office sox

Monday night, Saori and I walked north of our apartment through the back bay fens, one of the lovely public parks part of the historic Olmstead-designed emerald necklace of Boston. We found our way to Fenway park, the baseball stadium, and we wandered around there for awhile, stopping to pick up some Red Sox fan memoribilia. I actually picked up a red sox hat with a big red B for boston on it.

What I really like about Fenway is the way that it centers a block or a district with numerous pedestrian corridors leading to it inside of a larger block. So instead of the massive walls ringed with major roads, there's a soft zone of overpriced sports goods, bars, cafes, and restaurants, so even though there's an access control point beyond which you need to have tickets, you can still go to Fenway for a partial experience at least. The light, pleasant drizzle we were walking in turned into an outright downpour and Saori and I got so soaked, I was literally walking in water inside my shoes.

Tuesday, I left work early to go play softball in the Architecture Softball League of Boston. Our office had joined up with another firm to form a team, and we went out and played against a much better team. Everyone works in an architecture office, which is why I was kind of surprised to see the opposing team coach/captain look like he worked in the meatpacking district. He was massive, huge, and looked like he was going to split his jersey wide open. Looked like a Lithuanian farmer more than a desk jockey.

With my new cap and a borrowed mitt, Chuck and I warmed up tossing the ball back and forth. Our team did not fare well. We ended up losing 14-0 in a mercifully quick game. I got a hit, but didn't make it to the base. The rest of the team saw what kind of a game it was going to be and started cracking open the beers.

All in all, it was nice to be out there, playing ball, and I'll probably do it again this tuesday.