Archive for "Events"
Passing of the Gavel at Rio
Posted on September 1, 2020 by Ching under Events, Hobbies.
We said thank you and farewell (for now) to our Rotary Club’s outgoing president Josh Vargo on Thursday. The gavel was officially passed to Norm Duncan, who has been our acting president for a few months now since Josh resigned because his work responsibilities had changed. Anyway, the year runs July through June so, even though Norm has been performing the role of president, his term didn’t officially start until July. Of course it’s already September. There were several factors that prevented us from getting together and making the transition official, the COVID-19 pandemic not being the least of them. Anyway, I’m hoping that Josh will rejoin the club soon because he is a great guy and it has been wonderful working with him on our various community events and getting to know him.
Speaking of, I have pickleball league at Chicken N Pickle every Thursday at 6:30 PM but I wanted to attend the social to make sure that I got picture of the passing of the gavel for our club’s Facebook page. It’s kind of my responsibility being PR Chair. I really didn’t want to eat anything because I was worried about not being able to move and playing terribly but I was starving. So my plan to simply stick to just eating chips and salsa went out the window. I ordered my favorite thing to get, which is the Burrito California, and quickly scarfed it up (to put as much distance from the eating and playing as possible). And it was so delicious that I lost all self control and ate all of it, instead of just eating half. That burrito is so good!
Thankfully, we didn’t have to play teams that were as intense as last week. The previous week we had to play the two other undefeated teams in our league – Undercover Secret Weapon (Jimmy Cho and Fong Witte) and Dropping L’s (Donnie and Tiffany Lesperance). They are probably our toughest competitors on Thursday nights. Both of our matches lasted over an hour because we went three games both times. And all of the games were really close. Overall we had to play about two and half hours, which is the longest I’ve ever had to play in league. Tom and I were victorious and so we are the only undefeated team left in that league.
I knew it was going to be a tough night so I mentally prepared myself by making some wagers (because I often play better when properly motivated). Tiffany and Donnie had been wanting my Engage Encore MX 6.0 paddle forever. I think they called dibs on it before it was even delivered. Tiffany already had the purple one but she also wanted the green one, which is the one I got. So Donnie immediately asked me to sell it to them whenever I’m ready to move on to a new paddle. I go through paddles like most people go through underwear so I think he knew that it wouldn’t be long before I would be ready to part with it.
Since I knew that they wanted my paddle, I made it the wager when I found out we would be playing against one another. I told Tiffany and Donnie that if they won our match then they would get my paddle but, if Tom and I won, then they would pay me $75 for it. Brian thought it was a stupid wager because he felt that I would get nothing out of it since Tiffany and Donnie wanted to buy my paddle anyway. I could just sell them my paddle and not risk it on a silly bet. I told Brian that I didn’t intend to lose and just laughed it off.
Anyway, to properly motivate myself, I told myself that if Tom and I won both matches that night I could buy this new outfit that I’d been eyeing. To motivate Tom, I told him I would buy him dinner and drinks if we won both of our matches that night. At the time I didn’t realize that he doesn’t drink. LOL. So that wasn’t very motivating. We won both matches so I ordered my outfit that evening. I received it pretty quickly and actually wore it to league this past Thursday. Tom is yet to collect on his reward.
Here’s the outfit. It’s super cute. I ordered both the top and the skort in medium because the website said that this style ran “very small” and I was worried about not having sized up enough but both pieces fit me perfectly. I absolutely love this outfit! Specially since I earned it.
This is the paddle that I sold on that wager. Tiffany cleaned up and customized it with her fancy edge guard and overgrip. She removed my name and phone number that I wrote on one side but she kept my name on the other side because she said that my autograph might be worth something one day. She’s joking, of course, but I got a kick out of it.
All of the teams in our league are pretty strong so, while we weren’t playing the toughest teams again, I still didn’t want to be moving around slow because my belly is full of that giant burrito I just ate. I did tell myself (and also Tom) that if we lost our matches that night it would be because I didn’t have enough self-discipline not to eat before league. If there’s anything that I cannot resist, it’s delicious food. I do love to eat! And that night, I happened to show up to the social starving.
Thankfully, we didn’t play too bad. We won against Chudley Cannons (Kyle Long and Rachel McMahon) and C&K (Chris Wilson and Kim Knotts) in two straight sets. I was relieved that we didn’t have to play longer than 30 minutes each time. There was no way I was surviving an hour-long match that night with my belly full of food. Let alone two of them.
We are about halfway through this session and so far we are doing well. I’ll keep you posted on how the rest of the league session (and our league tournment) goes. Wish us luck! GNG.
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Nick and Shanda’s Wedding
Posted on August 23, 2020 by Ching under Events.
Brian and I had the opportunity to attend Nick and Shanda’s wedding last weekend. It was a beautiful wedding and super sweet. They wrote their own vows! Also, my friend/coworker Alicia was the officiant. The funny thing is she is ordained from the same church as Brian, the Universal Life Church. The only difference is, Brian has never done anything with his certificate despite numerous friends asking him to officiate their weddings.
Nick and Shanda both work for the same company as me so their wedding brought lots of our coworkers together who I hadn’t seen since March when the majority of the organization went remote. I also got to see Jodi, our old wellness coordinator, who I hadn’t seen in forever.
Here’s a photo of us with Alex and Kishan (above) and with Faith (below).
Nick and Shanda actually had to postpone their wedding because of the whole COVID situation. I’m so glad they were finally able to have it. I am also grateful that were able to attend the celebration of their love and witness their union. I just love weddings! Until next time. GNG.
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Jonny Show at Chicken N Pickle
Posted on July 25, 2020 by Ching under Events, Hobbies.
The Jonny Pickleball Show was at Chicken N Pickle this weekend. Jonny Andrews and Lauren Stratman actually arrived early. I had the opportunity to meet them on Thursday night when I was at CNP watching the men’s competitive league final.
Jonny and Lauren were both super nice. They even played a couple of games with me and my friend Karen.
The next day we got to watch them both play with our best local pickleball players and also Dylan Frazier from Columbia, Missouri. From left in the picture below: Tony Swantek, Dylan Frazier, Jocelyn Devilliers, Lauren Stratford, Lucy Kovalova, Matt Wright, Jonny Andrews, and Patrick Smith.
Here are some pictures that I took during the pre-show/interviews.
Karen and I got a pic with Jonny and my “We Love Jonny Pickleball” sign at the end of the evening.
We also got to play a couple of games with Lauren and Dylan after. It was really nice of them to play with us. I love when all of these professional pickleball players from out of town visit. It has been a great couple of days. Until next time. GNG.
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Independence Day Cookout
Posted on July 11, 2020 by Ching under Events.
We’ve had a couple of impromptu cookouts at Seneca Park in the last month but nothing in magnitude compared to the one that Matt threw on 4th of July weekend. The first time we joined Jimmy and the guys for a cookout, I think we just kind of invited ourselves. Well, Jimmy told Karen about it and, since I was playing mixed doubles with Karen that morning, she invited it me.
It was the weekend of Chris Wilson’s birthday and, since we were playing together, I brought him his favorite donuts (apple fritter donuts) from Krispy Kreme. Anyway, I brought extras because I figured we’d be sharing with the guys. Seneca Park was super busy that morning so we couldn’t even play there. Karen, Chris, Rick, and I had to relocate our mixed doubles to Aley Park down the street. There are no nets there so it gave me a reason to break in my portable pickleball net.
After we finished playing, we went to Seneca Park to meet up with Jimmy and the guys. They hadn’t started cooking yet but had me concerned because instead of a grill, they had a wok and a burner. I ended up interrupting Brian’s gaming that day because I asked him to bring the portable grill out. When we had another cookout again the following weekend, Jimmy knew to give me a heads up about borrowing the portable grill. LOL.
Anyway, those cookouts were basically just warm ups for the one that Matt organized last Friday. I was worried because Friday also happened to be the first day of the new mandatory mask mandate. It turned out pretty well, though. My college friend Brandi Richardson even came out. Here are some pics…
Jimmy came to join us after he finished his pickleball lesson at Riverside Tennis Center. We had a wonderful turnout. All six courts were used and part of the group rotation. There were lots of familiar faces but also new ones.
We had so many people waiting that we didn’t have enough room on the paddle holders. The paddles actually overflowed and we just propped them on the chain link fence. I think this may be the biggest group we’ve had to date.
Here are a few pictures of the players in action.
As you know, my friend Karen and I like to twin, so she got us matching tutus. We looked super festive!
I’m so glad Mother Nature cooperated. It turned out to be a beautiful day, perfect for a fun cookout and pickleball. Matt always does such a great job of organizing these things. Until next time. GNG.
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Post Pickleball Cookout at Nahola
Posted on June 8, 2020 by Ching under Events, Hobbies.
Since Nahola has reopened, we’ve resumed our Friday night play. Here are some pictures of the Friday night crew in action.
It was Greta’s first night rejoining our group so we had a cookout in her honor. Also, Robert who has been filling in became a permanent part of the Friday night crew so this was the first night that we were full string with no subs.
Brian joined us that night and was our grillmaster.
People didn’t get the memo about just bringing their own meat and brought meat for everyone to share. We had way too much food.
Here are some pictures of our group, hanging out on the patio, enjoying our food, wonderful company, and the cool night air.
This group is so fun. I’m so glad that I’m part of it.
The funny thing is, I almost wasn’t part of it because, when Debbie started the group late last year and asked me to be part of it, I could not commit because I had just begged David New to open up Friday nights at FLC to lower levels. Originally he had it for 4.0+ and then, after several others including myself convinced him that 3.5 players needed a place to play on Friday night, he opened it up. I wanted to make sure that the attendance was up so I told Debbie I couldn’t join them at Nahola as I would be playing at FLC instead.
Besides contributing to the attendance, FLC had other advantages too. For one, it was cheaper ($3 vs. $10). It was also only a couple of minutes from my office and closer to the house. It was the perfect place for me to play, at the time. Anyway, Debbie kept me on her sub list and would contact me in case a spot was open.
I stayed pretty committed to FLC in the beginning but as the attendance got stronger I felt that my absence wouldn’t be felt so one momentous Friday I finally agreed to fill in at Nahola on Friday night. It was one of those weird nights. I lost every single game I played but I had the most fun ever. I remember calling Brian on the way home and telling him how amazing it was and I hope to get invited again because it was so much fun. I didn’t win a single game but the challenge was stimulating and I enjoyed every minute of it. I asked Debbie to please let me know any time there was a vacancy because I couldn’t wait to play with them again.
I think I didn’t play at FLC again after that because it seemed like someone else was always missing. Then when some people fell out of the group for one reason or another, I ended up becoming permanent.
It cost more to play with the group (we each pay $10 for the court reservation) but the court surface is better — real outdoor court surface vs. wood gym floors at FLC. Also, there’s less waiting in between games. We always have ten people on the roster. Between the two courts, you don’t really have to wait very long for the next game. And, winners always stay so if you’re winning, you rarely have to wait. Winners stay and split is my favorite format. And, Debbie runs a really tight ship. She has a very specific sub list (everyone on her sub list is really good — I was amazed I made the cut) and ensures there’s five women and five men each week.
I’ve actually said to the group many times, “You guys must really like me because you let me play with you even though I suck.” I’ve won some games since that first night but in the beginning I lost more times than I won. It didn’t bother me though because I felt myself growing and getting better each week. This group was actually part of the reason I decided to start lessons. Most people aren’t like me — I can have fun even when I’m losing. For most, they don’t have a good time unless they’re winning so I didn’t want to be that person that nobody wants to play with because you always end up losing when you get paired up with them (because they just suck so bad). I wanted to get better so I would be more fun to play with.
I always joke that I make up for my lack of pickleball skill with cute outfits but cute outfits can only get you so far. If you really suck, no one will want to play with you. So at the beginning of the year, I focused on improving and started weekly lessons with Chris Heck. It’s actually making a difference. I can tell people enjoy playing with me because I am getting invited to play with people I normally wouldn’t play with and, when I ask people to play, they actually consider it instead of laughing me off. Also, I noticed that I can get some shots past the guys sometimes and that feels really good when it happens. And also, I noticed that I can actually keep up with the players who used to have to “baby sit” me when I first started playing.
Anyway, the lessons are paying off. I still need to work on a lot of things and build confidence but I am so much more comfortable now than I was last fall. And, my third-shot drops have gotten better. Everyone I play with on Friday nights is so good, it’s really helped me out a lot. My favorite day of the week will change from time to time (there was a time I absolutely loved Sundays because of all the calories I would burn between teaching multiple workout classes and playing tons of pickleball) but, I have to say, right now, Fridays are the best.
I specially like it now that we are hanging out after playing. The previous weekend, my friend Steve got to fill in because Kimberly and Eric were in Kansas City for the weekend and Brian brought pizza and wings from Ziggy’s for us to enjoy after we finished playing. The weather was perfect that night too.
Friday night pickleball is definitely something I look forward to each week. I guess that’s all I’ve got time to share for now because it’s bed time. Until next time. GNG.
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