Can you smell it?

It's getting to be that time of year again, the best season of them all... Spring! There is only one thing that comes to mind when I think of Spring - baseball. The "Great American Passtime." Many who know me know that I like the cooler temperatures, so that means I don't mind Winter weather. However, just 'cuz I don't mind it doesn't mean that I don't wait eagerly for Spring to roll around. The moderate temperatures, unpredictable rain forecasts, and tornado warnings are all part of Spring, but it's worth it when I remind myself that as soon as we use some Diamond Dry on the baseball field, we'll be back in action! That's just one positive anecdote that comes with the territory.

Going back to when I was in elementary and middle school and earlier, baseball was a huge part of my life. I always loved the transition between Winter and Spring, and it wasn't even the feel of the temperatures or the sight of the grass that got me excited. It was the anticipation of baseball season and, ultimately, the smell. I would always tell my parents "It's starting to smell like baseball season!" And it was. It's a very distinct smell; refreshing, light, clean, humid, and a slight scent from the new life in the grass. It would get stronger and stronger as time went, and I knew, by smell, that baseball season was getting closer and closer. It was probably the most enjoyable anticipation I ever experienced. It still happens today. Although I'm not playing the game like I did then, I still get that feeling inside when I can begin to smell the seasons changing.

Whether I'm coaching, playing, umpiring, or just functioning as a spectator, baseball season is still the same. In my opinion, it's the most under-appreciated sport by those who don't play it. When talking about football or basketball, the non-fan still recognizes and acknowledges the difficulty involved and the skill needed to perform at a high level. However, baseball doesn't get that same respect. Instead of the other athletic sports, baseball is a sport that must be loved in order for an athlete to understand and achieve its highest accomplishments.

Well, it's getting close to that time. Before this most recent surge of snow we just got in Ohio, I caught the first whiff of baseball season, and I got tingly inside. There's still a little of that white stuff on the ground as I look outside, and the bitter cold temperatures are hiding the fragrance of our Great Passtime some, but I know that it'll be in full bloom in just a few weeks! The actual baseball season is already upon us, having snuck up much more quickly and unexpectedly than usual, but it's almost here nonetheless! Pitchers & Catchers starts Monday, and every school in the state of Ohio will begin their official preparation for this coming season. When we finally take the field for the first time on March 30, I will know once and for all that it not only smells like baseball season... it finally is!

Short blog entry, I know. I just had to write something to create a wordy, doctored up representation that tells you "I'm ready for baseball!" Still bored? Read my other blog about baseball: Don't Doubt Baseball

May God continue to bless you.
-Marcum

Week in DC

This passed week I was in Reston, VA at an Oracle training center for an Oracle training course that I needed for some upcoming work projects. If you're not familiar with Virginia (I am sure not!), the city of Reston is relatively close to Washington, DC. It was a fun weekend, as I was traveling with a fellow employee, Megan McGee. She had only been working at our place of employment for 3 weeks prior, so we didn't really know each other very well. We had a good time all week, though, and I think the week was a success - we learned a lot throughout our course, we got along well and had a good time, and we got to visit downtown Washington, DC!

Originally when we were planning our trip, I was just planning on playing everything by ear. You know, I didn't really want to have anything planned out. When we flew in on Sunday evening, though, I changed my mind and knew that, with how busy DC and the surrounding areas are, we had to plan our journey(ies). So Monday night we sat down for a few hours and researched all the attractions online, especially those in the National Mall, which is where the Capitol Building, Washington Monument, and such are located. Since we were encouraged strongly against driving all the way into downtown DC (we had a rental car), we instead chose to use the metro which stretched far outside of DC in both directions.

The metro was very helpful, as we only had to drive about 25-30 minutes to the metro station, take the metro straight into the middle of the National Mall, walk around, and take the metro back to our car. However, it wasn't that easy. The only parking for the metro station was a paid parking lot that cost $4.50 per day to park. What a ripoff! Anyway, the guy at the entrance of the parking lot wasn't helpful in telling me how to pay, since they didn't take cash or credit card. We had to go inside the metro and buy a "Fare Card" which cost $10. That card then basically functioned as a $5 gift certificate that we had to use to get out of the parking lot. So, the card cost $5, and had another $5 usable on it. Megan kept the card and put an additional $5 on it (to pay for the metro tolls) while I bought a $5 ticket out of another machine to use for the metro tolls. The whole thing was a mess, and a huge chunk of change delivered straight to the metro's pockets. Once I found out the use of the card and ticket (you scanned the card/ticket when you got on/off the metro, and it automatically paid your fare), it was pretty useful and efficient, but still very annoying to say the least.

Metro Station (click to enlarge)

Anyway, we finally got off the metro at the Smithsonian Institute right smack-dab in the middle of the National Mall. What was a nice, clear, light-blue sky when we got onto the metro was now almost pitch black. Going away along with the light was the warmth. See, on Monday when we sat down to plan our trip, we originally planned to make our trip to DC on Wednesday since the weather forecast was the most favorable (high 35-40 degrees and clear). However, when we left class on Tuesday, it was bright and sunny, clear, and suprisingly warm, so we hurried back to the hotel, got ready, and jetted off to the metro with our plans in hand. Well, it was definitely much colder when we got off the metro than when we got on... around 20 degrees and windy. Megan really wanted to see the National Archives, which had the closing time posted as 9pm on the National Archives' web site. We walked our way over to the huge buliding only to find that the web site failed to mention that there are separate hours for Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. Yah, we were about 2 hours late, our 7:00 arrival time too late for its 5:00 closing. It was a bummer, but at least we got a picture of the Archives building. Woo hoo!

National Archives (click to enlarge)

From that point on, we didn't really have anything we wanted to see other than the Lincoln Memorial, which was the #1 attraction on my list. We were probably two-thirds towards the Capitol Building (far right), so we walked past the Washington Memorial (center), World War II Memorial (middle left), and then all the way to the Lincoln Memorial (far left). In the freezing cold temperatures and windy conditions, Megan was getting numb all over, and my hands and thighs were numb from taking pictures (without gloves) and only having jeans on respectively. Eventually, sometime during the ~2 miles that we walked to get to the Lincoln Memorial, we began getting used to the cold. We were still cold, but no longer the miserable feeling we had before. Phew! Looking at the map before our trip, we knew it was about 2.4 miles from the Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial. However, when you first arrive at the National Mall and look around and think "Hmm, that's not that far away." WRONG! The distance is very decieving because of how humongous the buildings are. They are huge!

Capitol Building

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial (wide)

Lincoln Memorial (close-up)

Well, we got off at the Smithsonian, checked out the [closed] National Archives, took a picture of the Capitol Building (from across the Mall), then walked past the Washington Monument, WW2 Memorial, then past the long lake to the Lincoln Memorial. After checking Honest Abe and reading the Gettysburg Address etched in stone on the wall, we passed by the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. By this time it was completely pitch black outside, and we passed this shady, old guy who was dressed in full uniform. He looked like a homeless man, but started talking to us about the Wall, telling us how many died and so on. It was a very big number, but we were cold and wanted to keep going, so we gave him our attention briefly and then moved on. On our way back, we stopped at the Washington Monument since, from there, there is a straight shot to the White House. Here's a hint: When you set your camera to take a picture on a timer and want to move away from the camera, make sure you are not still holding onto the camera's strap. It kind of ruins the picture when the camera's skidding across a cement railing-wall.

National Mall from Lincoln Memorial, with Washington Monument & Capitol building in background (Megan in foreground)

White House

Well, that was about the extent of our downtown adventures. But when we finally got back to our car at the metro station, the fun began again. We took 267 from the hotel to the metro... all the way to the metro, getting off 267 direction to the metro station. What we didn't realize was that 267 merged with 66 right before our exit. So, when we got back on the highway to drive back to the hotel, we knew the road we were getting on was 267, since we had gotten off of it initially, so we took the 66 road signs as a different labeling coming out of town. Wrong! We took 66 for about 15 miles before we realized we were nowhere close to 267, even though the scenery on 66 looked exactly like that of 267. So, we stopped for directions and had to drive about 15-20 minutes North to get back to our hotel. Then dinner. Phew! At least dinners all week were free.

The rest of the week went pretty smoothly as Megan and I promised we wouldn't get lost again the rest of the trip. During the week I ate four (4) different types of chicken: Spicy buffalo chicken sandwich at Champp's on Sunday, BBQ cheesy chicken sandwich at UNO's in Reston Town Center on Monday, Chicken parmesian with pasta at Macaroni Grill on Wednesday, and Bacon cheesy grilled chicken with honey mustard at the Outback Steakhouse on Thursday, our last night in Reston. The next day we had our last day of class, then took our rental car back, got on the plane, and flew home. End of week.

All in all we both had a really good time! One tip we both would like to give everyone: If your company is paying $3,000 for a 5-day, 9-to-5 corporate training course, show up to class on time! It was amazing to see 2 students in our 6-student class come into class 30+ minutes late every day, with one day someone coming in 2 hours late! We started class 15-30 minutes late every day waiting for them. Respect your company's money and your trainer's/classmates' time by being prompt and attentive. Hmm... this blog is really long. I tried to touch on a lot of things, but I guess I elaborated more than I should have. Sorry, but thanks for reading!

May God continue to bless you.
-Marcum