Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！
Just a photo tonight… Koa had another baseball game tonight. His team won! Woohooo!
Enjoying Saturday evening and looking forward to Sunday.
Take care! おやすみなさい！
– バロン 
Evening game
Cedar Park, 2016
Tag: baseball
Cedar Park, 2016
Late game
Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！
Hi! Tonight Koa had a late baseball game (8pm – 9:30pm). The sky was a bit stormy but luckily we didn’t get any rain and the kids got to enjoy their evening contest. As you can see from the photo, the colors in the sky as the sun went down were pretty awesome… the photo was pretty much SOOC (straight out of camera) with a tiny bit of sharpening and clarity applied, but I didn’t touch the vibrance or saturation, and I think the camera was on standard Provia film simulation. At any rate, we enjoyed about 10 minutes of this sky before it got dark. Pretty cool, huh?
Koa’s team lost but Koa had a good game, getting a hit, an RBI, scoring a run, and having three outs at second base… one on a blistering line-drive. The late games are kind of interesting because when we leave, it’s usually almost 10pm and there aren’t a lot of cars left in the parking lot. It’s a completely different feeling compared to the ending of the early games when there are a lot of other people arriving and the parking lot is still quite full. I like the late games! 😄
Have a great evening! おやすみなさい！
– B
Bright day
Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！ How’s it going?
Today I spent the first half of the day at the baseball fields watching Koa’s team play back-to-back games in the bright morning light. It’s only April, but the Texas sun is already strong. In fact, I got a nice sunburn on my arms! Koa’s team lost both games, but they had fun and scored a decent amount of runs. Tomorrow, Koa is playing in another one… the All-star game! ⚾️ He was one of the players chosen to represent his team, so that means 3 games in two days. And on top of that, Monday night, he has another regular game! so 4 games in 3 days. It’s crazy! Normally there are not so many games in one stretch, but there were a couple earlier games that got rained out, so these are make-up games. I think Koa is going to be one tired player!
Today’s photo is of my latest Instax prints and the cool set of markers I use to take notes on them. I love the Instax prints so much. They have a wonderful charm about them… Even my mediocre photos look nice when printed on instant film! ☺️
I am about two-thirds of the way through Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City, and I am enjoying it a lot! It’s interesting and fun… a nice light YA read, and great for a change of pace. I recommend it. In fact, I am going to read more right now before I sleep.
おやすみなさい and take care!
– B
A night at the ballpark
Round Rock, 2016
こんばんは！ How’s it going?
This evening, Koa and I went to the Dell Diamond in Round Rock to see the Round Rock Express take on the visiting Iowa Cubs. We bought discounted tickets because the Little League Koa plays in has a special promotion. It was only a dollar off each ticket, but it was fun to go to the ballpark and watch some minor-league baseball.
Tonight was opening night, and also Fireworks Friday, but we didn’t stay til the end because it was getting very late and Koa has Japanese school tomorrow morning so no fireworks for us. But Koa had a great time hanging out with friends, playing in the “Kids Zone” where they have a basketball court and also a radar-gun so you can see how fast your pitches are. Koa was clocked throwing 51 mph heaters. Pretty impressive!
Round Rock, 2016
The Dell Diamond is a very nice ballpark, just like a MLB stadium, just on a smaller scale. General admission tickets for sitting on the lawn are only $7 so it’s a good deal. But the food is like an MLB park. $10 for a large beer! Ouch. I passed on the beer tonight…
It was a beautiful clear evening, but the great weather will not last long. On Sunday a heavy storm will move into town bringing hail and nastiness. If you live here in Central Texas, take care and stay safe!
おやすみなさい！
– バロン
A-Z Challenge – F
F is for “Fanatic”
My favorite sport is baseball, and growing up in the Los Angeles area, my favorite team was and still is the Dodgers. I’ve followed them, but I was never a fanatic. But a few years ago, I would listen to a game, and then get really angry when they lost. I would stress out over it when I was falling asleep even! Then, I got so disappointed in them when they got eliminated from the playoffs that I swore off baseball, and all sports. It was sort of in jest, but sort of serious. I really don’t understand how I could have that kind of emotional reaction to a team that I have no control over. It’s really weird!
But I didn’t want to feel that disappointment again, so I decided that I wouldn’t follow sports at all. I think that lasted a year or so, and then a change happened in me. I know it had something to do with when Koa started playing Little League baseball. During the first season, I would get so tense during the games, especially when the team made errors. I would get so nervous, that I didn’t even want to watch the game! I know, right? It was just like when I would watch the Dodgers!
The next season, I noticed that the kids, even if they lost, still had smiles on their faces and high-fived the other team after the game. Even though deep down I knew that winning wasn’t the most important thing about playing the game, I somehow lost sight of that. But seeing the joy on the kids’ faces made me realize that it was I who had the problem. My emotions were ridiculous! Once I realized that, my whole world (well, at least my sports world) changed. I now enjoy watching my son play the game and don’t mind the errors or strikeouts anymore. I make sure not to criticize him during the ride home after the game. I admit, I sometimes have the urge to say something, but that feeling is now minuscule compared to how it was during the first season. In fact, it’s so distant that I can see it far away… and laugh at it. What a great feeling!
The MLB season has just started, and I am watching a lot of the games. I think it will be a great season, not because I think the Dodgers will do well or win the World Series, but it will be a great season because I will enjoy the games without having the stressed-out mindset of a “fanatic”.
