I Like Inge

Haven't felt very compelled to write recently. I guess it's one of those bullet days. Let's have at it.

1) The Queen of Queens. Things have been getting pretty crazy with CI and myself. We're texting tons and talking literally every day. I don't know why, but the women I tend get along well with always live at least 1,000 miles away. I am hoping this one can go somewhere.

2) Was very happy on Thursday to get treated to Chipotle by my boss. Our whole team of 14 people got treated and we had 50 minutes of pure fun. I drove Haziq and Chad over to Woodfield Mall, about 2 minutes away. And I had my burrito with rice, pintos, barbacoa, tomatillo salsa, chili-corn salsa, cheese, and guacamole. Of course, with plenty of lime wedges and the smoked green Tabasco sauce as well.

3) After we got home, Kyle said that was his first time ever eating at Chipotle. None of us could believe it. Later, I overheard him say to Haziq that he should get a plaque. Now it was around 4 pm, so I had an hour to go and Thursday is typically a slow day for me anyway. So with some extra time available and most of my team on their way home, I opened up Microsoft Publisher and went to work. I designed a certificate commemorating his first visit, complete with Chipotle logos, a picture of a half-eaten burrito, and every person's name on our team. He showed it to the whole team and everyone got a kick out of it; it was a pretty good feeling for me.

3) After seven months away from the grass fields at the corner of 25 and Fabyan in north Batavia, we resumed playing ultimate frisbee soccer. The heat was pretty intense, maybe 80 degrees or so. Eight guys showed up: me and Burns ewere the only ones from CT. Dan was a newcomer, while both Joes, John, Frank, and Ben Jeffrey showed up as well. We played two games, both going to a final goal. In the first game, I forced a turnover near the sideline and fired the disc into the mesh, sealing a Game 1 win. We drew new teams for Game 2, and I assisted on Dan's winning goal. I scored five times in the games, including one from midfield. It was good to get back out there. But I know another thing. I seriously need to up my cardio workouts! I was gassed, I think almost everyone was after a solid hour. I will be out this week, but I'm excited to play as the summer goes on.

4) The weather was just insane on Friday. I walked into the office and the temperature outside was around 80 degrees. Mostly sunny, a few little white clouds scattered here and there. I walked out at 5 and the temperature had plummeted to around 50 degrees with gray skies, and a cold breeze blowing.

5) So I left work and headed to group in Glen Ellyn. At the end, I got the sad news that Craig is moving to San Diego for a new pharmaceutical job. He was an asset to our Friday group for years, always sparking the group with a discussion point. Granted, sometimes those points took 20 minutes. But we'll miss him, he won't be easily replaced.

6) So I headed home, got a couple of Scooby's hot dogs on the way. I headed to the basement for the No Name radio show, which Jim and Eddie were hosting, with the intent of the show revolving around anything except hockey. So for the first 20 minutes, we discussed old school pro wrestling, which of course, I was up for. And someone mentioned how many of them had died. Then Eddie was about to go on a rant about Barbara Walters and how she needs to leave The View.

Then someone wrote in the chat that Derek Boogaard had died. It was Friday the 13th, I thought it was a rib. But I checked Twitter and saw the tweet had come from Mike Russo, a reporter from the St. Paul Tribune. Slowly it sunk in that the news was real. 28 years old and one of the toughest men to ever play in the NHL was dead.

Last year, Glen Sather signed Boogaard to a ridiculous 4-year, $7 million deal. He only played 22 games for the Rangers before sitting out the rest of the year due to concussion issues. He didn't seem to play a huge role in the future, mostly as a bench player with too a high a salary cap hit. But supposedly, he was motivated to come back and have a great sophomore season with the Rangers. And now he's gone. It doesn't devastate me from a Rangers perspective. It's just sad that 28-year old guy died so suddenly. Nice of the Bruins to have a moment of silence before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals for the Boogie Man. I am interested to see what the Rangers will do for him on Opening Night.

7) Bob Chinn's is known for their seafood, but their garlic rolls are pure bliss. I hope in heaven I can eat tons of garlic and have it not affect my breath...

8) Softball season is supposed to start tomorrow and of course, rain is in the forecast. Steve, Daren, the other Steve, Clay, Tim, we seem to have about half our team returning. And we will play 10 games instead of 9, which is great. The league has shrunk from 24 teams down to 13, which is substantial, but at least everyone gets to make the playoffs, which will start in August.

9) I signed up for annual membership to work out at the Norris Center. At the end of the day, it's cheap and it's two minutes from home. Those are the real advantages. But the workouts are very average, in terms of weight equipment and I can't control the TV's in the cardio rooms. But they do have a dry sauna (it actually gets hot unlike in South Barrington) and a whirlpool! That is one nice way to relax! And so I am alone on a Saturday night.

10) But there are things to look forward to. May 19. Citi Field. Catherine.

11) The New York Mets are just maddening. Infuriating. Winning streak followed by a losing streak. The good stuff: Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Jason Isringhausen, and Ike Davis. A slight nod to Justin Turner and Jason Pridie. The bad stuff: Jason Bay, Mike Pelfrey, R.A. Dickey, the entire bench, injuries to Ike Davis, Pedro Beato, and Chris Young, the lack of attendance, the lack of respect, the inevitable trading of Reyes and Beltran, and being in last place.

12) Ring of Honor returns to Chicago Ridge next Saturday night. Supercard of Honor 6. Will have to write a preview of that as the days draw near.