Think of it as a homework assignment

With nothing substantial to report on, nothing new to share, I feel the need to write something, if only to stay in the habit. There was even a little pressure earlier in the day, as I thought, "what the hell am I going to write about?" So, though it feels like cheating a little, I offer some lists (at least there are personal anecdotes in some of them):

The "Friends" list -- although to quote Monica in that episode, "first I need a boyfriend, then I can have a list":
1. Derek Jeter (of course)
2. John Cusack
3. Kevin Costner (Field of Dreams, Bull Durham era)
4. Kiefer Sutherland
5. Kevin Spacey

The best baseball games I've seen live:
1. Game 5, ALCS 2001, Seattle at NYY -- everyone chanting "no game 6 every time Pinella came out to the mound." I had been to an NFL game two days earlier and the noise of the crowd at Ravens Stadium couldn't even come close to how loud, and how much the stadium actually shook, in the Bronx that night
2. Nomo's no-hitter, Boston at Baltimore -- first night game of the season, I was only going to stay for a few innings. Sidney was pitching for the Orioles -- and was pitching really well. So I thought, I should stay and see how long this lasts. And then suddenly, it's the 5th inning and I realize that while Sidney is pitching the game of his career -- it's not good enough as Hideo Nomo is pitching a no-hitter -- the first in the history of Camden Yards. Unfortunately, it's against the Orioles.
3. July 4, 2001, NYY at Baltimore -- Tiffany's first game...we got into the stadium early with my credentials and got a prime spot by the Yankees' dugout. Joe Torre came over and signed a ball for her and gave her Jeter picture to a ball boy to "have DJ sign." Clemens pitched...and you don't get chills hearing the National Anthem until you hear it in the city it was written in on the 4th of July
4. The first game after 9/11, NYY at Baltimore -- it should have been the last series of the season, but because of the stop in play, we still have another 10 days to go. It was the first time the National Anthem made me openly weep -- and I would imagine that 48,000 other people in the stadium that day were crying as well.
5. October 6, 2001, Cal's last game -- it was cold and damp, and I was sitting in the top row of the upper deck for the game. But before the game, I had media credentials and was on the field for the presentations. After the pre-game ceremonies, I said hello to President Clinton, who, I was told, couldn't stop looking at the "girls." All night, I proudly retold the story, "the President checked out my rack!"

Honorable mention -- July 5, 2003, NYY at Baltimore (do you notice a trend?)...a few days before Tiffany's 16th birthday -- we made a sign that read "Hey Jorge, it's my sweet 16th, how about a birthday kiss?!" She didn't get a kiss, but he came over and talked to her before the game, signed her sign and a ball. It was very cool, and something I wished we had figured out a long time before!

To Do Before I die:
1. Fall in love, get married, have a baby -- yes it all counts as one, although, even settling for one or two would be okay, too
2. Get some stamps in my passport -- I know it sounds very Sandra Bullock in "While You Were Sleeping,"...so okay, more specifically, ride in a gondola at sunset, under the Bridge of Sighs with someone I love, and go to Ireland and England
3. Write a book...or should I say have a book published, since I have actually written books and short stories
4. Feel comfortable in my own skin -- 100% of the time, for days on end. I know that everyone hates something about themselves no matter what they look like, so to feel the comfort more than the discomfort would be a success
5. Have my 15 minutes -- whether I'm promoting my book, or fighting for a cause, or performing something, or being interviewed by Oprah for all of the above -- but being the media darling and PR Goddess of Baltimore doesn't count


PS....to Wheel Man...where've you been? I'm worried about you.