Wild Weather

It has been a while since I have made an update to the blog. That means two things: the parents were in town, and I am on grounds crew.

It was really nice to have Mom and Mike come visit. They deserved a vacation and it was fun to see them down here and get to have all the fun that we had. It made for some long days, but they prepared me for grounds crew this week.

The weather has just been awful. It has rained every day. On Tuesday we even had a round of games cancelled in the middle because we were falling behind time wise and another rain delay just occurred. We then cancelled most of the night games which helped out Scott for a day. He was going to work all six games for about an 18 hour day so that he could go home for the weekend and have Thursday off for his flight. Now those games are spaced out tomorrow.

We already have a full Wednesday schedule so I am not sure where or how they will fit in new games, but I know it will be interesting to see and will give all of us a hard time but we are all in it together. Today, we worked 13.5 hours and didn't get a meal break. I managed to grab a couple hot dogs during a rain delay. I hope that tomorrow is better. Right now I am looking at a 70+ hour work week, but it will help me reach my total for my internship. It is also good experience for the world of Minor League Baseball where there will be many days with long shifts like that. I am also to the point where I can show up at work and not know when I am getting off. I just keep doing my job until someone tells me to leave. Ahhh, the life of baseball. It is hard, but I am very happy. I wouldn't want to do anything else for a living.

I will be in touch,

Cody

39 To Go...

39 days left. Mom and Mike are coming Thursday so it will be nice to see them. Tomorrow I am going to ask my boss if I can announce the morning games next week so that my evenings are free. I hope he will let me do it.

Today I got to MC the home run derby on Duncan Field. It was so much fun! One kid hit 30 home runs in one round! It was so crazy. He was easily 6'2", 220 with a beard, so that's probably as big as he will get.

He was part of the first 16u tournament that we have had this summer. We also have an international team this week. The Oakville A's are from Ontario, Canada.

I finished reading my book, 90 Minutes in Heaven today too. He was asking questions about why God brought him back to Earth instead of keeping him in Heaven. It made me think about being sick. God kept me here in Myrtle Beach for a reason. It's just not as serious as what took place in the book. I know that this is where God wants me to be and that I am doing His work. I can't explain why I got sick either time that I have been down here, but God allows things to happen for a reason. This summer is happening just as He planned for it.

Keep you all updated,

Cody

Halfway There

Let's just say, I have been through a lot the first half of this internship. It feels like a new start now though. I am about to switch bedrooms for good with Scott and am already there for this weekend. Sickness is a big memory from the old room so it's nice to move on.

Brooke got in last night. I felt bad for Scott because her arrival moved from Thursday night to Friday at 11:30, to 1am, to 3am before she got here. I will probably meet her sometime today. I think I am going to venture out a little bit later and check out the card store to see what they have.

This week was pretty good. I got to announce which I really enjoy doing. I even brought my own iPod to the games so that I can get kind of creative during the games and vary my introduction play lists.

Next week I am doing results at the tournament. I get to collect the results from the games, drive around umpires, and help maintain the tournament. It is like I am going to be second in command to an extent.

It is going to be an exciting week. Only problem is that we are supposed to get some really nasty weather this week. But on a good note, my logs and assignments have started getting graded and basically all I need is another 230 hours and my internship is done.

Keep you in touch,

Cody

Finally Catching Up

Ok, so it has been a while and I have a lot to catch everyone up on. Last week we had our biggest tournament in history so being on grounds crew, my evenings were pretty long. We had 61 teams last week over four tournaments (11u, 12u, 13u, 14u). I'm glad that the weather cooperated for us. The last thing that I wanted to do was to have to tarp fields and be there half the night waiting out rain delays.

At the end of the nights I was mainly on emptying trash and cleaning bathrooms duty. It was better than tarping fields so I didn't mind it. There was some drama in the grounds crew this week. I don't get how a group of guys can have so much drama.

It was nice to see Amanda this weekend. We made it out to the Pelicans game, fell asleep on the beach, made a sand turtle :), walked the boardwalk, did the SkyWheel, had a nice dinner, played some mini golf, and just relaxed together.The only thing that we had a problem with was me getting sick again and getting a flat tire. It was odd to almost see a white guy get beaten up by five drunk black men with big sticks. I'm sure it was even more awkward for Amanda. She got to stand around and watch that while I changed the tire as quickly as I could so we could get out of there. I am so ready to spend the rest of my life with her.

This week is pretty nice. I get to announce games. The hardest part is the heat in the press box. I enjoy what I am doing though and it is so hard to believe that four weeks have flown by already.

I will keep you all updated.

Cody

What a Day...

So today is basically one of those days. I was expecting to be off at one this afternoon when the bosses come by and tell me that I am covering the skills competition so what was a six hour day turned into a thirteen hour day, the longest I have ever worked.

I hated having to switch between home run derby and turn two and bean bob because we had to set the field multiple times. Two little kids cussed me out because they wanted to bean bob again and I said you can only go once. I normally don't like to say that my kid won't be like that, but I really hope he is not. He would get smacked if he did do something like that.

Two good things happened today though. I hit four home runs in the home run derby (should have been five, but one just went foul down the left field line). I hit the wall on one from the left side of the plate. I was hoping to hit one from both sides.

The other good thing was that the bosses realized finally that they asked the interns who had been at the complex since 7:30 that morning to work until 8:30 that night instead of catching the tournament officials who came in later. Once they realized it at 6:30, they came out to the field, apologized, and let us go home. I think we impressed them though because we just kept working and didn't complain.

We actually were good entertainment for the fans. We sang songs, danced, did some skits, and played some ball games for them.

Once I got off after eleven hours I came home, hit the hot tub, met two older couples who were talking about Ripken so I told them what I did and we had a nice conversation. One couple was even from Wintergreen, VA! Now I am relaxing in bed with that feeling where you just want to cut your legs off and scoop out the insides.

At least I don't have to be at work until 5PM tomorrow. Oh, and the Nationals won tonight! :)

Cody

Announcing, Announcing, Announcing...

This week has been all announcing. Let me just say this, if timing is off or you pronounce someone's name wrong it is World War III. Granted I only had one bad game as far as fans went, it tends to stick with you for a while.

Today was an amazing day. I asked some good trivia, got names right that no one else could, hit my cues, and even got to introduce Dasher. (Our yellow lab mascot who carried out the balls to the umpire for my second game.)

On top of that, I got off at 12:30 so I could spend the afternoon at the pool before coming back to get a haircut (it's too hot here for long hair), hit the hot tub, watch the Nationals game, and write Cory a letter before doing the blog update. I am still very tired and am not sure how Ryan manages to wake up to get to the field at 6AM.

With Scott working the night crew and me being an afternoon guy, we have rarely seen each other this week and that might continue for a while. :(

Hopefully my games tomorrow go a little faster. My first one had a final of 22-15. The second was 13-8. Am I working baseball or football? lol

Cody

Heading Into Week Two

This was a pretty fun weekend. Saturday, on my day off I went to the mall, checked out a memorabilia store. It wasn't that great. They had a lot of autographs but not many cards.

I then went to the beach, played some baseball with Ryan, Jordan, Scott, and Laura. We then went into Broadway for dinner. The only restaurant without a wait was Carlos and Charlie's. It was pretty good Mexican but I can only eat those fancy places occasionally. Then we went to Ben and Jerry's for some Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream. It has swirls of caramel and fudge covered waffle cone.

Today at work was alright. I was on the training island so I mainly made sure that the teams were where they were supposed to be. The coach of the Starz irritated me. He got short with me because he wanted three batting cages and only reserved one so I made him leave. He then took his team on an actual outfield and I told him he couldn't so started cussing at me. I said, "Sir, calm yourself. Everyone has to follow the same rules. You aren't better than anyone else." He ended up leaving and it was taken care of.

The severe thunderstorm made things interesting as me, Colin, and Chris ran around the complex getting people to shelter before the serious waves of the storm reached the complex. I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Cody

P.S. I also got to meet Bill Ripken today. We waited out a rain delay together. It felt so weird to root for the Nationals against the Orioles with a Ripken right there lol. He even caught the first pitch. Since it was Father's Day a boy who won a Father's Day essay contest got to throw out the pitch. He lost his dad two years ago so it was pretty emotional.