Oh the Funk...

It’s been a while since I have last written…partly because we did not have a game last weekend and partly because not too much has been going on. Let’s see, what has happened…Staying true to my Lenten commitment to abstain from alcholol, I have had many opportunites to drive my friends home lately which is always an adventure. Driving on the other side of the road, and the car, and shifting gears with your left hand is intense. British people tend to be a lot more free with honking their horn. In fact, basically everyone outside of the US seems to use their horn for different purposes. For example, the US honk is an exagerated slam on the horn, "BBBBEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPP!!!" usually translated into, "Sh**!! What the F***!! IDIOT!!" and I tend to take it quite personally, always scanning the scene to make sure it was not directed at me. However, the international honk can sometimes mean the same as the American, but more often is "beep", "Hey mate, just making sure you see me- Cheers!!" I think the horn usage is due to the fact that there is so much city driving. Its not like you can just hop on I-5 and put your car in cruise control until you get there. Driving here is intense, with massive roundabouts and the smallest lanes you have ever seen. Surpsisingly, I enjoy it quite a bit...

Valentines Day was quite uneventful, although I did go out to dinner with the girls and fell down the stairs at the restaurant- which is always fun.

Since moving in to our new place, we have learned that somewhere within the general smelling vicinity there is a sewage treatment plant, and every now and again is just plain FUNKY!! In 'smellilar' news (hehe), the people who live below us consistently cook raunchy Chinese food and the smell lingers in the hall for days. I don't want to know what the inside of their flat smells like considering the smell in the hallway makes my eyes water. I mean, it’s a dead sprint for me to get up the stairs, fight through the ‘funk’, open our door and get to what I like to call, the “safe zone”!! Luckily unlike heat, ‘funk’ does not rise.

This week, my teammate gave me a couple of guest passes to her gym. She told me it was nice, but a gym is a gym so I didn’t think too much of it- until I got there. This place was crazy!! To access any of the equipment you have to insert a card/key into the machine. In this card is a record of all your previous workouts, how much weight you lifted, or how far you ran, how many calories you burned off, etc. You can program your workouts into it as well so you know what exercises to do. It even charts your cardio workouts in comparison to the Tour De France if you ride the bike (i.e. which stage of the tour you would be at considering how far you’ve biked since you’ve joined the gym) or the New York Marathon if you use the treadmill (i.e. which borough matches the distance you have run). I felt like my parents or grandparents astounded by the latest technology, with the words, "Back in my day..." about to jump off the tip of my tongue. There was also a gorgeous pool, hot tub, steam room, sauna….all that good stuff. This place was incredibly impressive- even a bit glamorous which got me thinking. Are workouts glamorous? I know I don’t feel glamorous when I work out considering I sweat as much as the Shaq in the fourth quarter. Having access to all of the latest technology and gym equipment is fantastic and why not take advantage of it if you can, but I think I’ve seen the ‘Rocky’ movies a few too many times. There is something about getting through a workout despite the circumstance; it’s that extra fight in you that makes you want something that much more because it’s difficult. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m out chasing chickens like good ol’ Rock, but I’m just saying that I have much respect for those people who have the fight in them to disregard the conditions and get the job done even when it’s not easy.

Which brings me to our game this weekend which I would like to avoid writing about, but am hoping that writing will bring healing….Why would I need healing? Read on…

As I mentioned earlier we did not have a game the weekend of the 16th and our coach gave us basically a week off… I used it as an opportunity to get in the gym to get some shots up and work on my game. Then we had practice on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday this week to prepare for our game. Well, we had 7 people at practice on Tuesday, 5 people on Thursday and 2 people on Friday…DOS PERSONAS!! (1 person came half way through, so 2.5 to be fair). UNBELEIVABLE!! Well, having not practiced with a full team in two weeks we headed into our games yesterday against a team that has won I think ONE game all season- and we lost…yes lost. I can honestly say that I played as bad as I think I have played since I can remember which is crazy in my mind since I felt great before the game... My shot felt really good, I had a great warm-up, felt loose and ready to go… And then the ref threw the ball up for the opening tip and the nightmare began. I really don’t know what happened with me, but I threw the ball all over the gym (turnovers for those non ballers out there) and couldn’t hit a shot if my life depended on it…I think the only thing I can think of is that I was worked up mentally about people not coming to practice that week and the lack of commitment shown by a few of my teammates. However, I really tried to bag those negative thoughts because I knew it was something I had no control over. Well, I can be pissed about that until the cows come home, but the people that missed practice outplayed me- straight up. I didn’t play in the 4th quarter, and frankly looking back I didn’t deserve it. I take full responsibility for what I did out ther and point no fingers. I believe in a few of my other blog entries I spoke about basketball being just a game and I have learned to separate basketball with the rest of my life. Well, that method of thinking has been completely thrown out the window in the last 48 hours… I've been in a FUNK- let me tell you. I’m pissed…mostly at myself for not being strong enough to pull myself out of my funk during the game, and pissed we lost to a team with who we should have wiped the floor. Oh boy...But I'm gonna bounce back, that's for sure. Can't wait til practice this week...We play next weekend and I WILL be ready.