My timing has been a little off lately. For example, I spent much of the early afternoon making election-related phone calls to candidates and the like. Of course, no one called me back - until I left the newsroom to go to the restroom.
Then, I came home and, shortly after 7pm, turned on a softball game between TEAM USA and defending national champion ARIZONA. It wasn't much of a contest. The Wildcats kept it close for a few innings, but Team USA went on to win 16-0, a good start to the team's "Bound 4 Beijing" cross-country schedule of exhibition games. Near the end of the game, I checked the Team USA web site to find out if the tour included a stop in PA. It does. In Williamsport on May 8 (a Thursday, so I suppose I'll be working). I also found out that the game I'd been watching for 2+ hours was actually played in February, despite the indication by the program guide that the game was being played today. That's what I get for tuning in a few minutes late.
While I was watching the softball game, I was monitoring the score of the Phillies-Astros game (which was, in fact, being played tonight). The Phils trailed 3-0 going into the bottom of the 9th. A few minutes later, I saw the score flash across the bottom of the screen - Phillies win 4-3! What?!? I turned on ESPN News hoping for highlights, but they took a commercial break and teased basketball and hockey coming up. So, I went upstairs and listened to the scoring recap on the radio. After that, I headed back downstairs and, as I made my way toward the steps, heard the ESPN guys wrapping up the Phillies highlights. I finally saw the pertinent video at 11:34pm. Was Geoff Jenkins safe at home? Maybe not, but it makes up for that call in NY and the HR that wasn't by the Cubs on Sunday.
Speaking of Sunday, that's when my string of poor timing started. It was maybe 7:45pm, and I was just about to sit down and read. But, I looked out the window and saw a gorgeous swath of pink and purple sky as the sun set. I'll take a picture of that, I thought. But, by the time I got out there, the sun had sunk even lower and I couldn't find a good spot for a good picture. I ended up on the levee and ended up taking a picture of the Luzerne County Courthouse across the Susquehanna river in Wilkes-Barre. I finally got around to downloading it tonight and, after fiddling with the contrast and brightness, here's what I came up with:
I also took this picture of what I think is a bank building in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Obviously, I need to learn more about how to use my camera!