We won Champions Cup!

Traveling to Russia for the Finals, playing, having fun, and the aftermath!

Playing professionally.

Vouliagmeni Nautical Club

I have come to Greece to play for a club team, just outside Athens. It is in the small town of Vouliagmeni. The picture above is standing at the club, looking out over the small bay, back at the town. "N.O.B" is the abbreviation for the club. Because I can not understand one bit of Greek, I can not tell you how that translates into Vouliagmeni Nautical Club. But I assure it does, because it is all over our gear, swimsuits, and caps. Either that, or they are REALLY making fun of the foreign kid. Because I trust most everything they tell me. Fending for myself is really hard when the letters are a completely different alphabet. I can't even TRY to sort it out.

I am sure this tells me where the gym is. Better bet is to just follow everyone else.

Luckily, most everyone here does speak English, so I can ask for a translation.

Our coach will give us a swim set in Greek and I wait until she is finished, turn to the girl who swims next to me, and quickly get the English cliff notes. I am one of the two fastest swimmers on the team. So usually I am out in front of the other girls on swim sets. I can not rely on my usual tactic of hanging back to just watch and figuring it out as I go. I learned really quick that the other fast girl is a little jokester. When I think we are doing 5 laps at a time...... I flip for my last lap, push off and look back to see everyone else stop. I pop my head up, and find my translator laughing her head off. That was the day I began auditorially memorizing the water polo terms I would need to get through practice.

Typically, foreigners are asked to come and play for teams for their National League seasons. Each team is allowed two foreign players. One from a fellow European country and one from the Americas or Oceanic/Asian region. The season lasts about 7 months, where each team will play against each other twice, at which point you are placed in post season games until there is a winner. I am not here for that. Our team already has a Spanish goalie, and they picked up my fellow American team mate, center, Moriah van Norman.

During the regular season, the top two teams from the previous years season, play in a European Cup, against the top two teams from the rest of the European professional teams. For the "Champions Cup", teams can bring in additional foreigners. Enter, ME!!!!!

I will only be in Greece for about two months. To help the team in the semi-final, and hopefully final games of the Cup!

Here is another look, from the end of the peninsula, back at the bay and the town of Vouliagmeni. Our pool (it is hard to see) sits on the left side of the bay, just beyond the docked sail boats. Very beautiful place to be playing and practicing!

The downfall of my blog.

So much for resolutions.

Reasons for not posting regularly:

1. Lack of Internet.

I decided to come play water polo in Greece. I got a contract playing for a professional club in a town outside of Athens. I live in an apartment (with a fellow American National Team Member- who also plays for the club) and we are stealing Internet from someone in our building. I believe it is the office below us. And because EVERYTHING here is made of stone and marble, going through that kind of material, the connection is jankety at best. Most of the time the only place we can get good reception is sitting on her bed, in her bedroom. It must be positioned directly above the wireless router. And while we are friends and teammates, I do not think she really wants me hanging out in her bed all the time. Space bubbles need to stay intact. So instead of blogging and sharing my stories.....I read and listen to music. Or go out with my new Greek teammates for coffee. (Which I have come to learn is mandatory, daily.)

If I do want to get a strong and reliable porthole to the web, I have to pre-arrange a visit to a teammates house, because I am living overseas sans car. I am completely dependent on my new Greek friends for transport. Due to the fact that most of my creative moments are just before bed, while I am calming down from the days festivities, not having the Internet readily available at home really puts a damper on my posts.

2. FACEBOOK.

The universal black hole of time has sucked me right in. I resisted joining Facebook for a long time. Mostly because it was something that started after I graduated from college. (Yeah, I'm old. ;) Hahaha.) Originally, being just a network for college students with educational email addresses, I couldn't gain access and scoffed at such a segregational institution. Then I caved and joined so I could see some pictures posted of a teammate, by a person I didn't know, who had tagged her, so if I were on Facebook, I could add her, and see her photos. Simple, right?!

Now it is so easy, when I just have a 15 minute window, to just hop on FB, post a status change (My parents love those so they know what I am doing half a world away and I haven't called. I know....BAD DAUGHTER!) check my wall and briefly stalk my friends to see that they are all doing well. If I add a photo or 12, my friends can take a visual tour of my adventures and comment as they wish. Quick and easy.

But let's be honest. Blogging is way more fun. My Facebook friends are not getting my random inner narrative, unless I can fit it into a one line sentence. (Which happens on occasion, I guess.)

Blogging is just far more time consuming. Which brings me back to my point.....

Recapitulations and Resolutions.

NOTE: This post was written in the beginning of the year. But my life, being very unconventional these days, has run away with me and I never posted it. I am sorry to my readers and will get on top of my posting. (Thank you Tim for giving me a kick in the pants.)

I love getting/sending snail mail. So come the holiday season it is time to:

1. Make a list of folks to send cards to. In hopes that,with it in writing, I will not forget anyone. (There is always that possibility- So, sorry, if my brain blanked on you this year. Plus it is imperative that I have your address for you to get a card.)


2. Check and see how many 1,2, & 3 cent stamps I need. (Every year as long as I can remember, Santa has deposited a fresh roll of stamps in my stocking. With the rate at which the price of stamps has increased in the recent years, I have so many random priced stamps collecting dust. It is time they get out in the world and travel.)


3. Dig out the holiday cards I bought last year on discount. (It really is a great way to save money. And the love sent is still the same.)


4. (If time will not allow an old fashion card) Devise some sort of home-made holiday hello to send to people.....preferably with pictures because I agree with the notion that 1 picture can say 1000 words. The eHoliday card was utilized a few years ago....but I think nothing will ever compare to a real card.
   

That done, the real question is.... "What do you put in your card?"

I think if you order those photo cards from Costco or Wallmart or something... Putting the right photo in your card is key. Because then all you have to do is sign it. Nothing else is needed. A ponient shot of the whole family changing a flat tire on your cross country road trip or maybe a surprised shot of the new baby vomiting all over Daddy's new work shirt. Now that would be a great holiday card. :) I particularly liked the card I got with my nephew Conor's photo on it. Right in the center is one of him all naked on a blanket! Cute little baby butt! It was the most adorable thing. I may save it, and show him when he is about 16. Wonder what he will think when he realizes how many people have seen his bum!?!

And if there are no photos and you are sending just a normal old card.........Will just a signature do then?

I believe that it is special just to receive mail in this day and age. But I am not going to lie, this year when I read a few cards, after reading the signature I found myself longing for more. What was happening in these peoples lives? Cuz lets face it.....most of the cards you get at the holidays are from people you do not see very often. Pondering life scenarios in my head I then realized that what these cards did was reconnect them in my head and heart. Weather there was a note or not they still wanted me to know that they were out there somewhere. And now it was up to me to find out more if I want.

My cards were really just an extended holiday hello. Maybe a random thought here and there. Because (if I were posting more regularly) all of my friends and family can find out what I am doing with myself right here on my blog. Pictures included with my random inner narrative. So while I sat there as I wrote my cards and ran through the entire year in my head, recapping my adventures and revisiting the emotions of my memories, I realized that most of them were posted here. Not all of them.....my post-Olympic posts are not created yet.........

Which lead me to start formulating my list of resolutions for the New Year. Near the top of my list was posting more. Dang it. I have already let that one slide. Ooops.

But instead of letting my resolution slide into oblivion. I will turn it around today. Catch it before six months pass and half the year is gone. Baby steps!

CHRISTMAS 2008

Deck the halls.

I love to decorate.

The $1 section at Target is a place that I should avoid during all holidays. Individually- "Oh, its only a dollar." When you realize that there are 40 of those dollar specials in the cart already- "Ooops." Last year I adorned my whole apartment with little things from target. My favorite item being the sticky jelly-like window decorations. I stuck them to everything. The window on the front door. The mirror in the bathroom. Fabulous little things.

I even got my tree from Target. It was a great tree. But this year Brandon & Sus (my brother and his wife) introduced me to a far more interactive way to pick out a tree. We cut it down ourselves! (I am not sure where I would have been able to do that when I was living in the Los Angeles area?!? OK, I couldn't have. Unless I cut if out of someone's yard. And I bet I would have been thrown in jail for that.)

When we got to the farm and got out of the car, a man handed us a saw and pointed to the forest. Have at it! We trudged off through the snow in search of OUR tree.  

EUREKA!!!!

My job was to hold the little tree while my brother chopped it down. The gloves he brought came in quite handy. Those fresh trees threaten you with copious amounts of sap. Maybe they are crying because they are getting cut down. This tree didn't know how good it would look when I was done with it. :)
Conor seemed to be happy with our selection. But maybe happier to get back to the barn where the owners of the farm had set up heating lamps and all the popcorn you could eat. Then we strapped it to the roof of the car and took it home where I put my skills to use. 



I also love listening to Christmas songs. I have collected quite a library of songs over the years. (My playlist on i-tunes says I could listen to Christmas music for 10.6 hours. Overkill? I think not. No two songs are the same. And the variety allows for everyone to find something they enjoy. My favorite album right now is: Celtic Christmas. LOVE the bagpipes.) 

The endless stream of audio holiday cheer only served to invigorate my decorating juices. So I bundled up and headed outside in the snow to hang lights on the house. Using a ladder in the snow is not dangerous. That is what I told myself. I am not the kind of person who would sue the ladder manufacturer for not having the warning label big enough. If I fell it would be my own over-zealous holiday stupidity! Injury avoided. Joy spread!

We are ready for Santa!!!

Here comes Santa Claus....

I can't believe that Christmas is tomorrow!!!
My nephew is really excited about it!
(And so cute in his little hat!)

Snow Days.

All bundled up and ready to play!

I think the last time I went skiing was almost 10 years ago. Which was about the same time I began training with the national team and realized that if I focused my energy, dreams may be within reach. What used to be a staple on my winter activity list, got sidelined until further notice. Logging hours of training in the pool became my top priority and going to play in the snow happened less and less often.

I was not the only one who didn't want all that effort to go to waste. Without fail, just before winter break in college, came the suggestions from the coaches to "be safe" and "to get your rest" during the time off because the last thing they wanted was an unnecessary injury. Later when I was playing professionally in Italy, my team went on a trip to the Alps. I was forbidden, by the club I played for, to do anything other than make a snowman and drink hot beverages in the lodges. (But I was in the most beautiful mountains, with perfect snow for skiing!!! Alas, receiving my salary every month trumped my urge to fly down the slopes.) It is hard to be in a winter wonderland when you can't do anything in it. Especially when skiing was something that I did every year growing up.

For the last two weeks I have been spending time in Seattle with my brother and his family. I had no idea I would find myself in the ultimate winter wonderland....and I think (if the foot of snow outside does not disappear in 24 hours) my first white Christmas! :)

There still has been no skiing....but the abundance of powdery white has offered many other forms of entertainment. And I am certainly not afraid to frolic like we all did when we were 5!

We took a long trek through the neighborhood...threw a few snow balls at each other. Made our angels. Enjoyed the way the whole world lay quiet with the blanket of snow covering it. No better way to experience your first snow than from a baby bjorn. My nephew, Conor, was trying to figure out exactly what all this white stuff was. Big round eyes taking it all in.
When we got back to the house, my friend Monkey and I, shoveled the driveway to uncover the cars and then made a snowman! (No, we were not confused as to what holiday is coming up. But why let a festive decoration go to waste?)


That was two days ago....it kept snowing and now.....SO MUCH SNOW!!!!!!

It wasn't on the list. But should have been.

Ever since the movie The Bucket List came out, you KNOW you have put thought into what would be on yours. You may have written it down. Maybe not. I put mine on my blog. While it isn't in ink....cyberspace is keeping it warm for me. And while it exists somewhere, that means I am accountable for it. I have this overwhelming urge (especially because I am not engaged in some type of organized training right now) to start crossing things off it, right now. Why wait?  

Two of the things on the list have to do with being up in the air. Hot air balloons and skydiving. I used to have dreams when I was a kid that I could fly. Only I wasn't flying....I was swimming breaststroke in the air. That was probably the closest thing I could imagine the sensation of flying to be like. Being weightless in water is surely what those birds feel like, when they catch a current and seemingly float in the air unmoving. I have always wanted to feel that.

Is that why I dressed as Wonder Woman for Halloween? She has an invisible plane at her disposal. No, I picked the outfit because it came with a cape.  :)  Which maybe I could wear when I eventually do go skydiving. 

Until that opportunity comes around....I got the chance to go in a helicopter!!!! Which is another thing I have always wanted to do, but never have. Being cautioned profusely by my family that I may hurt myself and risk my chances to play at the Olympics, I have blocked it out as a possible activity. (I think what my Mom was really saying was..... "Helicopter tours in Hawaii have a very bad crash record. I would prefer that you stay alive. Do not go on them." Thanks for helping me see the light Mom.) Going in some random flying vehicle, one in which I do not know the maintenance record or attention the particular pilot pays to the details of his bird would make the experience far more stressful and thus subtract from actually absorbing the feeling of flying. So I am glad I waited!

A very experienced helicopter pilot, one who owns his own chopper, happened to be the father of one of the girls I coached this high school season. He offered to take me for a ride around the San Francisco Bay Area when the season ended. I told him that I may pee my pants (with excitement). He may not have been so excited to take me after that, but he took me anyway. :)

Pretending to be the pilot.....

San Francisco & The Golden Gate

GO BEARS!!!!

I should have had "taking a ride in a helicopter" on my list. It was amazing. If you are not afraid of heights or have vertigo or something.....then everyone should think about going up in one. Of course, my mom was right, only with a trusted pilot and healthy aircraft. :)

More Swim Photos

Team Water Polo staying warm in the ferry. Here we go!

Leaving solid ground. Bye SF!

Passing Alcatraz on the way to the GG Bridge.

Just keep swimming.

I made it to the beach and didn't loose the ball!

I swim because I can.

Last Saturday was our swim in the Bay! This illustration was hanging in the window of the ferry on the way over to the Golden Gate, to give us an idea of what we were about to get ourselves into.

My first thoughts were, "This drawing is really done well. The colors, shading....and I sure hope it is drawn to scale. Jump in here- swim to here. Not too bad. Lets do it!" Then the fine print on the right caught my eye. OH....58 degrees, huh? That is kinda cold. I was quickly reminded by my good friend Mel, fellow water polo player and a teammate of mine from Cal, that we are tough. We play polo. Good on ya Mel. You are right. :) Thanks for setting me straight. We don't need wetsuits. We can handle it. Over that hurdle, now I needed to know what slack water was. Apparently it was going to happen at 10:20 and if it was written down I was thinking it was probably important. Luckily we had a resident SF Bay expert on the boat with us. He knew everything about the Bay and explained to us that "slack water" was the precise moment that the direction of the current switched from heading OUT of the Bay to going IN the Bay. Which would be a huge advantage to all of us swimmers when we jumped off the boat. We would wait about 10-15 minutes after the switch, then off we would go. He said it would be like surfing on into the beach. (We definitely got a little nudge, but I wouldn't say surfing per say!)

Before we even got to the swim, we started the day off by dropping our cars off at Chrissy Field, where we were going to finish. A shuttle then took us to Pier 9, for the pre-swim logistical stuff. (sign in, get your cap, write your number on your hand in black ink, and mingle with all the other participants) On the ride, we got out a sharpie and began to write the names of people we wanted to honor during our swim on our water polo ball.
Later we announced to all the swimmers that if they wanted to add a name, they were welcome to do so. 

Here is a close up of one of the panels. 

The ferry ride over to the Golden Gate lasted about an hour. One of the organizers of the swim, Janel Jorgensen (an Olympic Swimmer) gathered us together to talk about why she started this charity swim here in the Bay Area and how cancer had affected her life. Following Janel's lead, many people got up and told stories of loved ones, some defying huge odds, others who had lost their battles.  Some of the stories were about names that had been written on our ball earlier. There were tears. And the stories infused us all with a fire to get on to the swim. To do something for the people we were learning about. 

My friend Mel, got up and spoke on behalf of our team of water polo players. At the end of what she was saying she told us to remember...."We swim because we can." We are healthy. We have the ability to get out there and do something, like swim in a blastedly cold body of water. So why not? Everyone should have that right. To be healthy. To physically do as they wish.

Jump. Dive. Hop. Slide. Skip. Anything! We were swimming for the people that could not join us due to a nasty disease. We also were swimming WITH people who beat it and were able to keep swimming! 

I was very proud that our little team of water polo players raised almost $10,000!!!! 

(So many THANK YOU'S to the people who donated!)

Swimming in San Francisco Bay!

In two weeks, I will jump into the San Francisco Bay and swim 1.5 miles, under the Golden Gate Bridge, around one of the pylons and then back to Chrissy Field Beach! I am really excited!!!

I figure since I am in great physical shape coming home from Beijing, there is no better way to put my skills to use than for a cause in which I am very passionate! I will be swimming with a team of water polo enthusiasts the whole way....we are even going to bring a water polo ball along for our little swim! :)

There are three reasons why this organization hits home for me. The first, because I love to swim. My skills as a swimmer have provided me with opportunities beyond my dreams- traveling the world, three amazing Olympic experiences, and most importantly, lasting friendships with my teammates, coaches and supporters. Secondly, donations from this event will go towards supporting the Children's Hospital in Oakland--the hospital where I spent the first two weeks of my life. I was born 8 weeks premature and without their help and resources, I would not be the person I am today. And thirdly, proceeds from Swim Across America will go towards supporting cancer research, treatment and patient care--another cause with which I have a very personal connection. My Aunt, Bonnie Sauter, has had a long standing battle with cancer and I have always admired her strength in battling this disease. I hope that in a small way, our swim can impact the families with their own battles and one day we can completely eradicate the disease.

If you would like to learn more about the organization, Swim Across America or donate to our Team, I encourage you to click the link below.

Donate to my swim!

I know that right now, with the financial issues we are all facing, it may be difficult for you to donate. But know that even the smallest amount can help! THANK YOU!!!!!

How many people can you fit....

in the cockpit of an airplane?

In this picture you can see 8 of us and the very nice pilot, Brad. The entire team was squished up front. 13 + a pilot= 14 people in one VERY small space. I snapped this picture from my scrunched up fetal position. Squished between the tiny front windshield, a few million weird buttons, and the pilots strange joystick like-steering wheel. Here we all are....

I met Brad while we were waiting at the gate to board our flight from Chicago to Los Angeles. (Yup, this was the, most uncomfortable, fever ridden, last leg of our trip home from China that I talked about in an earlier post.) We had our medals out to show some of the kids and parents that were sitting around us. Brad walked by, to go do his pre-flight pilotish things, and then came right back to ask if we could take a picture with him on his phone. Anything for the man who was going to get us home safe. :)

Once inside the plane, just before take off he announced to the plane he wanted the WHOLE Olympic Women's Water Polo Team to come up to the cockpit for a photo before takeoff. On time departure? Um....maybe Brad's next flight. Because we proceeded up to the front, with medals on, sharing the beauties with people along the way. Then ensued the mayhem of getting us all inside there. After the photos were taken, we did finally leave Chicago.....due to Brad's stellar flying skills we landed 10 minutes early. No one at the receiving airport had to know we left a little late. ;)
I had never been in the cockpit of an airplane. Thanks Brad!

A Closer Look!

I thought maybe I would start with a close up of our medal. This has become the symbol of our team's journey these last four years. It is a beautiful medal. The pictures do not do it justice at all. 

Between the years of 1896(the first modern Games) and 2000, all of the medals had the same design on the front. It featured the Goddess Athena and the Olympic Stadium. When the Games came back to Athens in 2004, the design was changed to the one you see below. Still the same basic elements, just a little different. Medals in the future will all have this new design on the front. I am lucky to have one medal with the older design, and now two with the new one. (Eventually I will get a picture of all three medals together!)

The back of the medal is designed by the host country. That is a ring of light green jade. The gold medals have white jade in them and the bronze features a darker (most common in jewelry) green jade. The lighter the shade of jade the more rare.
The ornate Chinese design used to hold on the ribbon looks cool but is not made with practicality in mind. The edges are rough in the places were the ribbon comes in contact with it. Putting the medal on and off, or taking it out to show people and let them hold it has caused the ribbon to fray on the edges! I don't like that it is happening but that will not stop me from sharing it with everyone!

Finding Normalcy.

It has been quite a while since my last post. I am sorry to leave you all wondering what has been happening since we won our medal. While I thought it would be a leisurely return to the States and back to normal life (wait, what is that?)....it has been anything but. 

When we first touched down in America, on our flight from Beijing to Chicago, I realized I had caught a nasty flu and brought it along for the ride home. By the time I was on the plane from Chicago to LA, fever had set in and all I wanted was to be home and laying in my bed. 

Which is where I stayed for the next two days once I made it to my apartment. Nyquil and Ambien helped to keep me asleep or simply mask the symptoms until I was ready to face the world. At which point, I began my battle with jet lag. I was awake in the  middle of the night and sleeping during the day. Not having a practice to go to or a real schedule threw me for a loop. I found myself waking up and feeling late for something. Or wondering where my teammates were. Separation anxiety? After about a week of that, then the crazy post-Olympic Media fest had begun. Which was great because having things down on my schedule gave me motivation to do even the simplest things. Like LAUNDRY! Yes, my bags from China sat on my floor unopened for over a week. If I could only describe the smell when I opened the bag! I had brought China home with me- not good!  Don't worry, now everything smells like Tide, all happy and fresh! 

Now all clean and ready to get back out there with our silver medal, I have gotten to do a few awesome things, which I will go into more detail very soon. Pictures and all, since the restrictions on blogs from the Olympics are over!!!

Things to look forward to:

• Being honored at the LA Sparks Game
• Throwing out the first pitch at the Giants Game in San Francisco
• Being on the OPRAH SHOW!
  

NOTE:  The Oprah Show that all the Olympians are on airs on Monday September 8th, 2008.

Which is exactly one month since the start of the Olympics. Watch out for us on TV!!!!