THU - 7.6.06 - 11:47 PM
I haven't died, though I have ingested potentially lethal amounts of boredom. Summer's going fast, but I'm having a good time. I work in the day and fill my evenings with music, baseball, and TV on DVD. Sometimes I go to someone's place and sometimes people come to mine. It gets so nice outside when the sun goes down.

THU - 7.20.06 - 10:36 PM
Wooooooooo-WEE, it is SWELtering in these parts. I was driving around this evening and passed by one of those banks that has the time and temperature on their sign. The time was 6:54, and the temperature was only ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE. The sea of concrete surrounding the sign probably adds anywhere from five to fifteen degrees, but still, that's some impressive work by Senor Sun. The great ones come through in the clutch, and this guy just doesn't give up until he's phased out by the earth's rotation.

I'm heading to Wichita tomorrow with my folks to see Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and other future Royals stars as they play for the AA Wranglers. Just dad and I went last month, and it was fun even though Gordon only got one at-bat (a lame-o base on balls) and Butler didn't do much. Hopefully they'll both be in AAA Omaha by the time that club comes to Oklahoma City in late August. I can't imagine why they wouldn't be. Funny how a simple GM change and a stretch of over-.300 play can lift a fan's spirits.

FRI - 8.11.06 - 1:52 AM
So the game at Wichita was three weeks ago now, but I just thought I should mention that I sat next to none other than one-time phenom, still-well-regarded pitcher Zack Greinke. He and teammate Billy Buckner were charting pitches in the stands. Since that night, I've also seen games in St. Louis (pictures of the new park later) and Kansas City (a 6-4 win over Boston - moved down behind home just a few rows up for the bottom of the ninth, which was absolutely electric; great crowd that night).

As for life outside baseball, my job at York ended a little earlier than expected (July 28) due to the fact that they just didn't have enough work to fill up my day. While it was nice to get some time off (to say nothing of waking up at 7 AM each morning only to be lulled back to sleep at work), I could have used the extra couple of paychecks. But I did pretty well with saving my money and I should be okay for a while.

In about five hours, I am leaving with a group from the UMC for Tucson, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico a few days after that. I'm still not entirely sure what we'll be doing, but the gist of it is to learn about the circumstances that drive all these crazy immigration/border issues that you heard so much about in the news a few months ago (where did that come from and where did it go, incidentally?). I'll return late the night of the 18th only to start school the following Monday.

When I get back I'll try to make a post that doesn't mention baseball or the weather (still hot!), but I'm not making any promises.

FRI - 9.1.06 - 10:03 PM
Did somebody sign me up for the Ernest Istook For Governor e-newsletter? Because if so, it's really not funny.

So I'm going to school and it's pretty uneventful so far. It's all architecture courses so I know just about everybody in my classes already. Lots of reading but not much else yet.

So I went to Mexico and it was pretty eventful. Our group of 10 people from OU plus 2 from DePaul gathered in Tucson AZ at Borderlinks for a couple days of orientation and speakers. Then we crossed into Nogales, Mexico, where we divided into three groups, each staying with a local family (the food? just incredible). We visited a U.S. Border Patrol station one morning, getting a PowerPoint and a tour. We interviewed migrants in several locations, including a rural town square, a shelter, a center for minors who had been caught in the U.S. without an adult and had been returned to Mexico, and a location on the border where captured illegals are dropped off on the Mexican side, among others. A common thread throughout each story was desperation. One man, a tomato farmer, explained in thorough detail the circumstances that lead to his daily wage on an entire batch of tomatoes being only about seven pesos (approximately 65 cents). Another man told us that he left only when his daughter told him she was hungry, and he had no food to give her.

I understand that this country can't sustain an unlimited number of undocumented workers, and shouldn't have to. But when the situation is so dire that a person is willing to leave their family for months and years at a time, travel with guides who may or may not be trustworthy, walk through searing deserts full of dangerous animal and plant life, with no healthcare for severely blistered feet and dehydration, to a place where they know neither the people nor the language, and do all this over and over again if it doesn't work the first time...well, anyone with a conscience can see that this can't continue. Our economic policies, which only subjugate the third world next door, seem like a good starting point for change.

On a lighter note, I came so so close to catching my first foul ball at a ballgame a couple of times. I was sitting in the third base bleachers at the Bricktown Ballpark last Friday, the 25th. A high pop-up came straight toward our section, but bounced in the row in front of us, one person to my left. Then two batters later, a guy hit a fairly sharp liner that once again started moving in our direction. The cable which holds up the net behind home plate was lined up right with the path the ball was taking, and my mind completely shut down for a few seconds. Just before I could snap out of it, the ball (which was coming in fast about three feet to my right) smacked against my cupped, outstretched hands, more against the right than the left. I whipped my head around to see the ball bounce a couple times on the empty bleachers behind us before an unidentifiable pair of hands scooped it up. I was too stunned to go after it. My right hand hurt like hell for about ten minutes, but it was almost worth it even without getting the ball. Who wants to pick up a ball off the seats anyway? 95% of the glory of nabbing a foul ball is actually catching it. I hope that's not the best chance I ever get.

And now for your viewing pleasure, pictures from a couple of my late summer travels.
Borderlinks - Nogales - Tucson
[Edit: I added a couple short (and not real exciting) videos Saturday morning]
New Busch Stadium, St. Louis