Semi-Final Match

I practiced for an hour after work last night and I think that made the difference in my match with Steve this morning. I practiced a serve Shawn used on me in Antioch in which the server stands in the middle of the court and z-serves to the left back corner. The ball passes by the front of the server as it crosses the court. Steve had never seen this serve form me before and it threw him off. I was in the lead the entire match and won decisively 15-5, 15-4. I felt good all morning and put my shots away when I needed to.

Now the stage is set for the Club One Championship Monday night, 1/31, at 6:00 between me and my young gun nemesis, Tyrone. T and I were in the finals last summer, but he pulled his calf muscle and had to stop in the second game. I’m sure he’ll go the distance in this game. It should be a great match. T’s been playing tough opponents in tournaments and will undoubtedly bring everything he has to the match. He wants to win as badly as I. My edge will be in minimizing the number of mistakes I make. That will be the key for me.

I'll lob serve him a lot and keep a leisurely pace to the game. That sort of strategy seems to work best with Tyrone. I'm not going to tire him out. The shorter the rallies, the better my chances of winning.

Nothing Topics

I’m the kind of person who’s all over the place. Screenwriting, poker, racquetball, tea, novels, computer stuff, that’s me. That’s how I’ve always been. I’m not a natural blogger and can’t help but sound a little boring and nerdy when posting. Every now and then I tap into a rant that gets my juices flowing, but usually I’m reflective, pedestrian, and quiet.

I tend not to write too much about myself. I like thinking of myself as this super open, generous autobiographer who loves the naval-gaze as much as any other narcissist, and yet whenever I write anything that goes beyond the surface, I either delete it or redirect the thought to something less personal. When I’m talking with someone one-on-one I can go deep, but not so much when I’m writing. I used to write letters all the time in the 80s. I was crazy back then without knowing it. I know I’m crazy now and that has made for a wonderfully calming effect.

Actually, I’m not technically crazy, just the poster boy for adult children of alcoholics. I’m that guy, the overly controlling, terribly insecure, don’t-tell-me-what-to-do extremist who acts normal most of the time, but can become unraveled in a heartbeat. There’s something truly liberating about acknowledging the state of my internal brokenness. There are things I’ll never get over, ever, and yet when I acknowledge this, I’m in a way sort of done with it.

Nothing Topics

I’m the kind of person who’s all over the place. Screenwriting, poker, racquetball, tea, novels, computer stuff, that’s me. That’s how I’ve always been. I’m not a natural blogger and can’t help but sound a little boring and nerdy when posting. Every now and then I tap into a rant that gets my juices flowing, but usually I’m reflective, pedestrian, and quiet.
I tend not to write too much about myself. I like thinking of myself as this super open, generous autobiographer who loves the naval-gaze as much as any other narcissist, and yet whenever I write anything that goes beyond the surface, I either delete it or redirect the thought to something less personal. When I’m talking with someone one-on-one I can go deep and bare my soul, but not so much when I’m writing. I used to write letters all the time in the 80s. I was crazy back then without knowing it. I know I’m crazy now and that has made for a wonderfully calming effect.
Actually, I’m not technically crazy, just the poster boy for adult children of alcoholics. I’m that guy, the overly controlling, terribly insecure, don’t-tell-me-what-to-do extremist who acts normal most of the time, but can become unraveled in a heartbeat. There’s something truly liberating about acknowledging the state of my internal brokenness. There are things I’ll never get over, ever, and yet when I acknowledge this, I’m in a way sort of done with it.

Rewrites

I finished my rewrites to Julia Milan last Wednesday and sent them off last Friday. I'll hear back from the agency with the next few weeks. Their turnaround time is pretty quick. I liked what I sent them. They wanted more Audrey and a clearer sense of Ben's role in Julia's world. I hope they like my ideas. I'm ready to get the call and prepare the book for publishers.

Semi-Final Match Tomorrow

I have my semi-final match tomorrow morning against Steve. I’m still sore from the Pleasanton Singles Tournament I played last Saturday, so I’m not feeling especially confident. When Steve’s on he’s deadly. We played two weeks ago and I beat him 15-9, 15-12, but I was on and not sore. I may have to bring several different strategies to the court tomorrow and see what works. I played a very slow game against Steve two weeks ago and that helped me. In the second game I was behind 7-12 and increased my intensity. The key will be to control the game, control the tempo and let Steve make the mistakes. Brian gave me good advice when playing Steve. Pass, pass, pass, no pinch shots or splats unless they’re putaways. I’ll think about the various serves I’ll bring. I’ll need to change things up with him. The important thing is to conserve energy and not get burned out too quickly. Keep the rallies short. Put the shots away. We’ll see what happens.

Rewrites

I'm still revising the last chapter of Julia Milan. I came up with a revised ending that might be fine for the time being. It's no masterpiece, but I can certainly see why I needed a stronger concluding chapter. This draft has a lot more emotional substance and doesn't feel so mechanical, at least I hope that's the case.

Woke up at 4:30 this morning and made it to the gym by 5:10. Dorian and I played four games together, winning three. I was off though, and worry that I may not be at top performance this Friday morning when I play my final match with Steve. It's for the number one seed and I really want to beat him. I'm not in great shape though and my eating patterns have totally deteriorated. I have two weeks to get back in the swing of things. I have three weekend matches coming up and having hit the weights in months. Not good.

First things first...the rewrite.

Happy New Year

January 2 already. Unreal. I feel as though time is spinning out of control. Then again, I always feel that way. Life is so busy these days, too busy actually. I never have enough time to get anything done. My new year's resolution is to not complain about how little time I have. I'm under the impression that I'm constantly being shortchanged on the number of hours I'm given each day. Wrong. I'm given 24, just like everyone else.

I can't believe Christmas is over. It flew by. I'm revising the last two chapters of my Julia Milan book and they're taking more time than I'd like. But I think my ending is much stronger. Funny how rewriting makes things better.

I spent the past several days with Alice and we had so much fun together. I adore her. She's so easy to be with and wonderful and kind. She loves beating me in Wii tennis. I'll allow her that thrill for a little while longer...than it will be time to practice and beat her.

On Wednesday we saw "Becoming Julia Morgan" at the Berkeley City Club, on Friday we saw "The Wizard of Oz" at the Paramount Theater, on Saturday we saw "The King's Speech" in the AMC in San Francisco, and last night we saw "Black Swan" at the Balboa Theater.

I spent all day yesterday and today working on chapter 14. Why haven't I accomplished more? Ugh!