Behind enemy lines

If you don't follow too many sports, or baseball in particular, you might not know that the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves have one of the most spirited rivalries in Major League Baseball.

Growing up in Atlanta, I am, naturally, a Braves fan. My husband, however, is a Mets fan. You can imagine this has led to more than one moment of discontent.

On Friday, we made a spontaneous decision to go to a Mets game. We really just wanted to get out of the house (and Scott was trying to avoid the NFL draft) so we bought cheap seats in the nosebleed section and got out of the house for a while. But this wasn't just any Mets game...it was a Mets-Braves game.

I decided to take on a covert operation to cheer on my team while appearing as though I was a Mets fan.

Decked in one of Scott's Mets hats...



and my Mets duffle bag I got for free at a previous game...



we headed to the stadium.



Last time we went, I wasn't able to get this shot because of the crowds...



but this time, success! (And I already knew he was a home run...)

We arrived early to check out the stadium, since we got there late the one time we went last season, and Scott got to see the 1986 World Series trophy, won in a game which he remembers staying up late to watch when he was 12.



I took a picture of him down near the field, cause I figured that was as close as we were gonna get.



Behind the big screen in the stadium, there's a promenade with a few restaurants and things to do. Which apparently includes the torture of Braves fans in dunk tanks!



Even Scott got in on this. Hmph.



My disguise was so good, even Mr. Met shook my hand and wanted a photo with me.



As we made our way to our seats, this made me laugh:



The seats were actually not as bad as I expected them to be. We had a beautiful view of the river behind the screen.



BUT...in the fifth inning, I spotted an official-looking guy in our section looking around, and I caught his eye. He came over asked if the two of us would like to move down to field level, for free! Uh, lemmethinkaboutthatYES!! Our new seats were about 10 rows from the field, behind the left-field foul pole. Here's a view from our new seats. You can see our old seats.



Here's our new seats in a view from the old seats:



The Mets ended up winning the game, so a score for Scott. Not so much for me. But it's ok, 'cause I like it when he's happy. So in the end, we were both happy.



I might have to invest in a Braves hat, though...

Somebody owes me some money

Alright. Who was it? Was it you? Cause if so, why I oughtta...

You guys remember this post about my ingenious iPhone app? Go on, it'll only take a sec. Click the link, I'll wait here.

Done? Ok. Yeah. So...

I'm surfing the iTunes app store as I'm ... app-t ... to do (oh come on, that was funny!) and I came across THIS:



An app that uses the camera while you're using the phone so you can see where you're going! Sound familiar???

And I quote: "Wouldn't it be hilarious if there was an app for people's iPhones and BlackBerrys that showed them on screen what's coming up in front of them?"

This app is called Dial N Walk, and lets you dial numbers, look through your contacts list and more while displaying a backdrop of what's coming up in front of you, thanks to the camera on the phone.



I quote again: "Let the record show that this was my brilliant idea, and when somebody actually invents it, I want a cut, mmkay?"

Did I mention, at 99 cents to download, it's the the THIRD TOP-GROSSING iPhone app? That is a lot of 99 centses, people.

Somebody owes me, bigtime.

Baggin' up

Let me just preface this by saying: I have never felt unsafe or been pickpocketed during my time in New York. (knock on wood) This post is simply an observation.

In less than a week, my grandmother and aunt from middle-of-nowhere Kentucky (ok, it may be somewhere, but compared to here, I'm allowed to call it that, k?) and my mom are coming to visit New York for a few days. Since it'll be all ladies in this group, I thought I'd give a few rules and regulations on carrying a handbag in this city.

1) BE AWARE. That's pretty self-explanatory. Know who's around you and how close they are.

2) SHOULDER IT. I would not recommend carrying a purse that you can't put over your shoulder or across your body. Think about it. It'd be way easier for someone to snatch it out of your fingers than off your shoulder.



3) ZIP IT. It's best to have a purse or bag that zips so that no wandering hands find themselves in your bag when you're not paying attention. I also recommend carrying it so that the actual pull for the zipper is pointed toward the front, so no one can unzip it from behind you to stick their hands in.


Back when Big Red was brand new. Sigh.

Now, have I given you an excuse to go shopping yet?

Suspicioutivity

(sus-pish-uh-TIV-ity)

When you're standing around in the station, waiting for the train, you tend to hear the announcements a lot. I can probably quote the whole thing, I've heard it so many times. It's just about the rules on the train — no eating or drinking — and keeping your eyes open for anything suspicious.

Occasionally a new person will record the tape, and you'll hear that one for a few weeks. But there's this one guy that cracks me up every time I hear his version. It SHOULD say: "If you see any suspicious activity or unattended bags or packages, please call the Port Authority police at ..." But this guy gets going so fast, he stumbles over it and says: "If you see any suspicioutivity, or unattended bags or packages..."

Suspicioutivity? Right, sure, OK. I'll be sure to let you know if I see it...