Archive for the year 2014
Officially a Member of the 200 Club
Posted on July 16, 2014 by Ching under Games.
I finally bowled my first 200 game on league night. Brian did it a few weeks ago when he bowled a 204. I kept telling him that I’m capable of bowling a 200 game also, but I’d never been able to prove it until last Sunday. I’ll usually start out really well but then I choke halfway through so I never quite make it to 200. I’m so glad it finally happened.
Brian said he believed that I could bowl a 200 game though he’d never seen me do it. However, I still felt like I needed to prove myself. I bowled a 208, 4 pins higher than his highest game ever. I just had to prove my bowling prowess. LOL.
I wish that I would have bowled better on my first two games because I only bowled a 499 series. I really wanted to break 500. That’s going to be my next goal.
Either way, I’m excited for league night this Sunday. I’m hoping to see my name in weekly stats sheet. Oowa! Oowa!
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My Favorite Chess Matches
Posted on July 15, 2014 by Ching under Games.
Our recent vacation to the Dominican Republic revived my love for chess. Brian’s game has really improved a lot making the game more enjoyable for both us. He used to be really easy to beat, which made the game frustrating for him and not really that enjoyable for me because it wasn’t much of a challenge. He is a much more formidable opponent these days. Either I’m really rusty or he’s tremendously gotten better. I’d like to think it’s the latter but it’s probably a little bit of both. I’m not as strategic as I used to be and tend to move pieces on whim rather than careful planning.
Though he hasn’t won a chess game since we returned from Dominican Republic, I can’t say that I’m easily dispatching him as I did before. I’ve found that I can no longer take it easy. Our chess matches (we’ve been playing regularly on our old school chess board — about three to four times a week) have required much more concentration on my end.
Anyway, all of this recent chess playing has made me wax nostalgic over the good old days on Red Hot Pawn. I used to play on RHP ten years ago as PerverseAngel. I used that screen name because Brian used to have DarkAngel as his username for several things and I thought PerverseAngel was a clever oxymoron that sort of matched his screen name. You guys know how much I like oxymorons and puns. LOL.
But I digress… I still remember my very first match on Red Hot Pawn. I posted a screen shot for you guys below because it was so awesome. I was able to get a checkmate in six moves. That doesn’t happen often.
Joeyshirt and Piper11521 used to work with Brian when Brian worked for Cox Communications. They were my favorite opponents on RHP because they played regularly. Both were very good.
- These were my favorite matches with both players:
- Piper11521 – This one took forever but was memorable because this player was a tough opponent for me. We played several times and I had my share of losses which made the wins pretty sweet. Here’s here’s another memorable win. (UPDATE: My friend Isaac just told me that Piper11521 passed away three years ago. I deeply regret that I never had the chance to meet him in person, but I’ll always remember our chess matches. He was always a challenge to play against. May his soul rest in peace.)
- Joeyshirt – Joey got me back on our next chess match. Here’s one that ended in a draw. I should have won it but couldn’t close the deal. I hate playing black.
I played regularly in 2005 and then started playing less and less. I only played a couple of times in 2006 and a handful of times in 2007. We tried to get back into RHP a couple of years ago but it didn’t have the same appeal. After Brian left Cox Communications (he worked for LSI for a few years before moving to Viega in 2008) there was no one to play with on RHP except for Brian and, if we’re just playing against each other, it’s just as easy to play on a traditional chess board. We’d play at home, at the drive-in (while waiting for the first movie to start), at Bradley fair (during the summer jazz concerts), etc. Chess is a great way to kill time, and it’s great for making wagers also.
I’ve been wanting to get back into Red Hot Pawn so that I can start playing chess with other people again. Not that I’m tired of playing with Brian but we’re starting to get used to playing each other and the games are starting to get predictable. That, and he never wants to play black so I’m usually stuck playing black, which I don’t like either.
I wish there was a Red Hot Pawn phone app. I did find a multi-player chess game app that’s available on both iPhone and Android. It’s working pretty well so far but I only know a couple of people who use it (Brian and Isaac). If anyone wants to play, you can find on Chess Time as Chingay. I’m always up for a game.
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Starlite Fun with Friends
Posted on July 15, 2014 by Ching under Things to Do.
We had so much fun at the Starlite drive-in last weekend. Brian and I hadn’t seen the movies they were showing and we also hadn’t been to the drive-in in several years. We were glad that Becca came up with the idea to go to the drive-in and invited us.
Brian and I were running later than usual because we had to stop and pick up some supplies on the way. The Dills were already in line when we got there. We couldn’t have planned it any better because we got in line right behind them.
Though we ran later than usual, we were still early enough to get some prime spots. We were smack dab in the middle and had perfect view of the screen. Cory and April were running even later so we saved a spot for them. I was amazed that the security people who kept patrolling the rows didn’t chew us out for saving a spot.
The blue chairs on the left is how we saved the spot for Cory and April.
Brian and I broke in our new anti-gravity chairs (also sometimes called zero gravity chairs) that night and they worked out great. They were super comfortable and elevated us enough above the tops of cars that I didn’t have any issues. When are lower on the ground the tops of the cars sometimes get in the way. I had no problems at all last Saturday.
If you would like to get your own set of these amazing zero gravity chairs you can get a pair from Amazon by following this link
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All Star Adventures
Posted on July 14, 2014 by Ching under Events.
Big Brothers Big Sisters hosted a friends and family event last week at All Star Adventures. The cost was $7 per person for all you can play — go karts, carnival rides, and mini golf. Brian and I hadn’t been there in ages so we couldn’t pass up the deal even though it was a work night. Lucky for us, the event fell on a Thursday so I didn’t have to teach Zumba. We wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise.
I’m glad we got to go because we had a blast playing with Faith and her kids, Becca, Jay, Addison, and my little sister Kira.
Addy and Kira got along fabulously.
I think Jay had more fun than the kids. LOL.
Here’s a cute one of Addy.
This is my favorite pic of me and Kira. Don’t let that angelic smile fool you. This child is a dare devil. She wanted to do all of the really crazy rides. After we rode the go karts (I had to ride with her because she wasn’t tall enough to drive herself), we did her favorite carnival rides. After the second one, I had to start looking for rides that she could do by herself because I couldn’t take anymore. I seriously felt like throwing up my dinner if I rode another dizzying ride.
She said this was her favorite because it scared me the most and made me scream a lot. Though she told me later that if another ride scared me more, that would have been her favorite instead. Can you believe such an angelic child could be so mischievous?
This a photo of Kira that I took when we rode bumper boats together. She tried to make me dizzy in the bumper boats too. LOL.
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Aqua Zumba at Andover YMCA
Posted on July 13, 2014 by Ching under Zumba.
My goal this summer is to learn enough Aqua Zumba routines for a full class. Since I got my license to teach Aqua Zumba earlier this year I’ve really been somewhat reluctant to start teaching it. Unlike after my Zumba Basic 1 training when I just jumped right in to teaching classes, I’m a bit apprehensive about teaching Aqua Zumba. I think maybe some of it has to do with my limited experience taking these classes. I have only taken a handful. All of them have been very good so that’s made me feel somewhat intimidated and inadequate to teach the format. On top of that, Aqua Zumba is really physically taxing on the instructor. We were taught this in training but then I thought, it can’t be that bad. I learned just how exhausting it can be to teach Aqua Zumba first hand when Alexa let me teach one song in her class last Wednesday. Holy cow! I was so winded after teaching just one song. I came to the conclusion that (a) I need to get in better shape in order to teach the format without dying or throwing up at the end of class, (b) I need to learn techniques for conserving my energy throughout class so I can survive, or both.
Here are some pictures and videos from Alexa’s class last Wednesday.
These videos will give you a sense of what taking an Aqua Zumba class is like. It really is super fun and a great workout. I highly recommend trying the class if you’ve never taken one before. Or if you have, I recommend checking out Alexa’s class on Wednesday nights at Andover YMCA because she is a fantastic Aqua Zumba instructor.
I feel very fortunate to be able to shadow Alexa and have her as my mentor. She is so talented. I know that I will learn a lot from her. Come join us this Wednesday at Andover YMCA. The class meets at 7 PM outside in the waterpark. See you all there!
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