Gotta love my dad. He brought his handy camcorder to record my first pitch. Yay to my dad, hurrah to the A’s public address announcer who pronounced my name properly, but yuck to my celebration face toward the end of the video.

I love Twitter contests. Remember back when in order to participate in a contest, you had to write a postcard to a company, find a stamp, then mail it off? Today, all you have to do is hit up your computer or smartphone & send a simple tweet. Free & easy, my kind of contest.

Last December, the Oakland Athletics held their 31 Gifts in 31 Days Twitter contest, in which they tweeted a question (some softball questions along the lines of Who is your favorite A’s player? or Would you rather hit a home run or steal home?) at 11:00am every day, & a chosen Twitter responder would win the day’s prize. Prizes ranged from an autographed baseball, an autographed Moneyball book, to a Ross Dress for Less gift card.

I tweeted on days when I was around my computer/phone at contest time. I played on December 25th, but lost. In checking my Twitter feed, I find a Direct Message notification from @Athletics two days later, saying:

The A’s “31 Gifts” participant on 12/25 could not be accepted. You are the next applicable participant. Please email [the A's]… w/your full name, age, and address to confirm the 12/25 A’s “31 Gifts in 31 Days” gift. Thanks.

Whoa…no way. How cool! I forgot what the contest winnings were for that day, so I check the website:

Jackpot! But could this be true? Still skeptical, I send the email to the A’s. On the same day, I get a response:

Hello Ian,

Thank you for your email.

The originally announced winner of the December 25 “31 Gifts in 31 Days” gift was unable to accept. Your tweet was the next eligible reply. If you would like to accept, you have won four Field Level tickets to an Oakland A’s game in 2012 and the opportunity to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

We will have to find a mutually agreeable game that works for both the promotional department and your schedule. Could you look at the 2012 A’s schedule and provide me five game dates that might work for you? I can then check with the promotions department if one may work. www.oaklandathletics.com/schedule

Congratulations and thank you for your continued support of the A’s.

Yesterday, I just got confirmation of the date:

Hello Ian,

Thank you for your patience as we secured a first pitch date. Your first pitch game date is Monday, April 9. … [The A's Special Events Coordinator] will be able to provide you additional information when and where to meet on April 9 for the first pitch. Your four Field Level tickets will be in Will Call under your name on April 9.

Thanks for following @Athletics on Twitter.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t score a weekend day game. I’m still extremely grateful! I need to start practicing. The more I think about it, the more nervous I get. Anyone who has seen me pitch/throw will know that my aim is extremely bad.

So if you don’t have plans that Monday evening, I would be eternally grateful if you can come support me! If this is will be your first A’s game, I promise you I will do my darndest to make it the best Monday evening you’ll ever have. For those who have enjoyed a ballgame with me, save me a seat in front so you don’t have to suffer from my loud jeering in your ear.

If you’re on Facebook, I’ve set up an event. If you can come, please RSVP through the page below so we have an idea of how many people can come out. If enough people will come out, we’ll plan to sit in the bleacher section, which has open seating.

RSVP on our Facebook page »

Hopefully we’ll see you there! Go baseball & Twitter!

Not many know this about me, but I’m a geek for cars. It might have stemmed from my many logged hours on the video game/racing simulator Gran Turismo on the original Playstation. The world-famous Laguna Seca, a gorgeous & pristine racetrack in Monterey, California, is hallowed ground for racing enthusiasts. Driving up to the track is awe-inspiring, no doubt. The day’s event: the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

With our day passes, we were allowed to go wander inside the staging area, which means that you can (theoretically) go up & touch the cars that just came back from a hot run on the track. Even for the non-racing crowd, taking a look under the hoods of these beasts, anyone can appreciate the engineering required to make these things roar. The cars were gorgeous, & there’s new appreciation now that I’ve got to witness these cars fly by 20 feet in front of you. As you can imagine, the cars were loud. Earplugs are a necessity.

Most notable is the Mazda MX-5 stock car races. With the exception of the sponsor stickers plastered all over the bodies & a few minor suspension tweaks, these MX-5 are stock as they came out of the factory. Budding racers who want to participate in structured, high-level competition should look into this.

The highlight of the day—and the point that persuaded me to take a day off work—was the Parade Lap, a chance to drive your own stock car on the track for two laps. I’ll probably only need to do this just once in my life, so along with my buddy Ricky, we brought a whole bunch of recording devices & rigged them inside my tiny GTI to record the event so I can re-live it forever (that’s healthy, right?):

Sure, we’re not flying down the corkscrew at 60mph, but it was still such a thrill. Perhaps this marks the start of my racing career? Who knows? Maybe I just need to fire up Gran Turismo 5 the next time I feel the need for speed.

Congrats to my cousin Sara, now Sara Sabino Guitierrez! After months & months of planning, she finally tied the knot last Saturday, August 20th. We added one more to our massive family wolfpack, & we couldn’t be happier!

Of course, since it’s a family event, I volunteered to set up my photobooth at the reception in Oakland. The wife was behind the camera, & I was in front running around & organizing shots. Check out our handiwork:

Bless Cindy & her generous heart. Actually, she rolls with a group of her college friends who are equally as generous. Every year, they participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Her group fundraises to participate in a very tolling march through San Francisco.

Specifically, the first day of the walk starts at Fort Mason, through San Francisco streets, across the Golden Gate Bridge, then end the day in a tent in Corte Madera. The trip ends as the walkers make their way back to Fort Mason.

Cindy couldn’t wait to put her feet up after arrival, but despite all the miles, many who crossed the finish did it with a smile on their face.

Ahh, I love summers. Sorry, to be more accurate, I love warm summers. The meteorologists finally thought it was cool to give us a warm, Northern California week (that’s what meteorologists do, right?), so our buddy Axel at work organized a small county fair outing after office hours. This fair was totally true to it’s form, too: carnival rides, a petting zoo, deep-fried everything, & carnies that smell like cabbage.

Is this place for adults? Not necessarily, but it’s a place for adults to be like little children again. Ahh…deep-fried Oreos. Genius idea!

Edit: Axel went through my photos & made a photo edit that’s safe for work:

Ahh, tailgating season. When the weather is awesome in the Bay Area, there’s no better way to enjoy a Saturday afternoon. Even better when you get to enjoy it with the company of friends, as well as the opportunity to make new ones.

The Texas Rangers came into town a few weeks ago & played a few games in Oakland. Perfect occasion to break out the tailgating kit & BBQ to enjoy a parking lot lunch with fellow baseball fans & fans of free food. Foul on me, though—we managed to fit our whole tailgate kit in my tiny GTI, but realized that I forgot the barbeque grill in the living room [sad trombone]. All good, because whenever people are having fun, they forget that the hot dogs they’re eating are cold.

The first time I visited Angelique’s cubicle, I knew that we would get along. The Jordan Knight pin on her wall foretold of a friendship to come. A couple weeks ago, Ian and I were thrilled to be present to witness Angelique and Ron’s nuptials at the Old Mission San Juan Bautista. It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful setting both at the mission and at the reception site, Villa Montalvo. The food catered by Le Papillon only added to the elegant experience. The night was full of fun memories a perfect celebration of the newly wedded couple. Congratulations Angelique and Ron. We wish you a long, happy life together!

What an exciting day!

It started out with a brunch at our favorite place to commemorate special occasions, Astaria with the Nakasuji and Blohowiak families. It was a delicious and perfect way to start off an action packed day. Then it was off to the airport to welcome Gina home from India and to witness the proposal. The families hid at the cafe in the terminal while Riki and his photography and videography crew of Will, Joel and Ian perched nearby. Gina walked out, we heard the claps and the cheers of the crowds so we cautiously crept from our hiding place. By the time we arrived, it was clear that it was a yes and hugs were shared all around.

After a brief rest and some freshening up, it was time to celebrate at Fresca with more friends and family.

Congratulations Riki and Gina! We are so happy for you and so glad that we were able to share the day with you.

One minute, she was that girl who studied abroad with me in Japan nearly eight years ago, the next minute, we’re celebrating her birthday as husband & wife at The Melting Pot, down the street from the home that we share. Her special day was filled with chocolate fondue & flowers waiting for her at home. Happy birthday to my dearest wife!