I'm at work doing absolutely nothing. Not only am I monkeying around, but everyone knows it and no one cares. It's such a strange feeling to know that I'm free to email, blog, or IM, and it's really because I just have to BE here. Face-time. It's such a useless concept.
Anyway, since I'm doing nothing, I may as well blog. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a national holiday (Thank God, I needed a day off to break up the monotony of doing nothing). It was "Vernal Equinox Day." Yes, you read that right - I got a holiday because it's spring. The excitement of the day came courtesy of the Hanshin Tigers and the Hiroshima Carp, who were playing a pre-season exhibition game at Muscat Stadium in... KURASHIKI!
Here is a picture of the good guys! Brian, Kim, Darren, Lauren, and Bethany. Note the little girl in the Tigers jersey behind Kim - she was absolutely ADORABLE!
Here's something different. Everyone buys these big, fat, long balloons with a little plastic nub-nub at the end where you blow. I thought this was strange because it makes tying it a little hard. Ahhh. Little did we know... At both the top and bottom of the 7th, fans all simultaneously release their balloons and the plastic bit makes 'em all whistle like fireworks shooting up into the air. Here are the fanatical Tigers fans all waving their balloons and flags and whatever else they can hold up to cheer with. The men on the field are picker-uppers. They pick up the deflated balloons that land on the field.
WHEEE!!! The balloons all go flying every which-way!
And the process was repeated at the bottom of the 7th for the home-team Carp. It certainly was festive, not to mention a complete and utter waste of balloons!!
I smiled at everyone's enthusiasm. At the bottom of the 9th, the Carp were down 8-3, and with the level of play that they showed, they were in no position to stage a 5-run comeback. However, their fans still cheered their hearts out and didn't leave the stadium until the last out. Awww.... s'okay, I was cheering for the Tigers all the way! I even bought a lovely visor and some noisemakers!
So, I've decided that I will never ever watch an MLB game because it's boring. Japanese baseball, however, it thrilling just because fans are SO into it. It's like playoff fever, but it's not even a regular season game! Enthusiasm is infectious!
Anyway, since I'm doing nothing, I may as well blog. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a national holiday (Thank God, I needed a day off to break up the monotony of doing nothing). It was "Vernal Equinox Day." Yes, you read that right - I got a holiday because it's spring. The excitement of the day came courtesy of the Hanshin Tigers and the Hiroshima Carp, who were playing a pre-season exhibition game at Muscat Stadium in... KURASHIKI!
Here is a picture of the good guys! Brian, Kim, Darren, Lauren, and Bethany. Note the little girl in the Tigers jersey behind Kim - she was absolutely ADORABLE!
Here's something different. Everyone buys these big, fat, long balloons with a little plastic nub-nub at the end where you blow. I thought this was strange because it makes tying it a little hard. Ahhh. Little did we know... At both the top and bottom of the 7th, fans all simultaneously release their balloons and the plastic bit makes 'em all whistle like fireworks shooting up into the air. Here are the fanatical Tigers fans all waving their balloons and flags and whatever else they can hold up to cheer with. The men on the field are picker-uppers. They pick up the deflated balloons that land on the field.
WHEEE!!! The balloons all go flying every which-way!
And the process was repeated at the bottom of the 7th for the home-team Carp. It certainly was festive, not to mention a complete and utter waste of balloons!!I smiled at everyone's enthusiasm. At the bottom of the 9th, the Carp were down 8-3, and with the level of play that they showed, they were in no position to stage a 5-run comeback. However, their fans still cheered their hearts out and didn't leave the stadium until the last out. Awww.... s'okay, I was cheering for the Tigers all the way! I even bought a lovely visor and some noisemakers!
So, I've decided that I will never ever watch an MLB game because it's boring. Japanese baseball, however, it thrilling just because fans are SO into it. It's like playoff fever, but it's not even a regular season game! Enthusiasm is infectious!
