if i had a nickel for every time someone’s said “you bought an $800 bike? wow, i hope you like bike riding…”
anyway. i had a nice weekend. saturday was busy, with sailing class, getting my toes painted (hee hee), going to the driving range, a 107 early sightings team wrap-up bbq, and a movie. cari, becca and i went to see “bend it like beckham,” a british movie about an indian girl who wants to play soccer/football. karen saw it a while ago and recommended it, and i’ve been wanting to see it ever since, and it finally made it to the cinemark. it was great; i highly recommend it.
so, i think i mentioned last week that i’ve joined a women’s soccer team, and last night was the second game i’ve been able to play in. the mix of people on the team is really amusing/interesting to me. half the team is in the mid-20s to late 30s, and have full-time jobs, kids, etc. the other half are 19 and 20 years old, just graduated from high school, working as waitresses and attending one of the local community colleges. they’re not the most intelligent girls in the world, but they’re good soccer players, and that’s all i care about. except for one.
there is one girl who’s 19, but with the attitude of an 8-year-old. now, we have two goalies on our team: megan, who is about 5 feet tall, and april with the attitude problem, who is about 5-foot-10. april is the tallest person on our team, which makes her a good candidate to play goalie. and she volunteered to play goalie for half of each game. despite this fact, she doesn’t like playing in goal, and literally pouts if she’s asked to play there. she is the most unenthusiastic, apathetic soccer player i’ve ever seen. she doesn’t leave the goal line, not even to run out and smother the ball to prevent a goal. she doesn’t use her hands half the time, trying instead to just block shots with her foot. when she does use her hands, she drops the ball.
last night we lost 4-0. two of those goals were scored when 1) april didn’t run out to get the ball when she had the distance advantage, instead letting a forward from the other team take her one-on-one (one-on-one, the forward is much more likely to win) and 2) april had the ball in her hands and dropped it, to let it dribble over the goal line. ARGH!! it was so incredibly frustrating.
she’s just really unenthusiastic, and she’s even been overheard saying “well i don’t play very hard, because i don’t like the rest of the team.” she also doesn’t run. who’s ever heard of a soccer player that doesn’t run?!? it’s absurd. anyway. that’s my frustration.
the rest of the team is amusing though. the team we played last night had a few physical players, and my team complained a lot about them. it’s funny; i know i complain a lot about work and stuff, but i don’t tend to complain about sports. if someone’s playing me rough, i just play rough back. that’s one thing i think makes me a decent soccer player–i’m not afraid to run into someone trying to get the ball. i’m not afraid to get hit.
last night i took a ball hard on the thigh, and have a nice red spot there even this morning. i also took a ball to the face. that one was unintentional, the thigh block wasn’t. 😉
i got the newest outside magazine on saturday, and it rocks. there’s an article about lance armstrong, who i am totally obsessed with, and there’s an article about becoming a mountain climber that lists the top ten climbs in north america, starting with beginner and going to expert. the final climb is mount mckinley, but the first climb is one i’ve already done–half dome!! the second climb is long’s peak in colorado, which gavin has done before, so we may try to do that next summer. fun.
lunchtime.
