A Good Day Starts with Kona

I've once or twice mentioned my mother's cousin who lives in Hawai'i. Shortly after he moved there (which was years ago), he sent us a box full of stuff for Christmas. In it was a bowl made of koa wood, and a nifty box made of some other wood. Inside this box was a shell necklace and two bags of the best coffee ever. Even if you're not a coffee connoisseur (like I am not, but I can tell the difference between a good cuppa joe and a bad one), you can tell when you have Kona in your cup. Trader Joe's occasionally has Kona coffee available, but it's four times more expensive than the other coffee they carry (which is quite yummy). We did splurge on another Trader Joe's Hawaiian coffee that was about half the price of Kona, and is good in its own right. Target sells a Kona blend (some Kona blended with other coffee, probably a regular old Colombian, to make it cheaper) that is actually quite good, and satisfies that yearning for simply a good cup of coffee.

I would never bring the Trader Joe's Kona to share at work (I don't make that kind of money!) but a group of us are happy to share bags of Target's Kona blend. It's not the same as the true and good stuff, but it's far better than the crap that the office purchases. Days that start with Kona (even a little bit of Kona) are good days.




Yesterday started with Trader Joe's Hawaiian Peaberry (peaberry is a type of bean, not a variety of plant, that roasts and brews a little differently than regular, flat beans). Then Fox and Fae came over and together with mom and I, we headed into town on the Metro. It was quite cold for Sakura viewing, but that kept the crowd down (relatively speaking). We're in the peak bloom period right now (that's something we usually miss), even though there were still buds on the trees, they were not yet dropping petals. I never tire of looking at those flowering trees.

We also viewed the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, both of which I have never been to previously. I can't quite put words to what seeing them was like.

After a long hike to the Metro and a bit of crowding with baseball traffic, we were back in the area for dinner and bleeding.

Yes, I said bleeding! Think Geek has a DIY Blood Typing Kit and Fox decided it would be fun to test ours and see what we have. It's not exactly a reliable blood typing method (doesn't involve a laboratory to anything like that) but I think it delivers mostly accurate results. I wouldn't want to get a transfusion based on it, but it's nice to know your most-likely type. Fox bought three kits, and I had one, so we and Fae sat down to bleed on a card and see what we had. I was doing fine until it came time to prick my finger. Fox and Fae had done theirs (and they were barely bleeding), but I just couldn't do it. Fox had to do mine, which worked great, it didn't hurt, and I bled more than anyone; I was the only one who needed a bandage. Fae got enough to do the test, but poor Fox just wasn't bleeding. We tried a couple clean and disinfected needles, and that didn't work. Then we decided to scrap the thing and use the extra test. It's a good thing they had three!

At one point, Fae and I both exasperated that it would work if we could get enough blood out of him. I took over the lancet (since him doing mine worked so well for me). He still didn't bleed much, but it was enough this time. We discovered that I've been on the correct blood type diet for almost a year, and that Fox and I have the same A+ blood type (I guess that means I should keep him around). Fae is the coveted 0-, the same time as one of their close friends. It looks like it's a good thing to keep her around too, though I can't help her any.

This was a fun way to spend the evening. I've got a big bruise on my finger now, though. I should have chosen a different finger; I didn't realize how many important characters the left middle finger hits on a keyboard!

I just can't talk about yesterday's adventures without talking about that fabulous Nationals Home Opener that I wish I could have stayed up to watch. Nick Johnson was back on first, and he batted in a run and scored a run himself in the first inning. My dad was able to stay up for the game, and he was telling me all about it, and Ryan Zimmerman's game-winning home run in the ninth. What a great way to start off a new season in a new ballpark. I wish I could have stayed up for it.

And that was our Sunday!

Ever Had Blisters on the Roof of your Mouth?

It's...not very pleasant. Take a huge bite of a fresh-out-of-the-oven piece of pizza and you'll know what I mean. Actually, don't do that. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Oh, so yucky.

The weather was perfect for baseball! It would have been more perfect if the home team actually won. Unfortunately, no one seems to think that the Washington Nationals are going to do well this year. And why not? The *#&^#&$ owners traded away most of the good players when they took over. For the first time, the first game was actually a home game, and they still couldn't win (9 to 3 to the Florida Marlins).

And next year, they'll have a brand-spankin new stadium, DC United will have one too, and the beloved and historical RFK will sit quietly once more. I actually heard that city officials wanted to take it down. That's crazy! And would be a sad, sad day. Even worse than when they blew up the CapsCenter (which was pretty cool, but also sad).

How long can I ramble on about sports stadiums? Don't worry, that's it. I'm tapped. And let that pizza cool before you bite it! Oh, so yucky! And painful too!

Powers of Persuasion

A couple weeks ago, I was having lunch with the regular crew whom I'm not supposed to have lunch with. The person who delivers our coffee supplies came in, and we started talking about the flavored creamer. We have two kinds, you see, French Vanilla and hazelnut. When we saw the delivery gent walk in, one of the girls said, "Oh good, now I can have vanilla instead of that awful hazelnut." For the most part, vanilla is the preferred flavor among most of my coworkers, and hazelnut gets used only when there is no vanilla. You can imagine that we run out of vanilla quickly, while the hazelnut lingers. Yes, there is a point here.

So, while we were talking about the lack of hazelnut-likers in the company, we started talking about the other flavors that we know are available. I mentioned that the box says Irish Cream is available, and that it would be nice if he could take the hazelnut away and give us that. Bear in mind, we are out having lunch, and the delivery person is not even in our sight, let alone earshot. When lunch was over, and we scrambled to the kitchen to have some yummy vanilla coffee, what did we find? Yep, all the unopened boxes of hazelnut were gone and in their place, pretty green Irish Cream boxes! I'm good!

That's not all. The Washington Nationals were playing in Texas last Monday. They had gone into extra innings and brought in a pinch hitter, Marlin Byrd. The announcers were talking about Byrd's record last year, how many hits/rbi's/homers/etc. They mentioned his home run record, and just as the pitcher was pitching, I cheerfully said, "He can do one of those right now if he wants to!" Lo and behold! It's going back and back and the center fielder is running for it, and it's gone! I gave them a home run!

So, I have persuasive power over coffee and baseball. Hmm... My office pool will have the winning numbers for tonight's $265 Million jackpot!

Did it work?

The Power of Baseball

It took 34 years for ‘America’s Pastime’ to come back to Washington DC, amid much doubt and scepticism. "DC isn’t a baseball town" they said. "Can it support the team?" "Will there be fans who can support the team?" What they forgot was that DC had a perfectly fine stadium that seats 46,000 people and change, and that people were so angry that their team was leaving 34 years ago that they stormed the field before the last out of the game, forcing their once beloved ballclub to forfeit instead of take the win they had earned.

The Washington Senators left in 1960 to become the Minnesota Twins. An new team of expansion Senators left after a mere decade in 1971, to become the Texas Rangers. Since 1971, Washington and its suburbs have been confined to Minor Leagues or the not-so-nearby Baltimore Orioles. The O’s kept them appeased for a time, but Baltimore is not easy to get to if you live in Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland, and public transportation to the stadium is virtually non-existent.

The Montréal Expos joined the Majors in 1969 amid massive social change in the region. They had decades of poor records, and decades of greatness. For some time, fan attendance capped at 10,000 (a big jump from the 7,000 average they held). In 2004, Major League Baseball announced that the Expos were moving to Washington with a 29-1 approval vote. The sole nay vote was cast by none other than O’s owner Peter Angelos. On October 2nd 2004, Brad Wilkerson scored the last Expos Home Run. The next day, Jamey Carroll put the very last Expos scoring run under his belt.

Then they traded a few, packed everything up, and came to Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium, a cozy park with moveable stands designed for baseball, football, or soccer, and the current home of the beloved soccer team DC United. This move marked the first team relocation in MLB since 1972, when the new Texas Rangers found their new home.

In one season at RFK, the new Washington Nationals experienced a sold-out victorious home opener, and learned that the fans know how to make the whole stadium shake. They enjoyed a 10 game winning streak, first place in the National League East, and continued to put a solid product on the mound at RFK. The All-Star break started this fine team’s slump to finish the season with a solid .500 record.

But did that stop the crowds? The Nat’s pull their fans from DC, Virginia, and Maryland. An easy, if crowded, ride on the Metro or a short drive from the Capital Beltway drew more than 2.7 million fans to RFK over the course of the season. Fans continued to fill the stadium, cheer their players, and make the moveable bleachers of RFK rock and resound through the concrete walls. The team has requested that the new stadium in the works be designed to shake, even though they’re usually made specifically not to!

For the Love of the Game

This is all that baseball did for Washington, but what did baseball do for me? For starters, I never knew that my mother was a fan. Only this year, she told me stories of how she and a friend would go to Senator’s games with a neighbor, she followed the game on her scorecard, and like so many others, was sorely disappointed when the Senators were swept off to Texas. The Nats came here, and we were going to ball games again. We had the O’s farm team, the Bowie Baysox, a short drive away, but we ached for Major Leagues. If you had asked me, I would have said I was an O's fan, but I went to a game about once every 3 years. I went for the atmosphere more than the game. We joined the Nats craze, we all have merchandise to fill a closet. In one season, I learned something about my mother that I never knew. I also learned terms I had never heard or never understood before. Now, I know what it means to hit for the cycle, I understand the intricacies of a baulk and a pass ball, and I know the importance of the batting average and ERA.

In addition, I know the players on my team, by first name. Nick is my reigning favorite, I saw him make a spectacular catch during the home opener which prompted me to take notice. Jamey can run the bases like his feet are on fire. Brad can hit the ball out of the park when he wants to. Gary is super at setup. And the Chad the Chief can save them all, but he tends to work better with the pressure of a few men on base.

36,000 fans showed their support on October 2nd 2005, cheering to a depressing 9-3 loss, putting the Nats at their 81-81 record for the season. We didn’t lose it, when the game was over, we roared under sapphire skies like we had just broken records. We had, after all. I saw the first last game in Nats history. Fan attendance staggered the team, 2.7 million is a lot compared to what they drew in Montréal.

I saw five Nationals’ home games this season, and only the last one was a loss. I’ll be back next season, with my official hat, t-shirt, teddy bear, and flag. 4-1 looks like a pretty good record to me.

And while they spent a good deal of their last game thanking the fans, I don't think they realized what their presence did for the people of this city and its suburbs. Thank you, Nats, for what you've done for us.

Fantastic!

What a great game! (Nope, never heard from my friend).

My parents and I decided to drive to the stadium rather than take the Metro, because it was getting late and we wanted to be sure to get there on time. Driving is really easy, it's only $10 to park and it looked like they had plenty of space. It's definitely more convenient to us than taking the Metro.

They played the Atlanta Braves, scored one run early on, then were losing to 4 until good ole Vinny hit a home run in the 8th inning. Final score 6 to 4. And I still haven't been to a losing game!

We did get back a little late, so we decided not to kayak this morning. We'll just take it easy and go to ThriveFest this afternoon. Sounds like a good deal to me. And while we're at it, I'll get my lesson done!

I Wanna Go To The Game!!

How's this for good fortune?

I still haven't heard from my friend, but OBC had some business with Cox Communications and they have tickets for tonight's game! My dad asked if we wanted any, and I told him to get three (they're free, you know). So we don't lose anything if my friend calls, and we'll be going to the game one way or another!

Yay! Now, hopefully they'll win!

Just Like the Bee

Let me tell you what we had in store today!

First, sailing! My Dad and I joined our captain for a weekend race. There was great wind (though it would have been nice if the course was a tad shorter) and I remembered to put on sunscreen, which is something we normally don't worry about in the evenings.

After that, it was off to the Nats' game. They played a great game, and won 4-2 over the Astros, breaking a bad losing streak! I hope we go to another game soon, it's really very fun.

Tomorrow, it's more 'yaking!

Hedwig is Sick Again

Who wants to know what is wrong? "I do!" I knew someone out there did! It's the battery. Wednesday, there was no problem. Wednesday night and Thursday, it hesitated before turning over. This morning, it clicked.

I tell you if there is ever a time when everything goes wrong, it's this time! I also learned that my friend's car was hit in the appartment parking lot! I hope that's the third (you know how they say everything comes in threes) because I can't take something else happening to my car! His counts as number three, right?

Have you been to my store? It'll have some new things in it tonight!

By the way, the Nationals play the Rangers at 2000 tonight! The Nats must win, it proves a point! GO NATS!