First full court game since surgery
On Friday during lunch I went to NAB to apply for a credit card so I could do a balance transfer and get an interest free period until January next year. This was it, I decided to take control of my finances and pay off this goddamn thing once and for all. Was it the wussy way out? Perhaps, but the interest on my current one has become too much. It's like if I take one step forward, it sends me two steps back.
I went through the process with some Indian looking guy at a desk who was friendly enough, and probably thought I was bored out of my mind because he kept saying it wouldn't take long. In the end, he said they could only approve $5,800, so I could take that or have someone else assess my application. I chose the latter, not really wanting to split my repayments into two.
At that moment, I didn't think much of it, as I could always go to ANZ for their 2.9% on balance transfers as a backup plan. But as I walked out that door, the rejection had started to sink in. I was in so much debt that even the bank's program had deemed me a bad investment. My god, what have I done?
I went to get some lunch and ate it back in the office. That rejection actually depressed me quite a bit. I was quite active earlier in the day, but now I felt like I was down and out. I had lost my motivation for the day. It was also clear from the outside, as towards the end of the day, Mary walked past and said I looked tired. Sarah chipped in and said I smelt like alcohol earlier, and I didn't know what to say but laugh, quickly going into emergency thinking mode to see if I had come close to any alcohol the night before with Amanda.
Sarah stuck her head out so I could see her and said "kidding!", which made me feel like this was some sort of crazy family, lol. Mary said to go home if I was tired as I wouldn't be productive anyway. I spent the rest of the time talking to Lewis downstairs and then left at 5pm.
I had no plans, and was glad about it, mainly because I wanted to be alone, and also because I would save money. I left work feeling a little better thinking that this bank rejection gave me a little bit of motivation - if they think I'm a bad investment, then I'll prove to them I can pay this damn thing back.
I went home, and then walked to the gym even though I had the car. I had such a workout that I treated myself to KFC's popcorn chicken and gravy afterwards. Yummm. I walked home and then just had a quiet night in.
Saturday
I woke up kinda late, so didn't go to the gym. Instead, I had instant noodles for breakfast and then caught the bus out to Central to meet up with Bo and others to 'train' or 'meet' for the new team coming up.
As I cut across the grass to the courts, I could sort of make them out, and then see Bo point to me. It made me a bit self conscious, wondering what the hell he was saying. I went to greet them and met a guy called Colin. They said he was 40, and he did look it, but he was quite fit and could play ball.
We shot around for a bit, and Colin ran through a simple play to show us. As I watched, I knew this was a team I wanted to play on. I was glad not to have the responsibility of a captain, and I was even more glad that they were serious enough to make plays. What's more, this play actually worked, although I wasn't sure how effective I'd be cutting and getting the ball.
After that we played some two on two games. As both Nick and Colin were quite tall, it only made sense for them not to be on the same team, so for the first game it was Nick and I. I can't remember who won, but I did have a bit of trouble guarding Bo down low since he was so much bigger. I had the advantage when he was outside though, cause I could easily swipe the ball from him. Bo really surprised me in that he was the only one who called time outs all day because he was tired after five minutes. I was glad to know I was still relatively in shape.
After that it was Colin and I, and again I was matched up against Bo, but this time he had taken his shirt off, and when I said something about it he even hugged me to make sure he got all his sweat on me...urgh. I could really only shoot from the outside, and my shot fell enough for Colin to know I was a shooter. But even though it was falling now, I questioned how efficient I'd be in a full court, competitive game as I was sure I was more rusty than they thought.
In the last game, Bo and I teamed up, and although it was obvious who the winners were going to be, I did my part to make a game out of it, scoring our only two baskets.
Colin left after that, then the three of us sat on the seats to the side and talked. Bo asked Nick about his girlfriend, and he said she was travelling for six months and worried about her cheating on him, while she worried about him cheating on her, lol.
Nick left, and then Bo and I talked for a bit, just about the upcoming team and all. I kept saying we should get some full court games going as I really wanted to see how I'd fare in full court. We walked down the street together before parting, and I caught the bus back home to change and have a shower.
I was pretty tired and waiting for my dad to return with the car, so I took a nap, telling myself it'd only be for 20 minutes as I needed to leave at 2pm. I swear it was the longest 20 minutes of my life.
I got out of my bed at 2ish and got ready for more bball. I thought I could get there in about 30 minutes so I wasn't in much of a rush - how wrong I was!
The traffic was soooooo bad on Parramatta Rd that I ended up being 45 minutes late. It was so hot that day that I was draining in sweat just by sitting in the car. Mike kept texting me, and I thought it was pretty stupid, as he asked me which court it was - I mean, there's really only one court there! Anyway, my phone got heaps hot and crashed, so I turned it off, all the better.
When I got there, they were playing a full court game (earlier wish granted I guess), and Mike was sitting there watching, too shy to have joined in without me. That kinda annoyed me, especially when I thought he was very sociable with these types of guys, and here he was too shy to make his presence known so that he wasted 45 minutes watching.
The game ended soon and Mike and I joined a team and went for a run. It was only on the drive there that I realised this would be my first time back at these courts since my injury. And this was my first full court game since my surgery. Of course, I was extra careful. One of the first times I got the ball was when someone passed it up for a fastbreak and I ran down towards the ring. It was a lefty lay-up coming up, I knew it, but I was also being chased by this big guy.
Jumping off my right foot (and knee) I wasn't too sure, so I just gave a half hearted effort, which resulted in the ball going off the board, hitting the ring with no chance of it going in, and being rebounded by the other team. But you know what I was thinking? "Phew, at least I'm ok".
I then got my first basket when someone chucked it up to me for an easy open lay up. I thought I might miss as well, given how rusty I was. Later, I made a medium range jumper, and we ended up winning our first game. I couldn't believe it, it was all so fast. No warm ups, here I was thrown right into the middle of a full court game.
Running the breaks, and taking the ball up, it all started coming back to me. I felt a bit more confident, and a bit more jumpy. The restriction caused by my flexion wasn't apparent. I felt free to roam and glide all over the court. The only thing I was very wary of was tripping over someone's leg and twisting my knee. For some reason I kept envisioning that happening.
Early in the first game, Mike stopped for some reason (later he said it was due to his knee) and at one stage he lost the ball, started fidgeting with his knee, the ball rolled back to him, and he was too 'Mike' to realise it and didn't get it. All those high blood pressure memories started coming back to me, and I questioned whether it was right to invite him onto the new upcoming team.
After a couple of games I was glad to go off and get a break. It was good to feel like I could run in a full court game like I used to, but at the same time I kept telling myself that the less I was on the court, the less chances there were of me hurting myself. Even during fastbreaks, I could envision myself slicing through multiple defenders to get to the basket, but I refrained, instead taking the safe option of sitting back or just passing it off.
William and I had a fastbreak at one stage and I gave him an alley-oop, so that felt kinda good. Also, I had that Kenneth guy in my sights the whole time, so each time he came at me during a fast break, I managed to disrupt it as I knew what he was going to do.
Afterwards we paid $8 each and finished up. Mike went to the canteen and bought a drink. I was kinda surprised that he offered to buy me and William a drink. I took up the offer as he owed me $2 given we couldn't get the exact change when paying our court fees. William told me he was going to Stratty to see his girlfriend, so that was news to me.
The drink Mike bought me was a life saver, as the drive to his place proved to be just as hot as the drive to the courts. We talked, but not too much. I was really tired. He asked me if I wanted to play more ball, but I declined. He had me drive him to a park near his place so he could play more. He told me he wasn't in the Chinese comp this season as the team didn't have enough. I was kinda glad as he'd now be more preserved for the new comp coming in May.
I also jarred my finger during the full court games, but instead of feeling the pain, I'm saying to myself "welcome back".
After I dropped him off I drove back home, had a shower and rested. I was buggered, even though admittedly I hadn't played that much all day.
Today
Didn't wake up early enough to go to the courts, so I just had a shower and met A at 9am for swimming. We got talking instantly about the NBA, especially about how Jerry Sloan had (been forced to) resigned.
The lanes were quite full, so we had to split lanes, but after a while his lane became free so I switched to his lane. I did 12 laps and he did 10, and then we left. It was kinda all too quick, even though I found myself struggling towards the end.
He drove me home, then I had another shower and bummed around at home a bit, before going to the shopping centre near me to pick up my glasses. I saw that they were closed, but their lights were on and there were people inside, so I thought maybe they were opening a little later so I'd wait.
I checked out some stores and saw that they still hadn't opened. As I hadn't had breakfast yet, I was starving and thirsty, so I bought a Subway sandwich and ate it. They still weren't open. I also did some small grocery shopping and then left, planning to wash my car and then come back.
So I went home, dropped off the groceries and washed my car. After that I kept calling the shop but they wouldn't pick up. I later found on their website that they weren't open on Sundays, grrr.
I went through the process with some Indian looking guy at a desk who was friendly enough, and probably thought I was bored out of my mind because he kept saying it wouldn't take long. In the end, he said they could only approve $5,800, so I could take that or have someone else assess my application. I chose the latter, not really wanting to split my repayments into two.
At that moment, I didn't think much of it, as I could always go to ANZ for their 2.9% on balance transfers as a backup plan. But as I walked out that door, the rejection had started to sink in. I was in so much debt that even the bank's program had deemed me a bad investment. My god, what have I done?
I went to get some lunch and ate it back in the office. That rejection actually depressed me quite a bit. I was quite active earlier in the day, but now I felt like I was down and out. I had lost my motivation for the day. It was also clear from the outside, as towards the end of the day, Mary walked past and said I looked tired. Sarah chipped in and said I smelt like alcohol earlier, and I didn't know what to say but laugh, quickly going into emergency thinking mode to see if I had come close to any alcohol the night before with Amanda.
Sarah stuck her head out so I could see her and said "kidding!", which made me feel like this was some sort of crazy family, lol. Mary said to go home if I was tired as I wouldn't be productive anyway. I spent the rest of the time talking to Lewis downstairs and then left at 5pm.
I had no plans, and was glad about it, mainly because I wanted to be alone, and also because I would save money. I left work feeling a little better thinking that this bank rejection gave me a little bit of motivation - if they think I'm a bad investment, then I'll prove to them I can pay this damn thing back.
I went home, and then walked to the gym even though I had the car. I had such a workout that I treated myself to KFC's popcorn chicken and gravy afterwards. Yummm. I walked home and then just had a quiet night in.
Saturday
I woke up kinda late, so didn't go to the gym. Instead, I had instant noodles for breakfast and then caught the bus out to Central to meet up with Bo and others to 'train' or 'meet' for the new team coming up.
As I cut across the grass to the courts, I could sort of make them out, and then see Bo point to me. It made me a bit self conscious, wondering what the hell he was saying. I went to greet them and met a guy called Colin. They said he was 40, and he did look it, but he was quite fit and could play ball.
We shot around for a bit, and Colin ran through a simple play to show us. As I watched, I knew this was a team I wanted to play on. I was glad not to have the responsibility of a captain, and I was even more glad that they were serious enough to make plays. What's more, this play actually worked, although I wasn't sure how effective I'd be cutting and getting the ball.
After that we played some two on two games. As both Nick and Colin were quite tall, it only made sense for them not to be on the same team, so for the first game it was Nick and I. I can't remember who won, but I did have a bit of trouble guarding Bo down low since he was so much bigger. I had the advantage when he was outside though, cause I could easily swipe the ball from him. Bo really surprised me in that he was the only one who called time outs all day because he was tired after five minutes. I was glad to know I was still relatively in shape.
After that it was Colin and I, and again I was matched up against Bo, but this time he had taken his shirt off, and when I said something about it he even hugged me to make sure he got all his sweat on me...urgh. I could really only shoot from the outside, and my shot fell enough for Colin to know I was a shooter. But even though it was falling now, I questioned how efficient I'd be in a full court, competitive game as I was sure I was more rusty than they thought.
In the last game, Bo and I teamed up, and although it was obvious who the winners were going to be, I did my part to make a game out of it, scoring our only two baskets.
Colin left after that, then the three of us sat on the seats to the side and talked. Bo asked Nick about his girlfriend, and he said she was travelling for six months and worried about her cheating on him, while she worried about him cheating on her, lol.
Nick left, and then Bo and I talked for a bit, just about the upcoming team and all. I kept saying we should get some full court games going as I really wanted to see how I'd fare in full court. We walked down the street together before parting, and I caught the bus back home to change and have a shower.
I was pretty tired and waiting for my dad to return with the car, so I took a nap, telling myself it'd only be for 20 minutes as I needed to leave at 2pm. I swear it was the longest 20 minutes of my life.
I got out of my bed at 2ish and got ready for more bball. I thought I could get there in about 30 minutes so I wasn't in much of a rush - how wrong I was!
The traffic was soooooo bad on Parramatta Rd that I ended up being 45 minutes late. It was so hot that day that I was draining in sweat just by sitting in the car. Mike kept texting me, and I thought it was pretty stupid, as he asked me which court it was - I mean, there's really only one court there! Anyway, my phone got heaps hot and crashed, so I turned it off, all the better.
When I got there, they were playing a full court game (earlier wish granted I guess), and Mike was sitting there watching, too shy to have joined in without me. That kinda annoyed me, especially when I thought he was very sociable with these types of guys, and here he was too shy to make his presence known so that he wasted 45 minutes watching.
The game ended soon and Mike and I joined a team and went for a run. It was only on the drive there that I realised this would be my first time back at these courts since my injury. And this was my first full court game since my surgery. Of course, I was extra careful. One of the first times I got the ball was when someone passed it up for a fastbreak and I ran down towards the ring. It was a lefty lay-up coming up, I knew it, but I was also being chased by this big guy.
Jumping off my right foot (and knee) I wasn't too sure, so I just gave a half hearted effort, which resulted in the ball going off the board, hitting the ring with no chance of it going in, and being rebounded by the other team. But you know what I was thinking? "Phew, at least I'm ok".
I then got my first basket when someone chucked it up to me for an easy open lay up. I thought I might miss as well, given how rusty I was. Later, I made a medium range jumper, and we ended up winning our first game. I couldn't believe it, it was all so fast. No warm ups, here I was thrown right into the middle of a full court game.
Running the breaks, and taking the ball up, it all started coming back to me. I felt a bit more confident, and a bit more jumpy. The restriction caused by my flexion wasn't apparent. I felt free to roam and glide all over the court. The only thing I was very wary of was tripping over someone's leg and twisting my knee. For some reason I kept envisioning that happening.
Early in the first game, Mike stopped for some reason (later he said it was due to his knee) and at one stage he lost the ball, started fidgeting with his knee, the ball rolled back to him, and he was too 'Mike' to realise it and didn't get it. All those high blood pressure memories started coming back to me, and I questioned whether it was right to invite him onto the new upcoming team.
After a couple of games I was glad to go off and get a break. It was good to feel like I could run in a full court game like I used to, but at the same time I kept telling myself that the less I was on the court, the less chances there were of me hurting myself. Even during fastbreaks, I could envision myself slicing through multiple defenders to get to the basket, but I refrained, instead taking the safe option of sitting back or just passing it off.
William and I had a fastbreak at one stage and I gave him an alley-oop, so that felt kinda good. Also, I had that Kenneth guy in my sights the whole time, so each time he came at me during a fast break, I managed to disrupt it as I knew what he was going to do.
Afterwards we paid $8 each and finished up. Mike went to the canteen and bought a drink. I was kinda surprised that he offered to buy me and William a drink. I took up the offer as he owed me $2 given we couldn't get the exact change when paying our court fees. William told me he was going to Stratty to see his girlfriend, so that was news to me.
The drink Mike bought me was a life saver, as the drive to his place proved to be just as hot as the drive to the courts. We talked, but not too much. I was really tired. He asked me if I wanted to play more ball, but I declined. He had me drive him to a park near his place so he could play more. He told me he wasn't in the Chinese comp this season as the team didn't have enough. I was kinda glad as he'd now be more preserved for the new comp coming in May.
I also jarred my finger during the full court games, but instead of feeling the pain, I'm saying to myself "welcome back".
After I dropped him off I drove back home, had a shower and rested. I was buggered, even though admittedly I hadn't played that much all day.
Today
Didn't wake up early enough to go to the courts, so I just had a shower and met A at 9am for swimming. We got talking instantly about the NBA, especially about how Jerry Sloan had (been forced to) resigned.
The lanes were quite full, so we had to split lanes, but after a while his lane became free so I switched to his lane. I did 12 laps and he did 10, and then we left. It was kinda all too quick, even though I found myself struggling towards the end.
He drove me home, then I had another shower and bummed around at home a bit, before going to the shopping centre near me to pick up my glasses. I saw that they were closed, but their lights were on and there were people inside, so I thought maybe they were opening a little later so I'd wait.
I checked out some stores and saw that they still hadn't opened. As I hadn't had breakfast yet, I was starving and thirsty, so I bought a Subway sandwich and ate it. They still weren't open. I also did some small grocery shopping and then left, planning to wash my car and then come back.
So I went home, dropped off the groceries and washed my car. After that I kept calling the shop but they wouldn't pick up. I later found on their website that they weren't open on Sundays, grrr.
posted by toey | 18:31
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