Entry tags:
A brief catch-up because nothing special's happening today.
Tuesday, Es and I were finally ready to drop off this year's UNICEF donation. We wound up with $895.15, which was just short of the goal, but still a great effort. We've been down to the UNICEF offices before, which are down by Wall St. near the Brooklyn Bridge, and so we headed out.
Es got there first, and the building was closed completely. The area is still recovering after the hurricane. So she called the offices and she finally got through (for the first time in three weeks), and the receptionist told her that their temporary office was at 159th and Riverside, which is almost as far away as you can get from where we were while still being in Manhattan. We made it up there and then couldn't find the place. The area looked entirely residential. We called again, they wouldn't give us the address, but I heard something about 159 Riverside, not 159 and Riverside, which was a problem, it was awful. Eventually, someone came out to fetch us and take us in through the back of the building because she claimed we wouldn't have found it otherwise. The building is where 159th would be, were it to exist at Riverside, but no, that's not how you-- augh.
I really hate people who can't give directions.
So anyway, we dropped off the portion that we had -- $820.86; we couldn't gather all of it so we encouraged people to mail it in on their own -- and headed back downtown for other things. I really hope we never have to go through that shit again, because it was fucked up and retarded. Like there's no such thing as internet on people's phones and we just can't find a map of the place, or something. 9_9 But, hey, our total donation since 2010 is just under $2500, so I'll take that and be happy with it. :D
And now for something completely different: yesterday, the Cy Young Award winners were announced. R. A. Dickey was in the running, but there was also Gio Gonzalez and Clayton Kershaw to worry about. At 6:30, I parked myself in front of the TV, and I was shaking with nerves. There were some last-minute interviews and analysis and discussion, and when I'd finally had enough of the agony being dragged out, I snapped "Augh, enough with the numbers, just announce it already!"
The TV immediately replied "Jack O'Connell is standing by with the news...." and all I could say was "Oh. ... Well, then."
"Never in the history of the Cy Young Award has a knuckleball pitcher won," Mr. O'Connell started, "until now."
I couldn't believe it. Wait, did I hear that right? Is he announcing R. A. Dickey or eliminating him? WHAT'S GOING ON?! And then he pulled a slip of paper with his name and picture out of an envelope, announcing him as the winner. I immediately burst into tears. I was so proud of him, and, really, this was the cherry on top of a magnificent sundae of a season: back-to-back one-hitters, an All-Star selection, a 20-win season, the NL Outstanding Pitcher of the year, leading the league in numerous categories, and all of it at 37 years old, with a torn abdominal muscle, throwing the most unpredictable pitch in the game, on a team that was mediocre at best: a team that hadn't seen a no hitter until this year, or a 20-game winner since 1990, or a Cy Young since '85. And there are his non-baseball accomplishments, too, like climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro (I'm not even joking) for a charity before the season began, publishing a book (which looks to have been put out a year too early, when he mentioned he'd never lead the league in strikeouts!), and just being an all-around sweet and humble human being. I would love to shake his hand and thank him for all his hard work (especially because I got all tongue-tied at the book signing in April, whoops). And he won in a freakin' landslide, too: of the 32 voters, he earned 27 first-place votes, and 5 second-place votes. With the point system that's set up for voting, R. A. was awarded 209 out of a possible 224 points. Kershaw (2 first-place votes, 11 second-place votes, etc.) came in second, and Gonzalez (1 first-place vote, 12 second-place votes, etc.) right behind him, at 96 and 93.
In the on-field interview after he won his 20th game, R. A. said, of the radical change his career's undergone in the past three years, "only God could script a narrative like that." I know he's very religious, and I'm not, but I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement. It does indeed seem like a fairytale, something that doesn't happen in real life. He was a huge draw for a lot of fans this season, an inspiration and a mark of consistency, and I really hope he's back in a Mets uniform next year.
Es got there first, and the building was closed completely. The area is still recovering after the hurricane. So she called the offices and she finally got through (for the first time in three weeks), and the receptionist told her that their temporary office was at 159th and Riverside, which is almost as far away as you can get from where we were while still being in Manhattan. We made it up there and then couldn't find the place. The area looked entirely residential. We called again, they wouldn't give us the address, but I heard something about 159 Riverside, not 159 and Riverside, which was a problem, it was awful. Eventually, someone came out to fetch us and take us in through the back of the building because she claimed we wouldn't have found it otherwise. The building is where 159th would be, were it to exist at Riverside, but no, that's not how you-- augh.
I really hate people who can't give directions.
So anyway, we dropped off the portion that we had -- $820.86; we couldn't gather all of it so we encouraged people to mail it in on their own -- and headed back downtown for other things. I really hope we never have to go through that shit again, because it was fucked up and retarded. Like there's no such thing as internet on people's phones and we just can't find a map of the place, or something. 9_9 But, hey, our total donation since 2010 is just under $2500, so I'll take that and be happy with it. :D
And now for something completely different: yesterday, the Cy Young Award winners were announced. R. A. Dickey was in the running, but there was also Gio Gonzalez and Clayton Kershaw to worry about. At 6:30, I parked myself in front of the TV, and I was shaking with nerves. There were some last-minute interviews and analysis and discussion, and when I'd finally had enough of the agony being dragged out, I snapped "Augh, enough with the numbers, just announce it already!"
The TV immediately replied "Jack O'Connell is standing by with the news...." and all I could say was "Oh. ... Well, then."
"Never in the history of the Cy Young Award has a knuckleball pitcher won," Mr. O'Connell started, "until now."
I couldn't believe it. Wait, did I hear that right? Is he announcing R. A. Dickey or eliminating him? WHAT'S GOING ON?! And then he pulled a slip of paper with his name and picture out of an envelope, announcing him as the winner. I immediately burst into tears. I was so proud of him, and, really, this was the cherry on top of a magnificent sundae of a season: back-to-back one-hitters, an All-Star selection, a 20-win season, the NL Outstanding Pitcher of the year, leading the league in numerous categories, and all of it at 37 years old, with a torn abdominal muscle, throwing the most unpredictable pitch in the game, on a team that was mediocre at best: a team that hadn't seen a no hitter until this year, or a 20-game winner since 1990, or a Cy Young since '85. And there are his non-baseball accomplishments, too, like climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro (I'm not even joking) for a charity before the season began, publishing a book (which looks to have been put out a year too early, when he mentioned he'd never lead the league in strikeouts!), and just being an all-around sweet and humble human being. I would love to shake his hand and thank him for all his hard work (especially because I got all tongue-tied at the book signing in April, whoops). And he won in a freakin' landslide, too: of the 32 voters, he earned 27 first-place votes, and 5 second-place votes. With the point system that's set up for voting, R. A. was awarded 209 out of a possible 224 points. Kershaw (2 first-place votes, 11 second-place votes, etc.) came in second, and Gonzalez (1 first-place vote, 12 second-place votes, etc.) right behind him, at 96 and 93.
In the on-field interview after he won his 20th game, R. A. said, of the radical change his career's undergone in the past three years, "only God could script a narrative like that." I know he's very religious, and I'm not, but I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement. It does indeed seem like a fairytale, something that doesn't happen in real life. He was a huge draw for a lot of fans this season, an inspiration and a mark of consistency, and I really hope he's back in a Mets uniform next year.