A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

blog challenge

Foto Friday/30 Days of Writing: First place (15/30)

This post is written in conjunction with the 30 Days of Writing, a blog challenge devised by Nicky and Mike at “We Work For Cheese.” I’ll be participating throughout the month of June. If interested, you can see my post with the details of the challenge. 

Please note that some of these posts will be serious, some will be normal, and some will be an attempt at humor. This one is a little of everything! 

First place.

For those who compete, whether it be in sports or something else, first place is obviously the ultimate goal.

I’m a softball nut. I’ve been playing for nearly two decades and have run a team that entire time. I was still in high school when we started things, so needless to say, we weren’t the best.

Our first Oneonta championship -- 2010.

See, softball and baseball are two different worlds and it sometimes takes time to learn the difference. The swing, the ball and everything else.

We had some tough years early. Soon, however, we became a more powerful team. A contender each year. Our first title should have come in the mid-1990s, but we found a way to give it away each year.

Finally, we won the coveted Brookside championship in 2001. The Brookside title was our local league, one many of us had grown up around. The championship trophy was wood-based with a removable pewter bowl — much like the idea of the Stanley Cup.

That league, unfortunately, soon folded.

We moved to another area league and stayed strong. We made the final several times, but fell each time. We broke through in 2010 and won our first title there. We repeated in 2011.

First place is a great thing. That is for sure.

But the journey getting there and seeing what you can do is so much more of the game.

During my lifetime, I haven’t been on many winning teams. In little league, I won the first year I played and the last year I played. But our “little league” wasn’t a sanctioned league. It was basically pee-wee baseball. I still have those championship plaques though. (My father was one of the coaches on the first one — kind of funny as even he would have told you that he didn’t know much about baseball to coach it!)

In high school, I played soccer and baseball. Neither team was that good. Though the baseball team didn’t suck, we were just in a league full of awesome teams. Soccer was a new sport to our school when I played, so it was the learning experience.

Then there was softball.

Championships are often taken for granted. So when we have good teams, I like to try and do some photos with them throughout the year. Action shots, candids — whatever. The idea is that if we do win a championship, it’s nice to have some other shots from the season.

Though we strive to win, the reality is this game goes beyond wins and losses. We’re all friends who love to play and love to compete. And, in the end, we don’t get paid for it. We play it because we love to. And, on another note, it’s a good way to get out and get some exercise.

A couple of images from our 2010 championship season:

The big guy pitching.

Big swing.

End of an inning.

 

Ready to go!

To the victor go the spoils -- one of our player's wives made these for the team party. Yum!

In 2011, I didn’t take as many photos. It’s not always easy to worry about photos when you are playing and such. Even when I am playing as the designated hitter, I don’t always think to take the camera out (despite, often, me bringing it to the bench).

Our season this year has started off slow. We’re definitely getting a little older and it shows. The younger teams are starting to have their feel of things. Right now, we’re mid-pack.

Will we win the coveted third straight championship this year? Who knows. We have a lot of work to do if so. But, if we don’t, we’ll have a good run, either way. We usually play well come playoffs.

First place, after all, is the ultimate goal. Only time will tell if we keep up our run.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

30 Days of Writing: The short hairs (14/30)

This post is written in conjunction with the 30 Days of Writing, a blog challenge devised by Nicky and Mike at “We Work For Cheese.” I’ll be participating throughout the month of June. If interested, you can see my post with the details of the challenge. 

Please note that some of these posts will be serious, some will be normal, and some will be an attempt at humor. This one is a little of everything! 

Several years ago, our softball team was young and full of excitement.

We had some excellent players (note: we still do, this was just a different era).

Sponsored by a bar, we usually went out for a few cordials after a game. One thing we always seemed to do was underachieve. Despite having boatloads of talent, we never could find a way to win a championship.

Heading into that season (I think it was the late 90s), I knew we had something special. We had a team that could play at a higher level, specifically at states. But I had thought that in the past, too.

Places to go to get some short hairs! (photo courtesy of Calgrin via MorgueFile)

I still don’t know why I did this…

But I pulled my inner professional wrestler. Remember back in the days with pro wrestling that one of the biggest things people could do would be put their hair on the line in a match? If they lost, they got buzzed. It was always the bad guy, it seemed. And he’d lose and get buzzed.

So I offered my team the chance to buzz me. Qualify for nationals and they could do it. We did just that by placing fifth at states. The next week, following a league game, I sat in the middle of the bar with a beer in hand and got buzzed.

My hair grows quickly, usually.

In fact, it’s annoying. The sideburns will grow and “airplane” out. The back will get longer and on top, I’ll look like a shaggy dog. But I hate getting my hair cut.

Hate it!

The one thing I like about it is after getting it cut, they wash it and I get a short head massage. That rules.

Anyway, since being among the ranks of unemployed, I don’t cut my hair as often as I usually do. I figure there’s no rush for it and if a stream of interviews come in, it doesn’t take me long to get to the person who cuts my hair and get it trimmed.

Last week, however, I had enough. My hair hadn’t been cut in a few months and it was getting annoying — even to me. So I set things up and went and got it cut.

It’s funny when you have a full head of hair and get it cut. You look at things more as it’s being cut. Such as the strands of grey in the hair (which, honestly, never bother me). But the most alarming thing is the amount of hair that lands on the floor.

It makes you think, too.

In a time where the global economy seems to be taking a hit, there are certain jobs that are usually pretty safe — an undertaker, a politician and, well, hair people. The reality is, us regular, everyday folk, need haircuts. Maybe we don’t go as often as normal, but a good barber/hairdresser probably stays in pretty decent shape during these times.

Anyway, back to the appointment.

A clip here and a snip there and soon, my head felt a bit lighter. Looking on the ground and the amount of hair, I could see why. It definitely looks different and it feels different, too.

Now, atop my head, after that haircut sits a bunch of short hairs.

For the warmer weather, I can’t really complain.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

30 Days of Writing: The other one (13/30)

A disc rattles the chains.

This post is written in conjunction with the 30 Days of Writing, a blog challenge devised by Nicky and Mike at “We Work For Cheese.” I’ll be participating throughout the month of June. If interested, you can see my post with the details of the challenge. 

Please note that some of these posts will be serious, some will be normal, and some will be an attempt at humor. This one is a normal blog post! 

The other one?

Another one of those crazy topics that seem to really work people over and make no sense!

It seems to me that when Nicky and Mike were coming up with ideas for this blogging challenge, they had a little too much with the Guinness cheese and that might have really messed with their minds.

So now they have this topic about “The other one?”

<sigh>

I’m sure this won’t be the last time over the next 17 days that I will shake my head in wonderment on how I got myself into this challenge and wonder what the hell I was thinking, but I digress.

I guess I’ll use this space as a bit of a way to show something else.

My "other one."

I have another blog.

Yes, the other one. It’s a niche blog, however. I’ve had this blog since 2005 — in a few different forms. It’s been like this (WordPress) for several years. I’ve also had it as part of a discussion forum I used to have and on Blogger, before moving permanently to this home.

My main domain name — hoohaa.com — now directs to this blog. (Looking back, it probably would have made more sense just to use the hoohaa.com domain as the blog, but I wasn’t thinking!) I love this blog and try and work at it as much as I can.

But, the reality is, this is a personal blog. I do things like this blog challenge or things going on in my world or things that I love to do.

At the end of 2011, I had a bigger idea. I wanted to do more with disc golf.

For those who don’t know what disc golf is, it’s Frisbee golf. You use a disc and throw it at above-ground targets, usually a basket and chains. It’s played like golf. The thing with the game is it’s a great way to get outdoors with friends and family and have some fun. It can get competitive, too, with tournaments and a pro tour, but in the overall scheme of things, it’s fun.

I have blogged a bit about disc golf. In fact, the most page views I received in one day was disc golf related.

Searching for several months for disc golf blogs showed me there wasn’t any specific ones that were updated regularly and such. So, I thought about it. I talked to some friends. I talked to some people in the disc golf world. I decided to start a disc golf blog.

We launched Rattling Chains in early March.

The site is really something. We have a good following. We’ll have contests to give away discs and other things. We try and have entertaining and creative content. There are four of us who contribute to the site on a regular basis. We have a couple of others who contribute when they can and we’re working on having a few more.

The hits aren’t amazing or anything, but the site continues to grow and get more popular. We’ve had some good feedback, so that’s been good.

I have strong feelings for both of these blogs. I’m more emotionally invested in this one because it’s where I can kind of be me — and it’s my own personal space on the web. At Rattling Chains, it’s a place for me to still write in a journalistic way, do some editing, do some “boss” things and kind of have my finger still in sports writing.

Go visit!

Also, it has been a good thing to see what it’s like to build a niche blog. We don’t make money and we’re not sure we ever will. It’s given us full independence to voice opinions, give reviews and write stories we feel will be entertaining and/or compelling for disc golfers to read.

Both blogs are spare time sort of things. They aren’t jobs. And what I like about that is when the real world takes over at times, you can kind of move around with the blogs.

This was my first, though.

And Rattling Chains is my “other one.”

Both of them are quite special in their own way and I hope readers enjoy each one.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Just what I needed — another blog challenge


If I need inspiration during this blog challenge, Danny Larusso should provide it!

I think I might be insane to even think about doing another challenge.

I’m already trying to continue my Project 366 and HooHaa 52 photo projects. On top of that, I have the HooHaa Holga Challenge I am dealing with. Add that in with my job search and dealing with two blogs that are not money generating, playing softball, fitting in some geocaching, a round or two of disc golf and other outdoorsy things and one might think I’m nuts.

But this was a little too interesting to pass up.

As I noted yesterday, I have been searching for some new blogs to read. I wanted some entertaining ones. That search brought me to We Work For Cheese.

The first post I saw was titled “The Post You’ll Wish You Never Read.”

Fact: The headline of that post is as true as can be.

It’s not that I don’t like the blog — I do. In fact, I’ll be trying to make it part of my normal blog reading. But that post — that evil post — is the one about this challenge.

I’ve never been much into blog challenges or “quick topics,” and by quick topics, I mean those blog posts where you are tagged by other bloggers and need to fill out some sort of questionnaire. Those might help me fill days at some point, though, so I should look into them.

Anyway, back to this post I wish I had never read…

See, the challenge is simple. Blog every day for 30 straight days, starting Friday (June 1). I thought to myself, heck, I’ve done that before and more than once. But, you see, this has a catch — the topics are pre-determined.

And some of ’em aren’t easy.

Here’s the list:

  • Day 1: Cheese
  • Day 2: A roadblock
  • Day 3: They played my song
  • Day 4: Behind the wheel
  • Day 5: Spiders
  • Day 6: Pressure
  • Day 7: Excess
  • Day 8: Best friend
  • Day 9: Magic carpet
  • Day 10: The babysitter
  • Day 11: A sense of accomplishment
  • Day 12: In the kitchen
  • Day 13: The other one
  • Day 14: The short hairs
  • Day 15: First place
  • Day 16: Hanging out in the cemetery
  • Day 17: The awkwardness of the common banana
  • Day 18: Setting sail
  • Day 19: Camels
  • Day 20: Going solo
  • Day 21: Favors I’d ask of Satan
  • Day 22: Like there’s no tomorrow
  • Day 23: Stiletto heels
  • Day 24: Roast or toast another blogger
  • Day 25: Worst Christmas ever
  • Day 26: An intervention
  • Day 27: Side of the road
  • Day 28: The turning point
  • Day 29: Breaking the rules
  • Day 30: It could have been worse

Now, realize this — there aren’t any rules.

That means there’s no word requirements. The post can be a photo or as short as one word. Maybe I will write a bajillion words. It’s all good (though, if I wrote a bajillion words, I don’t think somebody would read it).

The only catch is that the blog owner, Nicky, has forewarned that she will make fun of participants in their comments, should the need arise. That’s OK though, because comments are comments, no? And we all like getting comments!

So, I’m going to give this a go. Realize that I might write some fiction and I might mix some other things in with these (see Earl). I’ve actually though about making Earl a major part of this blog challenge, but I’m going to basically do this all on the fly as I go along. So who knows.

All I know is I think I’m crazy.

The even crazier part? There are times when there will be more than one post per day. See, I don’t plan on axing some of my regular features (Snapshot Saturday etc.), though I might try and mix a few of them.

I have a few hopes for what I can gain from this challenge:

  • That I find some more excellent blogs to read on a regular basis;
  • Have fun;
  • Finish the challenge;
  • And to not hate cheese by the end of the challenge.

If you are a blogger, you still have a chance to check out the challenge and sign up before things get rolling June 1.

Or, if you’re smart, you might not read that post.

If you do, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Sunday Funday: Culture Challenge in one post

If given a full year to travel, exploring more of Ireland would be on the list.

OK, the Sunday Funday won’t be a guaranteed regular thing, but when I feel like doing one of those “blog challenges,” I am going to do them under this heading.

Being I am working on other things today, I wanted to get a blog post up — and thought this would be a good way to get things rolling.

The original idea of this challenge, it seems, is to answer one question for seven straight days. Most likely just on Tumblr, as it can be shorter and quick etc.

For here at A ‘lil HooHaa?

One day, baby.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the Seven-Day Culture Challenge.

1. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live?

Luckily, I’ve answered this one in one of the Day Zero posts recently. But if I had to choose one place, it would be Montreal. It’s by far my favorite city. There’s some remarkable culture there and it’s one of the most wonderful places I’ve ever been. I would definitely consider other places — such as Maine, Albany (I’ve always loved my state capital!), Dublin, Philly etc. But in the end, if there were no restrictions (job, money etc.) to this question, Montreal wins. Hands down.

2. What is your favorite type of cuisine?

I’m truly a fan of American cuisine. Being I grew up in this culture, that’s an easy one to pick. It’s what I have more than most. I like Italian, for the most part. I like Irish cuisine, as well as French. I really love Mexican food, however, my mouth doesn’t always agree with spicy stuff, so sometimes it’s hard to have it. But a hot dog with mustard can win out over so many other things, so American it is!

3. If you could speak another language, what would it be?

French. I’ve always wanted to speak it (see the fact that Montreal is my dream city to live in) and I took it for four semesters in college. Though one drunken night in Montreal years ago proved I could speak French decently, I fear that was some freak thing that happened. I still know many of the basics, but learning new languages hasn’t been easy for me. I’d love to get over that hump, however, and actually be able to learn and speak the language.

4. If you were given a year to travel the world where would you go?

A full year? Holy awesome!

I wouldn’t go to just one place. That would be silly. Gas up the planes, because I’d see an awful lot in that year. I’d want to travel the United States, for one. The National Parks we have are amazing and I’d love to see them. To be able to see places in states like Wyoming or Alaska or states that there is a lot of open land — that would be simply amazing. Hawaii, of course, too. There are many parts of Europe I’d like to explore as well. Italy, France, Ireland, Switzerland, Amsterdam, etc. I think places like Russia and Japan would be insanely wild. Iceland has long been a place I’ve wanted to see, too. and to have the chance to explore more of Canada would be fun, too. And though I’ve been to Dublin, I’d really love to go back and explore the whole country. Especially on the West Coast.

One year is a long time. I anticipate I could see many places over that time.

5. If you could speak every known language, how would you use your ability?

To make money. Seriously. I’d be looking to be some sort of translator — a high-priced one — to utilize the skill the best I could and to make a living out of it at the same time.

6. What countries did your ancestors come from/what is your nationality?

My mother’s side of the family is Italian. My father’s mother is Irish and his father had Irish ancestry as well. However, it also appears that there is some English/Scottish on that side and our family name also seems to have some German in it, too, but I’m not sure about in our family tree.

7. Do you have a favorite artist from a country other than your own?

Pablo Picasso has always been my favorite artist, and being he’s from Spain, he qualifies here. I love the abstract art he did and his work is really incredible. I’ve had the chance to see two of his pieces in person and it really is quite amazing to stare at something like that for a little while. Cool stuff.

***

To think that could have been seven days worth of blog work?

Nah.

We do it all fast here. Feel free to do this challenge as well on your blog if you are looking for something. If you do, drop a note here so I can check it out.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook by clicking the button on the right side of the page!