Jersey #9: Kentucky's Journey

Okay, so God may have been spiting me (because he does that) for not keeping my lenten promise of no television watching...I know, I know, I said I could do it but I just, well....I'm human, okay!!?! And I really like tv.

Anyways, I think the result of this breakage of promises resulted in a mandatory loss of my laptop for freaking ever. AND THEN, when I finally did get my laptop back, it still didn't f-ing work. So then they told me the charger was broken, so then I sent away for a new charger tip to work with my old laptop's universal charger...but then that was taking too long, so then I decided to get the viruses off of my old laptop so I could use it in the meantime - they told me it would take three days - but it really took a week, and in a bitter twist of fate, the new tip that goes to my new laptop, but which has to be used with my old laptop's charger, came in the mail.....only the charger it worked with was with my old laptop at Best Buy.......damn. So basically I was without a home computing aparatus for like, a month..and it was making me hella crazy. Rest easy though, because now I'm back for good =)



On to the rugby -

Okay, so the Memphis games I played in for Midwest U23's were like a million years ago, but here's the gist of it.......the games were definitely a mismatch and we won by way too much, but the good news is we had an AMAZING group of athletes that I can't wait to play with again, and against much tougher competition. If everyone comes back in shape and ready to go for Blaine this summer, the midwest just might be back in business for another championship =)


Aside from Memphis, my UNI team just had its first rugby weekend of the season!!! We traveled to St. Paul, MN on Saturday morning where we enjoyed a clinic with the Twin City Amazons. Though our UNI squad had never really done anything like that with a women's club team, I would have to say that the experience was a success - especially for our pack. There are a lot of technical components to scrumming, lineouts, etc that our forwards just don't get enough exposure to at a normal practice, and it was great for them (and for me, since the success of a pack directly influences the success of a scrumhalf) to get a chance to learn from a few old pros...

That night was also pretty nice, as we were treated to free food and lodging by the 'Zons. Ten of us stayed in the same place as myself that night, where we were treated to nice rooms with beds, blankets, tv's, and even a breakfast casserole in the morning! I also had a chance to spread love for the ever popular party trick - the inside out roll (aka sushi roll). Basically, it involves sitting with your bottoms of your feet together while holding your feet in your hands, rocking backwards while manuvering until your arms are now outside of your knees and you are rolled out on your stomach - all while never letting go of your feet: Those of you who've never seen this performed - you're missing out, because it is definitely a good time.


However, all fun rugby nights must come to an end, and with the festivities over, Sunday morning was when the "business" of our trip began. We traveled up to St. Cloud to play the Minnesota Under-23 All-Stars, and it turned out to be a hell of a match. Several familiar faces were on the opposing side of the pitch - and all of them were very good players. So much so that I think it caught the team a little off-guard and left us down by 2 trys at the end of the first half. It took a lot of digging, but somehow we managed to come back pull off the win...but it definitely wasn't the most flawless of performances...

Although, I suppose that's the way things go for the first match of the season, and we'll have time to patch up any holes before we have to take off for Nationals. As for myself, I notice that when I get in games, my pass gets significantly weaker than when I'm practicing on my own...I'm not sure what exactly I'm doing differently, and it's pretty frustrating, but I guess all that I can do is to keep at it at practice and hope that eventually my repetitions translate into a better performance on the pitch. Other than that, I felt pretty confident about my play - trying a few kicks that weren't complete disasters, and taking one or two runs when I got the chance. Our pack was definitely a bit on their heels, though, and when that happens I'm always curious as to what that's supposed to mean for me - does that mean I'm less responsible for the mistakes I make when it's because I'm not protected??? Does it mean I'm being a bad leader??? I would like to think that as a scrumhalf there are some things that I could do when things are getting disheveled in my forwards, and I think that's a part of my game I'd really like to improve upon...

Hmmm...I suppose that's something to think on. At any rate, that's my update of rugby life since I've been blog-absent, and the bed is calling my name. I promise more coherent and less pointless topics of conversation in the future =)

Okay, so I know I've been a TERRIBLE blogger, but my laptop still isn't fixed - hopefully by the end of this week, and then I will be back on all the f'n time!!!

In the meantime, all kinds of exciting rugby things are on the horizon. I had a great time in England, and I have come back refreshed and ready to dive into the season. We had our first outdoor practice yesterday, and seriously, I think there' s just something amazing about going out there and getting dirty after a LOOOOONG winter! And you know what, I think tackling seriously wards off depression. I mean, really...I think EVERYONE should at some point in their life experience tackling someone, even if it's just some random drunken antic - it's just so empowering and, well, FUN! So yeah, I went to practice yesterday really stressed out and not feeling so hot, but after getting out there in the fresh air and putting my shoulder into somebody and feeling what it's like to be out there on the grass again, I felt amazing!!!

This weekend we have our first UNI game of the season, against the Minnesota U23's. On Saturday the Amazons are being kind enough to put us up and also to host a little clinic for us, that should be especially beneficial for our forwards, who haven't been able to do much scrum work considering the indoor practices we've been holding.

Also, I'm in the process of making a lot of big girl decisions about my whereabouts after college. It's really tough to sink your teeth into the real world for the first time, but I think I'll be able to make the right decision because the rugby people of the world have been so helpful.

I have to be getting back to my apartment now because I'm pretty much starving to death (that's what sucks about not having a computer next to my couch anymore - I can't EAT and type at the same time). Like I said, I hope to have my laptop up and running VERY soon, and to reinstate myself as an active blogger!

Rugby Love,

Kentucky

Okay, so I know I haven't been writing. And I suck. But really, I have good reasons!!!

Numero Uno -

My laptop is still broken. Or, more correctly, my laptop has returned, completely fixed.....but now the charger is broken and because I was way stupid and got an off-brand laptop, I now have to wait another week for a friggin charger. Great.

Numero Dos -

It's been a busy week - trip to memphis (I still need to write about it), midterms, papers....and arggg...not much time for trips to the computer lab in order to feed my blogging habit.

Numero Tres -

I'M GOING TO ENGLAND!!!! Yeah, I know! Crazy! I just booked my ticket on friday, which was made available to me by a very kind set of parents who have an ungodly amount of dividend skymiles just waiting to be used for random transatlantic flights. Sooo...yeah, I had no plans for Spring Break as of Thursday morning...and as of Friday morning I had a ticket to London - SWEEEEET!!!

This will be my fourth trip (once for highschool, once with parents, once with U19's) and now I will be going to visit one of my best friends who now lives there with her husband and attends art school. Unfortunately it will be a fairly short trip - just four full days of Englishness...but very fun nonetheless. I am starting to feel like a regular world traveler these days, and I am very excited to be able to do my regular running drills out on the grassy countryside near my friend's cottage, and to explore the towns of Canterbury and Rochester. Yay!

Anyways, I have to go to catch my flight!!!

Cheers!

Okay...so I will get to the details of my Memphis trip very soon (way fun), but for now I'm busy and have mucho homework to do before practice tonight. In the meantime, I thought I'd throw some more poetry out into the world. My assignment was to write a poem about a piece of art on campus - there was one called "Breaking Front" in the English building, which featured an Iowa landscape - basically sky, corn, and some clouds - very "Iowan", probably a comfortable view of home for most of the students here...this sort of inspired me to write about my home - so here it is...


I promise to write about rugby and Memphis soon!!! Stay tuned..


Painting Home

It's a picture seen a thousand times,
Corn and sky
Corn and sky
Illuminating with each stoke
Not the colors that soak the canvas
But the missing hues of home.

How far before golden fields give way
To the dark and dusty hills of home?
How far before hollows
Become hollers
And creeks become cricks?
Before horses stand in place of cornstalks
And tobacco leaves
Sit, toxic in the sun
To be enjoyed later as a
Buzz
In the cheek or a burn in the lungs -
Where bourbon flows like water
Through veins which
Bleed as blue as the grass
Where Rupp's cathedral
Holds it's Mass

These are the colors of my life:
Greens and browns and
Wildcat Blues

Let those greens be painted over gold
And earthy browns rise up to
Shrink the vast expanding sky


Let Breaking Front frame
The lives of Others -

And I will paint my own way home.