March On

March. It's my favorite time of the year. A month when brackets burst, birthdays boom, seasons change and baseball begins.

This year my bracket has stayed relatively strong. Besides picking the St. Pete's Peacocks to advance to the Sweet 16 (a team nicknamed the Peacocks will never advance anywhere in any tournament), my bracket is healthy. As long as Kansas St. makes its epic run to the Elite 8 and Steve Lavin packs his team into the DeLorean, beats Gonzaga and BYU and moves on to the Sweet 16, I should be in good shape.

Birthdays in March are like striped shirts in my wardrobe. They're everywhere and always a good time. My birthday fell on a Friday this year. So instead of ordering Asian food and listening to Sheryl Crow, I went to an Asian karaoke restaurant and sang Sheryl Crow! About 20 friends went down to Japas 38 and sang, drank and threw sushi rolls all over the room from 10-12. It was a great time. I don't think I gave up the mic. Not once. We did some 3EB, 80s hits and I sang a duet with another girl who was celebrating her birthday. What song did we do? La Vie En Rose? Always Be My Baby? No way. Nelly and Kelly FTW. Welcome to Nellyville, girl.

Winter turns to Spring. The snow disappears, people are happier and the projects are poppin'. It's the one and only time I wish I still drove the tram in the New York Botanical Gardens. Magnolia Way, the Twin Lakes and the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden are all in their prime this time of year. FYI. "The long, low brick wall marks the entrance to the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden..."

America's pastime. The Mets may not be great. In fact, they may not be mediocre or even below average. But baseball is baseball. A game so pure (sans HGH, Barry Bonds and anybody who played from 1988-2009 (sans Mike Piazza)) and undeniably beautiful, it can make/break a little leaguer's childhood, cause grown men to cry and bring warm feelings of nostalgia and tranquility to those hot, summer nights. There's nothing like a late July ball game. I remember driving down to Camden Yards two years ago for a three game set between the Orioles and Mets. Nothing beats that atmosphere. Nothing beats that hazy glow under those soft, ballpark lights. It sort of reminds me of this MasterCard commercial from back in the day. Can "Summer Wind" please be played at every game?