Actually, that happened

Ok, I am just gonna say it. Chicago is so much more weird than Austin could ever hope to be. Chicago feels like another era to me. the 90's. Lollapalooza. the fashion. the accent. the a's and the i's. The people watching makes up for any irritation my ears experience. don't cha know. I am obsessed with dialects and accents and Midwest is the motherlode of dialects. jackpot. I think NY, Boston and Midwest have the most distinct accents. Maybe southern drawl could be thrown in there. so fascinating. why do we speak so different?

freedom, get your freedom

 

Tennis, gearing up for my second tournament this year. I haven't had any consistent training lately, but I am trying to gear up mentally and emotionally for competition. tennis is so mental, a strong mentality can carry you to victory even if your body and game is holding up. Just to give you a window in my craziness. As soon as I saw the draw for my tournament my mind and body started to experience anxiety. My mind goes everywhere in preparation for matches sometimes. I get used to the adrenaline rushes after competing regularly but my body and mind haven't been training under intensity and duress for a few years. Even before my match today I was imagining the story would tell if I lost. (Hello everyone, I lost my match today and am now drowning my sorrow in deep dish pizza.)

 

Alas, I am here to tell you that I will live another day before any sorrows are drowned in a deep dish. Who knows maybe I will even be eating one in celebration in victory. I won my 1st match today! I played someone who had beaten me back in 2006 so it was doubly satisfying. I actually played a really solid first set, winning 6 games in a row, for a 6-1 score. Then the second set, I started to get a little overconfident and then it got really close. 3 all, 4 all, served for it at 5-4. 5 all. I was choking a bit at this point, scrapped to get it to a tiebreaker then won in straight sets. 6-1, 7-6. I am so happy to win and it feels so good. I didn't play great, but I kept a positive, fighting spirit and pulled it out. I couldn't be more happier about my win. Winning feels good!

 

Tomorrow, I play my nemesis, Jose Sambas. I think this will be the 5th time we are playing in singles and I have never beaten him, although the last time was our closest. 7-6 in the third.  I am hoping 5th time is the charm. I am just going to go out there and go for it. The tournament is indoors and pretty speedy, so that's my strategy. Let you know how it turns out. hopefully not like this.

This little beetle was struggling to get to the right side. I loved the fluorescent green color. I had to snap a photo before I set him right. I'm so compassionate. One more thing, this is really narcissistic, but I shaved my head yesterday and now rocking a short do. I found a chain so now I am rocking my tiger pendant courtesy of Jude M. I think tomorrow I am rocking the wolf shirt with my tiger necklace. Sorry, I have to go, I have to pick out my outfit.