Second Holiday Ping Pong Tournament
Posted on November 30, 2019 by Ching under Events.
Uncle Roy had another holiday ping pong tournament at the Downing’s recently. The first one was in 2017. They didn’t have one last year because everyone was traveling and otherwise busy but the stars aligned for having another tournament this year. As luck would have it, I was available to play. Jay, because he and Becca are always traveling, missed it again.
This is our lovely host Aaron who happened to eliminate me from the tournament. Ironically, he was the one who eliminated me from the last tournament too.
This is a pic of Landon and Bonnie admiring the miniature cornhole game that Troy brought. It was the prank one. He actually brought a real miniature cornhole game that you can play.
For a friendly tournament, these guys were pretty serious.
I was at a disadvantage because I hadn’t played ping pong in over a year. About the same time I started to get into pickleball, I quite playing ping pong.
This is Wes. My first match was with him. I lost that match but it was really close. We went into overtime and finished 22-20 in his favor.
After being eliminated from the main bracket, I went into the consolation/losers/opportunity bracket and played against Landon (pictured on the right). He was not bad but probably one of the less competitive players in the group. We played with a drink on one hand and a paddle on the other the entire time.
I won the match with Landon but my next opponent was Aaron who has an impossible serve. I didn’t stand a chance.
I had a great time despite my losses. It seemed like everyone was having a great time as well (even Brian – LOL).
Brian and I got a selfie with Roy’s wife Bonnie.
Pic with Jennifer and Wes.
We also got one of just the two of us.
By the way, I had to take a pic of Brian and Landon together because Landon was our personal trainer at the Andover YMCA a long, long, long time ago — like ten years ago or so. He happens to be Bonnie’s trainer and they’ve been training together for years (since his Andover YMCA days). He owns his own gym now, Rogue Personal Training.
I remember when he left the Y to strike out on his own, he took a bunch of clients with him. They actually started making personal trainers sign non-compete contracts after that. We didn’t end up going with him because I wasn’t particularly fond of punishment. I just wanted to Zumba. We ended up joining Genesis but then ended up doing some personal training later on with another trainer who was recommended by our friends Gina and Coley.
I’ve joined, left, rejoined, and left again a bunch of gyms. Not much personal training these days. I mostly just like to have a good time so I’m teaching and taking Zumba classes and playing pickleball. My most intense workout is my friend Liz’ STRONG by Zumba class on Monday nights which I love to take.
We probably need to buckle down and take our health more seriously in 2020. Changes are coming. Until next time. GNG.
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Post Pickleball Chow Down
Posted on November 29, 2019 by Ching under Hobbies.
A few weeks ago, before we left for vacation, my friend Amy and I decided we wanted to check out the open plan at Nahola. Nahola is where all of the really good pickleball players play and Friday night is 3.5 and above night. I know some of the better players might not like playing with less skilled players so I had the brilliant idea to invite a bunch of pickleball friends so, even if we did get snubbed, we for sure would have people to play with. LOL.
The players, those who stayed (some people left and went to the single court inside) and played with us, were actually pretty nice. The drop in fee of $7 is a bit steep (compared to the $2 and $3 that we normally pay at the rec centers and local churches) but I wouldn’t mind playing over there again. At the time, Immanuel Baptist Church Family Life Center (FLC) had 4.0 and above listed for Friday night so if you’re under 4.0 you really didn’t have any options. FLC has since opened up Friday nights to lower rated players. It is cheaper ($3 drop in) and actually closer to our house. Nahola is all the way out West. I’ve yet to play on Friday night since returning from vacation because we’ve always had stuff going on and FLC isn’t playing tonight due to the Thanksgiving holiday but I’m super glad that we now have a couple of really good options for Friday night play.
We worked up an appetite playing pickleball that night so afterwards a bunch of us went to Old Chicago for dinner. It (clockwise from left in the below pic) was Cody, Matt, Michael, Eric, Kimberly, me and Brian. I invited Brian because I figured he would want to eat dinner too. Except that was an expensive night because his Lyft ride cost $30 (going from almost Andover to the West side of town during prime time on Friday night). The price you pay for convenience.
Oh, well. I think at some point I’m going to have to get over the not wanting to drive two cars thing because this aversion is costing us money. Speaking of money, we’re actually saving quite a bit by opting out of the whole Black Friday insanity. LOL.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Enjoy the weekend!
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Vora European Restaurant
Posted on November 27, 2019 by Ching under Food and Drink.
Earlier this month Jenni took me to a new European restaurant and bought me lunch for my birthday. I was pretty excited that she picked Vora because I’d never been there before.
The restaurant is located in College Hill and is super nice inside.
We were the first ones there that day.
Here are some pictures of our food.
Jenni had the mussels with truffle fries.
I had schnitzel with cabbage and a potato pancake.
The food was delicious, service was great, and I loved the quite, elegant ambiance. I think Brian would enjoy this place too. I will have to take him on our next date night. Until then, GNG.
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2019 Cattle Baron’s Ball
Posted on November 26, 2019 by Ching under Events.
Here are some pictures from the Cattle Baron’s Ball earlier this month.
Brian and I bumped into some of my former coworkers who are now retired: Doug and Suzanne Coin and Glen and Bridget Bowman.
Here’s a pic of me with the ladies — Suzanne and Bridget.
DJ Carbon, the most iconic DJ in all of Wichita was there as well.
Obligatory selfie with the hubs.
The new dress I got from Southern Fried Chics was perfect.
Wu Shock was at the event too!
Here are some pics of the delicious dinner and dessert we enjoyed.
You can’t have too many selfies. LOL.
I guess people felt bad for us because they offered to take our pics.
Brian with Glen and Doug.
Suzanne got me a bear. It’s super soft!
Fun photo booth pics!
As benefit dinners go, this is one of our favorites. For one, the attire is pretty casual. As much as I like seeing Brian in a tux, he doesn’t enjoy it much because he finds it too stuffy. This one is Western-themed so, even though it’s a fancy event, you can be cowboy-like and fit right in. People can be as dressed up or as casual as they want to be. Also, the atmosphere is super relaxed and fun.
It was even more fun this year because the Bowmans and the Coins were there. Usually, Brian and I attend these events by ourselves. It’s always more fun when there are familiar faces or friends to hang out with.
Huge thanks to our friend Joe Parten for hooking us up with VIP tickets! I hope we get to go again next year. Definitely something to look forward to in 2020.
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VASA2 Grand Opening
Posted on November 25, 2019 by Ching under Events.
Did you know that VASA2 (located at the old Extreme Racing, also formerly a Hobby Lobby in a past life) at Brittany Center on 21st and Woodlawn is now open? I had a great time on grand opening day with these guys.
VASA2 opened the weekend before Halloween (soft opening) and then grand opening was November 2. Since we signed up for special classes on that day, not only did we get to take a highly coveted Studio class for free, we also got bonus swag — PUSH BEYOND t-shirts!
Three of my awesome coworkers — Amir, Alex, and Shanda — took the VASA Zone Studio Cycle class with me, Brian, and our friend Jeff.
It was an amazing class but I think Brian felt like he was going to die. LOL.
Right now is a great time to check out VASA Fitness. All group fitness classes (excludes Studio and TEAM classes) are FREE through the end of the month for members and non-members. This is your open invitation to join us!
Here’s my schedule for the week:
Monday, 6:30 PM – Zumba at VASA1 (Harry location)
Tuesday, 6:00 PM – Aqua Zumba at VASA2 (Woodlawn location)
Friday, 10:00 AM – Zumba at VASA2 (Woodlawn location)
Saturday, 9:00 AM – Aqua Zumba at VASA2 (Woodlawn location)
I normally would teach an Aqua Zumba class at 6 PM on Thursday nights also but this Thursday happens to be Thanksgiving so the gym closes early. We have a special group fitness schedule in the morning.
Also, I normally do not teach any classes during the day on Fridays because I work but, since I’m off work for the holiday and Jessie needed a sub for her class, I offered to cover it. Since classes are free right now, there is no reason not to check out VASA. I hope to see you sometime this week!
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