Up Periscope

Boy has it been ages since I’ve written. It’s been that kind of crazy. The stop the world, I want to get off crazy.

The summer came and went far too quickly but it was a nice one. H recovered completely which is great. As for me, my eye is mostly unchanged; the right pupil is larger than the left but my vision is fine. All I really cannot do is focus on things up close. Here is the funny thing. I just got new contacts and had my prescription checked. My right eye actually was a bit better than it had been before the accident. I asked the doc if I should get hit in the other eye next season. She just stared. Docs have no sense of humor.

After a while, I did go back to playing softball. The coach was leary about putting me in the outfield but had to on a couple of occasions. Nothing came my way. Other games I caught and on occasion DH’ed. I wasn’t sure how it would go and the first few games I hit horribly. At the end though, I hit my stride and went something like 12 for 14 in the last 4 or five games. We won the regular season but ended up third in the tournament. The coach called later to say he has a trophy for me. I’ll take it 🙂

June was my month of travel, starting with a conference in Boston. I was going to accept the an award for the center I work for along with about 20 other universities. We stayed in the dorms at Boston U. which were really nice. The campus itself was within walking distance of Fenway but sadly, the Red Sox were on the road. I did get to go around the stadium which was nice.

The trip itself was not without its adventures. This was a rare conference where I needed to wear a suit for the ceremony and for the first time in all my travels by air did my luggage decide it preferred another venue. The problem was easy to see. My connecting flight was in NYC which was drowning in major downpours from the aftermath of a hurricane that was near the coast. My flight was changed because of this and I just knew that was only going to be the start of it. I waited much of the afternoon at the airport in hopes that my clothes would arrive on a later flight but no such luck. I got settled into my room and hoped the next day would bring better news. There was a CVS across the street so I could at least get some basic stuff. The day – still no world. Decision time. The dinner was that night. Wait it out longer, or get a new suit. I couldn’t take that chance. A new suit it was.

I’ve seen ads for the Men’s Warehouse boasting quick turnarounds for people in situations just like mine. Guess it was time to find out if they were true. I found one downtown and got on the train to get there. Went in and explained everything. They were very nice and helpful and yes, they did get it everything ready that day. I even picked up some extra shirts and ties. I have to admit they did excellent. I looked pretty good. It also became a topic around the conference. After a rough start, it ended up being a pretty good trip. I even got a chance to visit with a friend I went to HS with who now lives out there. End the end though, I was glad when it came time to go home.

Later in June, I took a second trip. This one and friends and family trip to Myrtle Beach. Very nice, very relaxing, well needed. I was sorry to see it end. Just like last year, we had a house right by the shore. Only difference was this year we grilled much more than going out. We already have reservations for next year. It cannot come soon enough.

Only other excursion for the summer was the annual baseball park visit that 2 friends and I started a couple of years ago. This year Milwaukee. We chose the weekend that the Phillies were in town which is my team since childhood. I was pretty excited. The phils were in a pennant race and playing pretty well. The part itself was fun to see. It has a retractable roof and as fate would have it, one game it was opened, the other closed. Indoor baseball… what a concept. I was surprised to see so many phillies phans there and was right at home in my ’93 jersey. Wisconsin truly is a football state. There was tailgating there. I ahve never seen that for baseball. Food smelled great too. It was a great trip.

So now it is back to work and I am still waiting for the initial burst to die down. Class is a pain too. I started in one that required far more calculus than I can remotely remember so changed to a course in software engineering. Problem there I have discovered was that after all this time, I have to learn a different programming language and the methodology behind it to do what needs to be done in this class. I have already done a ton of reading and suspect I’ll have a lot more to do. I will be so glad when this semester is over. I am tired of being a student.

So there you are – that’s a quick update. Hope all is well in your worlds. I hope to get caught up on each of you soon.