World Champs, baby!

Holy crap, you guys. :) WE DID IT!!! I'll try to write a post that's more thoughtful later, but for now - let's just bask in the moment. For the second time in four years, we won ourselves a world series championship. I talked to my mum a few minutes after the win & we talked about how we never expected this to happen twice in our lifetimes.

So many great moments from all of our boys tonight:

• Ellsbury & Pedroia combining to put the Sox on the board at the top of the first inning
  
• Lester getting the win by pitching six scoreless innings - after coming back from cancer. Cancer, people!
• Kielty coming in off the bench & smashing a home run to left field on the first pitch he faced
• Lowell getting MVP & mentioning that he loved playing in Boston (Theo - make it happen!)
• Timlin moving Wake to tears in a post-game interview by saying how great Wake was to step down & pass the torch to the younger pitchers for the series
  

I could go on, but it's late & there were so many great moments & images. For tonight, here's to the 2007 World Champion Red Sox. The Nation thanks you. :)

Red Sox Amazingness & Blogging Sadness

So. The Sox did a great job both Wednesday night and last night - though the scores were very different. On Wed. night, I watched here in Portsmouth at The Page with some friends from my graduate program. Thurs. night - I ended up at my "home bar" in Cambridge with one of my best friends, a close friend from my graduate program, and a bunch of old friends who work at the bar.

Unfortunately, due to car trouble & ridiculous traffic, I missed out on attending Blogtoberfest prior to the game. I was bummed, since I had a great time at last year's event. I was also looking forward to seeing Jenny, Sarah, Eileen, Tom, and Caity and meeting Susie and Jason. Oh well, sounds like they all had a good time & there's always next year. :)

Good & Bad

Last night, on the way home from tutoring, I was thinking about things I'm good at & things I'm bad at. I don't know why, you guys - I just was. ;) Here is the short list:

Good at:

1. Talking about history
2. Taking random photos that turn out pretty good
3. Picking things up with my toes
4. Daydreaming

Bad at:

1. Tying & untying knots
2. Making small talk
3. Telling short stories
4. Doing any kind of math

And here are the two new things I can add after this weekend:

Good at:

• Bullshitting. Today I both wrote a short paper about & participated in a discussion about a 400-page book that I never read. Well, I read the intro & the conclusion, but not much besides. ;)

Bad at:

• Talking to boys at bars (see "Making small talk"). I watched the Sox game on Saturday at The Page & despite the fact that I was there on my own for close to four hours, I only talked to one boy. :(

Oh, well. I've always got the "Picking things up with my toes" bit going for me. :)

UPDATED: Sarah, clever (& lazy) minx that she is, has taken my "good at/bad at" list & made it into a meme! Her addition was to add a tip at the end to help other bloggers be good at those things too. I love it. :) And since Eileen has already taken up the challenge, I feel obligated to add a tip to my original list. Here goes:

"How to Take Random Photos that Turn Out Pretty Good:"
While you're shooting photos of wherever you are, do a slow 360* spin. Look for unusual angles, unexpected things, and interesting slants of light. Then, just shoot & shoot & shoot. If you have a digital camera, it really doesn't matter how many you take. You can sift for gold later. I've gotten some photos I'm really pleased with this way, like this & this & this.

Welcome to Fenway Park . . .

(Photo from Boston.com)

where the '07 Sox rule the roost. It's after midnight now & Fenway is still packed with fans. The players & their families are frolicking on the field & in the clubhouse.

So many great stories in this series. The sports media who thought that only Manny & Papi could produce runs? Let me introduce you to Mssrs. Drew, Pedroia, and Youkilis. Ellsbury kicking some butt in last night's and tonight's games, then Coco making that sick catch when he did come back in the 9th. I could continue, but I trust you've all been paying attention. ;)

This was a team effort, as usual. Like in '04, our boys squared their shoulders after the loss of three games & said, "Not on our watch." It's on to the World Series & the Rockies should be worried.

Update: Josh Beckett during his post-game press conference said, "I just think we're better than everyone else." I agree, Josh, I agree. :)

Faith Pays Off

Not counting eggs before they hatch, not looking too far into the postseason future - but thank goodness for faith. After the sting of Tuesday's loss, some were starting to lose it.

My roommate, who is not a sports fan, said snarkily to me as I headed out last night to watch the game, "Hope you're wearing your "Loser" shirt." I said, "Don't expect I'm going to need it."

And of course I was right. Beckett was masterful, the obnoxious crowd at Jacobs Field was silenced for the evening, and we were back in the game.

As usual, it comes down to this. I choose the Boston Red Sox. They are my team, my boys, my baseball heroes. No matter what happens in the end, I believe they can do it. I've said it before & I'll say it again: I choose faith.

Go get 'em tomorrow night, boys. :)

Addendum to Birthday Recap

Just found this cute picture of Thing 1 inside my new tote bag. :) He doesn't seem to mind that much, does he?

Also, go Red Sox! I have faith that you can turn this ship around tonight. So far, you've lost both games that I've worn my Sox t-shirt, so we're going with a strict "no Sox t-shirt" rule tonight. Hope it helps! ;)