Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Flannery ejection

If you read this blog, you probably also read Crossports, and saw the poll regarding the greatest moment in Hart Center history. Naturally, this comes after a previous thread, maybe this summer, on the "most memorable" moments in Hart Center history. Crossports is nothing if not for recycled topics.

In case you're wondering, I voted for the March 14, 2003 PL Championship game vs. American. Without a doubt, the most electric I've ever seen the Hart. I loved the Navy game in 2001, and the mid-year win against AU in 2003 (Cresnik missed three at buzzer), but walking into the gym for the 2003 PL Final was simply amazing.

Nice of Holty to include in the poll Bucknell coach Pat Flannery's ejection on January 18, 2008. I wish I was there, but could only watch from afar on ESPU. Here are a few TV pics to remind you of that day. BTW, that's a bloodied and bruised Andrew Keister asking, "What's going on?" as the crowd roared watching Flannery's meltdown.




Job hunting!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to you! I know a few of you still check in here every so often. It's been a disappointing start to the men's and women's basketball campaigns. The ladies are 1-9? What the heck is up with that?

While those teams are hot topics on Crossports, I've been busy preparing for a job hunt. After relocating here in September of 2007, I was impacted by my company's November reduction-in-force. It was shocking, and unfortunately, opportunities here seem to be few and far between. However, I have no plans to move, so the job search is on here in the Triangle. If you happen to learn of mainframe application development opportunities here (COBOL, JCL, DB2, MVS, CICS), or have IT contacts here, please drop me a line at jstrack59 at yahoo. Thanks to those of you who've already contacted me. I greatly appreciate it!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

MS Ride!

Hi everyone! In June, I signed up to participate in the National MS Society's Bike MS event, which occurred this past weekend near the coast in New Bern, NC. I'm new to cycling (just started in late spring), so I was very excited to contribute to a great cause and to participate in such a challenging event.

I pledged to ride at 75 miles on Day One and another 30 miles on Day Two. I ended up riding a "century" on Day One, one hundred miles in low 90's temperatures and high humidity, and 30 more miles the next day. It was grueling at times, but completely worth it. A great experience, and I'm already looking forward to next year and more miles!

We had a wonderful team of 70 riders from my company's NC office. A truly great group of people.

The goal of this year's tour was to raise $1.6 million for MS research, programs, services, and advocacy for the 4,300 people living with MS in Eastern North Carolina. Thanks to all of you who joined me in supporting this great cause by making a contribution toward my fundraising efforts.

Jon

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Lucky Strike Convention

From Ralph Willard's blog comes this priceless line:
As soon as I open the door I feel like I am at a Lucky Strike convention. Everything smells of tobacco including the pillows. The perfect end to another travel debacle.

I couldn't help but think of my new town, with its Lucky Strike tower and smokestack...





Photos taken in May 2007 at the magnificently redeveloped American Tobacco complex here in Durham. I love walking or bicycling through there. (Actually the pics were taken the same evening I met Coach Vaas).

And since Coach Willard mentioned the smell of tobacco, the locals here say that up until about 10 years ago, the air in the evening in downtown Durham would smell like tobacco (not cigarettes). I find that oddly charming. I would've liked to experience that, in a way.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Blog Update - Finally!

Is anyone still reading this? Here's the brief update: I was able to sell my Worcester townhome in ten days (in a down market!), and moved to Durham in September of 2007. I've been here for over nine months, and I love it! I bought an old house in an established neighborhood here in Durham. Things are going very well. Durham's a wonderful, interesting place to live.

I've taken up cycling in recent months. In March, I owned zero bicycles. I now have two. I use my hybrid bike for some of my around-town transportation, leisure riding down the American Tobacco Trail greenway on weekends, as well as the occasional bike commute to work. I've ridden it the two miles from my house down to the DBAP for Durham Bulls games. I also bought a used road bike, and plan to ramp up my longer-distance riding in preparation for a charity ride this September.

I must say I'm becoming a fan of the Bulls. Games at DBAP are entertaining, although from many observations, not as organic an experience as at the the old ballpark featured in the movie "Bull Durham." You can read more about Durham's baseball history and the old DAP here (a wonderful blog - about as prolific and visually stunning as blogs come).

Also, the Bulls are the farm team for the red-hot Rays, who just happen to have two of my Scoresheet league starters in their rotation. So although my roots are with the Red Sox, I'm really enjoying what the Rays are bringing to the table this season!

What's the future of this blog? I can't answer that. I really hate to make the final announcement that I'm finished with it, because I may post things here on occasion. Right now, it's back-burner for me. Check in every couple of months and see if there's any new content. Obviously, being away from Worcester, I've lost the closeness with the HC teams and access to all the little things I might hear or see that helped inspire my blog posts.

So after a year's break, let's just see what happens, okay? Hope everyone's doing well and enjoying their summer!