Before it's too late

After hearing what happened to Gary Speed today ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-15909277 ) it got me thinking. He was only 42. That's only 11 years older than me. It got me thinking about all the things I still want to do in life.  Not trying to get too morbid, I compiled a list of things of things I'd like to do before I die. All comments welcome

1) Finish my novel

2) Get in shape

3) Visit Seattle

4) Watch a another baseball game at Yankee Stadium

5) Meet a celebrity

6) Upload a video to Youtube

7) Drive a supercar

8) Appear on TV

9) To be in Times Square for New Year celebration

10) Write a script (TV or Film)

11) Read a novel in a week

12) Complete a nightschool course

13) Appear in a photoshoot

14) Learn to play the guitar

15) Complete a zip wire jump

16) Fire a gun

17) Try skiing

18) Try snowboarding

19) Watch a thunderstorm from on the coast

20) To be in Dublin for St Patricks Day celebration

21) Take part in the Pamplona Bull Run

22) Play a round of golf at St Andrews

23) Watch a Old Firm football match in person

24) Write as a profession and not a hobby

25) Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras

26) Learn the drums

27) Learn Spanish
28) See LA

HOW THE YANKEES AFFECTED MY LIFE

August 6th 2001. I'm entering the Cathedral for the first time. The Cathedral in question is Yankee Stadium. It's the first baseball game I've ever attended. It's over 90 degrees for a 1.05 start. As me and my dad take our seats high above the 3rd base line. I'm caught in a mixture of curiosity and excitement. I feel like I'm about 8 years old. Two and three quarter hours later, I'm hooked, and so begins part of the problem. 

I think of some of the players I saw that 10 years ago. The likes of Jeter, Knoblauch, Posada, O'Neill, Williams, Martinez, etc. I wondered aloud that day if I'd ever be back in the presence of greatness. Seeing that game was part of my vacation, and after I've travelled back to England, I'm surrounded by people who see the Yankees logo on a cap and see it as a fashion statement rather than an emblem of what's great about the game of baseball. I followed the team and the game so intently from that day forward. Trawling the Internet for stats, pictures and game recaps became near enough a daily ritual. But still I seemed to feel like I was in a minority. A true Yankees minority.

Fast forward nine years. June 11th 2010. A Friday night game in the new Cathedral across the street. It's a warm night as you'd expect in mid June. The team still has the familiar faces of 01 like Jeter, Pettitte and Posada, but now there's names like Swisher, Chamberlain, Cano and Granderson to watch and marvel at. The sights and sounds are so vivid. Hearing Enter Sandman as Mo came out to pitch for the save will stay in my mind as long as I live.

The UK baseball culture is changing, with a national radio station designating full shows to broadcasting games and satellite television broadcasting games. The power of social media such as Twitter enables such great interaction between fans and players alike. 

So to the present day. September 9th 2011. The Yankees are in first place in the AL East, 2.5 games ahead of that team in Massachusetts. The playoffs are near enough just around the corner, and the team are primed to make a run for Championship number 28. While the team is still loaded with veteran players like Jeter, Rivera, Teixeira, A Rod etc, the new breed of Yankees are upon us, in the form of Montero, Robertson, Nova et al

There will always be those who still see the Yankees logo as a fashion emblem, but they will be overtaken by those that see the logo represents more than fashion. What they see it represent can be summed in three P-words

PRIDE

POWER

PINSTRIPES

Saturday night in social media

It's a Saturday night. As I sit at my PC, I have 4 tabs open. Twitter is open in one tab, as it always is.  It's Eurovision Song Contest night. As I write this, it's results time, and my timeline is full of debate as to who is trying to screw who, politlcally and literally. In another tab, I have the ESPN website. Being a sports nut, it's keeping me up to date with everything I need to know about US and International sports.

Then in the third tab, I've opened a site called One in 8 Million. It's a site full of stories from residents of New York. As I write further posts, you'll find that I'm a bit of a New York fanatic. The city has always fascinated me. I can't put my finger on the exact thing that Iove about it, because I love everything about it.

In my final tab. I have Facebook. Some of my friends are watching Eurovision, some are criticising it, and some are in the middle of a night out. Why people go on Facebook whilst out is a question for another day. What will always baffle me is what information people choose to share in their status updates.

Anyway, enough Social media waffle for one day

Til next time

When you least expect it....

Isn't it always the way when you're in a moment of empty thought, the most random of subjects start flying around your brain. It's hard to explain, but it's probably the same as trying to do one thing but thinking about something completely different, or when you're talking and writing at the same time, but you write something you say even if it has nothing to do with what you're writing about.

I have many interests, as my future posts will go into. But for tonight (April 6), my thoughts have included baseball, tattoos, other people's opinion of me, losing weight, and drinking. I like all these things, but I can't for the life of me work out why they all popped into my sub-conscious within the space of about an hour.

I guess in summary, while you cannot always control your thoughts, maybe it's worth cutting loose once in a while.

The first one

Warning - ROOKIE BLOGGER!! I suppose having just turned 31, it's never too old to start writing a blog so here goes. I've been 31 for all of 24 hours, and if I'm being completely honest, it doesn't feel a lot different from 30. As a friend commented to me yesterday, I'm a 30 something now. But what does really mean. It's like I'm only 1 year closer to pension and bus pass, a year further away from being allowed to drink and vote. I guess the people who say "age is just a number" might actually be onto something.

I'm not usually stuck for words, as many friends will testify, but trying to do this at the first attempt is quite nerve-shredding. i considered writing a draft, but that takes away the spontaneity of thought. I guess I'll get better with the more that i write.

A short blog to start. We'll see where we go from here