On The Job

Throughout the season a ton of things, other than baseball, took place.

Here are a few:

The British boy band sensation One Direction held their first North American concert at Dr Pepper Ballpark. I was lucky enough to meet the cologne wearing, sweet talking, girl jean wearing guys. Yes, I joke about these things but in reality the guys were really nice and we even got into a squirt gun and silly string battle before and after their fan autograph session.

As for the fans...OMG! I forgot how loud a group of screaming girls (and some of their parents) could be.

Overall, it was a great experience that started with people camping out in tents the night before to boxing up everything after One Direction left.

Another big, and yes BIG, event that took place was the 2012 Dirk Nowitzki Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game. I was asked to be the second official photographer for the event, behind the Dallas Mavericks photog. The event started with batting practice the day before where I got to meet all the celebrities, including the tall man himself, Dirk. He even helped me off a chair after taking his head shot for the boards.

The next day was the main event.  Talk about some egos...T.O. was the worst, but really I didn't expect anything less. Everyone else was super nice and I loved watching them all interact with each other. It was also a good mix of TV and movie stars as well as athletes from soccer, baseball, football and of course basketball. My favorite moment of the day was hearing Charles Barkley tell the story about when he first meet Dirk and how he tried to convince him to play basketball in the U.S.

Oh yeah, the other favorite moment getting to meet and talk to some of my favorites — Dallas Maverick Vince Carter and Scrubs actor Donal Faison.

Other than outside events coming to the ballpark, we held a few of our own. The biggest too, the RoughRiders Foundation golf tournament, where players golfed with our sponsors and fans, and our Casino Night.

Both events were great successes. The best part, watching short stop and the top prospect of MLB Jurickson Profar trying to golf, I feared for my life. haha

Those were the big ticket items for actual work, as for the shenanigans that took place by the co-workers, that's a different story.

To start with, a few of us were invited to the Silver Dollar Ball which benefits the American Cancer Society. It was fun to put on our cowgirl (and boy) boots and enjoy a VIP evening for a great cause.

The big wigs at the office decided to reward all of our hard work with a staff softball tournament. Unfortunately, my team didn't make it to the championship round, but I did get on base each time I came up to bat. Holler!

As for updates on people, have some sad and exciting news. My officemate Rob got a new job at the Marketing Arm, a huge marketing firm in Dallas. As sad as it makes me, I am super excited for him and know this is the right move for him.

Another person, Mark, just left for greener pastors as well. He was with the RoughRiders for almost six seasons, he was always entertaining and super easy to prank (the below picture is his office).

We also had an AMAZING group of interns that have left us to finish up their last year of college and start looking for real people jobs. They're was never a dull moment and the banter between us all still has yet to stop. Thank you social media.

For the happier note, my boss, Scott and his wife are expecting TWINS! They are due late January, but thanks to two of the little guys, ok one is a girl the other a guy, they should be joining us here in the world any day now. It's super exciting and I can't wait to meet them.

Now for the final part of what happened on the job this season, I actually had a lot of visitors this season.

My dad and Uncle Tom came over from Arizona for a weekend. They got to see a great 'Riders win and even made friends with Daisy, our lovable female mascot.

The other two visits were my best friend Cicely and my brother-in-laws (Tim and Ben), mother-in-law, and Tim's best buddy Ben.

With Cicely, she came during an off weekend which meant we got to explore Dallas instead of being stuck at the ballpark. The others got to take in a great series and I even roped Tim and friend Ben into doing an inning break event. They loved it I promise, haha.

Well, there was another quick update on what happened when the bats weren't swinging.