A Day That Makes You Optimistic or Pessimistic

It was 12:30 PM when I realized my keys were among the missing as I left the downtown office.

My face contorted into an angle of, I don't want to have to deal with this, and I texted Danielle. That morning Danielle had locked the doors behind me as I left the house and even though I was 99 percent positive I had my keys when I left I had to perform my due diligence.

By the time I got to the uptown office Danielle had left me a text and phone call - she had locked the door behind me though she had no seen my keys.

The issue was growing a little larger as I was scheduled to pick up Sienna at 5:30 and Danielle was scheduled to work late. I gave Danielle a call and in a worse case scenario we figured I found venture out to her work place - only an hour trip round way - and get the keys.

She added, "We're going to have to change the locks too since your keys have the New York Sports Club thing where someone could go in and find your address."

I pseudo-scoffed. I call it a pseudo-scoff when you know the other person is correct, yet you still want to disbelieve the information. The pseudo-scoff is a useful weapon in situations dealing with bills, dating, and college grades. I was going with the theory that it would take a lot of effort to figure out where I lived using a NYSC vob. Okay, maybe not. Still, who would go into the NYSC with a vob and a story?

Half an hour later the New York Sports Club called me. A good Samaritan had found my keys, saw the vob, and walked the keys to the New York Sports Club.

Society wins again! No attempt at thievery - though I made a strong mental note how easy it could be (never doubt the wife). I called Danielle to let her know all was well with the keys, that our child would be picked up on time and she should enjoy her day.

It was 5:39 PM - in the midst of running Sienna's bath water - when credit card fraud services contacted me to tell me that someone had used my credit card number for an unauthorized purchase and I would need to cut up my card.

Well, at least I have my keys.

Wayne

Statements I Hate: If You Don't Include...

"If you don't include all of the people in China then Democracy is the most used type of government."

Frank Barberi said that to a group of us in social studies class in High School. I raised my hand and asked what I thought was a logical followup question, Don't we include the people of China since they exist?

In the annals of student v teacher Mr. Barberi won the conversation since he was the man controlling the grades.* I would like to say after class Mr. Barberi put his arm around my shoulder and complimented me on my critical thinking - nope, nothing like that. At least I didn't get detention for questioning authority.

I remember his statement since it is the first time it is a specific example I can recall. It drives me nuts since it appears on tv, in sports broadcasts, reports, and really any other place where people want to ignore a part of data that does not defend the point being made.

I feel like it is only a matter of time before we hear the following statement, "If you discount all the people who don't have jobs, unemployment is really okay."

I insist in all conversations we include all data. I know. Weird, right.

Wayne

* Barberi was the master of the simple observation sometimes. I got into a fight after school and he saw me a couple of hours later in the gym since I wrestled and the teachers played basketball before wrestling practice. "I heard you got in a fight," he told me. "Do I look like I got into a fight?" I replied, with nary a bruise on my body. "You might have actually won," he added. It was a great point. Sometimes the winner doesn't look any worse for wear

Sienna the Giant

Someday Sienna is going to say she hates it when her parents are right.

It is a rite of passage that starts when we are young, finally admit that it is plausible when we are toddlers, forget when we are teenagers, and remember when we reach college.

Sometimes our parents are right.

Both Grandma Trudy (Sessa side of the family) and Nono (Parillo side of the family) pointed out how the children grow up quickly. That in a blink of an eye the child will be talking back and time stops being linear and somehow manages to fold back on itself, turn into a pretzel, and the memories become hazy on "what age did that happen?"

Okay the time part is my thought and this only after 4.5 months.

Sienna is a giant. She is strong. She flips herself around. She rolls herself into a circle. She grabs Scudder and come back with a handful of fur.* She is just over 11 pounds now - large enough to face in the world in both her Baby Bjorn and stroller - which is double her birth wait.

It makes sense that Danielle and I think she is a giant. Relatively speaking her body mass has doubled. She looks around on her own and has gone from reflexively smiling at everyone to sizing everyone up.

Which brings me back to my original statement: I hate when my (our) parents are right. This kid is growing up in a flash and Danielle and are constantly amazed at how she manages to be growing so quickly, yet seemingly around forever already.

Wayne

* I swear Scudder looks at her and tries to figure out how she went from half his size to bigger than him in such a short period of time. Or he could be figuring out when she'll be able to work a can opener.

Coverage of Whitey Bulger

I am fascinated by the way the Whitey Bulger coverage has been. When (alleged) gangster John Gotti was arrested I recall there was almost a Robin Hood/it-is-okay quality to a lot of Gotti's lore - almost that he was a good guy who just happened to be a criminal. The Godfathering of the American dream.

The papers seemed far more interesting to yell RAT!*

I have yet to see anyone say RAT when it comes to the capture of Whitey Bulger.

It is almost the opposite. A mini-celebration that he was caught via essentially a marketing campaign. There is a general pleasantness that people are no longer celebrating him on the run - they are celebrating that an (alleged) murdered was caught.

Though part of me wonders if some of this will change when a lawyer eventually points out that Bulger was an inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character in The Departed. After all, if John Gotti gives us memories of Marlon Brando in the Godfather then certainly Bulger will get a little movie cache for some of this.

Wayne

* I HATE when news uses the term RAT when it comes to mob dealings.

Previews That Bum Me Out: Transformers 3

I admit that I am a sucker for movie previews. There is a little game I like to play with Danielle during the previews called Over/Under where I announce how many trailers we are about to see and then Danielle guesses the over/under.

I didn't say it was a complicated game people.

I will not be the first person to add the following: I believe that there is a correlation between Suck Level/How Much They Show during the preview, as in the more they show in the preview, the worse the movie.

Every now and again the preview gets me good. The latest involved a secret mission to the dark side of the moon, (presumably) an item gets taken off said moon, all heck breaks loose. A perfect summer blockbuster and...holy crud it's for Transformers 3?

Not going to see it. Well done though for making an interesting trailer though. Well done indeed Transformers 3.

Wayne

Quantifying Luck

Luck = opportunity + preparedness.

At least that is how the old saying go. Right now Kevin Correia of the Pittsburgh Pirates is a case study in luck. His record stands at a robust lots more wins than loses. Normally not an issue, except in the world of sabermetrics where we recognize that Wins are a result of a team effort then we are left with Correia's peripheral stats of K/9, Fip, et cetera.

Rather than delve into those stats I am going to sit here and wonder whether a team can actually give better effort behind a certain pitcher. I've played enough baseball in my life to understand that there are some days someone you don't like is pitching and, as much as this is a game of professionals it is played by human beings who happen to be professionals, well there are opportunities to not try.

In major league baseball a hitter can give up a bat. Or not run our a hit. Or not hustle after a ball. Difficult to quantify - certainly; possible that it happens - certainly.

Wayne

Common Sense - You Quit: Why Would I Hire You?

Jim Riggleman had six months left on his contract and was upset that his option wasn't being pick up by the Nationals. My initial reaction to this information yesterday is exactly the same as my current reaction: you quit, why would I hire you?

Yep. That is my blog entry.

Wayne