The Guys in My Life (Part 1)

I am lucky enough to have the most remarkable guys in my life...and I even get to call some of them family.

My brother is one of the biggest influences in my life. He is 18 months older than me. We had some degree of sibling rivalry growing up, but I don't think it was as bad as other cases I have seen, and faded out by late middle school. (The biggest problem we ever had was when my parents had to ban us from wrestling, because once he sat on my chest, and well, that made breathing a little difficult.)

Our characters are vastly different. He is loud, loves to be the center of attention, and incredibly honest, though it's often interpreted as being crass. He is also a better guitarist than he would ever believe.

I, on the other hand, am rather reserved in most situations, love being a wallflower, and I rarely say exactly what I'm thinking. (And I was ever only a mediocre drummer, at best.)

But most notably, we have very different work ethics, especially when it comes to school. I would argue that he is much more intelligent than I am, but our high school years, and even post-high school years, would not deliver the same message.

He has been out of high school for nearly 4 years now...the friends that he graduated with will be graduating from 4-year universities in the spring. And he...well he's at community college. But it doesn't faze him. He is the first to acknowledge he messed around too much...and he's finally settling down.

More than anything, he wants to make his way to a 4-year university. He's been working hard for over a year to make sure that he can do that by next year. He found a way to make it to England to study abroad earlier this year, and is now paying the bills for it. Recently, he started working while going to school, and is one of the top sellers in the store. He has an idea of where he wants to go, and how he wants to get there.

I'm ever so proud of him for that. We've surely taken different paths, but all the while, he has been one of my greatest role models.

He's one of my best friends. He makes me laugh like no one else. He understands me in ways that no one else can.

I simply don't know what I would do without him.

Tough Questions.

I'm sorry about the two week break. You see, between baseball, school, my cousin's upcoming wedding (eek), and a list of other things, writing a post has not been on the top of my list.

Twitter is a much better option at the moment.

Anyway, after a few hard weeks, I've been needing to know that something, anything, is the way it should be.

Last night, I got exactly what I needed from the one person I can always count on--the one person who knows me better than I know myself.

Likewise, she always knows just the right questions to ask.

The one that made me stop in my tracks:

"What's the biggest thing that would make your life better right now?"

...What's your answer?

I make lists in my sleep.

Reasons to be a Member of Red Sox Nation:

(in no particular order)

1. Kinship. Wherever you go in America, you're bound to run into a Sox fan. I've rarely ran into a bond of strangers like that of RSN.

2. On the rare occasion you run into a non-bandwagon Angel (aka the want-to-be Yankees of the West) fan, glares ensue. You just smile and move on because you know that they are just dealing with an inferiority complex. We may be their biggest rival, but they will never be ours.

3. Upon running into a Yankee fan, glares ensue on both sides. The greatest rivalry in all of sports. There's curses. There's Big Papi's jersey beneath the new Yankee Stadium...and then there's the removal of such, for the Yankees can't risk a curse. Their fans can't handle heartbreak (that's that thing they're feeling as they watch us in the postseason from home. They just don't know it).

4. Fenway Park is one of the two remaining original ball parks...and we don't have any of that "Noise-o-Meter," rally towel, rally monkey (ahem), thunderstick crap. We're all original, and our fans know when to cheer on their own.

5. The Green Monster. Now THAT'S a home run.

6. We've got old guys who play through pain a rookie wouldn't play through. We've got rookies who respect the old guys, understand who they're playing with, and the expectations they must surpass. We've got more heart for this game than most teams out there.

7. April-September is playoff-caliber baseball. October is a whole 'nother story.

8. It's not individuals. It's about the team...and winning. There are no stats. There are no MVPs. There are no All-Stars. There's only a ring at the end of October.

9. There's heartbreak. There's getting swept at home. There's 14-inning losses. There's blowing a lead. There's a ball passing between Buckner's legs, losing the World Series. There's an 86 year curse. We thrive on heartbreak. There's an endless list. There's not good baseball without heartbreak. And the Sox...well, they'll break your heart, and leave you begging for more.

10. There's overwhelming joy. There's coming back from a 0-3 deficit in the '04 ALCS to win 4 against the Yankees. There's Lester's no-no. There's Tek's 4 caught no-no's. There's Dice-K going 18-3. There's Tek taking down A-Rod. There's two rings in 4 years. There's the bloody sock. There's a 12-1 postseason record against the Angels. There's Ellsbury's first ever 3 run single in the postseason against the Angels. There's (dare I say it) Manny's 500. There's Papelbon's celebrations. There's BecKKKKKett. There's rookies hitting in game winning runs. There's walk-off wins. There's Tek chasing guys off 3rd. There's an endless list. If you can make it through the heartbreak, there's sweet, sweet victory. And it never gets old. Never.