Let me start by saying that I love my job. I know not many people can say that, but I really do. As General Manager for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service I work in Lacey, WA at our office there and I over see 7 other offices in Washington and 6 more in New Mexico. Part of what makes my job so great is that I only work solid from the 1st week of December through the end of April. However, within those 5 months it’s not uncommon for me to work several 80-110 hour weeks. Needless to say, that when the tax season is winding down, I am usually ready for a break. This year was far worse than normal! Once Chuck started to go to games on April 5th, all I could thinking about was going to baseball games! My mind was so far removed from taxes it wasn’t even funny.
At this point I had 2 weeks until my 1st game, so I spent the next 2 weeks posting pictures and updates for Chuck on Facebook as well as assisting him adjust his schedule when needed and it was needed a few times. Be that when his flight from Houston to Dallas was delayed making him miss the Rangers game on April 8th or when his flight from San Diego to Cleveland was cancelled on April 10th or even due to a game running really long in Atlanta, he was unable to make the 2nd game of his scheduled doubleheader in St. Louis on April 18th.
Here is what is crazy. Before Chuck started he put his “Over/Under” at 23 days. Things were looking really crazy when he missed the Cleveland/Baltimore doubleheader on the 11th. But again I say, you know, it’s funny how things work out. With that doubleheader miss it looked like my trip was in jeopardy, until the St. Louis miss. That miss put Chuck right on pace to where he felt he would finish, spot on with his last attempt (if he ran it perfect) and opened the door to really help me out. Why? Simple. His scheduled finishing game was on April 26th at U.S. Cellular Field on the South Side of Chicago. Now, just the day before I am to meet him in Seattle, he misses out on the 2nd game of his scheduled doubleheader (St. Louis), thus that game becomes a make up game for him and it allows me to be able to get to St. Louis early and not have to do the Dallas-St.Louis-Miami run I was looking at having to do. Furthermore his schedule changes also mean that he will be joining me in Cleveland for the Indians vs Royals game on the 25th, instead of forcing me to have to drive from Detroit-Pittsburgh-Cleveland and back to Detroit to pick him up before heading to Cincinnati to drop him off and head back up to O’Hare in Chicago to pick him up and get him to The Cell. That would have been an incredibly long 2 days. But that was partially avoided with the miss in Cleveland. His last rescheduled game is Baltimore and by adding it on as Saturday, April 28th, that puts me right back on track. All in all it allowed me to catch a game earlier than planned (St. Louis), saved me about 600+ miles of driving, a tank and 1/2 of gas and an extra night hotel cost. This also freed up May 12th for me to do whatever I need to or to go to another Rangers game if I choose before heading to Miami. You know, it’s funny how things work out…
My adjusted schedule is as follows:
Ballpark # 1 Game # 1 – Thursday, April 19th – 7:10pm – Mariners vs Indians – Safeco Field (Seattle, WA)
Ballpark # 2 Game # 2 – Friday, April 20th – 7:10pm – Royals vs Blue Jays – Kauffmann (Kansas City, MO)
Ballpark # 3 Game # 3 – Saturday, April 21st – 12:05pm – Cubs vs Reds – Wrigley Field (Chicago, IL)
Ballpark # 4 Game # 4 – Saturday, April 21st – 6:05pm – Brewers vs Rockies – Miller Park (Milwaukee, WI)
Ballpark # 5 Game # 5 – Monday, April 23rd – 7:10pm – Twins vs Red Sox – Target Field (Minneapolis, MN)
Ballpark # 6 Game # 6 – Tuesday, April 24th – 7:10pm – Mariners vs Tigers – Comerica Park (Detroit, MI)
Ballpark # 7 Game # 7 – Wednesday, April 25th – 12:35pm – Pirates vs Rockies – PNC Park (Pittsburgh, PA)
Ballpark # 8 Game # 8 – Wednesday, April 25th – 7:10pm – Indians vs Royals – Progressive Field (Cleveland, OH)
Ballpark # 9 Game # 9 – Thursday, April 26th – 7:10pm – White Sox vs Red Sox – US Cellular Field (Chicago, IL)
Ballpark #10 Game #10 – Saturday, April 27thth – 7:10pm – Cardinals vs Brewers – Busch Stadium (St. Louis, MO)
Ballpark #11 Game #11 – Saturday, April 28th – 7:10pm – Orioles vs A’s – Camden Yards (Baltimore, MD)
Ballpark #12 Game #12 – Sunday, April 29th – 7:10pm – Phillies vs Cubs – Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia, PA)
Ballpark #13 Game #13 – Monday, April 30th – 7:10pm – Red Sox vs A’s – Fenway Park (Boston, MA)
Ballpark #14 Game #14 – Tuesday, May 1st – 7:05pm – Yankees vs Orioles – Yankee Stadium (Bronx, NY)
Ballpark #15 Game #15 – Wednesday, May 2nd – 12:35pm – Blue Jays vs Rangers – Rogers Centre (Toronto, ON)
Ballpark #16 Game #16 – Thursday, May 3rd – 12:35pm – Reds vs Cubs – Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati, OH)
Ballpark #17 Game #17 – Saturday, May 5th – 1:05pm – Nationals vs Phillies – National’s Park (Washington DC)
Ballpark #18 Game #18 – Sunday, May 6th – 1:10pm – Mets vs D’Backs – Citi Field (Queens, NY)
Ballpark #19 Game #19 – Tuesday, May 8th – 7:05pm – Astros vs Marlins – Minute Maid Park (Houston, TX)
Ballpark #20 Game #20 – Friday, May 11th – 7:05pm – Rangers vs Angels – Rangers Ballpark (Arlington, TX)
Ballpark #21 Game #21 – Monday, May 14th – 7:10pm – Marlins vs Pirates – Marlins Park (Miami, FL)
Ballpark #21 Game #22 – Tuesday, May 15th – 7:10pm – Marlins vs Pirates – Marlin Park (Miami, FL)
Ballpark #22 Game #23 – Wednesday, May 16th – 7:10pm – Rays vs Red Sox – Tropicana Field (Tampa, FL)
Ballpark #23 Game #24 – Thursday, May 17th – 7:10pm – Braves vs Marlins – Turner Field (Atlanta, GA)
Ballpark #24 Game #25 – Saturday, August 18th – 6:10pm – Rockies vs Marlins – Coors Field (Denver, CO)
Ballpark #25 Game #26 – Saturday, August 25th – 5:10pm – D’Backs vs Padres – Chase Field (Phoenix, AZ)
Ballpark #25 Game #27 – Sunday, August 26th – 1:10pm – D’Backs vs Padres – Chase Field (Phoenix, AZ)
Ballpark #26 Game #29 – Monday, August 27th – 7:05pm – Padres vs Braves – Petco Park (San Diego, CA)
Ballpark #27 Game #30 – Tuesday, August 28th – 7:05pm – Angels vs Red Sox – Angels Stadium (Los Angeles, CA)
Ballpark #27 Game #31 – Wednesday, August 29th – 7:05pm – Angels vs Red Sox – Angels Stadium (Los Angeles, CA)
Ballpark #28 Game #32 – Thursday, August 30th – 7:10pm – Dodgers vs D’Backs – Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles, CA)
Ballpark #29 Game #33 – Friday, August 31st – 7:05pm – A’s vs Red Sox – O.co Coliseum (Oakland, CA)
Ballpark #29 Game #34 – Saturday, September 1st – 6:05pm – A’s vs Red Sox – O.co Coliseum (Oakland, CA)
Ballpark #29 Game #35 – Sunday, September 2nd – 1:05pm – A’s vs Red Sox – O.co Coliseum (Oakland, CA)
Ballpark #30 Game #36 – Monday, September 3rd – 1:05pm – Giants vs D’Backs – AT&T Park (San Francisco, CA)
Ballpark #30 Game #37 – Tuesday, September 4th – 7:05pm – Mariners vs Red Sox – Safeco Field (Seattle, WA)