OKP to Take Its Show to the East Coast

I apologize to my readers as my posts have been few and far between in the past few weeks.  That promises to continue in the coming weeks as well.  Though I escaped to spring training and was able to take in the Camelback Ranch experience again this year, my mind has been elsewhere as changes in work have been looming and taking up much of my time.  Things are changing for me substantially and as a result, the Opinion of Kingman's Performance blog is something I can't dedicate as much time to as before.  I am hopeful that will change soon, but it probably won't for a few months.  Let me explain.

For 18 years I have got up and gone to work in San Francisco, CA.  I never imagined ever living here before then.  Fact was, I never even gave it any thought.  But in March, 1996 I walked into my San Diego workplace and my immediate Supervisor asked me what I thought of working in San Francisco?  My immediate reaction was about as spontaneous as any Dodger fan would have.  It was automatic:

"I hate the Giants, so it'll never work," I said.

"Well you might want to buy some orange and black my friend because you've been promoted and your next assignment is San Francisco Airport," he replied.

Recent hoodie advertised for sale that now won't apply to me as I depart the Bay Area in a few weeks.

I was shocked.  I had put in for a promotion and checked a number of boxes of locations where I was willing to work.  I don't even remember checking the SF box, but I guess I did so.  The truth was I was hopeful of being selected in Los Angeles, but Frisco came calling first.  I took the position and here I am, 18 years later.  It was the best thing that ever happened to me.  

I came up here in '96 a divorcee with two children in tow, a 1st grader and 4th grader.  Within a year I met my present wife, integrated my children with her thee kids and now, 18 years later, they are all grown up and out of the home.   Productive citizens - all of them.   The Bay Area became home.  I came to love the geography, weather and beauty of the place.  And then came the issue of rooting for the Dodgers in enemy territory. 

My allegiance became stronger.  I thought it was tough living in San Diego Padre country.  That was nothing and merely a stepping stone in preparing me for being thrust into the belly of the beast of Dodger hating fans.    This time frame has had its difficulties for a Dodger fan living during the era of the greatest San Francisco Giants success in their history.  It has been a tough, long road and in that aspect I am happy to say that I am departing this region of the country.

A new adventure awaits me in our nation's capital as I will have follow the Dodgers from the Eastern Time Zone for the first time in my life.

Nationals Park, Washington D,C,

I really don't know how I'll handle this.   Staying up until 2 and 3 in the morning to see the final Dodger results appears to be in my future.  Only getting to see the club once a year as they come to play the Nationals will be a different experience, but then again, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and even New York aren't that far away from me, so I'll probably get to expand my goal of seeing the Dodgers play in more ballparks if time permits.

My new position at work will have me conducting a lot of international travel, so following the ball club will have its challenges.  Writing the blog even mores.  Then again, I'll get to do it from an international persecutive and that might be interesting.  I'll get to travel to such baseball strong regions of the world as Taiwan, Korea, Japan, the Domincan Republic, Panama, and Colombia,  I really look forward to that.  This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I PROMISE to represent the blue as often as I can.

So my trip to DC will begin in April, just as the season begins.  Of course I'll take advantage of my cross country trip there to make a few baseball pit stops on the way if time permits.  It's a new adventure on many different levels.

Thank you to everyone for the years of readership and support.   We're working on five years now and  I am hoping that if the quantity of what I bring won't be as frequent that I can bring greater quality.  Only time will tell.  This promises to be a memorable year, and I'll see it from afar.  But that's okay.  Its a perspective that I haven't witnessed before and I look forward to the experience.