Finally found some time to write here after getting back from my vacation...

Well, it looks like I might have been a jinx. First day back and the cubs start winning again. Maybe I should re-think my plans to go back in September if the Cubs are still in the playoff race. Speaking of the Cubs, I'm sat here watching the Giants Cubs game and have just seen Maddux get his 3000th strikeout. You've gotta tip your hat to the guy, he's one hell of a pitcher.

On the home front, I finally had to bite the bullett and get get the fuel pump on my car replaced. Seems like the lubricant I was adding to the fuel wasn't enough to keep the thing running and after almost getting myself killed by a bus pulling out of a junction, I decided to book it in and get it replaced. Not as bad as I was expecting, but still a 300 quid bill. Having said that, the car is back to its old self now the fuel pressure is back to normal.

On the work front, I'm paying a visit to the call centre I set up out in Madrid next week to do some upgrades. Only going to be out there for 3 days and most of the work will be overnighters so I don't think I'm going to be getting much time to myself. It'll be nice to see some decent weather thought, the weather here is crap at the minute. Unfortunately, it means I'm busier than hell right now and struggling to get the testing done before I head out there.

Well, I'm gonna go back to watching the game before I have to head to work. Just hope it finishes before I have to leave, these rain delays kill me.

Feeling : Jinxxed

I'm starting to think I might be a jinx. Since arriving in Chicago on Friday night the cubs have yet to win a game with me watching. I was hoping to be able to celebrate in Chicago but unfortunately that was not the case. Lets hope I can celebrate at least one win out here before I head back to the UK.

I arrived in Atlanta Monday afternoon and wasn't quite sure what to expect. One this I definitely didn't expect was rain! The weather down here is not particularly to my liking. You're never quite sure what you're gonna get and the humidity is killing me. The temperature is in the mid to high 80s and humidity is around 95%!! I hope they have a lot of towels in this place cos I get the feeling I'll be showering a lot.

On the upside, I found my hotel pretty easily. The public transport here is great and very cheap. I'm staying further away from Turner field that I wanted to, but thats worked out pretty well. I'm in the downtown area and the shuttle out to the park picks up just a couple of blocks from the hotel. I was a bit unsure whether to wear my cubs jersey to the game Monday night but I'm glad I did, it would seem that there are cubs fans everywhere over here and it broke the ice with a few of the locals on the shuttle bus down to Turner Field. Although again, it would seem that my accent attracted more attention than my clothing. Speaking of accents, I love the accent down here as much as they love the English one, much more of a drawl than I'm used to but cool.

When I arrived at Turner Field Monday night, my first thought was wow! This is quite a stadium. The game was sold out, but I managed to get a SRO entry and ended up in the 3rd tier out in right field. The view wasn't particularly great but I wandered around during the game and eneded up on the concourse between the 100 and 200 seats out in right field with another groups of cubs fans. Safety in numbers and all that. Didn't have much to cheer during the game, but I'm getting used to that on this trip. That bloody braves music can get really annoying during the game too, by the time I leave here I don't think I'll be sorry to never hear it again. After the game I took the shuttle back downtown and ended up in the Sidebar. One or two of the other cubs fans were there and we had a few beers and discussed the game.
Tuesdays game wasn't much better than Mondays, and the 2 hour rain delay just prolonged the agony. Least I had time to get something to eat and a few beers with some of the other cubs fans during the game without missing much. Not that there was much to miss, only highlight of the game was Holly's solo shot. Lets hope there is something better to discuss after tonights game.

Speaking of rain, I really got to get me one of those plastic poncho things. One thing I never thought to pack for over here was a coat, only thing I brought over was my denim jacket and that would've been no use the way the rain came down last night. To keep dry I followed the lead of some of the regular fans at Turner Field and headed up to the cheap seats where there was at least a roof to give some shelter. Lots of the fans left during the rain delay, but I stuck around to the bitter end, I'm just hoping Lee's shoulder injury isn't too bad or this season is over for us. At least I got to see him play a few times, rumour has t he's gonna be missing a couple of games before the all-star break.

Tonights match is gonna be cool. Two of the best pitchers in the league goin head to head and I'm really looking forward to it. Lets hope Prior proves the better of the two and I can at least celebrate one win before I leave. Times running out, I'm only here for another two days.

Feeling : Hungover

Wow, yesterdays game has to be one of the best I've watched for a long time. The only thing missing was a win. Wrigley Field was packed again, although the crowd seemed a little quieter than normal and didn't seem to wake up until Aram's 2 run shot in the 9th. After that the atmosphere was unbelieveable, but unfortunately not enough to motivate the team to a win. The game winning homer landed about 50 feet away and true to form got dumped back into the outfield. Still, an excellent game apart from the result.

After the game, we ended up back at the Cubby Bear for a few beers. I had the best intentions of heading back to the hotel to grab a shower before returning for the live band, but the food and company were so good (hi Casey, Sarah and Mel) I ended up staying straight through.

Leftover Salmon were pretty good too. Kind of hard to describe the music style though. If I had to try and label it I'd have to say a cross between blues, country and rock. Some of the songs they played reminded me of acoustic stuff fromthe chilli peppers and nirvana. Gonna try and get a hold of their album before I leave.

Talking of leaving, time for me to get a hustle on. More coffee, some breakfast and then its off to get my flight down to Atlanta. Travelling on the 4th July is probably not a great idea, and I'd have like to spend it in Chicago to see how they celebrate but I need to get my ass to Atlanta to try and get soem tickets for tonights game. To be honest, I'm a bit nervous about Atlanta. Its my first time there and I'm not quite sure what to expect. I just hope they make me feel as welcome as the folks in Chicago do everytime I come here. At least I have hotel reservations sorted out so thats one less thing to worry about, just hope I can get tickets and find a crowd to show me around down there.

Another long gap without me writing much here, but seeing as I'm on vacation and have a little spare time I thought I'd put something here.

I'm back in Chicago for my vacation, but only for a couple of days. I got in late on Friday evening and found the way to my hotel with minimal problems. I'm staying at the Days Inn in Lincoln Park. Whilst it isn't the worst place I've stayed in, it cetainly isn't the best either. The rooms are clean, if a little small and its close to Wrigley Field which is the main reason I picked it. I didn't get out anywhere on Friday, I just grabbed a couple of beers at the hotel bar before getting some sleep and trying to avoid the jetlag.

Yesterday was great. Took the train up to wrigley and met with Manny, John, Adam and Casey before the cubs game at Murphy's Bleachers. We went in to the game early to catch BP and hopefully get a souvenir ball but no luck this time. As usual the atmosphere out in the right field bleachers was great and as usual there were lots of hot women, gotta love having an english accent <grin>. The highlight of the game for me was D Lee's homer that landed about 30 feet away. Jerome Williams looked pretty good to, even though the cubs are picking up most of Hawkins salary for this year I'm still thinking we got the best of that particular deal.

After the game, we drifted across to the Cubby Bear, a bar outside the main entrance of Wrigley Field. Seems like most of the other fans from the bleachers did too, the place was packed which I found amazing considering its size. Managed to grab some food and probably slightly too many beers. I have no idea what time I left there but judging by my head this morning it was pretty late.

Today is going to be pretty much of the same I expect. Most of the people I met last night are going to todays game as well, so it should be even more of a party. One thing about I love about the bleachers, everyone makes you feel welcome...although I'm not sure how much of that is down to my accent. It never ceases to amaze me how much the American's love an English accent. There's a live band on tonight at the Cubby Bear, Leftover Salmon. Looking forward to checkin them out too.