The highlight of my day was interviewing the pitching coach of the Detroit Tigers.
I’m not sure I did a good job, and I’m not even positive that I got what I needed, but I did it. Now I just have to write the article.
I don’t know if I should be, but I am putting a lot of pressure on myself for this article. I mean, if there were offering to pay someone for it, and even give me money for it, then it must be pretty important. So now I have to start writing and make it good. It’s just too bad that immediately after I talked to the coach I got a bad case of writer’s block.
My day started with more attempts at writing quick-hits for the Almanac. I got through the Cubs before I heard from the pitching coach. I learned that Carlos Zambrano was both a highlight and a low point of Chicago’s season during my research. After being indefinitely suspended and sent to anger management for five weeks because of a temper tantrum at U.S. Cellular Field and a fight with Derrek Lee, Zambrano came back for a second run at the season worth of Cy Young talk. What a season.
Lunch didn’t happen for the second Tuesday in a row, though I don’t think it has anything to do with the day. I think it was because Editor 1 had stayed at home to do some work, and Editor 2 probably didn’t want to get stuck with me by himself. Luckily though, I was prepared. I now keep a drawer stocked with granola bars just for this type of occasion.
When Editor 1 did arrive, we had a short conversation about the UNC basketball game coming up on Friday. He told me that he was trying to get a couple of tickets for him and his son, and he would see if he could get an extra one for me.
I thought it might be because I had talked about wanting to go to a game at UNC or Duke, and I had mentioned earlier that a couple of the guys from my class put it pretty high on my list of priorities. But it turns out that wasn’t it.
Last night, I added the three editors and the two guys whose names I know from BA as my Facebook friends. It means that I probably can’t go on the Book at work anymore, but it also means they can see my past status updates. And my boss had seen my update that mentioned I was hoping someone would offer to take me to a football or basketball game soon.
It probably makes me kind of pathetic, but Facebook is also effective. If I do get to go to the game on Friday, then it worked, didn’t it?
I was still hungry at the end of the day. I left earlier than usual, closer to the time that was designated to me for leaving before I even started at Baseball America. It was mostly because I was hungry, but a little bit because I was frustrated with the writer’s block I had come across. I didn’t get much more done than transcribing the interview with the Tigers coach before I took off.
Thinking it would help my day, I went to The Cheesecake Factory for some takeout. I thought I could have some good food, maybe work on the Tigers story, or take a nap and then head to the gym, and get back to the story. Barely any of that happened, and none of it took place as I had planned.
I got the food, and took it home to eat, which took longer than I thought. Apparently leaving earlier from work puts me in some sort of North Carolina rush hour, which I thought was mythical until today. I got home and ate it too fast and could do nothing else but lie around and watch TV.
I tried to take a nap, but couldn’t sleep. I don’t know why I would be tired, since I have nothing better to do than go to bed early and get plenty of rest all the time, but big surprise, my eyes remained open.
So after I figured I was sufficiently rested and didn’t feel so full, I thought I would head to the gym. I went and I was wrong. Working out is not a good partner for The Cheesecake Factory. Bad idea.
There was no tanning for me tonight, because last night I burned. Apparently 10 minutes of artificial sun was too much for my pale self. Maybe I will make an attempt at it again tomorrow night.
I came back home and only looked at the Detroit stuff before realizing that I hadn’t finished my game notes for the Argonauts yet, and they are supposed to be back to the bosses in Toronto tomorrow morning. I finished them and didn’t want to look at the Tigers article anymore. It’s pretty much my first big break and it’s haunting me.
Instead I awaited a highly-anticipated phone call from Nicole. Now that we’re both Americans for the time being, and using the same phone company, we can be telephone buddies! We talked for a pretty long time, mostly about our internships so far (however short-lived they have been, they have also been the highlights of our days), and what might come of them. Of course, we also gossiped about classmates and she filled me in on what happened during the week of school I missed.
And we had the discussion about whether or not I would be able to make it to Florida for American Thanksgiving. We have been trying to plan something because we both have the time off (this is an assumption I am making), and we have absolutely nothing else to do in that time. Nicole has a beach and a pool, but I, however, would be spending the four days in solitude surely, unless my life drastically changes in the next couple of weeks.
Florida would probably be more of a possibility had I not turned down the money that BA offered me to write the Tigers article. But that is something I can perhaps address again once I actually write it, and if they actually do use it.
The phone call went way past my bedtime as of late, and so it was the end of the night for me.
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