Club One Racquetball Finals Match

I knew it would be a battle and I wasn’t disappointed. My and Tyrone’s racquetball match Thursday night for the Club One championship (and bragging rights for the next several months!) was everything I thought it would be and then some. I started off strong with a 4-0 lead, putting everything away while T seemed tight and left the ball up. My lead increased to 11-6 until T stepped it up and starting making great shots and serving well. Before I knew it I was down 11-12. That’s when the crazy BS crept into the game. T made a low kill shot that skipped the floor. T walked to the back of the court as if conceding the point, but Robbie (our club pro and ref for the match) thought the shot was good and so did Sydney (the line judge). They didn’t hear the skip. Tyrone then insisted it was side out and wanted to serve because Robbie thought the ball was good. I was furious, but played on. Tyrone scored another point and shouted one of his victory yells. He then lost his serve and I scored a point, then Tyrone scored again and I was down 12-14. I told T he didn’t deserve the game if he was taking cheap points like the one he took when the ball skipped. The trash talking escalated (I won't repeat them here because I don't want my blog getting an R rating). T made a huge mistake by serving short twice and I quickly scored another point. At 13-14, I killed T’s serve in the front court and took serve again. I scored a point and tied the match at 14. I served a drive serve which T hit high. I hit the ball down the lefthand side and T left his shot high again. He gave me a perfect setup, which I drilled a down righthand side, a perfect passing shot that he wasn't able to retrieve, giving me the first game 15-14. I then gave the loudest victory yell I’ve ever screamed in racquetball. It was so satisfying winning that game.



I dove so many times my right elbow was swollen.

I started the next game strong as well, scoring 3 quick points, but then T got hot again and I was down 3-6. Then I was down 4-11. I rallied back and it was 7-11. Then 9-12 before T tore a muscle in his leg and couldn’t move. He was unable to finish and I won be default. It was an anticlimactic finish to one of the best and tightest finals matches I’ve played at Club One. I kept my perfect season intact (10-0!) and own bragging rights until our next singles league in 2011.




My right side is also as sore as my elbow, but it’s a good kind of sore. I sure love this game!



Tyrone had to be carried out of Club One. He's the greatest guy off the court, but inside the court he turns into a crazy monster. That's all right because I turn into one, too!

Richard watched the match and helped cheer me on. Afterward, we went to La Cheval and I ate everything in sight. We then drove to Walnut Creek to pick up his kids at Ann’s. I ate a large smore and half a chocolate bar. The ride back to Oakland was hilarious. The kids were telling crazy stories that were so funny.

I played racquetball again this morning with Dorian and felt surprisingly good. I’m really bummed though that Tyrone will be out of commission for the next several months. Meanwhile, I’ll be playing in as many singles events as I can in preparation for the California State Singles Tournament in the spring. I’d love to do well in the A division

The Match

I wanna win! Thursday night at 6, Tyrone and I play our Championship match for bragging rights at Club One. If I win, I'll have gone undefeated for the season. If T wins, he'll be the top racquetball player for the next few months. I want this title and will dig deep to get it. I must do this!

Across the Universe

Finally saw this Julie Taymor gem. Loved it. Absolutely loved it. Apparently, there were critics who didn't care for it. It gave me at idea. Officer Mike of Critic's Patrol. Critic's Patrol is an organization designed to expose incompetent criticism for what it is: incompetent. "You have been charged with critical incompetence; put your hands in the air and relinquish your critic's license." More on this later...

The hours zoom by. Zoom by!

Singles Finals, Ink Pop, Agent Queries

I'm in the finals and will face either Steve or Tyrone next Wednesday or Thursday night. T and Steve play tomorrow morning at 6. I can't wait to watch this match. It should be fantastic. I've been practicing certain shots every day. I really want the title this season. If I win, I'll have gone undefeated...sweet!

I posted Julia Milan on InkPop for the month to see what sort of feedback I might get. I read a few pages of someone's story and I thought there was a lot of good writing in it. Some spots made me laugh. I remember what my stories were like when I was 18. Wow.

My latest query has generated results...2 fulls and 2 partials from 14 queries submitted last week. I'll take those results any day.

Work is killing me. And I haven't played any poker in I don't know how long...

I finished this book a few minutes ago. I loved the beginning, but the quirkiness started to annoy me. By the end, I was just ho-hum. I didn't love it the way I thought I would. But I can see why critics love this sort of book. It's certainly unique. I love how Rebecca Stead uses the $20,000 Pyramid in this story. So what if kids don't get the references, they aren't voting for the Newbery winner.

Kathryn Kim came to visit this weekend. We went to Zachery's for dinner tonight before I dropped her off at the Oakland Airport. It was fun talking about 6th grade with her. So many great stories.

This week I'll hit the queries hard again. It's back to the drawing board, with nos all around. Talk about annoying.

Speaking of, I'm watching the latest Woody Allen film, Whatever Works, on DVD. This film doesn't. Wow, when Woody Allen is off, he is way off. His obsessions are so ugly and tedious, and this from a devoted fan. The 20-something waif hooking up with Larry David? Are you kidding me? Doesn't Woody Allen get that it's beyond ridiculous that he's still writing about this? Doesn't he get how much of a parody he has become of himself? If this ever happens to me in old age, for the love of God, please pull my plug!

The sad thing is I'm only 45 minutes into the movie. And because I'm such a Woody fan, I'll have to watch the second half. Oy vey!

Perfect Season

I went 8-0 this season and am only two games away from reclaiming the Club Championship. I MUST DO THIS! I'm going for it next week with some major league workout routines and practicing my pinch shots every day at lunch. I'll most likely play Glenn in the semis, then meet the winner of Steve or Tyrone in the finals. I don't care who I meet. That trophy's mine this time!

SCBWI Days 2-4

Wow, that was a great, informative conference. Plus, I read a fantastic YA novel by Valerie Patterson, "The Other Side of Blue," a novel I couldn't put down. The keynote speakers were exceptional. My favorites were Jon Scieszka, Loren Long, E.B. Lewis and Rubin Pfeffer. My favorite presenter was Claudia Gabel. She is such a star. So funny and cool. I like her. My big takeaway? Only that I can do this. I want to be a keynoter one day. I've gotta get this book set up. I looked over chapter one today and made some really nice insignificant but technically satisfying edits that only I and a real nerdy editor would notice. But I guess that's the key to good writing, not noticing anything.



Saw "The Kids Are All Right" Monday afternoon. Really liked it. Great family drama.