Breakfast

I have been sleeping in until afternoon for the past few months.  Today I got up and had breakfast at about 1 pm and then went out to my dentist appointment at 2 pm.  When I got there, they put a rubber shield over my mouth so that only the tooth they were working on was showing and they wouldn't have to worry about chips of fillings going down my throat.  Unfortunately, I found that saliva formed under the shield and I couldn't swallow because my mouth was open.  I started choking on my saliva and then I puked my breakfast into my mouth.  They ripped off the shield and I swallowed all of my puke.  Then I got up and rinsed my mouth and brushed my teeth in the bathroom.  They did the rest of the filling without the shield.

Boom Box

I had been converting my cassette tapes to mp3 using my boom box and plugging it into the auxiliary plug on the turntable that was hooked up to the computer. I did a lot of cassettes and then I just had a few left and the tape player on the boom box broke.  So I decided to bring in the old stereo that Barb had gotten me out of someone's garbage when we were in Barrhaven.  It was a cassette player and CD player.  I moved the boom box into the sun room because I could still use it as a radio.  We already have a radio in the kitchen but it is dialed to a station that Barb likes.  I like different music.  So I dialed the boom box to the local alternative station and I play it when Barb is out and I am home alone.  Anyway, I had to unplug the boom box and set up the stereo on my filing cabinet in my office.  However, the plug in the wall was behind the big bookshelf that I use to store my LPs and my Scientific American magazines.  I was fortunate to be able to take out all of my magazines and find the plug behind the bookshelf because there was no back on the bookshelf.   Then unplugged the boom box and pulled the cord out from behind the bookshelf. Then I was able to string the cord of the stereo behind the bookshelf and plug it into the wall.  It worked great and I finished recording the cassettes.  I had over 120 cassettes and I had music on those cassettes that I didn't even know I had and it was some of my favourite music.

Tie Breaker

So there were only 5 teams in the tournament.  All the teams played 3 round robin games except one team who only played 2 games.  We lost our first two games and the team that only played 2 games lost their games.  I asked what the tie breaker was and the guy at the scoreboard said that if we lost all 3 games, we would be out.  Our third game was a fiasco.  The umpires were just ridiculous.  The other team had the bases loaded and the ball was hit to our shortstop but the runner from second to third interfered with our shortstop and was called out for interference.  So the runner at third base was supposed to go back to third and the runner who ran from first to second would be safe at second and the batter would be safe a first.  But the umpires couldn't figure this out and wanted the runner to go back to first and the batter to go back up to bat.  After arguing about it with the umpires and the other team for about 20 minutes, we had a meeting at home plate and the umpires asked me and the other captain what we wanted to do.  We told them what the rules were and they said okay and we continued the game.  But the game had a time limit and we had lost a lot of time. The umpires said they would add 20 minutes on to the game.  We had a 5-2 lead going into the fifth inning and they scored 3 runs and tied the game.  The inning was over and they started walking out on the field to shake hands.  We all thought the next inning should continue because of the extra 20 minutes but they didn't care because they had already had 2 wins and would cinch first place with a tie.  I didn't argue with them because I thought we had made it into the playoffs because we had a tie.  We had a team meeting and I told all the guys that we would be playing tomorrow at 9 am, I just had to find out which diamond.  Then I walked over the scoreboard and saw our names in fifth place and out of the playoffs.  I freaked.  I wanted to know what happened and asked the organizers.  They said the team with only 2 games was assumed to have tied their 3rd game.  So they went to runs for and against as the tie breaker.  And we lost out because of our stupid game on Friday night.  I was furious and embarrassed because now I had to tell all of the guys that we weren't in the playoffs.

Airbnb But Not Me

The morning after my sleep test, I got a call from Will Lowe's Dad asking what was all this about a tournament in Richmond Hill.  He wanted to make sure that Will would be okay and that I would take care of him and make sure he takes his pills.  I said I would take care of him.  I had booked a place for me and Will Dunk to stay in Richmond Hill through Airbnb.  It was just a small room in the basement of a house with two single beds.  I thought maybe I would let Will and Will stay there and I would commute back and forth to Richmond Hill which is over an hour drive through Toronto.  I drove to the Airbnb and booked in but I didn't tell the lady that I wouldn't be staying there.  Will and Will arrived a little later and the landlady never saw them come into the house. I read the riot act to Will and Will to ensure that they didn't wreck anything in the Airbnb.  Then, we went to the ballpark and lost our first game at 9 pm.  It was a stupid game because it was time limited and the time ran out half way through the inning but because we thought the tie breaker of runs for and against might be important, we let the other team bat in the bottom of the inning even though they had already won the game.  They scored a few more runs and ended up beating us 9-2.  But we never should have played the bottom of the inning.  We should have gone back to the last complete inning to determine the tie breaker runs for and against.  Anyway, I drove home and got home at about 1 am.  I was really tired because of the sleep clinic the night before.

Sleep Test

I needed to get another sleep test to get a new CPAP.  I am allowed by OHIP and my insurance to get a new CPAP every five years but I need a prescription from a sleep doctor.  I have to go in to a clinic and get all wired up and sleep at the clinic over night while they take readings of various pressures on the CPAP.  I was just entering the clinic at 9 pm on a Thursday night and my cellphone rang.  It was Will Lowe, a pitcher from Ottawa, who said he wanted to play for us in the tournament in Richmond Hill that started the next day.  He said he was trying to get a ride with Will Dunk.  I said we could use him and he could come.  Then I went in to the sleep clinic and Will Dunk texted me asking why Will Lowe was texting and phoning him and if he was coming to play too.  I said he would only come if Dunk wanted to have him there and to drive him there.  I got all hooked up at 11 pm and tried to get to sleep but couldn't sleep.  At 2 am, I asked the technician to come in and get me a sleeping pill.  Then the next day, they woke me up at 6 am to hustle me out of the clinic because they needed my parking spot.

150th Birthday

The community had a party for Canada Day.  We all were outside and dressed in red and white.  We formed up in a big 150 and a fireman on a high ladder above us took our picture.  Then there was a barbecue and we watched a funny movie about being Canadian.  Later that night, we went out to the New Hamburg Fairgrounds and watched the fireworks.  It was really excellent for a little town.  Then as we were walking home, we stopped in at McDonalds for a McFlurry and watched all of the Mennonites dressed funny and with all of their little kids at McDonalds.

Saviour

I was watching a tournament in St Clements on a Friday night.  I was sitting behind the home plate on diamond 1 and the game was not too close.  So I decided to see how the game was going on diamond 2.  The diamonds are parallel.  So the outfield fence for diamond 1 is beside the home plate stands for diamond 2.  I was standing there talking to an old guy, who I see at all of the tournaments, and suddenly somebody says "heads up".  I turn around and see a ball coming over the fence and right at this old guy sitting in his lawn chair and with his cane.  I knew he wouldn't be able to get out of the way of the ball.  So I stuck out my hand and blocked the ball.  The ball hit me in the thumb.  The same thumb that I had gotten hit during my game a few weeks before.  This time the damage was much worse.  My tendons and ligaments were totally screwed up.  Basically I was out for the rest of the season.  Barb took some pictures of my bruises and I posted them on facebook.  Nobody was too sympathetic.  Most people thought I should use a glove to catch the ball.  I didn't explain that I was just watching the tournament.  They thought I was playing in the tournament.  And I didn't tell them that I was saving an old guy's life.  Barb had to explain it all in a comment.