Moonlit Jazz

I’ll be home tomorrow and you can all hear about how sad I am about my boys. Alas!!! 🙁

I also have some shirts in the washer. 😉

Hopefully while we’re up in Lake Tahoe, I have internet access. But, as someone at work pointed out, there’s always Kinko’s. I can at least empty out my email boxes, eh? Or I can take the long way and use my Blackberry. But darnit, I want to post here too! Alas, the price of vacations. LOL!

That’s for Kristine and her son Josiah. Barry Zito is his favorite player!

So yes, I want to be able to blog so that I can at least put the postgame alerts up. Gotta do that! But if I can’t, I can’t. And you all won’t be hearing from me for about a week. Blah!

I think I might miss my dogs while I’m gone. My little one smells so good right now because of last week’s grooming. And she’s just ADORABLE. Everyone says so. LOL!

1. What vehicle do you drive?
It’s either the Tahoe or the Passat.

2. How long have you had it?
We’ve had the Tahoe for a couple of years and the Passat for a few months.

3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?
The Tahoe is just your basic truck type vehicle. The coolest thing about it is the license plate. 😉 As for the Passat, it has a moonroof, which is always a welcome thing for me.

4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?
The Passat is older and probably needs a maintenance check. Blah! As for the Tahoe, I wish it didn’t squeal so much. 😛

5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?
Lexus SC 430. Convertible hardtop. Yes indeed.

Network Associates Coliseum

Winning Pitcher – Barry Zito (1-0)
Losing Pitcher – Tim Wakefield (0-1)

BOS Runs: 1, Hits: 6, Errors: 1
OAK Runs: 5, Hits: 6, Errors: 0

Zito’s gem puts A’s in driver’s seat

Urban: Boston’s bounce falls flat

First person: A’s Scott Hatteberg – Hatteberg’s playoff diary entry

I was definitely relieved to see the final score on my phone. I wish I could have watched some of it! Alas. And go Barry Zito!!! 😀

Urban: A perfect ending
You know, Mychael Urban is my favorite sports writer. He’s cool. And he always manages a musical reference. Groovay.

Chavez, Hudson play key roles
I’m just sorry I didn’t get to see Huddy pitch! But Chavez, wow! That catch and tag out in the 12th inning was stunning. Ping! That’s why he’s a Gold Glover.

“We try to win any way we can,” he (Hudson) said. “You can’t say enough about the guts of this team. We came up with the big play. That’s the sign of a championship team.”

Hatteberg: My mouth dropped
An entry in Hatteberg’s playoff diary.

Hernandez’s surprise bunt wins it in the 12th inning

Still so exciting to read about!

ESPN.com – MLB – Recap – Red Sox at Athletics – 10/01/2003 –

Hero
Ramon Hernandez. With the winning run standing 90 feet from home plate, Hernandez pulled off a shocker as he laid down a perfect bunt single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the A’s a come-from-behind win.

Goat
The Boston bullpen. Can these guys close out a game or what? Given a one-run lead to protect heading to the bottom of the ninth, Byung-Hyun Kim walked a batter and hit another before being lifted for Alan Embree. All Embree did was allow a two-out, run-scoring single to Erubiel Durazo to tie the game. What a nightmare!

Turning Point
Though the game wasn’t decided until the 12th inning, the momentum clearly went in the A’s direction after Durazo’s hit. The Red Sox didn’t get a hit in the extra innings. And while the A’s only got one hit — Hernandez’s bunt single — it certainly was a big one.

It Figures
When the game was on the line, the A’s bullpen stepped forward as it pitched 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball to stifle the Red Sox’s bats. Keith Foulke led the way with three scoreless innings of work.

On Deck
Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will get the start for the Red Sox in Game 2. He was roughed up in two starts against the A’s during the regular season (4.50 ERA), but escaped with two no-decisions. Barry Zito will counter for Oakland. The lefty was 6-6 with a 3.33 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break.

Let me preface this by stating the obvious: IT WAS ONLY A PEN. A red, G2 gel pen purchased by me. Even though I left in on my desk during muster, the pen was still mine. I bought it, I owned it. If someone wished to borrow it, they could have asked. But noooo, that’s not how this story goes…

1445 hrs. We’re having muster. Roll call, releases not getting released in a timely manner, etc.

Approximately 1500 hrs. I’m back at my desk, putting the court returns on a movement list. I pull their files, then settle in to write up the releases. I notice my pen is missing. I check my whole desk over. I open the drawers, I look down at the floor, I check my pockets. No red pen.

I look outside of my cubicle. No red pen.

I start walking around the office, glancing at each cubicle, checking people as I walk by. I ask, not too loudly, if anyone has seen my red pen. No answer.

I glance at one of the booking cubicles. “Florita” is writing up citation as she’s chatting with “Crystal.” I notice that “Florita” is using a red pen. Looks like my red pen. But I can’t be sure. I also note that next to her is another red pen, one with a white barrel.

I go back to my cubicle, annoyed now. No, angry. I ask again, louder. “Has anyone seen my red pen?” Still no answer. I pick up my blue pen, which is exactly like the red pen, only blue. I start to head back to “Florita’s” cubicle.

“Crystal” stops me as I’m rounding the corner. She whispers that “Florita” has a red pen. I hold up my blue pen and ask, “Did it look like this one, only red?” “Crystal” nods. Now I am very angry.

When I stop by “Florita’s” desk, she’s using a red pen, but the ballpoint red pen with the white barrel. I point blank ask her if she’s seen a pen like the blue one in my hand. She says no. I ask her again. She says no again. I tell her that I saw her writing with a red pen that looked like my pen. She tells me that I’m mistaken, that maybe I saw her with a different pen. She pulls another red pen out of her purse, but it ran out of ink, she tells me.

I walk away, frustrated. Then I remember that she was writing cite when I saw her. I head to the records officer’s desk. I find the cite. The ink on the folder is gel ink, not ballpoint ink. I go back to “Florita” and ask her what pen she used to write the cite. She tells me that she didn’t take my pen.

“It’s only a pen,” I keep telling myself. But I have to tell the Sgt. I find him in the break room and I tell him that I have a problem. I preface it by saying that yes, it’s only a pen, but… And I explain it to him. “Crystal” walks in and closes the door and backs up my story of seeing the pen in “Florita’s” hand. The Sgt tells me to check out my desk again and “Crystal” offers to check “Florita’s” desk.

We don’t find the pen. The Sgt comes by a few minutes later and says, “Short of looking in her purse, I can’t do anything about it.”

I understand.

Really I do.

But I reflect on my conversation with “Florita.” I remember her reddening face and the defensive denial. Was it because I was targeting her? Or was it her guilt? I remember how she tried to deflect my questions by suggesting that outside agency officers might have taken it from my desk.

The records officer stops by my desk and we talk a little. He tells me that “Florita” went to his desk and tried to explain why she couldn’t have been the one who took my pen. Now tell me, why would you defend yourself if you didn’t do anything?

Did I get all worked up because of a mere pen? No. I got upset, and I’m still upset, because I work for a law enforcement agency and I can’t even trust my fellow co-workers enough to leave my personal things out in my workspace. How utterly disappointing. And frustrating. And just plain sad.

And here’s another thought. It’s a pen today. What will it be tomorrow?