Save $$$ With Shell Fuel Rewards

I hate it when gas prices go up. As publisher of a sports website which involves plenty of travel, I know all about the burden that high gas prices can do to a hobby or a business.

I've found myself traveling within business districts and expressway interchanges trying to find the cheapest price for gas within sight. Often times, they are all the same price. Even within the same city, all of the stations are at the same price sometimes.

But with Shell's Fuel Rewards Card, you now have a gas station to choose from that is at least 3 cents cheaper than the other guys!

Are all of the gas stations along your highway at $3.79 per gallon? Your Johnson Oil Shell station can lower that number down to $3.76 per gallon, as long as you have Shell's Fuel Rewards Card - and have it activated.

What is the Fuel Rewards Card? It is similar to a grocery store saver's card that you use to get savings on items at your grocery stores (such as at Kroger, County Market, K-Mart and Walgreens). The Fuel Rewards is NOT a credit or a debit card, simply a saver's card to help you just as much a grocer card does.

Don't have a Fuel Rewards Card from Shell? Stop on in your Shell station and ask the clerk for one at the counter (if he or she hasn't mentioned it to you already).

Once you have your brochure, with the plastic card attached to it, go online at http://www.fuelrewards.com to activate your card.

Once you are activated, you are ready to start your savings!

The piece of plastic is like having a pass for $0.03 cents off a gallon.

We ALL wind up doing this all of the time while filling up - have you ever had that "penny over" that ends of $XX.01? Don't take the time scrambling through ashtrays and under seats worrying about that darn penny. Use your activated Rewards Card in these cases and actually get some change BACK.

Just by having the Fuel Rewards Card, you can save 3 cents per gallon when you fill up. But did you know that you can stretch your savings to 5 cents off per gallon? Or how about 10 cents? 20 cents? A whole dollar off???

At your local Johnson Oil Shell station, you have the opportunity to save at least 5 cents off per gallon by purchasing goods and services inside the store.

Accrue $25 worth of goods and services (sales tax not included) purchased in the store using this saver card - and you can do so over a period of time. Once you have reached the $25 threshold, you can use that saver's card to save $0.05/gallon of fuel.  Every $25 afterward adds an additional $0.05 savings: Spend $50 inside the store and save $0.10. Spend $350 inside the store and save $0.70.

Remember that once you redeem your rewards after filling up, your balance starts over at $0.00.

If you provide a mobile phone number at registration, you can text FUELREWARDS to 67463 at any time to learn your current cents-per-gallon savings on your Rewards Card.

NOTE:  If you fill up (and paying inside), also purchasing goods, and want to add your goods total to your rewards card but not redeeming your rewards total of $0.05 or higher, you MUST ask the clerk to ring up seperate orders: one for the gas (w/o your rewards card) and one for the goods (w/ the rewards card).

On the moment you reach the $25 threshold, you have until the end of that current month PLUS one additional calendar month to use your rewards. For example: If you get the $0.05/gallon savings on May 4, you have until June 30 to use that savings. If you keep building up the savings and reach the $0.10/gallon savings on June 15, you have until June 30 to use the $0.10/gallon savings and until July 31 to use the $0.05/gallon savings.

Buying WHAT at the Shell station over time can get you the $0.05/gallon savings?

*25 $1 newspapers
*Roughly 20 cups of coffee
*Roughly 18 cups of cappuccino
*Roughly 20-ounce Pepsi products
*Roughly 20-ounce 7up products
*Roughly 21 small candy bars
*Roughly 71 small packs of chewing gum
*Roughly 14 16-ounce Monster drinks
*Roughly 6 large bags of potato chips
*50 50-cent Little Debbie snacks
*Roughly 4 6-packs of beer and roughly 2 whole cases of beer

Are there exceptions to what you can purchase for rewards? Yes; fuel itself, cigarettes (packs and cartons), lottery, gift cards, money orders, and fax services are not eligible purchases for rewards. (Also, all Johnson Oil BP locations are not included in this program, as this is a Shell promotion.)

That's right. Beer IS included in the rewards program (beer is not available at some locations, such as RF). Two big cases can already get you the $0.05/gallon rewards. Also included are cans of chewing tobacco and cigarello/blunt sticks.

Your little things can, and do, add up. Do you buy milk every two days? At $3.50/gallon for milk, about two weeks worth of milk can get you the $0.05/gallon fuel savings. Do this for a month, and you can save $0.10/gallon – and that's NOT including whatever ELSE you buy.

Do the math ... what do you get every day? You can use your typical purchase total to determine how many trips to the gas station you have left in order to increase your savings.

Let's say you get the same three things at Shell every day: a Monster drink for $1.75, a bottle of pop for $1.65 and a candy bar at $1.25. Six days of getting the same items adds up to $27.90, and you will have increased your savings at the pump from the inital $0.03/gallon off to $0.05/gallon off.

Build those savings for a month (without redeeming them), and your saving adds up to $0.20/gallon off.



The biggest question asked about such a promotion is whether the fuel savings are worth it.

Let's say you fill up your vehicle every Sunday for a year with your Fuel Rewards Card at just $0.05 off a gallon. At 20 gallons, your total savings adds up to $1.00 for your visit. In a year, you will have saved $52.00. That's almost like getting a free fill-up, or more than half of one, once a year! And that's at just $0.05 off. At $0.10 a gallon, the yearly savings adds up to $104.00.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH THAT MONEY? Especially come Christmas time?

Do you buy a 12-pack of beer every day?
At $10 for a 12-pack, you've spent $300 over the course of 30 days, which translates into $0.60 off per gallon after 30 days. If you buy a 12-pack a day in the maximum span of 61 days before the points expire (and you haven't used up rewards yet), this translates into $1.20 off per gallon to use before the first of the points expire - this you can do five times over the course of a calendar year. Using this formula, and those five particular fill-ups within the year, filling up a 15-gallon vehicle at the Advertised price of $3.80/gallon (docked down to $2.60 at the fill-up), your total savings over a one-year period is $120.00. And that's just the beer alone!

But let's not get too wrapped around long-term, lock-step consistency.

Let's use the $7/week for newspapers example: In 25 straight days by buying $1 newspapers, you have earned $0.05/gallon off. Filling a 20-gallon (minimum) tank right when you reach that $25 threshold is a savings of $1.00 - enough to get your 26th $1 newspaper for free, pretty much. That's not factoring in other goods purchased at Shell that could increase your savings even more.

Buying a donut at $0.89 every day for 29 straight days adds up to $25.81, enough to get your $0.05/gallon off. Filling an 19-gallon (minimum) tank after 29 days is a savings of $0.95, enough for a free donut after tax. Again, that's not factoring in other goods purchased at Shell that could increase your savings even more.

(On a personal note, my car's gas tank holds 13 gallons. If you're like me, and fill up when your stick reads “E”, a nickel savings adds up to $0.65. While that may seem like pocket change in regard to a fill-up, ask yourself this: Where else could I have received ANY savings this way?)

Additional FAQ's about the rewards:

I don't have a car, so why should I use this card? IMO, You can always give the card to someone to use for savings. They'll appreciate it. Consider it an act of kindness. And it didn't cost you anything, really.

It's just another piece of plastic that I have to carry around. IMO, but this used for fuel, which is an everyday necessity if you have a vehicle or a lawn mower. And fuel is not cheap. Using it at the register at Shell, or at the gas pumps at Shell only takes a few seconds. The online activation process only takes a few minutes as well.

I have reached the point where I can save $0.20/gallon on my card. Can I use $0.10 now and $0.10 later? No. When you use the card, you redeem all you have at that time in that one transaction.

Is is possible to get a tank of gas for free? Not entirely, but whatever is left will be a minimal payment (no more than $0.10). Say your gas station has its regular gas for $3.50, and you have reached the point where you have $3.50/gallon savings (meaning $1,750 worth of in-store purchases tallied on your FRN card, with it all yet to expire), all you pay is that minimal payment of no more than $0.10.

Can I use the rewards card in addition to my Kroger/Hilander card? No. Only one saver card can be used per transaction.

However, there are other ways to stack savings on top of your fuel rewards savings. Shell offers two credit cards that provide additional savings. The Shell “Drive for 5” credit card can save you $0.05/gallon on your final bill. The Citi Shell Platnium MasterCard can save you $0.10/gallon on your final bill. (You can ask for either of these cards at your Shell station).


Are there other ways I can build rewards on the Fuel Rewards card? Absolutely. You MUST link your Fuel Rewards rewards card with a credit or debit card (by doing so online at (http://www.fuelrewards.com), in order to rack up additional rewards by shopping at Fuel Rewards's “Online Mall,” or dining at participating reward-eligible restaurants, or grocery shopping at reward-eligible grocery stores.
How?

For dining, if you use your credit or debit card – if linked to your Fuel Rewards card – at Manny's Too in Fulton, Fried Green Tomatoes in Galena, Gene's Place in Rockford, and Happy Joes in Geneseo (the only northwest Illinois diners that are in the program), you can earn $0.10/gallon savings when you spend $50 or more.

This involves enrolling in the Dining Program (do so HERE).

In addition to northern Illinois, several restaurants in the Iowa Quad Cities area are also included: Sneaky Pete's in LeClaire; The Clubhouse in Bettendorf; Rudy's Tacos and Winner's Pizza in Eldridge; and
11th Street Precinct, Cafe Indigo, Jersey Grille, Rookie's Sports Bar, and both Rudy's Tacos locations in Davenport.

A full list of eateries can be viewed by visiting https://www.fuelrewards.com/fuelrewards/locations. Once there, type in a location and only select the "dining" icon (all of the other icons should be gray), and select "list view" for a list of nearby eateries where you can add savings to your Fuel Rewards card.

In addition, link any MasterCard credit, debit and/or prepaid card(s) to your Dining account and you'll earn an additional one-time $0.05/gallon bonus for the first $50 you spend with that card. That's on top of the $0.10/gallon you already earn for spending $50 dining.

Grocery shopping at HyVee using a MasterCard (credit, debit or perpaid) linked to your Fuel Rewards card. For every $100 spent on groceries at HyVee using your MasterCard AND your HyVee Fuel Saver card, you have earned an additional $0.03/gallon savings on your Fuel Rewards card at Shell. You MUST select "credit" when checking out and sign for your purchase.

What is the "Online Mall?"

Do you engage in online shopping? This is also a way to help put more savings toward your Fuel Rewards card.

Access the Online Mall here: https://shop.fuelrewards.com/

From that link (and ONLY from THAT link), you can click on the website of the place you wish to do your online shopping. Major stores are included here. You can earn $0.05/gallon off when you spend $50 this way. Some stores offer a multiplier of rewards, so for a store that has four times the rewards you can earn $0.20/gallon off when you spend $50 this way.

The Fuel Rewards Network will also offer specials from time to time as noted on its website. Currently there are additional bonuses for whenever you link your MasterCard to your Fuel Rewards Card.



Shell Expresslane (Johnson Oil) locations are scattered throughout all of northern Illinois and parts of eastern Iowa. It is these locations where the "$0.05/gallon savings for every $25 purchased" are eligible.

Illinois locations include:

Albany
Amboy
Annawan
Belvidere
Cherry Valley
Coal Valley
Colona
Davis
Dixon (2)
East Moline
Freeport (2)
Fulton
Galesburg
Grand Detour
Hillsdale
Kewanee
Lanark
LaSalle (2)
Marengo
Mendota
Milan
Moline (2)
Morrison
Mount Morris
Oglesby
Oregon
Ottawa (4)
Polo
Peru
Princeton
Rochelle (I-88 at IL 251 only)
Rock Falls (2)
Rockford (3)
Rock Island (2)
Silvis
Sterling (2)
Stockton
Utica
Walnut
Woodstock

Iowa locations include:

Clinton (3)
Bettendorf (2)
Buffalo
Davenport (4)

Remember, you MUST activate your FRN rewards card online in order to redeem any rewards on fuel purchases.

-Cody

Culture Experiences

Cutter's Log - Stardate 3102.62.60
Current Song - Boogie Oogie Oogie (Taste of Honey)

As someone who was not born a typical human being, through Autism and Asperger's, I have always tried to find out what makes up the composition of one's personality.

Much of it has to do with culture and background.

Growing up, I felt like the center of the wheel of graduating-class personalities. One spoke led to the preps, another to the nerds, another to the goths, another to the impoverished, etc. I have always been fascinated with figuring out why people are who they are; through these connections among my own classmates.

As far as my own personal surroundings, they were a little of everything that had a positive quality. I grew up in a community that had a little of everything, although in high school it seemed as if each different group stuck together with little connections. There were a few people that "bucked the trend" sort to speak. I found myself having much in common with those that grew up in rich neighborhoods and were well-organized.

My work with high school sports has given me access to different types of people. The "prep" stereotype does not take up the entire team roster - all different types of kids are on the teams and even stand out more than the others. They listen to different music. They watch different television shows. Some kids even have kids of their own.

In trying to understand the backgrounds of these kids, I'll take a drive around their neighborhoods and even patronize some of the businesses in those neighborhoods - the latter is perhaps the finest way of understand the cultures and backgrounds of other people. After all, a big factor in relocations is whether the surroundings are similar to you or not.

Because I happen to fall in the exact middle of things, I can successfully transition from a small corner store in an ethnic neighborhood to Downtown Winnetka without having to do too much. It's at these places where I can see and experience the everyday lives of the others that shop at these places. An example of the many as to do with young children behaving in a public setting. Certain places see parents doing more yelling than others.

With each little observation, I can also learn more about how to do things and why things are the way they are.

One thing I try NOT to do is determine whether surroundings are "above me" or "below me." The latter perhaps more. I've been with people that have said "let's not go there, this place over there is much better," and they're talking about two identical gas stations based on what they look like.

Some of my travel with both high school sports and, more particularly, with Illinois HS Glory Days, has brought me to places that any person like me would definately not feel comfortable in. That being said, I have attended and covered games on Chicago's south and west sides, as well as done research on old high schools from these areas.

I'm still waiting to experience the differences between a yacht club and a strip club in the same day. That, and a five-star restaurant and a dive bar.

But when it comes to "Honey, why don't we do something different," we'll look upward. :)

Strides in Conversation

Cutter's Log - Stardate 3102.12.60
Current Song - Ain't No Stopping Us Now (McFadden & Whitehead)

Improving on my conversation abilities has always been a wish of mine.

My ability to converse has declined since moving across the river 16 years ago (it's true - don't let anyone tell you otherwise), and quite often I find myself thinking back to those days when all was happy and fun. There was a time when I talked to other kids at recess. There was a time when I went to other kids' houses and played. There was a time when I had a different friend over at my place every two or three days.

Then all of that went "poof."

There was no significant life-changing moment when all of this was happening: no deaths, no divorces, no health issues, no financial trouble, nothing like that. I was mixed in with an unusual surrounding after I moved, and I struggled. That's when I would sit along the wall at recess at Challand, or sit on the bench at lunch at SHS. It's like the world went on without me and I was shuffled to the back because I couldn't keep up with everyone else.

I sought refuge back where I grew up, and I seemed to have made better on friendships there than elsewhere. Not just retaining friendships dating back to Merrill, but making new ones that branch from those.

When people look at me as someone who is extremely shy and out of touch with the current world, they don't realize that there was a time when I was actually like them at one point. They thought I always grew up like that, and it's not true. Also, because of this, I don't have the ability to have fun at a party, let alone go to one. I'm not a drinker, but I do make a great DD if needed.

I'm finding myself wanting to be able to be the same person I was pre-move. As if the past 16 years never happened. Well, not really, as I have come to know a lot more people in that time. Reclaiming my "Glory Days," if you will.

One day I summed up these feelings in a Facebook post:

"One of these days I'm going to get caught up with everything, actually put a smile on my face, actually pull a joke or impression or six, actually make coversation, and actually be the person I've always wanted to be but just had no time for. I've always had it in me, just never had the chance for it."

This caught the attention of one of my co-workers, who asked me what the whole point was behind it. In order to fully explain everything, I would have to tell the story of my life from a certain point on, but it would be too long-winded. So I just kind of summed it up to the tune of "I had a hard time making friends in school because I was different," and there was a point in time where that wasn't the case and I've felt disappointed about it since then. Like all of the fun was sucked out of me, and here I am now standing here like a log.

This co-worker happens to be the kind of person you just can't seem to ignore. Someone whom I'ave actually had luck talking to. It doesn't happen often, but there seems to be some sort of chemistry brewing here. Like Burns and Allen. I can say the slightest funny things, and that'll get her going ... and it tells me to continue doing that.

Whenever I would pull something funny, she would remark that she didn't know how I didn't make friends. I did the same things back then, but no one laughed.

She told me about her family, and not too much of it was positive. That's a far cry from mine. You'd think we'd be switched. My shyness is not a reflection of my own family, as they are actually very exceptionally well at conversation and such - this is just something I haven't professed.

Speaking of work, my conversation abilities have gotten better since the first couple of years I was there. There's no significant improvements, but only slight ones. This current roster of employees is perhaps the best one that I can have a little fun with, and talk to when I want to.

Believe it or not, my job at the Shell station actually involves talking. I've never been a believer in being that "robot" cashier, although there is plenty of time when I do act like it. When I first started, I didn't know anyone. It's been five years and most know my name without looking at the nametag. I'm really grateful for that. 

Lately I've always found myself saying the same thing in regard to how things have been. Outside of "working a lot," I just don't think I've had too much else to talk about, outside of what I do during high school sports season. I just don't do anything that my typical customer base does.

Even with people I've known for years, I just haven't had anything good to report to them outside of the typical response of "working a lot." You can't make good conversation on that. "Working a lot" really kills a conversation chance. But I just don't know what else to say. Nothing's happening with me right now.

I just have to fight that inner struggle of 1) They are coming here to buy goods first and not necessarily talking to the clerk, and 2) I would like to engage in more conversation.

While it's still a struggle to talk to customers, I'm finding that a common theme in most of them involve sports. I used to play 670 AM (The Score) on the radio while at work, but the antenna broke and the signal faded. More recently, the Stanley Cup Playoffs (and its three overtimes) have given me an icebreaker of sorts, but not too much.

(On an unrelated note, I still do not have cable at home. I'm wondering if I watch TV more, I'll pick up something to make conversation on. But I just don't know about the monthly cost of it.)

Sometimes if I just had something to do in my days off, I'd have something good, different and positive to report to my customers rather than "oh, just working a lot."

Thoughts On Smoking

Cutter's Log - Stardate 3102.81.60
Current Song - Around The World (Daft Punk)

I don't smoke.

I've never smoked. Never will.

I come in contact with about 50-60 smokers per shift at work. About 25 of them are younger than me. Most of them are regular customers.

I just don't get it.

My buddy Joe, who is my nightly "super-regular" at work, told me about a former customer of ours that recently had a stroke and a heartattack. He had stopped smoking for a while and went back to it. Then this happened.

Joe himself became a smoker when he was 18, in 1958. He smoked as many as three packs a day, while working two jobs, until he was 25. That's when a doctor scared him into not smoking another cigarette for the rest of his life. Therefore he quit "cold turkey" and it has worked. Two years from now will be 50 years smoke-free for Joe.

Joe and I are often completly bewildered when the subject of smoking comes up in our nightly conversation. We just don't get why people smoke. For a while I didn't have a problem with people smoking in my car, but now I do.

Of the four Cutter Boys, two smoke and two do not smoke. This seems natural when you consider that, for all but two months I can remember, my parents never smoked (my mom lit it up in that brief time). But two of my four grandparents were big smokers; one died before I was born and the other quit in her mid-60s. Most of my great-grandparents smoked. But then again, the true dangers of smoking weren't shoved down people's throats at that time. 

They're going to bitch at me for writing this, but I could never understand why two of my brothers (Mike and Chris) started smoking. That's when I began to think about why young people start smoking in the first place.

I grew up around relatives that smoked. I can't ever say that any of them have ever influenced me into thinking about it. I do remember hiding mom's cigarettes one time during that brief period in which she smoked. Might have been influence from my grandparents (dad's parents).

Then I got to thinking about the people I was around. In Rock Falls, most of the kids I grew up with, those in my neighborhood, later smoked. After moving from Rock Falls, I really didn't have a specific group of friends - it was all just one big whole to me, although through sports I gravitated toward the athletes quite a bit.

Thinking back of all four of us in high school, Dan and I hung out with athletes more than Mike and Chris. I think that is a big reason that seperates us two when it comes to smoking. But at the same time, hanging out with athletes doesn't present a smoking problem much as it does an underage drinking problem. Dan and I have survived all of that.

Throughout middle school and high school, I've never been asked those questions of "Do you want ..." Even when I was hanging around seniors as a freshman, never.

When I talk about the differences between Cody/Dan and Mike/Chris, that doesn't mean that smoking seperates us. We're still a strong four-person unit. I'm just point out differences in personality and liknesses. It "distincts" you, I guess.

And most importantly, all of this slamming on smoking - I don't look down or dislike people because of whether they smoke or not. 


However, the one big dislike that I have when it comes to smoking is this: I cannot fathom living life along with a woman that smokes. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why I'm still single right now. When we kiss, there's that certain "smoke breath". I hate to say it, but smoking is a big turn-off for me. It's not a problem with relatives, but with that certain someone that you will be bonded with forever, I just can't see it. I don't hate them, I'm just saying that I can't see myself committed with one.

Wallingford Park

Cutter's Log - Special Entry

With this little story, I have now run out of my array of such stories.

Whatever stories are left haven't existed yet.

To conclude, I'd like to go back to where it ALL began.

If you're an avid reader of this Blog, you know about my favorite sports team growing up. Not the White Sox. Not the Bears. Not the Blackhawks. Nowhere close. That spot is reserved for Rock Falls Softball. That is, the same group of girls that started as 9- and 10-years old up until being seniors in high school (and even later at some of the colleges).

These girls were in my same graduating class, and one year each way. And they were good at what they did on the softball diamond. Just look at those plaques bolted along the concession stand at Wallingford Park.

Wallingford Park was where I first met the girls. 15 years ago this summer.

Many people think I was there at the very start: The state title win in 1997 - what would be the first of a string of many. Actually, I never saw any of the games during the first two state title wins. But what they did made the newspaper.

When the second state title came around, WSDR was broadcasting their games on the radio and I would tune in to them. Here were some classmates that I grew up with doing something very special, and so far away in Joplin (MO) of all places, and I wanted to know just how far they would go.

These girls were my age, but I only knew one of them. That was Emily. She was in my 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classes. I had also heard of her best friend at the time, April, but never met her. And Turnroth was a familiar name because it's pinned to all of the billboards in town.

***

When I had time to myself, I would ride my bike along the canal and sometimes stop underneath one of the bridges and throw rocks. I had already rode everywhere there was to ride in Sterling, so Rock Falls - and back to the old stomping grounds - was next to "conquer."

We moved away from RF because of a disagreement with the lady that owned our house. When mom and dad knew that I was in Rock Falls, they told me to stay away from around there in case the landlord found me and bugged me into inquiring about my parents.

On those times when I DID adhere to my parents, I was on the east side of the highway doing something.
Such as riding to Centennial Park with my wheels along the edge of the pond.

I had broken my orange bicycle when I went all the way to Coleta, so I was left with riding my brother Mike's bike for a while. Mike had this dark blue bike with a yellow seat and a small vanity plate that read "Mike" on it. One day when I was sitting along where the pond crosses the road, someone yelled to me "Hi Mike!"

I rode one day all the way to Centennial Park to see if there were some friends I could find and play with. Along the walk, somewhere along First Avenue (I'd like to say near McDonalds), there was a firetruck driving very slow. I actually didn't think of it at the time, and didn't know where they were going. They had just come home from Joplin.

I just went along to Centennial Park as planned. When there was no one there, I made my way back home cutting across Avenue C.

The procession stopped at Wallingford Park. That's where I found a familar van - that of my best friend Seth's parents. I thought Seth was there, which gave me an incentive to stop. Didn't find Seth, but found his brother Austin. He was playing along with some of the kids his age near the picnic area. That's when I saw Bridgette (who was in the same class as my brother Mike), and when I saw her, I knew Emily was also here.

"I guess I'll go say hi."

I made my way over to the bleachers and sat for a while as the coaches were talking on a mic. I didn't know who the guy was, but the lady looked familar. After a while, I saw my buddy Jake there.

Jake and I also go back as far as 1st grade. It was great to see him again, we hadn't talked in a couple of years and had a lot of catching up to do. That's when he told me about Emily. I thought it made sense .... I had a feeling as far back as fourth grade.

All I remember about the awards ceremony itself was that Kathy had struggled with pronouncing "Tresenriter".

Afterward, Jake, Emily and I shared a few words together and caught up. It was getting late, and I had to hurry back home.

Apparently I was gone for a long, long time. I guess I kind of lost time with all that conversation. When I returned home it was dark and the crickets were out.

And a police car was parked out front.

My parents had worried so great that they called in the police to help find me (my parents were like that sometimes). Nevertheless, I recieved quite a scorn that evening, explaining to them where I was and what happened. This wasn't my first rodeo with being out way too late. My grandparents had then arrived and asked if anyone had found me yet.

The whole "worry" thing hit when I realized that my grandparents had also been out looking for me. I had started to cry and I remember hugging my grandmother.

Thinking about what happened that night, it was simply the joy with reconnecting with Jake and Emily that caused me to lose track of time. That's when it sort of hit me that I really missed it back in Rock Falls. I was a bit of a reculse in Sterling, still trying to adapt to the new surroundings, but those that I went to school with in Rock Falls still remembered me as that interesting kid who knew everything.

I guess it was a natrual feeling that I gravitated back toward Rock Falls to find some happier times with the same people I left behind. All the while, maintaining some of the few friendships I had with those from Sterling.

***

One day on the following year, Sterling's softball team and Rock Falls's softball team played in a district game at Westwood. At the time, I knew more girls on the Sterling team than I did on Rock Falls's. That's when I knew of one more classmate from Rock Falls: Alisha. So I thought some of my Rock Falls friends were also there that night.

Turned out, through Emily and Alisha, I was introduced to the rest of the girls. They must have told them about me (all they had was who I was in grade school). I take it that set a trigger off ... and the rest is history.

It didn't really settle in until my 8th grade basketball season at Challand. We had a road game at East Coloma and on our way in, one of the East Coloma cheerleaders recognized me and yelled "Hi Cody!" I waved back, and I didn't know who it was. Who was she, and how did she know my name? And then it hit me, it must have been one of those softball girls (Raechelle).

Wait a minute, I thought. I've only met them once maybe twice. How do they remember me? And the rest is history.

***

I've rambled on and on throughout the years about history. Each step along the way forged the friendships more and more. Over the years, they all would become an important part of my life. All of them. It wasn't just Emily, or Alisha, or Ashley anymore.

The starting point, however, was that summer evening at Wallingford Park 15 years ago. Now if I would have went on home and ignored that big to-do at Wallingford or spotted the Eckel-mobile, things would have been much different.

That evening was a major turning point in my life, which is now being spent as a high school sports journalist trying to revolutionize it all through the Internet. My current project is a website called Northern Illinois Sports Beat. This coming season will be the 10th Anniversary of my website. Year No. 9 has been marred with problems, so I decided to make year No. 10 a major overhaul.

Each summer I have conducted a "State of the Site Address" to outline plans for the following year's version of the website. Recently, I have conducted addresses on video from certain locations through my website's coverage area.

Because this year plans on being something completely different, which, I hope, makes the website sustainable for the future, I figured it would be appropriate to tape my "State of the Site Address" from home plate at Wallingford Park.

***

If my website survives another 15 years or so, I can see myself covering a Big Northern Conference crossover sports game between Dixon and Genoa-Kingston. When I see the names "Kastner" and "Henkel" in the starting lineups squaring off against one another (barring any relocations and such), that's when I'm going to get that "I feel old" feeling. Then, when one thing leads to another, that'll make me think back to that night in Wallingford Park.

Only by then it will have been almost 30 years ago!

An Old Shell Shirt & Some Medicine

Cutter's Log - Stardate 3102.41.60
Current Song - Fresh (Daft Punk)

I"ve been on this weight loss crusade for 7 months now. Other than losing the weight itself, this crusade has been sort of uneventful.

People have told me that I look lighter than the last time they saw me. I didn't believe them because I thought it was just kind words to encourage me along the journey. Actually, I look at my body every day and I don't see any substantial changes in it. But they did. It didn't make sense to me.

It all made sense to me yesterday.

I am way behind in getting my laundry done. I've exhausted my usual array of Shell work clothes. So I had to dig deep in my closet for something else. I had these old Kevin Harvick racing shirts from 3-4 years ago which are now outdated. I think it's been about three years since I last wore them, and I weighed about 335 pounds at that time.

I can remember wearing these shirts. Nothing fit perfectly on me, and this particular shirt I pulled from the closet was the best one that fit me back then (as I remembered from the small hole in the back of it). I put on this shirt, a 4X, and it didn't feel right - not how I remembered it fitting me back then.

Turns out this shirt had plenty of width on it. I didn't remember the shirt being that wide. It looked like I was wearing a dress, but it was still better than the stinky, wrinkled work shirts in my dirty clothes hamper.

This shirt has a yellow top with a red middle. The Shell logo on one shoulder and the number "29" on the other shoulder. That hasn't changed.

When I was doing my usual restroom cleaning, I took a look at the mirror. This mirror is low enough to also show my pants. Just looking at myself with this shirt on, it seemed different. Then I tried something.

I took the bottom left corner of my shirt and tugged it all the way to the left. There was about 15 inches of shirt to the left of me. Then I wrapped the shift behind my back. It made for a tighter middle around me. While I looked at that image, I noticed the Shell logo and the "29." They seemed bigger than what I remembered them being. At that point it hit me - I can see the change.

I thought back to all of those ugly mirror images of me with that shirt on when I wore it regularly. Then I compared those to today, and sure enough I looked smaller than what I did back then.

A little point of pride right there.

I feel great about it, and I needed that because I haven't felt great in recent weeks.

I'm standing around like a log, and not too long ago I met someone who is the exact opposite of me. I'm being run around in circles throughout all of this. However, instead of being annoyed, I'd rather soak in all of this life and energy and try to adapt it to myself. In other words, I haven't had fun in a long time and this could help me rediscover what that was once like.

Somehow I see the potential for some chemistry.

Why I Haven't Been Smiling Lately

Cutter's Log - Stardate 3102.01.60
Current Song - Don't Lose My Number (Phil Collins)

Over the past couple of weeks, I have apparently found many more reminders that everyone I know is moving forward ... and I am not.

When it comes to love, I see things from people my age that remind me just how far behind the curve I am.

When it comes to friendships, I see things from people my age that remind me just how far behind the curve I am.

Why them, and not me? Why them, and not me? Why am I so far behind?

All of this has led to a really mopy Cody.

I was reminded at the State Softball finals that I needed to smile more. I trust his advice. And I tried throughout the weekend.

Then not too long after I clocked in at work on Sunday, I was reminded by someone else - one that doesn't know me - that "You ... need to smile more. You always look like you're pissed off all of the time." I don't know this person, but apparently must come in often.

Since there were other people around me, I didn't show my true emotion. Therefore, I still looked like I was pissed. Of course I was pissed - someone just said something negative about me. I had to wait until the store was empty to let out my true feelings about what was said about me. Simply staring blankly into space most of the time. Only when I parked my car in front of my house did I cry.

No one understands just how far behind I am. No one I know knows how to fix it. When you live alone with little contact (because I don't quite know how to engage in consistent contact), you get all of these emotional feelings bottled up. If the walls of my house could talk, they'd be screaming for someone to help me.

Meanwhile, I'll just try to survive the best I can.

Did It Nearly Come To An End?

Cutter's Log - Stardate 3102.50.60
Current Song - Hold Me Now (Thompson Twins)

This past weekend marked my comeback to normal high school sportswriting after a two-and-a-half month hiatus.

I needed this break because many things in my personal life were out of order. During this break, I had only attended two softball games. Both were Sterling vs. Rock Falls. The key word here is "attended." I didn't cover these games, thus didn't pay attention to any important details.

Covering Milledgeville and St. Bede softball at State this year was my first time ever seeing these particular teams. I had never covered a St. Bede softball game EVER, and the last time I covered a Milledgeville Softball game was in 2006. But these two teams are a part of my coverage area, and so I set out to cover their time at State.

I struggled mightily.

One, I'm not used to standing up to cover a softball or a baseball game. I usually bring my lawn chair and plop it down next to the fence behind home plate. The Milledgeville semifinal game was played on the alternate diamond, where there is no press row.

Since it was my first softball game, I had to refamiliarize myself with my own softball stat templates. That, and hold an umbrella at certain times when the papers got wet. Plus this new thing called Twitter that apparently everyone else is using. Juggling a pen, clipboard, camera, umbrella and a cell phone while standing up to cover a softball game is not fun.

To make matters worse, the second game I was supposed to be covering (St. Bede's semifinal) started in the middle of the Milledgeville semifinal.

Disaster after disaster after disaster.

I ended up Tweeting the final score wrong on the Milledgeville semifinal as 10-2. It was 10-3. When a fellow reporter pointed that out to me, I was beyond embarassed.

I didn't know what to think of myself as I was struggling to get through the rest of the St. Bede game, and then on my way back to my hotel room.

This weekend was turning into a disaster and an embarassment at the same time.

It only got worse for me during the state title game.

Me and another reporter were asked our "Picks to Click" for who was going to hit the first homerun for Milledgeville in the title game. Gee, I didn't know. I had only seen Milledgeville once, but felt like I had to say something to try to show that I was alert.

My choice: "No one."

It confused and baffled the rest of press row, and I was reminded twice that Milledgeville "digs the long ball." Sure enough, Milledgeville hits two homers in the first two innings.

While I was certainly happy for Milledgeville with the two bombs, I couldn't help but feel disappointed in myself. I embarassed myself in front of my own sportswriting colleagues, who thought I was absolutely dumb to make that kind of prediction.

Then I had one of those over-the-top moments: I imagined my sportswriting colleagues making fun of me and trying to push me out of the profession, saying that my time has come to an end. After all, in today's horrible journalism field job security, sometimes we all feel like we are against ourselves when it comes to fighting for our jobs.

I feel they're trying to push me out because I am young and have already developed my own style and own following.

When the rain hit, I went into the upstairs press box while the other reporters were attached to their respective team's every parking lot move.

At 6:45 p.m. I decided to go on a walk. Milledgeville was set to resume at 8:15.

****

I took the sidewalk from the press box all the way to where it came to an end: at the visiting dugout of Diamond 5. It is a little kids' diamond with a covered dugout and a steel bench.

I sat down on the bench, and was alone from the rest of the world.

Tears started rolling down my eyes.

Nine years ago at this very place was the assignment that I considered my greatest and most memorable. I was working for Sauk Valley Media as an 18-year-old part-timer covering my friends from Rock Falls in the Class A finals.

Nine years later, I was falling completely flat as a trusted high school sports journalist.

I had thought back to those 2004 finals. I knew everyone on that team. Everyone. I could tell you what Whitey's batting average was without looking in the program. I could tell you how many innings Korb pitched on the entire season. Et cetera.

Whatever happened during those three (at the time) finals games, I could easily write about. Even when they went 20 innings with Warrensburg-Latham, it was an easy story to write when it came to the mood and feel.

I knew the Rock Falls girls from 9 years ago, and covered half of their games for either the newspaper or for the website. I grew up with them.

I didn't know anyone from Milledgeville, or St. Bede this year. And here I was trying to act as if I knew them, and had covered them throughout the year when I really hadn't. Everyone else on press row knew them, and knew them well. That's because they had been covering their games for a long time and kept up-to-date about them.

I don't get around to seeing these teams, coaches and athletes every day. That goes for almost every team that I have written an article on since starting this website. I have to re-introduce myself to most of the coaches every year if I don't see them at least five times (save a few that actually remember me somehow). This is where my communication disabilities factor in, and it kind of hurts me more.

This puts me at a terrible disadvantage compared to the other guys. It kind of hurts when people ask me questions about a team, or someone on a team, and I am unable to answer the question accurately for them. This leads to a domino effect that would eventually hurt my journalism career.

My journalism career was a sitting duck while I hung my head down low in the Diamond 5 dugout.

I had already committed to covering the 2013-14 school year. But then I thought about the possibility of that being my last. Ever.

I thought about all of the things that covering high school sports all these years has effected me. Massive amounts of money had been spend on fuel to see different worlds and different personalities. The time it takes to devote myself to keeping my beloved trade has certainly impacted my social life.

Not to mention my love life. That was deader than my social life, or my professional life. I couldn't help but think about trading my journalism career for a chance to know what true love is all about (ie. finding a girlfriend, keeping her, loving her, marriage, kids, etc.).

Maybe I would have a chance to hang out with people when I'm not working. Actually have a social life for a change. Have some life in me, instead of having this dark cloud hang over me at all times.

The possibilities of actual happiness - what I certainly am not getting now with what I'm doing between sports and Shell - seemed like a dashed dream to me at that point.

One of the lowest points in my journalism career was suddenly halted by a loudspeaker test coming from the press box.

"Test 1, 2, 3."

At that point, one ear was back to the main softball diamond, and another was tuned into my wandering mind.

Everything I had been thinking about for the past 45 minutes was starting to turn blurry. Then came the announcement at 7:30 that the Milledgeville game was declared official and that the Lady Misssiles were the Class 1A State Champions. And that the trophy presentation would begin immediately at the backup diamond.

I promptly took my backpack and headed to the diamond to do my job once more.

It was a nearly two-hour drive for me from East Peoria back home to Sterling. Along the way, I couldn't help but think about the possibility of that game actually resuming.

If all restarted at 8:15, that would have meant another 45 minutes of me pondering the future of my journalism career. Who knows what could have been thought of if that announcement wasn't made.

That could have been my last game. Ever.

But no, I am soldiering on to cover Sterling this weekend in Class 3A. I can only pray that things are much, much, much better for me this time around.

I don't want to go back to Diamond 5 and question myself again.