Dear Cubs Fans

Alright, Cubs fans, let's get your mind right. I've been observing you people closely, and have a few pieces of advice to offer that will enhance your experience as a baseball fan.

01) quit acting like this is the only chance you're ever going to have; this is sports; no one cares what you did last year or 108 years ago; this team is built really well, and is going to be good for a long time, especially with Theo (and whatever puppet is technically GM) and Maddon; you have one of the best pseudo-GM and manager combos in baseball; this is a very talented team that has several years before all these guys hit free agency and head to the east coast; and if things continue like they have, they should be replenished in terms of youth when that happens; like I said, win or lose this year, the Cubs (and their national media darling status) are going to be back here at least a few times in the near future.

02) you're not owed anything; no one cares that it's been 71 years since your last appearance and 108 since your last win; you got here because your team is really good, not because you're owed something; no, I won't root for your team out of pity; have some damn pride.

03) Believe. Stop it with the typical Chicago pessimism. This team can win. Yes, they are emblematic of evil and should be stopped at all costs, but the Cubs are a legitimate contender, and you should act like they are. When they're down by 1, late in the game, and you got two men on and two outs, stop it with the 'oh, here we go again, typical Cubbies' bullshit; I hate your team, and still wanna smack you for not respecting them. Have fun. Scream. Cheer them on. Go crazy, folks, go crazy. If you're gonna be a Cubs fan, then be a damn Cubs fan. Own it. Enjoy this. Love your team. They need you now, more than ever.

04) Let me talk shit. Stop being so thin-skinned. Let me tell ya, the national bandwagon loves you right now, but in a few years, they're gonna hate you even more than they hate my beloved Cardinals. America is obsessed with killing what it loves, and the Cubs are so good that people are gonna get resentful like they do with the Yankees and Cardinals. Get used to it now. No one is threatening your happiness. No one can lessen your passion. Just have fun, and get used to people talking shit. It's part of the game.

So, have a good time. I hope your team never wins another game ever. That's not gonna happen, no matter what I say or how far it would go toward making the world a better place. You're in the World Series, you're going to be in it again soon, and no one can ever take that away from you! Live it! Love it! Go Tribe!

-Blaine

Aaand we're back!

I got back last night from my weekend in exile. Good times were had.

They live in northern Illinois, about 90 miles outta Chicago. Close enough that driving into Chicago for a day isn't too bad, but far enough out that everything smiles like pig farm everywhere.

I got lucky with the in-laws I got. I don't have the horror stories that a lotta people have. That being said, while I like them just fine, I'm not one for rural living, or the lack of creature comforts. I've spent every moment of my adult life living in either the city or the suburbs, so the rural thing is, even after fifteen years of visiting them, still a drag.

Regardless ...

... we drove up Friday, got to eat dinner at my favorite restaurant, The Corner Grill, I got to meet my (hopefully) future brother-in-law, who's cool as shit, and then I wound down the evening with some Witcher 3: Blood and Wine.

Oh, and the my in-laws don't have AC or clean water (well water is not clean, sorry), but they do have broadband + wifi now, which was a HUGE game-changer. I also grabbed some brief time with Chrono Trigger on iOS, because I forgot my fucking Vita.

Saturday was party time. We went and saw some friends and their new baby, and then my in-laws hosted a big-ass blowout. My oldest son drove my youngest son around on a tractor, which was hilarious. Lotsa people smoked in front of me, and I didn't smoke, which was cool. I wound down that evening with a new character in Dragon Age Inquisition. A female Qunari rogue that grew up in Thedas, and resents the other species because of it. The imported saves feature strongly anti-Mage choices. Should be interesting.

Sunday, we drove into Chicago and saw The Book of Mormon, which was AMAZING. Go see it. Now. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Also, it helps that my family was among the founders of the Church of LDS, but my faction split off about the middle of last century. Grandpa fell in love with a Catholic girl. A man's gotta do what he's gotta do to win the woman, ya know?

Anyway, the musical is fantastic. Everything about it. The performances, the music, the humor, the social commentary, the choreography, and on and on. SO GOOD.

And then dinner at D'Agostino's, one of my favorites from when I did my undergrad in Chicago. We met up with some old friends, and good times were had by all.

I love visiting Chicago. I cannot say enough about how incredible my undergrad years were there, living downtown, meeting my wife, partying my ass off, using public transit, getting into the local scene, and ... it was a remarkable time in my life. I'm also glad I left when I did. I'm from St. Louis, and it was time to come home and start a family.

But, I really need to spend like a week in Chicago some time. It would be cool to head over to the Columbia campus while school is actually in session, soak some of that in, check out some of my old haunts. I'd have no intent of reliving the past, but I always find it fascinating to see the ravages of time in person.

And Chicago is just a fun place to visit. I'd never live there again, as it wore on me after a while. It's an incredibly negative town with an almost oppressive atmosphere, and Cubs fans are bandwagon-jumping jackasses, even if their team is the beloved darling of ESPN and Fox Sports.

And, for a dumpy little league park, Wrigley is a fun place to hang out and see how the Cubs are going to complete fuck it up yet again.

And then, yesterday, we came back. And today I had a REALLY intense day at work. And now I'm writing at you. And now I'm ready to sneak in a little gaming.

Remind me, I wanna talk about alternate playthroughs of BioWare games some time this week. Word.

*HUGGLES!*

-Blaine