Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Thursday, May 25th, 2006Weird day. Things that happen as rarely as me finding a $20 bill on the street all happen to me on this very day. Obviously, it may not sound that strange to some, but when these three things all happen in one day, you have to wonder if “someone” is trying to tell you something…
1. Weird rating: 8 out of 10. Stuck in an elevator… only for a minute or two, but the lights all turned out, the elevator stopped, I had to use my cell phone to light up the control panel to see where to press the alarm/emergency button.
2. Weird rating: 5 out of 10. Went 5 for 5 in a 10 p.m. softball game, with a game winning 3-run homerun and a game winning defensive catch. Teammates were pushing me to play next (summer) season despite me telling them that I was going to take some time off to do other things… like try to help in the planning of my wedding. Told them that if we lose the game (which seemed more probable as we have sucked lately), I will not play, if we win, I will play. 1st inning… dropped a pop-up in the outfield and misplayed another ball hit to me. Gave up 5 runs singlehandedly. 4th inning… we are down 9-2. Let me remind you that I am responsible for 5 of our opponent’s 9 runs. 5th inning… we are up 10-9… 6th inning… we are down 14-12… top of the 7th, w/ runners on 1st and 2nd, 2 outs, and us down by one run (14-13), I come up to bat. Immediately, the opposing pitcher pitches two balls that are unhittable (high and outside… he’s been pitching me away all night). The count is 3 balls and 1 strike (as we start with a 1 ball, 1 strike count… to speed up the game). The next pitch is high, but the ump calls it a strike (b/c he wants to get the game over with). Next pitch is laced over the right fielder’s leaping glove (he wasn’t even close… he needed a 7 foot pole up his a$$ to even have a chance to catch it). 3 -run homerun. We are up 16-14… bottom of the 7th, two batters, two outs…. our defense is solid. but all of a sudden, two errors lead to two base runners with the opposing batter being the winning run. Of course, it doesn’t surprise me that the batter hits a giant pop-up over our shortstop. I play right-center field, so I had little chance to get to it, yet I ran full speed as it seemed like the rest of my teammates weren’t sure who wanted to catch the ball. Amazingly enough, I get there, but for a split-second, I contemplated whether to catch it overhand (which I attempted earlier in the game that resulted in the 1st inning, costly drop) or underhand (basket catch, which I hate doing and is less secure). I chose the latter, and that made all the difference… I told my excited teammates that I would return next season, which got them even more excited!
Now, what makes that weird is that prior to the 3-run homerun, I was 4 for 4 with 4 RBIs. The other team could not stop me. Only an out away from victory, I was shocked just like everyone else that the pitcher was willing to challenge me. Unfortunately, for them, the results proved unfavorable for them… as all they could do was bicker and second guess the disastrous decision at the end of the game. Prior to this, we only had one win, but 4 losses. Now, we’re 2-4.
3. Weird rating… 9 out of 10. After the momentous game, I hopped in my car and drove home from Sunnydale at midnight. The music is blasting as I was still hyped about the awesome comeback. 5 miles into my 25-mile trek, my driver-side, rear tire blows while I am going 80 mph. I immediately changed lanes to the right and headed towards the nearest exit. The scent of burnt rubber was concerning as I might have damaged the rear rim. But as I stepped out of the car, I saw the tire was still attached to the rim, but was shredded up pretty bad. Another 100 ft and there would be no trace of rubber.
So, 12:10 a.m., blown tire, in a dark off-ramp. I activated the GPS and was relieved that I was only at Menlo Park and not East Palo Alto. I took out the car manual and brushed up on how to change a tire on a BMW. Never had to do it before as I have always been very conscientious about replacing tires when the tread is low. However, this particular time, I chose to wait and see how long these particular set of tires would last. In this case, 45K miles.
I had a choice. Change the tire or call AAA. Looking back, I don’t know what it was (maybe because I was still amped about getting the winning hit), though I think it had a little to do with the fact that this day has been anything but ordinary. I chose to tackle the task of changing the tire myself. Didn’t use a flashlight, even though the car had one (but I totally forgot). I’m totally dressed in my black warm-ups, and there are a few cars racing down the exit. The only thing to warn oncoming traffic was my car’s hazard lights. Stupid and scary, but strangely, I liked the fact that there were these obstacles. Sort of my occasional tempts of fate (those who know me well witness and understand what I’m talking about when I say that). Needless to say, it took some time (20-25 minutes), but finally, I’m making the final cranks on the spare. As I was sitting on the side of the highway finishing up and closing up my jack, someone yells out, “Hey, you need a hand?” Without turning my head, I just yell back, “No, I think I’m good!” Suddenly, it dawns on me that it is near pitch black (as some of the street lights are out), and there hasn’t been a passing car in a while in any direction. I immediately get to my feet and turn around. 360 degrees. Not a single living being in sight. Just then, I get the creeps and start putting away my tools in haste. I get in the car, lock the doors, and gave one last look as far as my eyes can see… still nobody. I drive away with a bad, almost disturbing, sensation knowing that I might have dodged a bullet at that moment (I kept thinking, “When A Stranger Calls”), yet somewhat relieved that this strange day is over.
