30 August - 12 September 2009

After the inital hype of school starting on Aug 24, Sam's beginning to feel the heat of being loaded with so much homework and was finding it hard to cope with all the new subjects she's taking. I think it's more the routine of getting back to hardwork coz the 3 months of summer hols has somewhat spoilt the momentum. Go Sam go! Jia Yu...

Looking forward to Labor Day weekend where we will have 3 days off from work and school from 5-7 Sept. Not doing much except rest rest rest. That's all I need for now coz since coming back from Penang, have not been resting well. Also, looking forward to watching the US Open which starts Aug 31 till Sept 13.

2 Sept - Sam sprained her left ankle during tennis practice at school today. She was crying as it was really painful. Wasn't sure if she broke any bones so, went home to put her stuff at home and then off to the ER at Regional Medical Center. We spent 3.5 hours sitting around waiting for xrays to be done and thankfully, at the end of it all, no broken bones. Sam had to be on crutches for the next week or so and definitely, no tennis or bowling. What a drag!

7 Sept - Went to see Sam's physician Dr Trang Tran to confirm if she can start on light tennis workout but, no such luck. Big tears rolled down her cheeks when Dr Tran said there's no such possibility coz when Sam moved her ankle laterally, it still hurts. Sam felt like she's letting her school team down coz she's been scheduled by her tennis coach to play 2nd singles against Mitty and now, without any practices, she's gotta forfeit that game. Oh well, I told her to look at the big picture and not hurry coz sprained ankle doesn't heal quickly and if she goes back in too much of a rush, she may re-injure it and that will be the end of her tennis or bowling. She's been obedient thus far although not very happy with it. Next follow up check will be Friday, 9/18 and we hope there'll be good news to share with all of you out there.

Other than that, sad news to hear that Alisa has passed away on Sat morning after a long battle with brain cancer. Our heartfelt condolences to Belinda and Ted Harvey as well as to Eddy and Ethan. Alisa is Belinda's daughter in law and Belinda is my best friend. The memorial service will be held in Arcata, 5-6 hours drive from San Jose on 19 Sept. Our prayers are with them.

This whole week, have been playing lots of tennis and trying to play catch up but body is acting up and retaliating. As I am writing this on Sat, 9/12, both legs' hamstrings are tight and shoulder is feeling the strain from all the serves I have been practising of late. Hope that when I play my 6.5 combo match tomorrow, my body will hold up. Prayers will be needed for sure.

Am still rooting for Serena to win the US Open women's singles but Kim Clijsters looks fresh and is hitting the ball clean. So, I am somewhat having my reservations that Serena can pull this out of the bag. Keeping all my fingers and intestines crossed, hahaha...