Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Sabotage!
every good thing must have flakes of something bad lodged inside of it, irritating and tormenting you for all eternity.
1.) yesterday a family emergency distracted me from this glorious country and event, causing me to miss the end of one game, the intermission, and the beginning of the next. I tried not to let it get me down, but what horrible timing. There will be repurcussions upon my return.
2.) this morning I got sunburned on my back. It got red immediately - does this mean i'm screwed?
3.) I haven't taken a great shot yet today - and the sunburn, motrin, and fatigue are taking their toll on my ability to do so.
OKAY - I listed the bad things first, because they're on my mind. I still watched a GREAT game last night, took some SWEET shots, and woke up in paradise this morning.
HIGHLIGHTS:
1.) after the game, Cody, some journalists and I went to a small place on the waterfront and got beers and a dish called Mofongo. They were out of almost everything, which wasn't surprising, since it was 4 AM.
2.) we woke up, scooped up Doug from MLB.com, and headed to Boca Chica for our day of swimming. The water was great, the food good, and the constant stream of men peddling trinkets and women selling pedicures was quite entertaining. Equally fun was the Mariachi Extortion Scheme.
3.) Having a motorcycle careen into our car at full speed, slamming into the window and driver side door. Both driver and passenger hit the ground with the bike. We slowed to a stop, turned around just in time to see the motorcycle pick itself up and drive away. Strange.
4.) One of Venezuela's fanaticos was so hot that she got her picture into every newspaper in town, and on a couple of websites. I might have accidentally taken her picture too. (Come on, I just follow the other photographers around and steal their shots - didn't you know that?)
5.) The Dominican team probably just clinched this round robin tournament with a homerun by their backup catcher. The place is going nuts. I expect coitus in the aisles before long.
6.) Photography is such a Penis Envy sport. the pros here from other publications or wire services have some mindboggling optics. How can I compete with that?
7.) I finally figure out how to adjust the shutter speed on the camera, so I can take some good action shots. I get pumped, and spend the next few hours trying to figure it out. I had to download the manual from Sony. bless you, internet.
8.) Electricity is VERY spotty here. And no power on our street means no water in the showers. I was trapped on a filthy 3rd world stadium crapper the other night when the lights went out. No lights and every surface is wet. I was waiting for Ashton Kucher to show up. It also means the connectivity here at the stadium can be spotty. We wasted a couple of hours last night wresting with the Internet connection and various computer issues. How come stuff always seems to break when you need it most? I thought computers were supposed to make things easier.
9.) This should really be number 1, but I'm lazy. We met the president of the Dominican Republic. Yep, you read that right. He's a funny guy, ergo this whole country reminds me of "Moon over Parador." His popularity is waning, probably due to #8 above. There were healthy boos for him at the opening ceremonies.
10.) There are seats available for every game, because the economic crisis is so bad, people can't afford to attend. I guess the $2 for bleacher seats would break the bank.
11.) Doug's music tastes are eclectic and surprising - I have a ton of new music to steal. Cody has beeen pirating music from the DR - I think that might actually be legal. Doesn't Kazaa have a gift shop here or something?
12.) one of the cleanup crew, an emaciated black girl, just asked me to give her some money - while she was working. I guess she only moonlights as a janitor.
13.) Mexican fans are CRAZY. They brought a band, dancers in native dress, a mariachi, a friar, and a fool with a megaphone. It was like a franchise of Sabado Gigante.
more later - two more days in paradise!
every good thing must have flakes of something bad lodged inside of it, irritating and tormenting you for all eternity.
1.) yesterday a family emergency distracted me from this glorious country and event, causing me to miss the end of one game, the intermission, and the beginning of the next. I tried not to let it get me down, but what horrible timing. There will be repurcussions upon my return.
2.) this morning I got sunburned on my back. It got red immediately - does this mean i'm screwed?
3.) I haven't taken a great shot yet today - and the sunburn, motrin, and fatigue are taking their toll on my ability to do so.
OKAY - I listed the bad things first, because they're on my mind. I still watched a GREAT game last night, took some SWEET shots, and woke up in paradise this morning.
HIGHLIGHTS:
1.) after the game, Cody, some journalists and I went to a small place on the waterfront and got beers and a dish called Mofongo. They were out of almost everything, which wasn't surprising, since it was 4 AM.
2.) we woke up, scooped up Doug from MLB.com, and headed to Boca Chica for our day of swimming. The water was great, the food good, and the constant stream of men peddling trinkets and women selling pedicures was quite entertaining. Equally fun was the Mariachi Extortion Scheme.
3.) Having a motorcycle careen into our car at full speed, slamming into the window and driver side door. Both driver and passenger hit the ground with the bike. We slowed to a stop, turned around just in time to see the motorcycle pick itself up and drive away. Strange.
4.) One of Venezuela's fanaticos was so hot that she got her picture into every newspaper in town, and on a couple of websites. I might have accidentally taken her picture too. (Come on, I just follow the other photographers around and steal their shots - didn't you know that?)
5.) The Dominican team probably just clinched this round robin tournament with a homerun by their backup catcher. The place is going nuts. I expect coitus in the aisles before long.
6.) Photography is such a Penis Envy sport. the pros here from other publications or wire services have some mindboggling optics. How can I compete with that?
7.) I finally figure out how to adjust the shutter speed on the camera, so I can take some good action shots. I get pumped, and spend the next few hours trying to figure it out. I had to download the manual from Sony. bless you, internet.
8.) Electricity is VERY spotty here. And no power on our street means no water in the showers. I was trapped on a filthy 3rd world stadium crapper the other night when the lights went out. No lights and every surface is wet. I was waiting for Ashton Kucher to show up. It also means the connectivity here at the stadium can be spotty. We wasted a couple of hours last night wresting with the Internet connection and various computer issues. How come stuff always seems to break when you need it most? I thought computers were supposed to make things easier.
9.) This should really be number 1, but I'm lazy. We met the president of the Dominican Republic. Yep, you read that right. He's a funny guy, ergo this whole country reminds me of "Moon over Parador." His popularity is waning, probably due to #8 above. There were healthy boos for him at the opening ceremonies.
10.) There are seats available for every game, because the economic crisis is so bad, people can't afford to attend. I guess the $2 for bleacher seats would break the bank.
11.) Doug's music tastes are eclectic and surprising - I have a ton of new music to steal. Cody has beeen pirating music from the DR - I think that might actually be legal. Doesn't Kazaa have a gift shop here or something?
12.) one of the cleanup crew, an emaciated black girl, just asked me to give her some money - while she was working. I guess she only moonlights as a janitor.
13.) Mexican fans are CRAZY. They brought a band, dancers in native dress, a mariachi, a friar, and a fool with a megaphone. It was like a franchise of Sabado Gigante.
more later - two more days in paradise!
