tennis, life and a few things in between

I’m officially a lefty, played two night this week with my left arm, and was doing fine, ha.  Jenny and I had two wins out of three sets.  She did most of the dirty work, but I helped out a bit here and there, :).  My left arm is getting more power as I play more – 熟能生巧?, but can’t compliment on the forms.  The other day I bought couple of shoes for dancing.  Since my right arm hurts, so I figure dance would be fine.  Right?  But the girls eeewww on the dancing shoes, guess I’ll have to keep looking or use one of my old ones.

It’s the bonus time on Wall St and Lucy Kellaway captured the essence dead on: ‘A 28-year-old analyst protested to his boss last week that he really couldn’t live on less than $1m and that a swanky flat had been bought in expectation of something much bigger. “That’s not a bonus! It’s a tip!” .. One banking boss quietly deducts $10,000 from the bonus of anyone who is being too obstreperous. .. ‘ lol .. not sure which is bloodier sport .. look at Manning, the concentration/composure a QB must have.  Just an inch away – instant threat – couple of 300 pounders are getting to you to take you down.  In that split second, he need to find the path for a perfect pass. .. the footballers are made of something entirely else.  NFL really should take the game to play in the Roman Colosseum, the ultimate home...

now he’ll have plenty time for Jessica.  Hey, Tony, why don’t you take her to my party this Sunday?  Come on over, 6pm sharp .. :))  good food and great companies .. ..

Happy with the Giants so far ..  3 TDs !!! .. why didn’t they schedule the game at 1pm instead?  Couldn’t resist the temptation, I went to play tennis.  I did some backhand drill, that’s the only thing I can do.  My forehand was very tender, doable .. tried to avoid to use it at any cost.  I lost the doubles with Simon 6:0 to Charlie and big bro Eric, but won a tie break with big bro against Peter and Charlie.  Peter was mad!  I haven’t lost with big bro yet, :)) … wtg …

My right arm is useless due to pain or tennis elbow.  But not playing hurts even more 🙂 so I went to the badminton last night.  The lower right arm wouldn’t cooperate, so I had to make ado with my left.  It felt funny and looked silly probably.  I played a set with Yvonne (?) against Jenny and Tina .. ya the Tina I haven’t seen in ages and she said she’d come, another reason I went last night.  We had good match, but at the same time I felt frustrated, 心有余儿力不足 missing shots left and right.  We lost 15:9.  Then I lost with Robert to Mike and Katie.  John left early, Simon had no one to play, looked bored, :).  I played a set with him and won.  During the match, I switched to my right arm trying to save a lethal return.  The pain made me stopped in the middle of the swing.  Well, I was trying to see if I could play with my right arm too, not meant to cheat. ..

That was my ordeal of yesterday, or past couple of weeks.

Andrew gave me a zhongyi Chinese medicine practitioner Danny Sun, said he knows how to treat tennis elbow.  Danny sounded old over the phone, with missing teeth perhaps.  He has a small co-op where he has his practice.  It’s cramped, has strong food odor and he only looks like in his 50s and very agile.  In person, he doesn’t sound like the old guy I perceived.  There are pile of papers on his small desk adjancant to the door.  “Oh, you’re practicing calligraphy?”  That’s so so so neat.  He smiled, “oh, not at the moment .. but sometimes I do.”

Without asking too much, he told me to lay face down on the table and began tuina, massage that last 40 minutes or so.  Nothing overly unbearable, but it wasn’t a cake walk either.  He massaged my neck, shoulders, back.  Then turned face up, he massaged more on my arms.  Next step was sit up right.  He pulled my right arm straight up, relax my lower right, put in behind my head and began rock it back and forth gently.  Then without warning, he snapped it hard (pulled back).  There was a pop and sharp pain, but normalcy returned immediately.  As if nothing had happened.  “Did you hear it?”  “yes.”  “I have to loosen (prepare) it for the pull.”  He gave me his hand, asking me to grip it hard, I was able to.  Then he asked me to hold up the stood I just sat on horizontally.  I was able to too.  Without any discomfort.  “You shouldn’t feel any pain.  .. but your back will feel bit of pain for couple of days to come .. ” he told me.  Pain?  What pain?  Who’s pain? Where’s pain?  When’s pain? ??  AAAmazing.  Tennis anyone?  Please?

Woooowwwwieee, Giants is leading 24:7 .. wtg.  Not sure it’s the Giants or my tennis elbow that made me declined the doubles game at 12:30.  Glad I made a great decision!!!  Hey, Eli, save some of the TDs for the next round, 🙂 don’t embarrass your opponents too badly.

Ending the year with a winning night.  Not too bad, :).  Li suddenly shows up for work because of his kids’ holiday schedules.  Shishe, I must be the most unfit mother on both continents, asserting my pleasure ahead of my kids’.  He takes his kids for painting, dancing, piano, tennis, go over their homeworks .. .. no wonder we don’t see him often at the game.  He’s one of better players around.  We were hitting for a good half an hour before Simon showed up, then followed by Michel. 

Anyway, Simon and I won the 2 sets rather decisively again him and Michael.  We wanted to play the third set, but he left early .. wanted to go over kids homework.

Li commented that badminton is an easy game to learn, than tennis.  Actually he has a point.  We all played badminton in China, without a net, just hitting back and forth.  He had nice form and his shots are lethal, but he never took lesson, ‘just by watching and figured out myself .. but tennis is impossible to master without a proper coaching.’

Last night only the four of us showed up for work.  When there’s too many players, we don’t get to play (this is often the case .. taking turns) but when too few show up we don’t get to play either: not enough warm bodies for a doubles :).