Boston: Red Sox Nation

  So Sunday is my day off and it happens to be Kyle, Phil and Trevor's as well.  We decided last weekend that we wanted to go to a MLB game.  Well luck would have it that the Red Sox were playing the Braves at Fenway at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon. PERFECTO!  We bought tickets off of Stubhub and drove the 4 hours to Boston yesterday morning for the game.  It felt like my Spring break trip all over again with the boys.  We stopped at McDonalds on the turnpike and I had a smoothie and oatmeal. I definitely recommend the new banana, blueberry oatmeal.  That was the first time I've seen blueberries in 3 weeks! Who new McDonalds could be so good?  The game was fun and our seats happened to be one of only ones in the shade which were actually nice. The Sox won and it was Kevin Youkilis' last game as he got traded right after he hit a triple in his last at bat.  They pulled him from third and the crowd went wild.  It was really cool to hear the crowd as he left.  He went into the dug out and reappeared after the roaring of the fans.  I got to meet up with Johnny Li, my Coke Scholar friend from LA that goes to Harvard.  We got to talk for an inning at the game. It was nice to see someone whom I've known for longer than 3 weeks.  After the game we went to a little restaurant on Beacon Street.  Everything looked so delicious, real food not served on a white, Styrofoam plate.  I had a turkey burger with lettuce and french fries.  Y'all know how much I love fries!  The boys made me try sweet tea because Trevor and Phil are from the South and they LOVE sweet tea.   It's not terrible but not something I'd want to drink daily.  Kyle was stoked to use his Boston accent as he yelled out the window "hey Youkilis, you know that guy? he's traded. No beers in Boooston tonight." We all were cracking up.  Then I said that I wanted to see the ocean so we attempted to find it which led us on an epic adventure full of screaming by all three boys.  We did drive past the ocean and then got on the Massturnpike to head back here. We listend to songs off the Now 5 soundtrack and now we're all excited to relive our childhood "Now That's What I call Music"days.  We made it back last night after a successful day away from this place just in time to work another 13 hours today in the retail shop.  It was freezing here today and tonight it got down to be 50 degrees with rain!  I guess I like this better than the 99 degrees last week where we were all constantly wet and nasty.  Tons of people run in to buy umbrellas right when it starts raining.  On Saturday there was a constant line of customers.  This is the most profitable I've seen it since I've been here.  People come into the souvenir shop and will spend $200 on stuff.  If your kid hits a home run I swear it costs you 70 bucks! There's t-shirts for the player, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. And then you can get the ball engraved for another 10 bucks.  Holy smokes can these people spend money. Oh and don't forget about getting the professional pictures that are $8 for a 4 * 6.  Welcome to the Cooperstown Monopoly.  It is really cool here and the experience is unforgettable for the players and coaches.  At night I come back and get on my laptop and then go to sleep so I can wake up and do it all again.  Night night :)  

And here goes my life in the middle of New York

       I finally have a computer so now I can blog.  I spilled water on my laptop in the middle of May at school and had to go without one until I bought a new one. Long story..... but now I have a brand new, pretty macbook pro that I will take great care of.

    So here I am sleeping in what pretty much looks likes a prison cell.  It smells bad too. There's no air conditioning or heat here and in the middle of the summer the temperatures can vary greatly. Some nights I get warm and others I'm freezing. I'm learning to adjust to living in 84% humidity daily. I work out and am just drenched before I've even done anything hard.  Here will be an introduction to my life in Cooperstown, NY for the summer....

               Cooperstown is home to the Baseball Hall of Fame and DoubleDay field where the first game of baseball is said to be held.  Decades again the Presutti family had a dream that every child in America would have to opportunity to play baseball in Cooperstown and thus the idea of the Cooperstown Dreams Park was born.  In 1996 the park opened and 12U teams from around the country came and have been coming week after week ever since to play ball.  There are 13 weeks that comprise the summer with 104 teams coming each week to play ball Sunday through Thursday when the championship game is held Thursday night.  I came to Cooperstown four years ago with my family when TJ played and my dad coached.  I thought it was a great place so when I was looking for a job this winter I knew I wanted to make money and have an adventure so here I am.  I am here as a paid intern working 60+ hours a week, living in the barracks where the 104 teams and 95 umpires live, eating food that is less quality than dorm food and having someone else do my laundry. I got here June 8 after flying into Albany and being picked up by a complete stranger and then driving here, moving into my barrack and literally meeting one other person.  The next day I worked in the retail store and folded shirts.  I was ready to cry; I didn't move to New York to fold shirts all day. The next day I had a day off so I took the bus into town and hung out all alone. I took a nap on a park bench, yep I sure did and woke up sweating. Thanks to everyone whom I called while I was walking around that day. It's a humbling experience to realize how much it means to have someone else around can mean to someone.  I'm pretty sure I cried that night too.  I worked 13 hours each day for the next 4 days and then 14 hours the day after. I started to meet people and adjust a little bit.  I thought I would hang out more with the other 20+ interns but we're all working so much and at such different hours that we don't really see one another much.  

        I never really thought I'd be 19 years old living 2061 miles away from home for a summer working 92 hours in a week.  I guess God has some sort of plan.  It really has been quite an experience the past two weeks.  I've started making more friends which is so helpful.  I really like Chelsea who is one girl I work with.  Some things I'll probably never get used to... the food, showering with bugs, having creepy, old umpires check me out when I run or jump rope, living in 84% humidity, not being able to walk out of the park, being looked at and harassed by the teams, the terrible internet connection, not seeing a couch for 2 more months, not skating, playing lacrosse or working out at a gym.  

       Like I said it's taken lots of adjusting. I have learned how to sleep through girls alarm clocks, golf carts, 12 year old boys playing tag, just  about everything.  I've learned how to eat turkey on top of lettuce every day for lunch.  I've really realized how important friends and family are.  The snap chats, phone calls, texts, letters, packages all are what keep me happy.  It's pretty easy here to get unhappy but whenever I have contact with a friend I feel better so keep it coming! My girlfriends from school...you are incredible. Thank you for making me laugh on a continual, daily basis and letting me cry to you on the phone.  My friends from home thanks for filling me in on all the news and keeping me in touch with my roots.  My parents are the most amazing people.  My mom sent me a whole wheat cookie cake, dried mangos and homeade granola among other goodies.  Thanks for pushing me through.  I guess it's hard because the last time I was here I was with you and we were having lots of fun together and this is the first summer that I'm not a Disneyland for Fathers day or watching my brother play baseball; we're not camping together or going on Sunday hikes.  I've really come to realize how blessed my life is.  One of my friends here had never been on a plane until he came this summer and I went on a dozen plane rides in the past year. I've seen the country; I've camped, hiked, skied, skydived, golfed, paraglided, snorkeled, fished, jumped off cliffs, water skied.  I'm nineteen years old and I've been to over half the states and 5 countries, been in the Opening & Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics and seen 10+ Olympic events, hiked a 14,000 foot mountain and walked across day old lava from an active volcano in Hawaii.  I'm blessed each and every day to be here and be healthy.  I thank God each morning and night for the opportunities I've had in my life.  This is yet another one that I have to look at positively.

    I make this place sound like prison, but it's not.  It's improving for sure.  I'm getting the hang of things and understanding it all more.  Now that I have some friends it's better too.  I'm making tons of money and am not really spending any of it.

  ---the shower

---  gluten free meal

   Here are some pictures and I'll post more later. There will be plenty more stories to come of my time here!