Friday, January 16, 2009
USA Men's Olympic Team Brought Home More Than Gold
Members of the 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team earned more than gold medals this summer, they picked up friends for life along the way. Yes, many had already been friends prior to the Games, however, they all formed a lasting bond that has become apparent whenever they see each other this season.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
61-Day Road Trip
for real? Hells yeah. Try this on for size.... And now, this image has nothing to do with days 1-35 or so. I just thought I should make sure you're doing what you're supposed to be doing and taking care of your private thing :-)
Day 1: June 26, 2008
Colorado Springs to Las Vegas (718 miles)
After a morning of finishing up errands and a couple of last minute shouts out for a ride, Dean and I were headed to the Colorado Springs airport. He simply to drop me off, me to begin my longest odyssey yet with USA Basketball.
Of course leaving early afternoon from COS comes with a steep price – the agonizing, yet inevitable delay. Our flight was about an hour late due to the afternoon storms we see this time of year. But it could have been worse – I could be Jenny stuck in the airport until close to midnight. Ouch!
Finally arrived in Denver, ready to “O.J.” from one end of the terminal (gate 84) to the other (32), but found my flight to Vegas was also delayed and therefore I had time for a little Que Bueno …mmmmmmmmmmmmm! And of course the pit stop at the Red Carpet Club.
I slept through most of the flight, despite the bumpy air and screaming baby during the first 15 minutes. I think I was just a little zonked!
HEAT WAVE
As expected, getting off the plane in Vegas was a treat. We were hit by some dense, hot air and then came the cluster @#$(#@$*( that is also known as the worst baggage claim in the WORLD.
As if my day wasn’t long enough, they checked me into a smoking room. That just won’t do. So when I finally got into my room and had dinner I was done for the night. No going out for me tonight!
Day 2: June 27
I got a 45-minute run in and spent the better part of the day in the office before the 7 pm team meeting. Here’s a shocker: we had dinner at Corso. Same place we ate the night before and what has become the most eaten at place for me in the town of Las Vegas. Night after night after night. I think I’ve tried nearly everything on the menu at least once.
Overall the day was what most of my days moving forward would become – a total blur. But it was good to see the guys again, CP asked about my knee, wanted to make sure it was all better. He doesn’t want to be walking me up anymore hills this time around! He was on our U20 team four years ago and I was still in a knee brace after my ACL surgery and the tournament was in Halifax. If you’ve ever been there, you know what I mean by the hills.
Also got to see and briefly catch up with many NBA and NBAE peeps who I hadn’t seen in awhile so that was good.
Day 3: June 28
I’m definitely eating too much and need to slow down. Eating on the road will kill you – eating on the road while on a 8-week road trip will pack on the lbs. But there should be a forced diet in Argentina and at least the first part of China so I’ve got that going for me.
Nike had a professional crew to film practice and put together b-roll for a commercial they’re doing with the team. They were EVERYWHERE. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
For the first time in three straight summers at Vegas I got to sit by the pool and order a drink. I did it right – a 5k calorie daiquiri. I sat out there for all of 30 minutes until the sun dipped too low in the sky and I was in the shade. But it was 30 of the most wonderful minutes of the summer!
Here’s a shock and surprise: I went to Corso for dinner. Crazy, I know. But I like to live on the edge.
But I did do over 100 flights of stairs in under 55 minutes and if I can keep that up at least every other day this summer I’ll make it through the night.
Day 4: July 29, 2008
Vegas to Denver (tease!!!) to DCA (2,104 miles)
Up at 3:30 a.m. to catch my flight – that totally sucked ass.
Because the training camp in Vegas was cut short I was able to get to DC a day early and mom picked me up from the airport and whisked me straight to Nina’s house where I saw little Emily for the very first time! Toooooo cute! She is SUCH a doll and Sarah is ever the doting sistah. They’re going to have great times together.
It was good to visit with everyone, it had been too long.
Mom then took me downtown to my hotel. From the Wynn to the Red Roof Inn. Hmmm. Can we say “step down?” Oh yeah. And the area didn’t look too good. Mom was not pleased about dropping me off there. Needless to say she made sure I checked in and headed to the elevator before pulling away. The hotel room was everything you could imagine … if you imagine fleabag hotels. I’ve stayed in better places in the most remote corners of the world. I didn’t even want to touch the remote control with my bare hands. I used a wash cloth – wrapped it around the remote to turn the tv on/off and change channels. It was also musty and moldy and all around gross. But it was what it was for 10 days – home base. AND it had an Irish bar in the lobby where I grabbed a couple of pints of Guiness before heading to bed. Although even that was scary. Some random drunk wandered in off the street and started bothering me, asking very personal questions and getting me pissed off – all I wanted was to read the paper and have my Guiness in peace. So I had to have the barkeep toss the guy out. Turns out he’s a semi-regular. Probably harmless, but definitely annoying as hell.
Day 5: June 30, 2008
I spent all day working in the room, getting the media guide finalized, working on women’s Olympic stuff, pretty much put the hammer down and hit it. I think I stayed in my jammies all day long! When I finally emerged to the world around 5:30/6 pm, I did so to get a little exercise. I had a GREAT run along the National Mall. Went all the way down to Arlington Cemetary, made a pit stop in the women’s war museum and ran back. There was a light rain falling most of the way down and that kept most of the people from getting in my waay. The way back, however, was much different. Throngs of nasty tourists emerged from their hiding places only to wander aimlessly into my running path. That’s so frustrating. They SEE you, look right AT you while you’re running in a straight line and then decide to wander into your plane of existence. FUCK ME!
Day 6: July 1, 2008
I got in a 1:12 run around the Mall in the morning before everything began and then finished up a few things the rest of the morning in my room. Prior to the first trials session for our U18 men’s team I ran into JT & JB in the lobby. JB and I exchanged looks that said it all about the hotel. Then I commented that it wasn’t the Wynn.
JB: It’s no Plaza either.
ME: Oh no?
JB: Butlers on every floor.
ME: I think you might be able to find an ice machine (not necessarily working) on every other floor here.
JB: It still isn’t worse than that place in Brazil.
ME: That’s always something!
Trials started that day with 18 players – 17 who were healthy as one kid came in from California with a bad ankle and was sent right back the next day.
We went all the way to Chevy Chase for dinner that night for Maggiano’s. Not sure what the method was behind that madness. It took about 45 mintues to get there from the Verizon Center and there are SO many great restaurants around that area. Oh well. We ended the night back in the Irish bar. Not a bad gathering place!
Day 7: Wednesday, July 2
Big news of the day? My computer is seriously having issues. I’m trying to finalize the women’s Olympic media guide and this is NOT helping. Definietely NOT.
Another day, another trials session or two. Nothing exciting there. I did meet up with Steve and TS in the Irish bar and had some wonderful conversations. I had no clue TS was from the area . He grew up in Southern Maryland in a family of like 5,000 kids. Ok, maybe not that much, but many. Neat guy. I’ve always liked him, especially for the fact that unlike so many in this biz, he can actually have an intelligent non-basketball conversation.
My computer by the end of the day is seriously flawed. I start moving as many files as possible onto my external hard drive. Come to find out later that my hard drive was shot and needed to be replaced. At least I was able to save most of my files. And Brittany was there at trials so I would eventually send her home with no laptop and use her old POS through ARRgentina. ARGH. To add to my woes of the day, I never got a run in. Ugk.
Day 8, July 3
The computer is still pretty crappy. Brittany and Steve head back to their respective places and the team is down to 14 finalists so we take them all out to dinner at Clydes. I know, since when is there a Clyde’s in Chinatown? Who knows but it’s there.
Another bummer on the day: I’m supposed to go hang out with Cyndi tonight but with all the computer crap that’s been happening, by the time the team dinner is over with, it’s late, I’m tired and have to bow out of the evening. Too bad, too. It sounds like she had a great time!
No run, but I did get in a 35-minute walk. YAy me.
Day 9: July 4
So much for independence. I had no breakfast, no lunch, no exercise and I fought with the computer all day long. Yes, I still have it. I was sent discs to try and reload programs and everything but it’s becoming more and more apparent that I need to give up and send it back to the office for repair. I actually feel much better once this decision has been made so I can concentrate on other things.
Did get in a nice dinner at Matchbox with the coaching staff so I have that going for me. It rained most of the evening so I opted for the dinner rather than stand out in the rain watching fireworks. Good option.
Day 10: July 5
Coaches gave the players the night off and Sunday morning’s practice was also cancelled. That gave me the chance to steal away to NoVa and crash Madeleine’s 10th birthday party. HooooooRAAyyyyyyy! It was a Harry Potter-themed party complete with races, Quidditch, taste that bean and all sorts of other cool things that Matt & Deb made up. The evening, which was filled with fireworks that were never lit on the 4th due to the rain, was capped with a showing of the Harry Potter flick and a sleepover. All-in-all a great day!!!
Day 1: June 26, 2008
Colorado Springs to Las Vegas (718 miles)
After a morning of finishing up errands and a couple of last minute shouts out for a ride, Dean and I were headed to the Colorado Springs airport. He simply to drop me off, me to begin my longest odyssey yet with USA Basketball.
Of course leaving early afternoon from COS comes with a steep price – the agonizing, yet inevitable delay. Our flight was about an hour late due to the afternoon storms we see this time of year. But it could have been worse – I could be Jenny stuck in the airport until close to midnight. Ouch!
Finally arrived in Denver, ready to “O.J.” from one end of the terminal (gate 84) to the other (32), but found my flight to Vegas was also delayed and therefore I had time for a little Que Bueno …mmmmmmmmmmmmm! And of course the pit stop at the Red Carpet Club.
I slept through most of the flight, despite the bumpy air and screaming baby during the first 15 minutes. I think I was just a little zonked!
HEAT WAVE
As expected, getting off the plane in Vegas was a treat. We were hit by some dense, hot air and then came the cluster @#$(#@$*( that is also known as the worst baggage claim in the WORLD.
As if my day wasn’t long enough, they checked me into a smoking room. That just won’t do. So when I finally got into my room and had dinner I was done for the night. No going out for me tonight!
Day 2: June 27
I got a 45-minute run in and spent the better part of the day in the office before the 7 pm team meeting. Here’s a shocker: we had dinner at Corso. Same place we ate the night before and what has become the most eaten at place for me in the town of Las Vegas. Night after night after night. I think I’ve tried nearly everything on the menu at least once.
Overall the day was what most of my days moving forward would become – a total blur. But it was good to see the guys again, CP asked about my knee, wanted to make sure it was all better. He doesn’t want to be walking me up anymore hills this time around! He was on our U20 team four years ago and I was still in a knee brace after my ACL surgery and the tournament was in Halifax. If you’ve ever been there, you know what I mean by the hills.
Also got to see and briefly catch up with many NBA and NBAE peeps who I hadn’t seen in awhile so that was good.
Day 3: June 28
I’m definitely eating too much and need to slow down. Eating on the road will kill you – eating on the road while on a 8-week road trip will pack on the lbs. But there should be a forced diet in Argentina and at least the first part of China so I’ve got that going for me.
Nike had a professional crew to film practice and put together b-roll for a commercial they’re doing with the team. They were EVERYWHERE. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
For the first time in three straight summers at Vegas I got to sit by the pool and order a drink. I did it right – a 5k calorie daiquiri. I sat out there for all of 30 minutes until the sun dipped too low in the sky and I was in the shade. But it was 30 of the most wonderful minutes of the summer!
Here’s a shock and surprise: I went to Corso for dinner. Crazy, I know. But I like to live on the edge.
But I did do over 100 flights of stairs in under 55 minutes and if I can keep that up at least every other day this summer I’ll make it through the night.
Day 4: July 29, 2008
Vegas to Denver (tease!!!) to DCA (2,104 miles)
Up at 3:30 a.m. to catch my flight – that totally sucked ass.
Because the training camp in Vegas was cut short I was able to get to DC a day early and mom picked me up from the airport and whisked me straight to Nina’s house where I saw little Emily for the very first time! Toooooo cute! She is SUCH a doll and Sarah is ever the doting sistah. They’re going to have great times together.
It was good to visit with everyone, it had been too long.
Mom then took me downtown to my hotel. From the Wynn to the Red Roof Inn. Hmmm. Can we say “step down?” Oh yeah. And the area didn’t look too good. Mom was not pleased about dropping me off there. Needless to say she made sure I checked in and headed to the elevator before pulling away. The hotel room was everything you could imagine … if you imagine fleabag hotels. I’ve stayed in better places in the most remote corners of the world. I didn’t even want to touch the remote control with my bare hands. I used a wash cloth – wrapped it around the remote to turn the tv on/off and change channels. It was also musty and moldy and all around gross. But it was what it was for 10 days – home base. AND it had an Irish bar in the lobby where I grabbed a couple of pints of Guiness before heading to bed. Although even that was scary. Some random drunk wandered in off the street and started bothering me, asking very personal questions and getting me pissed off – all I wanted was to read the paper and have my Guiness in peace. So I had to have the barkeep toss the guy out. Turns out he’s a semi-regular. Probably harmless, but definitely annoying as hell.
Day 5: June 30, 2008
I spent all day working in the room, getting the media guide finalized, working on women’s Olympic stuff, pretty much put the hammer down and hit it. I think I stayed in my jammies all day long! When I finally emerged to the world around 5:30/6 pm, I did so to get a little exercise. I had a GREAT run along the National Mall. Went all the way down to Arlington Cemetary, made a pit stop in the women’s war museum and ran back. There was a light rain falling most of the way down and that kept most of the people from getting in my waay. The way back, however, was much different. Throngs of nasty tourists emerged from their hiding places only to wander aimlessly into my running path. That’s so frustrating. They SEE you, look right AT you while you’re running in a straight line and then decide to wander into your plane of existence. FUCK ME!
Day 6: July 1, 2008
I got in a 1:12 run around the Mall in the morning before everything began and then finished up a few things the rest of the morning in my room. Prior to the first trials session for our U18 men’s team I ran into JT & JB in the lobby. JB and I exchanged looks that said it all about the hotel. Then I commented that it wasn’t the Wynn.
JB: It’s no Plaza either.
ME: Oh no?
JB: Butlers on every floor.
ME: I think you might be able to find an ice machine (not necessarily working) on every other floor here.
JB: It still isn’t worse than that place in Brazil.
ME: That’s always something!
Trials started that day with 18 players – 17 who were healthy as one kid came in from California with a bad ankle and was sent right back the next day.
We went all the way to Chevy Chase for dinner that night for Maggiano’s. Not sure what the method was behind that madness. It took about 45 mintues to get there from the Verizon Center and there are SO many great restaurants around that area. Oh well. We ended the night back in the Irish bar. Not a bad gathering place!
Day 7: Wednesday, July 2
Big news of the day? My computer is seriously having issues. I’m trying to finalize the women’s Olympic media guide and this is NOT helping. Definietely NOT.
Another day, another trials session or two. Nothing exciting there. I did meet up with Steve and TS in the Irish bar and had some wonderful conversations. I had no clue TS was from the area . He grew up in Southern Maryland in a family of like 5,000 kids. Ok, maybe not that much, but many. Neat guy. I’ve always liked him, especially for the fact that unlike so many in this biz, he can actually have an intelligent non-basketball conversation.
My computer by the end of the day is seriously flawed. I start moving as many files as possible onto my external hard drive. Come to find out later that my hard drive was shot and needed to be replaced. At least I was able to save most of my files. And Brittany was there at trials so I would eventually send her home with no laptop and use her old POS through ARRgentina. ARGH. To add to my woes of the day, I never got a run in. Ugk.
Day 8, July 3
The computer is still pretty crappy. Brittany and Steve head back to their respective places and the team is down to 14 finalists so we take them all out to dinner at Clydes. I know, since when is there a Clyde’s in Chinatown? Who knows but it’s there.
Another bummer on the day: I’m supposed to go hang out with Cyndi tonight but with all the computer crap that’s been happening, by the time the team dinner is over with, it’s late, I’m tired and have to bow out of the evening. Too bad, too. It sounds like she had a great time!
No run, but I did get in a 35-minute walk. YAy me.
Day 9: July 4
So much for independence. I had no breakfast, no lunch, no exercise and I fought with the computer all day long. Yes, I still have it. I was sent discs to try and reload programs and everything but it’s becoming more and more apparent that I need to give up and send it back to the office for repair. I actually feel much better once this decision has been made so I can concentrate on other things.
Did get in a nice dinner at Matchbox with the coaching staff so I have that going for me. It rained most of the evening so I opted for the dinner rather than stand out in the rain watching fireworks. Good option.
Day 10: July 5
Coaches gave the players the night off and Sunday morning’s practice was also cancelled. That gave me the chance to steal away to NoVa and crash Madeleine’s 10th birthday party. HooooooRAAyyyyyyy! It was a Harry Potter-themed party complete with races, Quidditch, taste that bean and all sorts of other cool things that Matt & Deb made up. The evening, which was filled with fireworks that were never lit on the 4th due to the rain, was capped with a showing of the Harry Potter flick and a sleepover. All-in-all a great day!!!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Middle of the Top of the World
April 16/17, 2008
My goodness, it’s been a long time. But I’m traveling again and need to really step it up. I’m having a hard enough time trying to keep in contact with everyone on a regular basis. Thus, the purpose of the blog. However, I really suck at that also!
I’m pretty sure that I told all of you about Spain and the Fallas (fire) festival. If not, I’ll have to circle back at a later date and explain all of that. However, I’m on a plane on my way to China – Beijing to be exact – for the Olympic test event. What is an Olympic test event? Each Olympiad the organizers put on a pre-Olympic event to make sure everything in the venue is in full working order and that way they have the opportunity to fix what’s broken. Or not. Sometimes not. There have been many before us and will be several more test events before the 8-8-8 opening ceremonies.
Nuff said.
FINAL FOUR // Tampa
I got to see cousin Kathy and her kids and Brian and their new house!!!!! Ok, so I still owe Shane a birthday pressie and card (bad auntie!!) And it was a pretty quick visit as I didn’t have much time and neither did they since they were trying to unpack from the move and I was working but the few hours we had were wonderful! Their house is amazing (if I only had that much closet space ...) And I’m very, very, very happy for them.
The purpose of my trip to Tampa was the Final Four. It was a work trip, however, I really wasn’t in my normal working mode. We didn’t have a training camp down there and there was no real purpose for me being there and having the org. pay for my being there. But ... there were three USA WNT members playing in the Final Four; there were a TON of media who not only might be covering the Olympics, but who cover college bball and whom I deal with on a fairly regular (every summer) basis; media who cover both women’s college bball and the Olympics; coaches with whom I’ve worked throughout the years, etc., etc., etc. Yes, it’s a little of a boondogle, but I think it’s a pretty good one to be able to talk to people face to face about USA Basketball. Oh yeah, let’s not forget the always and often forgotten sports information directors!!!! There are SO many of them who I work with every summer and never see their faces, so the Final Four is a good opportunity for me to actually put a face with a name (and they get to do the same).
The moment which impressed me the most was Candice Wiggins on the podium after losing the championship game. She was amazing. Instead of dwelling on the negative (losing), she spoke about her four years at Stanford, Tara, her teammates, etc., and how much she really appreciated everything about the university, etc. It was refreshing.
BACK TO THE FLIGHT ...
We have passed the international dateline and are somewhere over Siberia. Amazing. I don’t think our parents would have (or could have) imagined this in their lifetimes. And here it is, my third time in China.
I remember being in grade school and our class went on a trip (most likely Vienna) and took a side trip to a border control area of what was then Czechoslovakia. I remember seeing the guard towers with men (always men) in the towers pointing their guns at us. There were fences, several fences, moats, etc., with razor wire, everything and anything imaginable, between us and them. And now? I’ve been to the Czech Republic. I’ve been to Slovakia. But I’ve never actually stepped foot into Czechoslovakia. Only the memory of Czechoslovaki.
I’ ve also ridden a bike through Berlin. Run through the frozen streets of Krakow. Run across the beaches in Rio. I tried to find a bridge across the swamps in Valdivia, Chile; experienced Italy, Spain, Germany, ...... the list goes on and on. And my point is what? My point is the fact that the world truly is tiny. And I have decided that I’m NOT catching up. I’m here. I’m ready for adventure and hopefully I’ll keep up with everything from now on :-)
WYF?!?!?!?!??!
Can I remind people of what I said last time I was in Beijing? I can’t fully quote what I had to say, but with all the frustrations I had with the 2001 World University Games organizers, I’m pretty sure I asked someone to shoot me if I was still working for a summer sport in 2008. While I really don’t want to be put out of my misery, I really think someone should have shaken the (almost) life out of me back when I had other job offers (with non-Beijing sports)!!! I seriously have enjoyed all the work travel I've done and it'll be interesting to see any changes / contrasts to my last trip to Beijing (or even China, which was in 2002).
THE LANGOLIERS
Every single time I fly through time like this I think of Stephen King’s short story about the Langoliers. They have eaten a day out of my life once again .... I think. We departed on April 16 and will land on April 17. I’m a little more used to it now than I was back when Dave and I went to Australia for the most fabulous walkabout I’ve ever dreamt of, but it’s still a little surreal.
My goodness, it’s been a long time. But I’m traveling again and need to really step it up. I’m having a hard enough time trying to keep in contact with everyone on a regular basis. Thus, the purpose of the blog. However, I really suck at that also!
I’m pretty sure that I told all of you about Spain and the Fallas (fire) festival. If not, I’ll have to circle back at a later date and explain all of that. However, I’m on a plane on my way to China – Beijing to be exact – for the Olympic test event. What is an Olympic test event? Each Olympiad the organizers put on a pre-Olympic event to make sure everything in the venue is in full working order and that way they have the opportunity to fix what’s broken. Or not. Sometimes not. There have been many before us and will be several more test events before the 8-8-8 opening ceremonies.
Nuff said.
FINAL FOUR // Tampa
I got to see cousin Kathy and her kids and Brian and their new house!!!!! Ok, so I still owe Shane a birthday pressie and card (bad auntie!!) And it was a pretty quick visit as I didn’t have much time and neither did they since they were trying to unpack from the move and I was working but the few hours we had were wonderful! Their house is amazing (if I only had that much closet space ...) And I’m very, very, very happy for them.
The purpose of my trip to Tampa was the Final Four. It was a work trip, however, I really wasn’t in my normal working mode. We didn’t have a training camp down there and there was no real purpose for me being there and having the org. pay for my being there. But ... there were three USA WNT members playing in the Final Four; there were a TON of media who not only might be covering the Olympics, but who cover college bball and whom I deal with on a fairly regular (every summer) basis; media who cover both women’s college bball and the Olympics; coaches with whom I’ve worked throughout the years, etc., etc., etc. Yes, it’s a little of a boondogle, but I think it’s a pretty good one to be able to talk to people face to face about USA Basketball. Oh yeah, let’s not forget the always and often forgotten sports information directors!!!! There are SO many of them who I work with every summer and never see their faces, so the Final Four is a good opportunity for me to actually put a face with a name (and they get to do the same).
The moment which impressed me the most was Candice Wiggins on the podium after losing the championship game. She was amazing. Instead of dwelling on the negative (losing), she spoke about her four years at Stanford, Tara, her teammates, etc., and how much she really appreciated everything about the university, etc. It was refreshing.
BACK TO THE FLIGHT ...
We have passed the international dateline and are somewhere over Siberia. Amazing. I don’t think our parents would have (or could have) imagined this in their lifetimes. And here it is, my third time in China.
I remember being in grade school and our class went on a trip (most likely Vienna) and took a side trip to a border control area of what was then Czechoslovakia. I remember seeing the guard towers with men (always men) in the towers pointing their guns at us. There were fences, several fences, moats, etc., with razor wire, everything and anything imaginable, between us and them. And now? I’ve been to the Czech Republic. I’ve been to Slovakia. But I’ve never actually stepped foot into Czechoslovakia. Only the memory of Czechoslovaki.
I’ ve also ridden a bike through Berlin. Run through the frozen streets of Krakow. Run across the beaches in Rio. I tried to find a bridge across the swamps in Valdivia, Chile; experienced Italy, Spain, Germany, ...... the list goes on and on. And my point is what? My point is the fact that the world truly is tiny. And I have decided that I’m NOT catching up. I’m here. I’m ready for adventure and hopefully I’ll keep up with everything from now on :-)
WYF?!?!?!?!??!
Can I remind people of what I said last time I was in Beijing? I can’t fully quote what I had to say, but with all the frustrations I had with the 2001 World University Games organizers, I’m pretty sure I asked someone to shoot me if I was still working for a summer sport in 2008. While I really don’t want to be put out of my misery, I really think someone should have shaken the (almost) life out of me back when I had other job offers (with non-Beijing sports)!!! I seriously have enjoyed all the work travel I've done and it'll be interesting to see any changes / contrasts to my last trip to Beijing (or even China, which was in 2002).
THE LANGOLIERS
Every single time I fly through time like this I think of Stephen King’s short story about the Langoliers. They have eaten a day out of my life once again .... I think. We departed on April 16 and will land on April 17. I’m a little more used to it now than I was back when Dave and I went to Australia for the most fabulous walkabout I’ve ever dreamt of, but it’s still a little surreal.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Recapping 2007 as Promised
As I mentioned in my previous post, because I was very delinquent in posting for much of last summer, here's a recap (a few months at a time). My 2008 resolution is to get much better (weekly posts)....I promise!
JANUARY
skiing with Nina with my cast on (tore and had repaired the left UCL – thumb ligament). The arrival of Action Jackson the Sick but Cute Cat from the Humane Society. He fetches! He plays in the snow! He thinks he’s a dumb-ass dog!
FEBRUARY
Vail with Matt, Wendy, Dave for a belated New Year’s bash
MARCH
San Diego early March with Dave (saw Don & Leah), Cleveland late March where I saw the Skinners @ Final Four
APRIL
Rome, Viterbo, Napels, Pomezia & back to Rome with the WNT … ahhhh, life was good back then! Spent my 40th birthday wandering around the city while Dawn & Renee shopped until I dropped and then had a most amazing dinner with most of the staff at a lovely little place a few blocks above the Spanish Steps. I think I gained about 10 pounds from the wine and pasta for the month and I was forced to wear sweats all through May because none of my spring clothes would fit!
MAY
I tried to lose the weight put on in Italy, wore sweats all month, Moab with Chris (aka Spanky), Janice & Charlie and Don & Leah. Bagged two more parks on my bike that weekend. Camped along the Colorado River right outside of Moab. Life didn’t suck for six days straight. Spent a week in Honolulu with many family members for the wedding of Chris & Jessica. In addition to the most beautiful seaside ceremony I’ve ever witnessed, Cheryl, Nina, Vince and I flew over to the Big Island and toured around Volcano National Park. It was simply amazing - like walking along a moonscape. We did a long hike (8 miles?) and a few short ones. Then on Saturday the four of us, plus Chris, donned grass skirts, coconut bras and leis and ran in the Jamba Juice 5k. We were the only ones (aside from a guy in a Spiderman costume) in costume so we got on TV and were asked to stage our finish for the cameras a couple times. Good times!
JUNE
Elephant Rock Cycling Classic, did the 50-miler with Scottie Burns, kicked his ass up the hills, he killed me on the downs & straights, stood RIGHT behind Gov. Bill Owens (I have photo proof) when he signed a bill promoting cycling in the state. I even made it on Bicycle Colorado’s web site!
The following weekend I was in the French Riviera. Well, the poor man’s French Riviera at least. Antibes is more of a working person’s area than a celeb-infested part of the shore. But hell, I wouldn’t kick Clint Didier out of bed (pretend it’s 1986) for eating crackers so I won’t complain about being in Antibes in June! We also hit: Monte Carlo (game), Le Garde (game), St. Paul (tour) and Caen (tour) during the two weeks there.
From Antibes and the Nice airport, which is replete with the most inept Lufthansa agents (even the Munich Lufthansa agents agree) came Moscow Region (don’t make the mistake of calling it Moscow in front of someone from there). Dave Walden kept me sane during this time. We saw Red Square, the outside of Lenin’s Tomb, the GUM Factory Building (biggest department store in Moscow proper), changing of the guard outside Russia’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 4th of July back on U.S. soil (ok, so it was the U.S. Embassy’s gym in Moscow, but still we were back ‘home’ for a few hours!!!), the biggest U.S. Embassy party of the year at the home of the U.S. Ambassador to Russia on the 5th of July (he had to go back to hold Bush’s hand when Bush met with Putin), inside the Kremlin walls for a few hours of a tour (what once was sacred to Russians is now mostly a tourist attraction --- attracting thousands of Rubles a day that is!!!). You can’t get into the most secret areas of the Kremlin, but what I did see was the inside of a few cathedrals that, while amazing in the fact that they were so old and beautiful, and situated inside the Kremlin, really didn’t hold a candle to some of the ones I’d seen in other parts of the world. The biggest canon in the world sits inside the walls of the Kremlin. Not that it ever shot anything – too big! The biggest bell in the world sits inside the walls of the Kremlin. Not that it ever rang out – too big! Seems the Russians once were more concerned with appearances than they were with making things that actually worked (hmmm …. Cold war, anyone?). Russian subway. Don’t talk. Don’t laugh. You might be shunned. Mexican restaurant? Not quite. Hotel for Asians? Yup, that’s where we stayed. Russians (as far as I knew then) are very miserable. Running through ‘Central Park’ I saw many with scowls on their faces.
JULY
Moving from Russia to Serbia was sad, but fun at the same time. Goodbye U21 women, all of whom were great, hello U19 men. They’d been training together for two weeks. How would I fit in? Would they accept me? Ha! Crazy! Almost from the start they welcomed me into the fold. I will be forever grateful. I will also never forget .. it was either Patrick or Johnny who first started the conversation right outside of passport control in Belgrade…. Too long to write at the moment, but it ended with one of them asking me if I was excited to be there with them, to which I replied, “sure, it should be a good tournament.” And then the other one responded, “Idiot! She’s probably done many of these before!” Ok, I had to chuckle at that. The (SP) naievete of the young kids – they’re All-Americans and have been in the sports news all across the country so, of course, anyone would be DELIGHTED to work with them (which I was because they turned out to be such great kids).
Novi Sad, Serbia. Rolling hills like southern Hungary. Danube running through town. Petrovian Fortress across the Danube. Exit Festival. Adoption by a departing team, the Lebanese weren’t strong enough, but I became friends with that staff and it was sad to see them go. Our interpreter Emri Tokaj (or something like that) asking me, “running by yourself? You are very brave.” Said with all seriousness of an older brother looking out for his younger sis. Despite his warnings, there was never any problem running through town or the countryside alone.
Beastie Boys! Making friends and turning people back to liking Americans one bartender and one cabbie at a time. (one cab driver even tried to set me up with his son – “Are you married?” “Yes.” “Oh. That is too bad. I have a son that I think you would like very much.” “Thank you, I’m very flattered. I’m sure he will find a very nice girl to marry someday.” 24-beersy.
Herb Parris was adopted by the hotel staff. Greg Farnham & me running into all the interpreters at Laze Teleckog. Novi Sad’s square … churches at the east and west like they’re getting ready for the battle of the bands, cows everywhere like the artwork in Chicago. The Irish Pub on the 2nd floor of a back alley. Finding that Italian restaurant and hitting it three nights in a row. Ahhh … July was filled with so many great memories!
AUGUST
Lisa, Kurt and family came to town and I went white water rafting with Lisa one afternoon. On another sunny lunch hour I headed to Uncle Wilbur’s Fountain to spend lunch with Lisa and the kids. Big Breakfast (was it breakfast?) at Ed’s (Kurt cooking, whatever the meal was). Sadly leaving town (the Skinners were still there) for Las Vegas.
The Wynn doesn't suck, but we spent most of our days at UNLV. Maureen was there for the tournament, but saw her very little outside work. I found a Wetlands Park east of town to run in some mornings. I also ran (three times each) every stairs from the Wynn to the Bellagio and back (I puked one morning after my run b/c it was so hot and I ran too long and hard). There are plenty of interesting people walking The Strip in the mornings – people just returning home and those out for their morning coffee. I found the public track at UNLV one afternoon and hit that a few times for sprint workouts. Hit the Freemont Street Experience with Jenny & Ned one night and then saw the sun coming up when we came home a few hours later!
Ok, that's about it for now, I have to save the rest of the year for next week!
Peace,
Moi
JANUARY
skiing with Nina with my cast on (tore and had repaired the left UCL – thumb ligament). The arrival of Action Jackson the Sick but Cute Cat from the Humane Society. He fetches! He plays in the snow! He thinks he’s a dumb-ass dog!
FEBRUARY
Vail with Matt, Wendy, Dave for a belated New Year’s bash
MARCH
San Diego early March with Dave (saw Don & Leah), Cleveland late March where I saw the Skinners @ Final Four
APRIL
Rome, Viterbo, Napels, Pomezia & back to Rome with the WNT … ahhhh, life was good back then! Spent my 40th birthday wandering around the city while Dawn & Renee shopped until I dropped and then had a most amazing dinner with most of the staff at a lovely little place a few blocks above the Spanish Steps. I think I gained about 10 pounds from the wine and pasta for the month and I was forced to wear sweats all through May because none of my spring clothes would fit!
MAY
I tried to lose the weight put on in Italy, wore sweats all month, Moab with Chris (aka Spanky), Janice & Charlie and Don & Leah. Bagged two more parks on my bike that weekend. Camped along the Colorado River right outside of Moab. Life didn’t suck for six days straight. Spent a week in Honolulu with many family members for the wedding of Chris & Jessica. In addition to the most beautiful seaside ceremony I’ve ever witnessed, Cheryl, Nina, Vince and I flew over to the Big Island and toured around Volcano National Park. It was simply amazing - like walking along a moonscape. We did a long hike (8 miles?) and a few short ones. Then on Saturday the four of us, plus Chris, donned grass skirts, coconut bras and leis and ran in the Jamba Juice 5k. We were the only ones (aside from a guy in a Spiderman costume) in costume so we got on TV and were asked to stage our finish for the cameras a couple times. Good times!
JUNE
Elephant Rock Cycling Classic, did the 50-miler with Scottie Burns, kicked his ass up the hills, he killed me on the downs & straights, stood RIGHT behind Gov. Bill Owens (I have photo proof) when he signed a bill promoting cycling in the state. I even made it on Bicycle Colorado’s web site!
The following weekend I was in the French Riviera. Well, the poor man’s French Riviera at least. Antibes is more of a working person’s area than a celeb-infested part of the shore. But hell, I wouldn’t kick Clint Didier out of bed (pretend it’s 1986) for eating crackers so I won’t complain about being in Antibes in June! We also hit: Monte Carlo (game), Le Garde (game), St. Paul (tour) and Caen (tour) during the two weeks there.
From Antibes and the Nice airport, which is replete with the most inept Lufthansa agents (even the Munich Lufthansa agents agree) came Moscow Region (don’t make the mistake of calling it Moscow in front of someone from there). Dave Walden kept me sane during this time. We saw Red Square, the outside of Lenin’s Tomb, the GUM Factory Building (biggest department store in Moscow proper), changing of the guard outside Russia’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 4th of July back on U.S. soil (ok, so it was the U.S. Embassy’s gym in Moscow, but still we were back ‘home’ for a few hours!!!), the biggest U.S. Embassy party of the year at the home of the U.S. Ambassador to Russia on the 5th of July (he had to go back to hold Bush’s hand when Bush met with Putin), inside the Kremlin walls for a few hours of a tour (what once was sacred to Russians is now mostly a tourist attraction --- attracting thousands of Rubles a day that is!!!). You can’t get into the most secret areas of the Kremlin, but what I did see was the inside of a few cathedrals that, while amazing in the fact that they were so old and beautiful, and situated inside the Kremlin, really didn’t hold a candle to some of the ones I’d seen in other parts of the world. The biggest canon in the world sits inside the walls of the Kremlin. Not that it ever shot anything – too big! The biggest bell in the world sits inside the walls of the Kremlin. Not that it ever rang out – too big! Seems the Russians once were more concerned with appearances than they were with making things that actually worked (hmmm …. Cold war, anyone?). Russian subway. Don’t talk. Don’t laugh. You might be shunned. Mexican restaurant? Not quite. Hotel for Asians? Yup, that’s where we stayed. Russians (as far as I knew then) are very miserable. Running through ‘Central Park’ I saw many with scowls on their faces.
JULY
Moving from Russia to Serbia was sad, but fun at the same time. Goodbye U21 women, all of whom were great, hello U19 men. They’d been training together for two weeks. How would I fit in? Would they accept me? Ha! Crazy! Almost from the start they welcomed me into the fold. I will be forever grateful. I will also never forget .. it was either Patrick or Johnny who first started the conversation right outside of passport control in Belgrade…. Too long to write at the moment, but it ended with one of them asking me if I was excited to be there with them, to which I replied, “sure, it should be a good tournament.” And then the other one responded, “Idiot! She’s probably done many of these before!” Ok, I had to chuckle at that. The (SP) naievete of the young kids – they’re All-Americans and have been in the sports news all across the country so, of course, anyone would be DELIGHTED to work with them (which I was because they turned out to be such great kids).
Novi Sad, Serbia. Rolling hills like southern Hungary. Danube running through town. Petrovian Fortress across the Danube. Exit Festival. Adoption by a departing team, the Lebanese weren’t strong enough, but I became friends with that staff and it was sad to see them go. Our interpreter Emri Tokaj (or something like that) asking me, “running by yourself? You are very brave.” Said with all seriousness of an older brother looking out for his younger sis. Despite his warnings, there was never any problem running through town or the countryside alone.
Beastie Boys! Making friends and turning people back to liking Americans one bartender and one cabbie at a time. (one cab driver even tried to set me up with his son – “Are you married?” “Yes.” “Oh. That is too bad. I have a son that I think you would like very much.” “Thank you, I’m very flattered. I’m sure he will find a very nice girl to marry someday.” 24-beersy.
Herb Parris was adopted by the hotel staff. Greg Farnham & me running into all the interpreters at Laze Teleckog. Novi Sad’s square … churches at the east and west like they’re getting ready for the battle of the bands, cows everywhere like the artwork in Chicago. The Irish Pub on the 2nd floor of a back alley. Finding that Italian restaurant and hitting it three nights in a row. Ahhh … July was filled with so many great memories!
AUGUST
Lisa, Kurt and family came to town and I went white water rafting with Lisa one afternoon. On another sunny lunch hour I headed to Uncle Wilbur’s Fountain to spend lunch with Lisa and the kids. Big Breakfast (was it breakfast?) at Ed’s (Kurt cooking, whatever the meal was). Sadly leaving town (the Skinners were still there) for Las Vegas.
The Wynn doesn't suck, but we spent most of our days at UNLV. Maureen was there for the tournament, but saw her very little outside work. I found a Wetlands Park east of town to run in some mornings. I also ran (three times each) every stairs from the Wynn to the Bellagio and back (I puked one morning after my run b/c it was so hot and I ran too long and hard). There are plenty of interesting people walking The Strip in the mornings – people just returning home and those out for their morning coffee. I found the public track at UNLV one afternoon and hit that a few times for sprint workouts. Hit the Freemont Street Experience with Jenny & Ned one night and then saw the sun coming up when we came home a few hours later!
Ok, that's about it for now, I have to save the rest of the year for next week!
Peace,
Moi
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
How do I hate texASS ... let me count the ways
Yes, it's been quite awhile since I've checked in on the blog and I promise I'll catch everyone up on the wanderings through Serbia, Vegas, NYC, Philly, Uncasville, Chile, Ekaterinburg, College Park, Storrs / Hartford and Knoxville. But first I feel I must get this off of my chest before I explode.
We've been in texASS for about 40 hours now. That's 40 hours too long if you ask me.
Arriving on a (shocker) delayed flight from Knoxville on Nov. 5, once we loaded the luggage onto the bus I proceeded to pick up my rental car. Anyone who's ever rented a car here in dallASS knows that it's about 15 minutes away by shuttle. So I get my vehicle and head south to wacko where we'll play Baylor the next night.
By the time I arrive at the Hilton the bus has unloaded and my bags have been sent to Ellis' room.
I get my key and head to my room. UGH! The hotel is in the process of renovating to improve the rooms from the Motel 6-style rooms to much nicer abodes. As luck would have it, there aren't enough of the renovated rooms for everyone so three of us are stuck on the fourth floor.
Ok, I can deal with that.
I get my bags, unpack and set up my computer. I can't get online for some reason so I resort to ... DIAL UP!!! Even in Siberia they have ethernet connections or wireless in the rooms. This state sucks.
Turns out the hotel's wireless is not working. But you can walk down the block to their sister hotel and use the wireless there. Well, isn't THAT convenient!?!?!?
Because we're playing every other day and traveling on the off days on usually the first flight out I haven't gotten a lot of sleep every other night. So Tuesday morning - game day - is my chance to sleep in. I need it, especially knowing that I'll be up working on post-game stuff until at least midnight.
Seems the hotel folks have other thoughts. Precisely at 8 am the hammering, sawing, drilling, banging, etc., etc., etc., begins RIGHT ABOVE MY HEAD. So much for sleeping in OR getting in an afternoon nap.
At least I got a run in during the afternoon along the river :-)
I start to get ready for the game and the blow dryer in the room goes out. Great. Add another straw to the camel's back. They finally bring up another one, 10 minutes later, by which time my hair is almost completely dried naturally and looks like poop.
Game on. We win. I get back to the hotel and am excited that the restaurant is still open! Psych. The lights are on, but it's closed.
Heading up to my room and back to the dial-up to finish up a few things. Should take about 15-20 minutes, but dialing in extends the time to more like an hour. Pack. Go to sleep. 4.5 hours later the alarm sounds. Get up. Shower. Load bags on bus. 6:30 ... head back north to dallASS.
Get to the rental car place and read that our gate is C26. Take the shuttle to C26. Flight's not listed on the screen. Ask the agent, who states, "oh, we don't list those until about an hour before the flight."
Huh???
"So why are we supposed to get here two hours early?"
Blank stare.
"Oh, you're at A11."
Great.
Shuttle over to A. Get through the line and then through security. Ahhh, time for some food!
I head to Au Bon Pain.
"May I have an orange juice, large black coffee and a toasted everything bagel with cream cheese?"
"What was that?"
Repeat order.
"would you like orange juice, water or coffee with that?"
Repeat order.
"Oh! I'm sorry, but we only have decaf. We've been so busy that we haven't had a chance to make more. Would you like decaf instead?"
"Uh, no. What's the point of decaf?"
Blank stare.
"Would you like orange juice or water instead?"
Repeat order, minus the coffee.
"Oh, I'm sorry, we only have one plain bagel left."
"Fine. I'll take the plain bagel."
I pay. Wait in line for the bagel before being told that they were mistaken. Someone miscounted and the guy in front of me got the final bagel.
Five minutes later I have my refund and head to (gasp!) McDonald's. Yes, I went to McDonald's. I was hungry and in need of coffee and very desperate.
"Hi, may I have a large black coffee and an egg mcmuffin without any Canadian bacon?"
"A small coffee?"
"No, I would like a large black coffee and an egg McMuffin with no Canadian bacon please."
"Do you want bacon instead?"
"No. I do not want any meat on it."
"Was that a small coffee?"
"No! Large please."
"And would you like room for cream?"
ARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! GET ME OUT OF THIS STATE NOW!!!!!!!
And the worst part? Three days from now I'll be right back here. But at least I get three glorious nights in Phoenix.
Oh yeah, driving past texASS stadium I flipped the birdie the entire time.
We've been in texASS for about 40 hours now. That's 40 hours too long if you ask me.
Arriving on a (shocker) delayed flight from Knoxville on Nov. 5, once we loaded the luggage onto the bus I proceeded to pick up my rental car. Anyone who's ever rented a car here in dallASS knows that it's about 15 minutes away by shuttle. So I get my vehicle and head south to wacko where we'll play Baylor the next night.
By the time I arrive at the Hilton the bus has unloaded and my bags have been sent to Ellis' room.
I get my key and head to my room. UGH! The hotel is in the process of renovating to improve the rooms from the Motel 6-style rooms to much nicer abodes. As luck would have it, there aren't enough of the renovated rooms for everyone so three of us are stuck on the fourth floor.
Ok, I can deal with that.
I get my bags, unpack and set up my computer. I can't get online for some reason so I resort to ... DIAL UP!!! Even in Siberia they have ethernet connections or wireless in the rooms. This state sucks.
Turns out the hotel's wireless is not working. But you can walk down the block to their sister hotel and use the wireless there. Well, isn't THAT convenient!?!?!?
Because we're playing every other day and traveling on the off days on usually the first flight out I haven't gotten a lot of sleep every other night. So Tuesday morning - game day - is my chance to sleep in. I need it, especially knowing that I'll be up working on post-game stuff until at least midnight.
Seems the hotel folks have other thoughts. Precisely at 8 am the hammering, sawing, drilling, banging, etc., etc., etc., begins RIGHT ABOVE MY HEAD. So much for sleeping in OR getting in an afternoon nap.
At least I got a run in during the afternoon along the river :-)
I start to get ready for the game and the blow dryer in the room goes out. Great. Add another straw to the camel's back. They finally bring up another one, 10 minutes later, by which time my hair is almost completely dried naturally and looks like poop.
Game on. We win. I get back to the hotel and am excited that the restaurant is still open! Psych. The lights are on, but it's closed.
Heading up to my room and back to the dial-up to finish up a few things. Should take about 15-20 minutes, but dialing in extends the time to more like an hour. Pack. Go to sleep. 4.5 hours later the alarm sounds. Get up. Shower. Load bags on bus. 6:30 ... head back north to dallASS.
Get to the rental car place and read that our gate is C26. Take the shuttle to C26. Flight's not listed on the screen. Ask the agent, who states, "oh, we don't list those until about an hour before the flight."
Huh???
"So why are we supposed to get here two hours early?"
Blank stare.
"Oh, you're at A11."
Great.
Shuttle over to A. Get through the line and then through security. Ahhh, time for some food!
I head to Au Bon Pain.
"May I have an orange juice, large black coffee and a toasted everything bagel with cream cheese?"
"What was that?"
Repeat order.
"would you like orange juice, water or coffee with that?"
Repeat order.
"Oh! I'm sorry, but we only have decaf. We've been so busy that we haven't had a chance to make more. Would you like decaf instead?"
"Uh, no. What's the point of decaf?"
Blank stare.
"Would you like orange juice or water instead?"
Repeat order, minus the coffee.
"Oh, I'm sorry, we only have one plain bagel left."
"Fine. I'll take the plain bagel."
I pay. Wait in line for the bagel before being told that they were mistaken. Someone miscounted and the guy in front of me got the final bagel.
Five minutes later I have my refund and head to (gasp!) McDonald's. Yes, I went to McDonald's. I was hungry and in need of coffee and very desperate.
"Hi, may I have a large black coffee and an egg mcmuffin without any Canadian bacon?"
"A small coffee?"
"No, I would like a large black coffee and an egg McMuffin with no Canadian bacon please."
"Do you want bacon instead?"
"No. I do not want any meat on it."
"Was that a small coffee?"
"No! Large please."
"And would you like room for cream?"
ARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! GET ME OUT OF THIS STATE NOW!!!!!!!
And the worst part? Three days from now I'll be right back here. But at least I get three glorious nights in Phoenix.
Oh yeah, driving past texASS stadium I flipped the birdie the entire time.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Touring the Kremlin
This was taken inside the Kremlin with my camera phone. Many people think that the Kremlin is simply the government buildings, but it's actually the red walled (former) city that houses numerous cathedrals and other museums AND the government buildings.
More later!
Sunday, July 01, 2007
My Top Ten List of the Day
Our top ten reasons to love Moscow ...
10. Beers at sunset on the 24th floor.
8. Healthcare is free and rehab starts right when you get hurt (i.e. get up and go).
7. Gymnasts in the gym and
5. Everyone works but no one does anything (except for wiping the locker room floor at halftime).
4. Lenin’s Tomb Raider ride.
3. More people come out of an elevator than clowns out of a Volkswagen.
2. Where else can you eat snacks out of a shoe?
1. Best drink in the country is cok and who doesn’t like cok?
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Moscow Musings
I went on a run today and saw a little girl, about nine-years-old, squatting behind a bush and peeing.
- People here are pushy. They don’t like to stand in lines, nor are they afraid to cut. You’d better learn to box out or you’ll be the big loser. It probably has something to do with the population, the more people there are, the bigger the need to push your way to the front.
- We found out from our interpreter that nothing in Russia was allowed to be printed in English until about a year or so ago – menus, hotel phone information, etc. We found that interesting. Our doc told her it could mean the slow decline of the Russian language. They’re going to end up getting swept into the English language wave that’s rounding the earth like a tsunami.
- The meal room has quite possible one of the bottom five buffets I’ve ever had. It is a shock to the system after eating so well in France. BUT, the pickles are AWESOME and the soups have been quite good.
- You must pay cash for just about everything. They don’t like to take credit cards – even for hotel restaurant charges. And you can’t charge things to your room.
- The air is dirty. The traffic is the worst I’ve ever seen anywhere. DC, NYC, Southern Cal and Atlanta have absolutely nothing on Moscow.
- There are a ton of Asian tourists in our hotel. They all smoke. A lot. Is Moscow a huge tourist destination for Asians or do they just flock to this hotel?
- Circulation. Forget about it. There is no air circulation at all. Anywhere. Unless you go outside. I’m serious. This is probably why many people smell. You’re just sitting in the lobby and the air is stagnant and you feel yourself getting damp. Simply put: it’s gross. I nearly puked on our bus heading back from practice yesterday because there was no air on and no windows open. That and we were stop and go and it was making me totally nauseated. Ugh.
- The sign in the meal room for the juice is “cok.” Suffice it to say that we’ve been over abusing all the jokes you can imagine with that! Mmmmm, I love the cok. Ellis & Dave? They LOVE the cok. It’s a scene from Jay & Silent Bob.
I think that’s all I have for now. As an aside, you should take a look at the features page for the team I’m currently with. There are some pretty good photo galleries. Oh yeah, when you view the one from Red Square, I need to point out that I gave props to Rudy and the guy doing hand stands was actually our doc doing round-offs in the square. Good times!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Goodbye France ...
June 25, 2007
NOTE: this is what I used to intro the team's blog today. I figured it was close enough for blogging efforts -- I do have to go out one last time and look for little goodies for birthday girls you know! I also have some lovely musings from this week, but will pull them all together on the flight tomorrow and post from MOSCOW!!!!
Well, it’s sad to have to type this, but by this time tomorrow we’ll all be gone from Antibes and the French Riveria. It’s been a fun trip, very productive on the court and the team is beginning to gel. They didn’t look very crisp when we first arrived, but that’s slowly changing and by the time Friday rolls around, they’ll be a well-oiled machine.
Speaking of Friday, Australia is the first team the U.S. will face. Nothing like being tested right from the start. While there are no ‘gimmes’ at this level, it would be nice to dip the toes in the ocean first. But what the heck, jumping right in has its advantages also. Australia, by the way, likes to name their teams and the U21 squad is called the Sapphires. They’re not the only nation that names their team. Much like in soccer, nations around the world have catchy names for their squads. We’ll report on this later after we arrive in Moscow and find the other nicknames.Ok, the Sapphires just won a pre-U21 Worlds tournament in Spain, defeating Brazil 94-77 and China 93-52 before taking the hosts 75-68. They will be a good challenge for the USA on Friday.
After the three-game series against the French, the USA squad scrimmaged a local cadet boys team for the team’s final two-a-day. That was Friday night.
On Saturday we hopped in a bus and headed for a nearby town, Juan des Pins, where we all ate a delicious lunch of salmon or lamb (we had our choice), followed by a couple of hours to spend swimming, reading, walking around ... whatever. During that time a man had what appeared to be a heart attack and our team doctor saved the day. The lifeguards, who I’m sure are very capable and able when it comes to a drowning victim, were out of their league when it came to this. So after a few back and forths, he convinced the lifeguards to let him take over while awaiting the ambulance. He’s our hero.
After that bit of excitement we all boarded the bus once again and drove around the coast a little further to Cannes, home of one of the world’s (Sundance being the other) most famous film festivals. We toured around town a bit, with our bus driver pointing out all the pricey shops and the hotels where all the big stars stay when they’re here.
We were able to get out and walk around a bit to explore the town. All the Gucci, Prada, etc., shops were on the main boulevard that lines the water. All the little kitchy places were a block back. Guess where we shopped?
We then ate at one of the best pizza places in the French Riveria, La Pizza (that means The Pizza for those of you who don’t speak French), and it definitely lived up to its name. What a great way to end the day!
That was followed by a post-practice excursion on Sunday to St. Paul, a little old fortress town built up on top of a nearby mountain. It’s very quaint and rumor has it that Marc Chagall is buried there. It’s a very artsy town with a lot of art galleries and other very $$$ shops. But they also had some “normal people” priced shops to peek into.
After a few hours of shopping and walking the hilly cobblestone streets, it was time to board the bus again. It was time for a siesta, actually! We returned to the hotel and had about 90 minutes before it was time to leave for dinner (I smell a theme here ... eat, practice, eat, tour, eat ).
We were met by the French coach and a former player from Philadelphia who came to play when he was 24 or 25, played for the professional team here until he was about 40 and never left. But who can blame him!? He knows all the Philly guys and I believe he said he played for Jack Ramsey at St. Joe’s. For real.
So, they take us to this wonderful little Italian restaurant that is frequented by all the big stars who come through. Magic Johnson was just there two nights before us and rumor has it that Beyonce and Jay-Z were there the night before us. The restaurant’s name is Michaelangelo and the food and decor would surely have pleased one of the world’s most famous artists.
In a nutshell, we’ve been enjoying the calming sea breezes, the blue sky, warm weather, French cuisine, touring some of the sights, while at the same time getting ready for why we’re really here: the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship (that and to eat, drink and be merry when not working).
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Travel Day Blues ... June 16 & 17
Ahhh, the travel day. Nothing like getting about five hours of sleep, hopping on Flight No. 1 from Colorado Springs and disembarking from Flight No. 4 in Nice, France.Traveling alone has its advantages: no herding cats. It also has its disadvantages: nobody to joke with. But I managed to enjoy myself all the same.
I watched Shooter with Marky-Mark from Denver to Dulles and knew in the first 15 minutes why it was in the theaters for a blink of an eye. It was awful! However, it helped pass the time. My first movie over the pond was Breach, about the FBI spy and his capture - that was pretty good – then I saw the final 15 minutes of Zodiac and during the remainder of the flight I caught 10 minutes here and there. I also watched Catch and Release featuring Kevin Smith. Ok, so Jennifer Garner was the lead, but Kevin Smith rocked. Yeah, boring stuff.
Early on – we’re talking during the boarding process – I managed to get irritated by and summarily piss of some Eastern Euro who was as loud as can be. Traveling with his wife and two kids, he was probably miffed when he boarded since two of the seats were 19E & F (777, 2-5-2 configuration), while his wife and other child were in 20D&E. I was in 19G. He spent about five minutes trying to figure out what to do with his luggage (and wasn’t quiet about it in his native tongue).
Then he sent his younger son through row 20, up one row to 19 and across me to get into seat 19F. Mind you, at this point there is not one other soul in Row 19 OR 20. Why he couldn’t scoot across 19 and not climb over me was a mystery. Then he got his wife and other son settled, scootched his butt across 20, made a lot of noise and commotion trying to get their two large roller bags into the bins, smashing my laptop bag in the process. I stood up and asked him to be careful for other people’s stuff. He then proceeded to climb over me and his son to get into 19E. I’m still confused about all the commotion when he leans over to me and tells me that the bins are for ALL passengers, not just me and my bag was taking up the whole bin (clearly not the case since he got his bag, bigger than mine, in there). I told him with my face that he was an a**hole, but my voice simply said,”all I was saying was that you should be more careful of other people’s belongings.”So I think we’re all settled, right? Wrong.
Somehow, while I had my eyes closed trying to ignore the remainder of the boarding process in my happy place, he managed to talk several people in 19 to move back to 20 – including someone on the other 19 aisle. Then he woke me up and asked me to switch aisle seats with his wife, who was in the left side of my five-seat row.
Huh?
Yeah, he wanted to be near his luggage, which was in the compartment above my head and the one directly behind me.
Alllllllllllrighty then!
At least it gave me a little bit of amusement for a few of the 20ish hours I was traveling.NOTE: These pictures have nothing whatsoever to do with this post. However, the top one is me at the beach by the town of John the Pin Head, locally known as Juan de Pins. The next one is of the waiter we had by the outdoor cafe. We got a kick out of him -- total rocker clothes (80's) in th 80' heat. Hmmm, 80's in the 80's!! The final one you will see the wonderful man-bag. Murse. Whatever you want to call it. It's very functional. The guy got too far away before I could yank out my camera, but there's a Betty Boopish sketch on his bag. The Euros are famous for the man-capris, man-bag and man-sandles. They're all starting to creep their way to LA and probably NYC, which means that by the time it hits Colorado Springs ... WHAT AM I THINKING!?!?!? It'll never fly there.
Off to do whatever it is I do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)