McCourt Date at the Ravine

While Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and his wife Jamie were taking the stand on Wednesday, my friend Amanda and I were somewhat "substituting" for them in the stands at Dodger Stadium on that day as well.

When I first created a Facebook account (my first OG account that not many of you remember) back in July 2007, the only people that were on my friends list were the honor students and the smart kids that I knew from Kennedy High and a few from Brooks Institute of Photography back when I was there the previous summer. That was like 10% of my graduating class. Not too many people, or a huge portion for a lack of a better word, had a Facebook or even knew about the site as that demographic was already hooked on Myspace. Also, you need to have a University email address to have a Facebook account. One random day that summer, I was bored and decided to check out one of the groups on there. Then I saw a picture of this one girl wearing these sunglasses that made her look cool and I decided to hit her up. Now I was hitting on a lot of random-ass people during that time and adding them to my friends list. Many of them didn't last too long but she was totally different. Since then we stayed in touched for the next three years and that was the longest I ever kept in contact with someone I've never met before in person, ESPECIALLY A FEMALE.

We finally met on Wednesday, the first day of September. She was a serious Philadelphia Phillies fan, and we made a plan for the past year to watch them play at Dodger stadium on that day. So we went there, and she really liked the place. We were there like two hours before the game even started. This is my second trip to the Ravine this year in a months span and I can't imagine seeing that many staff and employees that are pretty much everywhere, including inside as one of the elevator operators like its a five-plus star hotel or resort. I don't remember seeing the Staples Center having that type of service cause the place mostly has twenty something Security in red Blazers running around the arena. We sat Top Deck which I thought was a great ass view of the whole entire diamond field. As a matter a fact, you can get a great view from any section in my opinion.

In the end, The Phillies beat the Dodgers 5-1. I wasn't concerned about it, but my friend was really happy to see her team win. A lot of people started leaving our section and other parts of the stadium whenever the opponent makes a hit. Other than that, I had a really awesome there with her. By the way, I spent $23.75 at Dodger Stadium.

$15 for the parking

$5 for the Dodger Dogs

$3.75 for a SMALL soft drink

I really wanted to spend more than that, but I had to use some money for fuel in my car in the last minute cause I had to drive out to Lake Balboa park to clear my mind for a bit. I didn't know the park closed at 7, which was too damn early, but I think its to avoid the Loitering there after hours. Anyway, it was still great, and so was seeing Paul Rodriguez Jr. again for throwing the first pitch with Ryan Sheckler, another professional Skateboarder. I then found out later that two of my friends from high school were also at there at the Ravine, probably cause it was a day game. I didn't even see them or know that they were gonna be there. Again, it was fantastic.

After that, we then drove, in her car, to Americana at Brand in Glendale. I made her drive through Highland Park and Eagle Rock in North East Los Angeles for her to get a glimpse of what Los Angeles actually is aside from Hollywood, the Beaches, and the affluent status of Southern California that many people outside this city, or this state for that matter, think of how we live via television programs and the movies. We went got to Americana at Brand, we checked out the Cheesecake factory and ate there at the bar. I wanted to show here the inside of the Glendale Galleria but she didn't have time cause she had to stay here for one day and drive back to Nevada. This was my first time going to the Cheesecake Factory in Glendale, since I've been to the ones in Sherman Oaks, The Grove (which is my favorite Cheesecake Factory spot), and the one at Warner Center in Woodland Hills. Inside, it was as big as I though it would be, but we made our way to the bar. That place had the best Onion Rings I've ever experienced.

Thank you so much Amanda. The ride to and from the game in your car was great, even though my car had fucked up brakes that occurred in the last minute, which was the original plan to ride in. I've met many people from exchanging emails, instant messenger, Facebook, Myspace and other social networking sites in person in the past, but this one was something that I thought I could never imagine.