Herkimer’s Toolers 16, Sloppy Singles 16
The softball season got off to a bang on Monday night with our team (sponsored by Herkimer’s) batting around over two full times and scoring 11 runs in the second inning, then holding on to tie the Sloppy Singles 16-16. Our team played with just eight guys, which technically means we forfeited, but the game was played anyway with the opponents lending us a catcher. Before Tom Becker arrived in the third inning, we had just seven players, including a two-man outfield of Luke Katuin and Matt Hanson.

According to Lauren’s score-keeping, I went 5-for-5 with 5 singles, 3 runs scored, and 2 RBI while playing an adventuresome second base that included an awkward fall/dive for a hard grounder up the middle. After reviewing my self-kept softball records, this was my first ever 5-hit game. Walsh hit two home runs and Feeney tripled in the game as well.

Shed Party Show Picking Up Steam
Shed Party ShowAfter our ninth episode was completed Easter night, I examined the numbers. Our debut show on February 21 has now been downloaded 131 times + streamed 39 times + had 21 live listeners. It’s conceivable that more than 191 people have now heard that episode, which if is accurate, would have shattered my original expectations!

We have also had 17 different guests on the show, either live in-studio (Walsh’s basement) or on the phone, and there are more special guests to come! In fact, I’m in talks currently with a famous South Dakota TV meteorologist to come on the show and share some weather stories next time. When I told this to my manager at work, he said “Does this poor guy realize the size of your listening audience?” And I told him we may have had as many as 191 listeners to the debut episode, to which he replied “I don’t even know what to say about that.”

Trip 8 Days Away and We Are Bursting with Excitement
Lauren can barely contain her enthusiasm as we come up within a week of our East Coast vacation! Aside from our Twins/Red Sox tickets, we also just booked Mets/Giants tickets for May 4. We bought a special ticket package that gives us one free hour of pregame open bar at McFadden’s (presumably some bar within or near CitiField). If the pitching rotations stay in order we would see Tim Lincecum go for the Giants.

Lauren did a bulk of the sightseeing planning and organizing for New York, but I did put in my two cents about standing in the background of the Today Show either Thursday or Friday morning. I’m sure I’ll pass that on to everyone when we know for sure.

Brief Notes…
• I recently did a “Best of the Best Pictures” segment on my Best Picture Review blog.
• Patrick was kind enough to give us his awesome 9th row Twins tickets for last Friday’s game, but Mother Nature was unkind and we were turned away at the gates. We instead went to Saturday’s day game vs. Cleveland.
• Today is my 1,300th day of work at MB. That’s about 1,231 more than I anticipated when I first started.
• I must get my molar filled and capped today at the dentist after my recent root canal. I am still trying to figure out why my Delta dental insurance paid for none of that operation.
• According to my archives, seven years ago today I went to China Moon for lunch with Joeleen Osborn in Madison, and later that day continued looking for an apartment for the summer in the Twin Cities.
• There’s a remote chance of slushy snow overnight tonight. Winter continues!
• Happy trails, Sammy Liwonjo. You will be missed.