Already? Already. Twelve weeks down. I still can't believe how fast this summer is going.
This past week, I couldn't believe how hot it was. I was supposed to MC Sunday, but due to a shortage of people, I ran the high-home camera. The first pitch temperature was 93 degrees and the heat index read 112. It was a very thin crowd, but the team won and I had some good highlights to use.
Monday wrapped up the seven-game homestand, my second to last homestand. I had the chance to MC again Monday, for probably the last time. It was a busy night on the mic, but a cooler one at that. Thankfully. A Lexington broken bat actually got stuck in our net and we had a delay in the game. Our groundskeeper couldn't get the bat out and the umpires decided to play on. After the game, they had to get a machine on the field to hoist him up in the air to get the bat out of the net. That was a sight to see.
I didn't have to go in until noon Tuesday. When I did, I put together the top ten plays and was allowed to go back home. I actually had a really nice and relaxing day, something that I hadn't had in a while. Wednesday I went in at 10 and began wrapping things up for when I leave. I've put together tips for the Power Minute and other highlights that I put together and I've organized a lot of loose files on the computer. It was a mess when I got here and I'm trying to make it as nice as possible.
I did come across footage of Pirate's RF Gregory Polanco and coach Rick Sofield from when they were with the Power a few years ago. Polanco played and Sofield managed during the 2012 season in Charleston. That was cool to see. Hopefully I can say in a few years that I saw some big leaguers play in A-ball.
After work Wednesday, I went on a walk along the Kanawha River and stopped where it runs in front of the Capitol Building and sat for a good half hour and enjoyed the sounds of the river. Then I watched one of the most breathtaking sunsets in my life. On my walk and as I sat beside the river, ideas started popping into my head. I had been searching for inspiration the past few days for new videos and I just couldn't think of anything. I needed to come up with a Back to the Future parody video to play Thursday night and I was struggling. I eventually did come up with a decent idea, but it was frustrating. I'm not used to having creative brain farts. This was a major one.
Then, all of a sudden, I got an idea for a new video. A "send off" if you will. I assigned myself with a "final project" to complete before I left here. It wouldn't be the last project I did, but it would be one that wrapped up everything that I've watched and experienced this season in a short video. I wanted to show off Charleston and the Power, but also tie in Pittsburgh to this video. The creative juices in my brain came alive and fired words and thoughts into my head beside the river and I wrote a lot of them down as I watched the sunset. I would begin this Thursday.
I went in to work still thinking about this video. I couldn't get it off my mind. I did more organizing and filing, then went outside and sat in the top row of the seats behind home plate with my laptop and began writing and crafting a script for this video. The process at the beginning reminded me of the "Always Home" video that I made as a tribute to Butler High School before I graduated. After about an hour of writing, I went back in the press box for a while and left at 4:30. I went straight home, had a quick bite to eat, packed my cameras and went out.
Keep in mind I do not have a car down here so I do walk everywhere. I was feeling adventurous, so I walked through a couple different neighborhoods on my way to the Capitol Building instead of walking on the main streets. I came across some train tracks by the University of Charleston football stadium that I shot and then got some other shots of the mountains behind it. Then I walked around the Capitol for about an hour and got footage of it. The Capitol's campus always is so peaceful and beautiful and this time was no different. The best part was that there was nobody there. It was right after the 9-5 work day let out and the visitors and tourists weren't there yet. It was empty and it was so quiet and peaceful. The Capitol gave me a lot of good content to use.
I walked along the river and got some more shots there as I headed towards downtown. I found stairs that went up to one of the bridges and took them up and got on the bridge to get some shots of downtown and the river from a different angle. I went in the streets of downtown Charleston to get some footage of the different roads, parks and scenery that downtown has to offer. I made a stop at the mall to get an iced coffee at Starbucks and take a bathroom break. Side-note: the coffee purchase officially put me in the Starbucks Gold Club, so that happened.
I still had some daylight left, so I walked back over to the ballpark. I went in and got some nice shots of the empty stadium as the sun set behind it. I wanted to capture the sunset from the river and there wasn't a lot of it left. I ran from the park to the river and made it just in time to get shoot the sunset. Then I finally called it a night at 9:30 after almost five hours of shooting and went back home. I sorted through the 90 minutes worth of footage that I had and the additional 30 minutes of footage from the season that I wanted to include in the video. At 1:30 a.m., I called it quits and went to bed.
The other production intern, Mike, won free lunch at Quaker Steak and Lube courtesy of a local radio station for him and his co-workers. So on the off day, we and three others went to the restaurant and enjoyed a free lunch on Electric 102.7. Then I went home and edited for the next few hours non-stop until I finished. I was on a roll.
The video is done and I will share a link to it next week. I am really excited with how it turned out and can't wait to share it with people.
After I finished, I walked down to the Live on the Levee concert but only stayed for a few minutes before walking around the mall and then heading back down the river as I watched another amazing sunset. I sure will miss Charleston's sunsets.
I walked to the Capitol Building from the mall and sat on the top step for a while. I got there at 9:30 and the only noise was the occasional car passing by and the fountains at the base of the steps. I had some time to just reflect on this whole summer and everything that I've had the chance to do. I'm really fortunate to be in the position that I am today. I'm lucky. I'm so grateful for everything that this summer has given me so far. I wouldn't have it any other way.
What will I do next summer and the summer after that? After spending this past summer as a 19 year old in another state 260 miles away from home working in Minor League Baseball, there's nothing that I can't do. Stealing a line from my video: "dreaming big, but focusing on today." Theres still work to be done in Charleston. I want to finish strong. This video that I'm calling "for now" is a good start to finishing strong. I'm enjoying the 9 days without games before my final seven-game homestand starts next Thursday.
To end the week, I explored the museum at the Capitol building for a couple hours. Afterwards, my roommate and his girlfriend let me tag along with them to Morgantown to catch a WV Black Bears game. The Black Bears are the short season affiliate of the Pirates and one level below the Power playing in their inaugural season in Minor League Baseball.
We had a WV Power black bear giveaway on the night of their home opener. I decided to bring along the little guy to Morgantown and got some laughs. We met up with a few other Power staffers who we didn't know were going to the game. They had great seats behind home plate, an upgrade from our standing room only tickets.
I also had the chance to watch Pirate's RHP John Holdzkom throw a 1-2-3 7th inning in a rehab assignment. Holdzkom made headlines late last season as guy signed out of independent ball by the Pirates and proved himself when everyone else had given up on him.
The Black Bears tossed a 3-0, one-hit shutout in their victory over the Staten Island Yankees. It was also Star Wars night at the ballpark as the team auctioned special jerseys after the game. We even stopped at Sheetz on the way back home. It was a good night.
Another off day Sunday before my last full week with the Power. Let's do this.
Because, why not?
Josh
Hours July 19 - 25
7-19 Sunday: 11:30-7:30 (8)
7-20 Monday: 10-12 (14)
7-21 Tuesday: 12-2:30 (2.5)
7-22 Wednesday: 10-4:30 (6.5)
7-23 Thursday: 11-4:30 (5.5)
7-24 Off
7-25 Off
Total: 36.5
This past week, I couldn't believe how hot it was. I was supposed to MC Sunday, but due to a shortage of people, I ran the high-home camera. The first pitch temperature was 93 degrees and the heat index read 112. It was a very thin crowd, but the team won and I had some good highlights to use. |
| Chris in the air just after getting the bat out of the net. |
I didn't have to go in until noon Tuesday. When I did, I put together the top ten plays and was allowed to go back home. I actually had a really nice and relaxing day, something that I hadn't had in a while. Wednesday I went in at 10 and began wrapping things up for when I leave. I've put together tips for the Power Minute and other highlights that I put together and I've organized a lot of loose files on the computer. It was a mess when I got here and I'm trying to make it as nice as possible.
I did come across footage of Pirate's RF Gregory Polanco and coach Rick Sofield from when they were with the Power a few years ago. Polanco played and Sofield managed during the 2012 season in Charleston. That was cool to see. Hopefully I can say in a few years that I saw some big leaguers play in A-ball.
After work Wednesday, I went on a walk along the Kanawha River and stopped where it runs in front of the Capitol Building and sat for a good half hour and enjoyed the sounds of the river. Then I watched one of the most breathtaking sunsets in my life. On my walk and as I sat beside the river, ideas started popping into my head. I had been searching for inspiration the past few days for new videos and I just couldn't think of anything. I needed to come up with a Back to the Future parody video to play Thursday night and I was struggling. I eventually did come up with a decent idea, but it was frustrating. I'm not used to having creative brain farts. This was a major one.
 |
| Wednesday's sunset on the Kanawha River |
I went in to work still thinking about this video. I couldn't get it off my mind. I did more organizing and filing, then went outside and sat in the top row of the seats behind home plate with my laptop and began writing and crafting a script for this video. The process at the beginning reminded me of the "Always Home" video that I made as a tribute to Butler High School before I graduated. After about an hour of writing, I went back in the press box for a while and left at 4:30. I went straight home, had a quick bite to eat, packed my cameras and went out.
Keep in mind I do not have a car down here so I do walk everywhere. I was feeling adventurous, so I walked through a couple different neighborhoods on my way to the Capitol Building instead of walking on the main streets. I came across some train tracks by the University of Charleston football stadium that I shot and then got some other shots of the mountains behind it. Then I walked around the Capitol for about an hour and got footage of it. The Capitol's campus always is so peaceful and beautiful and this time was no different. The best part was that there was nobody there. It was right after the 9-5 work day let out and the visitors and tourists weren't there yet. It was empty and it was so quiet and peaceful. The Capitol gave me a lot of good content to use.I walked along the river and got some more shots there as I headed towards downtown. I found stairs that went up to one of the bridges and took them up and got on the bridge to get some shots of downtown and the river from a different angle. I went in the streets of downtown Charleston to get some footage of the different roads, parks and scenery that downtown has to offer. I made a stop at the mall to get an iced coffee at Starbucks and take a bathroom break. Side-note: the coffee purchase officially put me in the Starbucks Gold Club, so that happened.
I still had some daylight left, so I walked back over to the ballpark. I went in and got some nice shots of the empty stadium as the sun set behind it. I wanted to capture the sunset from the river and there wasn't a lot of it left. I ran from the park to the river and made it just in time to get shoot the sunset. Then I finally called it a night at 9:30 after almost five hours of shooting and went back home. I sorted through the 90 minutes worth of footage that I had and the additional 30 minutes of footage from the season that I wanted to include in the video. At 1:30 a.m., I called it quits and went to bed.
The video is done and I will share a link to it next week. I am really excited with how it turned out and can't wait to share it with people.
 |
| Another great sunset Friday night |
 |
| The view from the top of the Capitol steps |
What will I do next summer and the summer after that? After spending this past summer as a 19 year old in another state 260 miles away from home working in Minor League Baseball, there's nothing that I can't do. Stealing a line from my video: "dreaming big, but focusing on today." Theres still work to be done in Charleston. I want to finish strong. This video that I'm calling "for now" is a good start to finishing strong. I'm enjoying the 9 days without games before my final seven-game homestand starts next Thursday.
To end the week, I explored the museum at the Capitol building for a couple hours. Afterwards, my roommate and his girlfriend let me tag along with them to Morgantown to catch a WV Black Bears game. The Black Bears are the short season affiliate of the Pirates and one level below the Power playing in their inaugural season in Minor League Baseball.We had a WV Power black bear giveaway on the night of their home opener. I decided to bring along the little guy to Morgantown and got some laughs. We met up with a few other Power staffers who we didn't know were going to the game. They had great seats behind home plate, an upgrade from our standing room only tickets.
 |
| RHP John Holdzkom pitches a 1-2-3 Seventh |
I also had the chance to watch Pirate's RHP John Holdzkom throw a 1-2-3 7th inning in a rehab assignment. Holdzkom made headlines late last season as guy signed out of independent ball by the Pirates and proved himself when everyone else had given up on him.
The Black Bears tossed a 3-0, one-hit shutout in their victory over the Staten Island Yankees. It was also Star Wars night at the ballpark as the team auctioned special jerseys after the game. We even stopped at Sheetz on the way back home. It was a good night.
Another off day Sunday before my last full week with the Power. Let's do this.
Because, why not?
Josh
Hours July 19 - 257-19 Sunday: 11:30-7:30 (8)
7-20 Monday: 10-12 (14)
7-21 Tuesday: 12-2:30 (2.5)
7-22 Wednesday: 10-4:30 (6.5)
7-23 Thursday: 11-4:30 (5.5)
7-24 Off
7-25 Off
Total: 36.5
No comments:
Post a Comment