Cubs don't suck anymore!

In an earlier post several weeks ago I had made mention that the Chicago Cubs suck.

Ok, I think it is time to retract that statement. Whoa, what a game today! A couple of bottom of the ninth heroics in the last two series is quite thrilling. Still a ways to go but oh what fun!

Division Winners!

The Romeoville Cubs win the Blue Division North in the Greater DuPage Bronco League (Division 2)! The final record was 14-3 with one rainout that wasn't played. So now it is off to the playoffs which start tomorrow. We are grouped within what is called the Division 1 Silver Group. What that means is that the best of the Division 2 kids play along side the worse of the Division 1 teams. We are in a pool of 4 teams (2 pools total). If we win the pool round, we play for the championship against the winner of the other pool of 4 teams on June 30th. It is quite exciting and we all can't wait until it starts. I think the kids are all ready. The big key for us, as coaches, is to keep the kids loose and not all tense with the pressure of winning. I have seen that a few times already with good teams losing because they feel pressured to win. Kids (like any players) then tend to try too hard and mistakes happen. I think that we do keep our kids loose and that they continue to have some fun. If we play good defense I think we will be unstoppable. I really believe that. Our hitting and pitching are real good. So, stay tuned for those updates!

Fareed Haque

Anyone who plays guitar should check out this site by Fareed Haque. Fareed played in a jazz fusion band called Chevere (based in Chicago) in the late 80's/early 90's. I used to have a friend that sat in on bass with those guys. He later went on the be the guitar guy on most of Sting's solo albums in the 90's. He has some great approaches towards perfecting one's craft on guitar. I love the way he thinks. Here is the site:

http://www.fareed.com/lessons.html

"Di-Verse"

"Live in the contradiction"; "start the day with a full cup"; "a bird sings, not for an answer, but because it has a song". Those are just a sample of some of the random things I wrote from this Willow Creek Arts Conference that I just attended. Great stuff. I won't get into all the details, I'm sure you can go to their site and get stuff online. What it did for me is provide some great insight and self evaluation. It was very good. One thing I wrote was, very simply, "don't be afraid of reality". For whatever reason, it made me think of where I was with my gift of music - specifically, playing guitar. You see, I have been feeling quite a bit frustrated over that part of my life. It seemed like much was about completing tasks and not having room for creativity. That is hard for a musician like me. It's funny, until a couple weeks ago, I have played the instrument a lot in the past few months. However, it was more for teaching or for charting or for simply going through the motions of learning something for the weekend. It became tough. The last couple weeks I really haven't played much. Not really feeling like it. That is not so alarming because I have gone through this kind of phase before - it usually ends up in becoming a very healthy thing. So how do I move on from this point? I need to get back to a more creative phase or it simply becomes a job. I don't like jobs. I love making up stuff like solo riffs; writing new songs; learning other songs just because I can - not for a purpose.



Well, at the conference there were many things that were brought up that kind of told me to find my way back to that. I really need to get there. The artist in me needs that. Artistically it can be hard for me to stay on the same thing for any length of time.

One of the more weird moments at the conference was a musical number that repeated this: "Di -Verse". It was puzzling then but after a few days something came to me. I have been contemplating getting in some kind of secular band. Diversity is part of what I crave, musically. Too much of one thing can get to be stale. I look at all the bands I was in for the past 25 years and almost all never had me in them past maybe 2 years. Perhaps this will help me becoming a better artist. I am not sure about it yet. I need to see what God is telling me.

Being Active

I do feel the need to report on the state of our Pony league baseball team. We are the Cubs team that does win. So our record now is 13-2. Pretty good. The two losses were silly ones on our part. I like to say that we lost them more than the other team won them - and yet still we almost won those two! This morning we were scheduled to play a rain out make up game. Well, we were there but no other team. They didn't show up. I don't get that. Wouldn't it be courteous to at least let us know? It looks like a win by forfeit. I hate those. I mean, the team we were to play wasn't that good anyway but it still wasn't the point. Let's play them! I had to get someone to cover me at lights this morning at CCC so I could make this game. It still ended up being a fun morning; the kids decided to play a scrimmage game amongst themselves. The coaches (including me) got in on it too. Hey, I had two hits: a triple and a double and very nearly duplicated my son's feats in center field by having some near-spectacular catches! And no, I am not sore! I guess it pays off in other ways to be training for a sprint triathlon!

Speaking of that training bit, I am still a bit leery of getting back in the Lifetime lap pool after contracting that sinus infection a few weeks back. I am going to attempt it again this week and see if I can manage with a nose plug. We'll see. I do wish there were a lake somewhere nearby where I can train instead. I really don't like diving into chemically enhanced water (lots of chlorine). I am back to running and biking though. That patio work really put a hold on other things in life. Sound familiar to anyone?

I did finish getting the sand in the cracks between bricks. I just did it brick by brick. It was very tedious but I think it paid off. I just had to make sure it was all compacted in the cracks. There are still some finishing touches that are needed but I am in no hurry to get back to it yet!

But I digress...we have three more games to go for our Romeoville Cubs (Div. 2). One tomorrow night, one on Thursday, and one on Saturday. The Thursday one has the potential to be a big one. We will be playing the other team tied with us for first place (assuming we win tomorrow). Should be fun. We will, however, only be down to 10 players - including one kid who is our best pitcher. We have some other good ones (which includes Alec). I believe they will step up and make it happen. Our kids seem to rise to the challenge when it presents itself. It is also interesting to check the standings in Bronco Division 2: there are 7 teams with no more than 3 losses (which includes us). Then, the next best teams come in with no fewer than 7 losses! That is a 4 game dropoff. Amazing how that stuff works itself out. Feast or Famine. I am just glad that we are the ones feasting! :)

Patio

See this? The patio is nearly done!

ME DO GOOD WORK!

Oh yeah, Mary helped...A LOT! Same with Kat's boyfriend Timmy and even Alec for a little while.

Um, does anyone know a better way to fill the cracks between bricks with sand besides using a broom several times?

Taking a Time Out

It is late Monday night. I have taken a few days off. To be honest, it feels kind of weird. I realized that I don't take much time off. I know that for one, I like what I do at CCC. However, it is also for that precise reason that we all need to take time away. I have no particular vacation planned. We just finished the patio (see mary's blog for pic's)' so working there is not an option (woo hoo!). I need time for me, I think. So, tomorrow, weather permitting, I will get on a 30-35 mile bike ride. You know, since I started this backyard project, my fitness routines took a back seat. Today I got back to running my 5k (it has been a week and a half). My time slipped a little but it wasn't as bad as I thought it could have been - despite the rain. Very encouraging. We also plan on seeing the Pirates-3 movie tomorrow. Katrina has seen it twice already. So, I will finally use a gift card from Christmas (can you believe it?) and Mary, Alec, and I will take in an afternoon matinee. I don't know about the other two days. One place I like to go for a mini-spiritual retreat is Buffalo Rock State Park. I like it there. Maybe one of the days I will go there. Sometimes it is also neat to go for a few hours and walk the trails at Starved Rock. However, I like starting from the other end of the park and not the main place where the lodge is. There are some real cool sites out there that I really don't think that many people see (it is often too far from the lodge area).

Ok, so I guess I have some things planned after all! I need to do this more often. It can only make me better at what I do. Funny how at my old job as an engineer, the planning of vacation time was of utmost importance! Now, I have to consciously make time for it. Amazing. How well do you do with taking time off?