Wow...that was probably the best baseball game I've ever seen last night. Not because the Astros win, but because it had the best of everything.

First, it had a great prologue. The series is tied, who's going to leave with the lead? The Astros are finally playing up to their potential. Some heated words from a certain unsportsmanlike Cards pitcher.

But then the game started, and the story unfolded with all the great dramatic arcs. A pitchers duel, amazing defensive plays on both sides, a no-hitter in the making. Who would blink first? You could tell near the end of the game, that at some point, there would be something, even a little something, that would tilt the game in favor of one of the teams.

That something, that event, was the diving catch made by Carlos Beltran, an amazing catch that got the 'Stros out of what could have potentially been a bad 7th inning.

Then the cliffhanger. What's going to happen next? Can it end? (Did I really want to sit through 5 more innings?) Up walks Jeff Kent. Was there a hint of swagger there? A dash of machismo that indicated the Cards might have just made a mistake? In Hollywood fashion, Kent delivered possibly the biggest hit of his career.

And just like that, the Astros are leading the series.

So not only was it a good game, it was good drama. (And you know fags love some good drama.)

At this point, I'm just proud of the Astros for stepping up and saying "Yes, we do belong here." And as Kent said as he came into the plate, "One more. Just one more."

GO ASTROS!!!

P.S. My apologies for to Ole Miss for the previous post. I saw the game on a flat screen in a dark bar. It was difficult to tell if that "M" was blue or maroon. Same with the jerseys.

posted by Rocket at 10/19/2004 03:35:27 PM | Link it | Communicate|

I'm sitting here watching game 4 of the NLCS, and the Astros are leading. Yes...Stros, Game 4, and if they make it through this last inning, it's all even. 3 outs away.

I'm liking the beard thing some of the Stros have got going on, particularly Ausmus and Bagwell. Ausmus may be a mediocre catcher, but he's got some pretty eyes, and I'd eat dinner off that ass about any day. Scruff is always a good thing!

Out 1.

I missed part most of Game 3 because I was late leaving home to meet S. downtown, and we wanted to go to the gym. But not to worry, I had the radio on the whole time.

Out 2.

We finally got up to S.'s room. He was overlooking Minute Maid Park. How wild was it that a major game was going on about 2 blocks away. Very cool. Just wish I'd been there.

Out 3. 'Stros win! 6-5. Series even at 2 apiece. Let's just say that keeping Beltran during the late season fire sale of July was a very smart decision. I hope they can keep him. It will also be interesting to take a look back and see if dumping Jimmy Williams as the coach was a smart thing. It's hard to say, but I will say that Phil Garner seemed to be the key to sparking some life back into the team.

Now let's see if I can score some tickets to tomorrow night's game. (Yeah...right.)

To recap the rest of the weekend, the reason why I was downtown with S. was to attend the final dinner of his company's annual dinner. It actually wasn't too bad, and it definitely got easier after a few cocktails. Still, it was a nice event, and you can't beat a free surf and turf dinner either which was quite tasty. However, at the end of the evening, I realized that the Vols were on ESPN2 and so got to watch the last 5 minutes or so of a Mississippi State rally, which luckily, the Vols quenched.

This morning we went to check out an apartment in the midtown area that a friend of a friend had for rent. Thanks, but no thanks. We then went over to meet some friends for lunch, and then drove around looking to see if I could find some other lease properties for rent. I did find one that is quite nice, but is a little expensive, requires a year lease, and doesn't really have room for my bike. I did get some numbers of some other places so will check those out. We'll see. Time for my lease is getting close, so I need to make a decision soon.

posted by Rocket at 10/17/2004 06:31:07 PM | Link it | Communicate|

After a very exciting first half of a game, the Stros headed into the 6th inning, and once again let the lead slip away due to the poor performance from the bullpen. This, of course, is nothing new. It's happened almost all season, and is one of the reasons why the team had to fight for it's life in the wild card standings.

By the way, trying to be a sports fan and be in a relationship are hard things to do, as S. is also finding out since he's not so big into sports. I'm sorry I got distracted for watching the a couple of pitching series during dinner, I'm sorry that we had to wait a few minutes to leave the restaurant until I saw the end of the 3rd inning.

I haven't really started griping about missing football games yet.

It rained all night last night. I love sleeping with the windows open and the rain falling.

posted by Rocket at 10/14/2004 09:52:32 AM | Link it | Communicate|

Finally, after 43 years, the Astros have advanced in the MLB National League championship series.

I will admit, during most of July and August, I had given up. I didn't even really believe during September during the wild card race. And to be honest, after going to game five, I almost gave up last night when the Braves hit those two homers. But I did tune in to watch the final meltdown of the Braves. It was pretty awesome. Play-off fever has gripped the city. My company is giving away 6 pairs of tickets to the games. I already checked on game times, but unfortunately, my schedule doesn't allow me to actually go. But trust me, I'll be tuning in.

Rather than try to recap on my own, check this out. As a true fan, he's done a much better job than I could.

The past few months have been pretty intense. I didn't ever thing that I could ever be as pressured or stressed as I had been during my stint at "the job from hell", but it has happened. However, it's completely different. I love my job now, so the extra work, the extra time, the extra madness is easy to overlook, and even enjoy.

After four months, I finally have my motorcycle back. OK...maybe not four months, but it was pretty close. The bike went to the shop on June 11. I picked it up on October 2. You do the math. What a friggin' mess. The insurance agent was not proactive, and at one point, got recruited to deal with some of the Hurricane Charley aftermath in Florida. The repair shop was hardly concerned about getting the bike repaired and out of the way. The big hold-up, supposedly, was getting the fender repainted. Based on when they told me it was sent off, it took about 5 weeks for that to happen. It took another call at the end of September to the insurance agent to get things moving. So, I missed riding all summer. Then, last week, it rained every day here. So don't blame me for taking the very long way home from work today.

We had a good trip to San Fran at the end of September. I'd always wanted to go to the Folsom Street Fair, and it didn't disappoint. Yes, there was lots to see, but the most interest for me was the Oriental guy(I could not tell if he was Chinese, Korean or maybe Taiwanese) who was out in the streets in his full uniform. It was a nice change from the guys in the traditional cop wear or US uniform drag. The weekend was full of activities, especially since the gang I was with knew several people in the city, which meant lots of wondering here and there. Still, it didn't keep S. and I from enjoying some quiet time here and there. The one thing I was not prepared for was the chilly nights. Clearly, I have become accustomed to the warmer climate here in Houston, and that 50 degrees felt pretty dang chilly.

After the weekend was over, S. and I drove up to Sonoma County for some R&R. Unfortunately, it was only about 1 day, but we did enjoy the hot tub at our resort, and certainly took advantage of a full day of wine tasting. It was my first trip there, and I have to say it was some of the most breathtaking scenery I had ever seen. After driving steadily north through the wineries, we closed down the Lake Sonoma winery and headed west along one of the curviest roads I've ever been on. The trip through the redwoods and forest was beautiful, and it was so cool to see the terrain change from rolling hills to rugged mountains to coast line in a mere 20 miles was quite amazing. We stopped a few times to check out the ruggedness of the coast line before finally heading back. After growing up around some farm country, the most interesting thing to me was to see cattle out grazing along cliffs at the oceanside.

One highlight of the trip was finally getting to meet the handsome Big Rob and his equally handsome boyfriend Fuad. Luckily, his schedule on Monday coincided with our depature plans, and we were able to meet for some coffee and visit some. It was also quite inspiring to see big guys like them holding hands as they walked down the street.

Now then, for those of you who are totally shocked to finally see an update, you can pick your jaws up off your keyboards now. ;-)

posted by Rocket at 10/12/2004 08:26:17 PM | Link it | Communicate|

Well, I guess the consistent time in the gym is paying off.  I'm actually feeling stronger.   The past two trips, I've had very good and productive sessions.  It helps that we've been kind of slow at work.  I'm not so mentally exhausted by the time I get there.  It's much easier to conentrate and focus.

I finally skipped "Queer Eye" last night and tuned in to "The Amazing Race".   It's the first time this season.  I forgot how much fun that show is.  I'm all about Charla, the person of small stature.  But the Road Block last night was just fun and nasty at the same time.  Eating two pounds of caviar.  Ick.   Watching the girls turn green as they choked it down...most excellent.

Oh yeah...one thing about the NYC trip.  Celebrity sightings:  Carson from "Queer Eye", Clinton from "What Not to Wear" and James  from last year's "Boy Meets Boy".  Carson was seen out on the street along 7th Avenue in Chelsea smoking a cigarette.  Clinton and James were both seen at the Pier Dance.  Clinton is very tall.  James is actually quite handsome in person.  The crowd parted as he walked through.

 

 

 

posted by Rocket at 7/28/2004 07:51:07 PM | Link it | Communicate|

Well, I'm not really sure where to start.  I'm way overdue for a posting, I know.

I could talk about the trip to NYC.  It was great.  Having never been before, I thoroughly enjoyed being a tourist and doing all of the touristy things.  S. was very patient with me as we worked through a daily itinerary that included a lot of sightseeing.  We ticked off most of the standard items:  Times Squares at night, a Broadway show, "Hairspray", top of the Empire State Building, a stroll up 5th Avenue including stops along the way at Grand Central Station and Rockefeller Center, and Ground Zero.  My favorite things had to have been the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the perfect day in Central Park.

Oh yeah, that Pride thing was going on to.  We took part in the Pier Dance and saw part of the parade on the way back from the Met.

I could also talk about the July 4th weekend.  It was quiet.  S. came down and it was a very easy weekend.  The fun part was making pizza, having a glass of wine, and watching the fireworks over the lake from my balcony.  Well, it was kind of hard to see, but if you leaned over just far enough...

This weekend I started the process of trying to figure out what's next with the living situation.   The lease is up in December, I need to have an idea of what I'm doing to do by October.  I'd like to buy, but before I sink money into a place, I need to decide where I want to live.  So, I drove around downtown Houston just checking out different apartment complexes and areas of town.  I will have to say that I enjoyed being downtown.  I like having the variety of restaurants and activity going on all around.  But there's the trade-off of the approximately 30 minute commute, and probably having to sink money into a washer/dryer.  Lots of stuff to think about, but after spending a lot of time downtown this weekend (dinner, drinks, baseball game), I can certainly see how living downtown has it's advantanges.


posted by Rocket at 7/25/2004 08:36:38 PM | Link it | Communicate|

Well, that was close.

I'm glad to see that most of the Senate was open-minded enough to see that this was a basic attack on civil rights. I don't have time right now, but I'd be interested to see how the vote went exactly.

However, expect more chest (and Bible) thumping in the coming months.

Election year politics. What a crock.
posted by Rocket at 7/14/2004 12:47:41 PM | Link it | Communicate|