Friday, July 12, 2013
Heather, Kathleen & Julie
Hey Everyone - Sorry for the radio silence. I’ve been off the grid. Literally. Today’s game was the day before vacation “Up North” to Wisconsin. I had been in Pittsburgh for work, and had a 6:30 AM flight out of PA, landing in Chicago about 7:00 AM. I am so totally unprepared for this vacation… This isn’t a place where you go to a hotel and boom you’re just there. No, we have to bring towels (beach, kitchen,bath), food, booze (LOTS of booze), soap, shampoo, etc. – the whole nine yards. Cell service up there is really spotty, and the emails on my phone download maybe once a day when the planets are aligned and the skies open up. Being in PA all week, I didn’t do any prep. Luckily Kev was in town and could shop (sunscreen, snacks, booze – did I mention booze??).
Anyways – landed at 7 AM, and took El, then bus home and then worked for half day before the game. It was a 3:05 game (yippee!), except for my sister, who would have preferred the 1:20 start to give her enough time to get back home and get her crap ready for Up North.
To pile on to my unpreparedness, I was chosen for today’s Season Ticket Holder Autograph Session. We had a couple friends who were chosen for this a few weeks ago (remember that 4:00 Hawks game/6:15 Cub game, rain delay and giganto glasses of wine at Bernie’s? Yea, that game. Our friend Mary was doing the autograph session. I haven’t seen her since, so not sure who her Cub signer was). This also meant I needed to get to park by 1:30. (Ugh – today’s game of all days??). Well, I guess I’m done w/work and onto vacation mode! It was also Cubs Cowboy hat at the ballpark, and I wanted to make sure I got that friggin hat!!
Done!
I went to Window 11 for my Autograph packet, and then into the VIP entrance right under the red marquee entrance (and worried about my bleacher ticket scan – whole ‘nother story that I’m not going to get into…). I was trying to follow the map the Cubs gave me to find the autograph room. I really should have taken a picture of this map, cuz it was terrible. I went up the ramp as they told me, and then was hopelessly lost after that. It would’ve been way more helpful if the map had section numbers on it! So I finally asked an usher, and showed him the map, to which he said “This is a horrible map!”. No shit!!! So these 2 usher dudes didn’t know where to send me, and then they called over another dude, who said “I think it may be this way…”. And off we went. He found it, so yea for him!! It was on the Clark Street side of Wrigley, right across from McDonald’s, but on the outside of the “bowl”, not in the stands. I’m not sure I could find it again today.
So, I got to the right place, and it was this long, rectangle room and a bunch of people were in line inside. (Maybe 50??) And we were just hanging out waiting for the Cub player (to be named later…) to show up. He was supposed to be there at 1:45, but we were told there was a team meeting called after batting practice and so he was running late. Around 2:15 (maybe?), they finally told us it was going to be Cody Ransom - #1 on the field when lefties are pitching . After the announcement, the 2 couples in front of me walked out. They were kind of douchy anyways ( eavesdropping on their conversations) but really??? Who were you expecting – Soriano? Rizzo? Castro? Smardzija? DeJesus? Um, yea, not gonna happen. In talking to the Cub workers, the other players doing these autograph sessions were Valbuena, Marmol (?!), Hairston, Sappelt – you get the picture. Pretty much the B Team. (Although, one could argue this entire Cubs team is the B team…).
The “rules” said the Cub player would only sign a picture (provided by the Cubs during the session), and people couldn’t take pictures with them or ask them to sign anything else. Of course, there are always rule-breakers, and so people were doing the exact opposite of that. Whatever. Here’s pictures I took while waiting in line, and a copy of the signed picture I got. He looked like he wanted to be anyplace but here. Poor guy.
Here's some photos:
And I also thought with a name like Cody Ransom, he’d be an All American white kid from the heartland. Nope. Looked Hispanic. So I went to my Spring Training Guide and found he was born in … Hmph. He wasn’t listed. Where did he come from?? So I went to ESPN. Holy Crap – he’s 37 years old!!! And making $550K. Wow. (And born in Mesa, AZ for the record.) Now I really feel sorry for him. Too much to write; read for yourself:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/stats/_/id/4945/cody-ransom
Here's the signed photo:
We headed to Bernie’s after the game, were met by Wigs, Kevin, and then later Trish. Stayed way later than we wanted to and picked up tacos from Azteca d Oro on the way home.
Up at 6 AM to get ready for Up North. A week at the lake in the middle of nowhere with 25 of my relatives. This vacation is a combo of Yea (relaxation, fun, family)!! and Ick (gross cabins, lots of bugs, family)!! We go to Phelps, Wisconsin, which is 20 miles north of Eagle River, WI and south of Land of Lakes, MI. The lake itself is half in Michigan and half in Wisconsin. More to come…
Recap:
Cubs Lose 3-2
My season record: Visitors 17, Cubs 10
Parking update: No update…
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