My “month long leave from blogging” goal is complete. I’m back. A few things before the weekend starts:

I have a new goal. Talk to one stranger a day. Not the simple “Hello, weird weather, huh?”. I want to spend at least a minute or two meeting someone new every single day. I think I’m a friendly enough person that this shouldn’t be difficult, but it will be cool to say that I at least met 365 people over a years period of time. Isn’t leap year coming up though?

I went to Cleveland last Sunday for the Steelers vs. Browns game. This was the third year in a row, and now I have a full answer about the fans there. They are the worst people I’ve been around at a sporting event, even worse than Steelers’ fans.

In Baltimore, the Hunger Strike that I wrote about was avoided and workers will be receiving a living wage. The only problem now is that there will be more competition for these jobs.

There will be an Anti-War Rally and March at 2:00 in Oakland on Saturday. Check out the info!

A few friends and I have been working on covering some Dillinger Four songs. We’re playing a show tomorrow as part of Cover Show benefit for Roboto.

As much as like to play devil’s advocate, much of my feelings about sports really are objective anymore. I really don’t have many favorites or players I dislike. I truly consider myself a fan of sports in general, with a few favorite teams, but someone who can objectively watch any game. Pretending to have strong feelings for or against a player or team, is just as fun for me as someone who bleeds ______ & ______.

So, I hopped into bed last Wednesday, and for my usual nightcap I turned on the TV. ESPN2 was the station, Nationals at Giants was game. The next batter that was up: Barry Bonds. I had a feeling watching his at bat, that this would be the record breaking home run. I love this feeling in sports. Whether its a critical win or lose play, or just a magical moment like a home run where time slows down, it makes you feel like anything is possible(if you take performance enhancing drugs).

For as magical as sports make you feel, there is a lot of work behind the scenes that people don’t know of, or neglect to care about. When you leave your empty nacho container upside down, or your lbs. of peanut shells on the stadium floor, someone has to clean them up. In Baltimore, those people aren’t paid a living wage.

Camden Yards, a publicly owned stadium, employs temporary workers who work all night cleaning up garbage in the stands and the rest of the stadium. Workers arrive at a temp agency hours before their job starts, in order to get there early enough to get a place in line before the vans fill up. They get bar coded wrist bands and are driven(and charged to be driven) to the stadium where they clean all night, and are lucky to sometimes make minimum wage when travel charges and wait times are factored in. Workers are often treated miserably on the job, and even made to eat their lunches in the restrooms. This has to change.

What we learn in sports from the home run, the winning half court shot, or the unbelievable hook and lateral play, is that anything is possible. This is what makes sports such a great metaphor for life. We should support those people that are a significant piece in keeping our stadiums and our lives clean. A win in their struggle for fair wages would be a ground rule double in the battle for undocumented workers across this country.

Read more about this and the September 3rd Hunger Strike at: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/13/101320/662