31 May 2009

Last night, Sam and me stayed up till 12 midnight watching back-to-back episodes of CSI NY and the finale was intriguing. T4, this morning, slept till 8am. Feels good to be able to sleep in late without having to worry about school or tennis. Went to FCC with Sam today. Missed it much since we started our church hunting saga. Pastor Bill talked about Home Improvement and how to resolve conflicts the biblical way. How true it is said in Matt 7:1-5 that often times when we are judgmental, we tend not to look at ourselves in the mirror 1st. And I quote:

¹"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

That brought the message home. Am glad to be back at FCC.

After church, went for lunch with Sam. At first we said we'll go to Boston Market coz Ed says that it is a restaurant like Fish Market. But, when we stepped into it, we were shocked to find that it's like a fast food restaurant and nothing like Fish Market. Inside, they had rotisserie chicken in all forms and sizes with the usual salad, soup and sandwiches. Now, that reminded me of Kenny Rogers in Penang. Both Sam and me looked at each other and decided to walk out coz we're not into chicken food today. Then, we decided to go by Marie Callender's and it was a better choice as I had tri-tip steak and Sam had fish and chips. We were greedy and ordered potato skins and french onion soup and by the time the main dish came around, both of us were 70% full already. So, we bagged the leftovers for dinner tonight. Perhaps it'll be another TV marathon....hahaha....

30 May 2009

Went for the 1st day of summer league at Homestead. Sam didn't bowl too well today considering she hasn't been practicing due to her finals this week. She only played once on Friday at lessons with Ty so, was a little rusty. But, considering the lack of practice, she did pretty okay with scores of 185, 173, 193 with an avg of 183. Jennifer McQueen did swell today and helped the team won the 3rd and final game against Matthew's team. We won our match play today, yay!

John, Jennifer's dad also told us the news that Jen is expecting and baby's due Dec 18. We are most happy for her although it's not the most opportune of time. Nevertheless, Jen is a very responsible and mature kid and we will support her in any which way we can. I guess this will be her last summer league with us. It is so sad coz she's such a great team player and we will miss her. But, we wish her well and hope to see her back at the lanes again some time next year after the birth. Good luck Jen, we love you and will miss you.

After bowling, Sam and me went for lunch at Amici's with Sveta/Anna. Then, wanted to go pump gas at Shell at Stevens Creek and saw the price at $2.93 and though it was too expensive. Drove home all the way to White Road only to find to my horror that it costs even more at $2.99. Lesson to be learnt here: Always pump some gas at whatever place 1st and not hope for a cheaper one nearby. Since I was like 11miles away before the gas runs out, I had no choice but to pump $20 worth of gas at $2.99, ouch ouch ouch!

Then, we went to the Evergreen San Jose library for the 1st time, yay! Can you imagine that we wanted to go to the library for the longest time but never found time to do so until now? Anyway, membership sign up was easy as a breeze as it's done online at the library itself. And then we got 2 memberships, one for Sam and one for me. Each time, we can borrow a maximum of 100 books and 10 CDs (movies or songs) and we can have it for 3 weeks and can be renewed up to a max of 12 weeks. Well, for a start, we got ourselves 15 books. So, I guess you can gather what Sam and me will be doing for the rest of this and next week. Now... this is what I call life..... I love summer hols, don't you?

29 May 2009

Was excited coz I will get to try out my Wilson racquet as I am playing singles with Emily today. Had a pretty good hit with it although there were some mis-hits on the dampener. Am going to change the dampener coz I don't like this one. I won my singles game 6-1. The balls doesn't seem to fly everywhere especially my BH and volleys are pretty crisp. Serves are so-so. Didn't get a good hit on it yet. Overall, I would rate this racquet a 6.5. My Prince racquet is more stable and has a more solid feel compared to the Wilson. But hey, can't have it all.

Left the club at 10.20am, went home to get myself pretty and fetched Sam to Valley Fair as she's meeting her friends there. Then, I went to lunch with Ed. Was supposed to eat at Gulzaar but forgot it's a Friday and since the owner is a mamak, he goes for Friday prayers and the restaurant was closed. So, we went to this little hole in the wall mini Italian cafe at Auzerais Ave which is located at an almost slumpish looking side of town. I was a little wary that Ed would recommend this place coz it doesn't look very safe. But, we went anyway and Ed had ravioli while I had spaghetti with meatballs. Food was disappointing although it's been highly recommended by Yelpers. I would give it a 3.5 rating. Not up to my standard...

After lunch, Ed was nice to volunteer to fetch Sam from Valley Fair while I go shop at Costco and Office Depot to buy a corrugated carton box for Ed to take all those stuff back to Pg. Came home at 3.45pm and was happy that I managed to get all my shopping done in good time.

After that, sent Sam to bowling lessons with Ty and then the 3 of us went to Gochi to celebrate the start of summer hols, the end of finals and no school for the next 3 months, yay and Sam's great results. She still maintained her GPA at 4.4 and she obtained 3 A's and 4 A+'s for her finals. Great great job Sam... We're so proud of you...

We were so stuffed after dinner but Ed insist on taking us to Penguin Froyo for Italian gelato. This shop is located in San Jose downtown and I told Ed I couldn't possibly stomach anymore ice-cream as we ate so much at Gochi. We had Aji Tataki mackerel, 1 order of fried crab in daikon sauce, 2 orders of miso soup, 1 yabo tofu, 1 order of ribeye steak and creme brulee as dessert. That was a lot of food for just the 3 of us. But Ed says this ice-cream shop is highly recommended. So, we went and indeed, he was so right. The frozen yogurt was soooooo good and so was the green tea gelato. Sam had raspberry/pineapple yogurt while Ed had pineapple/pomegranate yogurt and I had green tea gelato. Man, were we stuffed by the time we drive back home at 8.20pm. It was a good end to a great day.... Now, I can sleep well tonight.

28 May 2009

Tennis was pretty fun yesterday with Cindy/Taemi/Yodi. Cindy and I partnered together as both of us were in pink. We won easily 6-2. But, in the 2nd set, we lost 2-6 as both of us committed unforced errors at crucial points. Also, Cindy wasn't hitting as hard as she was in the 1st set and started to slow down and be tentative in her shots. And my lobs wasn't good enough. Always being intercepted by Yodi and sometimes my crosscourt shots are not cross court enough. See I told you....there's always lessons to be learnt in every practice/match/tournament. So, tomorrow, Thu, am having lessons with Larry. Gotta ask him to teach me when to poach a weak return of serve coz I am usually too afraid to poach for fear of screwing up. Then, we played a 3rd set and was tied at 3-3.

Went for tennis lesson this morning. There were 6 of us, namely Cuong, Wilson, Mary, Shawn, Manny and myself. Mary came with her face all scarred and I stared at her. I know, I know... it is rude to stare but I just couldn't help it coz I thought she was in an accident or maybe she put on a new sunblock. Well, she noticed my stares and went on to explain that she went for a skin dermabrasion procedure and so, her skin is still raw but she promised she'll look pretty again in a week or 2. Well, she's brave...

After lessons, went on to DHL Tennis to buy my Wilson KBlade Team racquet. Costs me $170 for the racquet alone. Thus far, that's the cheapest quote I've found. The other cheap place was at Fremont Tennis Center but they don't even have it in size 2 (4 1/4") as those on sale at $155 was 2 3/8" which is size 3 and way too big for me. I used the same string ie. Prince Synthetic gut 18 and it costs $6.99 and labor $10. This is a better racquet coz I play so many times a week so much so that my Prince O3 Speedport Black is getting to be way too heavy for my wrist. The Prince was 11.8oz after restringing while Wilson is lighter at 10.8oz.

Went to fetch Sam from school. Today is her last day of finals exam. She had Bible and Biology and the latter was most difficult.

After lunch, Sam and me went out to collect my racquet at DHL Tennis and then head back to Evergreen College to try it out at the public court. Not too bad a feel but since Sam hasn't played tennis for a while, her strokes were very rusty thus, we didn't get much rallies going. Definitely a better racquet for serves as it doesn't feel so strenuous. Hope to try out more when I play with Emily tomorrow morning...... Thanks Ed for allowing me to buy this racquet. I hope it will serve me well.

27 May 2009

Practice session with CH's 3.0W's team was challenging indeed. Partnered with Daisy against Cherub/Michelle and I played horribly coz my right hand was still burning from the chili I cut at lunch so much so, I can't really feel my racquet. I had to blow my palm everytime I pause. Anyway, it was no fun coz Daisy and me don't make a good pairing as we don't communicate. More often than not, I lost the point due to poor communication either on her part or mine. We sucked together. Lost the match 3-6.

Then, partnered Michelle against Cherub/Daisy and this was a better match as Michelle tries very hard and she tries to run for the balls too. Won this match 6-1 but palm was still burning. Didn't enjoy tennis practice at all last night. It was no fun!

This morning, sent Sam to school as she heads into 2nd day of finals. Today is her English Honors and Global Studies exam. She's got 59/60 for her Math exam yesterday. Good job Sam. English was pretty easy she says and Global Studies was a group project and a presentation and that went well coz Sam was stewing over the fact that her group peers didn't work very hard but am glad that in the end, all her hardwork in researching for the presentation paid off.

One more day tomorrow and it's the end of school, yabba dabba doo. Didn't cook today coz there were still leftovers from yesterday. So, am just going to eat simple today. It's a restful day but I have tennis practice with Cindy/Taemi/Yodi tonight at 5.30pm @ CSF. This is my debut practice with Sandy's 3.5W's team. I look forward to playing with more pace compared to last night where I was more in a strolling mood, *LOL*. Watch out for updates tomorrow...

26 May 2009

Went to play ball machine with Emily this morning. Had a pretty good hit at the balls. On the way out, stroked a little with Cecile and Colleen and then headed for home at 11.10am. Wanted to go by Swetka's Tennis to buy my Wilson K-Blade Team racquet (Swetka's selling for US$199 b4 tax). Was already on the exit lane to Hwy 237 West on 880S when I changed my mind last minute. Didn't want to spend another $200 on a racquet coz I've just spent $120 on a haircut. Gotta save $$ and not be so frivolous with my spending. So, went to Ranch 99 to buy groceries instead. But couldn't let the feeling of missing out on the racquet buying go so, I called Swetka's only to find out that they have totally run out of stock on the K-Blade Team racquet. Hey, my conscience was right after all and luckily, I didn't waste a trip all the way there to find out I can't buy any racquet. Would've been frust only then, hahaha.

After Ranch 99, decided to call DHL Tennis if they carry the K-Blade Team too and they did and selling at $170 b4 tax. Unfortunately, no one has it in size 1 (4 1/8"). DHL has it in size 2 which is the 4 1/4" so, I may buy it from them coz that's where I always go to restring my racquet. Perhaps when my string breaks the next time, I'll buy my Wilson racquet. Time to change from Prince as it's getting to be a little heavy esp when I play 5x a week minimally.

Came home and started cooking about 2pm. Am cooking ABC soup, fried sambal kangkung and sweet and sour pork ribs. I have tennis practice with CH's group tonight at 8pm. My friend Emily has just signed up to play for CH's team and it'll be our debut doubles practice tonight. Wish me luck... Hope my stamina holds coz right now, I feel like dropping dead and going to sleep.... zzzzzzz!

25 May 2009

Today is a public holiday being Memorial Day. I tried to sleep in but couldn't. After tossing and turning, finally woke up at 7.24am. Wanted to clean the house but everyone's in the way and Sam's still sleeping like a baby. So, can't vacuum...

Went to clear my mailbox and then took my shower and washed my hair. Ed cooked lunch today. Am I lucky or what coz Ed has been cooking the last 3 days. I am so privileged am I not? We had baby back ribs with bbq sauce, potatoes, clam chowder soup and white wine to make it a complete lunch that's so gooooodddddd, I overate, as usual.

Had a good 1 hour afternoon nap. Must be the white wine doing a job on me. Came in and complete my blog and then after this, going to Costco with Ed coz Jerry wants some vitamins from Costco and so, here I go again.....

As I look back, I have had a great Memorial Day weekend. Hope you have had a good one too....

24 May 2009

We went to the Hillman Memorial Bowling Tournament held at Cloverleaf today. Sam bowled awesomely today and though the team did not win, we had soooooooo much fun. I was the prime cheerleader for the team and screamed my heads off. Ed who was standing next to me nearly went deaf as he had to put his hands over his ears. Couldn't stand the high pitch and the screaming. But, he joined in the fun, smiles and laughter.

This tournament is a great one. The fee is $40 and for all youth bowlers, they get a $50 scholarship award for participation regardless of whether they win or not. But the 1st placed team will win a $1,000 scholarship money. Before this, Sveta has been telling me that we have a strong team and I believed her. Unfortunately, Denise, who is Travis' mom and who's one of the organizer, she hurt her back and couldn't bowl with the team and in her place was George Clavas. There were Anna, Sam, Madison, George and Bobi. Everyone contributed to the team as much as they could but we lost in the end even though Sam bowled her hearts out. She bowled games of 191, 201, 192, 205, 185 and 245 with an average of 205 and total pinfalls of 1228. I think this is her best game ever in any given tournament. I am so proud of her effort. Keep it up Sam.

Then, we came home and Ed cooked dinner. We had bbq-ed chicken wings which was soooooo.... delicious with Ed marinating it in his specially concocted marinade. He also cooked me frog legs and fried kangkung and we ate it all with rice. Yummy..... A perfect end to a perfect weekend. Tomorrow is a holiday and I look forward to sleeping in....

23 May 2009

Today was a restful day as Sam has no bowling league. Winter league ended last Sat and summer league won't start till 30th May 2009. Couldn't sleep in late much to my dismay. Woke up as usual at 6am and washed my hair. 1st time doing it after the haircut so, was apprehensive as to whether I will manage to style it the way Mikel did it. After toiling in the bathroom for an hour, voila! yes, I did it (of course after shower, make up and hairstyling lah).

Sam woke up late and had brunch at 11.30am while Ed and me went to Cha Cha Sushi for lunch and then headed to Costco at Almaden Expressway and we bought a ton of stuff as usual. Then, we went to BevMo as wine was on sale. It's $1 off for every bottle that's from a specially selected vineyard chosen by BevMo. Bought 5 bottles and then we headed home.

For dinner, Ed bbq-ed Morton's TriTrp steak which we bought from Costco. The meat was not as good as a sirloin or ribeye and the marinate is not as good as Fred's. But hey, homecooked food is better than eating out. We also had frog legs sauce as dips for our garlic bread and salad with a dressing sauce made by Ed. It was yummy. Ate too much as usual and watched 3 episodes of Bones and its finale.....Argh.... will Booth lose his memory in the new season? Well, just gotta wait and see.....

22 May 2009

Went to play tennis with the 3.5 ladies this morning. Emily and me gave up our courts so that Terry and Noriko can play but found out early in the morning that they backed out as they felt bad that they kicked us out of the chance to play. So, Emily and me played together with Kam and Taemi and we won our match 6-3. In the 2nd set, we were down 0-2 when Emily had to leave. Then, I went on to see Cecile on Crt 9 to check with her where is the venue for our lunch appointment with the tennis gals at 11.30am to celebrate Li Lin's, Yodi's and Colleen's birthdays all of which falls in the month of May. She said she has decided on Thai food, yay!

After checking with Cecile, I asked her if she knew the reason why Noriko and Terry decided not to come and she said that probably they felt bad intruding and it was not due to the fact that I said or did something wrong. Phew, that was a relief. Then, Cecile and Kam stroked a little with me and we also played 1 set of doubles with Cecile partnering Manny (her hubby) against Kam and me. We won that match 6-2.

As we were walking out, saw Li Lin sitting on the floor clutching her right ankle on court 9. Apparently she landed on her feet and twisted her ankle. There was an announcement over the PA system asking for assistance due to accident on tennis court and they all came over with a pack of ice to help Li out.

When Li left to shower and get her ankle "fixed", Xiao Lu and me stroked for a little while before Cecile returned and packed me off as I am carpooling with her to the Thai Restaurant. We left at 11.25am to Sala Thai which is located at 44800 S Grimmer Blvd in Fremont. It's about 7 mins drive from CSF. We ordered a lot of food and had spring rolls, beef and chicken satay and fried squid as appetizers. For the main dish, we had crispy fish with sweet garlic sauce, fried rice, papaya salad, fried tofu, pad thai noodles and tom yum goong seafood. And the total bill was about $155 without tips shared amongst the 6 of us with the 3 birthday girls getting a treat from us all. What a fun lunch get together that was. I had a blast listening to all the stories we all share with each other from tennis to our everyday lives and holidays etc.

Indeed, as I sleep tonight, I can sleep good knowing that there is life after tennis after all.... Thanks to Cecile for organizing this lunch and here's the photo of us. From L-R: Taemi, Yodi, Kam, Cecile, Daisy, Colleen, Li Lin and me (I look fat in this picture, omg). To all my tennis gals - A big thanks and you're all awesome.

21 May 2009

That's me and my new hairstyle that costs US$120 to cut. Price is inclusive of tips. I had my haircut at Faux Salon over at Campbell Downtown. Hairstylist name is Mikel Valdez. What an odd coincidence that my hairstylist in Penang is also named Michael and over here, it is also Mikel! Mikel is actually quite good but I still think Michael in Pg is thus far the best. I told Michael I wanted a hairstyle that's easy to maintain and he actually specializes in short hair but I told him I don't have time to cut my hair every 2 months coz it grows so fast. But, I think the main reason is, I don't want to fork out $120 every 2 months for a haircut! That's just too much and I am too "kiam siap", hahaha.

20 May 2009

I got up this morning with aches all over my body. "Oh, oh", I thought. Swine flu! Oh no....

I then proceeded to wake Sam up at 6.05am and then went back to sleep coz I have no tennis today as I cancelled on Richard due to blisters on my fingers. Woke up at 8am. Felt much better. Was inspired. Went on to do my own facial. I enjoyed it to see my skin turn radiant and there's a certain glow. If only it will last forever, sigh....

Then, as I was talking with Ed on the phone, just realized that the aches and pains at my back was due to the massage I had on the massage chair on Monday night. The shiatsu massage was just so painful. Thank goodness I turned it to rolling massage as soon as I felt the pain. It was too intense for my liking. Hate to think what my back will look like had I persevered with the shiatsu iso the rolling. It'll probably be black and blue by now. So, no more shiatsu massage from now on... Thank goodness it wasn't flu or swine flu!!!

A friend sent this article to me and it's an interesting read. It's about "How to get your life in rhythm". Go to this link:

Sam didn't want to go for bowling practice as she's obsessed with studying for her finals and having to do 8 pages of her study guide. And she's sucked into reading her year book which she just collected from school today. I gotta go now and get her butt off the chair and chase her upstairs to start on her studying.... A mother's job is never done....

19 May 2009

Sam is auditioning for her school's worship team. She's trying out for vocals as well as keyboardist. Good luck Sam. I hope she makes either one coz it's not quite a good start to audition for vocals when one is having a sore throat.

Sam's staying back at school to finish her homework and then audition for vocals at 4.54pm. She called just now to let me know she won awards in Bible, Math, English and Global Studies at the award ceremony this afternoon. Good job Sam. I am so very proud of your achievements. Couldn't do it without the Lord's blessings so, it's all glory and honor to HIM too.

I had ball machine practice with Emily this morning. Practiced from 10am till 12.10pm. Em left at 11.10am and I continued with volleys and serves. Was exhausted by the time I was through picking up the balls and putting the machines back. Also, my fingers blistered as I changed the overgrip on both my racquets. I guess that happens as I managed to hit many balls than an ordinary doubles game. Oh well, looks like tennis practice with Richard tomorrow may have to take a rain check because of the blisters. Sorry, Richard....bad timing on my part.

18 May 2009

The weather over last weekend was "murder". It was 96 deg F (35dC) in San Jose. Thank goodness I was in Pacifica for Sam's bowling tournament and since it is located near the sea, the temperature was cooler. But, upon reaching home at 6pm, the house felt like an oven. We had to turn on the AC to cool us and the house down. It was nice for an evening walk and Ed and me walked to Sweet Soleil for gelato ice-cream at 8pm. The days are starting to be longer and is quite bright still at 8pm so, it was a nice walk. But the ice-cream, hmmm...nothing to shout about.

Sam told me this morning prior to leaving for school that she's been nominated for the highest honor roll at school and she'll be receiving her awards tomorrow. She says in the entire school, only about 30 students make it to the highest honor roll and I am so proud of her that she's worked very hard to achieve what she sets out to do. Good job Sam.

I went for tennis practice with the 3.0 ladies today. Played with Elizabeth/Michael/Cherub. It was a pretty good day for me. Won the game 6-4 partnering Cherub. Won the game 7-6 partnering Eli and 7-5 partnering Michael. I pity Michael coz he's suffering from knee injury and he could barely run and all due respect to him for hanging in there for 3 sets as we rotate partnership. Thanks Michael for the grit and determination shown.

Then, came home to...what else.....HOUSEKEEPING lah. Aiyah, gotta clean the house. What is Monday without housekeeping? I think my life will fall apart if I don't clean on Mondays! Anyway, I was pretty efficient and actually finish cleaning by 6pm. After dinner, I cleaned both the bathrooms and was in bed by 9.30pm. Whoopee....tomorrow I can rest easy, until the next Monday comes along *LOL*

17 May 2009

Sam had her final Travel League at Sea Bowl, Pacifica today. Her team is in position #6. Her game wasn't too good today as she bowled a 156, 168, 203, 153, 180, 179 with an average of 173. But lane conditions was tough and she was unlucky as she lost 5 out of her 6 matches against Jonathan from Dublin Bowl. Jonathan was scorching the lanes today and though there were some good shots made by Sam, somehow the pins refused to fall. Well, another one of those unlucky days but I told Sam I am proud of her for hanging in there and she tried very hard to beat Jon but just couldn't today. The team won 2 matches out of 6 they played. I think we will probably be at 7th place at the end of the day as today's the final and there will be an awards party which we didn't attend. We just ate our pizzas, drank our sodas and I share a piece of chocolate cake with Sveta and then, we left Sea Bowl at 5.10pm.

Here's the pic of the bowling moms who were so committed to the Travel League. From L-R: Sveta, Anna (she's a bowler, not a mother), me and Jessica (Nicholas' mom). Thanks Ladies for a fun outing every travel league.


In the evening, Ed and me went for an evening walk as the weather is at an all time high of high 90's today and it was so warm to stick around in the house. So, we walked to Sweet Soleil for gelato and back. It was a good walk...

16 May 2009

Today, there's no bowling league as the season is over but we were there for awards and party time. Sam won 2 awards ie. Team participation which pays US$10 and a US$25 award for high scratch series of 694 pinfalls. Her team came in 3rd so, we missed out on the scholarship award very narrowly. Hopefully, the team will do better in the summer league.

Then, I left at 11.10am for CSF as I am playing my 1st 3.0W's doubles tennis for CH's team today at 12.30pm. I am partnering Xiao Lu and we are playing against Castlewood. We won the match 6-4, 6-3. 1st set, we were down 2-4 before I asked Xiao Lu to change strategy and thank God, we bounced back to win that set. It was a tough match and it's quite a challenge coz in the mixed season, I am the vulnerable player but playing a 3.0 match, the role is somewhat reversed as I have to learn how to set up points to get a winner. Boy, do I have lots to learn....

At night, we had a dinner appointment with Sveta and her family at Chef Chu's over in Mountain View at 7pm and the food was really good and we had a nice time chit-chatting and enjoyed the company. It's been a long while since we've gone out and today's a good idea to go out coz the weather is so hot and it was good to be able to wear a sleeveless dress all over again.

15 May 2009

Went for tennis practice with CH's team this morning. Won the 1st set easily partnering Xiao Lu. However, midway through the 2nd set, I felt very weak and couldn't concentrate. Not sure what it is but after the game, was walking out from the court when I felt nauseous. When I reached home, felt weak and just want to sleep. However, sleep did not happen as my eyes won't shut. So, back to the computer to do some work and then went to cook kiam chye thng and fried chicken for lunch. Had lunch watching an episode of Desperate Housewives. The plot's getting more and more interesting.

Went to fetch Sam from school and then she said she doesn't want to go for bowling lessons coz her arm muscles are still hurting due to her swimming at PE. So, she called Ty to cancel. I was more than happy to stay home coz I was so tired, I just want to sleep. Ed is saying that the feeling of lethargy I am experiencing is just the body's way of shutting down the "system" as I have overworked it. I think he has a point. So, I am going to go to bed early tonight so that I get enough rest for my match at 12.30pm tomorrow. Hope I can play my best.

Just want to share with you Sam's poem that got published:

WHEN YOU LEARN

When you learn that Death is waiting around every corner
Waiting to embrace life with his bony fingers;
When you learn that Love is the only thing
That hurts and heals at the same time;
When you learn that Life is unfair
And that it'll trip you up every chance it gets;
When you learn that sometimes friends aren't friends
And that it's wise to keep your enemies close;
When you learn that sometimes you have to hurt loved ones
Just for them to become better people;
When you learn that you can't save everyone
And that Life forces Change whether you like it or not;
When you learn that Faith takes you a long way in life
And that Trust joins it hand in hand;
When you learn that you have to pick yourself up
Especially when you've fallen from a great height
When you learn that you need your family and friends
And you learn that you need God to be in control;
When you, like me, learn that you're still learning
Then you, my dear brother, are on your way to growing up.

Isn't it just beautiful? I love it so much.....

14 May 2009

Went to play tennis this morning and had my 1st debut 3.5W practice with Cecile, Taemi and Christine Pham. Partnered Cecile and lost 8-6 on tiebreak. In the 2nd set, we came back from 2-4 down to win it 6-4. Then, I partnered Christine and played against Taemi/Cecile and we won 5-1 before I had to leave for my lessons with Larry. Today, there were 5 of us for lessons which include Manny, Shawn, Wilson and Cuong.

And I met Rudy on the outside courts. Good to see him again. We talked a little about our loss and I was surprised that he asked me to lie that the racquet hit my eye rather than the ball. At the back of my mind I was thinking, "but that would be lying" and I don't want to win if I have to cheat and lie. But, I didn't comment on it and just said that it's just that we were unlucky that day and moved on.

Then, came home and cook bak liap and fried anchovies with peanuts for lunch. And the kitchen was a real mess by the time I was through with cooking as the oil from the fryer had splattered everywhere. So, it was a lot of cleaning up after that.

Fetch Sam from school and she had a very good day today. Starting from this week, on her A days where PE is concerned, the teacher has decided to let them swim 8 laps. She came home on Tue in her swimming debut by swallowing lots of chlorinated water coz she didn't realize that the pool was 12ft deep, hahaha. So, today, she's more prepared and used the kickboard instead. Then, she was congratulated by her English teacher, Ms Isaacs on her published poem which she submitted for one of the contests. We are unsure if there's a cash prize to be won or just scholarship money or just a name. She'll find out more tomorrow. I am so proud of you Sam, keep up the good work.

Also, she "broke" the grading machine again today in Biology class. She scored a 140% in her exams plus homeworks and extra credits. I told her the grading machine has gone off the radar for now and whatever bell curve there is, it's also gone off the map, hahaha.

OK, so, how am I doing? Not talking too much about tennis anymore right? Well, gotta say some coz my life revolves around it. Can't keep it off me but at least my blog now doesn't have everything tennis, hahaha. Watch out for more news tomorrow.... Adios!

13 May 2009

Last night, went for my 1st 3.0W team practice at CSF with Xiao Lu, Michelle and Daisy. I have a match for the 3.0W team this Sat (5/16) so, I'd better practice hard and not get surprised and lose another match. If I lose another, I wonder how I am going to forgive myself this time. Well, practice went well as Xiao Lu and me won the match 6-3, 6-1 and then we played two super ties and won 10-3, 10-1. Still can't feel the balls on the strings of my racquet. Gotta ask Larry to change that new dampener and put back the old coz the new dampener made the strings feel hard and I don't like the feel of that racquet.

Also, Sam did well in her bowling practice yesterday. Did I tell you that her coach forced her to take off her hand guard last Friday and she now bowls without it and seemed to be better at it than before. I guess Ty knows better and knows when Sam is ready and all credit to him.

Today has been a pretty restful day and I am trying not to talk too much about tennis in my blog. Some of my friends says it's boring coz they don't play tennis and t4, don't know what I am blabbering about. So, from now on, I will try to talk something else outside of tennis. For those of you out there, do give me feedback like my friend Kim Liew just did coz it helps in improving my blog.

Oh, did I tell you that Ed bought solar covers for our swimming pool? Figured that summer's around the corner and we need to get a dip in that pool some time otherwise, it's such a waste to have it in my backyard and never stepped foot into it! How odd isn't it? But to heat it up, the electric bill will hit the roof so, as a back-up plan, solar covers is the way to go around it. Well, Ed installed it all by himself (I am so proud of him) and it's working and functioning and I heard that Sam and Ed actually swam in it last week on Sun. Although the water's cold but it's bearable.

And here's a picture of how hard Ed has worked on it...
And here's more pics of my garden. The beautiful yellow roses and different colors of daisies.


Did I tell you I loved spring? Yes, numerous times and I'll say it over and over again. Oh, how it brightens up my day and my garden. I LOVE YOU SPRING....

12 May 2009

As I sit and ponder this morning about what a failure I am in not being able to close out that tennis match on Sunday when I was up serving 8-5 in the super tiebreak, these words shared with me by my friend Ann from Adelaide resonated in my soul and I'd like to just share it with all of you coz it has helped me to journey through life's ups and downs. At the end of the day, as long as God's holding the steering wheel and HE's on my side, do I need to fear?

So, here's the excerpt from Encouragement for Today @ Crosswalk.com:

"Every time I fail to be the woman God calls me to be, or the woman I expect myself to be, God reminds me of the progress we've made. Because, even though I may not be who I want to be, I am not who I used to be! And I get that much closer to who I am meant to be every time I fail forward."

So, to all of you out there who's beating yourself up over something in life, I hope this will encourage you as much as it had to me. Have a pleasant day.

11 May 2009

Nothing exciting to report today. As with all Mondays, I HATE IT coz it means housekeeping from morning till evening and it's darn tiring. Anyway, I shan't complain coz that means at least I have a roof over my head and not only is it just a roof. It's a BIG roof that requires cleaning the whole day, hahaha.

I went for my tennis lessons this morning with Larry, Shawn, Wilson and Cuong. Unfortunately, I arrived 1/2 an hour late coz I was on the phone talking with Sonia. She was so nice to call me up and inquire about my swollen eye and I told her it's better now today but the eyelid is still swollen although not serious. Then, she went on a question-and-answer session where she asked about every detail of the match I've lost and though it was heartbreaking tell her everything all over again, nevertheless, I know she meant well and so, I obliged. I didn't go for lesson till 11.10am.

After tennis, it was to 99 Ranch to shop for "chup fan" (economy rice) coz I don't think I'll have time to cook. Bought dishes and siu bak home. Fetch Sam from school and then we had late lunch at 3.30pm and then head off to Office Depot to buy ink cartridges and stationeries. Then, it's back to house cleaning till 11pm. Ouch, my back hurts.... Really, age is catching up....

10 May 2009

Here's Al's mixed 7.0 team for 2009.
L-R (Al Marquez, Shawn, Max, Rudy, Judy, Michelle, Chris)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY today. To all of you out there who are privileged to be a mother, here's 3 cheers for you coz I know it's one of the toughest job on earth. So, if you haven't given yourself a pat on your shoulder, you should try doing that now coz you deserve it.

Well, my day started with visiting Gateway City Church which is located not far from FCC. It's a church that's slightly smaller than FCC and their worship service is more suited to our style though the sermon lacks depth compared to Pastor Bill Buchholz. Their youth service is only on twice a month at 11am and it's on the 2nd and 4th week of every month. But the youth cell meets every Wednesdays at 6.30pm. Will have to make more trips there to get a better feel of the church.

Went to PW Market to buy our lunch. I had pasta, watched some tv and then left for tennis at Oakley. Warmed up with Rudy at the basketball gym at Diamond Hills. Our match was on schedule at 4pm. Today is a very windy day with winds gusting at 40mph.

We lost our match today. 6-0, 4-6, 0-1 (8-10 on supertie break). Found out much later that we were cheated of 2 points by the opponents. Cannot understand why people would go to great length to cheat. How can they sleep at night? Lesson #1 to be learnt: Always check with an official when in doubt even if it means interrupting the match. Lesson #2: Always restring racquet before big tournaments like this coz midway through the 2nd set, my racquet strings snapped. As a result, I lost my momentum and feel of the ball on the strings on my new racquet and the new dampener didn't feel as good on it as I haven't "broken" into the racquet yet.

Our team lost 1-2 to Golden Gateway but they are all cheater bugs. When I was watching the match of our 2nd doubles, Shawn served a good serve and the ball was like a foot in but the opponent called it out. Also, there were so many foot faults and nobody called it.

Though we won the last 2 days, everything came to a crux today. I thought that we still had a chance to Sectionals coz the USTA would do a point count but was so disappointed when told by Al that they will instead, have a lucky draw to see who gets to Sectionals. Out of 5 teams in the 2nd place, only 1 team is lucky enough to be selected and Club Sport Fremont just was unlucky today.

We had our chances when we were up 8-5 in the supertie but we couldn't hold on to it. The last point, Rudy was serving 8-9 and the guy opponent, Kevin aimed the ball right at me. I managed to block it but the ball ricocheted off my racquet and hit my eye. As a result, we lost that point even though the ball was a winning shot. My eyes are still swollen from the hit but I must thank God that I managed to block that shot otherwise, it would've landed straight at the socket of my right eye and the consequences would've been more dire if that had happened. As I walk out of court, my right eye won't open and when I tried to open it, everything looked blur and I was so afraid that I would lose my eyesight. I keep telling myself, it's not worth it and prayed very hard. Then, I got some ice to ice it and the swelling came down and I could open my eyes but when I look up, it was uncomfortable. I am just lucky to have come out of that match with my eyesight still intact, hahaha.

All in all, I had fun at Districts. I think I tried my best today although it wasn't good enough to get us the crucial win. I guess that's why I didn't cry post match. We were just unlucky as the wind fouled us up with balls landing slightly out when it would usually be in. Also, my momentum shifted when I changed my racquet. I had 4 double faults today coz the toss was all haywire. And instead of counting points, the USTA changed their rules this year and decided to have that stupid lucky draw to determine who gets to Sectionals.

But, no point griping about it now. I have had my fun, pressure and tension and I think I handled it well. Gotta learn from all my mistakes. I can still sing and God is still good all the time.....Yours truly serving away..... Was it an ace? Of course not, haha!

9 May 2009

Hello again. Are you ready for more tennis news? Well, today's my 2nd District match playing against La Cantera. There was quite a foul-up on the line-ups as our 3rd doubles combination of Max/Judy almost got changed to Al/Judy as Max was stuck in a traffic jam. But, the USTA was kind enough to wait till 12pm for Max to show up. If, by 12pm he doesn't, Al will have to sub for Max and partner Judy. It was literally looking at the clock ticking as Al kept calling Max to find out his whereabouts and whether he's outside at the gate. Well, at 11.55am, Al had to turn in his line-ups and he took the chance that Max will arrive by 12pm and phew! he did. That was a really close call. Anyway, Judy/Max won their match today 6-3, 6-2 while Rudy and me won our match 6-3, 6-4.

In the 1st set, we were down 1-3 but somehow, managed to crawl our way back to win the set 6-3. In the 2nd, a repeat of the 1st except this time, a bigger hole as we were down 1-4 before coming back to take the 2nd set, 6-4. And again, all credit to Rudy for changing the gear on his game and winning those critical points when it mattered most. For me, there were 2 fluke shots that were winners, 1 winning volley shot, 1 down the line shot and nothing great after that. But, I am quite happy that I managed to return a few balls today and my serves were ok (not great yet), had 1 double fault and 1 foot fault called by the official who scared the heck out of me with his stare. If only looks could kill, he would've killed me on the spot. But, I didn't let the official intimidate me and held serve at the point when he was standing there observing the game. Overall, I am quite happy with the outcome.

Our team won 3-0 today so, whoo hoo! Good teamwork and I am glad we made it through. Good job to Shawn/Michelle for taking the super tie 10-6. Tomorrow will be another day @ 4pm. I need more prayers coz I heard the team is the toughest one on the line up. Wish me luck. Gotta continue to have faith in the Lord. God is good, as always...

8 May 2009

Today is D day. My 1st district championship. We are up against the team from Copper River. Had a good and healthy breakfast consisting of oatmeal and then, started on my journey to Oakley. Had a good practice session with Rudy at Deer Valley High School before going to Diamond Hills for our match at 11.30am. Today is a hot day. Temperature in the high 70's, low 80's with a slight breeze at 10-30mph. We (meaning Rudy and me) played on Court 11. Was playing against Julia and Nolan.

Had a banana before my match coz I wanted to have enough energy to see me through the match. Big mistake!!! Never eat before a match coz all the blood goes to the stomach to digest the food and then, the footwork don't work and the hands don't get coordinated. In short, I AM DOOMED. My feet like it weighs a ton during 5 mins warm up session. I just didn't want to move. When the warm-up was over, my heart was palpitating at 100mph and my hands were shivering. This time, not from the cold but from nerves or no blood pumping to my hands!!! Argh... I was a bunch of nerves. And to make matters worse, Rudy told me to serve 1st which I was surprised he allowed me to do so. I prayed that I'll be able to hold and sure enough, I did. Thank you Lord. I didn't quite settle into my game until the 3rd game and then, I started to feel the nerves ebb away and I didn't have to do much as Rudy won most of the points, as always. Thanks Rudy. I only contributed 2 winning volleys. I guess that's good enough to get us a 6-0, 6-3 win. Other than that, I just decorate the court a little but I did try to return as many shots as possible. Did I play my best? Naw.... didn't get to hit the ball as good as I did at practice but hey, I am happy. Shouldn't grumble or complain. Gotta give thanks, lots of thanks. 1 hurdle over, next one is tomorrow @ 12pm against La Cantena. Please remember me in prayer during that time, I need it more than tennis skills alone, hahaha.

7 May 2009

Went out for my tennis lessons with Larry at 10.30am. Had a good time going through the motion of return of serves crosscourt, service motion which Larry fine tuned and it feels good when my timing goes well and volleys/split steps. It was a hot sunny day as we played outdoors and today, I am smart coz I wore my long sleeve white tissue tee under my tennis apparel. And it shielded me from the hot sun and it didn't perturbed me coz at least I won't turn charcoal black just yet.

After lesson, went to Lion Market to buy lotus root coz I wanted to cook soup today. However, to my dismay, no lotus root wor. So, how? I then went to Maxim Market and to my horror, also no lotus root. Finally, I found the frozen cut ones with Japanese words on it. I then asked the grocer whether they have fresh lotus root and he said, there won't be anymore fresh ones as they are out for the season. What? How can lotus root be seasonal? That's peculiar coz back in Malaysia, there's no such thing. So, what to cook next ah? Finally, settled for Daikon. But, Sam hates it and doesn't even want to drink the soup. She said it taste horrible, which I disagree. I guess no more daikon soups in the future :-(

After fetching Sam from school, we went to Walmart for swim wear shopping. That's because next week, their PE routine will be swimming until the end of term. And what a pain it is to look for swim wear for Sam. It's too sexy, it's too tight, it's too loose, it's too revealing, it's not covering enough - that's all the complaints from Sam. By having a godzillion of choices doesn't help either coz they have from bikinis to shorts to 2 pc suit to 1 pc suit. Sam prefers the old fashioned 1 pc suit and when the color is right, the size is not right and vice versa. Oh, it was a hair pulling experience indeed. After trying like 6-7 pairs, Sam still couldn't decide so, I told her let's go to Oakridge Mall instead. Perhaps they have more choices. So, we went to the Target at Oakridge and FINALLY, found a black 1 pc suit that looks good on her. Just about right as not too revealing or sexy. Costs $27.98 - not too pricey so, perfect choice! Bought her goggles and swim cap too. So, there you go - all ready for swimming next week at VCS. It'll be fun...

I am right now a nervous wreck before my match tomorrow at 11.30am. The reason I haven't freaked out yet is because I have Rudy as my partner and I know I can depend on him to cover me, hahaha. Please, if you're out there, please please pray for me for my match. I need GOD. OK, gotta go get my precious sleep now. Good nite. It's 9:54pm and I can barely open my eyes....yawn!

6 May 2009

Today is a fun day as I managed to clear my mailbox and finally have no outstanding emails to reply too. Boy, am I efficient. Worked on the PC till about 12.30pm and then started cooking chicken stew with potatoes and fried cai xin with mushrooms. Had lunch and finished watching Desperate Housewives.

Then, the AT&T personnel called me at 2.45pm just as I was about to go out to fetch Sam from school. She asked if my broadband intermittent downtime was still occurring and I told her yes, it is although the downtime is getting shorter compared to previously when it could be down for about 10-15 mins. So, after what the technician did, it has somewhat improved but the problem is still not fixed. She said she will have to schedule an appointment for the technician to come into my house and check if it's a problem from within. If it is, then, I will have to foot a bill of $60 which is their standard charge per hour. I told her what other alternatives do I have and she suggested that I check to ensure that everyone phone jacks in the house has a DSL filter on it coz that could be the source of the problem. So, I decided that I'd better check that first coz as far as I know, not all my phone jacks has a DSL filter on it. She said ya, to check first and buy filters if necessary and then monitor the situation. If the broadband still kaputts, then, we can schedule another appointment. But, if the problem get fixed, then, no more problems, hahaha.

So, out I went to fetch Sam from school. Came home and remembered that I still do have additional DSL filters in the cupboard. Went to look for it and true enough, I had 3 extras. So, I went upstairs to check all the phone jacks and realized that the only one that doesn't have a DSL filter on it is that in Ed's office. Installed it immediately and so far, this evening, no downtime on the broadband. I am now shouting out in Hallelujah!

At 5.13pm, went out for tennis practice with Al's team at FTC. Rudy didn't come by as he's been playing regularly. Plus, I am not worried about him but about myself. Didn't feel very comfortable with the hit on the balls. Somehow don't feel that connection. Hopefully, it'll get better when I go for lessons with Larry. Partnered Rick against Judy/Max and lost 3-6. Partnered Rick against Al/Michelle and also lost 3-6. Well, I had fun and am quite happy with my return of serves. Hope I'll do well this weekend at Districts....Gotta pray, gotta pray....

5 May 2009

Today was a relatively easy day. Caught up with some emails in the morning and paperwork that's piling up on my desk. Then, took bath and went to Lion Market for grocery shopping. Came back and cooked taucheow steamed seabass and egg flower soup with char choi. Head out to fetch Sam from school and take her for her weekly bowling practice. Bud, the guy from the pro shop came by and taught her how to read the lane conditions and she adjusted well to it after that. Hope Sam learns and knows how to repeat the same winning formula when faced with a similar lane condition in the future.

For me, I dropped her off and then headed to Safeway to buy Belinda's birthday card and was so happy that Safeway had a sale on Haagen-Dazs, $7 for 2 pints but I only pay $6 for 2 pints as I have the Safeway card. Safeway rocks! But, best of all, found my HD green tea ice-cream. So, am getting a double bonus with a good deal and my favorite flavor at the same time.

After that, went to Ranch 99 to buy my soy milk and then headed back to Homestead to fetch Sam. By the way, did I tell you that Sam won her nomination for the position of Secretary for sophomore student council for next year's committee? Well, she ran for it against Natalie who is a very popular cheerleader. Sam told me she won't win coz Natalie is very popular and every year, she wins a position. Unfortunately, this year, luck turned around for Natalie and Sam WON instead, yipee! Sam was so happy. Talk about defining moments, this must be one of it for Sam. Good job Sam and good luck working with the new committee next year...

4 May 2009

Ahhh... finally, a day that I don't have to hurry here there everywhere for tennis. I get to do my housekeeping at my own pace. I am so efficient today. By 7pm, my housekeeping is all done, completed, finished yahoo! I even get to steal an hour to catch up on watching my Desperate Housewives while eating brunch. Sadly though - lunch was froot loops. I know, it's supposed to be breakfast material but when you don't have food and is too lazy to drive out to buy lunch, I grab whatever that's available and eat lor.

While vacuuming, there was a baby centipede on the carpet at the formal living room. The good news is, it is dead. The bad news is, is the mom living anywhere in my house? Scary...

3 May 2009

Ahhh...it's nice to be back home. Seemed like I have left home for a long while when it is actually just a mere 2 days, hahaha. We visited a new church today, about 5 mins drive away from our house. It's called Evergreen Valley Church. Service starts at 9am. They don't have a youth service but the youths meet on every Tuesdays at church in the evenings. Sam's music teacher at Valley plays the keyboard at Evergren Valley Church. They have 2 services - one at 9am and another at 10.45am. Pastor is Tim Wood. This church is relatively smaller than FCC. Can't gauge the congregation size with just one visit but the worship service is more sombre with music choice less contemporary and therefore, more suited to old foggies like us. There are also more older people thus, they are more reserved than chirpy or outgoing. Would we go back there again? Don't know yet for now but definitely won't close the doors just yet. We will be going out to try a couple more churches and pray for the Lord's leading to bring us to one that we can join in as a family and serve as well.

After church, we went to Costco to do some shopping and had lunch there. I had a piece of pizza, Ed had polish dog and Sam had beef hot dog. We had 2 sodas and 1 smoothie and bill came to $7.04 - cheap hor? Ed bought a Sony DVD today that costs $64.99 coz the Philips that we brought from Malaysia can't be used as the system is not compatible (Pal vs VHS) and DVDs that we want to watch is all in black and white, hahaha.

Then, we came home and later at 1.30pm, went out to Golfsmith to buy Belinda's birthday present. Her birthday is this coming Sun, 5/10 so, wanted to get her something special. But as luck would have it, can't find anything nice. Not sure what the designers at Nike or Adidas are doing coz their current designs are all so bleah....In the end, settled for a gift card instead. That way is safer coz if I were to get her an apparel, not sure if the sizing will fit.

Sam and me tried on a couple of apparels at Golfsmith but I told Sam I have an additional 25% at tenniswarehouse.com so, don't buy there. Just try the clothes for size. When we came home, found out that, tenniswarehouse.com don't sell the same thing at Golfsmith esp the tops. So, in the end, the trip to Golfsmith is yet again, another one in futility. I really should stop going there coz everytime I am there, I always walk out empty handed, grrrr...

2 May 2009

Guess what? Yes, match got rained out today too. I woke up at 5.45am today and as I peeped out the window, the weather doesn't look too promising as it's all so cloudy. But still, we need to show up by 8am so, to the cafe for breakfast I went. We left at 7.30am for Diamond Hills SC. Managed to squeeze in some warm-ups with Rudy, Shawn and Nam. Then, it started to drizzle. Doesn't look good. We still continued to warm-up in the drizzle and the lines on the court are slippery when wet. I almost slipped running for one of Rudy's shots. After that, I tried to stay away from the lines. Al came along and started calling us to get off the court as he doesn't want us to get injured by any fall whatsoever. We are a stubborn lot and we continued playing, hahaha. Finally, when the whole court was wet, I stopped and watched as Shawn was serving and Rudy was returning. Then, the USTA official came along and chased us out. We had no choice but to stop. I like the courts coz the bounce is slower and it is more geared towards my type of game as I have more time to set up my shots.

So, to the waiting lounge we went. Watched the match between Federer/Djokovic which resulted in Federer being dethroned (again? Is he losing his finesse/mastery?Hmmm...). Then, watched the match between Nadal and Gonzalez. Obviously, Nadal won pretty easily. At the rate he's going, doesn't look like anyone can dethrone him on clay. He's very solid and make Gonzalez look like an amateur. It's no wonder he is #1 for now.

At 9.10am, the USTA official came around and announced that the entire tournament has been postponed to next week as it doesn't look like play can resume at all with the rain. I was relieved that they made the decision quickly and we can all go home and life can move on. No fun to sit around and do nothing although I must say, the last 2 days have been stress free and I could finally have some "me-time" to catch up on my reading and emails etc. Al fetched me back to the hotel, I checked out. 2 nights accom came to US$116 nett. Started on my journey home at 10am. Reached home around 11.20am. Started to unpack and my new Reebok tennis dress arrived already and I tried it on. Hmmm...look nice.

Then, went out for lunch with Ed to Cha Cha Sushi. The waitress was very nice and gave complimentary green tea ice cream to Sam even though she didn't ordered it. Also, let us try on the house, the spicy mussels as starters and it was pretty yummy. Lunch came to $52 with tax.

Came home, nap a little as yesterday night, didn't sleep too well either as I woke up at 1.42am to noises outside my room where I can hear people chatting away. These people are just so inconsiderate, grrr!!!

It feels good to be home as I missed Ed and Sam so much. Sam had a good day at bowling today scoring lines of 222, 199 and 215 with a 600 series of 636 and average of 212. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this momentum is going to go on as she looks good and did not throw any tantrums as reported by Ed. Keep it up Sam.

Oh..oh and before I forget, did I tell you that Sam won her secretarial position in the Sophomore student council. She was up against this cheerleader, Natalie, who's very popular in her school and Sam didn't expect to win. But, praise God, her impromptu speech went very well and her classmates all supported her with their cheers while Natalie didn't do too well at both. She didn't find out till after 5pm on Friday and when she called me, she was so hysterically happy that she did it. Good job Sam, I am so proud of you. Way to go.... I hope that as you become the Secretary, you will contribute well and give God all the glory and honor.

1 May 2009

Blessed Anniversary Khin Mien. I thank God everyday for a wonderful 17 years of marriage. We've gone through smooth patches and we've gone through rough edges. Through it all, you've been my best friend, my lover, my confidante, my listener, my punching bag and the best dad to Sam. Thanks alone is not enough. Just know that I look forward to many more years of journeying together with you. I love you very much....

I want to praise God for journey mercies as I drove for 1h22m to Antioch and arrived safely and on time at 8.15pm. Checked into the hotel. Am in Room 114. I also want to praise God that the AT&T technician came at 1pm yesterday thus, reducing my stress level coz, had he come between 2.30-3.30pm, I won't be at home as I will be out fetching Sam from school and to Dr Tran's and that would've been disastrous and we have to schedule another appointment. But God heard all my grumblings as I vent it all out on my blog. I told him the issues we have with our internet connection as it's very unstable especially in the evening hours. He checked and reverted that we have many wires in the telephone box thus, causing interference and he has put a splitter in there thus, eliminating the problem. I thanked him profusely. Phew, at least now I can rest easy knowing that the problem is fixed.

Did I get a good night's sleep in Ramada last night? Well, couldn't sleep till about 11.30pm. Just as I was about to nod off, I heard voices saying "I am not drunk" outside my room. Then, there was banging on the wall and the door next to my room. How inconsiderate of them. That jolted me from my slumber. Someone tried to hush the drunkard but I was too tired to get up to kay poh. Don't want to get into trouble with anyone here in Antioch as it's not the safest place on earth! Went back to sleep. Woke up many times at 3am, 5am and finally, got out of bed at 6.45am.

After continental breakfast at the cafe, Al and me headed off to Deer Valley High School for practice. Managed to locate it with no problem at all. While Al was calling on the others in our team to check on how their commute was coming along, I went out to practice some serves. After serving 3 balls, it started to drizzle and then, it got heavier and heavier. That was all I could play. 3 shots. How miserable as very soon, the entire court was wet and I had to run back to the car.

Then, we headed off to Diamond Hill Sports Club at Oakley. Oooohhhh.... this is a beautiful club and it's the best I've ever seen. They have 17 blue outdoor courts and their standards and quality outclassed that of Club Sport for sure.

Al checked in and got his captain's package. He handed me my tee shirt and a lapel pin that says "Local Champion." Oooh...what a privilege to feel that way, hahaha.
As we walked around and try to get our bearings, I can see everyone there talking and resting and some were practicing their volleys in the basketball courts. Everyone had to wait for the rain delay.

Finally, Rudy came along and so did Shawn. We stuck around for a while seeing if play will resume. I pity those guys who have to dry the courts as they have quite a job on their hands. With 17 courts to dry out, that's a lot of work. Finally, stomach beckons us to go out for lunch coz we were informed that for now, play is delayed for 1 hour. That means, our play at 1pm will be delayed till 2pm. So, out to lunch we went to this place called the Black Bear Diner. I had turkey sandwich with mashed potato and lemonade. Lunch cost $15.

Midway through lunch, Michelle called Al to inform that the organizers have just announced that play is cancelled for the day. So, after lunch, we headed back to the sports club and I managed to watch some tennis on TV - Gonzalez vs Monaco. It was tied at 1-1 with Monaco winning the 1st 6-2 and Gonzalez coming back to take the 2nd 6-3. When I was watching, they were tied at 3 a piece. Hopefully, Gonzalez gets through but Monaco was playing a pretty solid game there.

So, back to the hotel we went. Tried to take a nap at 3.45pm but sleep was interrupted by phone calls. Finally managed to catch 1/2 an hour's nap after 4.15pm when I switched off my phone. Woke up and Al called to say that Michelle, Rudy and Linda are in his room and asked if I wanted to join them. Al also asked me to check the status of the USTA announcements for tomorrow's match. I went to the norcalusta website to check and found out that tomorrow, we have our 8.30am match as usual at Diamond Hills SC at 1510 Neroly Road and have to play another at 3.30pm at Freedom High School at 1050 Neroly Road as made-up match for the rain out yesterday. Right now, doesn't look too promising as I just checked the weather channel and it looks like rain again although it is anticipated to be from 3pm onwards till Sun noon time. So, hopefully, we can get our 8.30am match underway.

After that, went to join Al and my teammates and chatted a bit. Went out for dinner at Outback Steak House across the road from Ramada. I had clam chowder, caesar salad and a 7oz steak for dinner. That was quite a portion. Except for the steak, can't finish the soup or salad. That costs me US$25 per person.

After dinner, sat around and watched Prison Break and played with Rudy's chihuahua, Niu Niu and then I went back to my room at 9.15pm and took my shower and hit the sack. It's another long day tomorrow....