Bromance Fest 2009

This past weekend was Bromance Fest 2009. If the ominous picture wasn't enough of a give away about how goofy the three of us are together, the trip ended up being great. Ben, Joe, and I left BG around 8 am on Good Friday. We left early so we could get checked in to our hotel and get to Turner Field early for Opening Day festivities. It turned out that our early departure also helped us beat the deadly tornados that ripped through Murfreesboro. We got to the park a good hour plus before the gates were even open, and it turns out that there isn't much to do outside the park before gates open.

When we got in, we hit up the Clubhouse Shop and Ben and Joe picked up some Braves gear. We then spent a good amount of time looking for our seats. Ben found our tickets on Stubhub for 26 apiece. So we are thinking upper deck and actually walk to the upperdeck, only to go the wrong way and end up at the Casino Lounge. So Ben and I both looked at our tickets and thought we saw section 231, and when we found 231 saw that it only went up to Row 17, and we were in Row 21. So we walked down to the right field fence and watched BP for a little while. I asked an usher where we our seats were, and he pointed to the 6th row behind the right field foul pole. Turns out, Ben and I both read our tickets wrong, and we ended up with amazing seats. So as we are sitting there marveling at our awesomely cheap amazing seats, we start chatting up the family in front of us. While sitting there, some Japanese media members asked to talk to Ben and Joe about the Braves newest pitcher, Japanese star Kenshin Kawakami. They sent the camera crew to me because they didn't know much about him. I only know what I had read on the Braves website, which turned to be more than anyone else in the section knew. So after a few minutes of being interviewed, they interviewed the girl in front of us(who had to ask what to say). Any Japenese player brings a huge media following. Since Kawakami was such a big star in Japan and being the first Japanese player on the Braves big league roster, it was a big deal. Needless to say, I'm a big star in Tokyo. I spent the rest of the weekend waving at any person of Asian decent that we saw. Not sure if Ben and Joe liked it, but the fans call......just kidding.

The game turned out to be awesome. The Braves won in ten innings on a walk-off single. Derek Lowe made his home debut and Yunel Escobar hit a huge homerun.......unfortunately, there was a 2 1/2 hour rain delay after the 3rd inning, and we left, thinking that the game couldn't be resumed. We still had fun, though. The next day, we tried to go to World of Coke, but it was packed, so we decided to just head to the Varsity for lunch. I enjoyed it much more this go around. After lunch, we headed to Marietta to see Kristin, Ma and Pa Slug, and Mitzy. The Mardis family is pretty amazing, and Kristin's mom is incredibly hospitable. She always fixes cookies, so we knew we couldn't drive by Marietta without stopping in. After spending some quality hangout time, we headed to Chattanooga. We had wanted to have lunch with Reilly on our way through on Friday, but he was still sleeping after noon, so we were planning on meeting up on Saturday. Turns out that Saturday was the Falcon's birthday and they were having a big family dinner at Olive Garden. So we got to see the Falcon and Falconness, Reilly and ......girl......Chris and Lindsay Slaten, and the Walker parents and Liner parents. We only stopped in to say hi, and stayed maybe 20 minutes. Chuck wanted to swing by and say hi, so we met him and Gator in the parking lot for a few minutes to chat, which was great. After that, we drove back to BG to end Bromance Fest 2009. All in all, a great trip.

I went to Living Hope with Ben on Easter morning and the service was amazing. I love and respect the way the church is run, and I have so many people that I love to see there. I didn't see everyone I wanted to, but it was great. For lunch, Joe and I met up and went to Buffalo Wild Wings. After lunch, I went to the Nick for the WKU baseball game. I hate that I haven't been to many games since I left, so I couldn't leave town without going. WKU beat New Orleans 14-4. This is the best team WKU has had and they have all the pieces to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Afterwards, I stuck around to say hey to some of the guys. After standing around I heard a loud yell and Terrence Dayleg dropped his gear and ran over for a man hug. Terrence is a senior and a star shortstop. We got to be buddies as soon as he got the the Hill, and its always fun to see him. We stopped using names.....just going with "best friend" instead. I got to talk to all of the guys from the Bible study, which was awesome. I even got word from Wade that he won't be back for his senior year and will instead sign after he is drafted in June. In college baseball, if you play for an NCAA school(juco and NAIA not included) you cant be drafted until after your junior year. Wade has been a star since he got to the Hill, and I'm gonna hate to see him go. I spent an hour after the game hanging out and catching up with the guys, and will hopefully come back to BG for a week and take Chadcock up on his offer to crash with him and hang out with the guys for a weekend and catch more games. After I left, I headed back to C-Ville to resume normal life.

Other updates:24 was amazing this past Monday......word came out that Friday Night Lights, one of my favorite shows ever, will be back for 2 more seasons. It was uncertain if they would be picked up, but it is a done deal......I will be painting the city pool this week-woohoo!!!.....more posts to come later. Sorry this one was so long, but it happens. Have a blessed day.