Areas of Unrest

10 July 2001 - All Stars

QOTD: "It is easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them." - Alfred Adler

Reading: Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

Listening to: nothing right now since the baseball game ended

All stars, hmmm. Rigel. Alpha Centauri. The ever popular Polaris.

Seriously, damn! I wanted the National League to win, what with the American League All Star team so dominated by representatives of the Source of All Evil in the Universe. Actually, I always root for the National League because I grew up in a Mets household and because the Designated Hitter rule is just so so very wrong. But Joe Torre is even more reason to be disappointed this year.

I didn't see much of the game since I worked fairly late, trying to clear out some email before taking the next few days off to go to Providence. But I was able to listen to much of it on the radio while driving home from work. Which is actually a better way to enjoy a baseball game, second only to being there in person. The TV announcers tend to think that because you can see the action, they can ramble off on other subjects and not talk about what's happening on the field.

Anyway, in honor of the All Star game, I thought I'd mention all the reasons that Robert is an all star in my life. Well, not all - that would take too long. But, at the risk of sounding like a simpering idiot, here are nine reasons in no particular order:

• He's absolutely brilliant, but he still lets me get away with pretending I'm smarter than he is.

• He's devastatingly sexy. After 16 years, I still feel electricity. I used to think if we just spent enough time together, I'd get over that, but when I've been with him for several days, he gets more amazing day by day.

• He has strong opinions and will stick to them, even when they're clearly wrong. (That is, of course, when they disagree with my strong and stubbornly held opinions. Just get him started on the metric system, for example.)

• He usually speaks like a normal person but reverts to a Bronx accent when talking to his mother on the phone. It's incredibly cute and he's entirely unaware of it.

• He's attentive. Part of this is remembering little details. Part of it is being physically affectionate. Most of it is that it just doesn't occur to him not to be.

• He's focused. Though this makes him a bit of a workaholic, it also means he gets things done, instead of procrastinating and wasting time like mere mortals do.

• He has a good sense of humor. In other words, he laughs at my jokes.

• It's still possible to embarrass him. That's a plus in this day and age.

• He puts up with me. Even when he thinks I'm being hysterical about nothing. Even when I'm being all gushy and sappy like this.

If only I could turn him away from evil Yankee fandom!