Piece #104 - The Royal Championship Shock Wave

As I'm writing this entry, my Kansas City Royals (baseball team) have won the 2015 World Series for the first time in 30 years! I realize as you read this it may not matter to you because when I look to see who have been reading my posts, many of you are not only from other parts of the U.S., but a lot of you are from all over the world! I can't tell you how humbling that makes me feel. The reason why I wanted to bring this topic to your attention isn't the fact that I was actually at game 7 of the World Series in 1985, or that afterwards we were the jokes of late night shows because we were awful after that, but what the win has done in general for the whole city.

Since I'm seeing this through Asperger eyes, I've noticed a lot of 'small' things that might not mean much, but I believe have a larger impact as I write this. The parade for the team will being on Tuesday November 3, 2015 and schools are actually cancelling classes for the parade. Back in 1985, I never recall any school closing for the parade. The Kansas City Police department reported ZERO criminal incidents based on the win from the game versus the rioting that happened in San Francisco last year when they beat us in 7 games. When a news reporter was interviewing a very pregnant wife of one the Royals players (Ben Zobrist), Julianna commented by saying how amazed she was for the warm reception her whole family received from fans when her husband was traded earlier this year; like I said before...the little things.

I guess the bigger feeling is that sense of pride, and I don't mean in a sinful way, I talking about that feeling of being proud of the city, the team and the people that live here. If you think Hollywood is out, think again. Paul Rudd, Eric Stonestreet, Rob Riggle, Don Cheadle, Eddie Griffin, Jason Sudeikis are all proud Kansas Citians and HUGE Royal's fans. The media always loves to interview any one of these stars about their loyalty toward our sports teams. I believe this gives us that 'identity' that we seek, where we are a 'somebody' versus a 'nobody'. (Although, Erin Andrews really needs to brush up on her geography.) Kansas City is considered a medium market team versus that of the New York Mets which is a large market team; meaning they can shell out the big bucks for players where we have to develop our talent in the farm system.

As for the parade, because of my Asperger's I really feel unsure about going because of all of the people, but I still want to show my support. The funny part was when we won game 4 and I yelled at the television toward the Fox announcer Joe Buck because he showed a huge bias against the Royals. Of course, Joe Buck did hear anything I had to say, but from the other part of the house my wife did. I will have to admit that if Joe Buck was standing in front of me, I really doubt I would have yelled in his face all the things I said. I have to be honest and tell you that it was very difficult to watch the game so I would leave the television and follow the game on Yahoo sports until there was a moment when the Royals would start to rally and I would rejoin the game. The emotion rollercoaster of a sporting event is rather difficult to process and enjoy because of all of the unknown variables! These games would drive me crazy.

Again, if you’re not associated with the Royals or baseball in general, I understand, but I would encourage you to go online and check out all the highlights. The Mets really tried to win and should have won more games, but the Royals exposed too many of their weaknesses. You could even check out last year’s series even though we didn't win, there still was some great ball games. At least now and going into the 2016 season, the Kansas City Royals are the World Champions!

[UPDATE: A rough estimate on the number of people that came out to the parade was 800,000 people!!!]

[UPDATE: Julianna Zobrist had her baby...ON MY BIRTHDAY!!! (Nov 6th)]

Song of Inspiration [Check it out on iTunes or Android!]:

Song: "Let It Out"

Artist: Switchfoot

Album: Fading West

I'm sorry. There was no video or lyric video for the selected song so this is just the song with a nice picture:

Piece #28 - Puzzles

I realize autism is symbolized by a puzzles piece and I've noticed that some people have taken some offense to that, but this doesn't deal directly with that topic. This is a straight observation on puzzles and how they affect me and the twins. With the new age of electronic devices, it has changed to way we do pretty much everything! In this case I want to focus on puzzles because there are lots of computer game companies that are betting on us to buy their own special puzzle game, whether it is on the iPad, iTouch or smart phone. I will say that I do own an iTouch and yes, I do love it! Unfortunately, I can get sucked into several good puzzle games. So far the top ones I love to play are Chuzzle, Bejeweled, Tiki Totems and of course...Angry Birds. To be honest, I also will go 'old school' and play Solitaire, Mahjong, Sudoku and even Tetris because they still have a place in my heart. Sometimes the simpler games I would rather play because they are quick and easier ...

Piece #35 - Christmas!

I intentionally waited until December to write this particular blog. Unlike many stores who seem to think that Christmas starts in August , I actually was patience enough to write this within the month. Of course, if you ask the question 'What is your most favorite time of the year?’ some will say summer, but many would say Christmas . I wanted to write this early because Christmas is one of those holidays that are a full season, not just one day. I think this is the one time when I enjoy the days leading up to Christmas more than the actual day itself. It's amazing how things change so quickly, from the decorations, lights, trees and all the other Christmas displays that spring up faster that lightning! There is no other holiday that has this effect on our society as much as this one. With my Asperger’s, Christmas can be a little difficult because the traditions that I did as a child are not the same as an adult. Worse than that, my tradition is constantly changin...

Piece #111 - First Impressions

"You already know that making a good first impression can go a long way. But forget all the advice you've received about dressing to impress or putting on a cheesy smile. Turns out, the true secret to building a lasting connection reaches much deeper than what you wear." "According to Amy Cuddy, a Harvard Business School professor who has researched first impressions for more than 15 years, everyone (consciously or subconsciously) asks two questions when they meeting someone new: Can I trust this person? And can I respect this person?" This quote comes from Reader's Digest and I actually found this rather compelling because I never really heard of this before. I've addressed this topic of first impressions in the past but, I have to admit that this idea is interesting. I guess since you hear a lot of things from a smile, the outfit or what you say make the difference; however these two questions have me a little perplexed. I think it depends on the ...

Pressing Puzzles

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