A Little Dusty

So after being totally blow away in the first quarter by a much faster paced Stanford and after we were just getting a little more controll over the game some really big clouds started pulling overhead. My first reaction was: Good, get that glare off the water and the sun outta my face (it was 41C out that day). My second reaction was: okay this looks like we might have to stop for a big rainstorm and some good thunder and lightning. But then, a couple of minutes later I got confused because though I still knew it was a storm, it didn’t feel like it was goign to rain at all. Not much later my feeling was sorted out because the game was stopped and we were all made ot go inside for an approaching dust storm!
I thought that after so many years of water polo I had it all, but stopping for a dust storm?! It was really hot and stuffy and all the asthmatic people already had some trouble breathing… We sat it out for half an hour and then got back in while the air was still burning our longs and stinging our eyes and while the dust and leaves and other randomness still floated on the pool surface. Okay we lost, but we played okay in the last quarter. It didn’t really matter.. if we want to beat them we need to do it at the NCAA’s so we didn’t play any special techniques and just tried to get used to them. The point is, we are going to have a chance to play them at the NCAA’s because we beat SDSU yesterday!

P.S.: The sky was pretty darn amazing after the storm, but I doubt anyone got a chance to look and I probably shouldn't have been looking either!

Quote: "We are as good as I think we are" -Amy Logan
Music: Shawn Mullins, Lullaby

I'll Race Ya!

Do you even realise how many things you can be better at then someone else? I realised that some days I feel like I make a little competition out of everything. Maybe that is called winning spirit, but sometimes it is really ennoying. I think my good friend Iris called me out on it the first time when I took a sprint up the metro stairs in Barcelona and I was like: "no I don't" and then realised I actually did. Well I grew out of it a little, but I still think it: who did better on that test, I got more clothes hung in a shorter time, I make better coffee, I made it out there faster even though I went by bike and someone else went by bus (although in Hawaii that is pretty easy) or, who blocked the most balls... and I guess the last one is a good one ;)

Which ever way, we are in Arizona playing MPSF finals.. had a good win with 22-8 yesterday and need to win today to make it to the NCAA's. So I definitely need to blaock mor balls then whomever is on the other side :) think the team came together a bit more this week.. we have had some rought games the last road trip but it also helps that we are not trying to play 5 games in different place in LA, but just play all the games in the same pool and that we do not have ot move every night.

Had an interesting practice today, tried a new 4-1 technique on the man down and I hve yet to learn to like it, but I guess my role is still"-blocking balls- so I'll try to not be discouraged by it. Sometimes I wish I could show people where to go because it seems so logical tome (from the goal) and seeing as that is my domain I know where to find it and how to keep it closed. Maybe I should have everybody train to become a goalie and then they might understand better...

Finally I'm having a grand time listening to Pandora, it comes up with a whole bunch of random music and its pretty darn good to have something new to listen to'. The internet in this hotel is pretty sweet so the music does not get interrupted and my roommate is usually up when i am so I can turn it on whenever.

Quote:"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; In practice, there is." -Chuck Reid
Music: Brandi Carlile, Throw It All Away (random pandora generation)

Just Trust Me!

Okay so this is short and sweet, tried some recipe yesterday and totally messed it up and it turned out awesome ;) So here are the ingredients, it takes less then 15 minutes to prepare and 1h15m to bake.

Moist Fruit Bread (originaly banana bread but we didnlt have enough bananas)

2cups of all purpose flower (whole wheat)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of butter
2 eggs
1 tbs allspice
1 ts baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup of mashed bananas
1 cup of cut up dried apricots
1 cup of applesauce
(I'm sure some raisins or wallnuts would go well with this too)

- Mix the butter sugar and eggs untill smooth, then add the fruit mush.
- Add the flour, salt, allspice and baking soda and mix untill moist (don't overmix)
- Set in pre-heated oven for 1h:15m at 350F (I guess 170C??)

Music: Regina Spektor, Fidelity
Quote: "I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2000 of something. -Mitch Hedberg"

High on Sunshine and Good Music

Last night there was.. the Jack Johnson concert! I think I migh have enjoyed Eddie Vedder and Matt Costa even better, (Jack was a little out of practice) but it was all very relaxed and amazing! You know it is Hawai'i after all... you wander in, you spread out your little mat somewhere on this huge grass field spread out your snacks and pretty much have live music entertainment from 3 till 10pm. First in the shade of some trees with a view of Diamon head later with a warm breeze in the dark, what else do you want.. some people stand, some people sing, some people get really drunk and some people get very high, but all in good spirit. It was absolutely incredible!

This morning I woke up too early (what's new) and made a good attempt at starting my essay. Just read it and it sucks, but at least I got it started. Then prepared a picknick and hung out with some friends at Kapiolani beach under a really big tree, had too much good food, and a swim and some sun and now feel like I could be on a holiday.. wrong mindset!

Of course when my mind gets a break from normal things it rapidly falls back into random sh*t so be prepared to be entertained. See I was wondering about myths, because there are an aweful lot of defenitions for it. So here is my piece of cake.. yes I actually thought this all up while lying on my back and slowly being washed ashore by the waves (I float well).
So God created us in his shape, but didn’t we create the Gods in an equal way? When we look at pictures form the Norse God they look like their people, when we look at the Hindu Gods, they take their skin colour and integrate their sacred animals into their looks. Isn’t Jesus portrayed differently depending on which group of people is expressing their faith in him? It seems like it is a dual dependency. There are stories of Gods that ceased to exist when people stopped to believe in them, fairies that disappeared from the forests and dwarfes that stopped helping the people. It seems to be like that with any kind of dream. When you stop dreaming the reality of it is gone, when you stop believing in the life of the earth, it dies.

Any more random sh*t? no worries.. that was alll. I didn't spend that much time at the beach.

Quote: "Not all those who wander are lost"
Music: Mat Costa, Astair

Compassion

So I get up at quarter to 6 after having woken up 3 times during the last two hours because I have soo much on my mind. I go to practice, finish of my ten page paper, cram some more African art history into my head, walk to the student athlete centre to print it out, cram some more while walking to the other side of campus. Take a pause on the steps to finish reading one last paragraph and knock on my teachers door.
She settles me into a freezing cold room (the room where they keep all the slides where at least it is quiet and sets me off to my test.) I didn't know I could blurt out soo much info in such a short time...) when I give it back to her she starts telling me her life story which I try to listen to for a little while but eventually awkwardly excuse myself to go get a coffee beofre her class period starts and I have ot sit in the dark looking at slides for anothrer 1,5 hours while freesing my but off with an already low concentration from lack of sleep.
"I'm sorry" I said, "I think I'm having some trouble catching up with school after missing it for over a month."
"Oh no problem" she says, I just been sick for almost a week and am totally behind, even tried to do some work at home, so I totally understand."
Well I'm glad she does.

I'm going to buy ome new guitar strings after practice tomorrow. I wasn't going to before I went home but with all my art stuff out of reach (took it all home on my last trip around the world) I am really ready for a creative outlet. Even if that means sucking at playing guitar which I havn't done in a lifetime!

Quote: "Sometimes you have to see someone love somethng before you can learn to love it."
Music: Vanessa Mae, The Requiem of Gods

No. 7 Hawai`i Upsets No. 4 Cal, 10-9, On Senior Day

So I'm back to my normal life.. or so I like to call it.
We got picked up by a good friend from the airport, dropped at home while they went for practice, and had a 3 hour nap. After which we went for afternoon practice. and a hard one at that! no problem really but just a little intense after a ten hour red-eye in which we didnlt sleep.
Had a lovely dinner made by one of the girls and very much enjoyed seeing the crowd again.

The next morning I woke up from the alarmclock. It was time to go to practice.. again.. for an hour or so.. I slept in till 9:30!!! this in aan apartment that is filled with light form abaout 7am onwards. Must be the jetlag. We watched man ups an downs for an hour (the first ten minutes okay, I payed soooo much attention after that!) then we had and hour of practicing that.. which became about one and a half hours, which left us.. two hours before we had to be back on the pool deck. had lunch, tried to get a small nap but for those of you who have ever attempted at playing sports in their sleep... windows are pretty hard if you think you are blocking a ball, so that didnlt really work out. Then back to the pool for more video. then warm up and then playing. I was dead before we started but did not do alltogether awefull. We could have won by a few more goals I shall admit but we had the scoring potential high on our side; we scored a lot!

It was probably a good game to watch, too bad we didnlt get some more supporters. I mean there were a few but we've seen better ;) Surprise to the day was though that this was THE senior game. In hawai'i the last home game is the senior floatoff. you get leid, get lots of hugs, contemplate crying a lot (especially when you're tired and just won the game that got you to the NCAA's) and then float off into the pool on a floatie.Mmine said: The Brick Wall. Well all brick walls have some cracks right?

It was a really good day, so glad we won, made it soo much better!
I'll see if I can get hold of some pictures soon, then I can upload them :) as of now I have none.
Now back to focussing on exams... (WTF?!) and then we are off again on Sunday.
Never a Dull Moment.

Quote: "If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?" -Vince Lombardi
Music: Suddenly I See, KT Tunstall