yesterday patrick and i went to the oakland a's game against the phillies. it's been a long time since i've gone to a baseball game (yeah, the giants play about 5 miles away from my house), and it really made me start thinking about all of the years that my dad spent working on my softball career. he's a man of few words but great determination. even now i am not sure whether i actually had any talent in playing ball, but i am certain that my dad had a strong will to keep me going out there and practicing. he used the same methods he used for playing golf for teaching me how to be a great hitter (did i ever mention that i hit a grand slam before?), and the same diligence he's always had in making in out to the golf course or hitting a few baskets at the driving range after a long work week. practice makes perfect. there were quite a few times that my dad, the fearless pitcher who's both near-sighted and far-sighted, was nearly injured by line drives that i hit back at him. he's really the reason why i made it into competitive fast-pitch softball, and he spent countless weekends driving me to softball tournaments all over the US - we even made it out to oklahoma for nationals, just the two of us. i hope i'm half as good with my kids.

happy father's day, dad.