tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-202148342024-03-07T02:49:50.133-05:00Are you sure?Upon closer inspection of my life, I realized I don't closely inspect my life... hmmm, perhaps that is poignant, or perhaps just a random fact. My attempts at closer inspection of my life and those I come in contact with.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-23205385740565821312012-06-16T15:52:00.001-04:002012-06-16T16:37:23.104-04:00Wait... this post isn't about rugby... it's about the Caribbean<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDd-bG5GE2hpIXQMlJOtqL8iaphg4ImuoBvDmeBJC-5r1Zxy2U69GLSbhwx-Vcw18DyySIgnEh5GnQl23yCatGkmIRHu6ks7kKGXI9Ha5qckUnPGAbt-0zVio8sHJOvJLRfg-t/s1600/2011+IMY+Caribbean+Sailing+and+Leadership-22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVcMGAJnXK6iHdIcUJkyG-q3qOhrVmYx9TxYS7294e-U3EItEAyKYcbCIOa5bhi5xLWR0PnoaXbSu4Xgty0cMrlfhqInEi2b7IROTht0fdJRnQ2PjLktHpGqOa61uviIp3o__/s1600/2011+IMY+Caribbean+Sailing+and+Leadership-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNVcMGAJnXK6iHdIcUJkyG-q3qOhrVmYx9TxYS7294e-U3EItEAyKYcbCIOa5bhi5xLWR0PnoaXbSu4Xgty0cMrlfhqInEi2b7IROTht0fdJRnQ2PjLktHpGqOa61uviIp3o__/s320/2011+IMY+Caribbean+Sailing+and+Leadership-4.JPG" width="320" /></a>Over the past few years I have gotten various requests to get back to my blog. I don't as a rule have the discipline for regularly on-going blogging. I more find it a useful tool for specific events. So, when I got a request that I try and revisit my blog this summer while I am working in the Caribbean, I agreed to it... to try that is. We'll see how it goes. Blogging during a World Cup is considerably easier than trying to do it on a boat with no internet and surrounded by students. Maybe I'll just link my page to the student's updates that they will be writing every day.<br />
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I guess before I get into it all, I should give a little backstory about what the heck I am doing in the Caribbean anyways.<br />
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I am working for an organization called <a href="http://www.gobroadreach.com/">BroadReach</a> for the summer. BroadReach runs programs all over the world for middle school, high school, and college students. I applied for the job last fall and after a long wait, I found out I got the position I wanted in February! I will be working with a group of college students as a sailing instructor and as adjunct faculty for a Lesley-based <a href="http://www.gobroadreach.com/program-overview-for-caribbean-sailing-and-leadership-college-study-abroad.asp">Leadership and Ethics</a> class. This job seemed like the prefect fit for the summer because it combines my love of being on the water and sailing with gaining more experience teaching college courses and, did I mention, it's in the Caribbean!?!<br />
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Needless to say it's been quite the whirlwind of activity over the past month to get ready, from finding animal-sitters (Thanks Drew and Aleena!) and subletters to hours of staff training. But it's been worth it to finally be here and get to wake up every morning and to do intervals on the beach or swim with sea turtles (gotta keep up my training).<br />
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I'll do a subsequent post talking about what I've actually been doing here for the past week and a half. This was just meant as an intro to me actually being back at this... or trying to be. But I'll leave you with a picture from where I am living now!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDd-bG5GE2hpIXQMlJOtqL8iaphg4ImuoBvDmeBJC-5r1Zxy2U69GLSbhwx-Vcw18DyySIgnEh5GnQl23yCatGkmIRHu6ks7kKGXI9Ha5qckUnPGAbt-0zVio8sHJOvJLRfg-t/s1600/2011+IMY+Caribbean+Sailing+and+Leadership-22.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDd-bG5GE2hpIXQMlJOtqL8iaphg4ImuoBvDmeBJC-5r1Zxy2U69GLSbhwx-Vcw18DyySIgnEh5GnQl23yCatGkmIRHu6ks7kKGXI9Ha5qckUnPGAbt-0zVio8sHJOvJLRfg-t/s320/2011+IMY+Caribbean+Sailing+and+Leadership-22.JPG" width="320" /></a>Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0Collectivity of St Martin, St Martin18.12182 -63.03573499999998818.082754 -63.127267999999987 18.160885999999998 -62.94420199999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-79735485527974516162010-09-06T07:37:00.001-04:002012-06-16T16:34:26.690-04:00UK Eagles 13: Where did the time goAlright, well the time has finally come... we're heading home after almost a month away. I'm at Heathrow airport, a little tired, sore, and dehydrated, but here. I am sad to lose this experience, but definitely happy to be heading home. It's been a long campaign. In light of that, I'll keep this one relatively short, but hopefully will get out a longer one once I've settled back into Boston.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4962989165/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Sha does a great Jamie impression by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Sha does a great Jamie impression" height="320" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/4962989165_f0946d842d.jpg" width="240" /></a>So, Saturday we had our captain's run then I did some more packing before the ultimate flea market. The Welsh girls put up signs advertising the 'Wales Kit Swap Shop' in their common room. All the teams showed up with their various kit and went to town. We were only able trade for a bit before heading over to our rookie skit and jersey ceremony. The rookie skit was hysterical. I particularly appreciated Sha's impression of me. After the jersey presentation we presented coaches' and manager's presents. Afterwards, we went back to the dorms, where there was still trading happening. I didn't get too involved in the trading because I was too busy trying to deal with the fact that I had gotten news earlier in the evening that my car was towed back home. That was less than ideal. Monica was a saint for taking on dealing with most of it so that I didn't have to. After that I was ready to hit the hay.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4963589060/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Untitled by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4963589060_7eb6dd367b.jpg" width="320" /></a>Game day was pretty fast and furious. We had core and arousal workout early, and then there was only a short while before our match. It was a crazy intense match but in the end we came out victorious 23-20. Everyone was super excited! I was so proud of us and I am continually amazed at how far we've come in 4 years, but also, how far we came just in this one tour. We got a surprise for a win in Dave streaking the field in a star spangled bikini bottom trailing an American flag behind him. There are some great pictures from it. I'll post one once I get it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4963589788/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Finals at the Stoop by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Finals at the Stoop" height="135" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4963589788_fc7035e30c.jpg" width="500" /></a>After the game there was very little time because we had to get dressed to head over to the Stoop to watch the finals. It was also an intense game with NZ beating England 13-10. It was a great environment for that type of match!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4963589860/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Front Row love by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Front Row love" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/4963589860_5d9fc6ccaf.jpg" width="400" /></a>After the match, we changed into our number ones and went over to the Holly Hog Roast and got a chance to hang out with some of the other teams. We played a lot of games and sang songs before departing back to the sports park at 10:30pm. That's where the true party began. They had the entire sports park closed down for just the teams and accredited personnel. They got a DJ and had dancing. It was a lot of fun, but exhausting. I finally made my way to bed around 3am and I was one of the early birds of the various teams. <br />
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This morning was a crazy event (as it always is) of getting everything packed and organized to head home. There was a lot of work spent on getting bags to weigh less than 23kgs... mine was over, but they let it pass. Now we are just waiting for our flight. Nothing like an 8 hour flight to feel refreshed! Alright, they just announced our boarding gate, so I'm going to sign out and go load up! Next time I write, it'll be from the USA!<br />
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Author's Note:<br />
I didn't want to lose the links to the various news articles regarding the 2010 World Cup, but also didn't want to keep the massive link bar on the side of the page, so I decided to post them here after the fact:<br />
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<a href="http://www.thesomervillenews.com/archives/6223#more-6223">Somerville Wins over KZN</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/sports/rugby/20iht-RUGBY.html?_r=2&ref=sports">The New York Times</a><br />
<a href="http://timesrecord.com/articles/2010/07/22/sports/doc4c487ff6144ae056179595.txt">The Times Record - "National Treasures Visit Bowdoin"</a><br />
<a href="http://timesrecord.com/articles/2010/07/27/sports/doc4c4f0e6e23c33293671521.txt">The Times Record - Women's Rugby Takes Center Stage</a><br />
<a href="http://www.pressherald.com/sports/summer-camp_2010-07-26.html">The Portland Press Herald</a><br />
<a href="http://www.hippopress.com/100805/QA.html">The Hippo</a><br />
<a href="http://www.thesomervillenews.com/archives/5744">Somerville News - Off to the World Cup</a><br />
<a href="http://somervillescout.com/2010/08/somerville-resident-in-rugby-world-cup/">The Somerville Scout</a><br />
<a href="http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2010/jul/jr27rugby.cfm">UNH News</a><br />
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<a href="http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/1663/2010/08/18/Wallace">Tufts University E-news</a><br />
<a href="http://wsm.wsu.edu/mystory/index.php/2010/07/ashley-kmiecik-joins-team-usa-for-2010-womens-rugby-world-cup/">Washington State Magazine</a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVx3vmikY0aE7XclwBIQ7ajy4fa9U1xBCKh4aY16Hn3kXoUouF4Y_8o1LC-xMh97PVZy4OJKJxXER9Ujzl2KPCZIlOFStG_xu1NmgtwuyWzYT6wiYIcqoKJNF_aoGG3p7zDeDtA/s1600/watertown.jpg">The Watertown News</a><br />
<a href="http://www.crossfitoakland.com/archives/2010/07/athlete-spotlight-nathalie">Crossfit Oakland</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/1bowdoincampus/007581.shtml">Bowdoin Campus News</a><br />
<a href="http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2010/08/05/clifton-parks-claudia-braymer---world-cup-rugby-pl">All Over Albany</a><br />
<a href="http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Call-them-rugby-players-607524.php">Albany Times Union </a>Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-25233381415297661982010-09-04T07:04:00.000-04:002010-09-04T07:04:04.923-04:00UK Eagles 12: Cheering for our fansAlright, I need to break up some of the monotony of packing for a bit.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4956155629/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Sha in the spotlight by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Sha in the spotlight" height="149" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4956155629_79edd5f795.jpg" width="200" /></a>So, I spent all afternoon Thursday working on various things for school and work. It wasn't particularly entertaining, but it was helpful to my psyche. Then I got packed for the trading extravaganza/team BBQ. Everyone made fun of my huge bag, but then understood my reasoning when they saw how much loot I had to work with. There was a relatively casual BBQ that all the teams attended, then it was into the trading mayhem. It was like auctioneering. People were vying for Ireland's Puma fleeces and Wales' Under armor shorts, jockeying for position. It continued back at the dorms for a long time with different teams coming out at various points. Afterwards, everyone hung out at the dorms modeling their new schwag. I spent some time hanging out talking with Cheeks and Farrah about how far we've come since death tour 2007 before heading off to bed.<br />
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I woke up late yesterday morning and ate a light breakfast of yogurt and cereal. Then we had a meeting to go over the game plan for Canada as well as get selections for the match. I am back in my favorite spot as #3. I am excited to get back on the field. It's been a while since I've played THP against Canada. The past 4 times we've played I've played LHP, but I've been getting a lot of good THP time here, so I am excited <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4956745908/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Our USA Fans Team by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Our USA Fans Team" height="375" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4956745908_6c19bb32ac.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>We had lunch over at the dining hall before a light practice to go over some of the things in the game plan. After practice, it was up to the pool for a quick recovery swim. We spent the evening supporting our supporters. Some American fans set up a USA fans vs British Police rugby match. We went as a team to support the fans who have been so instrumental in keeping our spirits up throughout this long World Cup campaign. We watched the game and then hung out socializing over pizza and fries. Then we boarded back up into our Mercedes-Benz bus to head back to the sports park.<br />
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We got back a little before 10, so there was just a little time to read before heading to bed.<br />
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I woke up at 9:20 this morning to an email saying we needed to have our bikes up to the Surrey Sports Park by 9:30am. Needless to say, I did not have my normal leisurely morning routine. I hopped up and got dressed and pedaled over to turn Truman in. It was another sad day. First, I had to give back Alice in Maine and now Truman in England. I am going to start having some issues. After wishing adieu to Truman, I went in and ate some breakfast since I was over near the dining hall anyways. Then I WALKED (le sigh) back over to the dorms and decided to start packing. I realized that we leave in only two days and that once we get into game mode tomorrow there really won't be any time to do it, so now I'm in the midst of clothes and shoes and everything else under the sun. Alright, back to the packing mayhem!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-52177784889889673662010-09-02T07:15:00.001-04:002010-09-02T07:16:21.506-04:00UK Eagles 11: North American Rivalry<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4951121380/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Blair's fan club by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Blair's fan club" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4951121380_09d7d16f29.jpg" width="320" /></a>Yesterday seemed to fly by. I watched some of the earlier matches while eating a picnic with Monica. We watched South Africa beat Kazakhstan and Wales take it to Sweden. I got to see the Groefsema gang all decked out again. Then it was time to head back to the dorms and over to warm-up.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4951121476/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Final Score by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Final Score" height="150" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/4951121476_6e2a5e2df8.jpg" width="200" /></a>The team played a terrific match against Ireland yesterday. We won 40-3. I am really happy about the way the team played. Everyone seemed to be gelling out there. It is hard to not feel like I was physically a part of such a phenomenal victory, but I know that I played my role. But it's still a challenge. Also, it's hard to see how well we played in that match and play the woulda, coulda, shoulda game in our head.... This means we get to play Canada on Sunday in the 5th place match-up. How ironic that we would fly all the way across the Atlantic to wind up playing our North American rivals in our final match.<br />
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After the match everyone stuck around the bar at the Sports Park to watch the semi-final matches being held at the Stoop. New Zealand beat France handedly, but the Australia-England game was quite the fight. England only beat Australia 15-0, and that score was 12-0 for the entire second half until the final 3 minutes or so. I would've loved to see an upset, but alas, England is just too well-drilled and disciplined and were able to hold the Aussies out. To this point, we are still the only team to have scored on England in this tourney.<br />
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After the games, I went back to the dorms and watched the newest Trueblood episode. There were a couple of scenes that were freaky and I'm surprised I didn't have crazy dreams last night, but I guess I was tired enough for it to not be an issue. I got up this morning with thoughts of school and work running through my head, so I made myself breakfast and relegated myself to a day in front of my computer. Some folks are heading in to London, but I figure I've been there a number of times and I really need to get some stuff done, so here I sit... now it's back to it.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-48448151892781918162010-09-01T08:37:00.000-04:002010-09-01T08:37:22.970-04:00UK Eagles 10: Last WeekYet another game day is upon us. It seems I keep finding myself writing on game-days. I guess it's because we tend to have so much time to try and kill on those days and it gives me something to occupy my time and keep me from being overly-anxious. Although, I must admit, I am considerably less antsy today because I am not rostered for the match... That may change once the game begins and I acknowledge that I have no control over the outcome of the match... But back to my post.<br />
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I slept like the the dead Sunday night. I was completely exhausted. This whole process takes everything out of you and my body was definitely over being functional last night. I made a delicious breakfast burrito for myself, which definitely started my day off right. Then I got a surprise visit from Monica who came by to give me an American flag blanket for my room.<br />
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Monica left to head to London and I made my way over to our little grass patch for core before heading to the gym to get a little workout in before heading to lunch. I am definitely missing cooking for myself and have been eating fewer and fewer meals at the dining hall. In fact, I came back to the dorms and made myself a supplemental lunch of nutella, peanut butter, and banana sandwich with some milk. It made me a happier camper.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4946261216/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Sunset over the Thames by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunset over the Thames" height="375" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/4946261216_62f4250a28.jpg" width="500" /></a>Then it was off to a meeting to announce roster and go over match tape from the England match. For the first time since January of 2006, I was not rostered for a match. It was a strange sensation. I am bummed of course, but also understand that my body needs a break. I don't know that I would have had the self-awareness to recognize that 4 years ago, but I get it much better now. We had a practice to get the team ready for the game. Then I came back to the dorm and showered quickly so that I could go meet Monica in London for dinner. I had thought about going and then was waffling, but when I found out I wasn't rostered it helped me make up my mind.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4945678313/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Yummy Indian food by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Yummy Indian food" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4945678313_34a9953288.jpg" width="400" /></a>So, PK, Ash, Hannah, Em, and I took the train out of Guildford into London to meet up with various folks. Monica and I wandered out from Waterloo station and just meandered around the Thames. We got to watch the end of the sunset over the river, which was beautiful. We then spent considerable time in the Theatre district looking at the different sights before heading into a delicious Indian restaurant for dinner. We ate a ton. It was heavenly (I got to eat the left-overs for lunch today!). Then we took a double-decker bus back to the flat she is renting and passed out. This morning we strolled around the neighborhood and drank coffee before we made our way over to Clapham Junction for me to catch the train back to Guildford. I spent some time wandering around Guildford shopping before heading back to Surrey Sports Park. I spent most of the afternoon just visiting with people, getting bills paid, and generally trying to stay on top of everything back home since school officially started yesterday! EEK!<br />
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From there it was into our captain's run before dinner. My mom and John came over and we ate dinner at the Bench (the restaurant in Surrey Sports Complex) along with half the rest of our team. Then it was off to the jersey ceremony. After the jersey ceremony I came back to my room and got things organized for being back at work next week and did my laundry. I know, it's an exciting life I live! Somehow all of that took quite a while and next thing I knew it was midnight and I was heading to bed.<br />
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We got up this morning and had a leisurely breakfast in the flat next door. There was a lot of laughing and carrying-on. And then it was out to core and arousal before lunch. And now it is waiting time. Monica is supposed to be meeting me so we can watch the earlier games before our warm-up starts, but she appears to be late... that's alright, it gave me more time to get this done. Alright, off to watch South Africa play Kazakhstan and then it'll be round 2 against Ireland! Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-81179929556763070302010-08-29T18:26:00.005-04:002010-08-31T11:27:33.451-04:00UK Eagles 9: Feeling like Julia Roberts<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4939544556/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="So close by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="So close" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4939544556_219b337c57.jpg" width="320" /></a>We spent all morning/afternoon yesterday waiting for the match against England. We got to watch some of the earlier matches. There was quite a big upset in the mix with France beating Canada pretty handedly. After watching some rugby we had to go bag inside to rest some more so we spent that rest time finishing the puzzle and having hallway dance parties.<br />
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Finally it was time for the match. We Once again the fans were amazing. Blair's whole gang was there and they were body-painted and decked out to the nines. Blair's mom brought 25 Abe Lincoln-style tall red-white-and-blue hats for folks to wear. We could hear them all over the field. Though we didn't win the match, it was a great game and I am very proud of the way the team played. We fought hard and left it all out on the field, which is all we could ask for. After the match it was more ice-baths and pool sessions before heading back to my room to hit the hay. I was exhausted. Completely drained. It's been a while since I've felt that tired both mentally, physically, and emotionally. I think all the physical energy coupled with the emotional energy that always goes into a game of that magnitude and intensity just took it out of me.<br />
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I wish I would have gotten a chance to sleep in, but alas I told Monica I would meet her and A-C in the Starbucks at 9am. So IWoke up and made my way over to breakfast at the Sports Complex. At 10am, I received a text saying "I think we are talking about different Starbucks". Though I wished I could've been sleeping, I wasn't too fussed because I got to do a lot of reading, which I had been missing. We had a quick pool session at 11am before getting lunch.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4938960487/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Stomping divots by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Stomping divots" height="320" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4938960487_247c56293c.jpg" width="240" /></a>After lunch, and several outfit changes, we loaded up into a bus (and several mini-vans) to head out to Windsor Park, which is a part of the Windsor Castle Estate. Beckett's uncle had gotten the whole team tickets to a match at the Queen's Guard Polo Ground. We were there to see the finals of the Duke of Cornwall Tourney. It was a 4 chukka match (4 periods) with the first two chukkas happening in typical British weather - rain varying between a drizzle to outright downpour. The last half was held under a clear blue sky, though. At half-time we got to go out onto the field and stomp in the divots ala Pretty Woman. I think perhaps we resembled Julia Roberts a bit in our cheering as well. We weren't sure that we were allowed to be super loud, but then the commentator goaded us into getting a bit more boisterous in our applause. After the match, Ashley and I helped hand out awards to the two teams which entailed a whole lot of cheek kissing.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4938960885/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="The MVP of the Polo match by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="The MVP of the Polo match" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4938960885_83c377cb2b.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4939546670/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Cheekers has the party room by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Cheekers has the party room" height="320" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4939546670_df06c6124e.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
After the match we took the bus home, and then many of us headed into Guildford for dinner with friends and family. Monica and I met up with my mom and John and went out to dinner at the Three Pigeons, which is the restaurant I ate at with Stina last Sunday. It was good, to get away and see my family and get to spend some time with Monica. After dinner, we walked around town a bit before heading back home. I went back the dorms and hung out with folks chatting a bit before heading back to my room. I originally was just going to download pictures from <a href="http://billenglish.smugmug.com/Womens-Rugby-US-National-Team">Bill English's Photo site</a>, but then I got a second wind and decided to write this post. I was going to wait until tomorrow to do it, but the schedule looks pretty busy, so I decided not to wait.<br />
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So, now it's time for bed. Gotta get some good rest in preparation for what looks to be an intense day tomorrow. I am a little nervous for how sore I am going to be tomorrow since that'll be two days after the match and that tends to be when the soreness hits its peak. I guess it's a good thing we are hitting the gym in the morning, so we can work out some of it before practice.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-20254721488345294122010-08-28T07:11:00.000-04:002010-08-28T07:11:34.071-04:00UK Eagles 8: Moving on and up... After multiple times starting to write and then getting distracted by other activities, I think I finally might be in a position to get caught up. We have a little time this morning before we go over to the fields to watch some of the Sweden-Scotland match for me to get started, and then a lot of time this afternoon waiting for our game. So I should be able to get it all in before our last pool match this evening against England... so going back...<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4934521682/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Scoring a try by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Scoring a try" height="211" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4934521682_cd359d605a.jpg" width="320" /></a>My last post was right before the Ireland match and a lot has happened since then. That game was really hard, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is really disappointing when you feel like you should have won a game and instead, lost it to yourself. We just couldn't seem to get out of our own way in terms of penalties and possession issues. It was also hard because I didn't feel like I performed as well as I know I can because of the cold I was fighting. Very frustrating and disappointing! Although, I did score my first International Try, so that's something. Needless to say, the mood back in the dorms was really somber as each of us processed the implications of the match. I coped in my own way by sitting with the stats sheets and figuring out where we were in the points and what needed to happen in the 3rd pool games for us to still get into the semi-finals. Being able to use my logic allows me to manage the emotion better. It's my own form of mourning that I feel more control over. <br />
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I slept really late on Wednesday trying to kick the rest of this sickness. The morning was spent having some coaches and captain's meetings to try and figure out how to recover from yesterday's loss. After those meetings, it was over to the pool for a recovery session and then lunch. After lunch we went and did a light lift in the gym to get the muscles moving and get the crap flowing out of our joints. It felt good to get on the rower and just move around a little. Then we had a meeting to go over our game plan for England and get ourselves mentally aligned as a team and announce selections for the England match. I'll be at tighthead again, which is exciting because I feel like my engage has been really strong recently.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4934520296/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Christy is so happy to have her bag back by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Christy is so happy to have her bag back" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4934520296_75994f7872.jpg" width="320" /></a>Then it was then time for dinner before coming back to the dorms for some serious chill-out time. Christy finally got her luggage back - after it being lost for the past two weeks. So we had a lot of priceless picture moments of her being reunited with her bag. Also, we finally got to watch Phaidra on her episode of MTV's Made. It was hysterical and painful all at once. I would have strangled that girl if I had to try and coach her. I started writing that night, but decided sleep was more important for getting the last of this illness out, so only got little bullet points down before passing out.<br />
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Thursday, I had a lazy morning followed by a core session with the forwards. We had a really productive and fun session before heading to lunch. I think we needed a little levity to get back into a relaxed state of mind. After lunch, there was very little time before we had to load up into a bus to head to our private practice session. We had a short, but sweet practice to work out a few things that we felt needed to be cleaned up. When we got back to the Sports Park, we had ice baths and then we got some much needed free time. In fact we didn't have anything that we had to be back for until our captain's run late Friday. I'm not sure what everyone else did, but I took trains, planes, and automobiles to London to see my family. It was great to see my dad, Jack, and Jane. We went out to dinner in Grosvenor Square and then I stayed there with them.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4933094968/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Untitled by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4933094968_9a68c5c5eb.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4933095268/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Breakfast of champions by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Breakfast of champions" height="150" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4933095268_a92586b5bd.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4933926107/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="My biggest fans by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="My biggest fans" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4933926107_45954e6aea_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Friday morning, I ate an amazing breakfast with Jack (waffles with strawberries and ice-cream) after spending the morning lounging and talking with my Dad. I took train back to Guildford and did some shopping before heading to Surrey Sports Park to relax for the afternoon. I did some much needed laundry and walked over to the TESCO to get food for the next week. We then had Captain's practice quickly followed by the jersey ceremony. It was great to have my family there. My dad was there with Jack and Jane, and my Mom and John were there. Everyone loved Jack. What's not to love... well, I guess they don't have to try and get him to eat vegetables. It was also exciting to have Potter with us again. We've missed her and it's great to get to see her. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4933926721/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Me with my mom and John by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Me with my mom and John" height="150" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/4933926721_82d9867441.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4933927139/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Puzzle - Take 3 by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Puzzle - Take 3" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4933927139_99b963d1d5.jpg" width="400" /></a>It was nice to get to spend time with everyone, but definitely overwhelming by the end. I went back to the dorms with every intention of writing, but then Lynelle opened a new puzzle - that's the craze around these here parts. It's a crazy puzzle that in which the picture on the box doesn't match what the puzzle will look like. Instead, there is a character in the picture on the box and the image on the puzzle is what that person's perspective would be.By the time I went to bed, Vix, V, Lynelle, and myself were talking to ourselves and the puzzle and it was 1/2 done. I was worried I would find them in there first thing in the morning. <br />
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I woke up this morning without an alarm which is always nice. Then had a leisurely breakfast before heading over to core and our arousal session. Now we are heading out to watch some rugby and eat lunch before more waiting begins. Everyone seems pretty light hearted and ready to go, so I am excited for the outcome of this game today. We are the underdogs and have nothing to lose, so we might as well have fun with it! Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-81408086543577030422010-08-24T05:49:00.000-04:002010-08-24T05:49:00.452-04:00UK Eagles 7: Game day again!Well, another game day is upon us. This time it's Ireland. I have been struck with the plague (i.e. a cold) so I am in quarantine and can't go to core or the arousal session so that I can make sure I get rest and hydrate before the match this afternoon. I feel like I just woke up (and in fact I did), so I'm going to write my post before heading back to sleep. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4922485643/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IRB anti-doping quiz by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="IRB anti-doping quiz" height="212" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4922485643_60c8f5006b.jpg" width="320" /></a>The last thing I wrote after our first match, which while only three days ago, seems likes forever. On Saturday morning, I decided to sleep through breakfast again. We knew we had an IRB anti-doping training/quiz later in the morning, so we spent some time over coffee studying the guide they gave us. We went over to the anti-doping quiz/meeting and learned a few things about the role of drug testing in sports and our rights as athletes before taking a 10 question quiz. <br />
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After the quiz, we went over to the pool and had a short recovery session to try and get some of the soreness out. I didn't get to capture it on film, but Cheeks, Sha, and Amy came up with a lovely synchronized swimming routine that I'll try and video next time. Then we just stuck around the Sports Complex waiting for it to be lunch time.<br />
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I was definitely feeling the effects of the game, so just wanted a mellow afternoon, which I got in the form of movie time with Beckett and Sha. We started watching X-Men 2 with popcorn - sorry about the crumbs in your bed, Beckett! We didn't quite get all the way through the movie before we had to go over for a team meeting in which we discussed our Ireland game-plan and got selections... Now is when things start to get hard as a player in terms of selections. Everyone is aware that the first game there are going to have to be folks who don't get selected. But once you get into the 2nd and subsequent games and people aren't getting selected it can be challenging to stay present. It takes a big person to be a good teammate in those circumstances.<br />
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We went form the meeting right to dinner and then back to the dorms. I thought it was going to be a mellow evening, watching Mari and Beckett since the Beatles. Next thing you know though, Amy and Sha are in a wrestling match involving markers and me and Beckett are trying to stay out of the cross-fire. Some nice stripes of varying colors later, and we finally got to finish watching X-men 2.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4923003236/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="How many people can you fit into one ice bath? by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="How many people can you fit into one ice bath?" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4923003236_072c53b616.jpg" width="320" /></a>Note to self... I should not watch those types of movies before bed because I had crazy dreams. There were dams breaking at the World Cup and scrumhalves with laser-eyes. I diffused some of it by eating breakfast in the flat and discussing Thich Nhat Hanh and Buddhism with Kim over coffee. Before heading out to practice. Practice was short, sweet and intense. We had a core session and then worked with the group that would be playing today on our game-plan. After practice we had ice-baths, where it seemed like the goal was to figure out how many people you could fit in one go. I think the record was eight. <br />
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After ice-bathing it was time for lunch and laundry. During that time, I finally was able to talk to my dad and come up with some semblance of a plan for when he was arriving. I also spent a considerable amount of time figuring out the bus schedules to get to town so I could meet a friend for dinner. I got my laundry done just in time because we had a players meeting followed by sub-unit meetings that afternoon.<br />
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I caught the bus to town (with Vix, Kmimi, and Ham) to meet up with my friend Stina from back home. She's on of my PhD classmates from UNH who has been studying in Cambridge for 8 weeks. We went out to dinner at the Three Pigeons pub, which is supposedly haunted - though I think everything in England is haunted. Then we went to Jamie's Italian (as in Jamie Oliver) for dessert. I had the brownie with raspberries and vanilla-bourbon ice-cream. It was divine! We ended the evening by heading over to the Star Brewer, which is a small quaint pub with big comfy chairs and couches and sat and read over a cup of tea for a while. It was great to be out in the world and novel to not really talk about rugby for 3.5 hours. Instead, we talked about social justice, our respective PhD work, literature, etc.<br />
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I somehow misread the bus map, and wound up taking the "scenic" route home, but I got there, so no harm. Then I sat and downloaded all the awesome pictures that Ashley's dad took of the KZN game from <a href="http://billenglish.smugmug.com/gallery/13427749_Q3yKv#978339451_DrpiQ">his site</a> before hitting the hay.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4923026758/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Rainbow heading in to town by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Rainbow heading in to town" height="238" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4923026758_2135bb49d1.jpg" width="320" /></a>The day before a game is always pretty mellow, which I needed as I am starting to feel a little under the weather. I slept in forever. I think I finally woke up at 10am. I was going to watch the latest episode of TrueBlood, which came out in the States on Sunday, but then got talked into going into town by Vix, Bridges, Lara, Kitt, and I. I don't think I would have gone if it weren't the fact that I knew that Stina was in town doing work<br />
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So she and I met up and she introduced me to the Caffe Nero Caramelatte... it was deadly (in a good way). Picture melted caramel ice-cream with a shot of espresso. We then took part in some rertail therapy. I managed to escape with only one new shirt, which is impressive given how much I like to shop and how many things Stina convinced me I looked fabulous in. After the shopping, I came back to Surrey Sports Park and had a quick lunch before a fitting session with the folks from Canterbury. It was quite the tease to try on all this schwank gear and know that it's not for us right now :(<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4922432629/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Team pic by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Team pic" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4922432629_2240d3020a.jpg" width="400" /></a>After the fitting, there was a little bit of time before the Captain's run. We took some official team photos and then got the session underway. The Captain's run was quite windy, which was good because it gave us some practice in conditions similar to what we are supposed to face tomorrow. After the run it was time for a shower and dinner. I decided to just wear the clothes we had to have on for the jersey ceremony to dinner, so I wouldn't have to walk back down to the dorms. Instead, I sat in the Starbucks and ate dessert and read some of my book while waiting for Stina to arrive. <br />
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Kathy gave another rousing jersey ceremony speech, which left all of us ready to play right then and there. It was really interesting to have Stina there for it because she does not come from a sports background. So she was a bit dazzled by the whole environment, setting, athletes, etc. It caused me to take a little step back and remember how special this all is and see it anew through a different set of eyes. We then sat and chatted for a bit more before I went off to the dorms and to bed.<br />
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And then it was game day again. I went over to breakfast... I figure I ate the official breakfast when we beat KZN, so I ought to continue the tradition. After breakfast, I came back to the dorms and was banished to my room. So that is where I am, writing and getting ready to play again. I am excited that my friends and family will be here to see the game and I'm just excited to play. Alright, at this point, I should put my self down for a nap. Nighty night!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-89292683377594810822010-08-20T19:05:00.002-04:002010-08-21T16:54:34.180-04:00UK Eagles 6: We love our bikini-clad fans!Whoo hoo! For anyone who hasn't heard the cheering all the way from England, the we beat Kazakhstan 51-0 in our opening match of the Women's Rugby World Cup. Amazing! Still coming down from the intensity of it all.... well that and thawing from the glacial ice-bath we took post match.<br />
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Picking up from my last post and leading up to today's victory...<br />
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Wednesday night we got our bikes, and like I wrote before, I rode to the store and back. After I got back, Ham and I took part in a little cultural exchange. We were tossing around a football, when some of the Irish girls asked if they could have a go. They had some nice catches, but the best part was the touchdown dance done by one of the Ireland centers on the walkway. While they were learning about American Football, a few of them tried to teach me and Ham how to play hurling (or gaelic football). Both Ham and I tried to hit the ball like it was a baseball and with little success.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4910124592/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Roll out by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Roll out" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/4910124592_9f593e1f63_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Thursday we we had a mild morning before heading into our captain's run. A few folks took advantage of their new found freedom and rode their bikes into Guildford to have lunch. I rode my bike around the corner to the post-office to get a few stamps. We had a brief captain's run on Thursday afternoon just to get a feel for the field and get some more opportunity to fine-tune what we were going to be taking into the match today. It was a novel experience because up until that point, I always took captain's runs for granted in terms of how they flowed. It was an entirely different experience when running it. But it flowed well, and despite some slips because we had to do the run in sneakers, everything looked crisp and fast.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4910125760/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Potter with her lock friends by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Potter with her lock friends" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/4910125760_de23b82d29.jpg" width="400" /></a>After the captain's run, I came back to my room and did some work, chatted, and otherwise tried to stay relaxed. Other folks napped, watched movies, etc. We had our jersey ceremony that the evening and it was great to see all the friends, family, and fans who came out to support us. It is always awesome when that happens. Then it was over to the Surrey Sports Park for Bridges, PK, and me, as we had to do an interview with Jackie Finlan of Rugby Magazine.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4909524547/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="The Bike gang of Guildford by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="The Bike gang of Guildford" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4909524547_1257b1aa67.jpg" width="400" /></a>Today was an action packed day. I got up this morning and made my way to breakfast... I normally bypass making the trek from the dorms to the sports park for breakfast, but I had a little extra energy to burn this morning and couldn't sleep any more, so thought I'd go. After breakfast, we rode our bikes over to a field for a brief core session and arousal workout to get everything firing on all cylinders before heading back to the dorms for our final preparations. From there everything seemed to be happening in fast-time. We warmed up and got to the locker room and next thing you know we were following our flag-bearer out onto the field and belting out the National Anthem (with the help of all our fans). Then it was GAME TIME!!!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4911013207/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="PK supporting Christy by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="PK supporting Christy" height="332" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4911013207_fcbc4542bb.jpg" width="500" /></a>I would give you the play-by-play recap, but I think Jackie's article for <a href="http://www.rugbymag.com/news/national-teams/women/usa-womens-play-by-play.aspx">Rugbymag.com</a> or Katie Wurst's <a href="http://pressbox.teamusa.org/Pages/USA-Women-Dominate-Kazakhstan-in-Opener.aspx">press release</a> with USA Rugby do a better job of it, so I'll just stick to the feeling of it. We came out of the gates on fire and got on the board quickly, but everything seemed pretty frenetic. After that opening burst we got a little too crazy and got a series of penalties that had us on the back-foot. We just couldn't keep ball in hand initially, which I attribute to match-day jitters, and everyone trying to force something on every play. We weren't happy with the scoreline heading into half-time and knew we needed to step it up on both offense and defense. And did we. We scored 38 points in the second half because we started to relax and trust each other and just play rugby. It was great. I was bummed to come out of what had become such a pretty game, but glad to have been a part of it and to get a chance to watch some of that beauty as a fan. Speaking of fans... ours rock! We had such an amazing group of supporters there. Between family and friends, as well as the D.C. Furies, who were decked out in Star Spangled Bikinis (there's a pic <a href="http://www.rwcwomens.com/mm/Photo/Tournament/Mediazone/02/03/97/49/2039749_ORIG.jpg">here</a>), we had the best fans. In fact, Ali Donnelly of Scrumqueens said the USA fans were the loudest of the day. That U-S-A chant definitely picked me up every time I felt a little lagging. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/usawomeneagleswnt/4911690862/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="kazakhstan match day 137 by USA Women Eagles WNT, on Flickr"><img alt="kazakhstan match day 137" height="212" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4911690862_43ffe2693c.jpg" width="320" /></a>After the match, Christy and I were rushed off into the media corral where there were more interviews to be done with <a href="http://www.rwcwomens.com/mediazone/audio/index.html">IRB TotalRugby</a>, <a href="http://www.rugbymag.com/news/national-teams/women/the-good--bad-of-the-wnts-win.aspx">RugbyMagazine</a>, <a href="http://www.scrumqueens.com/">Scrumqueens.com</a>, etc. It's definitely more time in front of a camera or mic than I've ever had to face before and it is challenging me to be quick on my feet in thinking of how to respond to, sometimes, difficult questions. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4911013155/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="We got pretty good seats for the Eng-Ire match by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="We got pretty good seats for the Eng-Ire match" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4911013155_f912df63a3.jpg" width="400" /></a>Then it was into the coldest ice-bath I have ever experienced before a brief pool session to try and loosen up some of the stiffness that will no doubt be at full-force tomorrow. After that we got to go watch some of the other games before dinner (see all the results of the day at the <a href="http://www.rwcwomens.com/">Women's Rugby World Cup site</a>). There was some good rugby being played all around. After dinner we went out and watched the Ireland-England match. Mari and I decided that the best place from which to watch would be between the two fields, so we walked with authority and positioned ourselves 15 m back from the sideline between pitch 1 and 2. It was the best seat in the house - after a bit a few other teammates wised up to our genius and came to join us. The match was hard-fought, with Ireland playing dogged defense. We were really hoping that they could hold England to under 4 tries so they wouldn't get the bonus point, but alas, it was not to happen. England scored their 4th try in the waning moments of the match. But it was a brutal game, so we can only hope that they beat each other up a bit in preparation for our Tuesday match.<br />
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After the match, we went back to the dorms... Ham ordered pizza, so I enjoyed a little late night snack before I went to my room to write. I originally wasn't going to post tonight, and instead was going to wait until tomorrow, but I still had too much adrenaline from today's win, so thought it was as good a time as any. We really stepped it up today and set the bar for our World Cup endeavor high and I couldn't be more proud of us.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-57531805259565845142010-08-18T16:02:00.001-04:002010-08-19T04:12:42.719-04:00UK Eagles 5: Bikes... again! Whoo hoo<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4906477741/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Bridges on a bike ride by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Bridges on a bike ride" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/4906477741_4b140d3c7b_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>This is a quick post, but necessary because it is so exciting. We got bikes again. Our liason here at the Women's Rugby World Cup set us up with bikes for the whole time we are here. I rode to the store and back just for the sake of having wheels under me! It's great. Everyone is so stoked. And not only did we get bikes, but we got helmets as well. This is probably a very good thing considering that we aren't really that used to the fact that cars drive on the opposite side of the road here. <br />
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On another note, I changed the titles of the posts because there are pretty strict media requirements around the tournament with regards to what we can and can't write about/post. One of the big ones for branding reasons, is we are not allowed to abbreviate the name and I can't be bothered with writing out "Women's Rugby World Cup" every time I want to refer to it. So I'm going to try and come up with other euphemisms.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-76209603145682227402010-08-18T10:11:00.001-04:002010-08-18T15:55:55.323-04:00UK Eagles 4: Officially at the Women's Rugby World CupI have a little time this morning because I opted to skip walking over to breakfast and ate here at our flat. It was nice and leisurely sitting in my PJs enjoying some coffee and chatting with Kim and Ashley. With that extra time, I am going to start working on this post before our morning session. We'll see how much I get done before heading out to practice. If I don't finish it, I'll just come back to it later.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4904024190/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Welcome to our dorms! by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Welcome to our dorms!" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/4904024190_5c488bf661_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>We moved over to the official Women's Rugby World Cup flats on Monday morning. It was pretty comical watching all the bags pile up, as well as the plethora of food that had accumulated... though I benefited from that food this morning. It was pretty exciting to get to the new facility. We are the first athletes staying in these dorms and they the ones that are going to be used for the 2012 Olympics. We have our own bathroom (shower and all) in our rooms, which is exciting. All the other teams were also arriving, so it started to feel very real. We have Ireland across the walk from us, Canada next door, and Australia diagonal from us. So we get to see all the other athletes on a regular basis (whether for good or bad). <br />
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.... ran out of time before practice, so now I am returning after a practice, pool session, lunch, and getting 2 loads of laundry through the washer. I figure what better way to kill 60 minutes while the clothes dry than to catch up here. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4903435049/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Suns out, guns out! by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Suns out, guns out!" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4903435049_59ceddd559_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>After arriving on Monday, we unpacked and got a little settled in before heading over to the dining area for lunch. That first meal was our first chance to see some of the other teams and get a feel for the environment. It was a little chaotic at first, as I don't think the Surrey Sports Park were prepared for female athletes that were as big as we are and who eat as much as we do :) But after a couple of meals, they seem to have gotten into a groove. We were supposed to have a gym session in the afternoon, but there was a little miscommunication, so instead we did a little bodyweight session at the field with partners, which involved some wheelbarrow races, fireman squats, etc. It gave us a chance to model our new tech tees, which show off our massive guns. <br />
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The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking and finishing the settling in process. We had a brief meeting after dinner to just get the general lay of the land and understand what we were doing schedule-wise. We got to have quite the adventure getting to the meeting room since it entailed hiking to the top of what seemed like the empire state building. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4903434771/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Just keeps going and going by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Just keeps going and going" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4903434771_e68161f48b_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>After the meeting we came back to the dorms and got into position for the latest episode of Trueblood. It aired last night in the States, but we had to wait a day. It was the best episode of this season, in my opinion. So now, I don't know how we are going to cope with waiting an entire week before getting a new episode. I guess we'll have to come up with something. Maybe our rookies can use that time to really perfect their skit. <br />
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After Trueblood, I came back to my room and did some PhD work that I had been putting off and then started <i>The Poisonwood Bible</i>. I am not too far into yet, so I don't quite know how I feel about it. It hasn't sucked my in like <i>Push</i> did yet.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4904024164/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Team Captains by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Team Captains" height="179" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4904024164_392e61fa0e_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Yesterday (Tuesday) was a jam-packed day. We had breakfast in the morning and then were out for a core session before doing set-piece work. We had a small break and then went to lunch, and next thing you know we were back out on the field again. After practice, we had ice baths, which were our first ones since we've been here... I don't know that I've missed them, but I did feel good at practice today, so I guess they're essential. While we were ice-bathing, Ashley English went over at the official tournament launch with all the other team captains. She got to hold the actual Cup... exciting! <br />
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Amy, Bridges, Kmimi, and I walked to the TESCOs after the ice-bath. It's a lot closer to us now, so should make it easier to get last minute food cravings taken care of. We walked back from the store just in time to head over to dinner. After dinner, the forwards had a brief players meeting. I think I found the key to people being invested and interested in meetings - Ben & Jerry's on top of cookies. It's amazing how much more energy there was in the room after I got that stuff out and started passing it around...<br />
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After the meeting everyone adjourned to various movies and card games and such. I watched <i>Prescious</i> with Blair and Phaidra. Everyone had said that it was a sad movie and hard to handle, but I think having just read the book made it more bearable. For any who have read the book, it is really graphic, so the movie was relatively mild in that regard and made it less intense than it would have been if I hadn't read the book first.<br />
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I decided last night that I wasn't going to go get breakfast, so got to sleep in for a bit, but I already wrote about that. From breakfast it was out onto the field for core and then over to the private field for our last true practice before our first match of the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup. We were pretty fired up at practice and you could feel it in the pace. Now the key is keep all that energy reigned in for another day before we play. After practice, we did some recovery work at the pool and then had the afternoon off besides a meeting... So now it's time for me to go get the clothes from the drier and get ready for our meeting. I don't think I'll be writing again before the game (maybe I will if I need something to keep me calm). So hopefully the next post will be all about the thrill of the match!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-71281526771882113742010-08-15T19:18:00.003-04:002010-08-18T15:55:13.328-04:00UK Eagles 3: Where's Waldo?I figure I'll catch you all up on the happenings of the past two days as a way of decompressing from a slightly traumatic haircutting experience this evening. To explain; on every tour Kmimi gives me a haircut. For the past few years it has been a standard faux-hawk. She is really good at it. Recently it had been suggested that perhaps I should have more mo' and less faux', which would mean having my hair considerably shorter. It's hard to do that with scissors, but as it would happen Ham had a pair of clippers so we were able to get it shorter... mush shorter! "uh-oh", "oops", and "is it supposed to look like that" are never things you want to hear coming from the people cutting your hair. After a small snafu in which more hair than was expected disappeared from my head, Phaidra came to the rescue and faded, blended, and clipped me out of tragedy and into what became trendy. In fact, at one point I felt a little like a movie star with Phaidra clipping one side and Kmiecik trimming the other and all my teammates wandering in to take pictures because they heard disaster was abounding. All I needed was someone doing my make-up...<br />
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My exciting haircut aside, yesterday and today were really relaxing days, which was nice. Yesterday, we had a morning session that was really high-paced and intense, which felt good. It's great that things are starting to click and we are starting to get really excited about our game in less than a week! After practice we came back to the dorms and pretty much just relaxed. The weather was really gray and rainy again, so I didn't want to do anything. Some people went into town to do some shopping. I helped Kitt do laundry. We got caught in a bit of a deluge, but eventually made it back to the dorm. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4891818896/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Mmmm... pizza night by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Mmmm... pizza night" height="281" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4099/4891818896_0020b2982d.jpg" width="500" /></a>When we got back to the dorm it was time to start prepping for dinner. Kmimi was heading up the food brigade, so we had all hands on deck to do the prep work for pizza night. We had all sorts of veggies, meats, and other toppings being chopped and diced all over every surface of the kitchen. We wound up with an awesome feast of three different pizzas. We even had a few slices left over so we could snack on them during the Trueblood showing that happened later in the evening.<br />
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As you might have guessed, we watched some Trueblood that evening. We decided, since we had today off, that we could watch two episodes. We made some popcorn and got settled in.<br />
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Interestingly enough, we ended our day last night with Trueblood and then started our day with it today. After having an awesome omelet that Ham made for breakfast, we decided that we had some time, so we ought to watch an episode of Trueblood before starting our day off. We got through Episode 7, we decided it was still early enough that we really should watch Episode 8 as well. I mean afterall, Episode 9 was going to be aired tonight. We really should get ourselves caught up! So we watched another one and then got ready to head into town to do some sight seeing.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4894450799/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Heading in to Guildford by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Heading in to Guildford" height="179" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4894450799_0626734926_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4894451121/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Nathalie plays Where is Waldo by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Nathalie plays Where is Waldo" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4894451121_7f79849a8b_m.jpg" width="179" /></a>There was a large group that all went into town. We had a lot of fun adventures during our time in Guildford. I think a lot of it was facilitated by Nathalie who decided that we needed to recreate the Where's Waldo books all throughout the village. We found Waldo at the bus, in phone booths, in trees, at the castle... really everywhere you looked there was Waldo.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4894451509/" title="Where is Waldo by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Where is Waldo" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4894451509_0a207ee923_m.jpg" width="179" /></a> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4894492717/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="View from the castle keep by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="View from the castle keep" height="120" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4894492717_1f7fe35f51.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4894492967/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Untitled by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4894492967_9b30398bf0_m.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4895089282/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Untitled by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="500" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4895089282_39939bacc6.jpg" width="184" /></a>Throughout this we saw a lot of cool stuff... We wandered around the castle and the castle gardens. The castle was built in 1066AD and there were walls around it that dated to the 12th and 13th century. That is so ancient. I don't get how they were able to build the keep (that's what the tall castle tower is called) and the walls in those times. Baffling. While at the castle, we got to see a few teams competing in Lawn Bowling. After the castle we went through some of the narrow alleys (called closes) and saw some of the old cathedrals and hospitals. I've got some of the pictures here, but if you want to see all the days activity you can go to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/sets/72157624581217721/with/4894450799/">My World Cup Pictures</a>. <br />
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We head over to the World Cup village at Surrey Sports Park tomorrow morning at which point all the other teams will be arriving (though NZ arrived yesterday so we've seen them around our dorms a bit). So, tomorrow marks the official beginning of the tournament. That meant that tonight there was a flurry of activity as we started packing up everything in preparation for the move. <br />
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Sadly, we weren't able to watch the latest episode of TB because it airs in the States at 8pm, which is 1am UK time. Maybe it'll be up online tomorrow so we can get our fix. I really think that if we had had TB, we might have avoided the unfortunate hair escapade of this evening. I think that we need TB to assuage our need for melodrama in our lives, and without it we are forced to generate our own...<br />
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Alright, time to sign out. Next time I write it'll be from the World Cup athletes' village and we'll be one step closer to our goal!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-91563643537842362872010-08-13T18:31:00.003-04:002010-08-18T15:54:55.398-04:00UK Eagles 2: Putt-putt and CurlingAlrighty, now that I've got an episode of Trueblood done, I am ready to write. I'm hoping I can get this post done, so that I'll be completely up to date and can just do posts every couple of days (or a shorter one each day depending on my mood). Also, I'll need to get all my censorship-free posting crazies out f my system in the next two days since once Monday rolls around there are apparently a lot of media rules that we have to abide by in our use of social media in terms of what we can write and what pictures we can post and how we can portray the team and the tourney. I guess I should read the document Ginger sent out so I can make sure I don't break any of the rules.<br />
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I left off my last post with Wednesday night. The night I had just started this whole thing up again. Like I said, I had a really hard time sleeping. Because it took me so long to fall asleep, I slept in forever. Let me remind you we had Thursday off so I was okay with it. When I woke up, the family was all sitting around drinking coffee and eating breakfast - I think it might have been 11am. I guess everyone else was tired too because they all looked pretty groggy as well.<br />
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After spending a little bit of time working on editing an article that I had to submit back to a journal editor (like I said, being a PhD student can put a bit of a damper on things sometimes), Kitt and I decided to go do laundry and go explore Guildford (the town we are in). After a bit of an adventure finding an ATM where we could get cash (note to those traveling over from the States: if you have BofA, you don't pay any ATM fees (normally $5) if you use Barclays ATMs) we got our flat's laundry in and were off to walk in to town.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4888801834/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Love the signs in the UK by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Love the signs in the UK" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4888801834_ed4c3c3ce1_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>One thing I do love about the UK is the fact that they don't mince words when it comes to signs. For example, when near a seniors home you will see a sign which says "elderly people". If there are speed bumps near by, well they tell you that there are "humps for 430 yards". There's no room for error... well, maybe there is a little, but at least it makes me laugh.<br />
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Kitt and I eventually found our way in to town and somehow as if by pure magnetic forces beyond our control found ourselves in a sports and shoe store. After looking at a number of cleats and other shoes, Kitt settled on a pair of white, European, 'I am going dancing at a gay-boy club' pair of shoes. By that point we were starting to get hungry so we wandered out to find food, only to find ourselves standing in another shoe store. I don't know how it happened.<br />
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In the store, we ran in to Lara and Lynelle so all of us decided to go get food and wander around a little more. We ate at a cute little restaurant and then perused more stores before deciding that we needed to get back and get some more rest. So Kitt and I went and picked up our laundry and headed back to the flat.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4888205721/" title="Out and about in Guildford by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Out and about in Guildford" height="300" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4888205721_e7cfd988c3.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4888204911/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Untitled by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="" height="320" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4888204911_fd1596c21d.jpg" width="238" /></a>When we got back I spent more time working on my article. It took a lot of time to get it done because I kept getting distracted. First it was the hall-way putt-putt. Vanesha brought a whiffle ball set with her to the UK. We decided that a great way to use it would be to work on our short-game, so we put a measuring cup in the hallway and worked on our putting. That was less than successful so we moved on to curling. We used two hand brooms and the whiffle balls again. Still not particularly successful, but really funny. My next distraction came in the form of dinner both the preparing of it, but also the eating of it. Half-way through dinner we could hear the pod below us laughing, so we needed to get involved. We took the whiffle ball bat and attached Kitt's belt to it so we could dangle it out the window with notes attached to it. We thought we were very clever. Next thing you know a broom appeared outside our window with a return message. This went on for quite some time and we all had stomach-aches by the end because we were laughing so hard. But alas, eventually it too was abandoned for the next distraction, Trueblood.<br />
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Last night we got a craving for two episodes, so we watched one on my computer and then borrowed Kitt's to watch another. I wonder if there is a 12-step program for this type of thing? Finally, I was able to finish my article and get it submitted... but it took a bit of time.<br />
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Then today we were back out practicing. We had a morning core session for the forwards before heading to the field. We had one morning session, which was held under an ominous sky and we just finished practicing when the skies opened up. It was a gross day all afternoon. Just a constant gray rain. Ashley, Beckett, and I had to go over to the Sports Park with Kathy to do an interview with TotalRugby Radio, but the perk was we got to enjoy a nice hot cocoa at Starbucks, which was great given the gray conditions.<br />
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After the interview it was an afternoon spent hanging with the 'family', reading, relaxing, and getting this all caught up. We had a great dinner together and ended it with an episode of Trueblood - like I said, we have a problem. All in all, it was a good day. Lucky (or not) for me, I finished <i>Push</i> this afternoon and haven't started a new book, so perhaps I can go to sleep tonight without too much issue.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-54882157448210566892010-08-13T15:45:00.003-04:002010-08-18T15:54:34.365-04:00UK Eagles 1: Welcome to the UKAlright, so we are 5 days into our UK Residency... I might be a little behind in terms of my posting. What's new? But I'll still try to keep it up. If I seem to be slacking just send me an email kick-in-the-pants.<br />
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So an update on what we've been up to for the past few days (I'll split it into two posts so that I don't get overwhelmed and not do anything).<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4888336569/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="travel day by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="travel day" height="135" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4888336569_e28c957217_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>After arriving in London at 7am and not really getting any sleep on the plane we were pretty much fried. We took a bus out to Guildford and unloaded what seemed like a mountain of bags... upon reflection, it was a mountain of bags. I took a nap, which in hindsight was a bad idea. When I woke up to go out for a run around I was a bit of a zombie. Luckily we were just trying to get a little bit of lead out of the legs, so we played some football and tag and other fun stuff so it wasn't too grueling or mentally taxing.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4888803422/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="The fridge of a flat of rugby players by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="The fridge of a flat of rugby players" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/4888803422_8e34da653b_m.jpg" width="180" /></a>Because we aren't officially at the World Cup village yet we don't have access to a dining hall, so we are cooking for ourselves in our little flats. So after the runaround one person from each flat went out to the grocery store and stocked up the fridges for her suite-mates. I volunteered to go for my flat and I think they all benefited from my love of food. If you want a full-fridge, send a prop to do your shopping. It totally made me feel like I was back in Americorps, trying to figure out how to get the most food without breaking the bank.<br />
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When we came back from the store it was time for bed. After no sleep and a wicked time difference, I was exhausted. I went to bed at 9pm and didn't wake up until 8am the next morning.<br />
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Tuesday we had double sessions. We did some subunit work in the morning and then spent the afternoon on team play. It was super gray and rainy, but the practice was really productive. We came back afterwards and ate dinner (I almost missed dinner because I fell asleep watching 'The Weakest Link') before having a team meeting. After the meeting I started reading 'Push', and next thing you know it was 11pm. It is an intense book, but totally absorbing. Luckily I finished it today (Friday), so maybe I'll get to bed at a decent hour tonight.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4883861222/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Working out as a team by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Working out as a team" height="150" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/4883861222_4663d47e43_m.jpg" width="200" /></a>Wednesday we had another day of double sessions. The forwards got back into the whole morning core routine again and then we went to the gym as a whole team. The sports complex that is being used for the tournament is brand new, so the weight facility are awesome, though it was a bit of a challenge converting all the weights from kilos to pounds. In the afternoon, we had another team practice. It seems like folks are starting to get over the jetlag a bit and practices are flowing. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4888801960/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Family dinnertime by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Family dinnertime" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/4888801960_242eb8cee2_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Back on the home front, we are having a blast on our flat. It's Vanesha, Kitt, Ham, Kmimi, and me. We've created a little family unit. After realizing that having only a few folks cook for the entire team was not very time efficient, we decided to start having each flat cook for themselves with one group doing the prep work. So now we are having 'family dinners'. <br />
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After family dinner-time, it was time for some entertainment. So of course, Trueblood had to come back out. We managed to find a website where we could get one episode a night per computer of season three. So, Christy, Phaidra, Nathalie, Ashley, and I sat around my laptop watching Episode 1 of Season Three. Luckily, we don't have the projector set up like we did at Bowdoin so we can't just sit and watch 4 episodes in a row. We are forced to take a break and go to sleep.<br />
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Unfortunately, that whole going to sleep thing was not happening for me on Wednesday night. I was up until 2:30am working on this blog because I just couldn't sleep. Hopefull a few more days and I'll be over this jet lag thing. Luckily we had the day off Thursday, so I didn't stress too much about my inability to sleep like I would have if we had practice.<br />
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Alright, I'm up to Thursday. I'll leave off and come back to that with my next post, so that I can make sure I don't get too far behind. Maybe I can even get Thursday and Friday up tonight after episode 4 :)Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-28670719975306117462010-08-13T12:27:00.001-04:002010-08-17T08:07:17.835-04:002010 Women's Rugby World Cup: The PrologueFor those looking to follow us other places, check out @swissbeatz, @maribwallace, @flank72002 on Twitter. ... and also<a href="http://claudiabraymer.blogspot.com/"> Claudia's blog</a> , <a href="http://worldcupwords.blogspot.com/">Vanesha's blog</a>, <a href="http://thepenguinfiles.blogspot.com/">Kim's Blog</a>, and <a href="http://www.thephaidraknight.com/">Phaidra's website</a> are other places to check us out. <br />
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So, I'm already off to a rough start on my whole blogging thing. We had the entire day off yesterday and yet I didn't manage to get my post done... I was too distracted by shopping in downtown Guildford followed by hallway putt-putt and curling, the inter-floor note-feud, and Trueblood (all will be explained in a subsequent post) to get anything accomplished. Luckily (or not) it's super-gray and rainy outside today and everyone is napping during our off-time, so perhaps I can get caught up. I think once I am caught up it will be easier to maintain. We'll see...<br />
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So, before just jumping into the whole World Cup (or rather Women's Rugby World Cup as we've been told it's to be called) thing, I figured a little prologue might be beneficial. While we were pretty good at Nations Cup about keeping in touch, we fell off as the year went on. So I'll give the abbreviated version of what we've been up to as a team for the past year leading into World Cup. I'll try and keep it succinct (which for those of you who know me, know that will be hard) limiting my comments to only those things that are particularly funny, poignant, meaningful, or weird.<br />
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Nations Cup came and went. We were good about being up to date. Go back and look at USA rugby if you need a refresher.<br />
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We all came home and played for our respective Club teams in the first season of the WPL. In between matches we were figuring out time to squeeze in fitness tests once a month<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGcpwu_OHRA4hvrkzgbO6TQ_ybPnwUxz9x9sjkfZ6DlpFVJC9r0oQ3R9c13VHIcpF_xvJi05epzRGfZfClhKzNXCo97xvosLwxTPtYDJxywSvCzjxkJhFOM7-50jji7jf3hjc/s1600/shanksgiving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGcpwu_OHRA4hvrkzgbO6TQ_ybPnwUxz9x9sjkfZ6DlpFVJC9r0oQ3R9c13VHIcpF_xvJi05epzRGfZfClhKzNXCo97xvosLwxTPtYDJxywSvCzjxkJhFOM7-50jji7jf3hjc/s200/shanksgiving.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table>Two weeks after the end of Nationals, the WNT assembled at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center in what will forever be known as Shanksgiving. This was an entertaining way to spend the holiday. I figure if I couldn't be with my blood family, then I'd at least be with my other family. I'm not real sure what the backs did - maybe their hair?, but the forwards spent many days kicking the crap out of each other. <br />
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After the Chula Camp, the pool got cut down to just 35 players working to try and earn a spot on the WC squad. I think once that started happening, it became more real that we were in fact getting closer and closer to London.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/4454354869/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Celebrating the win post-game by uvarugger, on Flickr"><img alt="Celebrating the win post-game" height="159" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2769/4454354869_5d98e1d3f6_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>We had Atlantic Cup down in Florida in January. Somehow it doesn't matter where we go, we find ourselves facing atypical weather conditions. How is it the one year we are in Florida in January, there are record-setting cold temperatures? One morning we had to chip ice off the scrum-sled before we could use it. In fact, it was warmer in Boston on one of the days we were there. Regardless, it was a productive time together and we got to get two matches in against Canada, which was good because we need as much international game exposure as we can get. We wound up losing the fist match 18-8, but went on the win the second match 11-10. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/usawomeneagleswnt/4670499296/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="backsday2_050710_0148 by USA Women Eagles WNT, on Flickr"><img alt="backsday2_050710_0148" height="167" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4670499296_4a1c25c842_m.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The backs doing what they do</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We didn't have any other full assemblies for the next several months. Instead, most players were working with their TUs and getting geared up for NASC's. Though we didn't have any full trainings, we did have subunit work. The forwards had a training in Monmouth NJ for fourdays in April, while the backs met in San Fran the following weekend. This was to be the final set of trainings before the squad was reduced from 35 down to 30 players. From the pictures it looked like they were having fun. I know the highlight for the forwards was a barbecue in which we won a highly contested tug-of-war competition, as well as a rousing game of chicken-in-the henhouse (if you've never played, I recommend it). <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtmfCU1epnVt7lWc1rZWZE6RTl3xGJhGeXjrxA-vXW7ZumAYPGc9pDultHlpD-aha36GIyAI58C8BOJ-FArL1o2iiCBiBHdz0BnlsX_cP-Dr4AMDJPSsTW_AIW_-wx-gyOYw7/s1600/30154_1496338247070_1192506117_3048590_3148899_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtmfCU1epnVt7lWc1rZWZE6RTl3xGJhGeXjrxA-vXW7ZumAYPGc9pDultHlpD-aha36GIyAI58C8BOJ-FArL1o2iiCBiBHdz0BnlsX_cP-Dr4AMDJPSsTW_AIW_-wx-gyOYw7/s200/30154_1496338247070_1192506117_3048590_3148899_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>After the forwards camp was when the final 30 was named. That next round of cuts made it even more real... well that and the fact that we started to realize that matches were less than 100 days away.<br />
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In our final international matches before World Cup, we went to British Columbia to play two games against Canada. We were on Vancouver Island for 10 days staying at Dwight International School on the shores of Shawnigan Lake. We had a lot of time enjoying the lake (read: it was super cold and served as our ice-bath), as well as many nights spent watching movies. We played two matches and lost them both, which was disappointing in terms of outcome. But the from the level of improvement from game one to two, it is clear we haven't quite peaked yet, which frankly is okay as long as we're there come August 20. After the last match of Can-Ams, the final selections were announced. It was hard to know that 4 teammates would not be traveling to London with us after all the hard work we have all put into this endeavor, but in the end, we knew the day would have to come and when it did we tried to support each other as best we knew how.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shawnigan Lake outside Dwight International</td></tr>
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After the Can-Ams we had a few weeks off to back home before becoming professional rugby players for essentially the next 2 months. I spent my time doing some more training, working some for the Red Cross, and getting in one course working for Outward Bound.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidQnRngyCgZAesHJw_RYkOnwca2jxqvbHZGbGa24D7b5CAlT01R0F-iEHsnSD_KccMgU8QYV_RPwWb-yL68rVshbRpBSLtmMfDzL1nsaHJI4LouqysBZFQuOE9qgc4cZQkT0s/s1600/at+gym.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidQnRngyCgZAesHJw_RYkOnwca2jxqvbHZGbGa24D7b5CAlT01R0F-iEHsnSD_KccMgU8QYV_RPwWb-yL68rVshbRpBSLtmMfDzL1nsaHJI4LouqysBZFQuOE9qgc4cZQkT0s/s200/at+gym.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weight room at Bowdoin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlbtpl97bHPzGGMvqKHjq88xlggJs1gADlEZYUMy6BnY2MNob3pwZXnGO_uqrIRHzoHxQu2z0X4Eiq8vtshMq_S9W0PNmBsK-HA4FooIvJkN0uHAT2wmOn-LthHxaNWbYm3gD/s1600/Guitar+hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitlbtpl97bHPzGGMvqKHjq88xlggJs1gADlEZYUMy6BnY2MNob3pwZXnGO_uqrIRHzoHxQu2z0X4Eiq8vtshMq_S9W0PNmBsK-HA4FooIvJkN0uHAT2wmOn-LthHxaNWbYm3gD/s200/Guitar+hero.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guitar hero</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Residency was an awesome experience... and I certainly mean awesome in both the sense that it can mean great, but also in the truest sense of it brought on some awe. In a country as geographically spread out as ours is, we don't get a lot of time to work together as an entire team. It is so important to have time to work together consistently in order to create connections and understand timing so having the residency was a blessing. We worked really hard for three weeks. We had core sessions every morning for the forwards and stretching sessions for the backs, we did multiple practices a day, we got to use amazing weight facilities, got to watch match video, and have strategy session. We truly were taking on the role professional athletes. I think we became more aware of this role when we started getting recognized on the streets of Brunswick and people would stop us and ask for our autographs. Being featured in the <a href="http://timesrecord.com/articles/2010/07/22/sports/doc4c487ff6144ae056179595.txt">newspaper</a> several times didn't hurt either. In addition to all the we got a lot of quality time together. Mari brought her Wii to Bowdoin, so on any given night there was guitar hero going on generally with an audience. In addition, Kitt had the first two seasons of Trueblood with her, which quickly became an obsession. The first few episodes only had a few people watching, but by the end there was an entire cohort of us that were completely obsessed... the obsession has crossed the pond with us, such that we are now watching season three on my laptop at night. Another fun feature of residency was our bike gang. Mary-Beth (the coach of Bowdoin who took awesome care of us) told us about the yellow bike program, in which you can rent bikes to use around campus. Many of us got them to use to commute to downtown Brunswick and around to practices and the weightroom and anywhere else we felt inspired to ride. Each bike had a name, and quickly we began referring to our bikes by their name and knew who rode Megatron or the Lorax. I still miss April! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5bW-fkplzZxEr_kp4z1uKIlRpGOuRWjK8GIyWgnCzyxYiNu3Us7UxkEHqF7Elpw8C0JSkbe7BJOpt-2_aE_0WeQJLwgbfABXz_r6gEU9dioeX3F60qFsrpE55EV7kHIFaZvEU/s1600/bike+gang+diverse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5bW-fkplzZxEr_kp4z1uKIlRpGOuRWjK8GIyWgnCzyxYiNu3Us7UxkEHqF7Elpw8C0JSkbe7BJOpt-2_aE_0WeQJLwgbfABXz_r6gEU9dioeX3F60qFsrpE55EV7kHIFaZvEU/s200/bike+gang+diverse.jpg" width="200" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After residency ended, we had 8 days off to go home and have a little down-time, before heading to London. I spent my time with my dad, girlfriend, and cat, watching Red Sox games, seeing Cirque du Soleil, and generally being lazy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbb0ykVN9EshKGXKdN56fEmbH1oHsDWDo56n_3AZWz-NwQPj5Q4tY08BPNZMO2hFkz8xLtlHYwaZ2NJ-p8JXc0AQsv1DNPkKEQGSM5mf57XNcMzfSe6YVsbARukmer-IKP3HU/s1600/sox+game+with+dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbb0ykVN9EshKGXKdN56fEmbH1oHsDWDo56n_3AZWz-NwQPj5Q4tY08BPNZMO2hFkz8xLtlHYwaZ2NJ-p8JXc0AQsv1DNPkKEQGSM5mf57XNcMzfSe6YVsbARukmer-IKP3HU/s200/sox+game+with+dad.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br />
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Whew... who knew writing about a year would be so involved :) but now you know what we've been up to and we can start off World Cup with everyone all caught up.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-28130362754647317992010-08-11T20:44:00.001-04:002010-08-17T08:07:00.311-04:00Intro to the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup: It's been a long timeWell, hmmm... it's been a little under 4 years since I last updated this blog - the last time being the 2006 World Cup in Edmonton Canada. With the 2010 World Cup right here, and many requests that I do it again coming in from folks who used my blog during the last World Cup to keep up with what was happening with the team, I've decided to give it a shot again. I can't make any guarantees that I will be as prolific in my posting as I was last time because this time around I have other obligations (i.e. a pesky PhD that I'm working on), but I will give it a shot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the 2010 World Cup in London</td></tr>
</tbody></table>As of right now (1:36am, Thur), I am suffering from some serious insomnia as a result of jet-lag, muscle soreness, and watching <i>Trueblood</i> too close to bedtime, so it seemed like it was as good a time as any to at least kick off this endeavor. This means this is going to be uber-short and what you see is what you get. I'm just giving you the intro and then tomorrow - which is a day off - I'll work on getting you all caught up on what the National Team has been up to for the past however long so that we can get into the heart of World Cup 2010. With that I say, welcome back and good night!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-1158942530384564822006-09-22T12:28:00.000-04:002006-12-13T08:50:10.420-05:00World Cup 18: The endWell, I’m back in the country and starting to get back into the swing of the “real” world. I’m back at my usual haunts, the Temescal Café, having some coffee and working online. So, now it’s time for the final wind down from World Cup. The deep, meaningful, poignant piece on what it all means. Unfortunately, I’m not real sure of that myself. Being back home and slipping back into working and all that stuff seems somehow anti-climactic for what just happened. World Cup has been something that I have been training for and striving towards for the past six years or so. The fact that it has come and gone and life just falls back into the previous status quo seems somehow asynchronous. It feels like there should be some sort of transition or change, not just a return to normal. I guess that’s something to think about. It’s also hard not knowing what will happen next for the National Team. We played so well over the past two games and I just want to keep going with that momentum. I want there to be another World Cup sooner than four years so that we can really put everything that started to come together into play now. If we had played as well the entire tournament as we played against Australia and Scotland, who knows what we would have done. <br /><br />Last night I went to practice with Berkeley and was two minds about it. The practice was very contact oriented and I was not really ready to be hitting again, yet, but the pace was slower than at the International level so it all evened out. It’s interesting to come back and be kicking right into the Club season because I spent a lot of time during the last bit of my training for World Cup talking myself through the hardest workouts by promising myself a break afterwards. That doesn’t seem to be an option, but I need to really find some new motivation to get back into the hard training. Hopefully after a few more recovery days my body will be ready to go back to the grind.<br /><br />So, I guess that’s it. World Cup happened and it was amazing. It was the best rugby I’ve played in my life, both individually, as well as team rugby. I hope that the inspiration of playing that much beautiful rugby will carry us through the club season. Either way… it was one of the best experiences in my life. Now I have to reassess and set some new goals and aspirations to keep my energies focused and on track. On a side note, I’m going to try and be better about keeping this blog slightly more up to date than just writing after each rugby tour… but we’ll see how that goes.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-1158578319809494892006-09-18T07:04:00.000-04:002006-09-22T12:41:18.096-04:00World Cup 17: The last daySo, the time is 4:59am and we're up loading the vans with our luggage. We'll be leaving for the airport in about a half hour. So I'll try and get a little in, but I'll definitely have to save the last post with the impact of this trip till I have more time.<br /><br />The jersey ceremony on Saturday night was great. Anne McClain sent us the flag from her first combat mission in Iraq and that was the flag we used duringthe presentation. Anne was originally on the team a few years back, but then got deployed to Iraq and couldn't be here or come support. It was really awesome to feel that support from across the globe. After the jersey ceremony we had a short presentation to do gifts and such then it was crazy packing time and more rampant trading. We were all trying to get everything ready to go and get our stuff that has reproduced back into it's respective containers.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/245452178/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/85/245452178_0f4d09a8f0.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="This one needs to get framed" /></a><br />Yesterday just flew by. It was breakfast one moment and then we were on the pitch playing. It's was a beautiful game. We just worked so well together and the final score of 24-0 reflected that. Our scrums were on, our backs were on, everything just... I can't even think of a word for how much fun that game was. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/249261676/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/87/249261676_586faf4616.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Team pic after Scotland match" /></a><br />Then we showered (there was no way in hell I was getting in the ce bath) and had our post match function with Scotland. Then we went down to watch the rest of the matches. France beat Canada and New Zealand beat England in a fiercly fought battle. I got to just hang out with my mom and John and the rest of my team. We also got to watch Dude and Jen get married during the day. They decided to do it in Canada because gay marriage is official and legal there. It was great to get to be there with them for that.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/249261935/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/83/249261935_27f1dafdb2_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="The cake" /></a><br /><br />After the games it was the blitzkrieg of showering, trying to cram a few more things in bags, and then off to the official post tournament dinner. It was a zoo of activity with everyone wandering around trying to see what they could swap for. My best acqusition was a training jersey from france that I got for my technical tee. They also announced a World 15 and Jen was selected as the number 5. I am really proud of her (and Phaidra who got 6 and Ellie who got 11, too). <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/249262763/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/90/249262763_e0c20c1a92.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="At the banquet" /></a><br />After the function we came back to the hotel and got changed into our going out attire and went over to the Lion's Head to party it up. We were there with South Africa, Australia, Ireland, and England. It was a lot of fun and then we wandered off to another place called Overtime for a bit before I threw in the towel and came back to get an hour and a half of sleep. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/249263068/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/95/249263068_a59e0e5dc4.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="At the Lion's Head Pub" /></a><br />Now I'm up and packed and ready to begin the marathon travel day home. I'll write one more World CUp post when I get back and add pictures to this post, but for now... Goodbye Edmonton!Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-1158449587744212892006-09-16T19:12:00.000-04:002006-12-12T18:06:26.003-05:00World Cup 16: It's starting to wind downSo, we only have a few days left of this WOrld Cup. It's really surreal when I think about the fact that many of us have been training and preparing for this event for years and years and it's finally here and almost gone. It leaves a little sense of 'what now?'. <br /><br />So the past couple of days have been a lot of fun and really have embodied what World Cup is all about. On Thursday I spent the day out shopping for food with Miller and KTP for our BBQ with South Africa, which was one of the highlights of the trip. We went over to the Edmonton Rocker's clubhouse and had a big BBQ. It started out a little like a junior high dance with both teams standing off to one side talking to each other, but that changed after a bit. We broke the ice initially with 'The Bottle Game', where one person is a base and the other person tries to crawl up there back and place a bottle out as far as they can without touching the ground. It's usually a drinking game, but we did it with water bottles and sober. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/244957193/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/80/244957193_9125d46498.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="The bottle game" /></a><br />Then we had food, which always brings rugby players together. But the real bonding came when we played a rousing rendition of 'Chicken on the Henhouse', where everyone had to partner with someone not from their team. I won't even try and describe how you play the game, but for those of you who know what it is you know how much fun we had! After that there was a dance-off, where we went position by position with one USA dancer going head-to-head with a South African dancer. In the end we were all cracking up and the final tally was a tie (or at least I say it was, and since I was the MC keeping score what I say goes). The evening wound down with the South African girls singing and drumming for us and then with us doing our rhythm performace for them. It was a really great night to bring our two teams together and bond. It's really what World Cup is all about...<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/244957150/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/89/244957150_fe2ff5453f.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Kathy and Sammy" /></a><br />Yesterday was reminiscent of our various UK tours. We had two practices both in sleet/ice-rain and a temperature of 5 degrees celsius (about 42 degrees)... it wasn't too bad once we got moving, but the hands never seemed to regain feeling once it was lost. After what were our last real practices of World Cup we came back and took long hot showers to try and thaw some before heading to the hotel next door for a dinner. We had a fancy little shindig to thank all our donors who have given so much of themselves to this program and to what we are doing here. My parents were able to come to the dinner, so I got to spend some time with them again. And apparently people actually read and pay attention to what I write in my blog seeing as I now have tickets to tomorrow's match for my family thanks to one of our donors, Denise Hargreaves, who read my blog and wanted me to have her tickets since she couldn't be here. Thank you, Denise! <br /><br />After dinner the trading craziness began. Several of the South African girls came by looking to trade stuff, so the feeding frenzy began. I really want one of their fleeces, but unfortunately I don't think I have anything that any of them would want, so I'll have to keep scouring. I wound up with an entire South African kit, as well as a French jersey, that is pretty much spandex on me (it's a XL though and I did trade their prop), but it prevents shirt tackles.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/244957367/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/90/244957367_30ee86a2c3.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Our French superman jerseys" /></a><br />This morning we had a short captain's run-through to just get the backs working together. And then we came back to the hotel put on as many layers as we could find, as well as the various South Africa paraphanelia we had acquired last night to go out and root on the South African team during their last match. They unfortunately lost to Kazakstan, but we cheered them on the whole way regardless. After that we came back to the hotel to shower and began the packing process. We still have two days left, but tomorrow's going to be consumed with the game, then other matches and post tournament functions that we really need to be packed before tomorrow night because we'll be leaving monday morning at the butt-crack of dawn. While packing a little low-level trading happened (I got a Irish prop's jersey). After that most people stayed low-key and read or watched movies. I watched 'The Devil Wears Prada' with Jen and Pam, before we had to go to a brief forwards meeting. Now it's a little bit till dinner and then our final jersey ceremony of the tour. I'll be getting my 3rd number 1 jersey, which is just incredible to me. <br /><br />So that's about it... I'll write tomorrow before the match (I hope) to try and stay up to date or else things may get too chaotic and I'll lose track of events.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-1158243884857298952006-09-14T10:23:00.000-04:002006-09-14T22:10:16.353-04:00World Cup 15: It all came togetherSo you'd think with all the time I've had off in the past couple of days I'd have caught this up... but I caught a serious case of the lazies and haven't. So now I've got some catching up to do. So I'll start where I left off last time, which was with the jersey ceremony.<br /><br />The jersey ceremony was short and to the point. Kathy's speech hinted around the discord that had been drifting around the team that I mentioned in my last post. She really emphasized our need to be unified going into our match vs Australia. After the jersey ceremony we had a team meeting to really address what had been going on for people. It was really good for us. It was also quite emotional, but I think that in many ways served the purpose of really emphasizing how much we really care about each other and this team. I left the meeting feeling a much greater sense of peace and togetherness.<br /><br />I can't really remember the morning of the game. My short-term memory is non-existent. I think I spent it playing on-line cribbage, but I can't be certain. Before we left for the match Tina bought me a coffee with vanilla, which served to set my heart racing and stomach doing somersaults on the drive out to St. Albert's. We went through a quick warm-up and then it was game time. We played awesome. It was as though all the things we'd been talking about just finally came together. We were flying over breakdowns, the backs were passing and getting the ball wide, there was interpay between the backs and forwards. It was really pretty to be a part of. The only let-down happened with about 15 minutes left in the game. I think we got a bit frazzled with all the changes in the line-up die to subs and Australia capitalized on that. In the end the final score was 29-12. I felt really good about the way I played (I'm blaming the vanilla coffee) after I got sorted out in the scrums.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/242925635/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/83/242925635_d41e9577ac.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Props love to tackle wings" /></a><br />After the game we had our post-match exchange and then we watched the Scotland vs Ireland match, knowing that we would be playing the winners of that match on Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium. It was a fierce game with a final score of 11-10, with Scotland winning. There's a part of me that wanted Scotland to win because we haven't played them at this tourney, but I also wanted to see Ireland pull it out in the end because they played with such heart and tenacity right up to the end. After the match we came home and had dinner. Then the fun began.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/242913103/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/96/242913103_e952fa14a2.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Drinking at St. Alberts" /></a><br /><br />A vicious rumor started circulating that there was karaoke at the hotel bar next-door. So a group of us ventured over there to croon to the masses as a victory celebration. As it would turn out karaoke is only on Sunday. The mistaken sign read Kokanee specials every night (not karaoke every night). Nonetheless we were there and decided to have some fun. We were not disappointed. There were 5 rugby teams who took over the pub (England, Ireland, Australia, USA, and South Africa) and we made a huge dance party thanks to a fun and entertaining deejay, who kept things moving. I went through two shirts because it was so hot and we were sweating so much, but it was a blast. A few of us schemed to try and abscond the Australian's Stuffed Wallaroo that they carry around, but our attempts were thwarted. I came home around midnight and showered before falling soundly asleep.<br /><br />Farrah moving in on the Wallaroo<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/242913197/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/27/242913197_f42372e609.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Farrah trying to steal the Wallaroo" /></a><br /><br />I told you it was hot in there<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/242913229/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/27/242913229_c7b327489f.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Ham's all sweaty" /></a><br /><br />Yesterday seems so long ago. It was quite a fun day. In the morning we went to a local high school and taught rugby to a gym class. There were about 20 boys and 30 girls, and we worked with them on passing, kicking, evasive running, etc. At the end we even had a little time to do some tackling. After the gym class was over we did a Q&A session with the school's boys and girls rugby teams. All in all it was a lot of fun and went really well. We came back from the school and went directly to lunch. After lunch we had a pool recovery session with Michelle, before being released for the rest of the day.<br /><br />Some people spent the day watching pay-per-view movies at the hotel. Others wandered over the gym to do light workout. Jen and I went and did laundry. Hopefully this should be the last time for the trip, though it has been raining and getting colder so we might go through more clothes than normal. After laundry, Jen and I came back to the hotel and then decided to go out and get Sushi for dinner. It was alright, but unfortunately we forget that we're from California where you can get amazing sushi just about anywhere, and right now we're in a land-locked state in Canada. We may have set our expectations too high :) After dinner we came back and had dessert with the folks who stayed and ate at the hotel and then watched some movies and tv for the the rest of the evening. It was a great way to end and otherwide dreary and grey day.<br /><br />This morning we had breakfast and then had a brief video session. We were watching the reffing style of the ref we're going to have for our match on Sunday, as well as some footage of the Scottish team to see what we should expect. Then it was shower time so that we could be ready for our photo-shoot with Jen Doan. We were doing head shots out at a sanctuary near the river. It was beautiful out there and it really made me miss the fall, which we don't really get to see being in Oakland. I went off wandering while other people got their pictures taken. It was gorgeous. I wish I could have spent more time exploring the trails and wild-life. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/243289104/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/96/243289104_b02e8bd96b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/243289167/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/93/243289167_ff3c053e76.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="At the sanctuary" /></a><br />After we took the pictures we came back and I cleaned my muddy chacos off and finally finished writing this. Now it's lunch time and we have the rest of the day free until 5pm when we're going to have a BBQ with the South African team. I have no idea what to do. Maybe I'll wander up to the outlets with some of the other girls (not that I need to do any shopping). Who knows...Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-1158017491787214422006-09-11T19:28:00.000-04:002006-09-14T13:58:52.880-04:00World Cup 14: Axe-throwing, horse feeding bowlersWell the title probably leaves everyone a bit confused, so I'll explain... I'm writing this now to keep from chucking my computer out a 5th floor window because of technical problems. I've been trying to do a redcross instructor update for the past hour and the computer has been eating it each time I do it... after three times I've given up for a while.<br /><br />So the past two days have been very interesting and hard and fun and everything in between. Yesterday we went to the Druids pitch at around 11:30am. We ate lunch at subway and then went to the clubhouse to watch the match video. There were definitely some frustrating things in it, but we were also able to see some of the positive things we did. After lunch and the video we got ready for an afternoon training session. Before practice began selections were announced. I'm going to be playing tighthead prop. <br /><br />I didn't realize how much selections affect team dynamics but there seems to be a definite polarity between those who were selected and those who were not, at least backswise (I guess we don't notice it in the forwards as much because positions are constantly being rotated around and tweaked). I don't understand it because it's not like the people who got selected were involved in the selection process. There's no reason that those people should feel guilty for getting selected. Right now I don't think they feel as supported as they could be. I understand that it's hard to not get selected for a game, but divisions in the team can really impact morale and cohesiveness. It just splinters everything. Part of me questions whether I should be writing this but I'm not about to start editing my personal blog. That would take away from my sense of integrity about what I'm writing. That and I don't think it's a surprise that people get upset by selections particularly if they aren't picked. That's the nature of competitive sports in many ways. I guess the bigger issue is when that disappointment interferes with the unity of the team. Hopefully, once everyone has some time alone to process it'll be fine. <br /><br />Practice was hard. There seemed to be a lot of competetive energy, flowing around. After practice we tried to shower before heading to Sue and Wes' for another BBQ but unfortunately were greeted by no water in th lockerroom. So we had to go with the deodorant shower before heading over there. When we arrived there we were greeted by several horses that were really excited about our willingness to give them lots of hay and grass. I guess the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/240673177/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/93/240673177_0ec458b90d.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Ham pimps with the pony" /></a><br /><br />Sue then showed us how to do lumberjack ax throwing. It's a part of the lumberjack competitions. Apparently people actually make a living at it. Of everyone, Mari was the best with the ax. She scored 12 points. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/240674027/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/93/240674027_75cf32cb5b_m.jpg" width="180" height="240" alt="Lumberjack Ax throwing" /></a><br />Then we sat around the bonfire, while folks tried to break open a pinata. The cherry on the cake was when Wes told us that he'd hook up the sled-dogs to the ATV and take KFlo on a sled ride around the property. It was really impressive how fast those dogs run.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/240675399/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/95/240675399_6979a3febb.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Sue and Wes' house" /></a><br />The only problem with the day was that my family wasn't there. They were supposed to be there. We were told once we got to practice that family and friends could come to the BBQ, so I called my mom and told her about it. They said that there would be directions at the front desk of the hotel, but there weren't. My mom had tried to call CArrie's phone to get directions, but unfortunately I didn't realize that Carrie didn't have her phone on her. So I didn't realize there weren't directions until Mari's parents arrived and I found out that they had gotten directions in the van ride out to the house. It was really disappointing, both because I didn't get to spend the time with my mom and john, but also because it hurt my mom's feelings because she thought I didn't care enough to find out what happened. I did and as soon as I realized Carrie didn't have her phone on her I went and called my mom, but they were back at their hotel.<br /><br />When we got back to the hotel we just lazed about. I didn't realize how upset I had been by the miscommunication with my mom. I don't like feeling like people are hurt by me or disappointed by what I've done or haven't done. I spent some time talking about it with Jen. She made me feel a lot better. At that point I decided that I should put myself to bed, which I did by watching the replay of the Federer-Roddick match.<br /><br />This morning was very low-key. We had breakfast and then nothing until 1:30pm. A lot of people went and did laundry, slept, watched movies, etc. I watched cooking and forensics shows with Jen. The we got ready for our Captain's practice. Ashley had been speculating that she thought we weren't doing the practice thing because of the specific clothes they had told us to wear. She was correct. We left the hotel and drove down the street to the bowling alley. There the backs played the forwards, with the forwards winning. We were carried by strong performances by Cox with 184 and Mari with 155. Then we were treated to some entertainment when Mari, Sinkler, Patty, Heather, and Farrah worked on their moves with 'Dance Dance Revolution' (DDR for those in the know) in the arcade. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/242912966/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/95/242912966_01ec86e1b9.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Fashionistas" /></a><br />Then we came back to the hotel and had several hours before dinner and the jersey ceremony. As I explained, I spent that time wrestling with my computer and now writing this. So now I'll go and shower before dinner and the jersey ceremony... the jersey I get tonight will be indicative of my 10th cap... rolling into double digits.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-1157869458359060422006-09-10T02:02:00.000-04:002006-09-10T13:02:55.306-04:00World Cup 13: Oz AgainSo we had our match yesterday. We came out on top 10-6. It was a brutal game. I woke up this morning feeling like I was hit by a train. They really pressured hard and it took all we had to keep the score margin where it was. It should not have been as close of a game as it was, but I can't dwell in the world of "should have". Because of the way the rest of the matches wound up we will be playing Australia again on Tuesday because they are 7th and we are 6th. The top 4 right now are NZ, Eng, Can, and Fran. It's really frustrating that the set-up of this tournament is such that in the end the 4th place team will be 2-3, while the 5th place team will be 4-1. Doesn't make sense!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/239023399/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/85/239023399_f9d5fc0096.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="" /></a><br /><br />After our match we showered and watched the France vs England game. England won without much problem. I got to spend time with my parents before heading back to the hotel. There we ate dinner and then I went to get treatment from our medical staff seeing as I couldn't look over my right shoulder without a lot of pain. After that several of us wandered down to the lounge in the lobby for a drink. I didn't have one because I was tired and dehydrated and wound up coming back upstairs shortly thereafter and wound up watching some US Open repeats on tv.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/239023452/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/79/239023452_f8a3d3850e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Watching the games with Mom and John" /></a><br />This morning both Carrie and I completely slept through the alarm and only just woke up in time for breakfast. We staggered down and scarfed down some eggs and toast before our pool recovery session with Michelle. It was pretty easy. After the pool recovery I had a massage. They arranged to have 4 massage therapists come to the hotel for 3 hours to do massages. So I definitely took advantage of that.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/239023489/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/94/239023489_b849aba2a6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="working with the massage therapists" /></a><br />Then we spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our day off. There was talk of going to the mall, going to downtown edmonton, heading out to Elk Island National Park, etc. I was in the "how can I be as lazy as humany possible" crowd. So we decided to go to the mall and watch a movie and walk around a bit. We decided to see 'Wicker Man', which was #3 in the box office. It was horrible, but on a positive note it really allowed the brain to completely shut-down for 2 hours, so it served one decompression option.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/239023494/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/96/239023494_b2c221ed06.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Jen at the Mall" /></a><br />After the movie we wandered back through the 48 city blocks worth of mall to the entrance that KTP had dropped us off at earlier in the day. One thing to note that we discovered is that the Budget rental vans are taller than 6'6", since we clipped all of the over head barriers on our way into the parking lot. Luckily they were all attached with chains and not solid. <br /><br />Jen and I went out to dinner with my mom and step-dad. We went to a little indian restaurant that was really good. This was the first time that Jen has spent any significant time with my mom and step-dad, and things went remarkably well. There was no lack of things to talk about with John's love of sports and their love of travel... I hope it can be a continued rapport developed between all of them as time goes on. When we got back to the hotel the mindlessness continued with watching 'Maid in Manhatten', more tennis, and recently '13 Going on 30'. After spending a considerable time hanging out in Jen's room talking with Pam, Jen, and Maggie, I decided it was time to get to bed so that I could get ready for another day of hard training tomorrow. We've really got to get focused because Australia's going to come out hard against us on Tuesday because they've got something to prove. And we have as well, so the next several days will be quite intense... so I should get to sleep and I'll finish this and upload the pictures and such tomorrow before our practice session in the morning.<br /><br />So this morning was very grey and blah... we woke up to thunder and lightening and lots of rain. It's the kind of day that cries for cuddling, movies, and hot chocolate. I got a few of those this morning after practice. Now I'm packing for the day. We have one practice session this afternoon and then we're having another BBQ at Susan's house. Unfortunately I don't think the weather's going to be as nice this time around as it was last time, but we'll see. Now it's time to head to practice to prepare for Australia again.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-1157737832382793582006-09-08T13:06:00.000-04:002006-09-08T13:51:54.510-04:00World Cup 12: Game day vs. OzSo, as par for the course I'm writing this as a distraction from the impending match versus Australia that will kick off in 3.5 hours. Carrie and I just came up from a pre-game weigh-in down in the fitness center. Unfortunately the scale didn't work so we're left without numbers. So now I'm up here getting ready for the game and writing this and sort of getting distracted by the fact that Carrie is watching 'Ellen'.<br /><br />Yesterday was a very low-key day. We had a morning lineout practice down at a local high school. Then several of us who were running out of clothes went to a laundromat and did some laundry. It was a fun little foray where we sat playing cards, reading, etc.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/237726168/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/91/237726168_63778995c0.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Annie getting clean clothes" /></a><br />After laundry it was time for lunch and then I took a little nap before heading to the pitch in St Albert for the Captain's practice. It was interesting because we weren't allowed to run on the field, which sort of takes aways from the name 'captain's run'. SO instead we moved to a side field to practice at pace. After the practice we came back to the hotel and lounged around watching CSI (our addiction) before dinner. Dinner was a fun adventure because we wound up involved in a rousing game of 'Who's line is it anyway?'. We got the coaches up for a dating game, where Krista had to decide between a Trekkie Liz, a Bronx Hair-dresser with a tic Candi, and an alcoholic T-rex Kathy. It was really funny. Kathy may have missed her calling.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/237726200/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/90/237726200_2b710ec2ec.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Who's Line is it anyway?" /></a><br />After dinner we had the jersey ceremony. I was a little surprised that there were still so many friends and family here, after the mass exodus of NY players left earlier in the week. My mom and step-dad were there again. There seemed to be more parents and family there this time than before. Kathy's pre-presentation speech this time was reading all the good-luck messages from the womeneagles site. It was really great to have all those messages read to us. <br /><br />After the ceremony I hung out with Jen until it was my time to go see Doc and Andrea. I was in there longer than anticipated because I git sucked into an episode of CSI (do you sense a recurring theme?)... then I came back and watched some US Open before heading to bed. This morning we had breakfast and then had a meeting with Kathy to talk about what she learned from her meeting with the head referee from the tournament. We need to be really conservative and play squeaky clean because the refs are going to be watching for infringements. After that we all spent some time relaxing (i.e. writing this) before we head to the game. Now we have 20 min until we leave, so it's time to wind it down. This match dtermines where we go with this tourney, so hopefully I'll have godd things to write next.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-1157599552481498832006-09-06T23:21:00.000-04:002006-09-07T18:35:52.176-04:00World Cup 11: Prep for AustraliaSo today was fairly uneventful, which was a surprise. I think most of us were expecting two hard sessions, but instead we only had one and a video session. We ate breakfast this morning and then had some time to relax before heading out to the Strathcona Druids' pitch. There we watched the Australia v. France match from last Monday, and evaluated the game for what we thought were Australia's strengths and weaknesses. I made a friend. There was a little black cat who lives at the clubhouse...<br /><br />okay, continuing where I was after a brief hiatus to play 2 games of cribbage with Shousie and to sit and gossip with Pam and Jen. Now I'm back in my room typing this while Annie, Carrie, and Farrah play rummy.<br /><br />The little black cat sat on my lap the entire video session and purred. He only had one ear because he lost the other one to frostbite earlier. He was super affectionate. I wanted to take him home with me.<br /><br />After the video session we got lunch from Subway. It was super exciting to not have to eat hotel food for a meal. We scarfed down our footlong subs and cookies and then got ready for practice. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/236590633/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/97/236590633_3ef635d395_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Subway time" /></a>Before we began the session Kathy announced selections. I got the nod to start at loosehead, which is really exciting for me, but also a lot of pressure considering how important this game is to our standings in the tournament. The training session was very intense and hard, but in the end everything started to fall together as we ran together with backs and forwards.<br /><br />After the practice we came back to the hotel and did ice baths and epsom salt soaks before dinner. After dinner I spent some time cuddling with Jen before it was my time slot to see Doc. After Doc worked her magic I got a massage from Sarah, which was awesome. Then I came back here to write, but as previously explained I got disctracted from the task at hand. So yeah... now I'm ready to get to bed and get ready for another day here in the lovely land of Edmonton.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20214834.post-1157518749080889052006-09-06T00:37:00.000-04:002006-09-06T01:13:36.990-04:00World Cup 10: Practice then prisonSo, today was not nearly as bad as we anticipated. Our first task for the day was to do the last saliva sample for Trie. I feel like most of us probably had elevated cortisol levels because of being stressed about what we had in store for training. We did have practice this morning but it wasn't the two hours that we had been threatened with. Instead it was 45 minutes of hard running and contact work. It was really helpful for our flow and game play and left us feeling really gelled together. After practice we came back to the hotel and I saw my dad off. He's going to try and come back for the last weekend if the tickets are reasonable. Then we ate lunch. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/235678313/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/87/235678313_a556261e85_m.jpg" width="240" height="180" alt="Heading to the prison" /></a><br />After lunch we went out to a local youth correction facility. We did a bunch of drills and then got some of the kids to get involved. They were particularly amused when we put them into scrums and lineouts. We were trying to emphasize the positive impact that participating in sports has had for us. The whole idea of wanting to belong to something and having that sense of family in the team. We only got to stay for about an hour, but it was fun nonetheless.<br /><br />When we got back to the hotel we had a video session, where we watched yesterday's game. It was frustrating to watch, but also really pointed out some of the critical mental errors that have plagued us in international play. So hopefully we'll be able to adapt to our mistakes and learn from them.<br /><br />After the video it was free time. A group of us (Patty, Hedwig, Heather, Annie, Jen, Ashley, CArrie, and myself) went out to dinner to get Thai food, while others went to Olive Garden. It took a long time for our food to arrive but while we waited we got to hear lots of entertaining stories. And when it did arrive it was worth it. Wonderful curry, though it did clear the sinuses really well. By the time dinner was done it was 8:30pm and there was just enough time for me to go see Doc to get some treatment before heading back to my room to write this.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvarugger/235678382/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/88/235678382_0f552f8087.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Thai night out" /></a><br />Now I'm trying to keep from getting sucked into 'Cruel Intentions' but unfortunately I think the addiction is kicking in. Hopefull it's almost over because I don't know if I'll be able to separate myself.Jamiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00572102649401889644noreply@blogger.com0