Adventures in Being Myself

International "Talk Like a Pirate Day" is the perfect day for sharing the adventure of my 37th birthday. Having been reared in the Greater Tampa Bay Area, I am a long-suffering Buccaneers fan. You may know of the loveable losers - some of us call them the "Yucks" for their tendency to dwell in the cellar of the NFL - or, perhaps you remember the unfortunate branding of their early identity: a very clearly gay buccaneer "Bruce" outfitted in creamsicle and white. Absolutely yucky! Anywhoo, in a very clear case of the "clothes make the man" the Buccaneers - yes, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - actually won the Super Bowl four years ago after changing their entire identity: pewter and red uniforms, a menacing pirate logo and a fancy, shmancy new stadium in which to destroy those who dared to field a team. When the Bucs started winning, all of Tampa Bay - and her natives - rejoiced, and they actually started going to games. All except me. I was living in t...

Say what you will about my Gator Mania... Florida is the first school to hold National Championships in both college basketball and college football simultaneously. Moreover, the 2007 basketball championship is historic in its own right: this team is the first to win back-to-back championships with the same starting lineup. They dissed the NBA's riches for a shot to repeat as National Champs. They got what they wanted - and HOW! It's a great time to be a Gator in Tallahassee. I can't WAIT for Gator Day at the Capitol!

Ticket for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship - $112.50 Chipping in Gas Money for the Road Trip to the Game - $47.00 Celebratory Accoutrements, including good-luck kamikaze shots - $80 Cheering from the upper deck as your alma mater, the defending National Champion Gator Boys, slash down the court, shoot the lights out and demolish "THE" Ohio State University, leaving their drunk, camouflage mini-skirt wearing, "Hang on Sloopy"-singing fans in despair for the second time in four months - PRICELESS All Hail the Mighty Gators, the best in basketball. Again.

One of the more kickass perks to living in Southwest Florida is Spring Training. Now that Phil and I are living together in Fort Myers, I am looking forward to those six glorious weeks in February and March when the weather is bee-YOO-tee-ful, the baseball is less expensive and we mortals have a better than decent chance of seeing our favorite baseball players upcloseandpersonal at Cru. Sure, February and March are still a long way off; but Spring Training tickets went on sale this week. In Fort Myers, much like my hometown of Clearwater, we have a choice of teams. You can tell from the photo which team we choose. The photo was taken - by the hat vendor - at Fenway Park last April. It was my first trip to Fenway. I was a tad excited. So excited, in fact, that I hugged our ticket collector on my way through the turnstile. Phil, ever Johnny-on-the-Spot with a digital camera, snapped a photo. I'm all teeth. The poor ticket collector bears a look of sheer terror. The hat vendor was...