"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." That quote is from one of my heroes, Winston Churchill. As you probably know, my school is closing after this year so I don't have a job for next year. If you know my friend Darryl, he would say that everything happens for a reason. I've argued with him about this, but I am choosing to look on the bright side of this situation. I also thought of this quote from Steve Martin as Vincent Antonelli in My Blue Heaven: "See you guys see a problem; I see potential." (By the way, I feel like a lot of my friends are much bigger movie fans than I am, but that not a lot of people know about this movie. It stars Steve Martin as an Italian mobster in witness protection and it's a great movie. If you haven't seen it, you should.) So if I'm not going to have a job (and I still might, it's not like I've given up hope of trying to find one), I'm going to make this into a positive. Thanks to my friend John for suggesting the idea of blogging about what I'll be spending my time doing and for giving me the title of the blog.
The other day I had my last graduate class (you know, until the highly likely event that I go back to graduate school within the next two years). Thanks to my parents for putting me through college and myself for putting me through graduate school and four years of teaching, I have no debt and a good amount of money saved. There have been times when I've thought to myself, not having a job right now would be pretty cool (like during the first two days of the NCAA basketball tournament or every weekday afternoon baseball game). So while I hope to find a job, not having one would present some opportunities for me.
What will the Year of Jim entail? Well, if you know me, you know that there are few things that I love more than the United States and sports. There are people who want to spend time traveling in Europe. I'm not against that (and I hope to get to Ireland as part of the Year of Jim), but I live in the greatest country in the history of the world and I haven't seen most of it yet. I want to see everything that this country has to offer. I've been to 21 states so far and I want to get to all 50. It won't happen in one year, but hopefully I can make a little bit of a dent into achieving that. My other goal is to get to every Major League Baseball Stadium. There are a couple of exceptions to that goal. I'm not opposed to going to a game in Tampa or Oakland, but I don't need to see those stadiums. I've been to eight current stadiums plus Shea Stadium and the old Yankee Stadium. I will be adding a few more this season.
So here's what's definitely happening in the YoJ:
1. Miami- a quick weekend there with my friend Andy for a Marlins game.
2. Baltimore- an Orioles game (Camden Yards is the closest stadium that I haven't been to yet) with my brothers, Tom and Sean.
3. Pittsburgh- a Pirates game with my college friend Jon and hopefully Kyle as well.
4. Phoenix- a weekend trip for a Diamondbacks game, also my first trip to Arizona.
That's four stadiums that I can cross off the list. There might be more before the season is over. I would love to do a road trip that involved games in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Detroit.
And here are a few other possibilities:
1. Ireland- Notre Dame-Navy on Labor Day weekend. I have to figure out if I'm doing this. I certainly hope so.
2. Big East Basketball Tournament- as in every game of the tournament. I went one night this year with my friend Vin and another night with my dad. I was upset that I couldn't go to all the other sessions.
3. 2013 Opening Day- I've never been to an Opening Day baseball game. If I don't have a job, I definitely want to make this happen.
If you have any other suggestions for me or want to get in on any of this, let me know.
My next post will probably be soon after my trip to Miami this weekend with my thoughts on Marlins Park.
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