Always better the 2nd time around . . .

Brian pitched again the other day. He did much better this time! He said he felt a lot better too. The pitching coach has been working with Brian on his mechanics and they both really liked the results. His velocity was back up to normal (88-91 mph)! That's always a good thing. I'm not sure when he's scheduled to pitch again because they only play four games a week, and therefore have off days in between. I think Brian's ready for me to be over there so he's not so bored on his free days.

Although . . . the other day he and his buddy, Greg, an Austrailian pitcher, decided to go for a swim in the pool on their off day. Greg immediately jumped in, but before Brian made the leap the lifeguard started blowing his whistle and flagging him down. After finding a lady in the work out room to interpret, the lifeguard explained that, "this is not a beach. You can't wear those," referring to Brian and Greg's swim trunks. Apparently, in Taiwan speedos are required!

So the next day Brian decided he'd just get in the hot tub. There were four other men already in the tub. As Brian got in they too started motioning for him to stop, as if he were breaking some kind of rule. Long story short, you can't get in the hot tub with your swim suit on. You have to be naked! Brian said he kept wondering why the men walked around the locker room naked. Now he knows!

First Outing

For those of you who are interested, Brian pitched for the first time in Taiwan a couple of days ago. It wasn't a great outing, but that's ok. He pitched 4 innings and allowed 4 runs. Needless to say, he wasn't happy, but at the same time he feels confident that he'll do better next time. There's a little bit of a learning curve because they play baseball differently in Taiwan. All the rules are the same, they just have different strategies, and he kind of had to learn that the hard way. No worries though, he'll get them next time! I found these pictures on the web of Brian in his uniform:

Our new home!

The past two weeks have been quite eventful for Brian and I. In a nutshell, we made a bid on a townhome here in Charlotte, and the next day Brian got an enticing offer to play baseball this summer in Taiwan. The team had to know his answer in 24 hours so in the midst of countering and recountering on the townhome we were trying to figure out if he should play over there.

Ultimately, we decided to go for it. I think Brian really just needs a change of scenery from a professional standpoint, and this was the perfect opportunity. He's been itching to take a trip somewhere cool before we start having kids too. It also was a wise decision financially because he'll be making much more than he would in the U.S. The only "downer" is that we have to be apart for about a month. Someone has to stay here and close on our house! Brian had to leave for Taiwan three days ago and will be over there for the next 4 weeks by himself. Then I'll get to fly over in mid-April and spend the rest of the summer with him.

I miss him terribly already, but at least I have this house stuff to keep me busy. We're supposed to close on March 31, so things have to move quickly. I'll be so excited when I get to re-open all of our wedding gifts that have been stored at my parents' house for the past 5 years! I don't have any pictures of the inside of our townhome yet, but here's a picture of the outside: