tennis, life and a few things in between

Good tossing?

November 17, 2025 at 6:15 pm · Filed under Tennis

3-6, 4-6, Joel and I lost to Matt & Sandi.

My forehand works well today, won many points, especially hitting to Sandi.

正手发挥很好,赢了很多分,尤其是打给桑时… 为嘛我没能更好地利用它来赢得那一局和整场比赛? 我不知道… 不过觉得我找到了适合自己的投掷方法,我的左臂可以保持高/久一些.

Why didn’t I use it more to win the set and match? I don’t know …

I think I’ve found my tossing method so my left arm stays high and a bit longer. However, in the actual game, I do the old way! The decent toss happens only in practice.

A game won

… and a long rally: good defence but we lost the point

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17 years ago

November 16, 2025 at 6:41 pm · Filed under Tennis

A photo app claimed it would cancel the accounts of users who hadn’t ordered anything from it since last summer. But for over a year, they have kept sending me the old memories.

Today, there are a few tennis pictures from November 2008. Apparently, I still wear the outfits nowadays because they’re cotton. Ann Taylor doesn’t sell many cotton garments nowadays, unfortunately.

The blue one was a RL hand me down from my kid. The two holes on the top t shirt are from trying to remove the label: eventually, I got a seam ripper! No more holes.

Memories: 17 years ago, from a photo app

至少十七年的衣服
贫困的限制

说真现在Ann Taylor 的棉/麻衣服很少了

兰的是RL娃不要的
红条的洞是标签没拆好 – 无奈买了个挑线刀

搞不懂这个照片应用程序去年夏天就说是最后了… 结果一年多来还是不停的推送
勾起了很多回忆

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Vintage racket tourney

November 15, 2025 at 1:42 am · Filed under Musing

Another community tournament this morning: $5 plus a can of balls to enter. Four women and eight men signed up.

I picked Dunlop Black Max: unyielding and small. It seems everything is being updated, except my tray serve. Ok, today, I tried to toss the ball first. A small step.

Matt drew me from the hat and we won the tourney, with pro set format:

def Becca & Gordo: 8-2
bye
def Sandy & Todd: 8-6

8-2, bye, 8-6 we won the Vintage racket tourney
赢
教练带来好多旧拍子比赛. 我用的是Dunlop Black Max. 又硬又小
球拍一直在改进: 啥都在进步唯独俺的发球盘子改不掉

周末愉快

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13 hcp, no bid or short club

November 11, 2025 at 3:40 pm · Filed under Bridge ♠️♥️♦️♣️

The short club, which is 1C in the bridge bidding convention means with opening-level points (13+) but no five-card major suit.

I’ve 13 hcp: 3 4 3 3. So I opened 1C. My partner asked me if I play short club. I said no. But with this hand, it’s. So afterward, they suggested that I should pass, which I think it’s misleading and not correct.

So I checked online. AI says: To open bid a minor suit, you need at least three cards in the suit and 13 or more high-card points (HCP).

If you have two 3-card minor suits, you should always open with 1♣. If you have two 4-card minor suits, open 1♦. If you have 3 cards in both minor suits and a 4-card major suit, opening 1♣ is recommended.

How best to bid this hand?

Should I open 1N or 1C?

I bid in club, thinking my 3 diamonds are weak for a NT bid. My P bid 1♦. I rebid 2C but the hand is played at 3♣ by my partner.

This hand, my P bid

~ me: P
~ 1h
~ 2♦
~ p
~ p

Should I bid 2S?

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A GS with 3 aces

November 10, 2025 at 3:19 pm · Filed under Bridge ♠️♥️♦️♣️

This hand is an unbid grand slam.

I’ve 12 hcp and my P 15. We only bid 4H.

We only have 3 aces but luckily the oppenont didn’t play their ♠️A. I’m sure they would if we bid for a slam.

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3 finger motions

November 10, 2025 at 7:43 am · Filed under Tennis

4-6, 6-6 & quit. It was a little windy. Joel and I were lagging behind again.

More serving motions w/ 3 fingers.

… and the actual

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A wavy ows

November 9, 2025 at 10:16 pm · Filed under Swim

Another shoreline ows morning. Air temp 75° and water 72° (or about), feeling a bit cold as I’m wading into the ocean. But once in, it’s a most wonderful temperature. We swam 1:25, about 1.5 miles.

A partly cloudy day, and the skies look beautiful, with the moon. Many sea birds are around us.

The waves are pretty strong. My partner felt nauseous, so we returned before reaching the hotel.

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3 fingers

November 8, 2025 at 9:38 pm · Filed under Tennis

A practice day. Coach C has metioned or stressed to hold the racket loosely, like with only 3 fingers to serve or hitting the forehand. It finally lighting up … However, the gap between perception and reality is wide: without ball, I’m doing ok but with ball, tray comes back.

I also been practicing single handed backhand