John Stanko

I am back in Seattle this week to finish my training with The Pacific Institute and to attend their annual international conference.  Since I got in a day early, I thought it was only fitting that I went to Safeco Field here to see the Seattle Mariners play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  For those outside the U.S., those are baseball teams.

Seattle isn't having a particularly successful year, but their  Japanese star, Ichiro Suzuki, is.  There were many Asians there tonight to see Ichiro and the Seattle catcher, who is also Japanese.  One of the foods they sell at the concession stand is sushi called the Ichiroll. I didn't eat any sushi tonight, but I ate just about everything else.  I had a jumbo hot dog, a hamburger, one adult beverage, one lemonade, a box of popcorn and a bag of peanuts.  It may seem like a lot of food, but I didn't have lunch--that's the best excuse I can come up with for eating so much.

I had tickets in the first row on the third base side.  They were great seats, but I actually prefer being back a little more.  It's easier to see the whole field from back there.  I left the game a little early and jumped into a taxi, who then got pulled over for a traffic violation.  It was his second of the night from the same policeman from what I could gather from their heated conversation.   Let's just say they weren't getting along all that well when I decided to get out of that taxi and look for another one.

This weekend I will be in the Washington DC area, so I have tickets to see the Washington Nationals play the New York Mets on Saturday night.  Then I will see one more baseball game in Pittsburgh next week before I return to Africa on August 22.  That will make six games I squeezed in this summer. 

Before I left Pittsburgh, my wife and I went to see Tom Cruise's new movie Mission Impossible III.  I think they should rename it Mission Preposterous.  It was silly, but I've seen worse.

Why do I tell you all this?  Because I want to encourage you to have fun doing whatever it is that gives you joy just like I do.  Baseball and movies are fun for me, and I work to fit in as many as possible while I am working hard and traveling.  There's nothing wrong with that, is there?  If there isn't, then why aren't you having more fun, doing things you love to do with those you love to do them with?  There's no excuse not to, so start planning to have some fun.  If you don't want to have fun, then send me your money and I'll go have fun for you.

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