You know, every time I hear someone yell “Let’s go Dodgers!” I get this little buzz. It’s like pure energy, right? That feeling of everyone pulling together for something. Real rah-rah stuff.
So, a while back, I tried to channel that exact vibe into something a bit closer to home. We had this idea, me and a few folks from my building, to fix up the little shared patio space. It was looking pretty sad, honestly. Weeds everywhere, a busted bench, you get the picture. My big idea was, “Hey, let’s make this our little Dodger Stadium outfield! A place to actually hang out!”
I kicked things off. Sent out a group message, super pumped: “Patio project this weekend! Let’s do this!” And at first, man, the replies were awesome. “Totally in!” “Count on me!” “Yeah, let’s make it great!” I was thinking, this is it, team spirit! We were gonna be the champions of patio renovation.
I even went out and bought some supplies. Potting soil, a couple of cheap plants, wood cleaner for the old furniture we could salvage. I was imagining us all out there, music playing, getting it done. Like a well-oiled machine, you know?
Then Saturday morning rolls around. I’m out there at 9 AM, tools ready, coffee brewed. And… nothing. Just me and the pigeons. I waited. Sent a follow-up text. “Hey, patio time! Where’s everyone?”
The excuses started trickling in. It was almost comical, if it wasn’t so darn annoying.
- “Oh man, totally forgot my aunt was visiting.”
- “Woke up with a bit of a sniffle, better stay in.”
- “My cat looked at me funny, think she needs emotional support today.”
Okay, maybe not that last one exactly, but you get the drift. One guy, Mark, who was all gung-ho, just straight-up ghosted. No reply, nothing. Classic.
So there I was, with all this stuff and a half-dead patio. I ended up just pulling some of the biggest weeds myself and dragging the busted bench to the curb. Took me a couple of hours, feeling pretty deflated. That whole “Let’s go Dodgers!” energy I started with? Poof. Gone. Replaced by a kind of tired, “Well, that was a bust” feeling.
It just gets me, you know? People are all about the big talk, the initial excitement. But when it comes to actually showing up and doing the work, it’s a whole different ball game. It’s like they want the win, but don’t want to play the innings. Drove me nuts that day. Still kinda does when I think about it. I guess some folks are just better at cheering from the sidelines.
