I had to come in to work last Thursday morning so I can take the super early shuttle to get to the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s were giving away a fleece Snuggie—what they called a Sluggie—to the first 10,000 fans. I had to get a good spot in line to guarantee getting the wearable blanket. Otherwise, my wizard hat wouldn’t make sense (photo above).

Thanks to all my friends & family who came out to rock the left field bleachers. Without them, I wouldn’t have got us on DiamondVision (finally!) & started the wave that went all the way around the Coliseum 7.5 times. Ahh, what a good game.

Another thanks to my cousin Daniel for wearing my camera & taking almost all of the photos of the evening. Nice shots!

It’s April and baseball season has finally arrived. What better way to kick it off than with catching a preseason game of the Bay Bridge series. The weather looked iffy but we managed to pull off an impromptu tailgate. Please forgive our friends for their poor choice of teams, we know we did.

Though the game itself wasn’t all that we hoped it would be, we enjoyed the festivities at the Fan Appreciation Tailgate. The lines were too long for us to get any signatures but we did enjoy the Q & A sessions which pumped us up for the season ahead. We know that no matter what the stats say, there is no doubt that the A’s will make this an exciting season!

Came across this gem of a photo recently. I invited some friends & family to come with us to an A’s game because I had a deal on really good lower level seats & Jordin Sparks happened to be holding a small concert after the game. A few rows in front of us, a bunch of friends had a bit too much to drink. Fortunately for us, they’re emotional drunks. One of the few fights that occurred within their group was between this teary-eyed guy & his buddy. Everyone that sat at least four rows behind them were watching intently, a soap opera drama unfolding

It was so entertaining, Clay video recorded a portion of the scuffle, dubbed with their custom audio track.

Flickr: A's games 2009

You don’t see this often at the Coliseum: a bride & groom taking their wedding photos in the field level aisle. They couldn’t have chosen a better day—the weather was perfect for such an occasion. Much props to these newlyweds, hardcore A’s fans!

The A’s killed the Texas Rangers 9 to 1 that evening, mainly because of our section’s jeering of the Rangers’s left fielder David Murphy & my sign that took me hours of crafting on illustration board the night before:

I'mma let you finish...

Muuuuuurphy!

Wedding photos at the Oakland Coliseum

Cindy’s friend Ivy, a long-time friend from college, wanted to celebrate her birthday outside of the traditional grown-up birthday party: she decided to throw it on the softball field.

It was kinda unusual (for me) at first, but once it began, I’ve realized it’s been such a long time since I’ve played in the dirt. It didn’t take long for me to cut loose & have fun out there. With any softball birthday parties, the game usually wraps up with the game-ending cake:

Happy birthday, Ivy! We look forward to many more softball parties in the future.

Ivy's softball party in El Cerrito

That’s right, we’re going to the 2009 MLB All-Star game in St. Louis, Missouri! It’s gonna be my first time out in that part of the US. Yay for summertime humidity!

Seriously, though…I’m extremely thrilled to be going. Vacation starts tomorrow evening at the San Francisco Airport, flying down to LA for Cindy’s cousin’s wedding on Saturday. Then we fly out of LA on Sunday morning to all the baseball-related festivities happening all throughout St. Louis! Cindy’s good ol’ friend June lives out there & we’re really excited to see her again. The last time we met was during our last Hawaii trip. We’re excited to see all the sites outside of the Gateway Arch & Busch Stadium.

Cindy scored us some awesome bleacher seats, seven rows from the field:

This year’s All-Star game will be televised nationwide on FOX with a lot of fanfare. There will be some big-name players who will put on a show & swing for the fences. We can only hope that multiple home runs will be hit in our area. In addition, I learned at one of my most recent A’s games that my fluorescent green jacket really works for visibility:

Set your DVRs/VCRs for Tuesday night on FOX. I’m gonna try my darndest to get some airtime on TV!

Outside of trying to act a fool on national television, I’m not exactly sure what to see/do in St. Louis. Any recommendations?

Sure, it may be old news, but I’m still reveling in Pacquiao’s recent victory. The excitement & energy from last Saturday’s fight has since died down, but my head still buzzing with Pacquiao mania.

During my short breaks at work, I scoured the Internet trying to find the killer knockout that took Hatton out. Ultimately (& naturally), YouTube was my only source of Pacquiao-related videos. Of course, HBO doesn’t wanna play nice & share any clips with the inquiring fans. I did, however, find some clips that would entertain my mania for the time being…

Here’s a commercial shot with past opponent (& apparently now good friend) Erik Morales for San Miguel beer. You gotta give Pacquiao a lot of credit, as he insists on using his heavily-accented English (“‘Sup coats, how ya doin’?”):

For those familiar with the comedy stylings of fellow Filipino comedian Rex Navarrette, here’s his commentary of Manny’s post-bout, cringe-worthy interviews:

All in good nature, of course!

It’s impossible to hate this guy. Pacquiao fought his way to the top, earning the respect of his peers & gaining a vast number of fans. Class act all the way. One more inspirational Filipino to add to the list!

The A’s earned a triumphant win, but the fight was the crowning event. The knockout was best spent with good people, ideally fans. A very engaging win!

The way we celebrate? A barbeque feast that spans three meals: