👢Give 'Em Da Boot! 9/28/25

Hi Everyone!

This week in the communication/public speaking class I have been mentoring in was the first presentation day, so the instructor handed me some Sour Patch Kids, Lemonheads, and some paper cups and told me to fill them up and give one to every student. Apparently, research shows that sour candy shifts our body’s attention from sensations like anxiety to the tart flavor in our mouth. So, she tells the students that as soon as the person in front of you gets up to go, they should “take their vitamins”. Now I have no clue as to what degree this actually works, and for all I know, it could be mostly psychosomatic. That being said, I am not going to turn down an excuse to have candy, especially with all the potential upside. Sidenote: the students all did so well at their presentations! I was very impressed.

Now, let’s find out more about what happened this past week as we uncover What’s Up With Will…

I started a pretty hectic day trip by heading into San Francisco and stopping at the Transit Art Fair in the Salesforce Transit Center. Their tagline was “What do art and transit have in common? It moves people,” and celebrated local artists who do public transit-related art. I was amazed by how many different artists do public transit art (which I thought might have been kind of niche), and how tastefully these art pieces were.

Then, I was off to a Giants Game to pick up a free giveaway (not actually attend the game, though, as I had other plans. I was also going to a game later this week, and I have not become a big enough of a fan to go to more than one baseball game in a week). But I arrived a bit too early, so I had to stop and get ice cream at a place nearby called EA Cafe. The Giants really forced my hand. EA Cafe was interesting as it served exclusively poke and ice cream, so if you wanted anything else, you would be out of luck. That being said, the Korean milkcow softserve sundae with caramel and boba hit the spot. I will say that, as much as I liked the sundae, I do not think boba is a premier ice cream topping.

Then, to wrap up the night, I met back up with Rylee, and we went to our favorite trivia place, Two Pitchers Brewing Co., to meet up with Rachel and Cami, two friends that we have not seen in some time. I already mentioned in a previous newsletter that you can get your drinks in a boot at Two Pitchers, but since the last time we went, they added the option to get your drink in a 1-liter boot, too.

Armed with my 1-liter boot, we went with the trivia team name, “Give ‘Em Da Boot”, and got ready for an intense trivia tournament. Today’s trivia was hosted by someone we have not had trivia with before, named Honeybee Trivia, but it consisted of questions about Hans Zimmer, revolutions, and things that have happened in September. If only we had known to study these particular topics…

It was great catching up with Rachel and Cami, and while we came in last place, we got free ice cream tickets as a consolation prize! For real, though, I feel that life often gets in the way of spending time with friends, but I am trying to be better about carving out time with friends. My challenge for you this week is to plan some time to hang out with a friend you have been meaning to catch up with.

This week, I also decided that it has been too long since I have been up to Sacramento with Rylee, so I drove her up to do some exploring.

I started my day at Temple Coffee to get some reading done. In honor of its 20th birthday, I treated myself to the Levinson’s Old Fashioned off of its celebration menu. I just want to be clear that it did not contain alcohol, but instead a cold brew with smoked orange maple syrup and chai bitters. If we are being honest, I think I might prefer this version of an Old Fashioned over its older sibling.

Then, since I did have a cocktail to start the day, I felt it would only be right to continue this topsy-turvy food day with a breakfast pizza from Buffalo Pizza & Ice Cream Company. Imagine a breakfast burrito filled to the brim with fluffy eggs, gooey cheese, and crispy bacon, and then change the form factor to pizza, because that’s essentially what it was.

Before picking up Rylee, I had time to stop at the Sacramento History Museum. As its name suggests, the museum traces Sacramento’s story, from the Nisenan and Nísem Péwinan tribes who first lived here to the present day.

One of the themes the exhibits highlight is how California was shaped by risk-takers willing to gamble on an uncertain future. The Gold Rush drew thousands who uprooted their lives only to face brutal labor and frequent flooding in Sacramento’s lowlands. I also got to follow the dream of the transcontinental railroad as it moved from vision to reality, and learn how Campbell’s Soup, initially reluctant to leave the East Coast, eventually planted roots in Sacramento’s fertile croplands and grew into one of the largest food-processing operations on the West Coast.

At the end of our day, Rylee and I went to our first Oktoberfest event of the season, Walnut Creek Oktoberfest. While it was targeted at being a family-friendly event, you could still grab a stein and grab one of the many local breweries’ festbiers and listen to traditional German tunes. However, one fun addition was the Chill Zone, a 21 and up area with a DJ, only accessible by entering a special porta-potty. During the night, we ran into two people who had just moved here from Germany. We asked what they thought about this variant of Oktoberfest, and they point-blankly told us that this doesn’t even come close. They did say that the pretzels were good, though, which I guess is saying something.

Omphalos is a word that has kept resurfacing in my research on baseball. In Greek, it means “navel,” and in ancient times, it referred to Delphi as the center of the world. Today, the meaning has shifted slightly, still signals a place of great importance, but now it can also describe somewhere fans feel a long-time connection to their team.

In Baseball: A History of America’s Favorite Game, George Vecsey writes of the sport as a kind of living genealogy where everything is connected from the statistics to the anecdotes, the history, and the “infallible” memory of fans in the stands. According to Vecsey, one player evokes the memories of another, and fans’ hearts hold both the joy and heartbreak of the past. And yet, they return to the same place, game after game, year after year.

As the final week of the regular season arrived, we made our way back to Oracle Park one last time. Fittingly, the game was part of Fan Appreciation Weekend, with discounted food and merch, plus special offerings like Korean corn dogs and a watermelon-chili cocktail. We grabbed our free Rafael Devers t-shirt and watched the Giants beat the Rockies, 4–3.

Over the past couple of months, these games have deepened my appreciation for this sport that has endured for hundreds of years. More than that, they have given me a connection to Oracle Park itself, my own omphalos of baseball. And when next baseball season rolls around, you know where you can find me once a week…

On Saturday, we attended our last Giants game of the season, and it was a Bark in the Park game! This means that the stadium was open to four-legged fans of the game, and we saw a lot of good dogs. Here is my definitive ranking of the pups at the park:

Honorable mentions:

Lou Seal is not a dog, but he is a legend.

Again, he is not a dog. He is a lion. But still very cute.

Roughly 70% of the golden retrievers in the park were wearing Giants Hawaiian shirts. Incredible choice, but not creative enough to make the top 10.

#10: This guy was PUMPED for a treat and then incredibly skeptical of the camera. He’s a conspiracy theorist in his free time.

#9: I mean, come on. They’re weenies in matching jerseys.

#8: His mom was so excited that I asked to take a picture of him and he had literally not a single thought about it.

#7: Waldo Jr walked out on the field, was spotted, realized his cover was blown, and refused to walk anymore. So, Waldo Sr. had to carry him the rest of the parade.

#6: Pretty sure this guy owns the Giants. Very professional. Very dapper.

#5: DA POPEEEEEEE. (Stared down the cameraman for a full minute)

#4: Best group costume. How did they find mini flame hats for the dogs????

#3: These photos were taken moments apart in the middle of a roaring stadium. I respect the ability to nap anywhere, especially when you look so cute doing it.

#2: Why does he look like that? I love him and I want to take him home with me.

#1: There were many strong competitors, but this guy took the cake because of his awkward personality and impeccable comedic timing. He caught me snapping a photo of him and he turned to the camera and smiled. He is so weird and I love him.

The Sacramento History Museum also has a working printing press and frequently posts videos on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. What’s more impressive is that according to the museum, they have the most subscribed to YouTube channel owned by a museum in the world, with 3.5 million subscribers. Here is a video by the main man, Howard, explaining one of the printing presses.