i was several hours into drinking, i even tried the tartare. for those of you who know me, this isn't normally a food i would try...but again, time and the place...and hell, well the alcohol made me feel more adventerous.

so only part of our day was done...and sparklehorse still awaited. as we drove to the hotel for a short siesta, we pulled up to the light across from the hotel...and coincidentally, my mom was also at the light. yes, mom was meeting us for the show. i think everyone knows she may be sparklehorse's number one fan.

the show was as fantastic as those delicious sausages. i've never had the opportunity to see sparklehorse, though i've been a fan for over a decade. i didn't know what to expect, but it well surpassed any expectations.

particularly...they played mostly songs of the first album, vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. this was the album that made me love sparklehorse. its what sparklehorse is to me, so i was extremely pleased that a majority of the setlist came directly from the album. i stood there blissfully taking in the songs, the memories, the sights.

we closed down the music farm.

then there was denny's. i don't remember exactly what i ate at denny's, but i do know that although its not one of the finest restaurants in charleston (and we had been to some of those earlier in the day), the food was exactly what you need at 3am.




i'm not sure exactly what i was pleaded with tim for in this shot, but i'm pretty sure it was so i could order the 5 dollar side order of bacon.

charleston was quite an experience. perfect in fact.

creating our own happiness

so, just what i needed to feel better about the world...i remembered that wayne coyne of the flaming lips had recently contributed to a "this i believe" on npr...so i looked it up...

and it seemed to fit perfectly with my whole pursuit of happiness discussion concerning the love of tragedy in our society.

"I believe this is something all of us can do: Try to be happy within the context of the life we are actually living. Happiness is not a situation to be longed for or a convergence of lucky happenstance. Through the power of our own minds, we can help ourselves. This I believe." -Wayne Coyne

listen to the segment at

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7572601

you'll thank yourself. its just nice to see someone talking about happiness.

a race to unhappiness

so last week or so, tim called my attention to this article on pitchfork about a recent bright eyes performance. after reading it, i felt somewhat irritated. it got me thinking about how "we" approach people and their happiness or discontent.

the review of the show went something like this:

"A snowy Midwestern night, a club packed with the faithful eagerly awaiting new tunes-- seemed like the ideal setting for an electrifying Bright Eyes show. But what we got at the Metro last night, as Conor Oberst and crew kicked off* their winter tour, was kind of like a big ol' mug of hot cocoa: familiarly delicious at first, then just familiar.

Conor's sporting some terrible hair these days, long and greasy like a bass player in a grunge band circa 1992. And he seems genuinely content and at peace with the world, which is awesome for him but not so awesome for an audience used to onstage exorcisms. Perhaps that's why throughout Bright Eyes' 15-song set, he ignored anything older than the 2004 Neva Dinova split One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels, except for "Make War" from 2002's Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground and "Spent on Rainy Days" from his 2002 Britt Daniel split. Those old songs are mostly teenage catharsis. " (courtesy of www.pitchforkmedia.com)

so what bothered me?

well, why is it that its not awesome for his audience? i mean, i know what the author is trying to imply. i understand that for an audience that may be use to conor kicking about and drinking himself into an oblivion on stage might be what drives the audience to his show...but i'm personally tired of it.

i mean don't we want someone that we admire to grow and heal? i think its tragic that people would prefer a musician to stay in a constant state of unhappiness because it serves to be a better show. what is it about watching a train wreck that people enjoy so much?

i think for me the whole idea of people becoming "bored" with conor's hot chocolate show hits a couple of chords (yeah i know... but seemed to be the best way to word it).

for one, i use to know conor personally. during the years that i spoke to him on a several times a year basis, i watched him battling some demons. i'd watch him holding on to life in what appeared to be a tenuous grasp. it worried me. i think it worried most of the people around him. one night at a party, i walked up to say goodbye to him. he looked up to me and it was difficult to even recognize a person in his eyes. and i always hoped that things would even out for him. that this sadness that seemed to have a hold of him would drift away, as it does for most people as they mature and figure some shit out.

but there is something about weakness that people consume. something they enjoy. perhaps it makes them feel better. perhaps they want you to be the fall down drunk in the bar, because you are more fun. because people like tragedy.

i know when i personally was going through my "dark" times, it seemed that people were always around me. when i was younger and drinking insane amounts of alcohol and forgetting most of my 20's, it seemed people just enjoyed being around me. the crazier i acted, the more people enjoyed it. i think it was obvious to most people that i was apparently doing one of those cliched "screaming for attention". but they sure as hell enjoyed it.

then i started to get my act together. i was in graduate school. i stopped going out as much. i'd prefer to spend evenings at home reading or watching a movie. and the phone calls stopped. the after party invitations stopped. it was almost as if being happy was just the antidote i needed to those awful hangovers.

then when i had an actual healthy relationship where i was happy (yes, of course, you...tim), it seems that people drifted away even more. they don't want to hear about your happiness. or at least they'd much rather here about your unhappiness.

and so, i think its crap that people can't feel the happiness of others. why is that sadness is suppose to be thing that gives you depth as a person, as an artist? i find myself seeking out in music and movies a plot or story that shows me that life doesn't have to be staring down to the bottom of a bottle. the story doesn't have to end that way.

"the sunrise or the sunset, hold your sadness like a puppet, keep putting on the play" -bright eyes

by the way, do check out the new ep...unless of course, you enjoy misfortune too much.

where have all the honeybees gone?

lots of updates here...

so here are some pictures from TIM LONG's (alert that!)visit to the grand strand. i think we all had a great time. laughs. drinks. drunkin' noodlin'.

it was a short visit. tl came down on saturday. td had a restaurant visit to do, which happened to be one of the seafood shacks in cherry grove. we drove out there with great expectations. well, maybe not great...but at least decent. and the only part of it that was really decent was the food.

the most hilarious part of the dining experience was one of the servers (if you can call her that). so this gal was working behind the bar and waiting on customers. she was for lack of better words, completely obnoxious. about one sip into my cold budweiser she started doing this loud nerve-shattering laugh. as some other diners left, she asked if they enjoyed the dinner and the fella joked "no, but i ate all of it". this launched the demon waitress into a tirade about a previous customer she had.

apparently this customer ordered 12 oysters. they ate eleven of them and then informed her that the oysters were terrible and wanted their money back. at this point in time the waitress emphasized how ridiculous this was. she repeated over and over again about how "you didn't like them, but you ate e-lev-en-eh" (a four syllable enunciation of the word eleven. she kept on with this story past my first beer into my sandwich. she explained in great (and loud) detail about how the customer wanted to talk to a manager, at which point in time she responded "you lookin' at her!". E-LEV-EN-EH!!!

this wasn't the only obnoxious story we heard from the server. she made some comments about vomiting, shitting, hair in the food...certainly the most appetizing stories for other diners. i'm surprised i made it through my dinner.

the best story had to be about how the cops in town have it out for her because her mother is in law enforcement. she talked about being pulled over after going out drinking. she then relayed a story about how she had been kicked out of the applebee's twice. hell, we didn't realize applebee's was the place to hang out and get fucked up...but apparently, we've been going to the wrong places. to emphasize her point about getting kicked out of the applebee's (which apparently is a badge of honor to her), she asked the other server "how many times have i been kicked out of the applebee's?"

she also made a comment about how everyone should be required to work one year as a server, so they could appreciate the "hard" work of servers. i'm SO over the sympathy i'm asked to feel for wait staff. no one asked you to drop out of college and take this life-long career choice. i overall have respect for most servers, but this is just getting over the top.

thankfully we made it out of the shack without throwing our shrimp shells on her. but i do think that it accounted for the fact that we all drank our second drinks down quicker than we should have.


afterwards, we made a trip to rockefeller's...as we needed some normalcy. then we brought it on home for a little jam session. now, i'll be honest here...when tim and tim would have get together to play music, i would always envision some sort of weird conglomeration of music. it was fantastic! tim long played the guitar, tim davis played the harp (that's harmonica to you knaves!)

So, what else? its a week later, and i've got more stories for you, but i'm going to wait to post about it later. we had another action-packed weekend..and i'm feeling a little like my head is a balloon that is on a string that i'm holding directly over my body.