Since I didn't get Monday off for free, I used it to do some office housekeeping. It's amazing how long it can take to do things like filing and cleaning out old email. Inevitably, I got through less of it than I had planned to, but it's better than nothing. I have a bunch of that to do on my other work computer, too, since they did manage to recover a lot of the hard drive contents from the machine they killed.
As for Tuesday, I didn't do much of anything. I did get out to see Wordplay, a documentary about crossword puzzles. I enjoyed the movie, though I have some minor quibbles. I wish they'd said at least mentioned puzzles other than the New York Times crossword and, in particular, it would have been nice to have given a nod to cryptic (a.ka. "British-style") crosswords. Especially since the interview with Jon Delfin included him accompanying a woman singing a crossword related song by Maltby & Shire and Richard Maltby, Jr. is a well-known creator of cryptics. I'm also fairly sure that Will Shortz didn't start including more word play in the Times clues, but that his predecessor, Eugene Maleska, drew some wrath for that. Still, those are minor complaints and the movie is well-worth seeing.
I got home just before a strong thunderstorm hit - and knocked out our power for about five hours. The storm passed over quickly, so I was still able to see local fireworks, but it was annoying. Even more annoying was another power outage on Wednesday. That kept me from getting much of anything done at home since the power was out when I got home and didn't come back on until after ten. (I know it went off at two, since I have an electric analog clock.)
The weather improved later in the week and it is, in fact, surprisingly pleasant today. I can't really speak to yesterday since I flew up to Cleveland to add to my ballpark collection. Since I got in hours before the game, I used the time to do the downtown Volksmarch. The walk covered several areas and the directions had excellent notes on points of interest. For example, I might not have looked across to the Court House at Superior and West 9th and seen the Venus de Milo statue on its outside had it not been pointed out. The Warehouse District is an attractive neighborhood of 19th century garment factories transformed to residential use. The Flats, along the Cuyahoga River, is less attractive on a Saturday afternoon, but appears to be a thriving nightclub area. The walk then went past the Cleveland Browns Stadium, Great Lakes Science Center, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The latter is pretty much the only essential tourist attraction of Cleveland, but I'd been to it before and didn't really have time for a second visit. Continuing south, the route included Playhouse Square, Cleveland State University, and the Erie Street Cemetery. Walking through the cemetery takes you to the Gateway District, including Jacobs Field. Finally, the route went through The Arcade (first indoor shopping mall in the U.S. and now a Hyatt hotel), and several civic buildings. All in all, it was a good way to see a lot of a reasonably pleasant city.
In the evening, I walked back over to Jacobs Field, a short stroll from the Renaissance Hotel, which I'd chosen since I could use my Marriott points for a free room. (It was also particularly convenient, being the starting point for the Volksmarch and attached to Tower City with direct rapid transit connection to the airport.) The ballpark doesn't have anything unique, but is pleasant and intimate. While there is a mascot (a garish pink creature of uncertain species called "Slider"), it stays reasonably inconspicuous except for a few between innings kids promotions. The concessions are more varied than one would expect for this part of the country. I noticed two stands selling kosher hot dogs and knishes, for example, and even one with sushi. Things are, of course, overpriced, though, with a bottle of water costing $3.25. And I had to buy one since they won't let you take your own into the ballpark. (Fortunately, I had very little left in the bottle I had with me, so just drank it and threw out the empty bottle.) The seats are particularly comfortable, which is worth noting because that's unusual. The fans seemed reasonably knowledgeable, though not particularly loud. They only played "Take Me Out to the Ballpark" through once. It was followed by YMCA, which does at least be sort of an audience participation song, albeit one I have mixed feelings about. I absolutely hated it when it was a big hit in my undergrad days, but it doesn't irritate me quite as much now.
As for the game, neither the Indians nor the Baltimore Orioles played brilliantly. The Orioles won, largely due to mediocre pitching by the young Jeremy Sowers, and the fielding incompetence of 3rd baseman, Aaron Boone. Since Boone isn't a brilliant batter either, I assume they'll get rid of him sooner or later. The Indians did rally in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three runs with two outs, making it more exciting. But they couldn't pull it together and the Orioles won 7-4.
By the way, I also got to add to my collection of ballpark gimmes, as it was a promotion night. They gave everybody a Jhonny Peralta bobblehead. It was mildly amusing to watch people taking them out and holding them up when Peralta was at bat, though it didn't seem to inspire him much.
Finally, I should mention one minor travel annoyance. The RTA rapid transit train between the airport and downtown is convenient, but their customer service is inept and rude. At the airport station on Saturday, I told the attendant I wanted round trip tickets. She said I should just put the money in the slot. I asked if it would give me change and she said yes. When it didn't give me change, she said she thought I'd asked if I needed exact change. Then, it turned out that what it actually gave me was a one day pass and not a round trip ticket at all, which doesn't apparently exist. There doesn't appear to be any way to buy tickets, short of a vending machine which dispenses them only in quantities of 15 and was out of order even I wanted that many. But all except one of the turnstiles have slots that take only tickets. I'm less annoyed about being ripped off than I am about the unfriendly and unhelpful staff and signs.
Copyright 2006 Miriam H. Nadel