Give some love to...

... the World Baseball Classic. I went to two games on Thursday afternoon with a couple of friends. We saw Dominican Republic v. Italy at 1pm and Venezuela v. Australia at 8pm. The games were pretty competitive (suprisingly so) but the atmosphere was the real draw. The Dominicans in the crowd (there were quite a few) were a pretty lively bunch ... but couldn't hold a candle to the Venezuelans. The Venezuelans who packed the stadium (there couldn't have been more than a dozen Aussie fans there) turned the whole thing into a giant party, with a baseball game going on in the background. It was the most fun I've had in years! We talked with our neighbors sitting on the lawn down the left-field line, danced with the small band that came to get the crowd going, cheered very loudly for Australia (much to the pleasure of the good-natured Venezuelans near us) and generally hooped and hollered. It was a blast. Latins know how to watch a baseball game. We gringos are way too passive!

... Dads who teach their sons how to fix stuff. My Dad tried for years but I couldn't be bothered. Now I've morphed from "apathetic teenager" into "homeowner" and suddenly I wish I'd paid more attention to those lessons. Fortunately, my Dad lives two hours away and isn't prone to saying "I told you so". So we spent this past weekend installing a pantry, cupboard and countertop in our kitchen, adding much needed storage space. So kids, listen to your fathers when they want to teach you stuff. You will need it later!