Thursday, July 1, 2010
Tired
This one is going to have to cover two days cause i was too lazy to do it yesterday. Yesterday, I met Pa' Dat and Pa'Dii and they drove me over to the tennis courts. I had my first practice there and it didn't go well. I hadn't played in like a week and i showed up late because of traffic so i missed the warm-up. I played really badly that day. More about tennis in a little bit. After that I stayed overnight at Lung Dej's house and said hello to everybody. P' Tui had surgery on his foot for a torn ligament so he was on crutches and couldn't walk around. I met P' Thae's wife for the first time. She's awesome. She's very nice and was very welcoming. The next day Pa' Dii took me to the tennis courts because you have to take a van over there but there were many of them and i couldn't remember which one it was exactly. In order to get there she talked with about ten different people, took a different van that went to a different place, and then had to give directions to a driver to go the rest of the way. That's really not all that helpful for me because I can't speak thai and I wouldn't be able to recreate that on the way there, let alone do it backwards. Luckily I remembered the way back and it dropped me off at the place that i needed to leave from so i'm good now. At tennis I was put in the lower group this time and I was better than all the other kids. The good thing about this was that their warm-up was just feeding balls to them so i got my stroke back and started playing normally again. Next they did a drill where you rallied with the instructor and when you messed up you moved to the next court and then back again. I did so much better than everyone else that I was just rallying for so long that everybody else was lined up behind me waiting. They kept having to move the kids back over and the instructor's were messing up before me half the time. When we got to real points and I just dominated everyone else they moved me back up to the other group. Even after that I was still doing really well and when we did king of the court i was king for most of the time. I was very happy at the end of it and very tired. I sweated so much during the class. Normally when i see other people with the entire upper half of their shirt soaked i'm a little confused. I always wondered how they got that because you sweat in certain areas more like parts of your back and armpits and you wipe your face on your shirt but it shouldn't be completely soaked. My shirt was literally soaked everywhere except the little half-inch of double layered fabric at the bottom. It was ridiculous. I feel sorry for the people in the van on the way home. The way it works is that they cram as many people as possible into it to make the most amount of money. You have to be in that three-person-car mode the whole time. You should know what i'm talking about. When you need to have three people in the back seat of a small car and you have to hunch your shoulders together awkwardly and try not to touch the other people. It's also very quite in the van because you don't really want to strike up a conversation with the person who is invading your personal space. The vans scare me though. I'm afraid they're gonna fall apart or crash any minute. You have the option of sitting in the front seat which, while more comfortable, also affords you a view of just how screwed up the van actually is. One of the ones from last year had a broken park gear. He just left it in neutral and relied on the parking brake. This one today had a broken dashboard. The speedometer, rev thingy, engine temperature, and gas guage were all broken. The only working thing was the odometer and i kinda wished it wasn't. So I finally made it home in time to miss dinner and now i have to work up the strength to walk up three flights of stairs.
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How about changing your Blog colors. At least the text. The nav panel in upper right has black background AND black text. It's a shot in the dark trying to get a link.
ReplyDeleteSo did you use the same route as last year? You could try to change your shirt before going back home. I am glad you did so well at tennis, you’re the man. Don't forget to drink a lot way before you play (sorry, I can’t help being a mom). Do you have any friendly friend at tennis? Have a great time.
ReplyDeleteOh, I am glad you get to meet Pa Tad's family. What about P' Pang? Please add a paragraph break for your mom.
You are soooo funny Mark. LOL. Your insight about van-riding is right on. Maybe next time, with dry shirt, you will be sqeezed in by pretty girls on both sides.
ReplyDeleteKidding aside, I pray for your safety. Make sure you carry Thai writing cards that will help you communicate in all possible situations. I did a series of card to help my mom traveled back to Thailand by herself. She really liked them.
If there is other safer way to travel to the court, go find out. Safety first, especially when you are on your own. Try to hook up with some new friends who have a chauffered ride. They might can drop you off at a better spots. Good luck.
I am so proud of you - the KING of the court!!! I wish I can be there to watch you. Maybe Mai will ask Suang to tape your practice session and put it on youtube. I'd bet you are inspired now despite the heat and exhausting routine.
Thanks in advance for paragraph breaks. :)
Love,
Mark,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are doing so well and having fun. Keep up the good work.
Uncle Ken