Track 8 - Hats, Bats, and Flats

Thirty-two years old and laid off twice. Some people might start to get very discouraged. I just accept it as part of the career fields I have chosen, sports and entertainment and sales. Both are notorious for layoffs as the economy ebbs and flows. It is getting old. I have never been fired. To the contrary, I have always received praise and accolades for my work ethic and drive. I was laid off from the Nuggets because I was making too much money in a non-essential position. The most recent layoff was just bad luck. I unknowingly jumped onto a sinking ship. StoresOnline, is no longer a seminar company. That does not bode well for a seminar salesman. Last Tuesday my company told me without as much directness and articulation as Queen of Hearts in Alice In Wonderland but with the same final result, "Off with their heads!!!"

Now what? Many of my coworkers went into panic mode or self-preservation mode. Frantic calls to others to hear what their plans were and texts going out as quickly as their fat fingers can navigate their smart phone touch keyboards to networking associates regarding possible open positions filled the air. What did I do? Hung up the phone from the conference call mumbled, "well that sucked," turned up my tunes on the stereo, and turned my car south and headed for sunnier locations. Road trip!!!!

Hats, bats, and flats. That is the name of my road trip. Hats because I am wearing many different hats during the trip:

friend and ex-mission comp

brother

uncle

Food critic

wheel-man

surfer

and as always eye-candy for the ladies.

The bats part was a bit of a surprise. I am a huge sports fan but not a huge baseball fan. I enjoy baseball because it is summer time and I like being outside in the warm evenings. I think baseball is great because it doesn't require a lot of focus to follow and is very slow moving which makes it easy for me to feed my ADHD on my phone, with binoculars, or day-dreaming. Friday, I dropped my brother and sister-in-law off at LAX. They are headed to Hawaii. Thanks for the invite guys... jerks. It was early evening and my buddy had to work late so I needed to find something to do. It just so happened that the Dodgers were in town so I bought a ticket and went.

Notice the Dodger blue. I didn't want to end up like that Giants fan.

The next day we decided to have a marathon activity day. We got up and went surfing for an hour. I am a natural born surfer and when I say that what I really mean is, I am terrible! Immediately after surfing we drove down PCH to Sunset Beach and paddle boarded the harbor. In Florida, I had seen a pair of red Rainbow sandals and I wanted them. Unfortunately, when I got to the register, I discovered I had left my credit card at the restaurant. Utah doesn't have an abundance of good surf shops, I don't know why with all the Californian wannabes there, you would think we'd have a whole mini Huntington Beach promenade. Lucky for me, Rainbows are made in San Clemente, CA, only about 40 miles from where I was and they had the factory store. We cruised down there and bought my new flip flops and then headed to Anaheim for an Angels game.

Notice the Angels red. I am a chameleon.

By this time, I decided that I would try and watch a baseball game in each destination. In fact, the Angels game was the third game I went to that week. I was at the Bees game, Triple A affiliate of the LA Angels, on Monday the 4th of July.

Sunday was my travel day. I left Seal Beach, CA and drove 949 miles to Salem, OR to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and niece. Salem has a single A affiliate of the SF Giants so that will do.

It was my niece's first baseball game. She was into it. Even started keeping stats. You know those asians love their numbers!

I think you understand the bats part now. But what is the flats all about? Well, a certain friend of mine wished a horrific accident on me. I have driven over 2000 miles already on my trip. Before leaving, she noticed that my tires were pretty close to bald. I explained they were my racing slicks. She told me they were going to blow out, flip my car, and I would end up upside down in the middle of the highway. Don't you put that voodoo on me Ricky Bobby! Sure enough, what do you think happened?

This picture was taken the moment the tire blew out.

You should all know, I am finishing this track strapped into my car by my safety belt upside down on highway 22 in Oregon. Please send help!