Detour in the intended path.

Books are curiously fascinating to me. I love to read and often go into Barnes and Noble, Borders or Target to just look over the new books. On occasion, I am impulsive and just buy a plethora of new material to have at home when the opportunity arises. A quite moment. A need for escape.

Rarely do I actually think of why I end up with the books I adopt. Some have covers that intrigue me. (I have been successful with that technique and also have had very disastrous outcomes.) Or I will read the back to see if the summary will move me. Sometime I will open the book and read a random passage. If I like the writing style or the excerpt I read, I will make the purchase. A drive-by of my previously trusty authors is always a must.

I also really appreciate a gifted read. Knowing that my friend probably deems this work something that will reach me in some way.

Last year, I got the same book from two people. Maybe that should have been a wake up call to begin reading asap. But with the upcoming Olympics, training and traveling, I never got to it/them. One got packed away in my boxes, heading to storage, during the post-Olympic move. The other, tossed in a bag that ended up piled in the corner of the guest room at my parents house, where I stayed at the beginning of the year.

It wasn't until I was heading to Greece to play that I found it and thought maybe I should include it in my travel bag. It was called The Traveler's Gift. Fitting, no?!

I had been going through this wrestling match in my head before deciding to play in Greece. The time off had given me a chance to analyse the way I felt about playing. Was I doing it because I loved it? Or just because I have been doing it for the last 9 years? Was there something else I wanted to pursue? Deciding to play in Greece I felt gave me this new opportunity to play in a different atmosphere. New country. New teammates. Different goal. Preparing to go over there, I was training a lot on my own. Swimming, lifting, spinning. Not exciting, but do-able. When I got a chance to play "pick-up" polo with men's club and high school teams.....I would leave giddy. Unable to wipe the smile off my face. At least I knew the polo was still the fun part. That was a step in the right direction.

One night in Greece, before we played for the Cup, I was reading late at night. I came across this passage:

"Success requires the emotional balance of a committed heart. When confronted with a challenge, the committed heart will search for a solution."

It was the first time since college, which was a long time ago, that I found a pen and underlined that section. For days I thought about that. And I committed. Playing water polo was what I wanted to do. It makes me happy. And I will see it through for as long as possible.

And this week I found out the path will have a bit of a detour. I slipped on the wall this summer during a swim set. Torquing my knee a bit. I had hoped a bit of rest would eventually help the pain, swelling, and popping to go away. No such luck. An MRI confirmed that I had tears in the back of my knee cap. So some minor arthroscopic surgery will clean it up and I will be back at it again!

Bella!

A closer look at OUR beautiful gold medal!

To have won or....not?!

We play a game. The time runs out. The USA has one more goal than our opponent. A win, right?

I had the ball in my possession as the time ran out. I looked at the ball. Then the ref. Then the scoreboard. Yes....WE WON!!!! At which point, I realized I was at about half tank in the pool because I was trying to swim the ball up the field of play to run out the clock. I turned to my left, towards the center of the pool and tried to look back at our bench. I came face to face with my teammate Brenda. Behind her, the fuzzy shapes of the rest of the team and coaching staff, jumping, screaming, flying into the pool, splashing, hugging....celebrating. Brenda said to me...."Petie. We have done it!!! Again!" (Brenda and I have been on the team together since 2000....winning World Championship gold medals in 2003, and 2007.) Realization was setting in. And soon followed the perma-smile. Inner dialogue: "Oh my god. Oh my god. We did it. WE DID IT! OMG. OMG!!!!"

I think from a spectators point of view, our celebrating may look like we are trying to drown each other. A dog pile in a pool can become a precarious situation if you are in the middle, getting kicked and hung on. For our coaches and staff, who have all their clothes on, I know it can't be easy to stay afloat. But with the kind of adrenaline that is coursing though your body, it seems like the best place in the world to be. The tournament staff tried their darndest, to herd us out of the pool and into the locker room to change for the medal ceremony, in a timely fashion.....they were speaking Italian, so it was easy to pretend not to hear them and soak up the moment for just a little longer. ;)

Receiving a medal is an incredible experience. The receiving ceremony, seeing your flag, and if you are on the top tier- a chance to hear your National Anthem. It is enough to make your heart burst.

But for me this year was that much more special. Four years ago, I had come to Italy to play for a professional club in Florence. It was my first experience living abroad and I did not know one bit of Italian. There were twins on my team. Not the tallest girls (OK, most of the high school girls I coached were bigger as freshman than these two), but I soon found that they had gigantic hearts. They taught me Italian, drove me around, welcomed me into their home, and took care of me as if I was their sister. I broke my nose when I was playing there, which was so bad I needed to have nasal surgery to fix it. Their mother sat with me in the hospital, went to the pharmacy and got all my drugs and then doted on me, as all moms do, for the next two weeks while I stayed with them. Coming back home after that season, they visited America once but we have kept in touch mostly over the Internet. I had not seen them in three years....but they made the quick trip to Rome to cheer for us during the entire tournament. They are true water polo lovers and incredible supporters of my water polo adventures. They made the sign above and hung it in the stands. Their seats were positioned directly behind the poles holding the medal winning countries flags. So as I stood atop the podium, heavy medal around my neck, sweet national anthem singing to us....I could clearly see their smiling faces and the jubilant waving of a homemade flag as well. It was an amazing thing to get to share with them.

Then after all this, Canada (our final game opponents) protested the result of the game. They thought there had been a portion of the game that should have been handled differently by the referees. So they put in a formal request of protest, meaning after ALL that.... the celebration, the medals, the hugs from supporters, the adrenaline and joy....we were told we had to wait until 10:30 the next morning to find out if we were, in fact, the winners. I felt like my body was a balloon and someone had just stuck me with a pin. SERIOUSLY?!?

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!!!!!