Same Old Song

Four weeks in and it's pretty safe to say that my weekly routine is exactly the same. Although it may seem monotonous to some it's a good way for me to compare my performance from week to week. For whatever reason, last week was pretty tough. We had a scrimmage Tuesday night against another team in our league; HPK. They are an outside-dominate team, probably because their Croatian pin hitter was phenomenal. It wasn't until we shook hands after the match did I realize that their dynamic superstar was no other than Marina Skender from LSU. I remember playing against her the one season we were both on the court and she was exactly the same, aggressive but smart player. It's always refreshing for me to see familiar faces across the net, makes me feel like I'm still in the states. Although our team won the scrimmage, it was an ugly win. We lost the first set all on our own errors but won the following three. Everyone seemed slow, probably due to the fact it was the first day since Friday that many had touched a ball, and our libero was out due to illness so all the outside's had to take turns playing libero. That's right, ALL the outside's. For some reason I thought I was immune to this situation until my coach told me to switch jerseys. At first I thought he was kidding but...he wasn't lol. Despite the fact that I am still somewhat a novice in the back row, I had years of listening to coaches and coaching left back myself. It's safe to say I held my own and actually had some pretty good plays! 

The rest of the week followed the usual routine. As our schedule continues it seems as though we have a lot one singular practices and weights/individual training in the morning. Friday was the only double day we had last week and it made up for every day of not doing much of anything.

After morning practice, my teammate and I returned to our apartment to relax a little until we had to meet with our club president to turn in our permanent residency information. When we arrived at his house we were ambushed by the fact that we were going to Tampere, 20 minutes away, to fill out the necessary paperwork. Now, this wouldn't have been a problem except neither of us had eaten anything since breakfast and thought it would be a quick meeting in town and we would head to lunch afterword. Wrong. Once in Tampere we waited for about a half hour in the wrong location then went to the right building only to find out that my residency forms could take longer than three months to clear while Nicole's, my teammate, would only take about one to two weeks. This is no problem EXCEPT the fact that as a foreigner, I'm only allowed 90 days in a foreign country without documented residency. This also means that as soon as November 16th hits, 91 days, I will not be allowed to compete in any matches until I'm cleared. Needless to say this didn't sit well with my club director or myself, he started making calls right away to expedite the process. After a long morning we were grabbed a quick lunch then headed to the bank to set up our accounts, a much easier process. All of the political odds and ends were finished around 3 and at 4:10 we headed to practice for pictures and practice. Friday night's practice was surprisingly good, most likely due to the fact that it was the last practice before the weekend. Everyone seemed to empty their tanks for a solid two hours. You really can't ask for anything more than that. My Friday night was relaxing, watched movies and got some much needed rest.

The rest of my weekend followed suit and was delightfully boring. Saturday I seemed to have cooking fever, making brown sugar banana pancakes (inspired by Hash House A Go Go), Greek pasta salad, and blueberry muffins with cinnamon topping. Besides grocery shopping, cooking has always been another favorite way for me to clear my head. Everything turned out delicious, which I was genuinely concerned about since they use GRAMS TO MEASURE HERE. It took me about 30 minutes to measure everything out on my teammates scale, too much thinking for a Saturday if you ask me. I made sure to tell my mom to send my measuring cups in my first package. The rest of the day was very slow; I was able to see all the excitement buzzing on Twitter about tailgates and football games. To this day I've never really been to a tailgate of a collegiate or professional team. Guess they'll go on my bucket list! Saturday also marked an important date for two reasons: (1) My grandpa's birthday and (2) Two year anniversary of my ACL surgery. If anyone knows me, they know how my grandpa was basically my dad. He loved my sisters and myself unconditionally and spoiled us to no end. I think about him every day and although he's terribly missed I know how proud he is of my mom, sisters and myself for being strong, confident women. He's my guiding light and inspiration. It always amazes me how fast time pasts. To know it has already and yet only been two years since my knee surgery makes me realized how truly fortunate I am for this opportunity. Last year, my last season at UT, my injury kept me from reaching my potential. The season started off rocky, I played different positions and felt as though I couldn't get into a groove. But despite the drama that occurred and my initially decision not to play, God planned otherwise. I never planned on playing professionally; I still don't see it as my calling or career choice but more as an opportunity. The pursuit of my professional career is a selfish one, to prove to myself that I can reach my full athletic potential. Of course I love to compete and play, but I like the challenge of it more...and this is what this season is about, the challenge. When April 12, 2014 hits I want to leave my team knowing I gave my all every day and didn't have any excuses. As of right now I feel like my old self pre-knee injury, it's a liberating feeling.  

Sunday mirrored Saturday with the exception of me thinking I was Paula Dean. In the morning I went for a three-mile run, a run I'm looking to eventually complete three times a week. Although it's concrete the surfaces are much flatter than the U.S. so the impact doesn't feel as bad but I'll probably make the middle day a trail day. Nothing beats a little sweat getting lost in my iPod. I really enjoyed my relaxing weekend. Sometimes you just need a few days to do nothing but watch movies, chat with friends and pig out. Sounds like a typical weekend back home! Every day I find more and more people coming across the seas. It's like a giant reunion!

This week we have two scrimmages. Time to get focused for another "work" week!!

...Live life with light...