I actually went to Institute last night. Yeah, that's right, me...moi...yo...I. I even received a text from someone just before class started, and when I told her where I was her response was "which one? class? who bribed u? this isn't the ej freelove i know going to institute." Yeah, for some reason I've always had this beef with wanting to attend institute.
Actually, it was mostly the fact that I have always felt uncomfortable at the institute building downtown. I have been working to overcome this and have done so by preparing for the lesson every week, regardless if I go or not. The Institute director, has been sending out an email with a link to the talk that will be discussed, and I have done my best to read it and be prepared, just in case I manage to make it to class. There have been times where I have actually been driving and about to turn on the street, and have received a phone call that led me away.
Last night, I actually made it and stayed until eight. I got a phone call that helped me to decide that it was time to depart. But that's not the point. I went to Institute, and not only that, but I was prepared and read the talk ahead of time. I have been making the goal to participate at least once during a lesson to be supportive of the teacher. I try not to force, but follow the Spirit and share when prompted, but when you're prepared, you can almost always feel prompted to participate. It's been very rewarding to prepare for the class even if I don't go, and last night was good for me.
I played tennis twice yesterday, once by myself (or with the Tennis Twist), and once with my friend, Brian. He called at the end of Institute, so we met up to play. I really needed to drill yesterday, so working with the Twist was good for me. I still need a lot of work on my backhand and such, but it is coming along. Brian and I played at Wallenberg park until the lights went off at 1015. It was way fun and I totally lost track of the time.
We did the usual warm up of serves, played a set, then just hit around and kind of did this progressive hitting thing. Usually, you do a similar thing to warm up, but we kind of did it a bit differently, but building up the intensity. He's improving rather quickly, and it's great to see! I need some competition to help get me ready for the season!
I must confess...as I was leaving the club yesterday, Ken (the Club Pro), stopped me in the parking lot and chit chatted a bit as he was driving away. It kind of stroked my little tennis ego a bit, that fact that he had observed me drilling over in my little corner of the club. =)
ej
31 July 2008
29 July 2008
Matt finally has a girlfriend!!!
Finally, after having to push the kid out the door, he has managed to find himself a girl! For about a week and a half, he has been moping around about this girl, and they finally made it "official" last night. He was so excited, that he promptly changed his relationship status on his Facebook. Sigh...he is a funny kid!
For the record, I had the great pleasure of finding out about the official hook up from the horse's mouth. As I had been in my peaceful slumber, I receive a call at 1151 last night. May I just say, that because I have been so tired, I was in bed by about 830, which is quite rare, so when he asked "Were you sleeping?" I promptly responded "of course not!" So, he came by beaming, and grinning from ear to ear. As I struggled to appear awake and alert, his lady called and he begins talking to her. Feeling a little peeved that I was woken from my normally limited sleeping time, only to have the boy show up and talk on the phone with his girl, I did my best to conceal my irritation, as I knew he was super excited to share his news. I went to the laundry room to fold my clothes in the dryer, and then to my room to put them away, rather than adding to the already huge pile of clean clothes still sitting on top of my massage table.
As we finally made our way to the garage to put on a movie and chat, he grinned and put his arms in the air in triumph! I thought this might be the beginning of less time spent with Matt, but it seems he is determined to have have two women in his life...the girl, and me. The girl he makes out with and talks to about who knows what, and me, the woman he shares his woes with, and does sports with and helps him pick out more stylish clothing. I'm not sure he gets that I won't be around all the time to fulfill his need for that sort of companionship, but I've already told him, so it's his own denial. I blame myself for his dependency on me, but have drawn the line and work hard to enforce that boundary.
He is excited though, to introduce me to her tonight at tennis. In fact, we have changed tennis night from tomorrow to today. I am certain I will want to slap her in the face by the end of the night, since all his little girls he is into are always so annoying, but it is his girl, so I will be cordial. I actually had to tell him to stop introducing me to every single floozy he makes out with, or dates once or twice, and to just introduce me to the one's he actually is dating and so I don't wear myself out. I only have so much tolerance for the girls, and my civility towards them is limited as well.
I am still in need of unpacking all my crap in the garage, but struggle to figure out where to put it all. I may have to just throw a bunch of my food away, as there doesn't seem to be any room in our kitchen, and Tia still has boxes of stuff waiting to be unpacked.
I guess for me, first things first! I finally got a bed, but it still sits in the garage. That will be today's effort as I wait for tennis to begin. As soon as my room is picked up, I can move my love seat and get rid of my existing sleeping mat to make room for the bed. Not only do I have a bed now, but I also bought real pillows. They are even of a decent quality. I must admit, since I bought the pillows, my sleep has improved dramatically. Who knew??? No more two dollar pillows for this girl!!!
ej
For the record, I had the great pleasure of finding out about the official hook up from the horse's mouth. As I had been in my peaceful slumber, I receive a call at 1151 last night. May I just say, that because I have been so tired, I was in bed by about 830, which is quite rare, so when he asked "Were you sleeping?" I promptly responded "of course not!" So, he came by beaming, and grinning from ear to ear. As I struggled to appear awake and alert, his lady called and he begins talking to her. Feeling a little peeved that I was woken from my normally limited sleeping time, only to have the boy show up and talk on the phone with his girl, I did my best to conceal my irritation, as I knew he was super excited to share his news. I went to the laundry room to fold my clothes in the dryer, and then to my room to put them away, rather than adding to the already huge pile of clean clothes still sitting on top of my massage table.
As we finally made our way to the garage to put on a movie and chat, he grinned and put his arms in the air in triumph! I thought this might be the beginning of less time spent with Matt, but it seems he is determined to have have two women in his life...the girl, and me. The girl he makes out with and talks to about who knows what, and me, the woman he shares his woes with, and does sports with and helps him pick out more stylish clothing. I'm not sure he gets that I won't be around all the time to fulfill his need for that sort of companionship, but I've already told him, so it's his own denial. I blame myself for his dependency on me, but have drawn the line and work hard to enforce that boundary.
He is excited though, to introduce me to her tonight at tennis. In fact, we have changed tennis night from tomorrow to today. I am certain I will want to slap her in the face by the end of the night, since all his little girls he is into are always so annoying, but it is his girl, so I will be cordial. I actually had to tell him to stop introducing me to every single floozy he makes out with, or dates once or twice, and to just introduce me to the one's he actually is dating and so I don't wear myself out. I only have so much tolerance for the girls, and my civility towards them is limited as well.
I am still in need of unpacking all my crap in the garage, but struggle to figure out where to put it all. I may have to just throw a bunch of my food away, as there doesn't seem to be any room in our kitchen, and Tia still has boxes of stuff waiting to be unpacked.
I guess for me, first things first! I finally got a bed, but it still sits in the garage. That will be today's effort as I wait for tennis to begin. As soon as my room is picked up, I can move my love seat and get rid of my existing sleeping mat to make room for the bed. Not only do I have a bed now, but I also bought real pillows. They are even of a decent quality. I must admit, since I bought the pillows, my sleep has improved dramatically. Who knew??? No more two dollar pillows for this girl!!!
ej
21 July 2008
Earlyl Morning Tennis
Well, I was up at 0330 because I was so excited about playing some early morning tennis. However, my friend wasn't due to be at my house until 0515. When he got there, we drove over to the park and warmed up in the the very faint light. It was nice to start off slow and warm up.
We hit some serves, and when the light improved we rallied a bit. When he was ready, we played a set. He gave me a run for me money a few times, and we finished a set just in time for me to have time to get ready for work. I had a lot of fun. I was excited to play, and it just added a little something to my morning, and was way different that the usual almost mundane flow I can get caught up in.
My friend really cracks me up though. He said the first half hour of playing was like being in a dream. I told him that I hoped it was not a nightmare, but a better dream. He did warn me that he would be a little slow getting going, heh! We'll see if he ever decides to do it again. Good times though.
ej
We hit some serves, and when the light improved we rallied a bit. When he was ready, we played a set. He gave me a run for me money a few times, and we finished a set just in time for me to have time to get ready for work. I had a lot of fun. I was excited to play, and it just added a little something to my morning, and was way different that the usual almost mundane flow I can get caught up in.
My friend really cracks me up though. He said the first half hour of playing was like being in a dream. I told him that I hoped it was not a nightmare, but a better dream. He did warn me that he would be a little slow getting going, heh! We'll see if he ever decides to do it again. Good times though.
ej
16 July 2008
The Police
My friend Matt and I attended the Elvis Costello/The Police concert on Monday night. Matt is a huge Costello fan, and I was going for moral support. Man oh man!!! Sting (and the rest of the band - Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers) are amazing live! Sting's voice is so cotton picking good live, and Stewart Copeland is such an amazing percussionist/drummer. Andy Summers is great too, but I must admit, I'm a bit more partial to the drummer! HEH!
I was tired and still recovering from my weekend food poisoning experience, and I had a headache, and bad pain in the neck, literally, but halfway through the Police set, the meds kicked in and I was golden! They were a lot of fun to see live.
As far as my "wonderful" Saturday, it was a very full day. I played a set of tennis with David. We played very casually, and i lost 6-7(5). It was a lot of fun though. Afterwards, I went to lunch with my Visiting Teaching group and managed to eat something that made me very sick. By the time I got home, my head hurt, and my stomach was very unhappy. I still decided that I should go to tennis practice.
Upon arriving, I had considered the fact that I may be suffering from some mild food poisoning. I survived the experience, amid a few bathroom breaks, I played and had a "good" time. It was fun to meet Virginia (72 year old woman who plays very well), Shashi (really nice Indian lady in her late 30s), and Julie (also in her late 30s). We played for well over an hour, in fact, I have no idea how long, since I was puking my guts out half the time.
Tonight is tennis group, and I am very excited about it! We will have a new face among us, and I hope he likes it and decides to stay. He seems like a nice bloke, and having new people join us is always a lot of fun.
ej
I was tired and still recovering from my weekend food poisoning experience, and I had a headache, and bad pain in the neck, literally, but halfway through the Police set, the meds kicked in and I was golden! They were a lot of fun to see live.
As far as my "wonderful" Saturday, it was a very full day. I played a set of tennis with David. We played very casually, and i lost 6-7(5). It was a lot of fun though. Afterwards, I went to lunch with my Visiting Teaching group and managed to eat something that made me very sick. By the time I got home, my head hurt, and my stomach was very unhappy. I still decided that I should go to tennis practice.
Upon arriving, I had considered the fact that I may be suffering from some mild food poisoning. I survived the experience, amid a few bathroom breaks, I played and had a "good" time. It was fun to meet Virginia (72 year old woman who plays very well), Shashi (really nice Indian lady in her late 30s), and Julie (also in her late 30s). We played for well over an hour, in fact, I have no idea how long, since I was puking my guts out half the time.
Tonight is tennis group, and I am very excited about it! We will have a new face among us, and I hope he likes it and decides to stay. He seems like a nice bloke, and having new people join us is always a lot of fun.
ej
01 July 2008
A late night...
Well, Tia and Family are off for a three day vacation to Disneyland, and I have the place to myself. I am excited to enjoy their bed while they are gone, as I have not slept on a good old fashioned bed in a long time. I am looking forward to my five hour slumber in about five minutes from now.
Matt just left after doing a walk through of the house, since I am to be sleeping here alone, he wanted to make sure all was well and that the doors were actually locked. We don't usually lock doors around these parts, but since I am alone, we made sure everything was secured. Matt and I haven't really spent much time together since we had our little fall out, but we have spent a few evenings "hanging out" and they have been pretty superficial, until tonight.
He came up to me on Sunday after not hearing a peep from him for a few days, and wanted to "hang" so I made an effort to reciprocate. I have found, that being "normal" friends has been difficult for us to master at this point in time. Not sure if we are going to be able to normal friends, but we are making the effort. Tonight, we actually engaged in a meaningful conversation, and I found it to be quite refreshing to veer from our most recent set of social exchanges. We are still keeping a friend profile, for the most part, so that is good.
I find myself feeling resolved in where I want to be spiritually, emotionally, socially, and professionally.
I engaged in pleasant conversation with John today during the day, and despite the smashing of my driver side rear window, the day was somewhat spectacular in it's events. I got quite a bit of my work done, I have plenty to do tomorrow, and I went for an interview for a job where my wages would be $25 per hour, working as an independent contractor for a Chiropractic office (which I am planning on declining), played a set of tennis (and won), and had the wonderful opportunity to be at FHE for the spiritual thought, and destroy Matt in Farkel. It has been a fun and full day, so I hope that I can repeat this tomorrow, as I have another interview, tennis clinic, and then volleyball at Allendale building.
As I am falling asleep at the computer, I will bid you all farwell.
ej
Matt just left after doing a walk through of the house, since I am to be sleeping here alone, he wanted to make sure all was well and that the doors were actually locked. We don't usually lock doors around these parts, but since I am alone, we made sure everything was secured. Matt and I haven't really spent much time together since we had our little fall out, but we have spent a few evenings "hanging out" and they have been pretty superficial, until tonight.
He came up to me on Sunday after not hearing a peep from him for a few days, and wanted to "hang" so I made an effort to reciprocate. I have found, that being "normal" friends has been difficult for us to master at this point in time. Not sure if we are going to be able to normal friends, but we are making the effort. Tonight, we actually engaged in a meaningful conversation, and I found it to be quite refreshing to veer from our most recent set of social exchanges. We are still keeping a friend profile, for the most part, so that is good.
I find myself feeling resolved in where I want to be spiritually, emotionally, socially, and professionally.
I engaged in pleasant conversation with John today during the day, and despite the smashing of my driver side rear window, the day was somewhat spectacular in it's events. I got quite a bit of my work done, I have plenty to do tomorrow, and I went for an interview for a job where my wages would be $25 per hour, working as an independent contractor for a Chiropractic office (which I am planning on declining), played a set of tennis (and won), and had the wonderful opportunity to be at FHE for the spiritual thought, and destroy Matt in Farkel. It has been a fun and full day, so I hope that I can repeat this tomorrow, as I have another interview, tennis clinic, and then volleyball at Allendale building.
As I am falling asleep at the computer, I will bid you all farwell.
ej
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