posted Monday, 31 October 2005
It's kind of funny that we all spend the year gearing up for "Nationals"... just to see "Furious George", a team from Canada, win the whole thing... but every year, for the past 4 years, me and my NJ frisbee buds pack up and head south to Sarasota, FL, along with hundreds of ultimate players from around North America. The beaches of Siesta Key are suddenly over-run with made up frisbee games and crazy kids from across the country (and Canada). This year was no different.
Ok, so I was totally bummed that Wicked didn't make it... but Pike (the NJ men's team) did... and since I wasn't working... and so many of my pals were playing... and tickets were only $150... I figured "why not go?". I was totally sold once Susie decided to go (she just moved to Seattle, so it would be fun to hang with her down in sunny FL!) and booked my flight.
I flew down solo on Thursday afternoon and bummed around for a few hours, waiting for Susie to get in. I asked the guy at the rental car counter where I could kill a few hours and he sent me to the mall nearby... but this was no ordinary mall... this was the cadillac of malls! Movado, Tiffanys, fancy tea shops where you could buy $30 bags of tea... where the mall in Rochester had a funny, interactive "ball maze" in the middle of the mall, this mall had leather recliners to sit down and relax in. Each shop lures you in and encourages you to look around by offering free freshly baked chocolate chip cookies... I nearly spent $600 on a new watch, but narrowly escaped. Phew - it was a close one!
Once Susie arrived, we headed south to Siesta Key, an island with powder white sand, located very near the frisbee fields. The team had rented several condos on the beach and I shared one with Susie & Jaeger... while initially reluctant to go down solo, I am so glad that I did -- I got to (in no particular order):
• watch some fairly decent ultimate
• catch up with Fish & Stu (once wtk & I finally found the place they were staying!)
• hang with Susie, Jaeger, Regetz & Sue Peters (NJ emmigrants)
• get hugs from Greg Sanda
• shop in the $15 bins at Gaia
• kick d ho's butt at quizzo with the help of Dan Heckman
• work on my tan (I still have a tanline along my "hairline")
• spend a day at the beach before heading back north
JENNIFER MADE THIS COMMENT,
Hey Linda! sounds like you had a great time. By chance, did you go to International Mall? Siesta Key is only about an hour south of me and my company has property there!
Monday, October 31, 2005
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
FAMILY RISK ASSESSMENT
posted Tuesday, 25 October 2005
Today I met with a nurse, Bridget, who manages the "Family Risk Assessment" program at Virtua. We spent two hours, going through my detailed family medical history and talking about genetic testing. Most of what she told me was a repeat of the information that I learned at the Living Beyond Breast Cancer seminar. Bridget agreed that my family appears to be fairly healthy and that while there are a few distant relatives who had breast cancer, my history does not strongly suggest the existence of a gene mutation. My age is really the only indicator that I may carry this genetic mutation, so I definitely plan to go ahead with the testing. I asked Bridget what the reasons were that people chose NOT to do the test... her answer: they don't plan to do anything with the information (ie- additional screening, prophylactic surgery, telling other family memebers, etc). Well, I definitely plan to use the information, so I see no reason not to move forward.
I've been talking to Dr Dultz & Dr Cairoli and since the margins of my 2nd surgery still had DCIS present, I am going to move forward with a mastectomy, where they will remove my entire left breast (likely in January). I will be meeting with a plastic surgeon before-hand, to discuss reconstruction options. Part of me is thinking - hey! why not take advantage of this whole situation and trade in my "Asian A's" for a B-cup. Yes, I'd have to update my lingerie collection (ok - so "lingerie collection" may be an overstatement)... but heck, why not? But as I thought more about it... I wonder whether I would ever be able to lay out again in ultimate? If not, I may delay the reconstruction until I am done playing competitive frisbee. You may think this sounds crazy, but I LOVE to play... I've been really sad to take this time off and I miss it terribly. The thought of coming back stronger than ever next year has been one that I hang onto as I stand on the sidelines, watching my girls play... I know that living life a bit lopsided will present its own challenges, but really - I doubt it will be THAT noticable... as it is, I didn't have much "native breast tissue" to begin with (as Dr Cairoli told me!) I think I'd rather live with that than live without the ability to play the game I love....
Also, *if* I were to find that I carry the BRCA1 or 2 genes, I would have to seriously consider additional surgery. With a BRCA1 or 2 mutation, I would have a significant risk of developing breast cancer on the other side... so it might be worth it to do a double (bilateral) mastectomy, rather than just unilateral. I mean, while they're in there, they might as well keep things symmetrical, right!?
So I was all gung ho to get this started...but it looks like it will be a slow process. The test itself is only done by one company & it costs $3k. So, they negotiate with your insurance company to get approval first... which takes a few weeks... and then do the test... which takes another few weeks. I guess we'll wait & see what happens.
On the way out of the hospital today, I met the sweetest little old lady... we were waiting for the elevator together and she was so excited about the fact that the dr had taken her in early and she had gotten done so quickly. I told her "well, you can't compain about that, can you?" And she said - "certainly not. But I don't believe in complaining anyways".. To which I replied "you know, your right... it doesn't really make anyone feel any better, does it?". "Nope" she smiled. She went on to mutter about how thankful she was for the valet parking service at the hospital (it was another rainy day and while so many would have complained about the rain, she totally looked on the bright side and said she was thankful for the valets...) She's so right... in so many ways.s.. and I've smiled several times as I think of her...
More on Genetics & Breast Cancer
Comments:
MARY MADE THIS COMMENT,
It is so good to hear from you again. Just want you to know that you are my "little old lady". I smile every time that I think of you. Your courage and strength is inspiring. Now that it sounds like fisbe is over maybe you can find some time to visit??!! We would love to have you anytime. The kids miss you too. As always you are in my thoughts and prayers.
KATIE MADE THIS COMMENT,
What a brain-full of information to process. I keep thinking of you and I love how beautiful you look without hair.
Today I met with a nurse, Bridget, who manages the "Family Risk Assessment" program at Virtua. We spent two hours, going through my detailed family medical history and talking about genetic testing. Most of what she told me was a repeat of the information that I learned at the Living Beyond Breast Cancer seminar. Bridget agreed that my family appears to be fairly healthy and that while there are a few distant relatives who had breast cancer, my history does not strongly suggest the existence of a gene mutation. My age is really the only indicator that I may carry this genetic mutation, so I definitely plan to go ahead with the testing. I asked Bridget what the reasons were that people chose NOT to do the test... her answer: they don't plan to do anything with the information (ie- additional screening, prophylactic surgery, telling other family memebers, etc). Well, I definitely plan to use the information, so I see no reason not to move forward.
I've been talking to Dr Dultz & Dr Cairoli and since the margins of my 2nd surgery still had DCIS present, I am going to move forward with a mastectomy, where they will remove my entire left breast (likely in January). I will be meeting with a plastic surgeon before-hand, to discuss reconstruction options. Part of me is thinking - hey! why not take advantage of this whole situation and trade in my "Asian A's" for a B-cup. Yes, I'd have to update my lingerie collection (ok - so "lingerie collection" may be an overstatement)... but heck, why not? But as I thought more about it... I wonder whether I would ever be able to lay out again in ultimate? If not, I may delay the reconstruction until I am done playing competitive frisbee. You may think this sounds crazy, but I LOVE to play... I've been really sad to take this time off and I miss it terribly. The thought of coming back stronger than ever next year has been one that I hang onto as I stand on the sidelines, watching my girls play... I know that living life a bit lopsided will present its own challenges, but really - I doubt it will be THAT noticable... as it is, I didn't have much "native breast tissue" to begin with (as Dr Cairoli told me!) I think I'd rather live with that than live without the ability to play the game I love....
Also, *if* I were to find that I carry the BRCA1 or 2 genes, I would have to seriously consider additional surgery. With a BRCA1 or 2 mutation, I would have a significant risk of developing breast cancer on the other side... so it might be worth it to do a double (bilateral) mastectomy, rather than just unilateral. I mean, while they're in there, they might as well keep things symmetrical, right!?
So I was all gung ho to get this started...but it looks like it will be a slow process. The test itself is only done by one company & it costs $3k. So, they negotiate with your insurance company to get approval first... which takes a few weeks... and then do the test... which takes another few weeks. I guess we'll wait & see what happens.
On the way out of the hospital today, I met the sweetest little old lady... we were waiting for the elevator together and she was so excited about the fact that the dr had taken her in early and she had gotten done so quickly. I told her "well, you can't compain about that, can you?" And she said - "certainly not. But I don't believe in complaining anyways".. To which I replied "you know, your right... it doesn't really make anyone feel any better, does it?". "Nope" she smiled. She went on to mutter about how thankful she was for the valet parking service at the hospital (it was another rainy day and while so many would have complained about the rain, she totally looked on the bright side and said she was thankful for the valets...) She's so right... in so many ways.s.. and I've smiled several times as I think of her...
More on Genetics & Breast Cancer
Comments:
MARY MADE THIS COMMENT,
It is so good to hear from you again. Just want you to know that you are my "little old lady". I smile every time that I think of you. Your courage and strength is inspiring. Now that it sounds like fisbe is over maybe you can find some time to visit??!! We would love to have you anytime. The kids miss you too. As always you are in my thoughts and prayers.
KATIE MADE THIS COMMENT,
What a brain-full of information to process. I keep thinking of you and I love how beautiful you look without hair.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Taxol #2
posted Tuesday, 18 October 2005
Has two weeks passed already??? Catie Flamme (pronounced "Flame" - what a great last name!) was my chaperone this time... and she was great! She brought along a few DVDs for us to watch, humored me by playing cribbage (Nancy thought the game was too weird and refused to play - click here to play cribbage online!) and even gave me a hand massage!
My blood counts are still fairly good (they always check my white & red blood cell counts to make sure that my body is rested enough for another dose of chemo) but I am starting to become anemic (my hemoglobin has dropped below 10, which is the cutoff). This is fairly common with chemo patients, and there is a shot, called Epogen, that can help rectify it. Epogen typically takes 4-6 weeks to really start working, and since I will be DONE in 4 weeks, they decided to hold off on the shots... we'll just monitor this and I'll have to take it a bit easier and rest more/eat better.
We picked on another vein this time and I took the IV in the side of my wrist (instead of the back of my hand). Last time, I got really sore all up the top of my arm, where the vein runs - felt like it was all bruised - so they wanted to give that set of veins a rest. Since my body tolerated the taxol well last time, I took the benadryl as a pill, and we started the taxol right off at full speed (as opposed to slowly building up)... so the day was a bit shorter (8:30am - 1 or so). I also mentioned the bone pain that I had experienced and they gave me a prescription for percocet.
We went for groceries and lunch afterwards... she hung around for the rest of the day and cooked me dinner (see - I told you she was great! - not that my other chaperones weren't great - they are all great in their own special way!)
On Wednesday morning, I slipped on the stairs and wound up sliding down the last 3 steps, spilling red gatorade all over the stairs... Way to start off the morning! I was ok and a bit of resolve took care of the stain...
The bone pain happened again this week - mostly on Wed/Thurs - and slightly worse than the first time (not sure if it was the chemo, the neulasta, the fall down the stairs... or a combination of all of the above!). I took advil/tylenol during the day and a perc before bed, which let me sleep. As it's getting colder, I've taken to wearing a cap on my head to sleep... my head gets so cold! I've been getting hot flashes at night since I started the taxol, so I typically rip it off at some point in the night! The taxol also causes an interesting side effect called "peripheral neuropathy". I didn't have it the first time, but apparently it happens as the taxol accumulates in your body... so it kicked in this time. Basically, my fingers and toes feel all tingly, like the pins & needles sensation you feel when your foot falls asleep - but in your fingers and toes... Pretty weird - not painful - just weird. This may have contributed to my slip on the stairs, so I better be careful now!
The good news: I went on Wed to pick up Otis! He is getting to be sooo good! I've taught him to sit, shake and lie down... he's so smart! What a pumpkin! He's such good company for me!
Has two weeks passed already??? Catie Flamme (pronounced "Flame" - what a great last name!) was my chaperone this time... and she was great! She brought along a few DVDs for us to watch, humored me by playing cribbage (Nancy thought the game was too weird and refused to play - click here to play cribbage online!) and even gave me a hand massage!
My blood counts are still fairly good (they always check my white & red blood cell counts to make sure that my body is rested enough for another dose of chemo) but I am starting to become anemic (my hemoglobin has dropped below 10, which is the cutoff). This is fairly common with chemo patients, and there is a shot, called Epogen, that can help rectify it. Epogen typically takes 4-6 weeks to really start working, and since I will be DONE in 4 weeks, they decided to hold off on the shots... we'll just monitor this and I'll have to take it a bit easier and rest more/eat better.
We picked on another vein this time and I took the IV in the side of my wrist (instead of the back of my hand). Last time, I got really sore all up the top of my arm, where the vein runs - felt like it was all bruised - so they wanted to give that set of veins a rest. Since my body tolerated the taxol well last time, I took the benadryl as a pill, and we started the taxol right off at full speed (as opposed to slowly building up)... so the day was a bit shorter (8:30am - 1 or so). I also mentioned the bone pain that I had experienced and they gave me a prescription for percocet.
We went for groceries and lunch afterwards... she hung around for the rest of the day and cooked me dinner (see - I told you she was great! - not that my other chaperones weren't great - they are all great in their own special way!)
On Wednesday morning, I slipped on the stairs and wound up sliding down the last 3 steps, spilling red gatorade all over the stairs... Way to start off the morning! I was ok and a bit of resolve took care of the stain...
The bone pain happened again this week - mostly on Wed/Thurs - and slightly worse than the first time (not sure if it was the chemo, the neulasta, the fall down the stairs... or a combination of all of the above!). I took advil/tylenol during the day and a perc before bed, which let me sleep. As it's getting colder, I've taken to wearing a cap on my head to sleep... my head gets so cold! I've been getting hot flashes at night since I started the taxol, so I typically rip it off at some point in the night! The taxol also causes an interesting side effect called "peripheral neuropathy". I didn't have it the first time, but apparently it happens as the taxol accumulates in your body... so it kicked in this time. Basically, my fingers and toes feel all tingly, like the pins & needles sensation you feel when your foot falls asleep - but in your fingers and toes... Pretty weird - not painful - just weird. This may have contributed to my slip on the stairs, so I better be careful now!
The good news: I went on Wed to pick up Otis! He is getting to be sooo good! I've taught him to sit, shake and lie down... he's so smart! What a pumpkin! He's such good company for me!
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Race (Brunch?) for the CURE
posted Sunday, 16 October 2005
NJ got over 10" of rain in the past week and a half... resulting in some complications for the NJ Race for the Cure. After re-routing the race (due to flooding in part of the course), the Komen Foundation was forced to cancel the race this year. The tents that they had up were collapsing because the ground was so saturated and they didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt. This of course, is a huge blow to the organization -- they typically get a lot of donations on the day of the event & at this point, rescheduling appears nearly impossible. We are still collecting donations (through mid-November), so if you have not given yet, please visit my website and consider making a contribution. I am very close to my goal of raising $5000...
I didn't want this opportunity to escape though, so I invited all the folks who were racing to come to "brunch for the cure" with me at bob evans. we had a nice turnout and enjoyed a great breakfast and good company - thanks to those who volunteered to walk/run/sleep in for the cure & thanks to those who came out for brunch!
Counter-clockwise from lower left: Jess, Paul, LC, Rasika, Wanwipa, Dad, Nancy, Catie
(missing from photo: Bill, Liz & TC)
Saturday, October 15, 2005
WICKED FAKESGIVING
posted Saturday, 15 October 2005
For our end-of-season party, the ladies of wicked decided to throw a "fakesgiving" (kind of like thanksgiving) dinner. I hosted. Julie & Shelley came over around 1pm to start the turkey. I made vegitarian stuffing, which turned out sooo good... here's the recipe:
• Saute 6 stalks of celery, 1 med onion, & 6 cloves garlic in a stick of butter (ok... vegetarian does not necesarily mean healthy!)
• When the celery begins to soften, add a package of frozen morningstar breakfast sausage patties (the tofu kind) - as they cook, crumble them in the pan and mix together with the veggies
• Add another 1/2 to full stick of butter (trade off on taste vs fat!)
• Add a can of vegetable broth
• Mix in seasoned stuffing cubes until moist
• Add some craisins
• Bake in covered casserole dish for 30 minutes
All I can say is YUM!
We went through 20 lbs of turkey, nearly 10 lbs mashed potatoes, 2 bags of stuffing, and don't forget... 4 pickled beets (the person in charge of cranberry sauce couldn't find any... so she brought beets instead... while I am a fan of beets, I can't say I ate any at "fakesgiving dinner!")
The home video of Dolan vs Kimberly wrestling hasn't been finalized, but we'll see if I can share that at a later date... for now, I've got a few photos below...
AUNT MARYE MADE THIS COMMENT,
Wow, that stuffing recipe does sound good, I like the idea of the sweet fruit at the end. I may actually try it this year for Thanksgiving -- although your cousins are SO traditional; they have been known to scream bloody murder if everything isn't the exact same way it was last year and the year before cause it's not "right." However, maybe one change would be allowed. And by the way, at my house we had pickled beets every year at Thanksgiving when I grew up, cause my mom loved them. It took my brother and I many years to convince her she could actually eat them ANY time she wanted, cause she was a grownup and could make her own food choices. And neither beets not cranberries make the cut here.
Thanks for the photos. Those "I heart breasts" tees were so funny, and appropriate for several genders...Again, I'm go glad you have good funny friends, there's no substitute!
JOHN MADE THIS COMMENT,
You need to bring that funnel along when you come up for the real Thanksgiving. That could be a lot of fun. Oh, I mean, I need to get more antifreeze into my car, and I don't have a funnel, and since that's probably what that thing's for, you know, putting antifreeze into a few cars at once, you know...
For our end-of-season party, the ladies of wicked decided to throw a "fakesgiving" (kind of like thanksgiving) dinner. I hosted. Julie & Shelley came over around 1pm to start the turkey. I made vegitarian stuffing, which turned out sooo good... here's the recipe:
• Saute 6 stalks of celery, 1 med onion, & 6 cloves garlic in a stick of butter (ok... vegetarian does not necesarily mean healthy!)
• When the celery begins to soften, add a package of frozen morningstar breakfast sausage patties (the tofu kind) - as they cook, crumble them in the pan and mix together with the veggies
• Add another 1/2 to full stick of butter (trade off on taste vs fat!)
• Add a can of vegetable broth
• Mix in seasoned stuffing cubes until moist
• Add some craisins
• Bake in covered casserole dish for 30 minutes
All I can say is YUM!
We went through 20 lbs of turkey, nearly 10 lbs mashed potatoes, 2 bags of stuffing, and don't forget... 4 pickled beets (the person in charge of cranberry sauce couldn't find any... so she brought beets instead... while I am a fan of beets, I can't say I ate any at "fakesgiving dinner!")
The home video of Dolan vs Kimberly wrestling hasn't been finalized, but we'll see if I can share that at a later date... for now, I've got a few photos below...
AUNT MARYE MADE THIS COMMENT,
Wow, that stuffing recipe does sound good, I like the idea of the sweet fruit at the end. I may actually try it this year for Thanksgiving -- although your cousins are SO traditional; they have been known to scream bloody murder if everything isn't the exact same way it was last year and the year before cause it's not "right." However, maybe one change would be allowed. And by the way, at my house we had pickled beets every year at Thanksgiving when I grew up, cause my mom loved them. It took my brother and I many years to convince her she could actually eat them ANY time she wanted, cause she was a grownup and could make her own food choices. And neither beets not cranberries make the cut here.
Thanks for the photos. Those "I heart breasts" tees were so funny, and appropriate for several genders...Again, I'm go glad you have good funny friends, there's no substitute!
JOHN MADE THIS COMMENT,
You need to bring that funnel along when you come up for the real Thanksgiving. That could be a lot of fun. Oh, I mean, I need to get more antifreeze into my car, and I don't have a funnel, and since that's probably what that thing's for, you know, putting antifreeze into a few cars at once, you know...
Thursday, October 13, 2005
GET A JOB...
For 3 years at RPI, I was a work-study at the CDC (Career Development Center). The staff there was amazing... not only did they help me find a great job, they are great folks and they have become people that I am proud to call friends.
They've been a great support to me over the past few months, with emails, blog comments & a fantastic gift basket (that all my co-workers liked too!).
Stephanie, Anita, Judy, Diana & Tom (missing: Sherry) -- Thanks for all of your support... I love you guys! Otis seems to like them too!
They've been a great support to me over the past few months, with emails, blog comments & a fantastic gift basket (that all my co-workers liked too!).
Stephanie, Anita, Judy, Diana & Tom (missing: Sherry) -- Thanks for all of your support... I love you guys! Otis seems to like them too!
Thursday, October 6, 2005
CACHE MISSING: Taxol Treatment 1
posted Thursday, 6 October 2005
I'm officially just over halfway done with chemo -- yippee!
Today marked the start of phase 2: Taxol.
Taxol is another drug used frequently in breast cancer patients. The first time they administer it, they have you in a bed, which was nice, since they give you IV benadryl, which completely knocked me out. Jenny H took me for today's appointment. Apparently, the last time she was at my house, she took "the long way home" to Philly... she arrived at my house almost a full hour before my appt... so she climbed into bed and took a nice little nap!
There was a small mix-up at the drs today though... two others were also starting taxol, so the 2 beds were full. I had to wait an hour to get started, so Jenny & I hit the gift shop & coffee/cafe for a while (good thing we did, as the little wizard/dragon statues were on sale and she managed to pick one up for her fiance!)
We headed back upstairs and I settled down into a bed. They start you in a bed because there is a risk of allergic reaction to the taxol, so they give you your premeds, wait a half hour and then start you on the taxol... very slowly... and monitor your first half hour. Everything went smoothly once I got started though and I fairly quickly passed out into a benadryl-induced slumber.
Everyone thought Jenny was my sister (we don't really look the same, but I guess Jenny looks like me with no hair?!) and I caught the nurse giving her an appreciative lecture about how nice it was for her to come with me (I was asleep, but woke up halfway through their little chat... but pretended to still sleep... a little too awkward to pop my head into that!)... but she was right... I really do appreciate those who have taken time to go with me to chemo or take care of me afterwards!
The taxol seems easier than the AC. No nausea. Apparently I way-over-estimated how bad the nausea/vomiting would be and under-estimated how bad the "bone pain" would be... yes that's right... "bone pain"... This is the side effect most notorious of Taxol. Basically, two days after treatment, it sets in... and you feel like you've been run over by a truck. Lovely. But at least I have my appetite, right? Gotta count your blessings!
MIKE MADE THIS COMMENT,
MOM MADE THIS COMMENT,
JENNIFER BINKLEY MADE THIS COMMENT,
I'm officially just over halfway done with chemo -- yippee!
Today marked the start of phase 2: Taxol.
Taxol is another drug used frequently in breast cancer patients. The first time they administer it, they have you in a bed, which was nice, since they give you IV benadryl, which completely knocked me out. Jenny H took me for today's appointment. Apparently, the last time she was at my house, she took "the long way home" to Philly... she arrived at my house almost a full hour before my appt... so she climbed into bed and took a nice little nap!
There was a small mix-up at the drs today though... two others were also starting taxol, so the 2 beds were full. I had to wait an hour to get started, so Jenny & I hit the gift shop & coffee/cafe for a while (good thing we did, as the little wizard/dragon statues were on sale and she managed to pick one up for her fiance!)
We headed back upstairs and I settled down into a bed. They start you in a bed because there is a risk of allergic reaction to the taxol, so they give you your premeds, wait a half hour and then start you on the taxol... very slowly... and monitor your first half hour. Everything went smoothly once I got started though and I fairly quickly passed out into a benadryl-induced slumber.
Everyone thought Jenny was my sister (we don't really look the same, but I guess Jenny looks like me with no hair?!) and I caught the nurse giving her an appreciative lecture about how nice it was for her to come with me (I was asleep, but woke up halfway through their little chat... but pretended to still sleep... a little too awkward to pop my head into that!)... but she was right... I really do appreciate those who have taken time to go with me to chemo or take care of me afterwards!
The taxol seems easier than the AC. No nausea. Apparently I way-over-estimated how bad the nausea/vomiting would be and under-estimated how bad the "bone pain" would be... yes that's right... "bone pain"... This is the side effect most notorious of Taxol. Basically, two days after treatment, it sets in... and you feel like you've been run over by a truck. Lovely. But at least I have my appetite, right? Gotta count your blessings!
MIKE MADE THIS COMMENT,
MOM MADE THIS COMMENT,
JENNIFER BINKLEY MADE THIS COMMENT,
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
SLACKERS
posted Tuesday, 4 October 2005
So, after Regionals, I was in a bit of a funk... as I said, it really was heartbreaking... we got so close... but not quite close enough... we worked as a team... joined together... and really gave it 110%. It was discouraging that the NJ men's team (who was finished just before our last game) didn't have more of a presence on our sideline (after all the times we've cheered them on) -- but thanks to the few who did stay... it meant a lot & helped more than you know!
So anyways, add to that the fact that my body was feeling run down and sore (check out my next post on taxol) and it didn't look like many folks were reading/commenting on the blog lately, I became a bit of a slacker. I didn't feel like putting on a happy face and sharing it with the world... I just felt like sitting on my couch watching The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.
Now, 3 weeks later, still no new posts... and I am starting to get emails from friends - "where are you?" "why no new posts?" "let us know how you are"
And so, I'm working on catching up... I'll try to be better about staying up to date, as long as I know that people actually want to read what I'm writing... so you all stay in touch too!
Talk to you soon & hope you are all well.
LC
JESSICA MADE THIS COMMENT,
So, after Regionals, I was in a bit of a funk... as I said, it really was heartbreaking... we got so close... but not quite close enough... we worked as a team... joined together... and really gave it 110%. It was discouraging that the NJ men's team (who was finished just before our last game) didn't have more of a presence on our sideline (after all the times we've cheered them on) -- but thanks to the few who did stay... it meant a lot & helped more than you know!
So anyways, add to that the fact that my body was feeling run down and sore (check out my next post on taxol) and it didn't look like many folks were reading/commenting on the blog lately, I became a bit of a slacker. I didn't feel like putting on a happy face and sharing it with the world... I just felt like sitting on my couch watching The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.
Now, 3 weeks later, still no new posts... and I am starting to get emails from friends - "where are you?" "why no new posts?" "let us know how you are"
And so, I'm working on catching up... I'll try to be better about staying up to date, as long as I know that people actually want to read what I'm writing... so you all stay in touch too!
Talk to you soon & hope you are all well.
LC
JESSICA MADE THIS COMMENT,
Monday, October 3, 2005
REGIONALS
posted Monday, 3 October 2005
So, as a club ultimate player, the season basically boils down to one weekend -- Regionals... which hopefully provides you with one more weekend to play --- Nationals... 10 teams - top 2 advance to Nationals. Basically, 3 teams in contention for those two spots (us, Bnogo/DC & Backhoe/NC).
Wicked travelled down to Fredricksburg, VA the first weekend of October. A slightly different team than initially planned, down a few vets, we showed up at the fields ready for action on Saturday. Since our pool had several college teams in it, I decided to suit up on Saturday and play a few points in our first games against: Pounce (Pittsburgh club team), Univ of VA & U Del -- no worries -- I was much better behaved than I was at Sectionals.
Our last game of the day was against Backhoe, the number 1 seed from our region. I decided that it would be wise to sit this one out and retreated to the sidelines, calling subs. We played a good game, going up 8-6 at half, but Backhoe is a much more experienced team than we & they came back and took the game 13-8 (not a bad show for us).
Saturday night at Regionals is typically non-eventful. We had a team dinner together, which was nice and then retreated to our hotel room, where Sara, Erin & I played Sudoku (a super-fun numeric crossword-puzzle-like game in the newspaper) and Tracy crashed... until we were woken by Nancy & Bonny who were spying on another teammate making out with some guy in the parking lot... good times...
Sunday was the big day... we faced off against Bnogo, a team from DC in the semifinals. We jumped to a quick lead, but managed to find ourselves tied 12-12 with one point to go... winner gets a rest and then plays in the finals, while the loser drops into the loser bracket, plays 2 more games, in hopes of making it to the "backdoor finals" (vs the loser of the finals for the #2 spot). We pulled to them, giving them the offensive and they scored. Bummer.
So then we battled Wahine (a bunch of cheaters from NC) and won... then Sweet T (Cagle's team from NC), who we jumped out to a 11-1 lead against and then tried to self-destruct, burning valuable energy before closing out the game. Bnogo took a bye and then played in the finals (losing 15-5 to Backhoe). They rested their starters when it was obvious that the game was a loss, gearing up for the last game against us. It was a well fought game, but we just didn't have the legs left... Bnogo won 15-11. It was heartbreaking. We fought with everything we had, despite the sidelines, which were overwhelmingly cheering for Bnogo (hometown crowd)... and left it all on the field.
Wicked had a few key losses among the veteran ranks (Nancy, Susan & even me... I count as a vet now!) and the youth of the team really did step up and do it up. Jenny & Julie did a great job leading a bunch of women, with relatively little drama... and I know that Wicked will be back next year... hungrier than ever.
SUSIE MADE THIS COMMENT,
So, as a club ultimate player, the season basically boils down to one weekend -- Regionals... which hopefully provides you with one more weekend to play --- Nationals... 10 teams - top 2 advance to Nationals. Basically, 3 teams in contention for those two spots (us, Bnogo/DC & Backhoe/NC).
Wicked travelled down to Fredricksburg, VA the first weekend of October. A slightly different team than initially planned, down a few vets, we showed up at the fields ready for action on Saturday. Since our pool had several college teams in it, I decided to suit up on Saturday and play a few points in our first games against: Pounce (Pittsburgh club team), Univ of VA & U Del -- no worries -- I was much better behaved than I was at Sectionals.
Our last game of the day was against Backhoe, the number 1 seed from our region. I decided that it would be wise to sit this one out and retreated to the sidelines, calling subs. We played a good game, going up 8-6 at half, but Backhoe is a much more experienced team than we & they came back and took the game 13-8 (not a bad show for us).
Saturday night at Regionals is typically non-eventful. We had a team dinner together, which was nice and then retreated to our hotel room, where Sara, Erin & I played Sudoku (a super-fun numeric crossword-puzzle-like game in the newspaper) and Tracy crashed... until we were woken by Nancy & Bonny who were spying on another teammate making out with some guy in the parking lot... good times...
Sunday was the big day... we faced off against Bnogo, a team from DC in the semifinals. We jumped to a quick lead, but managed to find ourselves tied 12-12 with one point to go... winner gets a rest and then plays in the finals, while the loser drops into the loser bracket, plays 2 more games, in hopes of making it to the "backdoor finals" (vs the loser of the finals for the #2 spot). We pulled to them, giving them the offensive and they scored. Bummer.
So then we battled Wahine (a bunch of cheaters from NC) and won... then Sweet T (Cagle's team from NC), who we jumped out to a 11-1 lead against and then tried to self-destruct, burning valuable energy before closing out the game. Bnogo took a bye and then played in the finals (losing 15-5 to Backhoe). They rested their starters when it was obvious that the game was a loss, gearing up for the last game against us. It was a well fought game, but we just didn't have the legs left... Bnogo won 15-11. It was heartbreaking. We fought with everything we had, despite the sidelines, which were overwhelmingly cheering for Bnogo (hometown crowd)... and left it all on the field.
Wicked had a few key losses among the veteran ranks (Nancy, Susan & even me... I count as a vet now!) and the youth of the team really did step up and do it up. Jenny & Julie did a great job leading a bunch of women, with relatively little drama... and I know that Wicked will be back next year... hungrier than ever.
SUSIE MADE THIS COMMENT,
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