Don't Mess With the Prez

Remember the hobo nest I posted about a few weeks ago? The one we removed. With a BobCat tractor. Into a big pile? We have been slowly getting it into our dumpster so its been getting progressively smaller.

Our Parks and Rec Area manager received a complaint from someone at the apartments on the other side of the wall about the smell coming from the pile. One sentence: Marybeth, can you please take care of this? That's it!!! At least she said please. This is the 1st email she got last night. With pictures attached.
Angel,

This particular pile is the result of a hobo den that we removed. The stench could possibly be dead or decaying items in there. I believe this is a job for the police or environmental services. A non-profit Little League Baseball organization is ill equipped to handle this. 

See the pictures below.

Followed by this one, this morning. Also sent to the mayor, the city council, the rec council, the SDPD, Environmental Services, the UT, the Turko files and everyone else I can think of as well as posted on Facebook and our website.

Good morning,

I'm sorry that the pile of dirt is smelly. However, this particular pile is the result of a hobo den that was removed from that section of the wall by our volunteers. It could possibly contain dead/decaying items. The police refused to do anything when called except to tell us to call environmental services, who put it back on us. At this point the path of least resistance is to " suck it up" and remove the shopping carts, Christmas trees, illegal dumping and hobo dens ourselves.

The pile is being slowly reduced as we can get the volunteers of MMWLL to remove it and put it in our dumpsters. The city and environmental services have consistently refused to help us with the illegal dumping and hobo removal. As we are an all volunteer league and a non profit we are doing our best to keep the complex safe for our players and environmentally sound. Any equipment you may see does not belong to us and is being donated by one of our parents place of employment at their convenience. Our volunteers make multiple trips to Miramar landfill a month to clean up illegal dumping at the cost of $36 per truckload in addition to their gas and time. To put it in perspective, it costs  a maximum of $125 per player to play 20 games in the baseball season, including a uniform.  We could pay for 3 players to play ball for the amount of money we spend just on trips to the dump per month. 

Based on the items we see illegally dumped in the MMWLL dumpsters and the timing, most of the items seem to come from people moving from the apartments. Perhaps the apartment manager can help by checking what leaves the complex when people move out and what gets illegally dumped at our fields or providing a way for them to legally dispose of their unwanted items. 

If anyone looked at the actual MMWLL fields instead of complaining about things we have no control over, they would see beautiful, green, properly mowed grass, infield soil that is raked and dragged and kids playing baseball. Our fields are some of the nicest in San Diego thanks to our hard working VOLUNTEERS. Teams that travel to our fields are always complimenting them. 

Unless the city, Parks and Rec, Environmental Services or someone else decides to help us out and remove the smelly pile, it will continue to be deposited in our dumpster as dumpster space and dirt moving equipment become available. As a nonprofit Little League Baseball organization, we do not have the funds to do any more than we can do. 

Sincerely,

Marybeth MacNaughton

President Mira Mesa West Little League

marybethmacnaughton@gmail.com

Sent from my corner office with my fancy title... Oh wait, I'm a volunteer

I am so sick of illegal dumping, hobos and Parks and Rec. At least the AC's (Asian Crips have stayed away lately) Don't mess with the Prez!

It is what it is...
Namaste

Coining

File this  under " Something I had never seen before" Shocking photo at the end...

Ever heard of "coining"? Me neither, until yesterday.

A boy in the class I was working in, said the boy next to him had a mark on his neck and on his shoulder. I go over to check it out. Sure enough there is a  reddish mark about 3 inches long and 1/2 wide at the base of his skull. I look more closely being careful not to touch it and peek down his shirt. It looked like some kind of rash on his shoulder upper neck area. He said it is not itchy. I asked him if he knew how he got it but I got no answer. I lifted the back bottom of his shirt and his whole back is covered. I immediately send him to the nurse. ( since we have no nurse, the health tech if he/she is there)

They called back. Its called "coining".
Me: What's that? Is is contagious???
Them: No its a Chinese/Vietnamese cultural healing method. Someone did this to him.
Me: What???
Them: Its cultural. He said he had a headache and this is what his family does.
Me: I never heard of this!!!
Them: Its not uncommon but I had to report it to CPS (Child Protective Services)
Me: WOW!!!

No one at lunch had heard of it either.

As soon as I get home, I Google it. The short version is: Its a Chinese/Vietnamese medical treatment where the acupressure points are rubbed with an oil such as Tiger Balm or other healing oil. Then a coin or spoon is repeatedly rubbed over the areas to bring blood to the surface and thus releasing the toxins.
This is almost exactly what this boy's back looked like:

Google it for yourself if this isn't enough for you.

It is what it is...

Namaste

From Baseball to Honor Band

Happy Sunday!

I started a post last week about one of my favorite cheesy shows, the Bachelor but I didn't get around to finishing it. You have to wait to hear my "true feelings" (that's Bachelor speak) on Juan Pablo but until then we have....

From Baseball to Honor Band

Its been a super busy week for me. I completed a full week subbing at Ericson (Its hard being retired) as well as LL business and thankfully not to much drama. I also had to drive the Honor Band carpool a few times. Now that's a funny bunch. Stay tuned for more Tales from the Carpool Lane.

They had practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday was the dress rehearsal and performance. What an awesome experience for both Andrew and I. After losing the baseball game 5-6, I drove a dirty and disappointed Andrew to Point Loma Nazarene University for the dress rehearsal.(thankfully the dress part was not requires since we were already late.) He slept the whole way there and back in the car.  I think it got him out of his funk though because he was dressed and waiting when I picked him up to go back. The concert was AMAZING! These kids are SOOOOOO talented!

http://www.pointloma.edu/discover/about-plnu

It was the first time Andrew had been in a real theater. There were a bunch of SDUSD big wigs there praising the kids. What an eyeopener for Andrew and especially his mom. She brought his 3 little brothers, her boyfriend, Jay and Andrew's uncle Marlin. She had no idea of how the whole band thing works or the caliber of the musicianship. Jay could not believe Colin was not in it. He assumed Colin played an instrument and I just brought Andrew along. He didn't realize I was doing all this "just for Andrew."

On the way home, Andrew told me how thankful he was that I encouraged - OK made him do Honor Band. Its a big world out there and he is just starting to realize the many opportunities that he can take advantage of with some dedication and work.

He was surprised when I thanked him for letting me be a part of it.

Andrew: Why are you thanking me? All you did was drive us around, wait around and go to the concert.
Me: I completely enjoyed this experience. Without this experience, I would never have gotten to know Lucas, Keegan and Edward, I went to parts of San Diego that I had never been to before and I heard an amazing concert with talented musicians. Thank you.
Andrew: Your welcome. No one ever thanked me before...

It is what it is...
Namaste

Opening Day 2014- The List of Lasts

Adding to the List of Lasts we have MMWLL Opening Day 2014 and Picture Day 2014. Both went great! 

FYI -I should have worn my pedometer. I'm guessing 7 miles plus the trip to Smart and Final for more water and the bank for more change. The dogs are sore today. Note to self: wear better, not cuter shoes...Hahaha!

Our Facebook Post:

Opening Day 2014 couldn't have been better! Perfect San Diego weather - sunny and 80! The players looked great in their uniforms, played hard and had fun. The fields NEVER looked better! Opening Ceremonies went off without a hitch promptly at 9 am. The Snack Shack and Aunty Lynne's Hawaiian Ice and Lumpia kept us fed. 

Special congratulations to our 13 year olds who have been with MMWLL since t-ball! That's 9-10 YEARS! Francis Goonan, Nathan NGO, Jack Clemen, Tanner Farkas! 

Shout outs to ALL our AWESOME volunteers who help Run the Fun"!!!

And one from Scott:

Awwww

MMWLL, Many may understand it all,some may get it mostly, others maybe have a clue, but we really do have a lady in charge who pulls so much together day after day and week after week. We've been lucky enough to have her for 3 years and this will be her last year. Someone out there, you have it in you,and now is a great time to spend 3 months and mentor with one of the best MMWLL Presidents ever (and we have had some great ones) . Who's got next?
Marybeth MacNaughton, you again made 2014 Opening Day go as smoothly as ever,can't imagine the miles you layed down covering turf at the fields today, and no one "runs the fun" like you do.

And the email sent to managers and team parents:

Well done everyone on a successful 2014 Opening Day!

 Now that pictures are behind us,(thank you Carol Weathers) we have a chance to take a breath, possibly enjoy an adult beverage and regroup. 

I got lots of compliments on how smoothly things went and how happy the kids seemed. And everyone LOOKED Fabulous!

There are always "bugs" to be worked out. If you noticed problems within your division, please meet with your fellow division mangers to iron out ground rules. Please make sure everyone is in agreement. If things went great, talk about what worked and how you made it happen.

Patches - Almost everyone picked up their LL Patches and they look great! Especially with the addition of the LL 75th Anniversary patch. All of your uniforms have the "set in" sleeves, therefore patches should be ironed on 1 inch below the left shoulder seam. Its a tight fit but there are no Patch Police so line them up and iron them on. Tip - do not put jerseys in the dryer. The heat will melt the glue on the patches as well as the names and  numbers and they will start to peel off. Always hang dry uniform jerseys. If your patch does come off, SEW it back on. We have NO extras. 

Conflict Resolution - If you have a conflict with a parent, spectator, another manager, anyone and you can't resolve it at that time, please limit it to 1 email exchange with no "reply all". If that does not resolve the conflict either actually speak to the person on the phone or in person in a calm and adult manner. Try to avoid drama. If 1 personal interaction does not seem to be working, tell the person you will "get back to them" and contact a board member for support. Board members are impartial and are here to help. We also want to avoid conflict and drama. If you are getting multiple complaints on the same issue from parents, tell them it is being handled. Do not give details, just say, "its being handled." and contact a board member. We cannot help you if we don't know whats going on and its very hard to backtrack if things have escalated. 

Again, THANK YOU for an awesome Opening Day!

Let's Play Ball!

It is what it is...

Namaste

Avoidance

What is it the funniest thing I did today?

Drove 2 aisles across the parking lot from Callahan's to El Torito so some certain people would not think we were at Callahan's. I could have walked faster.

Colin's practice game with Rancho Penasquitos was cancelled today because their fields were still too muddy from the rain. Yea, yea I know... too muddy from the rain, poor us, blah, blah. However their fields sit at the bottom of a canyon and mud has been sliding down onto the fields. With our lack of rain, the ground can not absorb all the water when we get a significant amount at once. Significant meaning more that 3/4 of an inch. Laugh if you will but its the way it is.

Sooooo, Scott asked me to meet him for happy hour at Callahan's. Certain people who will remain nameless, mostly because it doesn't matter, hang out at Callahan's. Those people were at the MMHS JV baseball game being held at our field.

It got to be about 5pm and we decided to go to El Torito, which is 6 rows from Callahan's. We both drove 2 aisles so if those people happened to finish the game and go to Callahan's would either not see our vehicles or if they did, would think we were at El Tortito.

Confused yet?
Me too. The things we do to avoid drama...

It is what it is...
Namate

The Rest of the Story

As Paul Harvey would say... And now for the rest of the story:
It went out of my hands.

While at work, Scott called the school, contacted the teacher and made the arrangements for Colin to go on the East Coast trip.

There were 2 spots left and Colin has one. It was the absolute last day! There were some logistical problems involving airline and show tickets but apparently paying the late fees worked out those bugs. When Colin contacted his friends, they seem to think they are the only group with 3 in the room so Colin MAY even get to room with his friends. So for the low, low price of $2700, Colin is going on the East Coast trip.

Yup! The teacher confirmed it. He can room with his friends, Jack, Brendan and Oren. That kid is soooo lucky. I gong to get him to buy the Lotto tickets from now on.

What is bugging me is his underwhelming attitude.

No dancing and jumping around. No happy dance. No huge Thank You Mom and Dad! You are so AWESOME for making this happen! What can I do to help pay for it? I'm so sorry for not deciding sooner. I'll do anything you want for the rest of my life, etc

Nope, nothin' ...but a mumbled thank you

It is what it is...
Namaste

A Parent's Dilemma

One year ago, I asked Colin if he wanted to go on the 8th grade East Coast Trip. After thinking about it for oh.... about 10 seconds he says no. Why would I want to do that? It costs a lot and if I want to go somewhere on the east coast, Grandpa will take me. Fine, I say, because if you want to go, we can make it work but we will need to start saving and get on their payment plan, etc. It costs about $2600. Its not just about going to the places but going away from home with your friends and without parents, yada, yada.

You can probably see where this is going.

Colin comes home from school and says he changed his mind and wants to go. The trip is in 3 weeks! I don't even know if they have any spots but some of his friends have been talking about it. In my brain I'm screaming "WTF!!!!!!!!!!" but I calmly say I'll talk to Scott.

Now, Cara has been saving her money since the end of 6th grade and we will get on the payment plan. Scott has taken a pay-cut every year for the last 8 or so years. I have been working my butt off subbing to make up the slack. We are not rolling in money here.

I talk to Scott, mentioning we don't have the money unless we put it all on a credit card, how we talked about this last year, how Colin has not saved 1 penny of the money, and has said multiple times how he DOESN'T want to go. Major life lesson for Colin. Of course I feel sooooo bad as I'm saying all this because I wanted him to want to.

I went on all the school and band trips and had a great time. So did Scott. Colin never wants to go overnight anywhere unless its to a hotel, or Grandpa's. He never goes to friends homes. They always come here. So going on this trip would be a big step for him socially.

And by now, Colin has said, forget it, its too late, I screwed up. I'm so stupid and is totally down on himself.

After a lot of discussion, Scott says we can sell some stock to pay for it. I guess I'm ok with that but Colin has thus far put forth no effort and that is what is bugging me. So- he is supposed to find out who we contact to see if there is room and can he still go or a website to get some information. I am not going to be spending my time figuring all this out.

Colin is still in "forget it" mode and now is home sick today.

Do I know what teacher is in charge? Yes
Can figure out how to get some info? probably
Even as I am writing this, do I want to make it possible for Colin to go on the trip? yes
Should I actually do it? Probably not

But my heart still hurts because its tough to see him beat himself up over a possible missed opportunity.

Tick-tock, times a wastin' I don't think its too much to ask for minimal effort at this late date, if he really changed his mind and wants to go. I just wish he let us know sooner. I kind of hope that the trip is already closed and there is nothing anyone can do.

It is what it is...
Namaste