Going back to Cali

I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali. I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali. I'm going back to Cali, Cali, Cali..man, YES I THINK SO! Oh man I love that song, and as much fun as I am having in Dublin it is always nice to go home. Other than the obvious seeing of family and friends, I am stoked for:

Sunny days: Now, this summer has been soooo much better than last years freaking 58 straight days of rain (or however many it was), but it ain't a SoCal summer.

Baseball: Gotta catch me a Dodger game. I have been playing baseball and softball in Ireland, but there just ain't nothing like having a beer and Dodger Dog in Chavez Ravine!

Mexican food: Oh yes, King Taco! Can't wait. You just can't get real Mexican food in Dublin.

Sushi: can't wait to go to Z sushi and see my boys Toshi and Tatsu. Geez, am I getting hungry!







Vegas baby, VEGAS!

My first post

Wow, what a great weekend I had. I felt like I needed to write about it somewhere, so why not start a blog? It will be nice to share my adventures with friends and family back home, and also give myself a medium to reflect on what I have experienced. So here it goes, my first blog post.....

After a very hard week at work where I have been getting my new team up to speed (two of my four team members have departed with little to no notice) and handling all but the easiest of tasks, I was ready for the weekend. On tap: A baseball game (yes, we play baseball in Ireland) in Belfast, Northern Ireland against the Belfast North Stars. This would be my first game subbing on the higher "A" Hurricanes team (I am usually on the lower "B" squad) and I was looking forward to playing well so I might be called up again sometime. That is about it, nothing really crazy, but I was looking forward to it nonetheless.

So Friday night comes along and my plan was to take it really easy as I had to be up at 7AM to be in the City Centre by 8AM to meet up with my lift to Belfast. Well, so much for that plan...

The lads from the Server team were going out for a pint at Sheehan's Pub in Blackrock, where I live. You can see how far away it is from my house in this picture taken from my deck (its the building on the bottom right) so it was an offer I wans't going to turn down. Well, anyone who has spent any time in Ireland knows that "a pint" really means some form of a session, not just one beer. Whilst imbibing said beer(s), I got a call with an offer for a free ticket to Radiohead the next night. I knew tons of peeps going to the show and had really considered buying a ticket, but for some reason had just cheezed out and didn't. Well, now I was going.

The guys had said it was going to be a pretty mellow night and for the most part it was...until another friend called and said she was going to meet some other friends across the street at Tonic and invited me to come along. To spare the details, my early night was not to be.


For anyone that knows me, waking up early is not my strong suit to say the least. Add a session the night before on top and I was not a happy camper. But get up and on my way with the help and encouragement of my flatmate Dioni I did. This would be my first, albeit brief, trip to Northern Ireland and I was excited. We got on the road from Connelly Station in City Centre about 8:30. I lasted about 15 minutes before falling asleep (sorry Dan :) ). It was well needed. When I woke up we were already in Belfast City Centre.

After a little confusion in our three car caravan, we found the field. There is only one proper baseball field in all of Ireland, our home O'Malley Field in Dublin. The rest of the time we are just playing on a regular grass field with temporary bases and no mound or dirt infield. This one was about as good as it gets for this type being mostly flat with well trimmed grass. It was also up a hill with nice trees and a view of greater Belfast. The best part though...it was sunny and warm. About 72 degrees Fahrenheit I would guess. That is about as hot as it gets in Ireland and it is amazing how warm that feels to a California boy less than 2 years removed.

I was very excited to get my first go on the "A" Hurricanes. I was also hyped to see Cormac Eklof, the guy who invited me to play on the Hurricanes, pitch. In fact, his blog has been my major inspiration to start this one, and a damn good one. He didn't dissappoint, holding the North Stars to one unearned run. What can I say about the game, it was a slaughter. We put up 8 runs in the first inning and never looked back. I was proud of my first showing on the A team, even though I am pretty sure even our B squad would have won easily as well. I went 1-3 with two walks, one run and two RBI and a few nice digs at first base. Not too shabby for being hung over and nursing a bad hammy. And to top off a good day at the "ballpark", my friend Schira who was visiting family in Belfast came out to say hello and saw the last two innings of the game. Cool :)

This Video will give you an idea of what baseball in Ireland is like on a nice day:



After the game it was straight back to Dublin. I was starving at this point having survived the day on a single pastry in the morning. What can I say, at the time I wasn't all with it and didn't plan my meals for the day out. So I figured everyone was hungry and we were going to stop in Belfast for some food. Wrong! It wasn't until an hour into the drive that we stopped at KFC in a town called Newry. Still being in the North, the currency is Pounds Sterling. Ouch.

As the locals would say, happy days though as we were now on our way to Dublin. On the way I was chatting with Lorcan who was driving back. He is originally from Boston. I mentioned to him my friend Dave had just moved to Boston. He wanted to know where Dave lived, but I didn't know. A phone call later it turns out Dave moved to the same exact part of town Lorcan was from. Small freaking world I tell ya.

Lorcan dropped me off at Connelly station for my 20 minute ride on the Dart south to my apartment in Blackrock. Another 5 minutes walk and I was home. Man, all I wanted to do was chill out, but there was no time! My friends were on the way to meet me to go get the Dart back north to Malahide to go to the castle grounds for the Radiohead show. A quick shower later we were off. As we got to the dart station the one for Malahide pulled up and we were too late; bummer. 33 mins to the next one :( Oh well, off the the pub for a quick cold one.

Radiohead are quite popular here in Ireland, and for good reason. I am really becoming a fan in recent years. I am usually one to be a late adopter of good bands, and Radiohead is no different. I really love the late lasting days here compared to LA, but they aren't the best for outdoor concerts in my opinion. I like it dark with the light show really kickin. Nonetheless I still enjoyed the show. Good energy and a set list I knew and liked. Here is a clip of the song that most makes me think of my time here in Dublin (especially the line talking about floating down the Liffey, the river that runs through City Centre):



The rest of the night was just a regular night on the town in City Centre and then Blackrock until is was almost light again. A fun night to cap a very fun day. I still don't know how at 35 I am still able to keep up like this, but I'm not complaining... :)