The Busy Weekend Ahead…

Okay stalkers out there, here’s the rundown for what’s going to be a looong 4-days!

After I leave work tomorrow, I’m off until Monday. God, thank you for some vacation time. Will I rest? No! Of course, I’m packed to the gills with plans.

Here’s the rundown:

Tomorrow
I have a planning committee meeting with the Ohio Canal Corridor about the upcoming “Toast To The Trail.” If you don’t know about it, make sure you save the date. It’s going to be a lot of fun. The night should be a lot of fun.

Thursday
The Indians take on the Tigers for a businessman’s special. First pitch is 1:05pm. They are my two favorite teams and I get to see them at Jacobs (ahem, Progressive) Field.

Friday
I get to hang out with one of my best friends, Rebecca, at “Twilight At The Zoo”. Oh, the humanity! Add Disco Inferno into the mix and there will probably be some debauchery involved.

Saturday
Get up early and be down in Wayne County, we’re talkin’ Sterling people for the Schorle Family Reunion. I’ll eat, shake some hands, get a couple of inappropriate hugs by a couple of relatives. Don’t worry, I’ve been through the situation with my therapist. I joke. I can’t stay that long because it’s Camp Krusty’s on Whiskey Island. I’ll spend the day with R+R, Patrick & Lisa and whomever else will be on the island for the big fundraiser for the Malachi House. Gotta support the neighborhood non-profits!

Sunday
REST — Did I just fill up all of the days off? Relaxation, who needs it?

Embracing My Singleness

One of the hardest things for me after I got out of a long term relationship was figuring what the heck I’d do with my time. I didn’t have someone wanting me to do this or that anymore. My life was again my life. It wasn’t something easy for me to comprehend, I’d forgot what it was like.

Last week, as noted in previous posts, I worked days and kept a busy schedule after I left my employer. I did Cleveland things, grilled out on the Superior Viaduct, went to a production at Quicken Loans Arena and got to see Omar at Progressive Field. Friday night, I went to Rock Bottom. The restaurant has anchored the Powerhouse for years.

I didn’t clear any of those visits with anyone. Anxiety didn’t fill my mind about deciding my priorities, I just did it. On Saturday, I volunteered at a non-profit organization and I loved every second of it. There’s confidentiality involved so I probably won’t detail much about my altruism. On Sunday, taawd rested.

At times, people have nicknamed me the “Mayor”. I know a lot of people and probably do too much a lot of handshaking and hugging around town. I’m proud of the people I know, I guess you could say it’s a hobby of mine. Meeting good people is my priority. That’s not something easily accomplished. You can meet a lot of people, but meeting quality people doesn’t happen often.

Those people are the ones who help me decide what I’m doing with my time. They’re the people who make me laugh, hope and leave with a smile on my face. If I want my alone time, it’s my decision not to answer the door, pick up the phone or return the text messsage. However, that sort of thing doesn’t happen that often because I love being around other people… good, quality people.

this blog entry partially inspired by my fellow blogger at the Cleveland Bachelor.

My Week: A Look Back

The last week was an interesting one.

I didn’t think I’d end up getting a stomach bug that would knock me out for Monday at work. My friend/co-worker’s father died so I worked dayside.

Tuesday quickly came and Stacie, Josh and I grilled out on the Viaduct. We forgot the fact that sometimes you want dessert after BBQ’ing. Next time, add s’mores ingredients to the grocery list.

Quickly up for Wednesday which proved to be a long day at work and play. I got out of work and rushed home to see the Dinosaurs. If you have young kids who aren’t afraid of very realistic dinosaurs, don’t hesitate to go. I didn’t get to post much of a review about “Walking With Dinosaurs” but the show is very well done. I think it’s just as fun for the adults to figure out how the dinosaurs work as it is for kids to see them in action. I was surprised at all of the kids around me knowing so much about the animals. They shouted out their names when they’d take the stage. There are some fun moments with the announcer when he talks about “poop”. Rodger, Rebecca, Stacie, Josh and I all had a good time. We stopped at Flat Iron Cafe for dinner after the show. The production at the Quicken Loans Arena started around 7:00pm and ended by 9:45pm with a 20-minute intermission.

Eight hours of sleep later, it was Thursday already. Jason, Russ, his friend and I braved the elements and watched the Indians take on the San Francisco Giants. We won but we didn’t sit through the entire game because it got started so late. The crowd gave Omar Vizquel a standing ovation as he returned again to the place he knew as Jacobs Field. We apparently made STO’s coverage of the game several times because of where our seats were. Several foul balls came whirling out our way. I think a fan got hit with a line drive foul ball. The ushers brought someone in to check the person out. I didn’t see them take the person out on a stretcher so I only could assume she was okay. I will have to admit if it got all of the way to me, it’d sure knocked me out. The Indians ended up winning the game by a score of 4 to 1. C’mon comeuppance!!

By Friday, I was tired by the time I left work. Josh, Dan and I went to Ro k Bottom to get some food and it was low-key. We played table shuffleboard, I took the first game against Dan. Josh won the next one but only by a couple of points. In bed and done by 11:30.

This morning, I’m off to volunteer at a non-profit. I get to hang with some kids and hopefully brighten their day with some ice cream. No plans yet for tonight but part of my day will be spent working out and cleaning up my place that is certifiably a bachelor pad. It’s a right mess!

Sleep… Who Needs It?

I haven’t had much sleep over the past couple of days. As I mentioned in a post yesterday, I went to an event at the Foundation Room. Thursday, I went to Media Day at the Progressive Field. The Indians lost to the White Sox in what was a very quick game.

I got to see some people I haven’t seen in a while. My friend and former co-worker, Joey Morona, came up to me. I wouldn’t have known him if he’d bumped into me on the street. He’s worked at cleveland.com for years since we worked together at WKYC.

I talked with Del Donahoo for awhile. Forever, I’ll be “Scott” to him. I apologized for not getting him on the phone this year for his birthday. His number changed since he’s moved. It’s the first time I missed talking to him on his birthday in about 15 years.

Jeff Maynor spotted me and we immediately started talking about music. You think you might be able to stump Jeff on an oldies hit but you won’t. I always have to laugh because he’ll reply to your question with the answer in the form of a question. “Wasn’t that the Nightcrawlers?” I know he’s just being nice to me. I’ve yet to get him on a song. He’s always telling me the newest singer or band that’s interesting him.

Well, even though I started this post on Thursday, here it is Friday and I have the Domestic Violence Center benefit tonight. That’s my plan for this evening. I have to clean up the place tomorrow and Sunday. Ah, to think I have my weekend ahead of me. It’s a great thought!!

I hope you enjoy yours!

Power Blogging

I purchased a Vizio 42″ HDTV over the Internet. I know some people might think it wasn’t a good buy because of Vizio’s reputation (or the lack thereof). I got it as a refurbish from tigerdirect.com but the picture looks great. Isn’t that the only thing that matters?

I’ve been weary about writing anything about it because I don’t want anything to go wrong with it. So far, it’s been superb. Right now, I’m in side-by-side mode. I’m watching the Indians’ season opener on my left and watching my computer on the right. Both screens even with them being scrunched, look clear. That’s power blogging!

I was impressed with the service and the shipping from tigerdirect.com. By the way, the TV is sold out online as of today.

I’ve run all of the video + audio into the Vizio through HDMI cables and then ran the digital output into my surround sound system. This way I’m able to control the audio and the video from one remote. In other words as we say in the TV business, audio follows video. Now, I have to get the remote situation settled. I’ve gone from 2 essential remotes to 4 of them. I’m not worried because it’s just entering a couple of codes into the remotes. I just don’t know which one I’m going to use yet. It most likely will be the CATV remote.

On the way right now to my place is a Microsoft Media Center multimedia keyboard. It’s wireless and has the mouse (pointer) on board. My friend has one and it works for what you want to use it for. The pointer is a little cumbersome. Because it’s an IR, you have to make sure you’re pointing it at the receiver, think remote control. I can’t wait for it to get here because it will allow me to sit on my couch and surf the Internet. It’s coming from mwave.com. I’ll update what I think of their service as soon as my keyboard arrives.

By the way, the Indians lead 7 to 4 in the bottom of the third inning at Progressive Field. The boys of summer brought back some spring like temperatures. I’m just happy the mounds of snow in the Powerhouse parking lot are melting.

Go Tribe!
p.s., if you’re reading this you’ve likely gotten here by going to www.taawd.com. I’ve moved my blog to my domain. In a couple of days, taawd.blogspot.com should work again. Thanks for checking out my blog!!

The Jake, Nope, The Pro!

Well, The Indians will play their next season at Progressive Field. Indians fans have come to know and love the nickname, The Jake. Get used to calling it, The Pro, The P (next to the “Q”). I have to admit liking the name, Jacobs Field, named after the last owner of the Indians. The Quicken Loans Arena was named after the former owner of the Cavaliers, Gordon Gund. Now it’s just the “Q”.
Should we start calling the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The “R”? We’d have “P”, “Q” and “R” covered then.
I’ve heard a lot of talk about the namechange but even more about the logo. No one likes it. It’s very simple. Of course, it’s Cleveland and just like everything else here, people have to get used to it first.
See you at the “P”, “Q” or “R”…

One Game Away

Well to say Cleveland rocks is a little bit of an understatement. The Indians are one game away from a return trip to the World Series. There is an energy running through the town that we haven’t felt since the Cavaliers made it to the NBA Finals. This has been a great year for Cleveland and Ohio sports teams.

The playoffs are pumping millions of unaccounted for dollars into the Cleveland economy. The Boston Red Sox fans are having problems finding hotels because The Rubber Expo is in town. Anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 people are expected in town for the event. It’s being held at the Cleveland Convention Center.

So Cleveland is rockin’ both on the field and around the city. It’s different to run into someone with the Boston accent but they’re out there.

GO TRIBE!!

Trot & Tribe Trample BoSox

The Indians are coming back to Cleveland tied up with the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. Trot Nixon made the difference in game two. What a game it was all 5 hours, 14 minutes of it.

Now the Indians have the crowd on their side for games three through five. On Monday, Red Sox send Daisuke Matsuzaka to the mound. Jake Westbrook pitches for the Indians. Hopefully, Westbrook can best the Indians’ top two starters when he starts game three.

It’s ironic that former Red Sox player Trot Nixon came back to haunt his former team in extra innings. So far during the ALCS, former Indians player Manny Ramirez has been a thorn in the side of his former fans. He hit his 23rd postseason homer last night and is on fire against the Tribe.

Now hopefully, the Browns can do the same thing, pull off a win against the Dolphins today.

Weekend Blahs!

After a busy week of hour-long 11pm newscasts, breaking news, going in early, going to the dentist, and just going crazy, it’s the weekend. I feel blah! I wanna go out and have fun with my friends but I’m just as happy sitting here watching friends in my pajamas on my comfortable sectional.

The Indians play again tonight. We all hope the Tribe will score some runs tonight and not allow the Red Sox to score as many.

The Browns almost have a guaranteed win tomorrow against the Dolphins. I’m tailgating before the game so that should be fun. Go Browns! Go Tribe!