Cold Turkey/Goodbye Offseason

by rungood on Feb 25, 2006 9:43 AM PST

Hi, my name is rungood, and I'm an AN-aholic.
[in unison]Hi rungood...
The past 3 days have been nearly impossible.

I'm on Oslo, Norway now, and the last time I logged on to AN was in Berlin, Germany, where I was kicking it with my friends' band that's currently touring in Europe.

Sure, I've had stuff to do and overall, life is good, but something is missing. I don't have my computer with me like normal, so I haven't been able to fulfill my daily AN cravings and scour newly posted threads for thrown chairs, Zonis' scary links, and Nico v. Monkeyball pun wars.

This has become my offseason haven for everything baseball (and then some), my connection to California and the U.S., and a nice place to distract me from the dark and cold days of this long winter.

I can't say I've ever been addicted to anything before, but this community is the closest thing to an addiction that I've had, and I don't know if that's a bad thing.

It didn't seem bad when I had Internet access and a computer every day. But when I'm away from my apartment and my normal life, and I start to miss AN and wonder what's going on that I'm missing, has it gone too far? Is being an AN-aholic a bad thing?

I guess this is as good a time as ever to come clean. I can't and won't break myself off completely, nor do I want to, but I can at least begin to come to terms with the fact that I am an AN-aholic-- at least in the offseason. I've come to love the idiosyncracies of you guys, and even if I don't always reply to individual posts, it's probably cracking me up, wherever in the world I am.

And when even if we get a slew of regular-season-only posters around here, I'll remember these days. So goodbye to the offseason, and thank you to all who made AN a fun place for me and other AN-aholics when baseball was the farthest thing from reality. You've helped me deal with my addiction (and have definitely fueled it, though these things are not mutually exclusive). It's an addiction that I welcome, so not only can I say I'm proud to be an AN-aholic, but I'm glad to be back.

~rungood

Tweet Comment 12 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

it's ok

it's bad to be an AN-aholic, but in a good way. just make sure u keep your eyes open for those chairs; and after they hit the wall, they can provide all the fiber u need. not to mention, plenty of other things get tossed around to properly fulfill your food pyramid. all i got to say is thank goodness for AN, for w/o AN the off-season would be a much colder darker time.

Nick's an outstanding defensive first baseman...He's going to want to talk and he'll drive people nuts. They won't want to get to first base if he's there-Beane

by F171615 on Feb 25, 2006 12:37 PM PST reply actions

ah yes

You're AN's bitch, too. Try not to miss any more meetings...

I've seen the error of my ways... MaElLuvR

by Poppy on Feb 25, 2006 3:21 PM PST reply actions

I wish I could log in from Berlin...

Went there in '03 and loved it. Fun adventure trying to get A's scores off the interactive TV news text, though...

"(Insert favorite AN quote here.)" -- Some ANer
AN Census

by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Feb 25, 2006 3:44 PM PST reply actions

ironically

this hasn't been a particularly great off-season for me (off-season being synonomous with snowboard season). I've only had 2 powder days since last February :(

by high street on Feb 25, 2006 4:46 PM PST reply actions

I've only had three myself,

mostly because cocaine has gotten so damn expensive.

by Nico on Feb 25, 2006 6:12 PM PST up reply actions

Reminds me of when

David Lee Roth was being interviewed years ago on M TV. The reporter asks Dave about his alleged drug problem, and Dave replies "I use to have quite a drug problem, but now I can afford it". Good times.

"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer

by alox on Feb 25, 2006 6:46 PM PST up reply actions

From 2001-2003..

..I was in Guatemala, where apparently baseball died of a bad case of Montezuma's revenge (okay, maybe that was me). Occasionally, one of the papers there would print standings along with an article about the Yankees. I remember picking up a paper and seeing the standings, and then picking up another paper about three weeks later and noticing that they had gained about 20 games in the standings with no losses. After the Yankees article there was a little blurb that basically went, "Oh yeah, and Oakland won their twentieth game in a row." The joys of living in a third world country..

Mom..! Meatloaf! ..F@#$!!

by JediLeroy on Feb 25, 2006 7:03 PM PST reply actions

amen sir.

amen

by sypher1504 on Feb 25, 2006 10:34 PM PST reply actions

Personally

I collect addictions like baseball cards. To feed this one, I think I'm going to actually break sown and join the 21st century by getting a DSL. The shame is that the money isn't going to the A's and Blez. That's what I'm getting it for.

by ArakSOT on Feb 26, 2006 8:59 AM PST reply actions

UPDATE FROM OSLO

I was walking around yesterday with my buddy in central Oslo, taking the T-Bane (the Norway Metro) up into the mountains, and we freakin saw a guy with an A's hat across the tracks. I was SO stoked. I didn't get a chance to say whats up to the guy or ask him about the hat, but my buddy (also a native Oaklander) and I were just amped for the rest of the day.

I see Yankees gear everywhere around Europe, but I've figured out that people don't actually know the team, and just like the way it looks. To them, the NY is a symbol of the city more than it is of the team.

Any other A's sightings internationally?

Check out my blog, if you want

by rungood on Feb 27, 2006 4:14 AM PST reply actions

Cairo airport, Jun 2004

While waiting for a connection, I met an A's fan and we discussed the bullpen meltdowns in Cleveland.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B05280CLE2004.htm

Copernicus felt the same way about the geocentric crew.

by salb918 on Feb 27, 2006 9:57 AM PST up reply actions

I didn't see anyone else...

but I know for a fact that folks saw the green and gold in London, Amsterdam, Milano, Hong Kong and Shanghai last year. I found out later thanks to another AN member (sorry, forgot who it was) that wearing a green hat in China means your wife is cheating on you. So I've got that going for me...

by peanut gallery on Feb 27, 2006 12:57 PM PST up reply actions