June 29

All right, I’m going to be mean for a minute. A catcher should be able to catch. Now that I got that out of my system, I’m sad to announce that the Rockies lost today. It was a very good game. We were tied at 2 and we had our chances. In the bottom of the eighth, we had the bases loaded with only one out. Then, Wiggy hit into a double play. We were so close. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, our closer Huston Street gave up two singles to start the inning. He struck out the next guy and they had runners on first and third. The next batter was about to strike out, but he got a lucky shot out into right field. Seth Smith caught the ball and fired it back in to home plate. The throw was right on. They had at least four or five steps on the base runner. It should have been an easy out. But Chris Iannetta, our catcher, missed the ball. The run scored and we couldn’t recover in the bottom of the ninth. In all fairness, the ball landed right at his feet and took a crooked bounce. Chris is a great catcher. It was just his turn to make a flub. Unfortunately, it cost us the game. I wanted the win, but I wouldn’t have been disappointed if we got the win in extra innings like yesterday. So, we have to play the White Sox again tomorrow in the afternoon to see who takes the series.
It was so hot today I had to use the air conditioner and the fan to stay cool while sleeping. I woke up about noon and it was sweltering. I had such a headache, I turned on the fan and just tried not to sweat. It was hard going back to sleep, but my wife and daughter were nice and quiet when they got home and let me sleep. Usually whenever anyone comes home I wake right up. I was thinking about staying up in the morning and then trying to sleep in the evening, but then I would have to try to go to sleep in the afternoon sometime and I think it would be too hot. So, I guess I’ll just keep going like I’m doing now.
I was fleshing out a new book yesterday and I decided against doing it. I had some good characters and a good beginning. But, the ending just wouldn’t come. I’ll keep it on ice in case something comes up. But for now, it’s not going to happen. I’m going to work on Gremlin Planet tonight. I’ve been wanting to give the River of Magic a little time, so I might throw down a few pages towards the end of the day if I’m still up for it. We’ll see.
I’m putting some Cars, Eagles, Dire Straits, and Dio into the playlist for background music. So, it’s time to get going.
-Thom

June 28

Man, I am soooooo full. We went to Long John Silvers to eat because it was on the way home from picking up my daughter. She stayed the night at her cousin’s house. It was good, but I ate too much. I’m at work now, and I just don’t want to do anything because I am so stuffed. So, I am going to blame my lazyness on the game. It is still on. The score is tied, 2-2 and we’re in the bottom of the twelfth. We have a man on second and only one out. The big man, Jason Giambi is up to hit for the pitcher.
This morning I had a dream about a new book. It woke me up and I couldn’t go back to sleep thinking about it. I have to finish a little bit of the Great Detective, but after that I think I’m going to throw down a few pages of this new one to see how it plays out.
Giambi moved Blackmon to third, but was out at first. They walked Carlos Gonzales to get to Chris Nelson. So, there are two outs with runners on first and third.
My granddaughter came over today. She got a little thumb wrestling toy in her kid’s meal. It was kind of fun. It consisted of a mask with a cape that fit over her thumb and my pinky. Then, there was a little board that looked like a ring with two holes in it. After donning the toys, we stuck our fingers in and wrestled. We did it all the way home. Since I was playing, my youngest daughter drove. She didn’t have her permit on her, but we need to get her some driving time before she gets her license. She did pretty well. She still needs some work on parking and staying steady in her lane. She drifted a little several times.
Well, Chris Nelson swung on a pitch that would have been ball four and struck out. We are still tied at 2-2 in the thirteenth. Rex Brothers has taken the mound.
Our cable box is messing up. Almost none of our channels come in clearly. But, we have been reluctant to change out the box because we have a bunch of recordings that we haven’t watched yet. So, I watched the new series Falling Skies. The first week’s episode was getting good until the recording started messing up. It skipped so badly and was so distorted halfway through that it was unwatchable. I deleted it and watched the second episode. It was pretty good. Going back, most of the shows we were holding because we wanted to watch them are messed up. I think we’re going to change it in very soon.
It’s the bottom of the thirteenth now and we are still 2-2. We have Todd Helton coming up and the front middle of our lineup. COME ON ROCKIES, WE NEED A WALK-OFF HOMER.
Last night, my wife sent me a white Pegasus in Farmville. I have a large black dragon, a little red dragon, a purple Pegasus, a phoenix, and a griffin. I think I’m going to make a little area for magical creatures. I saw a few others, but I didn’t have the FV dollars to buy them. And, I refuse to change real money for play money. But, eventually I’ll save up enough to get them.
The White Sox walked Tulo and Tie Wigginton just hit a little blooper into shallow right field. Tulo never stopped. He went from first to home to win the game. We have our first walk off win of the season.
Well, I better get started. I’m putting Poison, Tesla, and Guns and Roses in the playlist for background music.
-Thom

June 27

Well, we fell under 500 again. After winning the first game, the Yankees took us to town for the remaining two games. It was made worse by the Yankee fan we have working at the office. Then today, we dropped a make up game to Chicago. It hasn’t been the best three days. On Sunday’s Yankee game, we stayed neck in neck with New York, but they took it with a two run homer at the end. Very heart wrenching,
I went and saw JJ Abrams Super 8 movie today. It was very good. It was funny and it had a great monster. I don’t want to give the ending away so I won’t tell you what happened. All I’ll say is that it was worth watching. Next week is Cowboys and Aliens. But, I won’t be able to see it for two weeks. It looks like I’m going to do a little overtime during my movie watching time. Bummer.
I also took the wife and my youngest daughter to the movies on Sunday. We saw the Hangover II. It was pretty funny, but I think I liked the first one better.
We got a letter from my daughter in boot camp. She’s doing very well. She even said that she was having fun at some of the obstacle courses. The only thing she said she didn’t like was getting up early to do PT. She had her first PT test and she did fine, but she said she will do better when she gets used to getting up so early. She also said that it was 102 degrees when she was running. I bet that sucked. I didn’t want to tell her that it will probably get even hotter as summer progresses. I sent her a letter today. I hope she gets it this week. I can’t believe that she has been there for two full weeks already. Today starts her third week. I hope it is going as fast for her as it is for me.
We had a power outage on Saturday. It started in the early evening and lasted until three in the morning. Without the fans, it was really hot. We were outside for a while watching the police and fire department driving up and down the streets. I guess they were looking for the problem. After a while, we went back inside and lit a few candles. Then, we played spades all night. Yes, I was the champion. I trounced my wife and daughter. We tried playing again on Sunday after the movie, but it just wasn’t the same without the candles. I still beat them, but we didn’t play for very long.
My wife had to work some overtime on Saturday. I had a bunch of things planned out that I wanted to do since I had the house to myself. But, I didn’t do any of them. I don’t know what happened. I guess I’ll have to squeeze them in during the week.
Well, I better get started or I won’t do anything today either. I’m going to put the radio on today. I don’t feel like going through all of the songs to make a playlist. I’m going to work on the Great Detective Sequel and Gremlin Planet again today.
-Thom

June 24

The Rockies spanked the Yankees. Giambi and Tulo both hit homers and Ubaldo pitched a very good game. He was a little wild at first, but he calmed down and went seven innings. Street closed it out for the win. It was a great game, all the better because we have a Yankee fan here at work. I didn’t rub his nose in it too much. (At least I didn’t make him cry) We have two more games against them this weekend and I’m off, so I get to see both of them. It should be a really good weekend. We are officially one game over five hundred and we are third in our division. Can you believe the Diamondbacks are in first? Well, we are only five games back. We’ll catch up.
I was very disappointed when J.K. Rowling made her announcement yesterday. I was expecting a new Hogwarts book if not a Harry Potter book. But it was only some interactive online thing. Oh well, she’ll wise up sooner or later and make some more.
I woke up late today. Usually I get up when my wife comes home from work at three. But today, they went to the movies. I didn’t wake up until after five. I’m well rested, but it felt weird waking up without anyone being there. Then, I tried to call and no one was answering. I thought something might have happened, but they didn’t answer because they were at the movies. (Understandable)
My youngest daughter is going on the Walk-a-thon tomorrow and my wife has to work, so I’m going to have most of the day to myself. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ll figure something out though. But, I for sure won’t sleep in again. I don’t want to miss the beginning of the game again.
Well, I better get started. I’m working on the Great Detective sequel again and Gremlin Planet. I’m putting Meatloaf, Cat Stevens, Bread, April Wine, and Jim Croce into the playlist for background music.
-Thom

June 22

Well, it’s Wednesday. I guess that’s about all we can say about that. Nothing really good happens during the middle of the week. Along that line, the Rockies lost today. We took the series, but lost the last game. We have tomorrow off and then it is off to New York for the Yankees. That’s the series I’m looking forward to watching.
My daughter’s boyfriend came over today to show me some of the pictures for the graphic novel. They are shaping up pretty nicely. He is still working on the characters and hasn’t started any of the panels yet, but there isn’t any hurry. I did ask him to make a picture to put up on the website. It is going to be a three phases of the main character. It should come out pretty nicely. I would like to put up more than one, but I don’t want to swamp him with work. He still has regular work to deal with and practice for the sports teams he’s a part of for school. Actually, I’m surprised he has any time for drawing.
Well, in less you want to know what I ate for dinner, that’s about it for today. I told you this was a boring Wednesday. So, I’m going to liven things up here at work with a little Ratt, Scorpions, Cinderella, and Twisted Sister in the playlist. I’m going to work on Gremlin Planet and the Great Detective sequel. (It doesn’t have a name yet)
-Thom

June 21

Let’s see if this will work today. I was halfway through pounding out a blog entry when the computer crashed. It wasn’t very fun. We spent half the night without music and all of the night without the internet. Of course, I probably don’t remember what I said and now I’ll have to come up with an entirely new blog.
So, let’s start with my daughter. She started boot camp last week, but they didn’t begin training until yesterday. The previous week, they just filled out paperwork, received their uniforms and waited until all of the recruits showed up. The only good thing about that was that she was able to keep her phone. She called every day and let us know what was going on. But, Monday morning, I received a call from her saying they were getting ready to collect the phones and she wouldn’t be able to call for about three weeks. When I was in boot camp, we didn’t have cell phones. They let us call once at the beginning of boot camp and once about a week before it ended. But, that was the Marines and twenty some years ago. Since she is on the east coast, when she called, I was still asleep. My wife was up, but she was in the shower. That’s very important, because I was still half asleep when I answered the phone. Looking back, I should have gotten up and taken the phone into the bathroom so that my wife could say good bye to her. But, I’m not that quick that early in the morning. I just told her that she was in the shower and I talked to her for a while. I let her know that I loved her and missed her and was very proud of her. But she didn’t get to say good bye to her mom. Well, next time I’ll be more prepared. I wrote her a letter yesterday. As soon as she sends us her address, I’ll send it. I don’t know how slow the mail is these days, but she should get it before she has a chance to call us again.
I didn’t get to see the Rockies play Sunday or Monday. Sunday I worked the whole day and Monday I was asleep. We lost on Sunday, but took the series from the Tigers. We took Monday’s game against the Indians and then we won again today. We are back over 500 baby. Woo Hoo!!! Today’s game was really close. Chacin pitched a great game. He got into a little trouble walking three straight batters in an early inning, but then bounced back. They took him out when we were up three to one. The Tribe battled back and ended up tying us. Then, Seth Smith smacked in his second homer of the day. The Tigers came close in the ninth, but our closer Street struck out the last batter giving us the win. It was nice. We play one more game with the Indians, then a day off, and then we take on the Yankees. That’s going to be a good series because we have a Yankee fan here at work. It’s going to get interesting.
I went and saw the Green Lantern movie on Monday. It was awesome. There was a storyline quirk in it, but the special effects were amazing. They were the best I have ever seen. Since the movies started all coming out in 3D, I’ve only really seen two, Avatar and Clash of the Titans. Avatar’s effects were great, but Clash of the Titans sucked. I hope that means that the next 3D movie I see is going to be bad. Because, there are some really good movies coming up. I don’t know if they are 3D or not, but I’m looking forward to seeing Cowboys and Aliens, Transformers, and Harry Potter. There are some more out there, but those three are the only ones I can remember on the spot like this.
I had to work from 6am to 6pm Sunday on Father’s Day. It sucked. My wife’s side of the family had a barbeque that I couldn’t go to. It was also the Gay Pride Festival downtown. So, they closed off Broadway, which is the major street running through town. So, it was difficult to get to work and even more so leaving. At least at six in the morning, all of the partiers weren’t out and all over the place. Nothing bad about gay people, I know several actually, but I have never seen so many of them all at once all crowded together. Most of the guys were wearing practically nothing. I’m not sure what it is about very short white shorts and suspenders, but that was what a lot of them were wearing and nothing else. There were a lot of people dressed up in costumes. Some of them were pretty good. My youngest daughter and my oldest daughter’s boyfriend spend the day at the festival. They got pictures of themselves as both boys and girls. They didn’t dress up or anything. They were using those cutout things where you place your face through the hole. The pictures came out pretty nice.
My granddaughter came over several times this weekend. She even spent the night on Saturday. She really likes playing on the trampoline. There are also a lot of little cousins hanging around over here for her to play with. She likes it so much that she doesn’t even want to stop playing in order to eat. We keep getting her food, but she only eats a few bites before she is out the door playing again. I bet the kids are thinking we are starving her because she is always hungry when she gets back to their house. She also doesn’t really want to go home. Lately, when it is time to go, she starts crying. It’s heartbreaking, but it doesn’t last. After we get her into the car and start driving, she is mad for a few seconds and then she is back to her normal self. She invited me to come stay the night next weekend so I can take her swimming. But, only me, grandma wasn’t invited.
I was helping my daughter and her grandpa move some stuff today. We were at her school and we had to take it across the soccer field. The soccer team was practicing and my eldest daughter’s boyfriend, who is one year behind her, was out there practicing. I didn’t expect to see anyone I knew, so I wasn’t really paying attention. I don’t know how long he was waving at me, but I suddenly spotted him and waved back. I hope he didn’t think I was ignoring him. I was just focused on what I was doing and not paying attention to anything else. He’s coming over tomorrow about five to show me some of his drawings for the graphic novel. My daughter said that he has been working hard on them and has quite a bit for me to see. I’m going to get him to make something that I can put up on the website. I’m going to devote a whole page to the graphic novel. It’s going to be nice.
Well, either nothing else happened over the weekend or I can’t remember it. So, I’m going to put Boston, Journey, and Rush into the playlist for tonight. I will work a little bit on Gremlin Planet, but I’m also going to start a sequel to the Great Detective. When I was in the Corps, I used to write short little detective stores from Japan and send them home to my brothers. They knew it was me sending them, but I would only put the Great Detective as a return address. They liked them, and now that my daughter is in the Army, I think I’m going keep it alive. I collected all of the other ones into the first Great Detective novel. It’s out in book and ebook forms for anyone that wants to read it. I’ll keep the ones I’ll send to my daughter and put it out as a sequel.
-Thom

June 17

Everything is coming up Rockies. We slaughtered the Tigers today, 13-6. The tigers did have a grand slam, but that was about all they had. Our bats today were electric. We were hitting everything. It was one of those days you wished you were at the ball park. It’s one of those days that you wished it was tomorrow so that you could see them wipe up the floor with them again.
Although today was a great Rockies day, it wasn’t a great phone day. Yes, my phone broke. It was one of those older phones that flipped open and didn’t have touch screen technology. So, it isn’t a huge loss, but now I don’t have a phone. I don’t use my phone very much. Usually, it is just for telling the time. Since we switch back and forth every hour at work, I do need to know the time. So, my wife pulled out one of the old phones we seem to collect and charged it up. It is saying that it is 6:17 which isn’t good, because it is really 10:09. I don’t know what I’m going to do tonight. Oh well, the Rockies won. I’ll figure something out.
It was kind of a pain getting to work today. The Gay Pride Parade is scheduled for this weekend and they always close down Broadway, which is the main thoroughfare through town. It is also the street where I work. So, I have to go several city blocks out of the way and thread an obstacle course just to get to work. It will be worse this weekend. And, yes, I do have to work on Sunday. It is a 6am to 6pm shift. That means that when I get off work tomorrow morning at 6am. I have to go to sleep for a few hours. Then, wake up early so that I will be able to sleep at night in order to wake up in the morning and go to work. My whole weekend is blown. But, it’s ok, the Rockies won.
Well, I better get to work. I think I’m going to put in a bunch of one hit wonders into the playlist tonight. I think it is time for a little variety.
-Thom