Incite Full » Softball http://www.mikegangl.com And so ends my bid for elected office... Or "Life of Mike" Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:12:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 When you were Jung http://www.mikegangl.com/2008/04/17/when-you-were-jung/ http://www.mikegangl.com/2008/04/17/when-you-were-jung/#comments Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:16:07 +0000 Mike http://www.mikegangl.com/2008/04/17/when-you-were-jung/ It recently occurred to me, when my friends and I played ‘Duck Duck Goose,’ many people picked the cute girls. I believe this is what sets me apart from other men. Even as a child, I was strategic, calculating, and competitive- so much so I would pick the slow and weak ones of the pack to ensure my victory and my dominance of the classroom. This would often backfire, as every time a girl chose me as the goose, I would fall into an endless spiral of depression, pez, and soda.

There are even stories of this competitiveness taken too far, arms broken from a violent game of ‘Red Rover,’ near death situations from ‘Marco Polo’- competitive children are dying, left and right! I’ve become more muted in my quarterlife. Not nearly as competitive; still competitive to be sure. I am the pastel of competitive- choosing my battles with which I feel my time is best invested. This has taken the form of video games, being a joker, and the most ruthless of venues: company league softball.

It’s amazing how fast some regress once on that pitiful field of dirt and grass, of course we’ll throw in the occasional sprinkler head and food wrappings. This is our coliseum. Our Waterloo. The place we’ve decided boys become men- and for what? Of the 5000 people on lab, contractors not included, maybe 120 play softball. Yet it’s taken so seriously by some people here. Granted, I want to win as well, and i’ve got the scars to prove it, but I’m not going to argue calls with the umpire (blue) with the same vigor I’ll defend my system design. If the people at these games put the same emphasis in their work which they do their softball strategy (does such a thing exist? Yes) MSL would be under budget. While my team is figuring out who plays where, other teams are yelling at one another for not turning a double play, or for not pushing the ball to right field.

Good lord. I almost play purely for the exercise now. And playing the outfield, I get quite a bit of it, but it’s funny- I never thought I would be the non-competitive one, the one driving my team to get better. Don’t get me wrong, as stated above I want to win. Everyone does, no one sets out to lose. If you think you will, why are you there in the first place? But I digress- I’m now the one saying nice try, or giving helpful advice. I now want other’s to play the hardest positions so that we get better as a team. I feel like a parent. And we all know I’m not ready for that.

A bit of going-ons, now- Birthday party for Katie (look at you, two mentions in one week- bet you’re excited) tonight and tomorrow will be me packing my life into a box. Saturday the move, Saturday night the payment in beer for the move, and Sunday will be unpacking and putting my life back in order. And dinner, too!

What you don’t understand you can make mean anything…

]]> http://www.mikegangl.com/2008/04/17/when-you-were-jung/feed/ 1 My body aches http://www.mikegangl.com/2008/04/15/my-body-aches/ http://www.mikegangl.com/2008/04/15/my-body-aches/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:36:17 +0000 Mike http://www.mikegangl.com/2008/04/15/my-body-aches/ An uneventful day back at work yesterday. I did get some cookie dough brownies from Katie, who’s birthday is fast approaching. After work I had C-league softball practice and after that a B-league game. I guess I was actually kind of tired from the practice as my normally independent game time skills were sub par. I did go 4 for 4, however, as the lead off. My first up was a triple and a slide into home on the next play, cutting my entire left side up. simply awesome is what is often said about my dedication to leisure sports.

I also got a chance to talk to my friend Heather and we found some time to go out and get dinner, which will be nice. While I did get a chance to catch up with her earlier, it wasn’t under the best conversational circumstances.

Absolutely nothing funny really happened yesterday, except for a fill in on the softball team and me belting out Niel Diamond songs in the outfield, hoping against hope to become members of “Diamonds in the Rough,” the Diamond cover band. Hello, again, my friend, indeed.

So careless I could care less

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