Oh my gosh, it's another new month and 5 months of 2009 have passed. This is scary. Where did all my time go? Hmm... I guess at the tennis courts, hahaha!
Anyway, today is housekeeping day. What a drag but then, I woke up this morning feeling very gung-ho about clearing up the mess in Sam's room where she has cleared her locker at VCHS and brought back a ton of stuff and it has littered the floor of her room. But, she was nice and stayed till midnight last night, clearing away all the unwanted papers and rubbish and finally, I can see the floor again and some space on her desk. Started cleaning around 9.30am and was busy watching and catching glimpses of the French Open at the same time. Didn't finish housekeeping till about 4.30pm. Then, took my shower and got ready for my tennis match at CSP.
Was told that this team, Blue Angels they are called, is the #1 leader in the playoffs standing. So, I was getting myself ready to be whopped. Had to help CH out coz my conscience was pricking me the entire weekend coz I had refused to play for them even though I was quite available. Kept giving CH excuses like: I hate the lighting at CSP, I don't like the ball bounce, I don't like playing at night and not wanting to leave Sam at home by herself at night. By Sunday, got an email from Phyllis saying that they are throwing away the #1doubles match and hoping that their #2 and #3 doubles will have a better pairing and win. So, I emailed Emily and asked if she'd like to play the #1D since I think we make quite a good pair and we have nothing to lose since they are going to throw that match away anyway. And, Emily agreed. So, I emailed CH and told him of our intentions but along the way, things worked out and the team managed to get all their better 3.0 players and Emily was outvoted and they put me in the #2D partnering Phyllis. Since I opened my mouth, couldn't wriggle out anymore so, I relented and told them I'll be at CSP by 8pm tonight to play.
Left the house at 6.15pm and reached there in good time. Went to the practice courts outside to warm up and guess what? Michelle was stroking with me from the baseline and she hit a ball to me and I managed to block it with my racquet but the ball ricocheted and hit me this time in my left eye. Ouch, it was painful and my eye started tearing and all. Same like what happened in Oakley except this one is a little less painful. Tried to recover but my eye just couldn't stay open. So, I stopped warming up. Went to the lounge and the tennis coordinator was kind enough to get me some ice and that helped a lot. By the time everyone in the team finished warming up and was in the lounge, I was feeling and seeing much better. Thank goodness that I could recover on time to play. During the 5 mins warm-up session, tried to do some overheads but it hurts when I look up and I didn't hit too well but, I tried to keep a positive outlook and not be too concerned about the eye issue.
Match started promptly at 8.05pm and we were on court #4. We won the 1st set 6-4 and we were up against Susan/Mary and was told by Phyllis that this is their strongest pair out of the 3 doubles. In the 2nd set, we were up 4-1, only to lose it all coz midway, I felt hungry and couldn't concentrate (I think that must be due to me eating too early a dinner at 5.30pm) and my body literally shut down on me. I think that was because the whole day, I hadn't rested and was busy doing housekeeping and now playing tennis, the body is retaliating and refused to cooperate. As a result, the footwork went to sleep and I really don't feel like running, much less play tennis. So, it wasn't surprising that we lost the 2nd 4-6. I managed to grab an energy bar at changeover and I think that helped a little coz we won the super tiebreak 10-2. And the team won 3-2 in all the doubles and lost in the 2 singles match. But, it's a good win considering we were all preparing to lose in the 1st place.
Somehow, looking back at retrospect, I think the ball-hit-the-eye incident was kind of a blessing in disguise coz perhaps the Lord wants to take my mind off about the court conditions which I don't like. With an eye injury, I was concerned about the eye recovering quickly and never at any one time, thought about court conditions. As a result, I didn't let the conditions deter my attention and focus and I think that's why we won our match. And I do thank God for the "slight injury" now but of course, do not want this to happen again. Very soon I may have to wear eye protective gear to avoid a further occurrence. I may not be so lucky all the time.... But, again, it's all glory to God for the win over CSP. Couldn't have done it without God's help and thanks to Phyllis for being such a good sport and support as a partner.
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