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Chillin’ with the A’s bullpen

March 27th, 2011

The best seats in the house!

We’re back from our annual Phoenix trip! More pics to come & more stories to tell about my awesome time with my cousins & the wife, but I wanted to share this story with you before my horrible memory betrays me.

The last day of our weekend trip, we went to an A’s Spring Training game at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium. In my research, I read online that the best place to sit is right behind the A’s bullpen because fans can literally sit about a foot away from the players.

As we walk to our seats & even before we sit down, A’s setup pitcher Jerry Blevins turns around & greets us:

Jerry Blevins: How are you guys doing?

Me (in awe & surprise): We’re…fine.

Jerry: Awesome seats, huh?

We both look around. There is absolutely nobody sitting in our section. The A’s had a split-squad day, & the other half of the team was in Scottsdale playing the Giants. Just like in the Bay Area, the A’s vs. Giants games usually have a huge turnout.

Jerry: You scored some nice seats in the family section.

I guess it was a tongue-in-cheek joke. I appreciated the effort, though. Again, still in shock. Me & Mel sit close in the first row. Cindy was a bit shy, so she moves a few rows higher.

It was an experience like none other. You can actually hear conversations amongst the bullpen pitchers. It’s mostly talk about the players on the field & making clubhouse runs for cold drinks. Anyway, TV broadcasts or regular season games can never emulate this experience.

A few innings pass. I excuse myself to the bathroom. Coming back & walking down the steps of the metal bleachers to my seat, Cindy & my cousin were trying to tell me something, but I can’t hear over the clanging of my footsteps. Maybe a foul ball was hit & landed in our section. I even brought my baseball glove just for that reason. Bummer.

“You missed it,” they say as I take my seat. Apparently, the bullpen guys saw Mel playing around on her Blackberry, so they asked her if she had any games on it. She said she didn’t, but she gave them my iPhone which she was using while I was using the can. They tried to find games on it, but only opened an app called Speed Download, an app that measures broadband speeds on a network. They couldn’t figure out how to play that game.

Geez…I missed a lot in the two minutes I was away. I get my iPhone, lean into the bullpen & said, “I have Street Fighter IV, if you still wanna play.” Grant Balfour, another A’s bullpen pitcher from Australia, takes the phone from me.

Grant: Aww man! I haven’t played that [game] in such a long time!

He tries to play, but hands the phone back to me. With his Australian accent:

Grant: I’ll play with your phone later. You can ask me again during Game 7 of the World Series.

Me: Sure! I’ll make sure to buy tickets behind the bullpen for that game.

Grant: You know what? I’ll get you those tickets for that game if it means I can play Street Fighter again.

Me: Thanks! I’ll give you my business card so you can get my info.

Of course, no business cards were exchanged, but he came off as a super cool guy. In between innings, the bullpen guys would sometimes get up & play catch with the outfielders. After the catch session, they usually toss those balls into the crowd for a fan. I gesture with my glove toward Grant & asked him for a ball.

Grant: Sorry, man. I can’t give you this ball. It would break the streak & Dallas would get mad at me.

Dallas Braden, Mr. Perfect Game, was the starting pitcher & was throwing a few scoreless innings. Baseball players tend to be superstitious, & I guess they believe that balls shouldn’t leave the field during a scoreless streak, or something to that effect. Totally understandable.

Anyway, as I was looking around the park, my back was to the field & the bullpen. I keep hearing, “Hey, Rudy!” from the field. I turn around, & Grant tosses me another ball he found. I was wearing my bright yellow Joe Rudi throwback jersey that day.

Ian in his Joe Rudi throwback jersey

Here’s Mel modeling next to my new souvenir:

Mel & the new souvenir

Such a grand ol’ time! More weekend stories coming soon!

baseball, Lifestyle, photography

Art walk in downtown San Jose

March 11th, 2011

South First Fridays in San Jose

Another wholesome Friday night activity! Only after we move out of San Jose do we find some really cool hidden gems. (In fact, this gem was even featured on the Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food.)

Every first Friday of the month, downtown San Jose hosts a series of art exhibits in San Jose’s SoFA (South First Area) district called South First Fridays. Luckily, it didn’t rain on us that evening, so it was a pleasant walk around three downtown blocks as we checked out a handful of open galleries. South First Street has a really good, energetic vibe, reminiscent of the Haight-Ashbury district up in San Francisco.

Cindy’s old work buddies invited us out for this nice evening stroll. She was getting into it, too:

Cindy in 3D

I love local artist art exhibits. Hopefully the weather is nice next month when we come back to visit!

Bay Area, Lifestyle, photography

Gina & Robert’s baby shower

March 8th, 2011

Gina & Robert's baby shower

My, my…we’re now officially grown-up people doing grown-up things. Yesterday, we were playing with paints, now we’re having baby showers for our friends.

Cindy’s SJSU friend Gina invited us to her baby shower over the past weekend in the San Jose foothills. It’s always nice to catch up with the gang. Cindy & parties? You know she had a blast:

Happy Cindy & Michelle

Congratulations, Gina & Robert! In a few months, we can add one more to the wolfpack!

Bay Area, Lifestyle, photography

Don’t need to travel far for a vacation!

March 2nd, 2011

Hot date at the Samovar Tea Lounge

Cindy informs me that the young kids call it a staycation. Whatever it’s called, it’s a lesson that teaches you that don’t need to travel far to enjoy a vacation. We live about 20 minutes from San Francisco, but whenever we visit, it’s always a treat.

My bro-in-law treated us to a weekend up in the City, complete with a room at the Clift Hotel near Union Square & a super fancy Sunday night dinner at Gary Danko out near Fisherman’s Wharf. Driving is a bummer up in the City, so we spent our warm afternoon walking around the Downtown area. We even stopped at Samovar Tea Lounge out in Yerba Buena Gardens for a sippy-sip of tea & scones.

Vacations aren’t necessarily cheap, but for those who don’t like to travel long distances, local excursions are just the ticket!

Bay Area, Lifestyle

5K race on a rainy Saturday morning

February 21st, 2011

Bay Breeze 5K finisher medal

Leading a healthier lifestyle is probably on many people’s resolutions list for the new year. For me, it was a birthday gift to Cindy a few years ago that I would try to run/exercise a few times a week. The beauty of technology with Nike & my iPhone makes sure I maintain that birthday promise.

My cousins resolved to make a similar resolution, too. They would try to run a race once a month for the rest of this year. February’s race was held on a rainy Saturday morning at the Bay Breeze by Brazen Racing at the San Leandro Marina Park. Cindy & I ran the 5K, while my cousins Emee, Cliff, & Sara ran the 10K. Joshua cheered us on & braved the rain as well. The cool part was that all the finishers won a super sweet medal. Not too shabby!

I ranked 131 of 444 amongst the 5K racers. Running 3.1 miles isn’t too bad, but I may have pushed myself a bit too hard & now my muscles are punishing me for it. Perhaps I may need to listen to my body & slow the pace down, or maybe I may need to train a bit harder.

It was cold!

The girls’ faces probably didn’t show it, but my face tells how cold it was that morning.

Bay Area, Lifestyle