Last weekend I went to a gathering of UCB Bloggers. I’d never expected to go, as it was during the school year, and my flight back would be during a day of testing, which is usually not a day we’re not permitted to leave work early, let alone take the day off.
Yet I got permission, and made the journey.
I arrived Friday, and was picked up by my brother, and hung out with him most of the weekend. He was to be my plus one when I went to the game. This was familiar territory for him. I have gone to Cardinals games with him over the years, as well as taken baseball trips to other cities with him and one of my other brothers.
I ended up staying with him most of the weekend, having a good time, including an unexpected show that had nothing to do with baseball: MythBusters Live, on the night before the game.
Then the day of the game came, and we headed out early. We found our way up to a conference room, where I met several bloggers I knew, and many I didn’t. Being somewhat shy, for the most part I only introduced myself to and chatted with people I recognized, which is something I now regret.
Then the meeting began, and we heard from upper level executives, including John Mozeliak, which I had highly anticipated. Unfortunately, my hearing proved to be an issue, and I didn’t hear much of what was said, or if I did hear it, I didn’t hear it clearly enough to understand it, which has always been an issue of mine, so that was a disappointment. I didn’t sit that far back, but if I go again, I’ll be sitting as close as possible.
Next up was the game itself, which was obviously the highlight. We were lucky enough to catch Adam Wainwright in his prime, which is obviously a bittersweet memory now due to his injury, but it wasn’t at the time. He pitched a gem, and only allowed one run.
My favorite individual moment though, was the Cardinals first at bat of the game. Matt Carpenter led off with a home run, and the place erupted. Carp has been on fire this season, and this was an example of that. He’s vowed to be more aggressive, and so far it’s paying off, as he’s having a great season. That turned out to be one of the only two runs we would score, but that would be all we’d need, as we won 2-1.
Through it all, my brother sat next to me, watching, talking to nobody but me. He’s quieter than me, and I’m (with a few exceptions) am pretty quiet myself.
Another thing that happened throughout the night, was me taking pictures. I brought an actual camera, which in the days of the mighty smart phone, has become a bit old school. I love my camera though, and I utilized it, taking picks of the known and unknown, and of the game itself. Here soon I’ll be passing those pictures along to Daniel Shoptaw (C70, if you didn’t know by now) and he’ll share them with everyone.
Overall I had a great time, and hope I get the chance to go again next year.
As always, thanks for reading.
Doug, part of the fun of going to the blogger events is to chat in person with folks you may only know from Twitter. Wish I’d have known who you were – I would’ve come and talked with you. My hubby hasn’t wanted to go to blogger events because he doesn’t like crowds. He thinks he’ll have nothing to talk about and I told him, “You love Cardinals baseball. They love Cardinals baseball. You do have something to talk about.” I’m looking forward to seeing your photos. See you next year – I hope!