FLIP + CHING

Pickleball and Lasagna Day

Posted on June 3, 2020 by Ching under Food and Drink, Hobbies.

I completely took advantage of day time pickleball play during my time off work last week. Karen and I managed to arrange a pickleball play date with Jimmy and Michael by bribing them with her delicious lasagna.

Anyway, the day before our reservation, Jimmy asked me if I could reserve the second court because Tavon was in town and wanted to play. He said if I reserved the court, he could find three other players to complete the roster.

I knew of Tavon (because he’s a really good player) but I hadn’t met him personally yet so naturally I jumped at the chance. I quickly got the second court reserved and told Jimmy to proceed with finding the three other players.

I also immediately texted Karen and told her that we would be playing with Tavon. She was utterly confused because our appointment was with Jimmy and Michael so I had to explain the whole reserving the other court thing and then I asked if there would be enough lasagna for everyone. LOL.

Jimmy invited Han, Mark, and Cody to round out the roster. However, Cody had to work so I asked if Chris could take his place instead since I had a lesson with Chris that afternoon and he was coming early to eat lasagna with us anyway. Basically, he would just come a couple of hours early to play with us also.

Not only did I get to meet Tavon last week but I got to play with him too. And, it’s not very often that Chris is available to play with just regular folk so it was a real treat. Even playing with Jimmy and Michael is a privilege because Jimmy can be really picky with who he plays with (often you have to bribe him with food or drinks to get him to play – unless you’re one of the super elite guys).

Here are some of our photos from that day…

This was a pretty stellar group. I can’t believe I got to play with these guys (from top left: Chris Heck, Karen Fox, Tavon Morrow, Hanbeen You, Mark Narongvate, Michael Cheung, and that’s Jimmy Cho on the floor).

When Karen and I planned our outfits, we had no idea that we would accidentally coordinate with Tavon too.

Karen thought of everything. She even had individually wrapped utensils for everyone. And, she brought Ferrero Rocher chocolates for dessert.

I was good and only ate one piece. I would have had seconds normally but I didn’t want to be a pig in front of everyone. Also, I had my lesson after so I didn’t want to overeat and feel bad during.

Karen’s lasagna is amazing. We ate every bit of it until there was nothing left.

We hung out and visited while we ate. It was super nice because I don’t normally just get to sit and chat with people. Most of the time we’re in the middle of a game and don’t really get a chance to visit. It was really refreshing.

After lunch I had my solo lesson with Chris. He is such a great teacher. I have learned so much in the time that he’s worked with me. I feel like I’ve improved so much since that fateful date in January when I took my first lesson with him.

Anyway, I had a couple of errands (met with my group fitness coordinator at VASA to get brought up to speed on resuming our group fitness classes and the procedures we are to follow to ensure everyone’s safety; and then had my first post-COVID waxing at Beau Monde) before going home to feed the girls and freshen up before my next pickleball appointment.

Pickleball that night was at Chicken N Pickle with Mark Smith, Gregg Smith, Kim Shea, Brooke Ayala, and Kim Knotts. We had a pretty good rotation. However, while I was waiting Brad (another pickleball friend) grabbed me to play with them because they needed a 4th to play with them while they were waiting for one of their other friends who was coming all the way from the West side. As I was playing with this group, guess who walks by — Tavon. Apparently, he had multiple pickleball play times scheduled that day too.

This was the most perfect day of pickleball I’d had in a long time. It wasn’t even that I played particularly well because I didn’t. It was just so nice spending time and playing with these wonderful people. I feel so blessed that they let me play with them. I sometimes wonder how I got so lucky because I know I am definitely not getting invited because of my skill. I often joke that what I lack in skill I make up for in cute outfits. It might just be my way of overcompensating. I’m like the guy who drives a fancy car because he has a small penis. LOL.

I’m taking lessons though, so I am getting better. But now the cute outfits are kind of part of thing. Extra bonus when my friend Karen and I match. I just enjoy everything about pickleball, from playing to friendships to matching outfits.

That’s all for now. Until next time. GNG.

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Eureka Lake Waterfall

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Ching under Things to Do, Travel.

Brian and I went to check out this amazing waterfall in Eureka, Kansas last week. Here are some of our photos…

I went down for a closer look…

Anyway, Brian and I were yapping in the car on the way there and we totally missed our exit. As a result we had to take the not-so-scenic route through downtown El Dorado. On the bright side, we ended up driving by a couple of notable points of interest: the new El Dorado pickleball courts and Fiesta Mexicana Cantina, the Mexican restaurant that some friends and I ate at a few months ago.

I’d been wanting to take Brian there so that’s where we decided to go for lunch on our way back. It was still a little early but the margaritas were on sale for $3 so, naturally, I had one. LOL.

Here are some pictures of our food…

Even though I had to use a creepy outhouse with no toilet paper or running water while we were at the waterfall, it was a great day overall. I’m so glad Brian agreed to go. I can’t wait to find another one. Until then. GNG.

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Mom and Dad’s First Pickleball Lesson

Posted on May 31, 2020 by Ching under Family, Things to Do.

A couple of weeks ago, mom and dad posted a video of the two of them hitting a pickleball back and forth over a dining room chair in their living room. It seemed to me that they were interested in playing so I invited them to come to the park and play with other people. However, they seemed a bit apprehensive so I booked them a lesson with my friend Chris Heck at Nahola Fitness.

They didn’t feel like they were ready to play with other people so I was hoping the lesson would give them confidence and help them to feel more comfortable with going to the park and playing with others. I watched part of their lesson with Chris last week and took some photos. I think he did a great job of teaching them the basics and making them feel more comfortable with playing. He covered a lot of information during their 90 minute session. They even had a short section on scoring that I got to participate in.

Here are a few pictures from their lesson last week.

As you know, I am completely addicted to pickleball and so I’m super excited that mom and dad have shown an interest in it. I want to encourage them and help them along their pickleball journey.

They seemed to enjoy their first lesson and wanted to do another lesson so tomorrow they’re doing a lesson with Kayla Keuter (one of owners of Nahola). Tita Esper will be joining them. I wish I was still off work so I could be a fly on the wall for this next lesson. I happened to be on vacation last week so I was able to be there for their lesson with Chris. My time off work is unfortunately over so I go back to work tomorrow. Anyway, I’m sure I will hear all about it.

I can’t wait until mom and dad are comfortable enough to come to the park and play with other people. I can’t wait to introduce them to everyone. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on their progress. Until next time. GNG.

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First Post-Lockdown Outing

Posted on May 30, 2020 by Ching under Things to Do.

If I don’t count pickleball, then our Chicken N Pickle outing on Memorial Day was our first since the pandemic. It was certainly our first non-ZOOM social with this group. When we made plans to meet up at Chicken N Pickle a couple of weeks prior, the weather was supposed to be nice. Unfortunately, the weather changed and it turned out rainy. As a result, we couldn’t reserve a pickleball court because all the courts were busy. Many of the pickleball players who would have normally played outside ended up playing inside at CNP.

At least there was a ping pong table that we could use. I ended up playing four times and won every single game. I would have rather been playing pickleball but ping pong is the next best thing. I hadn’t played in over a year and I had forgotten how much I enjoy it. Here are some of our pictures from our outing.

We had such a great time catching up. Though not renting a court was a bit of a disappointment at first, it turned out okay. Anyway, I can’t wait until we are free to have more of these outings.

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Pickleball Fun

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Ching under Hobbies.

Pickleball is ruling my life right now. I am completely addicted to it. Here are my favorite things about pickleball, in no particular order.

Matching Outfits
I finally met a pickleball friend who enjoys being matchy-matchy just as much as I do. Meet my friend Karen. These are all the matching outfits we have but I have no doubt we will have more.

Lobsterfest
My friend Tiffany just bought Patti’s lobster so I’m thinking Lobsterfest will now be a regular occurrence.

Shirtless Pickleball
‘Tis the season for shirtless pickleball.

Post-Pickleball Picnics
We’ve been taking advantage of the nice weather and having munchies on the patio at Nahola after pickleball. Last weekend we had margaritas, pizza, and wings. Yesterday, Karen brought lasagna for everyone.

Fan-Girling
It’s perfectly normal in other sports, yet seems completely ludicrous in pickleball, but I’m bound and determined to make it a “thing.”

#SangriaSunday
I’m not a big drinker but I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy #SangriaSunday. There are days that I’m not feeling particularly competitive. I just want to play and be social and sip on my sangria and have a great time.

French Braids at the Park
This is probably one of my most favorite developments this year – Karen’s mobile hair braiding station at Seneca Park. I love playing pickleball with my hair in braids because it’s secure and out of the way.