St. Patrick

Tuesday, the 17th of March

Was there anything memorable about this date? I think almost every human walking (or crawling) knows about St. Patrick's Day! Shamrocks, green beer, leprechans, having 'the luck of the Irish' (not necessarily a good thing, me thinks!). For everything you ever wanted to know about St. Pat and the Emerald Isle and the culture of the Irish, check out http://www.irishabroad.com/stpatrick/

There is also a very important list of "What it means to be Irish":


1) You will never play professional basketball.

2) You swear very well.

3) At least one of your cousins is a fireman, cop, bar owner, funeral home owner or holds political office. And you have at least one aunt who is a nun, or uncle who's a priest.

4) You think you sing very well.

5) You have no idea how to make a long story short!


6) There isn't a big difference between you losing your temper or killing someone...

7) Much of your childhood meals were boiled. Instant potatoes were a mortal sin.

8) You have never hit your head on a ceiling.

9) You spent a good portion of your childhood kneeling in prayer (Catholic guilt forever!).

10) You're strangely poetic after a few beers.

11) You are, therefore, poetic a lot.

12) You will be punched for no good reason...a lot.

13) Some punches directed at you are from legacies of past generations.


14) Many of your sisters and/or cousins are named Mary, Catherine, or Eileen...and there is at least one member of your family with the full name of Mary Catherine Eileen

15) Someone in your family is very generous. It is more than likely you.

16) You may not know the words, but that doesn't stop you from singing.

17) You can't wait for the other guy to stop talking before you start talking.

18) You're not nearly as funny as you think you are ... but what you lack in talent, you make up for in frequency.


19) There wasn't a huge difference between your last Wake and your last keg party.

20) You are, or know someone, named Murph. (certainly some of the best pubs are "Murphy's!)

21) If you don't know Murph then you know Mac. If you don't know Murph or Mac then you know Sully. Then you probably know Sully McMurphy.

22) You are genetically incapable of keeping a secret.

23) You have Irish Alzheimer's... you forget everything but the grudges!


24) 'Irish Stew' is a euphemism for 'boiled leftovers.'

25) All of your losses are alcohol-related (loss of virginity, loss of driver's license, loss of money, loss of job, loss of significant other, loss of teeth from punch...) but it never stops you from drinking.


26) Your skin's ability to tan.... not so much.

27) At this very moment, you have at least two relatives who are not speaking to each other (not fighting, mind you, just not speaking to each other).

28) Childhood remedies for the common cold often included whiskey.

29) There's no leaving a family party without saying goodbye for at least 45 minutes.


My Irish day? I went to a ball game!



My pal Mark is in town from Honolulu - he's an avid San Franciso Giants fan, and this is his annual pilgrimage to Spring Training.


Giants vs. Milwaukee Brewers. Not the best spring training game - only 12 runs were scored. I like them to be really really high scoring! But it did include an inside-the-park homerun - very exciting and not caused by any errors!

Scottsdale Stadium is the perfect size, and everyone was in the spirit of the day. The Giants even wore green ballcaps!


Fun day - but I missed out on the corned beef - guess I'll have to cook my own!