Deere Crossing

I traveled quite a few miles this past weekend as I went to Indiana with mom and dad to pick up Dad's new toy. A John Deere 318. This is Dad testing it out. Enjoy.

Weekend To Remember

There was quite a bit going on this past weekend and I'm sure I'll probably forget something but I'll give it my best shot to get everything in.

Friday at 2:30 I got off work and went back to my apartment. On this night I would be heading into Cleveland to watch the Indians take on the Yankees. A no win situation for a Tiger fan but it's a ballgame. A ballgame that I attended for free thanks to Rachel's Dad who got 6 tickets through his work. Not only did we get free tickets but we also got to attend a little pre-game picnic with food and drinks. It was great. The Indians played pretty poorly the entire evening and the Yanks pulled away. I did get a few photos of A-Rod and Derek Jeter as well as Jacobs Field.

On Saturday I got up and drove back home to Michigan. There were festivities on Sunday that have been in planning for months. More on that later. So I got home and no one was actually at the house so I called Mom and she said she was out running some errands and what not. So I decided to pay my Grandma and Grandpa Gall a visit. When I arrived at their house they already had company but they welcomed one more into the fold anyhow. I sat and talked for a couple hours and even ate a piece of Grandma's apple pie. It was delicious.

After that, I went back home to check how Tiger Woods was faring at the last major of the year. He was doing just fine. At one point he had a 5 shot lead and seemed impossible to beat. He took care of business on Sunday and took home the title. Nice Job Tiger.

A few more years and you'll catch Jack Nicklaus.

On Saturday night I went to Rachel's house to meet their new addition to the family. A foreign exchange student from Germany named Heineken....wait no, Lebkuchen....wait no, Fleming. Yes, Fleming is the right one. He speaks better English than I do German that's for sure. By the time dinner was over I was dead tired and felt like a zombie so I called it an early night and was back home before Mom and Dad were even in bed.

Sunday has finally arrived. This day has been in planning for quite some time and now it's time for all the pieces to fit together. There will be moments where I'll have to back track to Saturday to make sense of all of this but here goes....Sunday Morning...time for early church...wait, 10 more minutes of snoozin'.....ok now time for early church. I had to go to early church because I had to make sure I was in Detroit for the ballgame and pre-game festivities by 11:45. Ok lets backtrack....this entire day was planned around one girl.....her name is Kalee Iacoangeli....I have been friends with Kalee for quite a few years now....for the past year she has been in Syracuse, New York beginning and finishing her graduate courses in broadcast journalism. For the last six weeks she was in Washington D.C. working for a news station based in Missouri I believe. She interviewed congressman and wrote papers and and made/edited videos...not to mention had 24/7 access to capitol hill and all that jazz that goes along with producing a news show and now she was completely finished with her schooling. So Saturday she was flying back to Michigan where her Mom was going to pick her up....enter surprise #1: Her boyfriend Gary. I'm not sure how long they've been together but it's been quite a while now and she had no clue that he was going to be at the airport when she stepped of her plane. What happened after that goes something like this........................

As you can see...she said "Yes". Little does she know that's only the beginning of her surprises.

Back to Sunday morning.....I get done with church and change clothes and head over to my friend Chris's house as I will be riding with him up to the game. We were instructed by Gary (seen above) to be at the Elwood Bar and Grille by 11:45 along with 5 of her other friends who Gary had contacted through many emails. So we arrive and luckily we got there before Kalee and Gary showed up as it was a surprise to Kalee that any of us would be there. We all held up newspapers when she walked in so she couldn't see us and when she got close we all took them down and her face lit up right away. Gary had to lie through his teeth for about week for all this to work out the way it did but I give him credit because it worked out great. So we had a bite to eat and watched the Tigers crush the A's 11-6 as we got to see Magglio hit 2 homers in one inning and Placido Polanco break the major league record for most games at 2nd base without an error. Nice Job Tigers.

So after the game was over we said our goodbyes to Kalee and Gary and wished them good luck. However, Kalee's Mother was in on the surprises too as she had a party planned for her when she arrived home from the game with family, friends, and food. So I stopped by the party for a bit and talked a while and watched a few of the blooper tapes Kalee and the rest of her crew had compiled over the past year from all the news they produced. It was quite comical.

So with that, my weekend was complete except now I had to drive back to Ohio completely exhausted. Never fear, the old escort delivered yet again a comfortable ride with no surprises. The weekend felt like it lasted about 5 days with everything I accomplished in a short amount of time. It was definitely a weekend to remember.

756....Finally

Way to go Mr. Bonds, you now own one of sports most storied records. Because of your accomplishments I would now like to tell you what else comes with it. First off, a country full of baseball fans who hate you (except San francisco). Second, a tainted career in which these so called records you hold will always be questioned (That goes for you too Mr. McGwire and Mr. Sosa). Third, the commissioner of the sport you love to play doing everything in his power to prove that you took steroids. What else is in your bag of goodies you ask? How about the fact that most people still consider Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth to be greater home run hitters than you? No one thought Hank was on roids.....No one said "Hey Ruth...are you eating anabolic hot dogs and drinking performance enhancing beer?" So congratulations Barry, enjoy your reign at the top of the home run chain. I hope you enjoy all of the perks that come with it.

When I think about baseball records and which one means the most to me there are 2 that always come to mind. First, Cal Ripken Jr.'s streak of games played in a row. He broke Lou Gherig's record when he played in his 2,131 consecutive game and eventually went on to play in 2,632 straight games. For all you math whizzes that's over 16 seasons without a single "My leg hurts so I'll sit today, or so and so is pitching and I don't want to face him, or I think I'll rest up and come back strong for next game." None of that. Just a nose to the grindstone attitude and a willingness to show up and do his job everyday.

The second record I like is Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak. To get a hit in 56 straight games is incredible and extremely difficult to pull off. If a guy today gets over 25 it's impressive. I do believe this record is attainable, all you have to do is make sure that for 34% of the season you don't have an off game. Simple enough right ? Riiiiiight.

Now that the home run chase is over with baseball can concentrate on the playoff races that are heating up. ALL BEWARE: The Yankees Are Coming. I know I know, I don't like it either but since the all star break they have been the best team in baseball. You can't keep a 200 million dollar payroll down for an entire season. So for all Detroit, Boston, and Cleveland fans......watch out...things are going to get interesting.

Well that's enough baseball talk for one blog. Have a good rest of the week.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to Mom !!! Hope you had a wonderful birthday.

It's way too late to start a blog of any substance so I'll just leave you with a few random thoughts/comments/general facts.

• I have come to find out I have a reoccuring dream(I'm in water with different creatures chasing me trying to eat me, no worries though...in these dreams I can swim extremely fast...well just faster than said creatures. They haven't caught me yet)
• There are certain things in this world I don't like...some examples are....the yankees, snow, and mealy apples.
• There are certain things in this world I enjoy...examples....turkey sandwiches, large expanses of water, and music.
• I will be 23 on the 23rd this year.
• I wish Barry Bonds would break the home run record already so this can all be over with.
• No matter how many times he does it, I love watching Tiger Woods obliterate his competition.
• I don't like blue cheese on anything.
• My parents have cultivated a desire in me to visit garage sales. This does not exclude barn sales, estate sales, yard sales, flea markets, and/or any other faction of sale you can think of.
• I can't play the piano or guitar as well as I'd like to....(because I don't practice enough)
• Bob Seger's greatest hits cd is one of the best cd's I've ever listened to.
• Plinko was, is, and always will be my favorite Price Is Right game.
• I sleep with a fan directly next to my head every night.
• I have died of cholera, drowning, and typhoid fever many times while playing The Oregon Trail computer game.
• I love the taste of beer but can't stand how it effects the body.
• I am going to bed right now !