There's a National Ice Cream Day?

I love ice cream. Really, I do. Every now and then, I'll swing by 31-Flavors and pick up a pint of my absolute favorite, World Class Chocolate. It's a little bit of heaven down here on Earth.

So, when the opportunity presented itself (in other words, when she got old enough to appreciate it), I took my older daughter with me on a special, super-secret, late-night (8:30, but it was past her bedtime) ice cream run. We even had Mom's approval, because she'd eaten a good dinner, and taken a good bath. The kid had, not the Mom.

I gotta say, parenthood delivers a new lesson every day. I was really impressed with my 4yr old's behavior at B&R. I was afraid she would demand extra ice cream, or want a flavor they didn't have, or just throw a tantrum, but she didn't. She tasted 5 different flavors before setting on bubble gum (it's vile, but it's also pink!), and then ... she insisted on a cone.

I should have seen that coming. After all, I had a cone (with World Class Chocolate, of course).

I got her the cone, and we sat down. She looked confused. I showed her how to lick the ice cream around the edges, to avoid a mess, and five or six napkins later, she'd caught on. It was very cute; I was sorry I didn't have my camera with me.

And there we were, out past bedtime, eating ice cream, and she told me all about her day at the summer day camp.

"Daddy, I colored a beautiful flower, near a rainbow, and then I wrote "Mommy" on it. And then I played dress up with another girl, and then we all went and played in the water."

I hope that we can make this father/daughter night a regular thing, because it sure was a lot more fun than playing poker or baseball with the guys.

Of course, I don't think I'll tell anyone that!

Playing for Peanuts - Another Softball Game

Yup, me and the guys played another softball game.... And had another loss to our "perfect record." It's a good thing that we're really just there for the fun of it, or this would get very frustrating very quickly.

The last game was rather amusing, though. Our shortstop hurt his wrist, but didn't want to leave the game, because we didn't have an extra guy to take his place, and the catcher lost his glasses, but couldn't leave either, for the same reason. So we had a shortstop who couldn't throw, and a catcher who couldn't see. It felt like we were Charlie Brown's baseball team out there....

It did lead to some amusing antics, though. Our shortstop managed to make three tag-outs, and as Yogi Bera (was it Yogi; I don't remember) once said of a particularly inept catcher, "You gotta have one, or you'll have a lot of passed balls." At least there weren't too many passed balls. Although the catcher did tag out the ump at the plate, because the other team's shirts were a similar red design.... Erik (he's the guy who's work is sponsoring this team, remember?) wanted to go crawl under a car in the parking lot, after that one.... Poor guy is managing us.

We had a practice two days after that debacle, and Wade brought us new T-shirts. They are emblazoned with the name, The Peanuts, on them. Very apropos, I think....

Softball Night

I think I've mentioned that the guys and I stopped our regular card night; Erik had told us that his department at work was putting together a softball team for a city league, and needed some extra guys to fill up the roster. We all jumped at it, and now we play ball every Sunday and Tuesday. I'll be honest. We suck; haven't won a game yet.

That's not important though. We have a good time, and even though we have a perfect record (haha), we're not getting blown away. Game scores are usually something like 7 to 5, or 9 to 8, and we usually only have two or three gross errors in a game. I'm not so sure about the guys from Erik's work, but me and the other non-work guys aren't there to win, anyway. We're just having a good time.

We've got the minimum number of players on the team, nine guys out of eleven permitted. Our roster has 1st, 2nd, and 3rd base, shortstop, pitcher, catcher, and three outfielders. League rules permit a fourth outfielder and a DH, but we just couldn't get the players. Fortunately, everyone's able to commit to the games, so we haven't had a forfeit yet.

There is one other team in this league (20 teams, total, I think) that also has only nine players, and they have had to forfeit a game when a guy couldn't make it. I heard that after the loss was recorded, they put their shortstop in a shallow left position, and played the game anyway, just for kicks. It's that kind of league.

I Have Discovered Online Video Games

I've always loved video arcades. Maybe I've mentioned that already, I don't know because I don't feel like reading back through this blog right now... Anyway, I love video games. Back in college, I could blow whole rolls of quarters at the arcade, usually on pinball, or a monster game called "Rampage." It's been a while since I really played my heart out at an arcade....

And it will probably get to be a longer while, because I have discovered the amazing world of free online video games. Wow. The choices are limitless. Again, wow.

In the last week, I've found game sites with versions of Missile Command, Pac Man, and even Space Invaders. I felt transported back to my youth, but without having to beg for change. My wife muttered something about "colossal wastes of time," and said that the yardwork had better get done, but fortunately, it was raining....

...And I got to lock myself in the study and play games.

So what are the pros and cons of online video games? Well, the biggest advantage is that you can find practically any game you want, for free. All you need is a good computer, a high-speed internet connection, and a flash player, and you're good to go. Most of you probably know that already.

Make friends with Google. It'll help you find the games you're looking for.

There are drawbacks, though. Going to the video arcade used to be a social thing, but internet games are a solitary endeavor, so once the novelty wears off, there's not much incentive to stay online...

It was fun while it lasted, though!