Today, we beat the fourth seed in our league in a five-set nail-biter (21:25, 25:21, 24:26, 25:18, 15:12). The fans were totally awesome. It was an exciting match and a great way to finish off our season at home. This was an especially momentous game for my team because we hadn't won a five-setter yet this season.
This game was also very rewarding for me personally because I was finally picking up defensive balls that (before this season) used to fall inches away from my fingertips (and then torment me for a week!). Maguy has been working hard with me in practice to rewire my digging and diving (sometimes I would dive too soon, sometimes too late, and sometimes not at all - and almost always with the wrong arm). I know, I know - my poor coach, right?!?! Anyway, she somehow managed to connect a few circuits that enabled me to shine on defense tonight. Though this match wasn't my best, it was very cool to see marked improvement in my ability to dig. It felt so great to be on the floor scrapping together a play with my team. And, of course, it was totally worth it for the WIN! Yay.
Showing posts with label score. Show all posts
Showing posts with label score. Show all posts
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Just Another Day in Paradise
Tonight we ventured to Paris to steal a tough four-set win (25-20, 19-25, 16-25, 21-25) against a formidable rival. It felt so great to get a W!
I also finally found my name on USAVB dot com. It doesn't really matter, but for some reason it feels super good just to see my name on the same list as some of the greatest female volleyball players in the world right now (Logan Tom, Nicole Davis, Alisha Glass - just to name a few)!
That's all for now. More later!
That's all for now. More later!
Saturday, March 8, 2014
French Milestone #3
This evening I celebrated International Day of the Woman with a whole stadium at the Tours vs. Sète professional men's volleyball game. A few guys from my men's regional team were seated up in the stands together like a good volleyball mafia family, so we watched together as TVB won handily.
We caught the tram back to Saint-Cyr and bantered the whole way. Now, granted, #1 these guys are joksters (most of the time they're laughing anyway because they'll laugh at almost anything), #2 they are accustomed to my accent and humoring me, and #3 it isn't always easy to differentiate whether they are laughing at me or with me, but - audience aside - I'm pretty sure I was on fire tonight. I made a couple of well-timed zingers that genuinely made this whole group of native french guys laugh out loud. Ahhhh - felt so good! Group laughter is a new high for me - so I thought I'd share! :)
We caught the tram back to Saint-Cyr and bantered the whole way. Now, granted, #1 these guys are joksters (most of the time they're laughing anyway because they'll laugh at almost anything), #2 they are accustomed to my accent and humoring me, and #3 it isn't always easy to differentiate whether they are laughing at me or with me, but - audience aside - I'm pretty sure I was on fire tonight. I made a couple of well-timed zingers that genuinely made this whole group of native french guys laugh out loud. Ahhhh - felt so good! Group laughter is a new high for me - so I thought I'd share! :)
Alright, that's all for now. More later!
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Footage is Fun!
Oh my goodness! I finally get to share some rare footage of me in the wild! Haha... Billy took this video during our game against Rennes Etudiants Club on Feburary 9th. Rennes is the capital of Brittany (far northwest France) and Tours is the capital of Pays de la Loire (central northwest France), so it's kinda like a regional rivalry... This team is so fun to play against because, even though they aren't very tall, they are dynamic and energetic and go after every ball. Here are a few clips Billy caught from our match against them:
I'm jersey #11 and wearing a white headband.
Our next official match is away on March 23rd against Vie au Grand Air de St Maur (a suburb outside of Paris). Hopefully by then my ankles (yes - still sore!) will feel better and I'll be jump serving again.
Here is a link to our standings if you're interested:
http://www.ffvbbeach.org/ffvbapp/resu/seniors/2013-2014/index_2fd.htm
We are Reveil Sportif de Saint-Cyr.
It's really hard to believe we only have five matches left... to WIN! :)
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
The Incredible Story of One Lucky Mitten
After the farmer's market this morning, I headed north on my bike to stock up on staples that don't grow from the ground here like maple syrup, muesli, and oat milk. Once inside Auchan (European Walmart equivalent that normally makes me think deeply about the Russian anarchist group Voina, but that's a different talk show...) I noticed that one of my new gloves was missing! I immediately retraced my steps back to the bike rack, but turned up nothing.
After coffee and shopping I retraced my bike route home scouring the ground for one bright green mitten. Turning around the second time, I started hearing my boss at SweetWARE in the back of my head quoting Einstein "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I'm having visions of Tom Robbins' Skinny Legs and All, my bright green mitten bravely striking out on it's own and making it's way in the world with other escaped inanimate objects. This was craziness, and I loved these gloves so much... I was determined to reunite this perfect pair.
Flash forward three hours, I'm walking and looking. After no more than fifteen minutes of walking up the street like a crazy person with one glove on (which apparently is the international sign language for "I've lost a glove") I hear a woman from across the street yell "Madame!" Yeah? She's sitting at the bus stop about to catch a bus going the opposite direction. You will not believe this. She goes, "Have you lost a glove?" I reply, "Why yes, I have!" What a coincidence! I cross the street and she explains that she picked up my other glove on the bike path a few hours ago and took it home. She happens to live nearby and can get it for me and it will only take a second... We walk together for a minute (I'm feeling much less crazy by now) and I agree to wait on a bench outside the entryway to her building.
A few minutes later, an old woman wearing kinda outlandish jewelry and a disheveled hair cut cops a squat next to me and almost sets her scarf on fire lighting her cigarette. She asks me if I'm visiting someone here. I tell her I'm waiting for someone. Not much time passes before I see two people in scrubs leaving the building, which is when I ask the woman next to me if this is a hospital. She says, "YES, this is a psychiatric hospital." Uhhh... The crazy is starting to creep back. Haha! Now, I'm sitting here wondering if this lady is going to come back with a rubber ducky declaring "Here's your glove back!" ...or just forget about me entirely. Wrong on both counts. Wonderful woman #1 restores peace to my universe and I walk home (so overjoyed) with two warm hands.
After coffee and shopping I retraced my bike route home scouring the ground for one bright green mitten. Turning around the second time, I started hearing my boss at SweetWARE in the back of my head quoting Einstein "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I'm having visions of Tom Robbins' Skinny Legs and All, my bright green mitten bravely striking out on it's own and making it's way in the world with other escaped inanimate objects. This was craziness, and I loved these gloves so much... I was determined to reunite this perfect pair.
Flash forward three hours, I'm walking and looking. After no more than fifteen minutes of walking up the street like a crazy person with one glove on (which apparently is the international sign language for "I've lost a glove") I hear a woman from across the street yell "Madame!" Yeah? She's sitting at the bus stop about to catch a bus going the opposite direction. You will not believe this. She goes, "Have you lost a glove?" I reply, "Why yes, I have!" What a coincidence! I cross the street and she explains that she picked up my other glove on the bike path a few hours ago and took it home. She happens to live nearby and can get it for me and it will only take a second... We walk together for a minute (I'm feeling much less crazy by now) and I agree to wait on a bench outside the entryway to her building.
A few minutes later, an old woman wearing kinda outlandish jewelry and a disheveled hair cut cops a squat next to me and almost sets her scarf on fire lighting her cigarette. She asks me if I'm visiting someone here. I tell her I'm waiting for someone. Not much time passes before I see two people in scrubs leaving the building, which is when I ask the woman next to me if this is a hospital. She says, "YES, this is a psychiatric hospital." Uhhh... The crazy is starting to creep back. Haha! Now, I'm sitting here wondering if this lady is going to come back with a rubber ducky declaring "Here's your glove back!" ...or just forget about me entirely. Wrong on both counts. Wonderful woman #1 restores peace to my universe and I walk home (so overjoyed) with two warm hands.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
... But Who's Keeping Score?
I'll admit I've got a reputation for keeping the wrong score in my own favor at home. Some people [ahem/ahem/Billy/achoo/Gesundheit] call it "cheating". I simply call it keeping score.
Anyway, I've been keeping this score sheet in my head since I got here. I hope this doesn't make me seem ungrateful, because I really have been enjoying every single minute here... Just - part of that is keeping score, that's all...
So, it's a dead tie right now 9 to 9 (including the nails salons and poodle poop), but who's keeping score? :)
Anyway, I've been keeping this score sheet in my head since I got here. I hope this doesn't make me seem ungrateful, because I really have been enjoying every single minute here... Just - part of that is keeping score, that's all...
| Bay Area | Tours | |
| bikram yoga | 1 | 0 |
| cappuccino* | 1 | 0 |
| coffee | 1 | 1 |
| wifi on train | 1 | 0 |
| diversity | 1 | 0 |
| farmer's markets | 1 | 0 |
| professional volleyball team | 0 | 1 |
| affordable organic food | 0 | 1 |
| dog shit everywhere** | 0 | 1 |
| easy public transportation*** | 0 | 1 |
| bike routes | 0 | 1 |
| nail salons**** | 1 | 0 |
| yoga studios | 1 | 0 |
| food | 1 | 1 |
| volleyball fans | 0 | 1 |
| affordable housing | 0 | 1 |
| total | 9 | 9 |
* France does NOT GET the cappuccino. When I get a camera, I plan on devoting an entire series of blog posts to the hilarity that they call cappuccino here. When asked about it, they will say - that is the french cappuccino. It is sad. Italy needs to start a "Save Good Coffee From Becoming A Bad French Cappuccino" campaign ASAP.
** Dog shit. Ahhhh, France! La merde everywhere. Nothing against dogs (obviously, le petit chien can't do anything about his/her bodily needs), but dog owners leave their dogs' shit just lying around everywhere: sidewalks, streets, pathways in parks, you name it! It is part of DAILY life here stepping in dog doo doo.
*** Sorry, BART, it's not that you're not easy, it's just that you don't connect to any major transportation routes easily from MY house. The train/bus stations here are in the center of town. Everything revolves around them... BART, I love you, but you've still got a long way to go (literally).
**** I wouldn't have even noticed this three years ago and I'm not saying this is a good thing, but there are 20 nail salons on Park Street alone. There are ZERO here. Like, none. I haven't seen one.
So, it's a dead tie right now 9 to 9 (including the nails salons and poodle poop), but who's keeping score? :)
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