pkondz
Brace yourself for immediate disintegration
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2007
- Messages
- 33,460
The kid's dinner tonight. Don't ask me what it is, I don't want to know.
Looks like rice on the left.
No idea about the rest.
The kid's dinner tonight. Don't ask me what it is, I don't want to know.
Welcome back, I guess as I assume you would rather still be on the ship. Under 6 weeks for us now, can't come fast enough with all that is going on with the day job.'Afternoon all...
My cubical at work greatly lacks the feel and vibe that I got from our stateroom aboard the Fantasy last week.
Withdrawal symptoms are in full force.
Hope all are well, Disney and bacon for all (tofu and Beverly for you enemies)
I'll try to catch up as I can (work is calling first though so... you know... may not get to it)
Sorry to hear about the luggage but glad all else is doing o.k.Travel update: Just talked to her in Jakarta. She made it to the hotel for a brief layover before continuing on to Sarong. Not much time to do anything but shower and get something to eat. She said the hotel is beautiful, not bad for $49 U.S. Five people had their luggage stay in Hong Kong and guess who one of those people were. Yep. The hotel was sympathetic and gave her an upgrade and had a toothbrush and toothpaste waiting in her room. Hope the luggage catches up with her because it is going to be a bear to get it to her final destination. No pics yet other than one from the Dallas airport Tarmac on Snapchat. Despite a long and bumpy flight and the luggage issue, she seems to be enjoying herself.
On the retirement plan front, had a bit of a brainstorm over the holiday weekend. Was at the campground where we have a Dutch Park park model trailer. I was dreading the idea of trying to sell a house in Jersey at the same time trying to find a house in Florida. Then I thought, we have what's basically a 400 square foot apartment on wheels. Why not ship it to a nice RV park in Florida, and when the house in Jersey sells, head south, and use the trailer as a base camp to house hunt down there. And if we like the campground, leave it there for weekends. Gotta think that's less stressful, as long as the trailer doesn't wind up as a pile of splinters alongside Rt 81.![]()
Travel update: Just talked to her in Jakarta. She made it to the hotel for a brief layover before continuing on to Sarong. Not much time to do anything but shower and get something to eat. She said the hotel is beautiful, not bad for $49 U.S. Five people had their luggage stay in Hong Kong and guess who one of those people were. Yep. The hotel was sympathetic and gave her an upgrade and had a toothbrush and toothpaste waiting in her room. Hope the luggage catches up with her because it is going to be a bear to get it to her final destination. No pics yet other than one from the Dallas airport Tarmac on Snapchat. Despite a long and bumpy flight and the luggage issue, she seems to be enjoying herself.
Ok. Need to vent. I'm sitting here fuming right now and I figured this is a safe place to just air it out.
At least DS had no clue about any of it. Didn't hear grandma yell at him. As far as he's concerned, he went 3 for 3, scored 3 runs and is happily sound asleep. And that's how it should be.
I find out after the game that a parent complained to the league that our coaches don't teach the players everything they need to know and we don't put the right players in the right positions to win.
A ball was hit down the line. He bobbled it and didn't make the play. Dugout mom's mom? Mother in law? Sitting in the stands goes ballistic.
He clearly is just over it and unwilling to confront her. He spent the whole game tonight standing next to the fence talking to another player's dad.
Ok. Need to vent. I'm sitting here fuming right now and I figured this is a safe place to just air it out.
DS had a baseball game this evening and I'm an assistant coach. It is a 4, 5 & 6 year old league. We have 12 players. 3 6 year olds, 5 4 year olds and the rest are 5. Only 2 of our 5 year olds have ever played before. We're the most inexperienced team in the league and 0 - 6. But the kids are having fun and getting better every game. We were 1 out away from a tie tonight.
Well, our head coach is coaching another team as well, so as far as game time goes I've been setting lineups and handling the details for the past few games.
We try to be positive with the kids. We're trying to teach the little things. Field the ball and throw to first. Occasionally, depending who is playing at a particular position and their comprehension and skill level we might make them aware of plays at second or third and try to make plays there. But for a lot of them we just have to focus on fundamentals and doing the little things.
We switch the batting order around every game and rotate defensive positions every inning. We don't hide the tiny 4 year old who just wants to dig in the dirt in right field. How else will he learn the game? The best player in the team isn't pitchers helper every inning either. We have 2 pitcher helpers and play 3 inning games, so every inning one of the 6 year olds is always there, one is on first and the other plays a shallow OF/IF utility position behind 2nd. We feel lilt that gives us the best skill sets distributed around the field in key places, yet we can still rotate players and let everyone play pitchers helper from time to time.
Well... we have a dugout mom. Her son is one of the 6 year olds. The third best 6 year old on the team if you care to know...
I keep book and coach the base next to the dugout and she gets a line up card and makes sure the on deck batter is getting ready. Well the past couple of games that family has been getting loud. Tonight, she invited herself out onto the field to help coach.
She planted herself between SS and 3B. Right in the baseline. And yelled at the players nonstop.
None of the coaches yell. So we apparently suck and don't know what we're doing. Yes, kids play in the dirt. Yelling has never kept one from digging and never will. I had to comfort a crying second baseman tonight after he missed a grounder because he was playing in the dirt. I always just try to talk to them in an upbeat way and get them to pay attention by asking if they want to get hit in the butt with a baseball. That usually works for at least the next few pitches.
Tonight, I finally got one of the younger kids to cover 3rd base the way he was supposed to. I never yelled at him to get that to happen. But I did make a big deal of it and run across the field to give him a high five when he did it right. There wasn't even a play there but he did what I asked! Anyway that how I look at it with this age group. It is about just learning the game, and more importantly having fun. If we yell at them about things they don't understand, they'll never enjoy the game.
Well. Tonight one of the 6 year olds said he didn't want to play first. Ok. I put him at short his inning and DS played first. DS is 5. He hadn't played first before. But he spent 2 innings in the OF and was due to play an inning in the infield so I gave him a chance. And DS is typically one of the better fielding 5 year olds we have.
A ball was hit down the line. He bobbled it and didn't make the play. Dugout mom's mom? Mother in law? Sitting in the stands goes ballistic. DW yells at her for yelling at a 5 year old and leaves in tears.
Later on, i catch dugout mom trying to teach DS how to swing a bat in the on deck circle. She and I then had words. Yes, what she was teaching him was technically correct. But well beyond his level. I'm strictly just trying to get a consistent swing while keeping his eyes on the ball. Once we master that, then we can work on the footwork. That is all I need him to do is pull his head because he's over striding all of a sudden.
Anyway... I find out after the game that a parent complained to the league that our coaches don't teach the players everything they need to know and we don't put the right players in the right positions to win. Clearly, I know where that came from. I'm just fed up.
No real reason for this post other than to vent because there's no way I can go to sleep yet because I'm so pissed.
Our head coach just flat out checked out this evening and now I know why. He wanted to just give her the book if she doesn't like how we do it. But now I'm kind of stuck in the middle. He's the only one who is technically listed as coach in the league so she really has as much right to be out there as I do. He clearly is just over it and unwilling to confront her. He spent the whole game tonight standing next to the fence talking to another player's dad. I just want her out of there. And if I had the authority I'd gladly tell her. Kids this age don't need the negativity. My patience is wearing thin and I'm afraid it could get ugly next game.
At least DS had no clue about any of it. Didn't hear grandma yell at him. As far as he's concerned, he went 3 for 3, scored 3 runs and is happily sound asleep. And that's how it should be.
Welcome back, I guess as I assume you would rather still be on the ship. Under 6 weeks for us now, can't come fast enough with all that is going on with the day job.
Ok. Need to vent. I'm sitting here fuming right now and I figured this is a safe place to just air it out.
DS had a baseball game this evening and I'm an assistant coach. It is a 4, 5 & 6 year old league. We have 12 players. 3 6 year olds, 5 4 year olds and the rest are 5. Only 2 of our 5 year olds have ever played before. We're the most inexperienced team in the league and 0 - 6. But the kids are having fun and getting better every game. We were 1 out away from a tie tonight.
Well, our head coach is coaching another team as well, so as far as game time goes I've been setting lineups and handling the details for the past few games.
We try to be positive with the kids. We're trying to teach the little things. Field the ball and throw to first. Occasionally, depending who is playing at a particular position and their comprehension and skill level we might make them aware of plays at second or third and try to make plays there. But for a lot of them we just have to focus on fundamentals and doing the little things.
We switch the batting order around every game and rotate defensive positions every inning. We don't hide the tiny 4 year old who just wants to dig in the dirt in right field. How else will he learn the game? The best player in the team isn't pitchers helper every inning either. We have 2 pitcher helpers and play 3 inning games, so every inning one of the 6 year olds is always there, one is on first and the other plays a shallow OF/IF utility position behind 2nd. We feel lilt that gives us the best skill sets distributed around the field in key places, yet we can still rotate players and let everyone play pitchers helper from time to time.
Well... we have a dugout mom. Her son is one of the 6 year olds. The third best 6 year old on the team if you care to know...
I keep book and coach the base next to the dugout and she gets a line up card and makes sure the on deck batter is getting ready. Well the past couple of games that family has been getting loud. Tonight, she invited herself out onto the field to help coach.
She planted herself between SS and 3B. Right in the baseline. And yelled at the players nonstop.
None of the coaches yell. So we apparently suck and don't know what we're doing. Yes, kids play in the dirt. Yelling has never kept one from digging and never will. I had to comfort a crying second baseman tonight after he missed a grounder because he was playing in the dirt. I always just try to talk to them in an upbeat way and get them to pay attention by asking if they want to get hit in the butt with a baseball. That usually works for at least the next few pitches.
Tonight, I finally got one of the younger kids to cover 3rd base the way he was supposed to. I never yelled at him to get that to happen. But I did make a big deal of it and run across the field to give him a high five when he did it right. There wasn't even a play there but he did what I asked! Anyway that how I look at it with this age group. It is about just learning the game, and more importantly having fun. If we yell at them about things they don't understand, they'll never enjoy the game.
Well. Tonight one of the 6 year olds said he didn't want to play first. Ok. I put him at short his inning and DS played first. DS is 5. He hadn't played first before. But he spent 2 innings in the OF and was due to play an inning in the infield so I gave him a chance. And DS is typically one of the better fielding 5 year olds we have.
A ball was hit down the line. He bobbled it and didn't make the play. Dugout mom's mom? Mother in law? Sitting in the stands goes ballistic. DW yells at her for yelling at a 5 year old and leaves in tears.
Later on, i catch dugout mom trying to teach DS how to swing a bat in the on deck circle. She and I then had words. Yes, what she was teaching him was technically correct. But well beyond his level. I'm strictly just trying to get a consistent swing while keeping his eyes on the ball. Once we master that, then we can work on the footwork. That is all I need him to do is pull his head because he's over striding all of a sudden.
Anyway... I find out after the game that a parent complained to the league that our coaches don't teach the players everything they need to know and we don't put the right players in the right positions to win. Clearly, I know where that came from. I'm just fed up.
No real reason for this post other than to vent because there's no way I can go to sleep yet because I'm so pissed.
Our head coach just flat out checked out this evening and now I know why. He wanted to just give her the book if she doesn't like how we do it. But now I'm kind of stuck in the middle. He's the only one who is technically listed as coach in the league so she really has as much right to be out there as I do. He clearly is just over it and unwilling to confront her. He spent the whole game tonight standing next to the fence talking to another player's dad. I just want her out of there. And if I had the authority I'd gladly tell her. Kids this age don't need the negativity. My patience is wearing thin and I'm afraid it could get ugly next game.
At least DS had no clue about any of it. Didn't hear grandma yell at him. As far as he's concerned, he went 3 for 3, scored 3 runs and is happily sound asleep. And that's how it should be.
Evening all. Youngest had 5th grade graduation tonight. Celebrating the mundane, but she does move to a new middle school. Still........It is over. We celebrate by eating at Texas Roadhouse with Shiner Bock draft for me.
I will say that the Fantasy seemed just a bit rolly-polly this outing.
You might say that Minnie had some extra wiggle in her step.
Didn't bother us none, but it was noticeable and a few folks were a bit put out by it.
Might have been heavy currents, but I also head at least one account of a misbehaving stabilizer.
Can't substantiate that one yet, but if it were true that wont get fixed until the next dry docking.
Sorry to hear, but not surprised as some folks just don't get it. I would not have had the patience you displayed so nicely done by you on that point. Hang in there and glad to see DS is not bothered by a frustrated, ex, wanna be jock momaOk. Need to vent. I'm sitting here fuming right now and I figured this is a safe place to just air it out.
DS had a baseball game this evening and I'm an assistant coach. It is a 4, 5 & 6 year old league. We have 12 players. 3 6 year olds, 5 4 year olds and the rest are 5. Only 2 of our 5 year olds have ever played before. We're the most inexperienced team in the league and 0 - 6. But the kids are having fun and getting better every game. We were 1 out away from a tie tonight.
Well, our head coach is coaching another team as well, so as far as game time goes I've been setting lineups and handling the details for the past few games.
We try to be positive with the kids. We're trying to teach the little things. Field the ball and throw to first. Occasionally, depending who is playing at a particular position and their comprehension and skill level we might make them aware of plays at second or third and try to make plays there. But for a lot of them we just have to focus on fundamentals and doing the little things.
We switch the batting order around every game and rotate defensive positions every inning. We don't hide the tiny 4 year old who just wants to dig in the dirt in right field. How else will he learn the game? The best player in the team isn't pitchers helper every inning either. We have 2 pitcher helpers and play 3 inning games, so every inning one of the 6 year olds is always there, one is on first and the other plays a shallow OF/IF utility position behind 2nd. We feel lilt that gives us the best skill sets distributed around the field in key places, yet we can still rotate players and let everyone play pitchers helper from time to time.
Well... we have a dugout mom. Her son is one of the 6 year olds. The third best 6 year old on the team if you care to know...
I keep book and coach the base next to the dugout and she gets a line up card and makes sure the on deck batter is getting ready. Well the past couple of games that family has been getting loud. Tonight, she invited herself out onto the field to help coach.
She planted herself between SS and 3B. Right in the baseline. And yelled at the players nonstop.
None of the coaches yell. So we apparently suck and don't know what we're doing. Yes, kids play in the dirt. Yelling has never kept one from digging and never will. I had to comfort a crying second baseman tonight after he missed a grounder because he was playing in the dirt. I always just try to talk to them in an upbeat way and get them to pay attention by asking if they want to get hit in the butt with a baseball. That usually works for at least the next few pitches.
Tonight, I finally got one of the younger kids to cover 3rd base the way he was supposed to. I never yelled at him to get that to happen. But I did make a big deal of it and run across the field to give him a high five when he did it right. There wasn't even a play there but he did what I asked! Anyway that how I look at it with this age group. It is about just learning the game, and more importantly having fun. If we yell at them about things they don't understand, they'll never enjoy the game.
Well. Tonight one of the 6 year olds said he didn't want to play first. Ok. I put him at short his inning and DS played first. DS is 5. He hadn't played first before. But he spent 2 innings in the OF and was due to play an inning in the infield so I gave him a chance. And DS is typically one of the better fielding 5 year olds we have.
A ball was hit down the line. He bobbled it and didn't make the play. Dugout mom's mom? Mother in law? Sitting in the stands goes ballistic. DW yells at her for yelling at a 5 year old and leaves in tears.
Later on, i catch dugout mom trying to teach DS how to swing a bat in the on deck circle. She and I then had words. Yes, what she was teaching him was technically correct. But well beyond his level. I'm strictly just trying to get a consistent swing while keeping his eyes on the ball. Once we master that, then we can work on the footwork. That is all I need him to do is pull his head because he's over striding all of a sudden.
Anyway... I find out after the game that a parent complained to the league that our coaches don't teach the players everything they need to know and we don't put the right players in the right positions to win. Clearly, I know where that came from. I'm just fed up.
No real reason for this post other than to vent because there's no way I can go to sleep yet because I'm so pissed.
Our head coach just flat out checked out this evening and now I know why. He wanted to just give her the book if she doesn't like how we do it. But now I'm kind of stuck in the middle. He's the only one who is technically listed as coach in the league so she really has as much right to be out there as I do. He clearly is just over it and unwilling to confront her. He spent the whole game tonight standing next to the fence talking to another player's dad. I just want her out of there. And if I had the authority I'd gladly tell her. Kids this age don't need the negativity. My patience is wearing thin and I'm afraid it could get ugly next game.
At least DS had no clue about any of it. Didn't hear grandma yell at him. As far as he's concerned, he went 3 for 3, scored 3 runs and is happily sound asleep. And that's how it should be.
Hope that stabilizer, if an issue, gets fixed as I do not think a dry dock date for the Fantasy is even scheduled. Dream hits dry dock this year so would assume that Fantasy is would be targeted.'Morning all...
Thanks, and yep...
I'd rather be back on the ship (bit of a no brainier there).
Hope y'all have a great sailing as well.
I will say that the Fantasy seemed just a bit rolly-polly this outing.
You might say that Minnie had some extra wiggle in her step.
Didn't bother us none, but it was noticeable and a few folks were a bit put out by it.
Might have been heavy currents, but I also head at least one account of a misbehaving stabilizer.
Can't substantiate that one yet, but if it were true that wont get fixed until the next dry docking.
There's really no need for yelling put downs at kids that age trying to play a game. It is just absurd and uncalled for.
Found one thing out. Despite the flight was booked at AA and the flight number has an AA number, they disown any issue with bags. When I called them, they basically told me, "We checked it in at Hong Kong so it is Cathay Pacific's problem." Interesting start of the trip.
Wow... so true. But since when do 4, 5 & 6 year olds reach that tipping point status??? I feel sorry for her kids going forward.
Honestly though, they don't seem to yell at him and ride him too hard at games. They just yell at everyone else's kids.
Maybe some of these just need to happen to be laying around on the bleachers at our game on Saturday...![]()