Baseball Interlude

Every post on this blog so far has been about me and my recovery from something. Well, tonight I'm going to take a break from that and blog about one of my favorites things in life.

Baseball.

I didn't play the game well as a kid, but I will always love the game. It's a beautiful and manly thing for a pitcher and catcher to take on a batter; to load the bases and battle for either a grand slam or a triple play; to lay down the suicide squeeze. There's true art in Tony Gwynn's swing, Mariano Rivera's cut fastball, and Torii Hunter leaping to steal a homer.

So why are today's stars not more famous? And don't tell me it's because there's too many games, and they're not all on Sunday. It's because, I believe, the people running the game keep telling themselves that the game's best days are behind it.

I say, hogwash. Yeah, Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson are long gone. So why not work towards getting young fans to the point where they'll want to tell their grandchildren about Miguel Cabrera and Clayton Kershaw? I see interviews with certain players, especially pitchers, and see celebrity personality shine through. Take Justin Verlander. When he takes the mound, it's almost guaranteed to be a treat. He could have Tom Brady-level fame if the Tigers win a World Series. Why, when discussing Detroit's decline and struggle to rise again, are only the Lions used as a metaphor?

It's because the NFL is run by people with their shit together, and baseball is not.

Eighteen

Mother's Day went well. I didn't have to answer any questions about my job search, or my mental health, or my recent hospital stay, or much else.

Today I went to a seminar for the Over 40 job seeker. It discussed how to answer behavioral interview questions, how to make a LinkedIn profile show more personality, and how to make a cover letter better tailored to show accomplishments. There's a position in Metuchen that looks interesting; I'll try the cover letter technique in applying for that.

When I have my working situation settled, I'll have to face the question of whether to start dating again. At this point in my life, it's tricky. There are women who I nay have great rapport with, but do they see me as husband material? Age differences do matter, regardless of what the media would have you think.

Seventeen

It turns out someone already wrote a play about the life of Viktor Frankl. A chemistry professor/therapist named Rubin Battino wrote one called "Meaning." It might be worth a read.

Tomorrow I'm going to see my sister and her kids. Family get-togethers can be stressful for me, especially when I'm not working. But if I keep conversations focused on others, then I won't feel self-defensive.

Sixteen

This is my first post in May. I've spent the week applying for more jobs, going to personal training sessions, and packing up my apartment. The time has come for me to take the training I've gotten and create my own workout regime. I also joined the Job Club in Neptune, and got some more resources for job hunting. There's something called "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" that'll meet in Colts Neck on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. I'll try that.

My psychiatrist also told me I can break the Seroquels in half if it's making me too sleepy. Tomorrow when I see my therapist for the first time since my hospital stay, I'll show him the reports from there. I'll tell him everything: how I have been spending most of my life with my brain in counter-productive mode, how I avoid intimacy, and how I generally have a negative outlook on life.

Fifteen

The Middletown doctor said it would be best to make an appointment after June 3, and named which of his associates would be best for me to speak to. Between then and now, I'll do my best to cut back on the gluten. What do I have to lose?

Fourteen Come Lately

The past few days I've been doing a lot and haven't thought about blogging, so here goes:

I haven't heard from any of the jobs I interviewed for. On the positive side, I've been accepted into the Six Sigma Green Belt course. It's just a matter of getting a grant from the state. Wednesday is the next meeting of my professional society, and I'll make some contacts there.

I've been going to the gym, even sometimes taking the morning classes. However, I've been sleeping a bit later than I should. Is it the Seroquel? My sister thinks I should investigate a gluten-free and casein-free diet. That might make much of my meds unnecessary. I have an open mind towards it, but am not expecting anything radical. There's a doctor in Middletown who specializes in it.

Pretty soon I'll have my furniture on Craigslist. Leaving North Jersey won't be easy for me. It will be like the death of a dream, the old "if I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere" dream. But wouldn't you know it, I had a dream a few days ago where I was taking a bus ride through the woods in Monmouth County, and at one point, someone was singing "My Way" and holding his hand over my mouth while doing so. Is that my subconsciousness's way of telling me to just enjoy the ride and let other people do it their way?

Thirteen

Went to see 42. Harrison Ford turned in an Oscar-worthy performance as Branch Rickey, and there's a few "Hey, It's That Guy!" sightings:

• Wojo from Barney Miller as Dodger manager Burt Shotton 
• Dr. Cox from Scrubs as announcer Red Barber
• Steve the Pirate from Dodgeball as Phillies manager Ben Chapman

I also put some money in a CD today. I later realized I probably should have done a bit more research and found out about better rates, but that's going to be a big theme in my life for the forseeable future. Doing more pragmatic planning. Five and a half months from now, just before the CD matures, I'll have a system of researching investments, or at least some method.