Goodbye (Day 42)

It’s my last day at Baseball America.

I can’t believe it has been six weeks already. A whole 42 days have passed by me and now it’s time to go. I’m not ready to stop listening to people talk about baseball every day. I’m not ready to go back to snow and hockey and real winters and toques.

It has been a pretty good run though.

For every moment that I might think passed me by, I did contribute something to BA. I am a part of books, magazines and an office of great people that has seen a variety of interns come through. I hope I’ve left a good impression and that I would be welcomed back if I were ever stopping by North Carolina. And I think I would be.

When I got to work this morning, I was equipped with wrapping paper, ribbon and gift tags. I helped to wrap the presents for the family that BA sponsored and then they took them away. It was a great way to start the work day. And while I was in the conference room wrapping, Conor came by and said that there were cake balls in the lunch room. Cake balls!

I got to try the delectable little balls of chocolatey goodness for the first time and I don’t think my description even does them justice. They are pretty awesome. Little bundles of cake and I think some icing, too, wrapped in a chocolate coating, in bite-size form. An excellent breakfast for me, for sure.

I went back to my desk after the gifts were ready to be taken away, and I had received two emails from people at BA. Editor 3 had sent me the information for a couple of job postings in the area. USA Baseball is looking for interns for next season and he thought I might be interested. He also said that he sat with people from the organization on his way home from Winter Meetings and he talked to them about it, and he would recommend me for the job if I do want to apply.

Of course I would love to put in an application, but I am also worried. I applied for the internship with mlb.com for next season and I won’t hear about it until the end of January. If I were to get a job with USA and then also get the internship with MLB I would want to take the one with MLB and then I would not only be disappointing the people at USA but I would make BA look bad if they had recommended me for something. So I don’t want to do that.

I am really getting ahead of myself though, thinking that I might get the two paid internship offers and I haven’t heard anything from them, let alone applied to one of them. So it might be a good idea for me to apply just so that I am in the pool for another employment opportunity. I will worry about that more later.

The other email was from Editor 2, announcing to everyone on our side of the office that today is my last day and that I had picked Chubby’s Tacos as my lunch place of choice. We would be heading there for the mid-day meal and he invited everyone along. He also mentioned I’ve done a bang-up job during my time at BA and have also written an inordinate number of Hall of Fame bios, so that was awesome to read.

Before and after lunch, I was working on said bios, trying to find quotes for each player, just to fit the guidelines we received in the very recent past. I have to start and end every single one with a quote, which I think is stupid and unnecessary, but also means a lot of searching on the Internet. There are some guys that people just didn’t say anything nice about and I think for them I am going to have to just use generic quotes, or find something that relates to the position they play. But I didn’t finish finding usable quotes for everyone until near the end of the day. I did find a couple of great ones though.

“All us Youngs could throw,” Cy Young said. “I used to kill squirrels with a stone when I was a kid, and my granddad once killed a turkey buzzard on the fly with a rock.”

Some of the quotations amused me.

I thought there was a chance that I could get through all the bios on my last day, but it looks like I will spend some more time on them outside of work. Hopefully I can finish before I take off on Sunday.

The lunch that interrupted quote-searching was a good one. A bunch of people came and it was a great last time out on the town from BA. Editor 2 bought my food and that was a lovely added surprise to the outing as well.

Everyone at BA has been so fantastic and awesome that it is really hard to leave. I just don’t want to go back home. I feel like I am leaving the entire sport of baseball behind, which makes it even sadder than it already is. I will go back to the land of hockey and ice and snow, and will no longer be getting daily updates on college sports and minor league prospects. I will miss heading out for lunch every day with people from the office, most prevalently Editor 1 and Editor 2. I won’t have any more reminders that I am Canadian, and I can only hope that I might still get emails when a Canadian player is signed, or a Canadian team does something in the world of baseball to make them important.

Though I’m not ready to leave, I guess I kind of have to be.

“The strongest thing that baseball has going for it today are its yesterdays,” Lawrence Ritter said.

And I will remember all of my baseball yesterdays with BA.

Goodbye Baseball America.

Diagnosis: stress fracture (Day 41)

One day of crutches and I am done with them.

I got my appointment with the orthopaedic specialist this morning and they gave me a walking boot, also known as an air cast.

I arrived at Baseball America more than an hour early today, because the people from the doctor’s office said they were going to call me first thing in the morning and I had given them my work phone number. They called soon after I arrived, so I was glad that I got there when I did.

The same guy I had spoken to yesterday was the one I was talking to again. He informed me that he had confirmed that they could not take my Canadian insurance, after speaking to someone at the international patients’ office. Since I knew that was going to happen, when he asked me if I still wanted to make my appointment I said of course. He told me they could get me in to see the doctor in an hour if I could be there a half hour early to check in for my appointment. That was fine by me, and I was sure that no one at BA was going to mind.

I took off for the orthopaedist and realized that their office was a lot closer than I had anticipated. I was even earlier than they had asked me to be. I filled out a couple forms and they sent me to talk to someone who dealt with foreign patients. She was very nice, and told me that she could finish filling everything out with my information and that she could get me into the doctor right away.

It didn’t take very long for me to get through the nurse and the doctor and then to head to an x-ray room. They took the pictures from three different angles, all of which were extremely uncomfortable, because that seems to be how they have to do things in hospitals and doctors’ offices, and I was quickly back in the exam room waiting for the orthopaedist once again.

He came back and showed me my x-rays. He explained that there was some inflammation and he thought I might have a stress fracture because I am still having trouble putting my weight on my injured foot. He didn’t see a fracture in the x-ray, but he said sometimes they don’t show up until they are healing, which I think is ironic. Because of that, he wanted me to come back in a week to get it checked again. Unfortunately that won’t be possible because I will be in Mexico. It would be nice to try and get in with someone while I am at home, but there’s no chance of me getting in that quickly.

The doctor told me that since it is possible it’s not a fracture, I might be able to still run in the Goofy challenge. I have to keep the cast for at least a week and then I can gauge my level of exercise on my pain. If it still hurts, I can’t run. If it doesn’t, I can. And he said in the meantime it wouldn’t hurt me to swim, so if I want to keep up my training, I can do it in a pool. I think Mexico will be perfect for that, so that sounded good to me. Well, it was the best news I could get in my situation.

From the doctor’s office I went back to work, without my crutches, because I hate them and they are now spending their time in my car. The doctor said if I still have pain I should use them, but I can keep their use limited.

I went back to working on my bios until lunch. Editor 2 had gone to his daughter’s school in the morning so he wasn’t going out for lunch. He did bring back with him a paper doll from his daughter though. The doll is supposed to be passed along to people to travel around.

Someone takes the doll, and writes about its journey and sends a postcard from the place it traveled to. So I now have her doll. I will be taking it to Pittsburgh on Sunday, when I drive home with my mom, and then to Buffalo, where we will cross the border. The doll will get to come with us to Canada, and then will be making the journey to Mexico. I am also thinking I could keep her and take her when we go to Disney World and then give her to my friend from class who is heading to Kazakhstan to work at the Asian Winter Games. I think we can help this doll travel to some pretty awesome places and I look forward to it. We are also going to take pictures of her in the various locations, and I will send them back to Editor 2 and his daughter.

I went with Conor and Jim to lunch. Jim has the cubicle next to mine, but is notorious around the office for being a pretty quiet guy. He just doesn’t join in on that many conversations, and that is probably the reason he hasn’t come up before.

We went to one of the barbeque places, and it was good as always. It would be my last quest for barbeque, and I think I made the most of it. Conor paid for it, and free lunches are always better. It was really nice of him, and a pleasant surprise.

After lunch I came back to finish up my bios only to find out that the Hall of Fame had sent us guidelines to follow. After I had completed 500 words on 30 different players, they decided to let us know that they wanted them done in a specific way. Since none of mine have been done that way, I had to start going back and changing them.

That took up the rest of my work day and I’m sure will take up all of my last day at BA as well. I left work in time to head to Target though, but this instance was for work purposes.

I guess every holiday season the BA office gets money together to help a family in need. They buy them Christmas presents and wrap them and take them to the family. One of the women in the office had come over to my desk earlier to ask if I wanted to join in and I thought it would be really fun. I wasn’t so much looking forward to it when I was using the crutches, but in my walking cast I thought it would be okay.

I headed to Target and met up with some other people from the office. Conor and Nathan were there with their wives, and the other people were colleagues that I hadn’t spent much time with. We got to go through the store picking clothes and toys for an eight-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy, and we got towels and washcloths for their mother. It was fun, and tomorrow we will wrap the presents and one of the women in the office will take them to the family.

When they were counting the money that the office had gotten together for the gifts, I mentioned that I hadn’t contributed anything but that I would like to. Even though I don’t have any of my own money anymore and I am running on the funding of my mother, I think she would be okay with me giving $20 of it to someone who needs it more than we do. Soon enough I will have a job and I will be able to pay my mom back for all of it, so I don’t think I was really taking her money and just giving it away anyway. I’ve told her before that I was interested in sponsoring a family for Christmas, but the whole BA office doing it together is a much better idea than us doing it on our own, so I am glad I got to be a part of it, and I am sure my mom will be happy that I was too.

Tomorrow we will be wrapping, and I can bring in the leftover paper, ribbon and tags that I have in my apartment from the presents for my mom and cousins. I didn’t think I would have room for it in my luggage or car anyway, so I am glad it will be used, and it will definitely be put to good use!

From Target, I went home to finish making cards for the people at the office that I want to give them to, and I also completed my final report for school about my internship. Even though it’s not all the way over, I am pretty sure I can answer the questions required. I had to write about how effectively I worked with my supervisors and colleagues, and I would rank that as great.

I also had to talk about the most important thing I learned on the job and I think that was just that I really do have a love for writing. Before I came here I thought I wanted to be in a PR department for a team, and now I think I just want to write about baseball, which is what I got to do while I was here.

I had to include some school-related stuff in my report too, and get it to somewhere between four and six pages, but I had some help with that from the line spacing that I used. I added the report to the binder of things I am going to leave behind at BA. I’ve put together my journal entries, my report, all the work I’ve done for BA, the drafts of things that I have worked on, and letters from me to the editors. It’s in a binder and I am ready to leave it behind so they remember me. I also just want them to know how much the internship and everything that I did meant to me.

So tomorrow is my last day. I remember writing my first journal on day one, and now I am heading into the final day. It’s hard to believe how quickly time has gone. It’s been great, but I will be sad to leave. I hope I’m not too sappy or sentimental tomorrow. I made cards and a binder, and I hope they save me from getting emotional or anything.

It will be hard to say goodbye. I’m not looking forward to it. I’m also not looking forward to leaving.

It’s not going to be easy.

When I wake up, I will have less time left (Day 40)

I got through a full day with crutches.

The hardest part of today for me was going down the stairs from my apartment to my car and getting back up them when I came home. Other than that it wasn’t so bad.

I woke up and was still in pain, much to my dismay. I still kind of had hope that my mysterious injury might have gone away the same way it came, without warning and during my slumber. Unfortunately it did not, so I thought I should follow the doctor’s orders and use the crutches they gave me.

My goal was to get to work before most other people arrived so as not to call attention to myself and my new walking aid, and I was successful. Only one person saw me coming in on my crutches and I don’t even know his name, so he must work on the other side of the office, the business side. I received an email first thing from my mom saying that the doctor’s office from last night had left a message at her house, likely because that was the home number I listed, and I was to call them back.

When I called the office they asked me for my insurance information again. Since they didn’t even look at it last night because I am from Canada, let alone take down my info, I thought they might have changed their minds. Instead, I guess the person I spoke with last night just left my information there for someone else to deal with. The woman who called me wasn’t sure why they hadn’t entered a zip code into my file. When I told her I am Canadian she just said okay and that was it. I asked her when I might hear from the specialist and if they would take my foreign insurance and she gave me the number and told me to call them.

I called the orthopaedic specialist’s office and spoke to a guy who was extremely friendly and overly talkative. He seemed very interested in my situation, but I figured that could only help me in the process. The man said he had to talk to someone in the international office or something like that, before they could figure out how to deal with me, so eventually the conversation ended and I just had to wait to hear back.

I still had not finished the bios I started yesterday so I went to work on the Hall of Famers. My research was done but I had to start putting together the drafts and then conjure up something that I could send off to Editor 2.

I was hard at work on the bios when Editor 2 came over to ask if I was going to try to crutch to lunch or if I wanted him to bring me something back. I told him that I would make the effort on my crutches, mostly because I like taking some time away from the office in the middle of the day. It helps me if I am having trouble staying focused on something. It is a good distraction.

The temporary absence from my desk also helps me get to know the people I go with. Today it was just me and Editor 2 again and during the ride he told me about his wife and how last year (or maybe the year before) she broke her leg in two places. She was on crutches for a long time, had two surgeries and was in the hospital three times, just because of a slip and fall accident. She now has to live with a metal plate in her leg and currently also has a battery pack in there that was helping muscles grow or something. Presumably the batteries are dead now, and Editor 2 thinks that his wife is probably going to want it taken out because she can feel the pack in her leg and sometimes it can be bothersome. I would imagine it might get to be a little irritating, or at least strange.

We also talked about the crazy weather that London is getting right now, the worst December snowfall in what seems like forever, and certainly in my lifetime. I told him it is so bad that my mom has resorted to asking my dad to drive her to the Buffalo airport on Saturday when she is flying to North Carolina to come see me!  Since my parents haven’t been a couple for a very long time and the general feeling in the air when they are around each other is dislike, I can’t imagine it will be a comfortable ride. My guess is that my mom will either fall asleep or pretend to be asleep for the duration.

Editor 2 asked me about what my dad does for a living, or what he did, since he is now retired. Editor 2 knew that my dad had worked for GM, but he didn’t know in what capacity. I explained that my father is an electrician by trade, and worked steady nights for the last bunch of years since my parents split up.

Then we discussed what the GM in London actually made and I think it might have just been locomotives and LAVs but I really have no idea. My dad didn’t make anything, he was an electrician. And we talked about how it switched over to become Electro-Motive Canada and I’m pretty sure that’s why my dad had to retire when he did, so that he could have a GM pension instead of one from EMC. It was a solid discussion that accompanied great pizza from the awesome pizza place we have gone to a few times.

I finished my Hall of Famers from yesterday pretty soon after lunch and sent them to my mom for proofreading and editing before sending to Editor 2. While I was waiting I went and got two more names to start on. I grabbed Sam Rice and Kid Nichols.

Rice didn’t start playing in the majors until he was 27 years old, but his story is pretty inspirational in itself, considering he could even play at all after the tragedy he went through in 1912. The pitcher-turned-outfielder was working several miles away from his home when it was struck by a tornado. The storm took out not only his house, but his family, too. He lost his parents, his wife and his children. He went on to be a pretty good baseball player, but he kept it a secret from everyone, even when he remarried several years later. His second wife only found out when the press brought the story back up in the 1950s.

Nichols was a pretty great pitcher and his legacy will live on forever in the fact that he won 30 or more games seven times. That’s definitely a record, in case anyone is wondering, and is unlikely to ever be matched or beaten. Pitchers don’t even get near 30 victories in a season now, with five-man rotations and pitch count and inning limits. Nichols also had what ESPN ranked as the greatest playoff performance in history. In the 1905 World Series, he threw three shutouts in six days, in Games 1, 3 and 5, to take the Fall Classic four games to one. He allowed a total of only 14 runs over the three games, which is pretty ridiculous.

I haven’t finished the bios on my two newest picks, but I am sure I can finish them in the morning hours tomorrow. My plan is to head to work early because when I called the specialist’s office at the end of the day to find out about my status, I was told that the guy I talked to still hadn’t heard from the people who deal with foreigners. He said he would call me first thing in the morning, and since he will be calling my work phone, I figure I should be there for it.

From work I went back to the apartment and dealt with the stuff from my car and the climb up the stairs. I made it and then made myself a smoothie and finished off the last of my cereal. I am dreading having to buy more cereal before I leave because it will be impossible to go through the grocery store on crutches and actually get what I need without embarrassing myself. So I am hoping that I can survive for the next two and a half days on whatever food I have left. I can’t believe that I am only going to be here that much longer. I am getting Baseball America sick I think...it is kind of like being homesick, except instead of wanting to go home, I don’t want to leave BA. Yes, it is something I most certainly made up, so if it doesn’t make sense, that is my fault, but the message I’m trying to get across is that I don’t want to go.

I’m not ready to leave in such a short time. I hope I have contributed as much as I could and helped everyone out, with a smooth and easy transition. It certainly felt that way for me, but I can only wish that it was the same for everyone at BA who took me on.

I will be happy to see my mom and go back to my own apartment, and to my mom’s house, too. But I am not looking forward to heading back into the record snow and cold. Those aren’t the reasons I would like to stay in North Carolina though.

I love BA and writing about baseball and reading about Hall of Famers as a job. I like seeing my name in the magazine, and as an editorial assistant in the books. I love the people and the conversation about drafts and prospects and the fact that baseball happens every day somewhere. I would love to stay in that somewhere.

I almost don’t want to fall asleep because when I wake up I will have less time left. But I am tired, so I will just have to make the most of my time.

Diagnosis: torn ligaments (Day 39)

I have torn the ligaments on the outside of my right foot and now have to wait to see a specialist who will determine when I can run again.

The diagnosis wasn’t as simple as it sounds, if it does indeed sound simple. I left work early because not only was I in pain, but I was also distracted from completing the four Hall of Fame bios that I was working on. It might have been the earliest I have ever left the office, though it was once again the time that I was designated to leave in the hours I was given before I came to North Carolina. I probably took off around four, the same time I left the day before Thanksgiving.

I had already looked up the location of the nearest urgent care centre, so I knew where I was going. I had my insurance cards, my health card and my identification, so I thought I was good to go.

When I arrived at the urgent care centre I explained my ankle situation and also that I am Canadian, and I was given forms to fill out. When I took them back to the woman at the desk, she told me that they could not accept international insurance and she asked me if I wanted to pay $75 USD up front and be billed for the rest, or pay half of my fees and not be billed. I didn’t really understand, but I figured I wouldn’t have enough money to pay half the total, so I opted for the payment of $75.

I also didn’t even have enough cash for that on me, so I asked her if she could direct me to an ATM. The desk lady informed me that there was a bank next door and that they should be able to help me. I hobbled over to the bank, as if I weren’t in enough pain already, only to find out that their cash machine was down and they couldn’t take my Canadian debit card at the desk.

The people at the bank gave me directions to some place I knew I wouldn’t be able to find, so I went back to the urgent care centre. They told me that the next closest ATM would probably be at the Walgreens down the street. I drove there and the cash box was right inside the door. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t accept my Canadian card. I asked a cashier where the next closest one might be and she directed me back the bank where I had started.

I knew I had seen a gas station on my way to the doctor’s office, so I went back in the direction I came from. I found it and sure enough, it had an ATM. It also took my card, and gave me my cash, so that worked out well. By that time I was pretty frustrated, and in more pain because it was all I was thinking about, so I bought myself a bag of mini muffins. They didn’t solve all my problems however, so they did not meet my expectations.

When I got back to the doctor’s office I figured I had lost my place in line, and even though I had, it was still really quick between the waiting room and the nurse’s station. I guess that’s what happens when you pay for your own medical care.

I tried to explain what I did to myself when the nurse asked about my injury, but I really didn’t know. I told her that I woke up on Sunday morning and my ankle was sore. I stayed off it for the most part that day, but yesterday I ignored the problem and went running. This morning I woke up unable to put pressure on my right foot without a lot of pain. My injury was a mystery to me, and that was really all I could tell her.

The nurse took me to another room to wait for the doctor and said that it might be 10 more minutes, as if that were a long time. Obviously she didn’t understand that I am from Canada, where waiting times are always long, but there are no bills at the end of visits.

When the doctor came to see me she asked about my level of exercise and I told her that I am training for another marathon. She checked out my ankle and told me that it wasn’t broken but I had torn the ligaments on the outside of the foot. She also said that I should be going to see a specialist so that I can find out when and if I can start my training again. I believe the kind doctor also made my visit with the specialist a priority so that I can back to my running regimen as soon as possible. The marathon and a half are only a month away now, so I appreciated her efforts.

She brought me crutches and wrapped my ankle, letting me know that I have to keep it on and keep using the crutches until I at least see the specialist and hear what that person has to say about it. She gave me pain and anti-inflammatory medication and I was on my way.

From there I went back to Walgreens where I learned that it is possible to hold a box of pills, a box of cereal and a wallet, all while using crutches. It is a tough task, but not impossible. It definitely made some people feel sorry for me though, because one person let me go ahead of them in line and another person held the door for me. People are nicer when they take pity on you.

I made it home from there and realized that I had to carry the stuff from my car into the apartment, including using the flight of stairs up to where I live. That was a little tougher, but I made it, leaving some stuff in my car, and half-limping, half using the crutches up the stairs. As soon as I was at the door to my bedroom, Thing 2 came into the apartment. She asked what happened and felt sorry for me a little bit too I think.

I wanted to work on the bios I didn’t finish but found it really uncomfortable to sit and try to work in my room, so I didn’t get much done. I suppose I will have to work on them tomorrow. I should be able to find a more comfortable position at work I think. I am hoping I can get to the office before anyone else though, so I don’t have to deal with the questions about the crutches until at least lunch, or whenever I first have to use the bathroom, and in turn, have to walk by some of the people I work with.

So instead of working I settled in to watch TV. The last episode of The Biggest Loser before the finale was on tonight, and it’s my favourite because the final four contestants run a marathon. I think it’s fantastic and it also helps me with my running. If they can do it, then there is no reason why I shouldn’t ever be able to run one...minus perhaps torn ligaments in the foot.

During my television-watching I iced my ankle according to the doctor’s orders and emailed my mom about the show. I also whined a lot about my minor injury, until I realized how much worse off I could be. I just really hope I am okay to keep training for the Goofy Challenge. It’s in a month and I can’t afford to lose too much time.

I want to run!

Cake balls!?! (Day 38)

I think it’s possible that I might have seriously injured myself.

Even though my ankle was still sore when I woke up, and continued to be that way throughout the day, I went to the gym after work and decided to ignore it. I ran 11 miles and now not only is my ankle causing me a great deal of pain, but my hip has joined in as well. I am sure I was doing something weird with my hip while I was running, in order to compensate for my ankle, and so the entire thing is my fault for ignoring my original problem, but knowing that isn’t helping me now.

My day started off better than it is right now, because when I woke up I was only in a little bit of pain. I went to work, where it was a little bit weird with Editor 1 missing. There were a lot of other people missing, too, but since his office is right next to my cubicle, I usually hear him talking a lot, and it fills the void. Today there was silence in his place, and I didn’t like it.

When I saw Conor this morning, he asked if this was going to be my last week in the office. I confirmed that it was and he said that meant cake balls! I am excited for this new mystery of a dessert.

When I hung out with Conor and Nathan and their wives, Cheryl, Conor’s wife, mentioned that she loved something called cake balls and I was intrigued at the thought. They all informed me that cake balls are pretty much exactly as they sound, as in balls of cake, but they came across as a lot more delicious than my simple description when they were telling me about them.

And Cheryl said that she would utilize her awesome baking skills and make me some before I left town. So I guess I am going to get to try cake balls this week! I think they would be a good way to end my time here. Celebratory cake balls!

Nathan also mentioned this morning that I should start thinking about where I want to go for lunch on Friday. It’s a tough choice, and I am kind of hoping someone else will eventually pick for me. I don’t want to go somewhere that someone doesn’t like, and I kind of just want to pick a place that I know they like, though it might not necessarily be one of my favourites. I’m sure if I pick a barbeque place everyone will be fine with that. 

Since I didn’t get through any of the Hall of Fame bios on the weekend, I set to work on some this morning. I told Editor 2 I would finish the ones on the second page of our list, because there were only four. I have realized that I should start doing some preparatory work before I commit to names from now on, because I am not happy with my choices as of late.

Today I was working on Vic Willis, Hack Wilson, Early Wynn and Ross Youngs. Wynn was the only one I had really heard of beforehand, and I realized later that it was because he had been a broadcaster for the Blue Jays for some time. I think all of them were voted in by the Veteran’s Committee, and we all know how I feel about that kind of Hall of Famer.

The most interesting thing I learned about Willis is pretty much that he was the last pitcher in the 19^th century no throw a no-hitter. So, yes, he has been dead for some time now.

Wilson hit 56 home runs in 1930, setting the National League record that remained unbroken until Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire fought over it 68 years later. I would take his record over theirs any day.

Wynn seems like a tough guy, throwing at hitters who crowded the plate too much for his liking. He also sounds like he was a little bit of a bully. But after his career as a pitcher was over, he joined the Indians as a pitching coach and then he joined Minnesota’s coaching staff before becoming a broadcaster for Toronto and the White Sox.

Youngs’ best season was one in which he came second in the National League batting race to Rogers Hornsby. I guess that’s a big accomplishment, but it’s unfortunate to be second-best. He did win two World Series championships with the New York Giants though, and he might have had the opportunity to do more if he hadn’t been diagnosed with a kidney disorder that took his life at the early age of 30.

So that was my excitement for the work day, but even now I don’t have enough words on all of them to send the bios to Editor 2. I guess I should get back to them at some point.

Editor 2 left work early to take his daughter to her horseback riding lesson, so at some point in the early afternoon, there were no bosses left in the office. I am not exactly sure when he left, and even though I knew I could head home and send him my work from there, I ended up staying until I was finished the drafts for all of my bios, a task that kept me into the evening hours.

When I was finished, I headed to the gym, where I ran the 11 miles that have put me into a state of misery. I am still hoping it will go away by the time I wake up tomorrow, but I know that is an unlikely scenario. After the gym, I went tanning before I came back to the apartment.

I finished the laundry that I had started yesterday, so that was kind of productive. I also watched the Sing-Off because my normal Monday night television had been replaced with a Christmas special. I expected to be watching a new episode of House and instead found myself taking in a bunch of groups singing acapella.

So it’s been another exciting day in North Carolina, and I got updates from home saying that everyone in London was having a snow day, so I guess things were pretty interesting there, too. I am not looking forward to heading back into that and it is my hope that the snow will clear up, or at least that it won’t be so stormy, for our drive back.

I hate the snow, but if it’s going to be there, I would rather it already be on the ground and plowed from the roads if I am going to have to be around it. It would make for a much safer drive, and that’s what I would like.

I don’t even want to think about the snow anymore though. Forget that.

Mysterious injury (Day 37)

I certainly didn’t make the most of my last weekend in North Carolina. Not today anyway.

It started with the potential for productivity. I woke up early and thought about heading to the gym. But somehow during the night I must have injured my ankle because it was super sore when I tried to get up. I could barely walk, let alone go to the gym and run the miles that I had planned. So I headed to my computer and answered some emails.

The email I spent the most time on was one from a guy at the Rock, Toronto’s professional lacrosse team. He had contacted me on Friday night with the opportunity for an internship position from January until May. It was something I pursued earlier in the year, when looking for my six-week intern position, and he said I came highly recommended by Eric Holmes, one of my bosses from the Argonauts.

I wrote him back and said that even though I am very interested in the position, I might have a couple of conflicts, and he should know about them before he decides whether or not he does actually want to meet with me. The first one was that he wanted to meet with me this upcoming week, so I had to let him know that I will still be in North Carolina at Baseball America.

Then I told him that if I did join his marketing and ticketing team at the Rock, I would miss the first home game of the season, which is probably somewhat of a big deal. It happens to be on the same weekend that I am heading to Florida for the Goofy Challenge marathon and half marathon. I’ve been hoping to participate in the Challenge for some time now, and I have been signed up for awhile. It is also non-refundable, so I will be going, and in turn, would be missing that game.

I also mentioned that if any paying opportunities came along, I would have to take them. I told him about the mlb.com paid internship that I have applied for, and it would take me away for the baseball season, beginning in April. And I told him about the potential for me to write from Spring Training for CBC, if I ever hear about that again. But if it were to happen, I would likely miss the one home game in March that the Rock have.

After giving him a whole bunch of reasons why he shouldn’t take me on, I mentioned the reasons that he should. I included the things about myself that I would usually send in a cover letter, in the hopes that the positives might outweigh all the negatives I had given him already. Hopefully I hear back from him saying that he would like to have my help when I can give it. That would be ideal, however unlikely.

When I was finished emailing, I watched TV and played around on my laptop until I’d had enough of that. I thought that maybe if I rested for a little while my ankle might eventually start to feel better, and so I headed to my bed. I must have been a lot more tired than I thought because I fell back asleep for a long nap.

My ankle still hurt when I woke up, so that didn’t help anything. I couldn’t go to the gym because I figured that would probably make my mysterious injury worse. That’s not something I would like to do, so taking it easy is the way for me today.

I didn’t do much outside of watching movies on TV, though I should have spent some time working on Hall of Fame bios. I started to look at one of the players, but didn’t get any work done. I went back to being lazy and watching TV instead and that took up the majority of my day.

When I tried to do laundry, I got one load out of the washer only to find that someone else’s clothes were in the dryer. There was nothing more I could do there except leave the light on in the laundry room in the hopes that the person who left their clothes would remember and take them out.

Thing 2 eventually knocked on my door and asked if I had been trying to do laundry because her stuff was in the dryer. She took it out and I was back in business, several hours later. I didn’t get a chance to finish because I was too tired and it was too late, but I am further on my laundry now than I was yesterday.

I’ve realized that my weekend entries are much shorter than the ones I’ve written on weekdays. I have a much more exciting life when I am working, or so it seems. Though I had the opportunity to work today and I didn’t take it.

My final weekend in North Carolina is over, and a week from now I will be in Pittsburgh, or at least that is the hope, on my way back home from my adventures here. Though my weekend has been generally uneventful, my time here has not and I am happy to say that I think I did make the most of it.

I had a great time at work, and with another week left to go at BA I am sure that will continue. I’ve met great people and friends that I will hopefully keep in touch with when I leave. I am confident that there is the possibility of me being contacted in the future if BA has an opportunity that I might be a good fit for. That makes me happy, and I know I have done pretty well with my time here. I have a couple magazines to show for it, and possibly a few books that might have my name in them as a contributor in the near future.

I am not excited about the prospect of driving home, into horrible weather as I am told, but I would like to see my mom and my friends again. Six weeks flew by for me at Baseball America, but it seems like much longer since I have been home. And I think I can survive the snow and bitter cold for a few days before heading to hot and sunny Mexico.

I guess it’s almost time for me to start packing.

Snow (Day 36)

I thought that I was going to be able to avoid the snow all the way out here in North Carolina.

I was wrong.

Today was the first snowfall of the year for the area, and I am sure one of the very few that they will have in total at the end of winter. As I have been informed, people were unbelievably bad drivers with the weather, and they seemed to react to a light dusting of snow as if it were the biggest blizzard in the world. It wasn’t even enough for me to have to scrape off my car.

Before I actually got up and left my apartment to see the snow this morning, I watched some American programming and lazed around for a little while. I guess I just want to make the most out of my dorm-style bedroom before I leave.

I watched a movie on TV and then decided that I should head to the gym. I also need to make the most of the gym membership I paid for up until the end of the week. I ran six miles and got to see the end of the UNC/Kentucky basketball game while I was on the treadmill. It was a really exciting game, well from what I saw, and UNC won, so that’s always nice for the people around here.

Considering UNC isn’t even ranked, and they have been having a lot of trouble this season, it was a big victory. Kentucky is No. 10, or at least they were before losing this afternoon in Chapel Hill. The last 12 seconds of the game lasted at least a couple miles of my running though, so that should be an indication of how back and forth and intense it was.

When I was finished running my miles for the day I went for a tan before trying to make my way to the mall. It took me a lot longer to get there than it should have, thanks to the snow and the difference in driving with that snow.

I made it to the mall and the movies I wanted to see were not playing for awhile. I thought I might have been able to catch an early show, but the traffic slowed me down too much for that. So I had some waiting to do.

I went to Panera Bread for dinner, which was excellent as always. But I asked for soup in a bread bowl, and they were all out of bread bowls. I was initially disappointed, but then I remembered that I like a lot of other stuff they have there too. Everything is better in an edible bowl though.

When I was finished eating I still had a lot of time to kill. Lucky for me, the mall had live entertainment. There happened to be a band of little kids singing a mix of Christmas songs and popular songs. I watched them until they were done their set, and I was pretty impressed. All of them were singing, while one played drums, another guitar, and a third on the keyboard. That was a great way to spend some of my time.

And when that was over, I wandered around until it was time for the movie. My options for viewing were Tangled and Fair Game, a kid movie or a movie that I didn’t really know much about. I really wanted to see MegaMind, but it was only showing in 3D during the evening hours, and 3D makes me dizzy. I chose Fair Game because of my love for flicks inspired by true stories.

The movie was a lot more about American politics than I expected. I thought the very beginning was kind of funny. The woman whom the film is about was in a meeting with someone and they asked her if she was American. She told him that actually she was Canadian, from Toronto. He then asked if she was a fan of the Maple Leafs and when she said no, he mentioned that he thought everyone from Toronto is a Maple Leafs fan. I just thought that was really funny because that is the perception of Torontonians from mostly everyone, and usually it is correct.

It turns out she was lying because she was a CIA operative, so the whole thing becomes a moot point, but I still found it to be amusing. And I still don’t like the Leafs.

After the movie I came back to the apartment to answer emails and watch a bunch of episodes of House. I love the TV marathons or mini-marathons or whatever they are that channels have each weekend.

I think today was pretty productive for the first half of my last weekend. I am hoping there is less snow tomorrow, but just as much productivity from yours truly. I should probably start working on some of the Hall of Fame bios, too.

But I’ll save that for tomorrow.

Before Ichiro made it the thing to do (Day 35)

35 days. Wow.

I think I have made the most of my time in North Carolina, working hard for Baseball America, going to the gym almost regularly, seeing movies and even going to a UNC/NC State football game. I am sure I could have done something crazy like made friends or something, but I have had a great experience.

I don’t know what I would have done without the people at BA, because of how helpful and friendly they are and have been, but without them, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.

My work day was mostly normal, though there was a visit from a former intern to add to the excitement of today. The people at BA seem to like him for the most part, but it doesn’t seem as if he is as highly regarded as one might hope to be when leaving as an intern. I certainly hope people think better of me and my internship than they do of him. But, of course, I would like to be the best, so I hope they think I am better than anyone and everyone. Is that too much to ask?

I updated the directories with information I had received last night and this morning as soon as I got to the office. Admittedly, then I answered emails before I got to working on the next couple of bios for the Hall of Fame. I was not looking forward to writing stories on George Kell and Wee Willie Keeler.

When I was finished with what I could do for the directory, I went to Editor 2’s office and told him to just give me the next two names alphabetically to write about. That probably wasn’t my smartest move, but someone has to write them, so it might as well be me. So that’s how I got Kell and Keeler.

What amazes me most about Wee Willie is that he was pretty much the exact same size as I am, and he was a phenomenal hitter. He collected more than 200 hits in eight consecutive seasons, well before Ichiro Suzuki made it the thing to do. He had 206 singles in one year, over a century before Ichiro also matched that mark. If I were to be compared to any player, I would love for it to be Ichiro, so it makes me think this man’s 19^th century play was remarkable.

Kell was voted in by the Veteran’s Committee, and I already have my opinion about players who have made it into the Hall that way. He had one really remarkable year, in 1949, though his biggest feat was edging out Ted Williams for the batting crown by two-thousandths of a point. He denied Williams the Triple Crown title, and did it with two hits on the last day of the season. Kell should have had one more at-bat, which would have made the number different either way, but the batter in front of him grounded into a double play to end the game while he stood on deck.

I guess it’s good for me to learn about players like these though, because they ARE members of the Hall of Fame. And since I have finished the bios on these two players, I am now done 20 for the book! Since there are only 292 members of the Hall, I believe I am somewhere at almost seven per cent for contributory work. That should be significant enough to get my name in another book, and since I am now vain, that is where my concern lies.

For lunch today we went back to one of the two barbeque places that we have frequented during the time here. The old intern came with us and Editor 1 was very put off by some of the things he was saying either during their ride to the restaurant or while we were eating. Either way, I don’t think he was impressed. Hopefully that is never me.

On my way out of the office I stopped to say goodbye to Editor 1 and Editor 3. Since they are both leaving for Winter Meetings I figured it would be the last time I would see them, so I wanted to say thank you. I gave Editor 1 the card I had made him and letter I wrote him, and he said it was an easy decision for him to bring me on and they have enjoyed having me. He also said that he would be around next Friday, so I would see him again before I leave.

When I stopped in to bid farewell to Editor 3, he told me that he, too, would be back next Friday, so I would get another chance to see him before I leave as well. So I guess I was preparing for my last day with these people for nothing. Though I won’t spend next week with them, I will see them once more before I head back to Canada.

With that in mind, I wasn’t so reluctant to leave the workplace, but before I took off I did grab the list of Hall of Famers from Editor 2 so I could work on it if I so choose. I am sure I will have plenty of time but the desire is what I might be lacking. I took the list anyway and now have the option of working this weekend.

From work, I went tanning and then headed to the mall with the movie theatre. Nicole and I had plans to see the same movie at the same time again. We were both going to see the late show of Love and Other Drugs, and I decided that I was going to make it a double feature. I wanted to see 127 Hours too, and the timing worked out so that I could see it right before the chick flick.

I enjoyed 127 Hours, most probably because it is based on a true story. But the story is remarkable and I thought James Franco or whoever starred in that movie, did a great job. It does make me want to read the book written by the actual Aron Ralston though.

Love and Other Drugs was a little bit different than I expected, and had an entirely separate plot line that I had not seen in the trailer. I liked it for that, but it was certainly a chick flick, not my favourite genre. I expected that obviously, so it was good for what it was. I talked to Nicole about it afterward as planned, but we had to exchange emails because for some reason my American phone doesn’t seem to be working.

And that was enough excitement for me for one night. Off to bed in preparation for my final weekend in North Carolina.

The man at the hot corner (Day 34)

Tomorrow is the end of five weeks at Baseball America.

And also the end of my time with Editor 1 and Editor 3. They are both heading to Winter Meetings in Florida, where they will be for all of next week, and when they get back I will be on my way to Canada.

I can’t believe my time has gone so quickly, and even though I’ve said it before, I am positive I will keep saying it until I am gone. I just can’t fathom how five weeks have already flown by, and I only have one left at BA. I guess it is true when they say ‘time flies when you’re having fun’. I really have had the experience of a lifetime, and the fantastic opportunity to stay in baseball for six weeks of the winter months.

I started my day by trying to call the scouting department of the Chicago White Sox. I made an attempt before anyone got into the office, but because Chicago is an hour behind us, that didn’t work out for me. I had to call back when the people around me could hear me. That wasn’t so bad though.

I talked to a guy who was very helpful, gave me the information that I needed, and even gave me a correction on a signing scout that we had already published. He didn’t make me feel like an idiot, so I ended the phone call with the idea that I asked appropriate questions and got what I needed without putting anyone out.

The directory stuff is ongoing and I made the changes that I had received from the people at each organization, and then had to leave it for now. One person called me about the information I wanted, and that was a big surprise. I don’t believe that I gave out my phone number in the emails I sent, and I am still baffled that he managed to get my extension from someone. And that whoever he talked to knew my extension.

When I had pushed aside those tasks I went back to Editor 2 to take a look at the list of Hall of Famers. A lot of them had been crossed off so I now believe that I am not the only person working on the list. I picked the two best names that I could see and set off to write about Brooks Robinson and Tom Seaver.

Robinson was probably the greatest third baseman the Orioles ever had. He was with the team for 23 years, though rumour has it they kept him for a couple of extra seasons because he was in financial trouble and he needed the work.

The man at the hot corner only had one season where he batted over .300, and that was the year in which he won the American League MVP Award. When he was the MVP of the 1970 World Series, he got a car as a prize. The manager of the Reds, the team he won the Fall Classic against, Sparky Anderson said, “I hope it has an extra large glove box,” which I thought was absolutely hilarious.

Seaver was the franchise man of the Mets. He brought them to their miracle World Series victory in 1969, and he is their all-time leader in wins. He is also the only man in the Hall of Fame to be wearing a Mets cap. I am hoping that someday there will be a Blue Jays hat in there to join him.

I was interrupted by lunch late today, because Editor 1 had been on a three-hour long phone call with someone that went until almost two o’clock. But when he and Editor 2 and I had lunch, it was good. We went back to Williams, a place I have been to a few times now, and I am still a big fan of.

At lunch we talked about the conversation Editor 1 had with my program director yesterday. He mentioned that he didn’t really say anything out of the ordinary, just that they have enjoyed having me and I’ve been doing a good job. That was surprising because the email I received from the program director had me believing I have made the impression of a lifetime. Either way, I will take it.

I finished up the bios after lunch, but waited to send them to Editor 2 until my mother had proofread them. I don’t like to send anything away unless it has been looked at by at least one other person. Whether it helps or not, I’m not sure, but she has definitely found a few stupid mistakes that I happily avoided because of her editing. So when she returned them to me with corrections and comments, I sent them off.

From work I headed to UPS, where I sent away copies of the newest magazine to people that I don’t believe I will see any time in the near future, but I still think they are genuinely interested in what I have been doing. It cost me almost $35 USD, so I am pretty sure that puts an end to my mail-sending. I will be back in Canada soon anyway, and even if I want to mail anything else I can do it from there, because it is cheaper. All of my Christmas cards are sent, so I think I should be okay for awhile.

I made it to the gym and ran nine-and-a-half miles today. Actually, I implemented my new training plan of alternating two miles of running with a half mile of walking, in preparation for the Goofy Challenge. That worked pretty well I think, but I am still not completely sure how I want to approach the two races in a row.

After tanning, I came home to finish making a thank you card for Editor 1. Tomorrow is the last day I will see him, and he is the one that gave me the internship and brought me here. I have a lot to thank him for. I also wrote him a letter, which I included in the envelope with the card. I hope I get across the message that I have had an absolutely great time here and it is thanks to him. I might have also slipped in that if they should ever have a job opening in the future, I hope he would think of me. It needs to be said.

I will miss him and our lunchtime conversations though, and I will miss Editor 3 and Baseball America and North Carolina. I am not yet ready to leave, and I don’t think another week here is going to change that.

Tomorrow is my last lunchtime with Editor 1. Sad.

Back on track (Day 33)

I received more surprising praise today than any other. It was great.

My program director called Editor 1 at the end of the work day and I guess they had a conversation about me when they weren’t discussing the Grey Cup and Canadian football. It must have been great because I heard from the program director and Editor 1 afterward and both of them said wonderful things about me. What a confidence booster!

The program director thinks that I have made a very good impression at Baseball America and that I have been doing great work, and he liked the articles I wrote in the issue of the magazine I sent him. He said there is great success in my future, and I can only hope that is true. I would like it to be.

Editor 1 said that they’ve enjoyed having me and wish it could last longer. He also said that he wished they had a full-time position available to offer me and that they have benefitted from having me around. I am so pumped that he thinks of me that way! I am glad to know that they like me almost as much as I am enjoying my time here.

So that pretty much made my day, and I am sure my happiness will spread over to tomorrow too.

Today I worked on some different tasks and I will be back at them in the morning, so I need the joy to tide me over.

After sending the four Hall of Fame bios to Editor 2 this morning, because I didn’t have Internet until I got to the office, he wrote me back and asked me to call the White Sox scouting/player development department and find out which scouts signed six players.

I had the list of players and I looked up the phone number, but I chickened out of calling because I was afraid that all the people around my cubicle could hear me, and I wasn’t completely sure what to say. I had another task at hand anyway, so I decided to push it until tomorrow morning so I can call before the majority of people make it into the office.

My other task involved updating more lists for the 2011 directory. I got the current information that Baseball America has and I set off finding email addresses and contacting the places on my list. I actually heard back from a decent number of organizations before the end of the day, but I am hoping to get through some more tomorrow. I know that I won’t finish any of my directory lists before the end of my time at BA, but I would like to put a large dent in them before I leave.

I went back to my original list from the directory also, a task I was given on my first day at BA. I contacted all of the organizations that I haven’t yet heard back from, for a second time. A couple of them actually got back to me right away, so I guess all they needed was a four-week buffer between me bothering them.

When I am done all I can do on the lists and after I call the White Sox, I suppose I will go back to the Hall of Famers. There is one former Blue Jay that I forgot about that is in our portion of the list, so I should probably start with Phil Niekro. But that will have to wait until another day, hopefully tomorrow.

For lunch today we went to a hamburger place, and we discussed the possibility of actually going somewhere that has poutine before I leave. I guess Editor 2 searched long and hard enough to find a place with legitimate poutine, and it is in Raleigh. He said it is probably a 20-minute drive or so, but it might have to be done for the sake of the Canadian cuisine. So that is an exciting prospect for the potential future.

On the way back to the office from our meal, we got to talking about movies and what each of us had seen lately, or wanted to see. Conor and Editor 1 were also with us for lunch, and for the movie conversation. Editor 2 asked me if I had seen MegaMind yet, because he knew it was something I had wanted to see. I said no, and he joked that I could take his kids to see it because they wanted to watch it too.

At the end of the day before I left I stopped in to see Editor 2. I told him that if his kids really do want to see the movie, and if they are free this weekend, I would gladly take them. So he is going to ask them if they want to go with me. I already know his son Joe, from the football game, and I met his daughter last week, though I’ve forgotten her name of course. I am sure it would be a good time, and movies make it easy to entertain children, so I don’t think I would have to summon up all my baby-sitting skills or knowledge.

After work I made it to the gym, for the first time in too long. I am finally feeling a little bit better today and I ran six miles to show for it. I am getting back on track with my training for the Goofy Challenge.

But I am afraid that if I get sick again, it might hinder my performance in the marathon-and-a-half of running I will be doing in Florida in January. I will just have to stay healthy and amp up my running while I know I can.

From the gym, I headed home and wrote letters to accompany the issues of the magazine I hope to be able to send to people tomorrow. We seemed to have only received samples on Monday when I got my next issue. There weren’t any more sitting around anywhere at the office for me to be able to send home. Hopefully there will be some tomorrow, and I have my envelopes addressed and filled with letters, ready to go.

I hope I can sleep better, and I think I have a good chance! Today’s been a good day and I hope the night is too!

Face of the franchise (Day 32)

They’re looking out for me.

Even if Baseball America doesn’t have a job available for me, I now know that they are thinking about me and my future endeavours.

When we headed out for lunch today, Editor 1 started talking about Baseball Canada and all the things they have going on and what they do for the sport, and he mentioned that he knows someone at the organization. He said he would send him a note with the resume I submitted to BA and mention that I am heading back to Toronto soon and see if there is anything I could do for Baseball Canada. Editor 1 did say that the organization’s biggest downfall is probably lack of funding, meaning they might not have enough money to take on someone like me, or anyone at all, but it’s nice that he thinks it is worth a try, and that he is willing to put in the effort to make the contact.

Even if Baseball Canada doesn’t have a job now, they might at some point in the future, and a recommendation from Editor 1 couldn’t hurt my chances. So that was nice to hear, even if BA doesn’t have anything available for me, or anything that might be suited to me. I’m sure it would be a big hassle to go through the immigration stuff anyway.

Hopefully I will find someone who will deal with that for me and bring me back to the US eventually. It’s where all the sports are, and the food and TV are also much better. Plus, I would probably have a better chance of working for one of American teams out of the 29 in the major leagues, as opposed to getting the job I want with the one and only team at home in Canada. Or maybe I can help the Blue Jays see my potential.

I worked on four bios today, and didn’t get through them until tonight. But I couldn’t send them to anyone for lack of the Internet in my apartment. I will have to sort that out tomorrow. I got through both of the Blue Jays on our portion of the list, Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor.

It seems that the highlight of Winfield’s career was when he was fighting with the Yankees organization and competing against his own teammates. I didn’t want to include that stuff in his bio though, and it took out a lot of information. Instead I directed the importance of his career toward his time with the Blue Jays, and not just because that is what stands out in my mind. It’s where he won his only championship in 1992, and I am sure it stands out to everyone, despite him only being there for that one season.

Molitor was with the Jays for three years, but his most important was also when he won a World Series ring for them, even though he also had one from his time with the Brewers. He was the MVP of the Fall Classic in 1993, and put up great numbers for Toronto. He was also the winning run of Game 6 when Joe Carter hit his homer in the bottom of the ninth to take the series.

Willie Stargell was my next story. He was a great player and led the Pirates to two World Series. It seems like forever ago that Pittsburgh had a good team, but I guess it hasn’t been that long. Stargell was a part of it though, and I learned something that I didn’t already know about him. He gave his teammates little yellow stars when they performed well on the field, so they could sew them into their hats. They were “Stargell stars” and I guess they boosted morale and camaraderie amongst team members.

Kirby Puckett was the last one I worked on today. His story is more tragic, because his career was cut short because of damage to his retina that I believe was from glaucoma. He was an All-Star ten times, right up to his final year in the game. And his .318 lifetime average is the best for a right-handed hitter in a long, long time. I put the actual numbers and years in my article, but cannot recall them now. He also had two World Series wins, his with the Twins.

What struck me the most about Stargell and Puckett were that they spent their whole careers with one team. Winfield split his time between six different ball clubs. But Stargell was with the Pirates for 21 seasons and Puckett with Minnesota for all of his 12 years in the game. I think it’s great to have franchise guys representing a team in every great thing they’ve done, and it also seems to be something that is quite rare now.

Unfortunately, Toronto’s latest franchise guy was Roy Halladay, and we all know where he is now. They really don’t have anyone left to represent the team, if guys like Wells and Hill and Lind keep sucking. Maybe they’ll turn it around this year, or perhaps someone else will step up. Here’s hoping, because I would like to see someone go into the Hall of Fame as a Blue Jay someday.

My work was only interrupted by lunch, and the wonderful conversation about the possibilities at Baseball Canada. We went to a Mexican place, the same one we went to for Nathan’s birthday. It was good once again, and I think it probably always would be. We met up with a guy who used to work for BA and is now a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals.

He was nice, and everyone talked about what he’s been up to, and where he will be working and how the planning for his upcoming nuptials is going. I didn’t really join in on the conversation since I don’t know him, but I am sure he is a lovely person.

I wasn’t feeling very well at the end of the work day. I don’t think I have fully recovered from my sickness because I have been getting dizzy a lot, and it’s been preventing me from getting to sleep and also from getting a good night’s sleep once I am out. But my plans to head to the gym were once again put on hold because of my illness and I headed straight to my apartment from the office for the first time since I have been in North Carolina.

Usually I have some stop to make, and I would have to go to UPS or the grocery store, or tanning or gymming, but not today. I wasn’t feeling it, and I headed right to my bed. I couldn’t sleep because I was still feeling dizzy, so I made a smoothie and then decided to work on some thank you cards to give to people when I leave.

I also finished the Hall of Fame bios at home, but without the Internet I couldn’t do anything with them. I was kind of curious about what was happening with our access, but I didn’t bother to ask anyone or trying anything other than what I was doing, which was ultimately nothing.

My night was interrupted by a knock at my door. Thing 2 had gone to the mailbox and there was something for me! It was a combination birthday/Christmas card from Rosa! I was pretty happy to get a piece of mail, and hope that when everyone receives all the things I have been sending them, they feel the same way.

And with that excitement, I went back to my card-making until heading to bed for the night, hoping to be able to fall asleep.