My introduction

I've been meaning to start a blog of my own for awhile now. Why it took me so long, I couldn't tell you. Maybe I'd convinced myself I was busy when I wasn't. I'm a few weeks away from having lived in New York for one year - I suppose you can call that busy?

Maybe I was undecided on the purpose of my blog. The blogs I've frequented to this point have always had some purpose: sports, fashion, recipes, movies and television shows... I envisioned myself with five different blogs, each with their own topic covering my interests. Sports would have been one. Baseball, more specifically. Film would have been another. Maybe a third for my life in general: after one year here, I still feel like the new girl in town. And even for a native, I'm sure one can always find something to write about after spending a day in the city.

Hence, the name of this blog: Kaleidoscope 55. That's a fancy way of saying "hodgepodge." This will be about everything and nothing. Some of it might interest you. Most probably won't. I guess I can say this for myself: I see myself as a writer. That is, I'd rather type my stories than tell them. There's a main purpose for this blog - I want to write more. I enjoy it. Maybe you will too.

The "55"? Well, my birthday is 5/5. Creative, aren't I?

Here's some things I guess you should know about me: I'm a fan of the New York Yankees. I thank my dad for that, a south Bronx kid. The rest of my family (those who follow sports, anyway) are Mets fans. There are few things more terrifying than both of your grandmas parading past you during a Subway Series chanting "Let's go Mets!" let me tell you. But it's a friendly rivalry, except when the teams face each other? Then? It's war.

I also have what I call "secondaries": other baseball teams I'll follow during the season. There's a reason for some. I follow the Nationals (all pity is appreciated) because I was raised and schooled in Virginia. I was in college in central Virginia when the Expos became the Nationals and were moved to our nation's capital. There's a home bias for them, and a desire to see baseball succeed in the Metro area. It's certainly not doing very well in Baltimore...

That being another of the teams I follow. Here's what "follow" means for me: root for against anyone other than the Yankees. That's most important when it comes to the O's, who are in the same division. Were that rivalry to become competitive, the fights would start. But again, I was raised in northern Virginia. My first professional baseball game was at Camden Yards. I grew up in the era of Cal Ripken Jr. as hero. It's a beautiful city (I'll be there at the end of July, as a matter of fact - sporting my interlocking NY and braving enemy territory) and one that's proud of its sports history. There are a few bright spots there - we're looking at you, Bedard & Guthrie - but on the whole? It's unfortunate to see what that franchise has become.

I follow the Mets because it gives me something to talk about with my mom's mother. She, for her part, follows the Yankees in return. Unfortunately, "follow" for her usually means finding something to get on A-Rod's case about. But there's nothing wrong with a little friendly banter. Especially when one goes in knowing they're going to win - hard to argue with 30 homeruns through the all-star break!

I also follow the San Diego Padres. Good luck figuring that one out. I've never even been to San Diego, and my only connection there is to a long-time friend of mine who moved out to the West Coast after college. But, for whatever reason, they're my team in the NL West. It's been a few years now. I just call it habit and run with it. Hard not to with pitchers like Jake Peavy and Chris Young to root for.

That was a long-winded way of saying I'll be discussing baseball in here. You'll also see film discussion: most often of the Netflix variety. I've been out of school for just over one year, and I'm living in New York. As much as I love hitting movie theaters, it can get expensive here... But I love film. I was a film minor in college who wishes she had majored in media instead of English. Oh well, live and learn. I got away with writing my honors thesis on Hayao Miyazaki's films (think Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke) because I was evaluating them from a narrative, "literary" point of view. Smart, eh?

Other than that? Take your best guess. We'll see what my mood is like on a given day. Maybe you'll hear about my meager attempts at making a meal. Maybe I'll mention some restaurant I enjoyed in the city. Maybe I'll gripe about something random. We'll wait and see!

For now, it's past one in the morning. There's something common for me: late night rambles. I'm sure it won't be my last.

So I'll end with this: sometimes I feel like a bad baseball fan for enjoying spectacles like the homerun derby and the all-star game. Do either mean very much? No. But even last night, with the derby? I didn't have interest invested in any of the participants, but as soon as the broadcast began I was drawn in. There's something about seeing so many big name players (granted, more on the sidelines than in the derby itself) coming together on the same field. I enjoy it. For the record? I was rooting for Matt Holliday. We see how that turned out.