racquetball gain is so worth the pain

Racquetball (noun): a game similar to handball, played on a four-walled court but with a short-handled, strung racket and a larger, somewhat softer ball.

I love playing racquetball. I was introduced to this fast-paced, crazy sport a few months ago, but I had first heard about it in high school from one of my teachers. She played a few times a week and told me how fast and wild it could be. I could never picture myself doing anything like that because I wasn’t much of a long-term exerciser. I don’t have very good endurance and from the stories she told me, I pictured non-stop running. I hate to run.

After leaving high school I had completely forgotten about the sport until I met Rob. Good ol’ Rob. Talking one day, somehow we got on the subject of sports. Racquetball came up and I told Rob I had never played before. Rob had – and he was willing to teach me how to play! So, one day we went to the PEIF (for those of you who don’t go to Northern Michigan University, PEIF stands for Physical Education Instructional Facility) and I finally learned how to play racquetball. I was hooked.

I love everything about the game. The pace (which is not as overwhelmingly fast as an on-looker might think), the rules (you can play the ball off of any of the walls and the ceiling – as long as it’s not on a serve), the colorful racquet balls (blue and green, baby!), and what would a game be without your partner? (I love you Rob!)

As with any game, though, there are ups and downs. My downs just happen much more often and occur when I manage to hit myself – with the ball. Yes, that’s right; I am just that skilled. I have clocked myself in the stomach, the legs (in multiple places), the ankle, the back of the head (don’t ask), the back of the head (don’t ask), and most recently, the eye. Hmmm. Maybe that’s why they recommend eye protection… Actually, though, I think that if I had goggles on, the ball would have jammed them into my face causing even more injury. Does that sound like fun to you? Me neither.

So, racquetball is my new favorite sport and I love the fact that it is played in a “four-walled court”. But as for that “soft ball” part, I disagree. When a little round green thing comes flying at you at 90 mph and clocks you in the head, let me know how it feels. We’ll have lots to talk about.

All You Need Is Love

"All you need is Love." Very wise. And oh so true. I believe love is the root of all emotion. Think about it; every single emotion you can think of can be traced back to love in some shape or form. Even the ones associated with the not-so-fuzzy side of life. Have you ever really thought about what love means to you?
I read something today and I think it may have changed the meaning of love for me forever -- for the better, of course. I got that feeling of "butterflies" in my stomach and felt a smile on my face. It was wonderful. It was something that changed a mediocre day in to a great one. What more could I ask for?
Yes, all we need is love. That is all we need. Now go give someone a hug. And call your mom and tell her you love her. Because you know you do.

The "new" Blog

So, this is the new blog. I was forced to create an entirely new one because, apparently, even with all this awesome technology, we cannot figure out how to get a password from an old version of blogger to open an updated version. Even with the same account information. I LOVE technology.
For all of you dedicated blog-readers, this is how I will be keeping in touch with y'all when I am in Vienna this summer. The trip is from May 12th to June 10th. I leave a month from TODAY! And as soon as I figure out how to put pictures up, I can try to do that too. No promises about the pictures though -- I am going to be busy enough as it is!
Oh, I am so proud of myself! A whole blog post! Let's see how long I can keep this up.