Throwback Thursday: Company Softball Game

Hersam Acorn Newspapers company softball game 2008

I've never lost a company softball game, including the year that the picture was taken. We picked names out of a hat and the teams were so lopsided, they actually considered redrafting. I said, no, it's fun being the underdog. Within the first couple of innings, my team was down by 16 runs, which lulled the other team into a false sense of security. We picked away at the lead and went up by one run in the top of the 7th. When the pop fly for the final out of the game was caught, I threw my glove into the air as though my team had just won the gold medal. I've played a lot of softball in my life, and no victory had been that exciting.

I had to sit out the next year because of my knee injury, but with a steady routine of rehab and training, I was back the following year, 9 months after ACL reconstruction. Although hesitant in the field, my first at bat was a two run homerun. Nothing in my life had ever felt so good as it did when I sprinted around the bases, pain free. My knee ballooned to the size of a volleyball the next day, no worries, just overuse, but it was absolutely worth it. Last year, there was minimal swelling and I felt great in the field. I even made a diving catch down the third base line to rob one of the owners of the company a hit.

Ever since my knee injury, I look forward to the game. I like to joke that I spent $50,000 to fix my knee for this game alone. This year, I'm team captain and I look forward to keeping the winning streak alive.

There will be more in the next couple weeks about the knee surgery, so if you've stumbled across this post because you want to know more about ACL recovery, make sure you come back!

Read my first book this year, knee pain and a concert tonight

One book down this year! The first Eels biography wasn't easy to get through for several reasons. After I got my new glasses, reading was at least easier on my eyes, but it didn't make the book any more enjoyable. The chapters were massive with no place for breaks. I understand the author wanted to group certain things together, but give me a place to put it down for a while. I guess I don't like leaving in the middle of a chapter, so that's my own issue. There was a lot of rehashing of E's autobiography because he didn't give any interviews for this book and the majority of the rest of the book was the author's opinion on albums. I nearly lost it last night when the final chapter gave a song by song breakdown in seconds as opposed to minutes. I get it, you wanted to make a point that the songs were short,  but telling me that a song is 137 seconds instead of 2 minutes and 17 seconds is ridiculous. To do that for multiple songs was laughable. I own the albums, I know the songs are short. Move on. The only redeeming parts of the book for me were some very clever quotes from The Chet and some pictures I'd never seen before.

Old photo just after surgery

My knee has been acting up the past couple of days. I haven't done anything strenuous in my workouts lately, so I'm chalking it up to the weather. How great is it to be 31 years old and to be able to say, "A storm's a brewin'! I can feel it in my bones!!!" But I really do, and the Nor'Easter barreling down on the east coast is proof. The pain I feel is where the tiny little screw attach my reconstructed hamstring ACL to my tibia.

Even though the screws look huge, they're only about 3mm long

Lastly, I'm going to my first concert of the year tonight. FINALLY. It feels like it's been forever and a day since I saw a show, which is really only two months. I'm going to see what's being billed as "An Evening with Aimee Mann" at the Ridgefield Playhouse. I don't go to enough concerts in Connecticut, which is just plain stupid. I think this is going to be a great way to ease into goal #3 for the year: going to a concert every month. I'm not completely versed in Mann's entire catalog, but she's a great singer/songwriter that has worked with a lot of musicians I admire. (I'll expand that thought when I write my review of the show.) I'm expecting a mellow evening, seated in the front row of the balcony.

What I find ironic is that I haven't been back to the Playhouse in two and a half years. The first and last time I was there wasn't for a concert. I was playing THE pick up game of basketball with coworkers at the gym attached to the Playhouse. Maybe my knee is acting up because it knows I'm about to return to the scene of the crime...

The Terrible Twos

Happy Birthday, ACL! In some ways, I can't believe it's been two years already. In other ways, I can't believe it's only been two years! August 17th was my surgery date, one of the worst days of my life and also one of the best. It was the beginning of my long road to recovery from the physical injury, and more importantly, the mental. Sometimes you need everything to fall apart, to have the walls come crumbling down around you in order for you to pick yourself up and start again.

And what better way for me to celebrate the day where I changed my life than go to a concert? Tonight, I'll be going back to Brooklyn, driving this time so keep your fingers crossed, to see Hotel Lights at The Rock Shop. I'm excited because the venue seems cool and cozy and I've got a good friend as my partner in crime.

Hopefully, there will be a few pictures to show you!