The Tigers just showed Cleveland what baseball in Detroit is all about.
I wrote 1,246 words (7 pages) in two hours today, on a story. Going downstairs to hit the speedbag for a while, and then I’m going to have a two-hour session on the novel.
My Deeply Unhip Mixed Playlist is getting me through these sessions.
I’ve been on the fence about whether I’m ready to crawl out from under my rock and get back into blogging daily about whatever random thing happens to be on my mind. I don’t feel ready. My long withdrawal has me feeling like I’m climbing a steep hill just to write this entry. Chances are, once I post the entry, I’ll then want to take it down and crawl back under my rock.
“So, Wob, how’s stuff?”
I’m glad you asked. Stuff has been, meh. Usually when people ask me that sort of question, including “How are you?” I just shrug because I don’t fucking know. I don’t like to say “Good!” unless it feels entirely true, and don’t like to say “Bad!” for the same reason. I’m usually in the middle of good and bad, But to say “In between” would just confuse people and to explain beyond that might get too wordy.
“Gweat! So, whatchu been up to, Wob?”
That’s an easier question to answer. I’ve been doing what I always do. Productivity is up. Been watching The Walking Dead on Sunday nights and I checked out the new series on AMC. The Terror. It’s interesting so far.
“What about Woseanne, huh? They webooted the show.”
I did watch Roseanne last night. Don’t really have any complaints, but I thought the actors were a little rusty. I don’t know what they’ve done since the shows first run ended in 1997, but I had the impression that it’s been a while since any of them had any major acting roles.
Roseanne was one of my favorite shows when I was growing up and I’m pleased that the show was rebooted. It’s like reconnecting with old friends after twenty years. I was surprised when I got on Facebook today and saw posts from left-leaning friends declaring their desire to not watch the show, because they don’t like Roseanne Barr’s positions on political and social issues.
I admit, I didn’t know about Roseanne Barr’s politics until I saw these posts. But after watching last night’s episodes, I thought it would be far right wingers voicing disgust about the show. It’s my understanding that it was Sara Gilbert who put the reboot together, not Roseanne Barr, and I’m under the impression that Gilbert is the one calling the shots, but I could be wrong.
“Wob, what about NCAA Basketball?”
I am following the Madness. Michigan’s in the Final Four, that game will be Saturday night. Very exciting. On the side, baseball is back. The Tigers just finished Spring Training and their first regular season game is tomorrow in Detroit at 1 PM, Vs the Pirates. But the Tigers have a new team this year and it might take time getting used to that.
Well, the Tigers’ lousy season is almost over. There’s nine games left. The last game will be played Sunday, October 1. Amazingly, the Tigers are still in 4th place, which means they’re not the absolute worse team in the Central Division, But, hey, that can change within the next week or so. The White Sox just got to win a couple games in a row and the Tigers got to lose a couple games in a row, and then, Gonzo! The Tigers will be in last place.
They’re getting their asses kicked tonight. Top of the eighth. Twins 8 – Tigers 1. No big surprise.
But not only have the Tigers had a disastrous season, Several of my favorite players were traded away in the last couple months. J.D. Martinez, Justin Upton, Alex Aliva and Justin Verlander. There might be a couple others who I’m forgetting.
I’m still having trouble accepting that Verlander is no longer with the Tigers. He was my all-time favorite player. He had been with the Tigers since 2005. I had figured he would retire from baseball as a Tiger. Now he’s with the Houston Astros.
The Astros are in first place and they’re already set for the playoffs. So, maybe we’ll see Verlander in the World Series this year.
I still have a few favorites left on the Tigers. Miguel Cabrera, Ian Kinsler and Victor Martinez are still Tigers. However, Martinez had another issue with his heart and surgery is needed, so the season is over for him. He might be back next season, or not. He’s 39 years old. He could retire from MLB.
I’m still getting to know most of the other guys. It’s pretty much a new team. But, that’s baseball.
Welp, it’s the bottom of the eighth now, The score is Twins 12 – Tigers 1.
I got a few different things on my mind tonight, so I’ll just mix it all in.
Sometimes people I know seem to analyze me and draw conclusions about me and my life. I know they mean well, but it really irritates me when people do that. I usually respond with fury. But today it occurred to me that I don’t have to get so goddamn mad every time, that there are better ways to respond to things like that.
I’m thinking about the Claire Fisher response. In the first season of Six Feet Under, Claire is having problems dealing with her dad’s death and she’s going down a destructive path, or that’s what her family believes. In one episode, Nate tells Claire that they’re going to get her some help. Without missing a beat, Claire tells Nate, “If you want a project, get a dog.”
Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll start telling people. But don’t count on me being able to pull it off much. I’m, regretfully, prone just blowing up.
I’m pretty open about things that I struggle with. Confidence, anxiety, anger, and number of other things. I got problems. I know this. But what bugs me is when we’re not even talking about anything that I struggle with and out of the blue someone draws a conclusion about some disorder they think I might have or something they think I need to do to make my life happier.
That really gets under my skin. And often their conclusions are way off. When people do that, I feel like I’m being analyzed for a diagnose and it makes me want to hold back when sharing anything with anyone.
But today, while talking to a friend about it, and being angry at the same time, I started thinking that maybe I don’t have to be so mad. I’d like to respond more kindly when people piss me off.
Okay, that out of the way.
My mom’s oldest brother Bobby was visiting from Pennsylvania. I see Bobby once every ten or fifteen years. When I got to mom and dad’s yesterday and walked in the door. Bobby was sitting at the bar (or island?). It was like I was seeing Grandpa Piehl. Bobby looks exactly like Grandpa. And they both have the same name, Robert.
Aunt Barb and cousin Kari were there too. Also, Bobby’s wife, who is also named Barb. I guess you could say I had two Aunt Barbs there. Later, Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Cindy came. Haven’t seen Jimmy and Cindy in a few years, I guess. They came on a motorcycle. I remember when I was a little kid, Uncle Jimmy was the biker in the family. That was a long time ago. I don’t know when he started riding again, but that’s a really nice motorcycle he has.
As usual, I didn’t talk much. But I did enjoy listening to my mom, dad and Uncle Bobby playing acoustic guitars on the back deck. I think my mom and Bobby are the only ones in their very large family who play music.
I saw this questionnaire on Facebook. Thought I’d fill it out.
Prop …. Huh?
Children…. 0
Pets right now…. 2
Surgeries…. Five or six
Tattoos…. 2
Piercings…. 0
Shot a gun…. Yes
Quit a job…. No
Ever been on tv… Yes
Been to an island…. I don’t think so
Flown in a plane…. Yes
Furthest destination.. Florida
Hit by a car.. No
Someone cried over you…Yes
Fallen in love.. Yes
Watched someone die…Yes
Watched someone give birth … No
Rode in an ambulance…I’m not sure
Visited Las Vegas…. No
Been ice skating…If you want to call it that
Rode a horse….. Yes
Almost died….Yes
Been punched…. Yes
Stayed in a hospital…. Yes
Favourite fruit…Oranges, I think
Favourite desert…. Cheesecake
Favourite movie… The Bourne Identity
The Tigers beat the Rockies. 4-3. This dreadful season won’t last much longer. Let’s just see how many more games the Tigers can win this year.
Wish I had beer.
I watched the Patriot-Lions preseason game. The Lions had a nice comeback in the second half. The score was Lions 7 – Pats 24, but Lions caught up and got ahead. The new score was Lions 28 – Pats 24.
But the clock just wouldn’t run out fast enough. The Pats made it into field goal range twice in the fourth quarter and the kick was successful both times. So, the final score was Lions 28 – Pats 30.
The final preseason game is Thursday night against the Bills. The regular season starts September 10. Game 1 will be against the Cardinals.
After the Lions, I flipped over to FS-D and watched the last few innings of the Tigers-White Sox game.
The score was 2-2. It stayed 2-2 until the bottom of the 9th when the Sox got in a run and won the game.
One more week till College Football.
I stayed home today. Mowed the front yard and did some house cleaning. I watched the Tigers lose to the Dodgers again. The Tigers didn’t manage to get in a single run.
After the Tigers, I watched the Lion-Jet preseason game. That was a good game. The Jets were scoreless for most of the game, but then they got in two field goals.
Matt Prater is still looking good. I think he made every field goal he was sent out to kick.
The final score is Jets 6 – Lions 16.
…I wrote 1,671 words, made two submissions and got all the chores done.
The Tigers didn’t play today. I did have the Buccaneer-Jaguar game on, but didn’t pay much attention to it. The Lions’ next preseason game is Saturday, against the Jets. The Lions did very well against the Colts in Sunday’s game.
College Football starts in a couple weeks. The Wolverines will kick off their season against the Gators.
Yesterday sucked. I was in a bad mood and had a headache that lasted the entire day. But today is better and the headache is gone.
I’m pleased that all of my friends and family on Facebook, Conservatives and Liberals alike, who posted anything about the Nazis in Charlottesville made it clear that Nazis are not welcome in America. In the comments of a few friends’ posts, I saw people defending or making excuses for the Nazis. But none of those people were friends of mine.
Yesterday there was a bit of Conservative Vs Liberal battling. I was frustrated with all the finger pointing. But things seem to have calmed down today.
I’m getting bored with the discussions and that’s a good thing. I’ve been horribly derailed the last few days. I’d like to get back on track.
The Tigers are getting their asses kicked again. Bottom of the 8th, DET 4 – TEX 11. But that’s been the season.
I think it rained enough today. It started in New York City, at Yankee Stadium. I believe it was the bottom of the 7th, the score was DET 2 – NYY 0, when the sky dumped gallons of water on the field. I don’t think they were expecting that. The downpour was heavy before they started rolling out the tarp.
Eventually I turned the TV off, but I just checked tigers.com. Looks like the Tigers were declared the winners.
Just a little while ago we had a long rain and thunderstorm here. Lightning struck too close a few times and the thunder made me jump.
The Tigers still aren’t having a great season, but they did beat the Yankees today. They almost blew it in the bottom of the 9th, but then there was a fly-out. 4-3.
They’re in fourth place. Things probably aren’t going to get much better than that. Even so, I always have the game on. I’ll just take the wins when there are wins.
I think a lot of the star players are nearing MLB retirement age and they’re not playing as well as they used to. That’s just my thought.