aegiswings

ok, I admit it. I'm a closet Yankees fan.

It shouldn't be a surprise. I was born and raised in NY and my family
has been Yankee fans way back to my great-grandfather who lived in the Bronx. Even though both my parents grew up in Queens - which is more Met's territory (since the Dodgers left), moving to Westchester County in the early 70's solidified them as Yankee fans.

Now, I *hate* baseball. I really do. I try my hardest to avoid it, mostly because its impossible to be a Yankee fan in Boston. Also, because its too intense for me. It frustrates me when the team I want to win loses, and when they win, there is no one around to share the joy with me. And I don't really care about sports anyways. But this series drew me in, and even though I didn't want to, I watched every game.

Yesterday was destined to be a lose/lose situation for me no matter who won. Being a Yankee fan, I had to cheer for them. But I really wish I could have been born a Red Sox fan, because I really want to take part in all of the fun that is going on. Actually, I'd love to see the Red Sox win, but not against the Yankees, and not how it happened - in 4 *long* agonizing games, which kept me up late and frustrated me to no end. Of course, everyone at work was watching the same games so there is an understanding that we were all going to be sleep-deprived.

I made the mistake of wearing a Yankee hat to work yesterday. I had stayed in the closet previously, or just "ignored" baseball, but it couldn't be ignored any longer. OMG, did I get so much crap for that yesterday. And, of course, its even worse today, because not only did the Yankees lose, but they did so with the BIGGEST CHOKE IN HISTORY. I am seriously dissappointed in them. They blew it big time. The Yankees will *NEVER* hear the end of it. 50 years from now, if a Yankee fan says anything like "so-and-ao sucks", the reply will be "yeah, well, 2004!, so there!"

Anyways, congratulations to the Red Sox! And I really do hope they win the World Series. (I would give anything to go to one of those games). But for the next few days, at least, I'd just like to forget about baseball.

Now for some good news:
I found out a couple of days ago that I am eligible to apply for Irish citizenship. It seems that since my grandmother was born in Ireland, my Dad is automatically an Irish ciitizen (even though he doesn't know it). In order for me to become one, I just have to be entered into the Foreign Birth Registry, which is a lot of paperwork. I just sent a letter to Ireland requesting a copy of my grandmother's birth certificate. She is still alive, but I dunno if she actually remember when she was born (its either 1909 or 1910), since she always lied about her age (on her drivers license and everything). I also have to get her marriage certificate and notarized copies of her drivers license. I need to do the same for my Dad and myself. So, its a ton of paperwork, and I'm going to have to send forms to NYC, Dublin, Albany, etc to get all the required certificates, and then bring them to the Irish consulate in Boston to get dual citizenship.
The big benefit to getting citizenship is that since Ireland is in the EU, I will then be able to travel and work in the EU without a visa. I'll also be able to get an Irish passport, and since neither country cares about dual-citizenship, I'll be able to retain all my rights as an American citizen. I can't wait to tell my brother - hes wanting to work in Germany (or maybe Italy) for a few years, and if he applies too, this will make it much easier for him. Actually, my mother and father and brother are all in Germany right now (business for my Dad, vacation for the others).