It's worth noting that since my previous post and claims of the Cubs having a winning month of May we've proceeded to lose every game since. Nine in a row. And Kerry Wood officially retired...he got out just before the Sox swept us.

And it gets worse.

If my math is correct, we have to win 5 out of the next 6 games (with the Blue Jays losing every one of their remaining games) to win The Bet. Things are looking drab.

However, the sun is shining, the birds are singing...one literally just flew into a closed office window and gave me a chuckle. But with every silver lining comes a cloud (I am not a pessimist, just an unfortunate soul...proceed in reading...). Next Tuesday morning, despite all the shining sun and screeching birds God may give, I have an appointment with The Dentist. The kind of appointment that involves a heavy dosage of drugs, sharp instruments of torture, pliers, teeth and the departure of any wisdom that was in them.

Being the brute for punishment that I am, I decided to explore the world of Wisdom Teeth Extraction. I read first hand accounts, horror stories, pros and cons to anaesthetic (I will be wide awake for this experience - I refuse to die on the operating table of a dentist) and because I was curious thought, "What the heck, let's Google Image this stuff."

Bad, bad idea.

That's a lot of blood, a lot of tooth and a WHOLE (HOLE) lot of gum...just everywhere.

Oh well. Can't be any more painful than being a Cubs fan...

When Backed Into a Corner, Always Give In To Pride

I've always loved baseball. The smells, the sounds, the stats; it's all addictive. Growing up, I was always more interested in the actual game than any specific team. I cheered for the Blue Jays because they were the "home team" and I well remember my Dad taking me to my first game. I also well remember him having to shut up some kid in front of us who thought we drove 2 hours specifically to listen to him give us a history of each player. We had great seats behind the Jays dugout and while I can't remember who they were playing, Toronto won the game and I was treated to a souvenir batting glove which was a huge deal because it was neither my birthday or Christmas. 

But it wasn't until years later while living in Indiana that I discovered what true love really felt like: gut wrenching, heart smashing anguish. The first time I walked through the tunnel and saw Wrigley Field sprawled out before me in her glorious brick and ivy robes I knew I was a goner. I ended the evening with a baseball from batting practice, a Cubs win (a Carlos Zambrano shutout against the Astros if memory serves me correctly) and a future of bitter Septembers and indifferent Octobers ahead. Thus began my downward spiral into Cubs Fandom. I survived the heartbreak of the '03 Pennant Race (I don't blame you Steve Bartman!) and have charged optimistically into the following 9 years of continued failings with the rest of the faithful.

Which brings us up to date.

I'm not sure what it is that makes us Cubs fan so self-destructive. Not only do we enthusiastically cheer for a team that hasn't won a World Series since 1908 but we even go so far as to take pride in our Lovable Losers. The kind of pride they talk about when they say "pride goeth before destruction." Because I don't just cheer them on, I actually BET on them! I bet my money and my pride!

You see, I have this rather loud mouthed cousin (certainly not a family trait) who, as an Ontarion, is justifiably an avid Blue Jays fan. And he razzes me all the time about my Cubs. (Yes, my.) So in typical self-destructive fashion, I challenged him to a bet that the Cubs would have a higher win average for the month of May than the Jays. Loser takes winner to a Jays home game AND wears an article of clothing for the team they bet against.

If I lose, I want my shirt to say "Carter" on the back. (One of my absolute favourite passages in the Baseball Bible of Moments: The Book of Joe Carter, Chapter 1993, Verse: 9th Inning - And with 2-2 the count, Carter hitteth the ball a great distance into left and over the wall. And there was much rejoicing. But in Philadelphia there was wailing and gnashing of teeth.)

If I win, his t-shirt will say "Owned."

And just for the record, we're about half way into May and the Cubs are in the lead.

Knock on wood.


*Fun History Fact For the Fans - The last Cubs appearance in a World Series was 1945 against the Detroit Tigers. It was described by author Warren Brown as the "World's Worst Series." Ouch. This was also the origin of The Curse of the Billy Goat (Game 4). Thank you Billy Sianis.

Catching Up

So for all my Xanga followers from years gone by, things have changed on the homefront a wee bit. Wardenman (Kyle) is now living on his own in the Big City and engaged to a lovely young lady we had all previously thought out of his league. (Please don't take anything I say too seriously on this blog...like that "league" joke I just told...) I'm extremely excited for this wedding because not only is it my elder brother but because I will be transformed into Gerbs11, the Beautiful Bridesmaid. It's a first time for me. I've even been in a bridal shop now and have been educated in terms such as chiffon and crinoline and taffeta and lace.

I don't know about anyone else in these sorts of situations but in the months since their engagement I've been bombarded with wedding day dreams. I can't remember much of the first one except no one was ready and everyone was freaking out. In the second dream, a player for the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team got up to do a reading and an actual rugby game broke out. The third one was perhaps the most frightening one yet: I  was the only one who forgot the wedding and Kyle had to come get me and I hadn't showered or had my hair done or anything! And since the day apparently revolved around me it was a big deal. (As a side note, a good friend of mine had a dream in which I was cut from the Bridesmaid roster and she was given my spot...maybe Kyle was taking my dreams too seriously).

And just so everyone gets a taste of what an All Blacks reading might end up looking like...

Personally, I think they stole that from N'Sync.

I'm Baaa-aaaack

Facebook. That interruption of all things Blog. I went from writing book reviews and music rants to updating my friends on my weekly lunch schedule until eventually even that became too much work. Let's not get ahead of ourselves; I'm still very much a facebook user/creeper but when I randomly checked out my old Xanga blog (XANGA!!!) I realized something. I miss blogging! So here I am, ready to bedazzle everyone with what I imagine will be a lifetime of excitement but in reality will likely putter out by the end of this week.

I started by brainstorming what my new blog would be about. My first idea about working my way through Julia Child's cookbook and updating everyone on my successes and failures and ultimately landing a book deal and having a movie made based on my life with Amy Adams playing the part of moi has apparently already been done.

My second idea was about music. A music blog! But then I also like books...and I'm reading a great book about baseball which makes me want to write about baseball...and I love movie reviews...

Well, my third and final idea was a winner. I like me, why don't I just blog about that? And all that other stuff (music, books, baseball, movies, etc) are all inclusive.

Voila! Thus, "Sweet Nothings" was born. (What a crappy blog name, eh? That is simply horrendous).

The next step was deciding what blogging website to use. I feel like I've laid Xanga (XANGA!!!) to rest (quickly, while we're on "XANGA!!!" - doesn't that sort of look like a Japanese manga title? I think I might be onto something...) so I checked out WordPress (at Kyle's [older brother, BFF] suggestion) but we are talking indepth (sorry, just found the italics, had to use it) blogging and I'm not ready to commit myself to that much research and work when I could literally start up a blogspot site in seconds! (There's the bold).

And now that I've effectively blinded you with paranthesis I shall leave you to unwind from all that excitement (3-n-1 usage!) your body is trying to digest since discovering this resurrection of Gerbs11.

I look forward to sharing my world with you. At least for this week...

(And just for the record, Meryl Streep will also star in the movie of my life...she can have whatever part she wants. She is an absolute delight.)