Bremerton Tournament

After getting only one hour of sleep it was getting closer to nine o’clock AM. I started to get my uniform on and waited for the others to show up. We were planning on doing some batting practice before our first game.

We were playing in the E division instead of the D division that we originally signed up for. The competition level was closer to that of our play. The first game we won, I didn’t hit great, but the rest of the team did and we went on to win by several runs. We had an hour break before our next game.

But it sucked because I was hitting better, but the team overall didn’t hit well and we ended up losing that game. That put us in the losers bracket. That also meant that we would have several more games to play in order to win the whole thing. The team we played when we lost wasn’t that great, but they found a way to get the hits they needed to get in order to beat us.

We had a couple hour break before our next game. Several of us went to Dairy Queen for some food. We hung out there for around an hour and then went back to the field. We now need to win or go home. There were two games today we had to win in order to move on to Sunday.

The first game we did good. My hitting through out the tournament was sub-par. But we went out and won that game. We had one more game to play in order to make it to Sunday now. We were playing against a team that was able to put runs up on the board. But we were able to do that as well.

We went out and had a great first inning scoring a lot of runs, but then we couldn’t get anything going after that. We had left the bases loaded twice later in the game. We gave up one big inning to them and they took a lead. We lost the game and got sent home. That was okay to me I guess because I didn’t have to pay to rent a hotel room. But I would have enjoyed playing a lot of softball on Sunday.

So I headed back to Renton. I hadn’t slept much in the past forty-eight hours, but I wasn’t really all that tired. I made it home and got myself some dinner. I stayed up pretty late watching TV and relaxing around the house.

Double Header

I did my first workout for the physical agility test for the SO. I need to shave time off the mile and a half run. I need to shave about one minute. I also need to add more situps. The pushups and the sprint I am doing okay. I have about one month in which to get up to where I need to be.

We had a double header in softball today. Some of the guys were giving me a hard time about the fact that I have a moustache. Someone was saying we haven’t won since I started to grow it. I said it wasn’t true, but if we were to lose both games I would shave it off.

I started pitching, but I was struggling and I had Jake come in and pitch for me. I didn’t do well hitting in the first game either. I went oh-for. We had a small lead, but ended up giving up six runs in the sixth inning which allowed them to take the lead. That just sucked.

The second game I started to hit better. I went three for three with a triple. Jake also got me to pitch the final two innings of the game. I went through those two innings without much for problems. We had an early lead and never gave that one up. So we split the double-header and my moustache stays.

Full Day in Jail

I worked in the jail today. I saw Myers about something that he needed done. It was some printing stuff. Plus I talked to him about being a Reserve. He said I needed to fill out an application. Then I would go through the testing. If I made it the academy would start in September and go for a couple months. They are condensing the academy as much as possible. I am going to have to train for the physical agility test.

While working I had a couple guys working on doing the floors, windows, and doors. It was in need of being done, but no one was doing it.

We had a softball game against Coor’s Light. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hit when we needed to. We had a lead over them for most of the game. But in one inning we allowed them a free out. From that point on they scored five and took a lead. That was a hard loss to take.

After the game I was on call for the fire department. We had a couple minor calls.

Incredibly Hot

It was a long day in the heat of the hottest day of the summer. It got in the upper nineties today.

I started out with batting practice at the city playfields. Jake needed to work on pitching a little bit for an upcoming tournament. I was hitting the ball well in the batting practice.

I went to the fire station to pick up an ambulance after the BP. It needed to go to station two to get waxed along with the Utility. I was there from around eleven until after four doing the waxing and rig checks. It was a long day doing that, plus it was still really hot, even in the bay.

After the work I took the ambulance back to station one and drove to the city playfields. We had a double header. But the first game we had to FFT because we didn’t have enough women to start the game. So we did a practice game against Zeppoz. Then it was on to the second game.

We had enough women for that game. I hit the ball very well. I had three stand-up triples and one single. It was great. After the game Heston and I went to Cougar Country for some dinner. I was very hungry because I didn’t have much of anything to eat while I was working all day.

Not Quite the Run Output

We played the same team tonight that we played last week and scored a record thirty-one runs. But this game was very different. We couldn’t get any kind of rally going. But neither could the other team. We scored more in one inning last week than we did in the whole game this week. But we did get some timely hitting by some of our bigger sticks.

I have been coming around with my batting average now above five-hundred. I just need to start to hit my extra-base hits. That is probably the biggest difference between my game this year and last year.

A Painful Loss

I went to Moscow to get some business card paper to re-print the dollar off coupons for Cougar Country because the last ones I did had Country spelled County. That sucked.

I stopped in at a scooter place to look at the scooter they had for sale. I looked around and it turns out the ones they sale are Chinese scooters. So they are not great quality, but they are inexpensive and work. But I am still not sure that is what I want to do.

I hung out there for a while talking to Roger from Green’s Cleaners. It has been a while since I have really seen him. We talked softball, music, and more. It was a nice conversation.

Later on I had a softball game. It was against Bomb Squad. It was a close game all the way through it, but we were not able to pull it out. We let them score several runs in the top of the seventh inning. We had a chance, but left the bases loaded. I was so disappointed that we didn’t pull that one out. We had a chance.

I also was on call for the fire department. We got toned out around one in the morning and ran two calls. But the second one we didn’t go to the hospital, so that made for a shorter call.

Steptoe vs Colfax Fire Softball

Colfax and Steptoe Fire had the second annual softball game for bragging rights and a traveling trophy. I had an okay day at the plate, I did get an inside the park homerun driving in the go-ahead runs. But before we knew it the Steptoe team went to work in the sixth inning and they came back for the victory. At one point Scott was at bat. A pitch came towards him. He didn’t move and let it go right off the top of his head. It cracked everyone up.

I got in Albion’s Ambulance with Jessie and Ben in St. John to go to the Sprint Boat Races. We hung out with the Rosalia ambulance crew and watched the races for the next five hours. It was a lot of fun.

A boat racing in the slough

This boat hit the side hard and ended up flipping

Some of the boats left some big rooster tails

The Jeeps that were used to launch the boats

The one thing that was nice was the weather, at least for the first part of the race. That caused a lot of ten-six-sevens to remove the shirts giving all the more eye candy to enjoy as I was there.

I got back to Colfax and was dropping off some paperwork for some coroner’s cases when Heston called about setting up some huge tents for Cougar High School Football Camp. We had to get two of them set up. That took us a couple hours. A. Wilcox was helping… Yet another ten-six-seven.

I went to the fire station and did some Excel work for Rudy to help me consolidate hours for overtime so they could use it during the upcoming negotiations.

Jersey Night Lives On!

I spent a couple hours with Ben driving in Engine Thirty-One going around looking at FDC locations. It started with an EMS call coming in. We went to the scene with Rescue. Then it was off to the engine. No calls came in while we were using the Engine.

I went to the WSU Surplus said with Bruce. We found him some pants to wear but as it turned out the whole box was sold in the auction and we were not able to get the pants. That sucked for him.

We were going to be playing against his team this evening in softball. It wasn’t quite a run away like the others games for us. My first at bat was a triple and that felt good to hit it. It was my first extra-base hit in the regular season for men’s softball.

We ended up being tied at fourteen each. We went into the eighth inning. We shut down Tubbs. On our at bat we went to work. Warren hit a double. Peter got walked and Kelly hit the game winning double. It was a nice victory. We are starting to click as a team.

After the game Joe invited me to go to Pete’s to meet up with his team, Tubbs. I said I would come down, but I needed to say Happy Birthday to Heather first. I went to the Moose. I said happy birthday to her and said hello to many of the others who are part of that group.

Then I went to Pete’s. I was only going to drink pop, but it was Jersey Night. Jessie and Craig from Colfax fire were there. I sat with them for a while and we talked. Craig and I started a text messaging game on accident. We had to text message a single word to the other person that has something to do with the word that was texted to you. We went on with that for a long time.

Joe came over with a shot for everyone. I had one. Then another shot. Then some beer. Then it was over with for me. I got my vehicle home and back for more beer. Then we went to ValHalla. Loren was there and he was drunk. He gave me two Long Island Ice teas that he couldn’t finish. Plus I got another drink there.

The next stop was Mike’s. We had more to drink there. Plus the guys from Tubbs were being crazy. A couple of them were in the dancing cage having fun. Then it was off to Thai Ginger, which use to be Shermers. On the way Chambers, from Tubbs, wanted to run to the bar. We were taking a taxi. He went off sprinting. A couple Pullman cops were in the area and almost had to jump out of his way. They were wondering what the heck was going on.

He beat us to the bar. We had more to drink there. We played some darts and other games. Then it was across the street to My Office. That was the final stop of the night. We closed out My Office. I spent time talking with Jake and Mac from Tubbs. I think both of them are ten-six-sevens. It was a very fun night. I got a ride home in a taxi. I stayed up for a while drinking water before going to bed. It was going to be a short night because I have to get up on the early side tomorrow.

A Big Day Scoring Runs

This morning I was very tired getting up after only a couple hours of sleep. I went to the station and met up with Gecas. We took Engine Thirty-One out to do drive and pump time. We spent a couple hours driving and about thirty minutes pumping.

I got done in time to rush down to Lewiston to see the doctor about my finger. He said the injury I have usually takes nine months to heal. He said I should buddy-splint my finger. He gave me a couple buddy splints. He suggested using tape when I am playing softball. It was good to know it will heal on its own, but it will take a long time.

I got back and started to get ready for my softball game. It was being played over in Moscow. We were playing a team we have never played because they are a new team. We scored eleven runs in the first inning and just kept hitting away. We scored a total of thirty-one runs in the game. That is a record for the softball team.

After the game I went to the Zzu to meet up with Michele and Heather and the other girls from the softball team. We hung out there until around midnight. I had some nachos and pop as we sat around talking about softball and random other things. It was a fun night out.

Staff Meeting

I went to the first full staff meeting representing the reserves because Chapman was unable to go. It was a pretty short meeting only lasting about two hours. We covered some updated SOPs and other department information. I got home and typed up the parts that dealt with the reserves and E-mailed them to Chapman and McPherson.

I did my workout at the rec center. I didn’t get up there until later than normal because of the staff meeting.

The softball game tonight was a late game. We were playing the team at the top of the standings. I didn’t know that going into the game. We had eleven guys and we played very well. I used a different line-up than we had been using. We hit the ball very well. We went on to win with twelve runs. It was a good game for us.

I went out to My Office after the game and had some pop and talked with Joe who was there after his game.

I got home and out of my uniform when I got a call from Whitcom about a death. I talked to the ambulance crew and went to the scene. I did my investigation and that lasted until around three-thirty in the morning. I went to bed right when I got home because I was going to have to get up early to do drive time with Ben on the engine.

Another Tough Loss in Softball

After getting up and starting my morning I went to the camp site where everyone else was. I brought out my muffins as we started to cook breakfast. I did the eggs. Carl cooked the hashbrowns and Jim cooked the bacon. We sat down to eat breakfast then people started to pack up.

I got my motorhome taken care of then I helped Jim and Carl with their camp areas. We left there around eleven in the morning. I got back to Pullman and got cleaned up.

I went down to the station and started with the rig checks. I got the bay cleaned out first and the pump test done. Then the others started to show up and we checked the rigs. That took a couple hours in all. I was done in time for me to be at the coed game.

We only had five guys and five girls show up. That was good because everyone got to play the whole game, but we were hurting at the left side of the infield. We gave up some outs we would not normally give up with our normal starters.

It was a close game, but we were not able to get the timely hits. That has been a problem with all my teams lately. We cannot get a hit when it matters. We ended up losing the game by four runs, but again we had a chance and with our starters there I think we could have won this one.

After the game we went to Cougar Country. I got a Cyclone and we sat around talking before breaking up a little after eight. I went home and I was on call for the rest of the night. We got one call that came in around three in the morning and that was about it for the night.

Regular Season Game Two

We got to play softball again tonight even though the weather was not that great. I had to call in a sub because we had people who were not going to be there. But the problem was I didn’t remember about Taj. We ended up playing with only nine players. That probably cost us in the outfield.

We were playing against a team that was nearly unstoppable for several years. But this season they have not been as strong. We held tight with them the whole way, but we were not able to get the timely hitting necessary to win the game. We went down and that sucked.

I spent time hanging out at My Office with some people from the fire department as it was Greg’s retirement get together. We spent time talking about the old times and telling stories with each other.

A Day of Losses

Started out with the single elimination tournament. We played Jake and Nick’s team again. But this time we could not get the basehits. We could not score when needed. So we lost that game. We went to the losers bracket and played another game. That was against the Bomb Squad. We lost that game too. We ended up in fourth place. That doesn’t sound bad… unless you know there were only four teams playing.

After the game we went to Pete’s. Several players from other teams were there. I had some nachos and hung out for a while, but I was tired and I headed out after about one hour.

I had some time to wait until the coed game was to start. We were playing against the Zeppoz team. We needed to win this game to remain in a tie for first place. But we lost the game. It was close at the end as we mounted a comeback, but it wasn’t good enough. Because Matt was late getting there I started at Short Stop. I had one play where a ball was smoked my way. I made a play on it and recorded the out.

After the game Mike invited me to his place for some elk burgers. It was very good elk. I had two burgers and watched some basketball while I was there. I also had a slice of pie before I left. It was a good dinner.

Softball Tournament in Pullman

The morning wasn’t looking great for a softball tournament. I was a little worried about a rainout. We started to play and the rain went away, then it came back and went away again. By the afternoon the weather was decent.

We lost the first game to the Bomb Squad. Then it was off to play a team from Lewiston. We did really well and hit around on them a lot. We beat them. Later we played the team that Jake and Nick put together. We were losing, but we were the home team.

We ended up beating them in the bottom of the seventh inning. We had a little rally and just went up on the with a big hit. That was fun to do the come back victory.

After the game we went to Pete’s Bar and Grill. I got some dinner and hung out with most of the team for about two hours. Almost everyone was heading out to Dan and Michele’s for Tory’s graduation party. It was for Tory and the adult friends of the family.

Most of the softball players were there. I went around and talked with different people and chatted with them. I had some food there before going home around ten in the evening. I got some stuff done around the house before going to bed.

Spending Spree

As much as I hate spending a lot of money, it can be fun, when you have it to spend. Today was the purchase of wants. First I want a heater/AC unit for the garage. I would like to keep it cool in the summer and warm in the winter. I am going to have to buy some more insulation for the garage door, but I found a unit that I ordered.

Then it was off to Pullman Building Supply. I purchased some wood and other materials for making the new door panels for my truck. I am replacing the wood that has gone bad.

I stopped at Palouse Audio for their sale. I was able to purchase two radios, one for the Bumblebee and one for the motorhome. I got a CD changer that does MP3s for the motorhome too.

At Shopko I bought some shorts and a new pair of shoes. I was there for some book ends. I almost bought some DVD’s but I put those back. I couldn’t find the book ends, but I bought some new pair of shorts that had a belt built in, so I hope as I lose more weight I can just keep tightening the belt.

We finally got to play softball! It started to get ugly as it was getting closer to game time with some raindrops falling. But we were able to play the game. The bad part was that we lost the game to the Bomb Squad. We just did not look very good out there. The month off for some of the guys we very evident.

Following the game Peter and I went to My Office to have some beverages and watch some TV. We talked about friendship and religion. I didn’t know Peter is a religious guy who, when back home, goes to church weekly.

A Record Number of Rainouts

We have yet to play a regular season softball game. We are the only A-league team to not have played a regular season game. We were rained out again today. I am interested in playing softball. I hope one of these days we will get to actually do that. I have a feeling we will either extend the season, cut it short (with refunds I hope) or we will have a lot of double-headers with games on Wednesday’s as well.

That made it so I could go to Colfax Fire training tonight. It was OTEP training in Steptoe. We were doing patient assessment. The training took a couple hours total. I was able to be an evaluator. Since becoming an EMS Evaluator I have had a chance to use those skills. That is pretty fun.

I also decided I need to get my den and garage cleaned up. I broke it down in to multiple tasks. I assigned each task for one week. It will take a month and a half to get it all done, but I figured if I do it in steps rather than all at once it will be more manageable. I will probably even get to those tasks because they are more manageable.

First Coed Regular Season Win

This morning while I was working on doing some organization of my den I heard Pullman get dispatched to a call where the person didn’t sound good. Within a couple minutes of getting on scene they asked for the coroner. I responded out there and talked with them. Then I did the investigation. That took a couple hours to complete.

I went home and finished up the one project in the den and also getting my clothes washed. There had been some question about whether we would play or not, but it turned out the sun started to shine and things were looking up.

Within an hour of getting my clothes washed I was putting on my uniform heading out to the City Playfields. We were playing against a fellow A-shift reserve. I was excited to play against him.

But it was pretty lopsided. We went on to crush the other team. I was two for three. I lead the team in batting average. I was pitching and I was having my delivery problems again. But instead of pulling myself out. I kept fighting and trying. Soon I figured out my problem and fixed my approach. I had stopped bending my knee like I use to. It had been so long since I pitched that I sort of forgot how.

Now that I have it figured out I went on to pitch two more scoreless innings. It felt great to get the problem ironed out.

A couple of us from the team went to Cougar Country after the game. I got my normal Sunday dinner has been a Rhonda Chicken sandwich, large onion rings, and a Reece’s Peanut butter Cup Cyclone. While there we talked softball and other related things.

Steve was going to order some stuff for his dad and dad’s friend. But a big line formed. So I suggested he call it in. He did. When he went to pick up the order the girl there said something and he started to get embarrassed. We saw that and were laughing so hard. Which made him more embarrassed.

Following dinner I went home and started to work on the report for my coroner’s case I worked this morning.

Watching Jon Play Ball

I had to head to Seattle this morning for a meeting at the office. I went straight there after getting some pop. The meeting started around one o’clock in the afternoon. It went for two hours. We were talking about the new projects that we are going to start to work on.

After the meeting I stayed at the office until around five to talk with Barb. She filled me in on a lot of the things that have happened to the two companies since the purchase.

I headed home for some dinner then it was off to meet up with Jon for a softball game at Marymoor Park. It turned out to be a double header. Both teams that played were not all that good, really. But Jon’s team had a chance to win the first game, but gave up a big inning. The second game was not even close. I am not sure what level of play these teams were at, but I would have put them in B or C ball around here.

Poker Night at My Place

With yet another rainout this softball season we played another night of poker at my place. I was disappointed that we were rained out with the small amount of rain that had fallen.

John and Peter came over for cards. We played with the three of us for a couple hours. Peter had to leave around ten, then John and I did a twenty dollar Texas Hold’em heads up tournament. John won again. At the end I wasn’t getting anything to play with.

One thing I need to do is start to be more aggressive and try to read John a little more. I think with him I have been so predictable that when I bet he knows I have something and he runs away, unless he has something. So I need to get the reputation with him that I could be bluffing so he doesn’t know what I am trying to do.

I also need to stop being timid about winning a lot of money on the pots. For some reason I feel bad when I start winning a lot of money, so I don’t play as I should be playing. I need to get over that.

Moses Lake Softball Tournament

I wasn’t all the excited about the long wait between waking up and playing in our first softball game after the noon hour, but what are you going to do. I stayed in bed pretty late, going to sleep after waking up every hour or so.

Finally I got up and had some breakfast. I got my motorhome ready to go and helped some of the others get their camping area taken down.

We hit the road to head to the game early. I wanted to fuel up and get some donuts. After seeing them yesterday and someone else talking about them I had to go get some.

After having the donuts we went to the field. Everyone else was just getting there. We did some throwing of the ball around and got ready for our first game. We, again, had some troubles winning the game. I went one for two. That is not a good sign when you get only two at bats in a game.

We didn’t have a lot of time between games. We made our way to the other field. We were playing a team that Geo’s brother plays on. We should have beat them, but we couldn’t get timely hitting. We hit into so many double plays during this tournament we were killing our own rallies. On a personal note I went three for four with three RBI. It was a good game for me.

We left with our heads down after losing a lot of games we shouldn’t be losing. Bruce and I hit the road and Warren went back with his girlfriend.

We were about one-hundred miles from Pullman went I heard a loud noise. We pulled over to find the skin on the door get torn off. Bruce and I put a tarp over it to protect it and then just slowly drove back into Pullman. That added a lot of time onto the trip back.

Once back we unloaded stuff from the motorhome. I put my stuff away and I was thinking about going out, but I decided to stay in and work on the webpage for the Merchants and just relax. I had to be up in the morning for golf.

The Third Tournament

Took off this morning with Bruce and Warren heading to Moses Lake for our softball tournament. The drive was pretty uneventful. We pulled into the parking lot about thirty minutes before game time. We got ready, threw the ball around and started to play. I had a bad first game going hitless in three at bats. But the second game was much better.

We were playing against a guy who use to play intramurals. Kelly and Jake really wanted to beat his team. We played them tough and our hitting was better. I was two for three at the plate. We won that game which made us feel a lot better going into the evening.

We carpooled out to a ranch in the country where we were going to spend the night. I got the motorhome set up, but the AC wasn’t working. I need to have that looked at.

BKoe came over from the academy to play softball with us. Bruce, BKoe, and I drove into town and went to WalMart to get some food for cooking on the grill. When we got back we cooked everything up and sat around talking.

The winds started to come up and it was getting very windy. We huddled on the backside of one of the tents to act as a wind break. Everyone headed off to bed around ten o’clock which was early compared to normal.

Fourth Rainout

I was looking forward to softball all day today. The weather wasn’t great, but it was nothing to worry about either. This morning I went to one of the elementary schools for EMS week. I showed the kids the outside of the ambulance. After we were done with all the kids we went to lunch with them and they, as usual, were full of stories.

Later on in the afternoon the rain started to come, but it wasn’t all that hard. Usually Moscow stays better than Pullman when it comes to field conditions. But today, just after I got my uniform on I call the rainout number to find the game was rained out. I was bummed. So I took the uniform off.

I used part of the night I had to go over my supplemental PFD questions. I checked my grammar and made sure I included everything I could think of. Once I was done looking at it on paper, I made my changes to the paper itself. I will leave it as is of several days before coming back to it.

A Day for Softball

With our first game almost at noon there was a lot of time to sit around this morning. I woke up early and had some breakfast. Then I got the extension cords picked up and put away. I started to get the other things around the motorhome ready to go. I went to the main camp for a while and hung out there.

Then I went back to my motorhome and took a short nap. I got my uniform on and got the motorhome ready to head to the ballfields. That is when I was checking my oil. I found a belt was missing. Luckily there was an extra one in the motorhome. I got a tool and worked to put it on. But that was pinching my time that I had to get to the field. I still got there before a couple people from the camp.

I got to the field and Brandon was already there. It was great to see him again. I don’t know if he really wants to move to Pullman for a job working for the fire department, but it would make my day if he did get one there.

We lost the game due to seventeen walks given up as well as the the fact we stopped hitting the ball very well. Early in the game we scored a lot of runs. Then they had an inning that had around nine or ten walks. We said our goodbyes.

Warren, his girlfriend, and I went to get fueled up. Then got some lunch as well and bought a belt to replace the one I used. Then we hit the road. I pushed it hard the whole way trying to get to Pullman as fast as I could so I could play in the coed game. I started myself at first base.

We were doing okay during the game, but we were in a small hole with a couple run deficit. We were not able to climb out of it. We were playing Spellman’s team. Finally in the bottom of the seventh inning we got the first couple hitters on base with no out, but we had a women come to the plate. She didn’t hit the ball well, but always put it in play. I just knew there was a good chance for a double-play ball. That is what happened.

With two out and down by one we had a good hitter coming to the plate, it was the top of the order and we have one person on. We were down by one. I thought we may have a chance. But she hit a hard ball for an out. We lost by one run.

After the game several of us went to Cougar Country for dinner. We were there for around an hour talking before I went to Warrens. I dropped him and his girlfriend off but we didn’t unload their stuff to make sure I could get to the fields on time.

We unloaded their stuff and I went home. I got and unloaded some of my stuff during commercials on Family Guy.

Very Hot Day

Brandon came to the camp site and I got to see him for the first time a while. He got his uniform from Kelly and went to put it on. The team went to do some warm up hitting. I didn’t do so hot there. Brandon was crushing the ball as normal for him.

Then it was off to the fields. I had water with me but I would soon find that it was getting hotter and hotter. I was trying to stay hydrated but it was hard to keep up. I could tell I was dehydrated. So I drank more water through out the day.

The first two games were losses. But we were not playing super poorly. Our hitting in the first game was horrible however, we didn’t get but about two runners on base in the first three innings. Then we finally started to hit. We lost but a couple runs. It was almost the same thing for our second game.

After those games we played a team that was not doing well at all. We really crushed them. Our hitting was better that game as well. I didn’t do great in that game, but I did have good hitting in the second game.

After the games Brandon gave me a ride back to my motorhome. I turned on the air conditioner and tried to cool down and hydrate some more. Kelly was planning on going golfing. I was going to skip out on that, but I decided to go. Geo and Andy came along.

Andy and I were in one cart with Kelly and Geo in another cart. Kelly and Geo were good, Andy and I sucked. I shot my normal rate of double and triple bogie’s on most holes. We played until around seven-thirty.

On the way back I bought a couple gallons of water and some Gatorade. I got back to the motorhome and worked on getting the stats put into the computer. I had some dinner and then went to the main camp. We hung out and talked about many things as normal. It was just time to sit around and laugh and have a good time.

I went to bed early again tonight.

I was neat to see Brandon again. We use to be neighbors in Stephenson. That was more than a decade ago. He was only eighteen when we met. Now he is thirty. He looks older of course. He is still very athletic like he was when we met.

Heading to Wenatchee

After spending much of the day preparing for my trip to Wentachee. I got it loaded up with my clothes after putting them through the washing machine. I loaded up the food and put water into the water tank.

I went to Pullman Building Supply and bought a couple two-by-sixes to make some step risers for the front tires. That way I can level the motorhome. Once everything was complete I fueled it up and went to Les Schwab to have the battery looked at. I went to Rite Aid and got some oil as well as some reusable ice packs.

I went to Warren’s place and picked up him and his girlfriend. Then we were off. I was going to go through Colfax and turn on SR Twenty-Six. But I spaced it. We kept going North on SR One-Ninety-Five. Soon we went through Steptoe and I still wasn’t thinking about the detour we were taking. But about a couple miles from the rest area I realized I was going the long way. So I turned around went to Steptoe and we took SR Twenty-Three to I-Ninety. We pulled in later than I would have liked. I found out there were two places for full-hookups but they were taken by others in the group. I had to do dry camping. That was okay, but I needed power.

We were able to run some extension cords. Almost two-hundred feet of extension cords. So I wasn’t able to run anything with a lot of power. But for the things I needed to run it was enough. That was good by me.

I was able to meet Kelly’s parents as well as others from their family. All of them were very nice people. I hung out at the main camp for a while but I was tired so I went to bed sort of early.

A Rain Out

I decided to go to the doctor and have my finger looked at that I hurt while doing some BO last month. I took a softball off the tip of my right-ring finger. Ever since there has been some pain and it is slightly crooked. It took awhile for me to see the doctor. Finally he starts looking at my finger and hand. He was feeling parts of my hand then asks what I do for a living.

I told him I have about eight jobs. He then looked at me and said “lots of them must be hand jobs”. I started to laugh. He thought out it and said “that came out wrong”. I said that several of my jobs are labor intensive. He said that I have big hands. I got an Xray but it is not clear what I will be able to do about the injury.

As the day wore on it started to rain. I was worried that softball would be cancelled. As it got close to six o’clock an e-mail came out saying the games were cancelled. So I decided to head to Colfax for training. Actually tonight is board and business. The meeting was pretty short.

Tim, Jim, Carl, Laura, Steve, and I played poker for a couple hours. I won a pretty big pot at the end of the night to put me up on the night.

Hickman Command

This afternoon we had a call-in meeting with the people from work. When it was all said and done the meeting lasted nearly four hours. I found out that a couple more people got laid-off. One developer also quit. There is not many left from NU anymore between layoffs and people quitting.

When the meeting was done I had to hurry up and get Nick so he could use my vehicle to drive to Spokane to get Russell. I let them use the Durango and I used the Bumblebee this evening.

I went to station one to attend training. We went over some water supply Powerpoints then it was off to the tower. I ended up being the officer on the first in engine. That put me in the role of Incident Command. I played that position for the whole training. The evolution at the tower lasted a couple hours in total between the training and clean up.

I kept on getting things thrown at me that I had to deal with. I had to call for more ambulances and more resources from outside agencies. We had a mayday situation and victims in the building. A wildland fire happened as well as the actual building on fire.

It made for an interesting command situation. When we were done we did a critique of the whole call. I was able to get some questions answered that I had. Chapman and Brown said I did good at being IC. Brown also said my arrival report was really good.

When training was done I had to get to the Daily Grind to meet up with Kelly. We were going to go over the line up for tomorrow’s softball game. We were deciding where to play people and what positions they should hit.

Russell and Nick got back after one in the morning. They topped off my tank of gas and I gave them a ride to Nick’s apartment.

Ended in a Tie

With the weather not too cold, but with work needing to be done I went to work on my garage. I moved around some of the stuff I have on the shelves I built. I also put a lot of Brandon’s stuff on those shelves to get them out of the way from where they were. I was getting things cleaned up. I still need to get the things off the table in the garage and put away. But I am a step closer.

I washed my car and cleaned the inside of it as well. I mowed the lawn. I was going to work on my den, which needs cleaning bad, but I decided that is something I can do at night when it is dark outside.

It was getting close to game time so I got ready and made my way to the field. I was expecting more women than showed up. We were playing one woman short today. That was hurtful. We got another out each time through the line up.

My first at bat I sent one sailing over the fence for a two-run homerun. We went to work that inning and scored eight runs. But Zeppoz climbed right back into it scoring more than that. It was a seesaw battle back and forth.

The game ended in a tie however. Because it was a preseason game and we were out of time they didn’t let us finish it. So we are one, zero, and one in the preseason.

After the game I went down to Cougar Country. Got some dinner and talked with a couple people from the team who showed up.

Game Number Two Not So Good

This evenings game was against Charles from my IM team. He plays for the Bomb Squad. I started myself at pitcher. But it wasn’t very good. I was having a lot of problems getting the ball across the plate. After the first inning I put Dave out there and only did the EH roll. I had an okay day at the plate. It was a slugfest between the two teams, but we ended up losing. During the game Greg came up to me and asked me what the “number” was. I didn’t know what he meant, but he noticed that I have been losing weight.

Later on I went to Loren’s place in CCS. He was having a one-hundred dollar buy-in cash game. I ended up winning one-hundred and fifteen bucks in the game.

I had a hand with pocket-Aces. I raised and then I was re-raised. We went to the flop and there were a pair of Two’s on the board. That scared me a little but there was a bet. I re-raised and then the guy who bet went all in. I thought about it and called. He has a ten-five. I crushed him with my Aces. That was a big part of my winnings for the night.

Co-ed Softball is Underway

I was excited about the softball game this afternoon for the city coed league. We were going to play against a team I didn’t know much about. We were short women and men. I called Peter on the way to the field and he came to play. We had nine people total.

I ended up having to bat two guys together. Which meant we would get an out each time they would come up in the order. Three times Steve came to the plate with two outs meaning that the inning was over when he completed his at bat. I had him keep running after he hit the ball. All three times he ended up getting an inside the park homerun. It was amazing that he was able to do that all three times.

When the last inning started we had a good lead on the other team. So I let Steve pitch. I went to play short stop. I didn’t get a play, but it was fun to be out there. I love getting a chance to play positions I don’t normally play.

Men’s Summer Softball Season Starts!

Today is the first day of the summer men’s season for the city. It is always a lot of fun. As the team manager I seem to be under a lot more stress than just being able to show up and play. Today’s opponent was the Tax Dodgers. They have been our biggest rival for years. Our games are always close and we always seem to have good games.

Today it was a little different. The team we have this year is really powerful and we didn’t seem to have many problems taking them down quickly. We scored a lot of runs. They took four in the first inning due to some poor play, but after that we were done giving up runs.

I didn’t do great in the game, but I need to break in my bat still. It is not broken in and I can feel it in the hit of the ball. Doesn’t seem to jump like it should. We dominated the game. I started at first base. Then I let Jake in at first and others moved around.

Three and Out

First thing this morning I had to be at the Russell Road playfields for a softball tournament. The weather was cold, windy, and nasty. I stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast because I was running late on getting to the field. But I found upon my arrival that no one else was there. I put on my cleats and waited for the others to arrive.

It wasn’t long that I learned that I would not be able to use my metal spikes. I was upset about that, but I worked on changing them out to the plastic ones before the game started.

The first game was really bad. We didn’t hit well, and they hit really well. We lost by more than twenty-two runs when it was all said and done.

That gave us time to have a break. It was about an hour and a half before out next game. We went to the shelter to get out of the rain. But it wasn’t all that rainy at this time, it was really windy however.

The second game was closer and we ended up pulling it out. I wasn’t hitting the ball that well, but the others did hit the ball okay.

The third game was played right afterwards. We also didn’t do too well there. It was a tight game for a distance into the game, but the other team started to get a lead. What was making us made is they kept hitting at Jake, who was pitching. It was getting frustrating.

It was a double-elim tournament. And we were gone after that loss. Most of the team went to Pizza Hut for some late lunch/early dinner. I went back to Renton and got cleaned up. I didn’t go out because I wanted to get ready for my trip to Kelso tomorrow.

Bummer of a Loss

This evening we had our first playoff game. With the team we are putting on the field today I have great expectations of going all the way. But it was not to be. We went out there flat with our bats. I did well getting a triple in my first at bat, but many of the others were not hitting the ball well.

The other team, not a great team, but a good team that was putting runs on the board every inning. To start the game they only had eight guys and we were not able to beat up on them. After the game was over I was so bummed out. I just didn’t want to think about it. I was mad that we lost. We should not have lost.

When the game was done Ryan and I went to Cougar Country. I then had enough time to run down to Colfax for the coroner’s meeting. We got our schedule set up for next month. We talked about some recent cases including some from the past dealing with the river and Rock Lake. I also got the final instructions for the training I am going to next week.

Drive Time with Chipper

Clark and I went out to do some drive time today at the fire department. We were only going to do an hour, but we ended up getting all his hours completed on rescue. So now we are closer to him getting done with this part of his rookie book.

Later on we had our coed softball game. I didn’t plan on playing any of it. I was just going to coach. We had a ton of women and quite a few men. We ended up losing because our men hit horrible.

In the last inning I subbed myself in for Dan because I knew I could get a hit and we needed that. I did get a hit. But we lost with the bases loaded down only by three runs. That sucked.

Brandon played on the team today as well. Then following the game we went to The Zzu. We played pool for a couple hours. I was on fire for a while. I won most of the games we played. I did another shot that needed some good english on the ball for it to be made. That was the second time I did that in front of Brandon. He just laughed when I made it.

I also saw the guy who Russell called “The Hottest Guy in Pullman”. He was having some beers with a guy I know. So I am going to talk to the guy I know.

Turning in the Rosters for Softball

I worked my radio show this afternoon. It was the second to last show for me for the semester. The last few weeks I haven’t had a ton of time to prepare for the show so we have sort of had to wing it.

After the show I got a couple more signatures on the rosters before turning them into the city. I stopped by My Office and I got a check from Jeff for the team for men’s.

The season for men’s and coed start around the end of this month. I am pretty excited.