SWEEEEEEEET

Just returned from watching the Rangers defeat the Indians 6-1. Kevin and I went, and we had a fine time. The weather was nice, the seats were decent for cheapies, and enough homers were hit (by Rangers, thankfully) that THEBOY got to see the fireworks he so loves.

Ryan Drese looked good, barely clearing 100 pitches in his complete game effort. He scattered six hits, and I don't know how many times THEBOY and I said "ground out" when an Indian batted.

***

I was there last night too, hanging with my buddy Erik Hood. It was a much different game, one in which Rangers starter Pedro Astacio buried his team by giving up seven runs in the first inning. Ouch.

But the Rangers mounted an improbable comeback. With one on in the ninth and trailing 8-6, Ranger Michael Young checked his swing on a 2-1 pitch. I was about to say to Hood, "Bob Wickman's off-speed stuff isn't fooling anyone," when I heard the crowd moan. Seems that on appeal to first base ump Ron Darling, Young got rung up. No check swing, and suddenly it's 2-2 instead of 3-1. Ouch. Young ended up grounding out, and then Buck Showalter emerged from the dugout for a word with Darling.

It was clearly about the check swing call, and Darling tossed Showalter in a hurry. Showalter then turned his cap backwards so he could get even closer to Darling's face. And let me tell you, he got his money's worth. First time he's been tossed as Texas skipper, and the scene was a dandy as the crowd howled. Showalter eventually stomped away, tossing his cap into the crowd for good measure.

The Rangers went on to lose, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a good time.

***

Stats. The final was today.

Man I was in a funny position with this test, this class, this whole semester.

I burned out on stats about two weeks ago. Boom. Brain checked out, and I was coasting. Here was the final, and folks, I didn't even crack the book for it.

My first two test grades were a 95 and an 87. Two weeks ago when my brain checked out I blew off a homework assignment, but I had turned in all the others, and I think I did well on them (not that I'd know; the prof only returned them last week, when I finally skipped a class. Yes, I lost what little interest I ever had in this class, folks).

So I didn't really even know what would be on the test today. I did scare up the time to zip through an extra credit assignment I'd heard about. Completing it was worth four points on the exam today, or so I was told.

Test was 20 questions, all M/C. The funny thing about stats is that even when I'm fuzzy (or lost) on the math, I actually have a solid knack for estimating or noticing trends on the fly. Odd, I guess, but maybe it's from all the time I've spent eyeballing baseball stats.

It was a hard test for sure, but I had a sneaking suspicion I'd actually passed. I finished and slipped out to have lunch at home.

At 2:15 I went back to campus and caught the prof leaving. He handed me the test, and I was fairly pleased to see a grade of 70. Not bad for a guy who didn't crack the book.

And I was even more pleased when he said the highest grade was a 90, so everyone was getting a 10 point curve. Boom, my 70 became an 80--but then he gave me the extra credit and the final tally came to 84.

SWEEEEEEEEEET.

I sure as hell hope I'm done with math classes IN MY LIFE.

***

I will say, though, that this feels like I've conquered a phobia or something. Nothing rattles me like a math class. I've never been good at it, and if you bother to read my ramblings you know the trepidation that gripped me early in the semester.

I had a tutor more or less at the ready, and yeah, she guided me on about a half dozen homework questions this semester. But by and large this grade is all me, and I'm quite pleasantly surprised. I don't get that sinking feeling in my stomach when the prof heads into the stratosphere and I have no idea what he's talking about. I know I can hit the textbook and make some sense of it.

Having a poor math foundation to work with is a hindrance, of course, but you know, it's not like I'm surrounded by a bunch of Einstein-caliber minds in these classes. At some point I have to give myself enough credit to realize that I'm smart enough to put some effort into this and be at least satisfactory.

***

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, of course. I plan on taking Kelli wherever she'd like for lunch. If she wants to sleep in, I'll corral the kids all morning.

With any luck I'll get a chance to do some yard work at some point.

***

Kelli is a terrific mother to our kids, and I learn from her, from watching how she interacts with them.

***

I got back the movies I had Mike's Film and Video transfer to DVD for me. These were super 8s shot when I was in junior high. I'd forgotten about most of it. Steve Meier, Phil Nedbalek, Whit McClendon. Amanda was there too, and they were all game participants in my slapstick filmmaking.

I've got to say that there's a lot more organization and storytelling than I remembered putting into those. Some of the camera work is... well, it has potential. Some good angles, some good cuts to convey the message. And keep in mind I couldn't edit this stuff. I just had to shoot in order, to capture everything in sequence.

***

This is the sort of night where I could prattle on endlessly about nothing or something. Mother's Day, home movies, phobias... they're all resonating with me right now, but you know... not tonight.

***

The Mavericks just defeated Houston 116-76. Ouch. I'm no hoops fan, but I'm glad to see the Mavericks go on to the next round of playoffs.

***

All the love to you all. Sleep tight.