Banjos and Backseats

19th April 2011

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Journey: Started

This post comes to you from a hotel room in Marietta, GA. Nice little room. Don’t know much about the town other than that I almost hit some sort of wild dog (coyote or wolf, perhaps) while I was a bit lost on the search for beer. Anyway, if you didn’t already know, I’m on my way to Owensboro, KY to see my little bro for a week or so. Oh, and my Dad will be with us too. Can’t forget pops. I’m looking forward to winning many baseball arguments over the next few days. 

But after Ownesboro I’ll be heading to Hickory, NC (possibly via Garner, NC, even though I’ll have to pass through Hickory to get there. What can I say? I’m a ramblin’ man). Hickory is where I’ll be this summer as an intern for the Hickory Crawdads, a minor league baseball team. I had a great year interning for the Oneonta Outlaws, a college summer league team, last season and hope to continue moving up in the world of baseball. Maybe one day I’ll even make a career out of this (that’s the plan, at least). 

I should be plenty busy over the next few months but I hope to find the time to write a bit about my goings on. And I’ll be a concessions intern so I’m sure to have some hilarious stories about how I burned myself or something of that nature. Let’s just hope I don’t burn the park down. I hear Hickory is a nice place and I’d like to be invited back.

9th February 2011

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A few words before the rivalry continues tonight

It’s North Carolina. It’s Duke. You know the story. You can have your Red Sox-Yankees, your Celtics-Lakers, your Michigan-Ohio State or whatever rivalry you like best. I’ll take UNC-Duke any day.

If you’ve ever spent anytime around the Research Triangle then you know the passion both of these schools have for basketball, as well as how much they, for lack of a better word, hate each other. Oh, there is a mutual respect, even if their respective fans have a hard time admitting it. But there is bad blood, no doubt; sometimes even literally. Still, there is respect. And I suppose that is what it takes to have a truly great rivalry; if you don’t respect your nemesis, then where does the intensity come from? The passion? The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat?

Of course, you also need rabid fans and, perhaps most importantly, a consistently high level of play. Sure, UNC has had some down years fairly recently, and Duke’s history of success doesn’t reach back as far as that the Tar Heels. But these are two of the greatest college athletic programs ever, and each season they enter with championship aspirations. But it doesn’t matter how good either team is on paper, what they’ve done the year before or what the rankings say. There are two games scheduled each year that everyone looks to first. The fans do. The players do. The coaches do. It’s North Carolina. It’s Duke. 

Oh, by the way, I’m a Carolina fan. 

6th February 2011

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Super Bowl and such

So there is this big football game today. They call it the Super Bowl. For the record, I picked this matchup before the season; no I can’t prove it, but you can trust me. Also, for the record, I’ll pick the Packers to win 24-20. This is mostly because I want them, probably, but what the hell. 

More important though, is that with the end of the football season comes the transition to spring. With that, of course, comes baseball. If you’re like me you also have hockey and college basketball to keep you occupied (if you’re really like me and root for the Flyers and Tar Heels, then we need to hang out) but baseball is what it’s all about. 

So I hope you all enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday, especially if you are a Packers fan (even if just for the day). Eat, drink and drive safe. And then, soon enough, you will hear those magic words: pitchers and catchers report.

24th January 2011

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I vs Me: On Grad School

I: We should really go to grad school.

Me: Why? School sucks.

I: Not having a good job sucks too. I want a good job.

Me: Good point. But school sucks.

I: Not having any money because we don’t have a good job sucks more.

Me: Good point. But taking out loans sucks.

I: Yes. But if we get a good job maybe we can pay off the loans before too long.

Me: Good point. But are we ready for all the work? I mean, we just graduated. Remember how sweet that was to be done with schoolwork? 

I: Yes, that certainly was sweet. But learning can be fun. And it beats dealing with rude/dumb/impatient people in the food service industry. 

Me: Plus, those are the types of people we don’t want to be, right?

I: Now you’re getting it. 

Me: But can we get in to grad school?

I: I think so. But applying will be a bitch; the GRE, the bitchiest. But we gotta do what we gotta do.

Me: That we do. That. We. Do. So are we doing this or what?

I: I’ll get back to you.

1st January 2011

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2011

It’s a new year. Obviously. But with that comes…..well, I don’t know. This year could go in any direction for me, which is both exhilarating and nerve wracking. Now that I’ve graduated from college I don’t have the typical goals throughout the year, such as doing well in class and improving my chances at getting a good job following graduation. Still working on the latter. 

I feel like I am in some sort of limbo now that I’m out of school but with no clear career path. I hope that by the end of the year things will become a bit clearer for me; whether that means I get a legitimate job with a good career outlook, or finally focus on graduate school. For real. Until now I’ve talked about going to grad school as sort of a last resort if there is nothing else out there for me. Now, however, I know I need to make a decision one way or another. Either I scrap that idea and focus everything I have into getting one of these “real” jobs I hear about, or I put everything (and probably more) into getting my Masters. 

One way or another 2011 should be a very different year from any other I’ve had. It may be subtle, and for a few months it all may seem too much like ever other year, but by the end of the year things better have changed. Or I’ll just write this again next year and change the dates.