5/18/06 Netflix

I joined Netflix. It was an semi-impulsive decision. I've considered joining for a long time now, but couldn't pull the trigger. I've been to their website a dozen times over the last few months, but couldn't justify joining. Then yesterday, in a moment of weakness at the office, (Note: My office bans the Da Vinci Code stuff but I can check out Netflix and ESPN. Go figure.) I gave them my credit card number and joined. I tell you this because Netflix has the "friend" area. Where friends can read each others' reviews and make recommendations. Currently, I have 2 friends. You can be the 3rd. I used my Gmail address (if you need it, just email me). Sadly, I've actually put the old TV show "Sledgehammer" in my queue. Both seasons. All 8 discs. That alone should be a sign that I made a terrible choice. And it's also a sign that you shouldn't adhere to any of my recommendations.

Alright, most people will think this is pretty messed up. But it made me giggle. Ok, I don't giggle. I chuckled. Some guy has a blog about his poos. In organized detail.

(The rest of this post is a personal story. If you're not interested, don't read it)

Tonight is my team's first softball game of the season. In fact, it's my first organized game since I was about 14 years old. Actually, I take that back. I played one game in "The Mexican Leagues" a couple of years ago. (I need to get this off my chest, so please bear with me). The only reason I ended up playing was that some guy was dating one of my roommates and, as a favor to my roommate, he invited me to play. I took 3 buses to some random area in Guadalajara that I had never been.

They put me at third base. There was one out, runners at first and second. A sharp ground ball was hit to my left. I scoop it up and, using my momentum, throw to second. The second baseman throws to first. But the first baseman, who was also our manager, wasn't ready for the ball. He blamed me for not reversing direction, running back to 3rd base and getting the lead runner. I got pulled immediately after that inning. To this day the entire situation bothers me. It's not a real bright spot in my baseball career. Come to think of it, there really aren't that many at all. I went 3 for 3 once, I think. And I tagged a runner out using the hidden ball trick at first base. That was fun.

Onto tonight's softball game. Here's an idea of how bad our team is. Last night, our catcher, Doreen, came by to say hello during poker night. (Her husband plays poker with us). She said, "You know you're pitching tomorrow, right?" I hesitated, "Uh, what?" "Yeah, you're pitching." "For the entire game?" "Yeah. You're the only one who can get the ball over the plate." My friends, this is a slow pitch, underhand softball league. If none of our 16 players can accurately toss a ball 50 feet, we're in serious trouble. To tell you the truth, I can only pray that I can leave with a Jose Lima-esque 6.50 ERA. There's nothing tricky about my pitching. It goes up. And it comes down. And most likely, it'll be hit 250 feet over my head. If I remember, I'll give a quick recap tomorrow.