Baseball is Back!

Hooray. Baseball is back. Thank you ESPN for showing non-stop baseball all day today. And yes, thanks for letting my watch my Cubs blow a dramatic 9th inning comeback in the following inning.

And, to Kosuke Fukudome: Welcome to the MLB! In his first MLB game as a Chicago Cub, he went 3 for 3 with the game tying 3-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning. So far, he's batting 1.000 -- that's pretty good for a MLB debut.

Blog-a-riffic!

According to Universal Hub, Somerville is one of the bloggiest towns around! I wish I had more to say - I guess I'm not bloggy enough.

How many more ways can we stretch the noun blog into verbs, adjectives, and adverbs? That would be blogtastic.

Isn't it Strange...

Isn't it strange that you have to have a garbage bag to throw away an empty box of garbage bags? Every time I open a new box of garbage bags, I always feel strange throwing away the old empty box of garbage bags.

Red Sox vs. Tigers

No, not the Detroit Tigers - That would be the Hanshin Tigers. I'm sure as all of you already know, the Red Sox are over in Japan and are playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams. The first game is Friday night (well, Saturday afternoon in Japan) against the Tigers. On Sunday, they'll be playing the Yomiuri Giants.

Unfortunately, neither of these games are scheduled to be televised over here. I was convinced that NESN or ESPN would broadcast the game. However, according to mlb.com, it'll only be on their MLB TV subscription service.

I'd love to watch the game. I've never seen a Japanese baseball team play - and with an 11:00 pm start time, Friday's game would be the perfect game to watch. I understand that opening day will be on March 25th - but at 6:00 in the morning, its highly probable that I'm not going to get my ass out of bed to watch.

And just an FYI - if you're interested, Game On over by Fenway will be opening at 6:00 am on the 25th to broadcast the game - complete with a delicious breakfast. Its tempting, but 6:00 am is just way to early for a lazy bachelor like me. I'll just DVR the game and watch it later.

Spring is here????

According to my calendar, today is the first day of spring. According to me, its still winter. Accuweather claims that the "real feel" temperature is 30 degrees with the 30 m.p.h. wind gusts. That sounds, looks, and feels like winter to me!

C'mon mother nature! Its spring! Make the cold go away!

Bye Bye Prudential Blues

Whelp, the lights on the top of the Prudential Tower are back to normal now. They're back to their standard white. Honestly, I preferred the blue band of lights around the top. I still have no idea why they switched to blue lights. Strange

An image that sums me up

The Biggest Loser

I'm addicted to this TV show - "The Biggest Loser". Watching average people just like me work their butts off for 3 months - and seeing the weekly progress is really inspiring. I'm not overweight, and I'm not trying to lose weight - but these folks have convinced me to eat better and start lifting some weights.

If they can do it, why can't I? What kind of strength can I build in 3 months working out at the gym every day? I've seen what these average Joes have done - I'm going to do the same thing.

And ya know what? I am doing the same thing. Since the new year, I've been hitting the gym at least 3 days a week. I haven't lost any weight (which is fine - I'm skinny). However, I now have to pull my belt one more loop to keep my pants up. That amazes me. People always forget how many calories are actually burned with a weight lifting workout. You don't have to run 5 miles a day to see results!

Sure, I'm not very strong, and I use all the wimpy barbells. But I don't care. You gotta start somewhere. Just gotta stay persistent.

That is all. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog about nothing. :-)

Prudential Blues?

I took a gander at the Boston skyline from my deck this evening and noticed something just wasn't quite right. After a double take, I noticed that the top band of lights on the Prudential Tower are BLUE!

I swear, I'm not seeing things. What's going on?

State of the Bachelor

I've been doing this blogging thing for about a year now. So, I figured I'd give my first annual state of the bachelor run down. Why not spill my guts to all those random people who stumble upon this site and don't care what I have to say! :-)

- Why did you start this blog?
That's a great question. I started it on a whim one night. I was sitting at home, watching TV, and I just felt like chatting with someone. I also wanted a random place to store my thoughts. Maybe it would be interesting to look back and see what I was thinking a year ago.

I'm not a writer whatsoever. In fact, in college, I avoided at all costs any class that required writing papers. My skill set does not include the ability to seamlessly transform my thoughts into coherent words. That's why I write software. I think in logical blocks - and constantly run all the different scenarios through my head at the same time. Its too bad I can't speak in Java, or C++, or Javascript for that matter.

Of course though, being a guy and a bachelor - you all know the real reason I started this blog: Girls. For some strange reason I thought that if I had a blog on the Internet I'd be able to somehow meet more chicks.

- So how's that working out for ya, buddy?
Heh (tm). Well, its a year later and I'm still a single bachelor guy living over here in Porter Square near Boston.

Dude, what about this whole "State of the Bachelor" thing?
Yo - chill out. I'm getting to that. Be patient.

Fine. Here's some state of the bachelor for ya:
Apartment

• Leaky Roof: CHECK
• Broken Thermostat: CHECK
• Dirty Dishes: CHECK
• Empty Beer Boxes Leftover from the Superbowl: CHECK
• Beer in the Fridge: CHECK
• Sleeping Cat: CHECK
• Huge HD TV: CHECK
• Hot Pockets: CHECK
• Toilet Paper: RUNNING LOW
  

Me

• Optimistic: CHECK
• Eating Better: CHECK
• Gym: CHECK (5 days a week)
• Smile: CHECK-O-RAMA
• Beer: CHECK
• Weight: 174
• Height: 6' 1"
• Hair: Got it all - no gray.
  
• Complaint: The last day of complaint was yesterday!
• Mrs. Right: STILL LOOKING

Summary
Overall, I'm happy!

• I love my career
• I love my friends
• I love my apartment

- Yeah dude, I gathered that, but what's missing?
You're right - life is good but I'm still missing someone to share it with. I'm still searching for Mrs. Right.

I'm not complaining about it - that's purely a waste of time. I'm actively searching for a great woman. I've been doing the dating thing for a while here - and I've met plenty of wonderful girls. But, I just haven't found that "click" that I'm looking for. I've already been down the road through engagement, without success. As a result, I don't want to make the same mistake again.

There's just a certain attraction that's there between a girl and a guy - I'm being patient and waiting for that connection. There's no reason to just dive into a relationship with a girl just to have one.

Well, I think I'm just about done with my State of the Bachelor. I'm curious to see what the state will be in another year (Or, do I have to wait 4 more years since its February 29th today?). Also, I'm just getting tired of writing! I'm not getting graded on this paper, nor am I getting paid. Nor will anyone actually read it! :-)

Happy Leap Day to you all. Best of luck to everyone!

Time for a beer!

Baseball is Back!

Hooray! The Red Sox are back on television tonight. Its the first real pre-season game of the year. (Yeah, I know the Sox blasted BC and Northeastern - but they don't count) So far, the Sox are leading the Twins 3-0 in the 5th.

Err - make that 4-0 in the 5th. :-)

So, wasn't it only about 4 weeks ago we were watching football? Think about that - its still February, and baseball is starting to get back into full swing.

Ahhhh. Baseball. I feel much better now.

Bathroom Etiquette

Question 1: There are 3 pissers on the wall in the bathroom. All three are empty. Which one do you pick?

Answer: Either #1 or #3. Its simple. Man-law dictates that you always leave any empty pisser between you and the next guy. So, if another guy were to enter the bathroom desiring to drain the weasel, he can pick a different pisser and the one urinal buffer remains intact.

Question 2: If all 3 pissers on the wall are empty, Who the heck would pick #2?

Answer: I really have no idea. Today, there were 2 guys in my office who walked into an empty bathroom and picked the middle pisser. My question is why? Do we need a man-law re-education program?

I really can't come up with any answer to this - only more questions. Did they pick the middle with the hopes that they could own the entire bank of pissers? Did they feel entitled to the entire wall of pissers? Did they not know MAN-LAW?!?

I just don't understand.

Bonus Question: If there are 4 pissers and 2 are taken (with buffers intact), what do you do?


Answer: Use the stall. However, if you're at a Sox or Pats game, and you've got a good 12 pack of Miller Lites in the system, the rules do not apply.

* All artwork created by me, with the all-powerful Microsoft Paint!

Attack of the MBTA Station Announcements

The new announcements on the Red Line indicating the arrival of the next train are great! First, they told me when the next Red Line train was arriving. Then, they told me when the next Red Line train was approaching AND arriving. Today, however, getting off the subway at Porter Square around 7:45pm the Robo-Announcer went nuts and attacked me with an onslaught of messages.

After exiting the train and walking to the stairs, Mr. Robo-Announcer told me:

Bing! We are currently experiencing delays due to a police investigation.

Well thanks, but I'm already at Porter Square. Then, walking up the stairs to the inbound level:

Bing! The next Red Line train to Braintree is now arriving.

Ok. Fair Enough. But then riding up the long escalator to the mezzanine I heard:

Bing! Hello. This is Andrew Ference of the Boston Bruins. When I need to get on the ice at the TD Banknorth Garden, I take the T. The MBTA is a great way to see all this wonderful city has to offer. Blah blah blah...

What?!?! As I tried to comprehend this I was interrupted:

Bing! Hello. This is Dan Grabouskas. Blah blah blah...

And now, I'm stuck on the escalator, and the onslaught begins:

Bing! Se habla espanol. Uno, dos, tres, .....

Sorry, I don't speak Span.....

Bing! The next Red Line train to Braintree is now arriving.

Well, that's nice....

Bing! Hello. This is Andrew Ference of the Boston Bruins....

Ok, who is this player again?

Bing! The next Red Line train to Alewife is now approaching.

Bing! Hello. This is Dan Grabouskas....

Bing! Yo Quiero Taco Bell...

Finally, I arrived at the mezzanine and I boarded the final escalator:

Bing! Hello. This is Andrew Ference of the Boston Bruins....

Please. Get me out of the station!!

Bing! The next Red Line train to Alewife is now arriving...

Whew! Finally out of the station. Talk about announcement overload! I think the most interesting part of this experience is that I'm not even sure my Porter Square co-commuters even heard the onslaught. While riding the 30 mile escalator to sunlight, I looked around at other folks, with a big smile -- I was trying to find someone else who thought this was funny. The trouble is, either everyone had their headphones cranked, wasn't paying attention to the announcements, or was just too afraid to look around.

Did anyone else experience this episode of the Twilight Zone at Porter Square?

Papelbon's Home Uncovered

After months of scouring the Intertubes and the night sky, I've finally discovered Jonathan Papelbon's homeland. I've highlighted it here in this map of the universe.

I know some of his teammates have claimed that he's just a "redneck from Mississippi", but through my extensive research, I've found that story is only a myth. His real home is that distant star. Did you notice that when he threw his glove up in the air after winning game 4, it never came down? That's right - he tossed it back to his family - billions of light years away.

Seriously folks, after watching him Riverdance in his underwear with googles, after throwing 98 mph fastballs, did you really think he was human?

On the other hand, after watching the parade today, I think its really obvious that Papelbon would be the lead singer of some crazy band if he wasn't playing baseball.

SWEEP

Its done. How Excellent. Mike Lowell - MVP. Perfect.