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!