The Ramblings of Austgen

I’m not sure about you folk, but I had a pretty decent weekend. It all started with cooper’s landing and thai food…the best you’ll every have on cheep plates. Moved on to drinking, hanging out, and little sleep. Saturday was on to KC, for crazy newman fun. Got to go the Plaza, which one could sum up as a little rodeo dr….of sorts. Ate at a place called Baja 600. Exspensive beer ($5 for a tecate???), but the food was much better than the price listed. Ate a burrito that should have cost more than 9 bones. Not sure why, but after dinner, when walking around and unsucessfully trying to sell young beth to a bachlor party, we ended up in a Barnes and Noble….that was FOUR STORIES!!! I’ve been in many libraries that are not this big. Then moved on to Katie McMan’s parents. Christ, this place was nice. But…never let Steph the Taller and Linda be by each other for more than twenty minutes at a time…bad things happen. Some sleep was gained that night, but on a floor, so it was not quite all there. In the morning, I expected a cup of coffee and off to the tailgate….except it was raining. BAH!!!! Ended up starting the game an hour late, and though there was some great plays and good hits, not really an exciting affair…would have rather been at The Cell or at the Stadium.

After the game I returned East to my boss’s place to attend the going away party for our post-doc. Really sad that she and her family must return home (Brazil). She’s been a real assest to the lab, and I think her family was really enjoying it here, the lack of home-landers aside. But, her husband’s PI (who also works in a lab on campus) lost funding, so return they must. Hopefully, they’ll be able to come back in a year or so, or just immigrate. That will cause the lab to continue to lose numbers, and the chances of me getting removed from my office (granted, I’m squatting anyways, but I like my own door and two desks) to be increased.

Dan Poth is so eliquent, it pains me…if I had half his vocabulary, I’d still be, well, here, but never-the-less….read his stuff…you’ll be moved, and if not that, learned some. He’s also bringing me Old Style, my personal heroin. No one seems to relize how both incrediblely good and bad this beer is…the perfect match.

END OF LINE

Yea, so I normally write about softball on Thurday…but I don’t think I’ll write that much…it was pretty weak. Hitting was ok, but most was right at someone. Our play in the field was touch and go as well….it may have come from the lack of warm-up time, but for my throws, I think it was that I didn’t have my skirt pulled up all the way. Went two for four, one double and a run scored….my average stays in the high .300’s, with my slugging going up to about .400 now.

22 more days until I start moving….the new address will be 101 E Green Meadows; Apt 36. It’s the Fireside apartments, and is just west of Murry’s (and you can smell it)…with the Beanery and Arena liquors in walking distance, it should be a fun year. Also, my current roommate has found someone to take my room right off, so he won’t suffer. But I wonder if the new guy knows what he’s getting into…

END OF LINE

So, today I heard that up to 13 (?!?!?) high school men may be taken in this years NBA draft. Amazing. Granted, in the last few years, the average age of draftee was about 20-21, which sums out to be those that should be entering into their junior year of college. Now, I don’t think that all of these kids will be getting huge contracts (for those that don’t know, all rookie signees must sign a three year contract, per the collective bargining agreement or something like that with the union), but still, don’t that make you wonder about the state of basketball these days. Now, these 13 are good…really good, according to most publised reports. But that is againts the best HIGH SCHOOL talent in the country. What happens when you go up againts a fellow named Saqu, or the fabulous Wallace twins. Also, one must consider how long its going to take for these men to develop into “NBA” quality players. Sure, you’ve got Lebron, who I admit was much better than I, or for that matter the rest of the nation, thought he would be. In fact, barring injury or some stupid act, he made the best player of his generation (along with stodimare from the Suns). But what of the others??? Garnett and Kobe were high schoolers, and they took some time to get going….Kobe did in a contract year and made the Lakers pay. Then you’ve got Kwambe Brown, drafted #1 overall by his Airness two years ago. That boy is still developing…and brings me to the point. If you draft a HS and it takes him three or four years to get it going and truly contribute, will the drafting team still keep him. If K Brown has a standout year, will the Wizards (his team) resign him??? Or be able to afford him???

Also to be looked at is the sponsership. Lebron had 90 Million from a shoe company (??, know it was somebody) before he was drafted. And some kid got a big deal from adidas…and is thought to be going to Portland, where, how bout that!!!, Adidas US HQ is located. These are why todays society sometimes amazes me. Big business controlling a draft….give me football, where a father influences the draft….or baseball, where the drafts don’t make sense at all….but, the whole idea is for the kids to just go to college. Sure, the are basically slaves to the athletic department, but dammit…there getting an great education handed to them…look at some of the top schools in the last few years…Stanford, DUKE (?!?), Kansas, Wake Forest, Syrcuse (sp?), Michigan, Kentucky….all great places to get a degree, and yet they come for the year, and then bail, and then sit the bench….of all the players that are in high school, less than 5% will ever see any long-term playing time in the NBA….

Also, most of my arguement for this is based on the fact I hate the NBA, and love college basketball….

END OF LINE

So, as you can see, I….rather Jason changed the look of the site…and the name. It easier to use, and change some stuff myself, without going to your local computer guy for assistance. Also, to clarify, I am getting a new apartment with Jason, our beloved admin (in 24 days). Will post the address when I find out specifially. We taked about having some kind of gathering on that day, but it’s also the float trip weekend, so that went by the wayside. The next weekend, I think I’ll be in Colorado at a meeting……eh…

END OF LINE

I am so bored, it is taking all of my strength not to start cleaning my house…that is how bored I am. I need aid. Ah…Wednesday’s game was good for me, but not the team. Had two solid hits, one in which gave me a RBI. My last at bat was with two outs in the final frame, and I forced a swing, and popped up to the pitcher. Lost 11-3. Now, I don’t want to seem like a prima donna or anything, but I’ve been playing a lot better lately. Yet I seem to have the worst hitting female batting after me, so I get stranded. Sometimes I wish that I didn’t play in the beer league and with a more competative team. Maybe it’ll get better. Maybe the season will just end. I don’t know.

On the lighter side of things, I found out that my best friend in Iowa got the Army recruiting job. This is the fellow who had to spend six months in Eqypt, guarding a DMZ (yes there’s a demilitirized zone in the Siani…part of the Camp David Accords). Missed most of his daughter’s first year. Now, he’ll get promoted to Sgt in no time, and won’t ever have to get deployed again. Thank God.

New count-down…only 27 days until I start moving to my new apartment. One of the best things about this whole gig is that I live with someone who is on the same timeline as me. My present roommate is almost never here when I am….half the time, seems like a live alone. Sucks…really sucks.

Still bored. Man, this really blows….I have nothing to do. And because I don’t normally go anywhere unless asked, I probably going to sit here and rot. Am I really this lame??? This is definately turning into a moment of massive self-pity. Really, all I want is a little gin (I have so much tonic) and a cigar, and I would be happy for a while. But all I have is water and my guitar. This is going to turn into a country music song real quick…then I may blow. ARGH!!! More self-pity. I could play x-box, but I have more fun with others…even if there just here and watching. It’s begining to become rather obvious that I need other humans to interact with, despite my attempts to remain hidden. The way this entry is going, I think I’m two steps away from Prozac…or just getting off my duff and going down to Shake’s to get a beer.

SOOOOOOOO BBBBBBBBOOOOOOOORRRRRRREEEEEDDDDD!!!

Man, I wish I had a beer right now…

Man, I wish I had a beer right now…

So, those of you that are here to see the weekly softball report, the Almighty decided to give us rain all day, so no game. But, on a lighter side of things, I get to finish out the season. The surgery of mine that was scedualed for next Tuesday is being postponed until August. My insurance company through the school is being changed, so the surgen and the outpatient clinic will become “in-network” which amount to me saving a couple of grand. Worth the wait. So, I get more time to “pre-hab”, get to go on the float trip this year and FLOAT!! and moving to my new apartment won’t be a pain in the ass.

Speaking of the new place, I am going to be moving to Fireside Apts. on July 16thish…not a bad gig…with a wood fireplace, Jason and I should be able to attract some quality talent, or something….(which, the incoming freshman class…..mercy).

Well, time for this weeks box score. Last nights game was interesting, to say the least. Played a team that probably had double our number in hits, but timely defense kept them to one run through six. I was doing pretty good on the field, getting two pop outs. At the plate was a different story. My first AB I got jammed, and hit a soft pop-up to short. The second was near the same way, but this time the third baseman miss-played it, so I reached on an error. The third AB was where the fun began. Again, I hit a hard grounder to third, and beat it out (this means that I’m swinging early on the ball, and making the left side play the lines). Two batters later, I move to third with a lazy double. There’s one out, and the girl at the plate wants to hit the ball to the left side so I can score if there is a play at first. Well, she hits it six feet to the left of the pitcher. He fields, and I lock eyes with him. He can either throw to first and get the sure out, which means I can go home, or he throws to third, and I may be meat. He throws to first, and I head to home. Seeing the catcher stretch, I know the ball is coming, so I slide the best I can (wearing a large brace on my left knee kinda makes sliding, well, difficult). But, while scoring, (now 3-1), I manage to take out the catchers legs, and she collapses to the ground.

The catchers ok, and we get another run. So now its 4-1, and going to the top of the seventh. We get two outs relatively easy, and then an 11th hour collapse. Our SS, who played wonderfully, got eaten alive by three hard balls, and the score is tied at 4. Now we get last bat. After getting the first batter on, the second, who was subing in this week, hits a smack that the 2B reached up and happened to catch….I mean, her eyes were closed when she got this. Then, she makes a spot throw to first, almost doubling up our man there (which she may have). Now Mike is up, who tripled in the first. He again makes contacted, and gets a single. The next batter pops out, and we’re down to the final out….and I’m up. Now, I haven’t hit the ball out of the infield, and really haven’t hit it square in three weeks. So I take the first pitch, a strike. The odd thing here is I never take the first pitch…I hit it. Then, even worse, I take the second pitch, a ball…I am getting really antsy. The third, line drive to left center…I watch as the left fielder, who was playing towards the line, moves, dives……and misses!!!! Miles scores from second, and holy cow!!!, I win the game!

Of course, with every good comes bad. I have a molar coming in (yea, my teeth grow late), and christ it hurts. Can’t open my jaw more that an inch, and then that’s painful. One of my glands in swollen too. If every you were wanting to loose weight, this is the way. But, this weekend should shore up well…my knee feels good enough to make it to Six Flags, and then my roommate’s birthday is Saturday, so taking him to Longhorn’s. Also, some of my med school buddies take the first section of their boards on Saturday, so much drinking and happiness to be had. Just twelve more days to knee repair.