So, when I left it last time, we had just finished our morning practice on Thursday and were getting ready for our free afternoon. I was one of the folks who headed into Edinburgh to putter around. I have been there several times, so I really didn't have an agenda. I just wanted to get of the base for a little while. Other folks had plans to visit the castle, go on the underground crypt tours, etc. Hedwig, Jen, and I went wandering around aimlessly on the quest for a rugby store... When we found out it was a 20 min walk away, we decided to veto that idea (though another group - Ashley, Suzanna, Kelly, and Baja- made the trek) and instead opted to go into a Scottish pub for some coffee and relax. We hung out there for an hour and then continued our wanderings. Hedwig abandoned us on her own mission to find an internet cafe, which is quite funny since about five min later we stumbled into one where we found a number of the team checking email and drinking coffee. I jumped online, and continued my mission to try and figure out how I was getting to NH (still working on that one). There were two buses going back to the base... One at 5pm and the next at 6pm. So, at about 10 til 5 we all wandered back to the bus to make our way back to the base.
When we got back began the entertaining task of doing lots of muddy laundry in washing machines that don't really remove mud very well. Suffice it to say there was quite a back-log. Those folks who stuck around or who came back on the early bus went and ate at the dining hall, and those folks who took the 6pm bus wandered in right at the end to eat desert. There were a few funny stories from that group. Particularly the description Candi gave of her evasive running from the restaurant she had dinner at with Dr. Bartoli and Michelle Carrone, our strength coach. Apparently she left them in the dust as she sprinted back trying to get to the bus so it wouldn't leave them.
That night consisted of more laundry for everyone, and then the fun began. We had a meeting where we found out the schedule for Saturday and then we had to discuss our trip to Ireland. Prior to our leaving for Scotland we had gotten an email telling us that for our flight to Ireland our checked baggage weight limit was 33lbs and our carry-on weight was 20lbs, because it was going to be a small puddle jumper plane. Most people did not heed that advice and came to Scotland with some folks being near 100lbs of stuff. In my own defense, I planned accordingly in that I had one bag that was 27lbs and one bag that was 40lbs, so I figured I could do some swapping around, and get them to 33lbs apiece. But then I found out it was one 33lb bag total. The charge for being over was $5/pound, which could get very expensive. So the plan was to pack everything we'd need to get us through Monday into one bag that was under 33lbs and the rest of the stuff would be shipped to Ireland to arrive on Monday and then shipped again to get it to London. So all of us started our frantic packing-unpacking, guesstimating weights, etc. Then the idea came up that if we weren't going to have the stuff in Ireland for much more than two days, before it would have to be shipped again, why not just ship the stuff home rather than sending all over the place. So, everyone then unpacked and packed again. This time having one bag to check on the plane to go immediately to Ire, one bag to be shipped back to the States, and then another bag if necessary to go to Ireland along shipping routes. They had to be ready by the next day because the bags going to Ireland were leaving at 8:30am. So, the halls of the Drake building were filled with a lot of chaos for a while as everyone debated their critical essentials. I for one realized that as long as there is laundry available, I could probably get away with half of what I brought with me - lessons learned! That was a late night and everyone, went sleep with visions of rolling luggage and scales dancing in their head. I tried to go to sleep but alas had some snoring roommates to deal with (I won't name any names) and wound up in the end heading into the common room where I set up a really comfy little nest of couch cushions on the floor. I wasn't the only one who had that idea as another teammate joined me in there around 3am, when the howling of the wind was keeping her up.
I woke up Friday morning slightly tired, but not too bad... my little cocoon was actually more comfortable than the bed, so at least I felt better about that. We had practice that morning. Now up to now the weather had been rather mild and we'd been pleasantly surprised. Friday was when that changed. When we got to the field, the sky was dark, the air was frigid, and there shearing daggers of icy death pelting us from the sky. You may think I am overexaggerating, but I'm not. There was sideways sleet and hail pelting us. Us forwards were glad for the scrum practice that we started with just because it meant we all got to stay warm from body heat for a while. We worked on some looseplay, a penalty play, and then called it good at 10:20am, when hypothermia seemed imminent. Most of us opted to just walk back to the dorms in our boots and kit, rather than stay out in the torrent to take them off. We all took warm showers and then the mad crush in the laundry room began as everyone tried to get all the things washed and ready that they would need for today's match. The rest of the day was fairly lazy, with people napping reading, watching movies. The forwards had a brief afternoon session of lineout work in the gym and then we had free time until dinner. After dinner, there were a few meetings to get last minute plays ironed out before the jersey ceremony at 7:30. As always, the ceremony was emotional. There's nothing like walking up in front of your teammates and getting that USA jersey handed to you by your coach. Knowing what that represents for me as a player... it's a symbol both of playing for this team, representing my country, a tribute to all the people who supported me up to this point, all my hard work... there's no real way to do justice to it in words, but those who have been there and done it know what I am talking about. After the ceremony things got a little lighter as we practiced our entertainment for after the Scotland match. Last year we did a little choreographed dance number to Usher, this year we worked on a rhythm presentation. Director Keenya kept us until we were performing up to her standards (which are fairly high considering the fact that the back triangle was banging spoons together and the centers had shakers full of pasta as their percussive instrument of choice). After that everyone left to go watch rugby games, and do whatever pre-game rituals they had in place. I stayed up talking and otherwise being a lazy bum, until I wandered to my room and rather than take any chances shoved my earplugs in a went to sleep.
With that I need to go eat lunch and get ready for today's match. I'll get the rest of this updated, probably when I get to Ireland, where supposedly we have wireless internet, and therefore I won't be trying to cram multiple days worth of stuff into each post. But for now I am going to get to work on mental prep for the game.
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