by Matt | Feb 27, 2014 | Personal
That’s a fair question. I just wish I had a more interesting answer. Right here. I haven’t gone anywhere. I’ve been busy worrying, planning, contemplating, and trying to float in a sea of uncertainty.
My company is “re-organizing”. Anyone that’s seem Office Space knows that that usually means huge trouble. In this particular case, I worked at the top of a holding company pyramid, with multiple sub-companies. Those smaller companies are getting sold out, divided up and only the primary company will remain, revamped into competing in a new market.
You would think that was a good thing. Being at the top, it would sound like I’m safe. The problem is that 99.9% of my work is/was for those smaller companies. We were a “service” to any sub-company that needed our help. The smaller companies either want to hire their own people (cheaper, fresh out of college people), or just don’t have the budget for us as a whole. Also, the original parent company, while needing some services, certainly doesn’t need an entire department, and especially not full time/salaried employees.
I’ve talk with people from multiple departments. We’re all facing this together. Any group that was a overhead/corporate function is in the same boat. HR, IT, Accounting, etc. Everyone is either getting split up, reassigned, or let go.
So, I’m sort of freaking out.
People in IT have told me I’m “essential” to web operations, and not to worry. People in the proposal teams told me I’m helpful to their efforts, and not to worry. People in the software divisions tell me they’ll still need my help, and not to worry. It’s hard not to worry. Each and every one of these people, if given the choice, would save their own people (and rightfully so) before sticking their neck out for someone in another department. That’s not a fault of theirs, just a reality of the corporate world.
It seems so draining, so cold, so uncaring. The people at the top, selling companies, shifting board members, only care about paychecks. Who’s going to get paid for what. People are a line item. A column in an Excel spreadsheet.
I’ve been told to “hang on”, that “good things are coming”, that we’ll be “taken care of”. I don’t believe that for a second. Still, I hang on. I wait.
I’m preparing as best as I can. Like a hurricane, you can’t really be sure how it’s going to affect you. You stock pile supplies, gather resources, make sure all the loose ends are taken care of, and you wait. The storm may pass you by, leaving little damage and bringing blue skies. It also may completely decimate your house. Gotta be prepared for both. The resumes are refreshed, the portfolio is getting updated soon, linkedin is saving job searches (just in case).
So, that’s where I’ve been. On the corner of “Freaking Out” and “Hoping for the Best”.
Baseball cards seemed rather moot under the circumstances.
by Matt | Nov 4, 2013 | Music, Personal
I know I’ve probably mentioned it a few times, but I’m quite the fan of the band Streetlight Manifesto. Last night they were playing here in town, on the last leg of their last tour, ever. It was legendary.
The show was at a local place called Fitzgerald’s, which is quite possibly the 2nd smallest venue I’ve ever seen anyone at. The closet otherwise know as the “Velvet Elvis” in Savannah GA is the only place that comes to mind that could possibly be smaller. Coincidentally, that’s where I first saw Catch-22, nearly 14 years ago (Jason, you remember that show?). Door were at 7:00pm but we had to pick up the tickets from will-call a bit earlier. I went with my brother-in-law Chris, who is about the only other person (in my local circle of friends) that enjoys Streetlight like I do. We arrived exceedingly early, picked up the tickets, and even had time to grab a couple beers across the street before the show. Online and on the tickets there weren’t any opening acts listed, but when we arrived they had Mike Park (Skankin’ Pickle) and Dan Potthast (MU330) as openers, which was awesome since I had never seen either live.
As I mentioned, the venue is incredibly small, so much so we were essentially standing in the hallway/stairwell before a break between Mike and Dan had all the smokers rush outside before Streetlight came on. We worked our way to nearly dead center in the room. The smokers came back and it got exceedingly crowded. There were probably 300 people in the space reserved for about 150. Dan played a great set and was fun to watch and then even more people started show up for Streetlight’s 10pm stage time. Now it was getting uncomfortably crowded. Japanese subway crowded. When SLM hit the stage, all hell broke loose. It was a massive sea of undulating humanity. It was all good for the opening song and then it started getting violent. I’m all for a good pit. I’ve been in my fair share. This was turning ugly. People falling, not being let back up, people punching. I got kicked in the head several times by a crowd surfer (not really his fault), and shoved to the ground by this guy trying to protect his girlfriend (definitely his fault, but understandable) who was looking like she wasn’t having a great time. If you’re not wanting to be in a pit, leave the pit. That’s what I did. By the middle of the set, I had had enough and I moved back about 15 feet and enjoyed a good majority of the rest of the show without having to kick anyone’s ass.
Towards the end I noticed that there was an entire balcony where the sound board had been set up, and there were empty stools there. I moved over and grabbed one. Now I was even closer to the band, but slightly to the side, and up above the crowd. It was perfect. They started playing old classics and I had the perfect spot to enjoy the end of the show from. Chris was lost to the crowd at this point. I had held on to him in the pit, but once I went down I lost sight of him. Apparently he had a great time but during the melee somebody swiped the t-shirt he had bought.
I really enjoyed seeing the band one last time. They always put on a fantastic show and I got not one but two pretty awesome hoodies. It’s a shame they’re hanging it up (in terms of touring, new albums aren’t ruled out) but they certainly deserve the break after all the crap they’ve been through with shitty ass Victory.
I’m totally and completely exhausted today, but it was worth every bit of it. It was a blast and I’m glad I made it to what will most likely be their last ever show in Houston.
by Matt | Oct 23, 2013 | Aggravation, Baseball, Personal, Red Sox
With Game 1 of the World Series starting in mere hours, I had a few things I wanted to get off my chest.
For starters, the reaction of most in the baseball community thus far has been that this series isn’t unique, or interesting. Most people couldn’t have picked two less interesting teams to be playing in the fall classic. Clearly, I’m going to disagree with that entire notion, but I also realize that I “have a horse in this race”, so my thoughts towards it are going to be a bit skewed.
I myself would have preferred a Dodgers or Pirates vs. Red Sox World Series. I think those more historic match-ups would have been more interesting. But, interesting to who? Does the St. Louis fan base deserve a title shot less than Los Angeles or Pittsburgh or Atlanta? Numbers wise, there are less fans of the Pirates nation wide than there are of the Cardinals. Does that discount what they did this season? Of course not.
That’s also the entire point of playoffs; to determine finalists. So, when people say “this World Series is going to suck, I’m not watching it”, simply because their team isn’t in it, it’s doing a disservice to the entire sport. If you’re a fan of baseball, in general, you should enjoy at least a little bit of this series. These are the two best and/or luckiest teams in baseball, for October of 2013, whichever way you choose to look at it. There may have been better teams in June, or August, but this is October. There are great players on both sides. Exciting line ups, great hitters, remarkable closers. This should be very interesting to watch. It’s ok to “not like” the teams playing, but you should be able to at least appreciate the talent on both sides for what it is.
So, don’t give me this Debby Downer crap about how this series will suck, I’m tired of it. You don’t like the teams? Fine. But don’t tell me it will be “bad baseball”, because that’s just a flat out lie.
I also have a huge issue with cocky ass Red Sox fans. Yeah, you heard me. I have issues with my own team’s fan base. Every pink beard I see in the stands makes me want to hit people. Every idiot who thinks “we deserve this” and “this is our year” is incredibly misguided. These are the fans that jumped on board in 2004, NOT the fans that were crying in 2003. I’m old enough to have watched several “curse filled” self-destructions, several post-season endings that didn’t go our way, and to remember the pain of each and every one of them. Most people won’t understand it, but bonding through shared grief is a real thing. I remember watching in ’86 and wondering why my dad, my uncle, and my neighbors were so upset. Now I understand. I saw it and felt it first hand.
That didn’t get wiped away in 2004. For all we know, as Red Sox fans, 2004 and 2007 were complete freak accidents, but ones that went our way for a change. It could very well be another 86 years before we raise another World Series banner. ANY Red Sox fan that tells you otherwise doesn’t understand their history. Any cocky, sideways hat wearing, fake beard buying, douche-canoe from Gloucester, MA that says “We got this, this is our year” is a fucking idiot. On behalf of true Red Sox fans, I apologize for “those” people. If that’s the impression you’ve received online or in person, please disregard anything they said.
I also have to take issue with major sports media. Apparently they didn’t get the match up they wanted, so outside of Boston based media, I’ve yet to actually hear any coverage of the World Series. An entire two hours of sports radio/tv this morning, on THE major network for such things, was devoted to college football happening THIS SATURDAY. There were analysts, experts, call in guests, all talking about Oregon football. Fuck you. No, seriously, fuck you. That’s ridiculous. I’m sorry, it is. I don’t know anything else to call it. We’re on the eve of a major sporting event and it’s being entirely ignored. That says something about the state of the game and it’s relationship to national media. We are so far removed from “America’s Pastime” now, we should really just stop using that expression.
I’m so glad I live in a society were I can get BETTING numbers from nationally syndicated hosts, but can’t get a single thought on the World Series with the exception of the commercials for it on the same exact station. Sadly, it’s not just radio, the TV coverage is even worse. The single saving grace is that this is Tim McPumpkinhead’s last year. I’m sure they’ll find someone equally aggravating to replace him, but at the very least they won’t be unabashingly obvious Cardinals fans. They’ve almost over-compensated this year. They were making things up, Madden style, during the ALCS, just to have something to fill the dead air with. I swear I heard one of them say “the team the scores the most runs usually wins”.
I digress. All this is merely pent up anxiety over all sorts of things, both baseball and non-baseball related. I’ll save the non-baseball for another time.
In the end, I’m going to enjoy watching this series. Win or lose, the Red Sox have proven that with hardwork, and copious amounts of facial hair, you can recover from a fairly dismal season. They’ve exceeded all preseason expectations, and for that I’m already considering this a successful year.
I hope you all enjoy watching it. I hope, even if you don’t have a team in the series, that you can find something to root for, even if it’s merely baseball itself.
I don’t make predictions, they’re always wrong, but I know my team is hard working, scrappy, and very very clutch, I hope that’s enough to bring another one home.
Go Sox!
by Matt | Sep 30, 2013 | Baseball, Cards, Personal
When I started collecting cards again a couple years ago, I deeply regretted not having the cards from my childhood. I think that’s a fairly common occurrence amongst collectors. It’s the traditional “cards your Mom threw out” scenario. My father, when I was born, bought a Topps factory set for me to have when I was older. My grandfather collected “stuff”, and my Dad was (and still is) a baseball nut, so cards just sort of made sense to them. Neither one of them collected cards specifically though. My grandfather actually set aside a coin collection as well, something I was never really interested in. I still have it and I found it the other day. It’s mostly silver eagles and liberty silver dollars. Anyway, the Topps factory set lived in the closet for the longest time and eventually made it’s way to my shelf when I was 7 or 8.
I had started buying the occasional pack of cards from the corner store (good ol’ Cumberland Farms) but I was keeping them in a shoebox and not really caring about them beyond the fact that Rodger Clemons or Ellis Burks or Wade Boggs were on them. I bought cards up until Upper Deck was introduced and their premium price was just too much for a kid who was busy with other things. So, eventually that shoebox disappeared, along with the factory sets.
When I moved away for college, everything was boxed up and put in the attic, childhood memories and teenage randomness a like. Later, after college, and when I moved to Texas, most of that ended up coming with me. A couple years ago, when the collecting bug bit again, I remembered having all those cards when I was a kid. I climbed up into the attic and started going through boxes I hadn’t touched in years. The shoebox was gone, as were most of my cards. I found a tiny wooden box that I stuffed cards in that must have been over looked in a Motherly clean-out. I had a small sampling of what were probably my last cards, a bunch of ’92 Donruss and Upper Deck. I also found a single blue binder that contained a complete set of 1987 Topps. That’s all I had left. Like I said, that’s hardly a unique story.
I always told myself that my collection, going forward, wasn’t as much for me, as it was for me and my kids, or their kids, or who knows. Something about all those missing years bothered me though. That was MY childhood, and it was gone. I felt like I missed out on something, and I regretted not collecting, not holding on to those cards, and not having them now. So, it became my secondary mission to replace those missing years, just for me. While everyone else was throwing out 80’s junk wax, I wanted it.
I told all this to a friend of mine who likes to haunt local estate sales and auctions and over the past year or two he’s managed to find me some complete sets for basically nothing. I have complete sets of 1984, 1985, my original 1987 set, and 1989. That was all I had up until this weekend.
This weekend I found a seller on ebay who was clearing out a whole bunch of stuff. I only bought team sets, since that’s all I really wanted anyway. If I want the important rookies from the 70’s and 80’s who weren’t Red Sox, I’ll pick them up one at a time if I ever feel the need (which I don’t). So, for $0.99 a piece, I picked up 1978, 79, 80, 81, 82, 88, 90, 92 and 1993.
I replaced a good chunk of my childhood card memories for less than $10. I don’t know whether that’s sad and pathetic, or completely awesome. I’m leaning towards awesome.
It feels good to cross all that off my checklist in one big swoop. I know this post doesn’t have any images, and that’s because the cards as still on their way, but it doesn’t really need to. It’s more about the story anyway. I might scan them when they get here, I might not. I am going to go through them and enjoy the memories though, and that’s just between me and the cardboard.
Thanks for reading.
by Matt | Aug 29, 2013 | Baseball, Personal
Quite frankly it’s still being nuts, but at least it’s a sort of manageable nuts that has a plan and a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. I completely missed out on the Ginter-postocolypse that seemed to go around the community. I bought a blaster, it wasn’t bad. I really like this years design. I got a full team set from Topher’s case break, and I also completely cheated and just bought the rest as a complete set from Sam. I also missed talking about Bowman Platinum, another of my favorite sets. This year it’s just middle of the road. Not bad, but not really all that awesome either. I bought 3 blasters of that. I also pulled 3 autos, so, that didn’t suck. So, this may be a bit of a “kitchen sink” post, but that’s how my month felt anyway, so it seems appropriate.
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by Matt | Aug 7, 2013 | Baseball, Personal, Red Sox
I was fortunate enough to have tickets to the Red Sox – Astros game Monday night. I decided to take the day off work and make a whole event out of it. It was my belated Father’s Day present and I had a blast.
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