Goin'-Goin', Back-Back, to Itha-ca-ca

It was three years ago this weekend (give or take) that I made my first and, to this point, only trip to Ithaca, NY.

It was 2006, and my brother was about to graduate from law school. Those pre-recession halcyon days were a different, more carefree time for A.F.O.M.G. There was no worry about the GMAT, business school or the the next job. Life wasn't for the orgiastic future, that could wait. As a paralegal at a pre-TARP investment bank, I was working 9-to-5 and making more money than somebody who lived rent-free at home could know what to do with.

Best of all, the Mets were winning, and winning big. On this day in 2006, the Mets were 21-10. Back then there was no 2007, no back-to-back playoff misses on the last day of the season. There was only the daily joy of watching a really good team win a lot of games. For me, it was all orgiastic present.

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This afternoon I'll return to Ithaca for my sister's law school graduation. The Mets are 14-13 now, half a game out of first place after winning four straight games against the Braves and Phillies.

It's a far cry from the heady start of 2006, but for the first time all season I've started to feel genuinely hopeful. Johan Santana is the most dominant pitcher I've ever seen. The non-Johan starters have come around and have produced a string of solid starts. The bullpen, Francisco Rodriguez in particular, has been solid.

And best of all, it looks like David Wright may have finally turned the page. As Jerry Manuel said after last night's win, a home run to dead center at Citi Field means you're doing a lot of things right. If he can keep it going, and if we can somehow get Jose Reyes to start contributing too, the offense may finally start producing the way we thought it would.

More personally, yeah I'm still panicking about what I'm going to do after my current job ends this summer, but the idea is that I'm going to take the GMAT a week from tomorrow, and from there Business School options will hopefully fall into place.

For now though, I'll take a nice weekend in Ithaca, NY (those gorges are something else, man) and some solid ball from my Mets.

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One quick word on Manny Ramirez before I go. I know others have started saying it too, but this is the just the latest example of why baseball needs to institute stricter penalties for using performance enhancing drugs.

A 50-game suspension is peanuts; I think I read that Manny won't get paid for those 50 games, but he'll still collect every other penny of that huge contract he signed this offseason. For all the shame associated with yesterday's revelation, the incentive to use steroids was demonstrated yet again in the case of Manny Ramirez. First you get the steroids, then you get the power, then you get the mothereffin' money.

If a first offense resulted in a 2-year suspension without pay, no one but the most borderline, hanger-on former prospect would be tempted to uses the juice. It's as simple as that.

- A.F.O.M.G.