Peter Pan was right about growing up

I once talked about how being the youngest of a big family is the best. I take that back, it isn't the best... it's the worst! Why? Well just the other day, my older brother Greg recived his mission call to the Vantura (spelling?) California spanish speaking mission (lol after 5 years of French) and just then when he received his call it hit me: what in the world am I supposed to do for two years while being cooped up in my house with my parents? Who's going to play football with me? Who's going to tell me what to do with my life? Who's going to make me almost good at tennis? Who's going to mow the lawn? The answer? Me! Being the youngest is great when the rest of your family is there, but when they leave, you're screwed. You know there's a reason I'm writing this blog right now. So I can practice speech writing for when I have to speak at all of my brother's and sister's funerals! However, I should also probably be practicing my hospitality and old people friendliness because I'm going to be the spry younger person who will have to take care of all the dying old people in my family. Yes being the youngest is great when you're young, but you're not young forever.

Concerning Color Guard

If there is one thing I just can't comprehend at any half time show or parade, its the flag twirlers in the marching band. I have nothing against the people themselves, infact I have many friends who are flag twirlers, but I just don't understand their purpose. Seriously, who actually knows what those gun-like baton thingys they have are supposed to be? Recently, I attended a football game and for the half-time show, out came the marching band with the color guard. The band was playing a tune in a minor key and the color guard came running out with these ridiculous black wings attached to their arms. At seemingly random parts of the piece, the flag twilers would flip in the air and flap their wings. Then when the music changed, they'd quickly run off the field, take off their wings, and pick up purple colored flags. Finally to top it all off, at the end of the song, one of them runs out all dressed all in black onto center field and begins frantically waving this tall black flag. As you can imagine, I was just completely baffled after watching all this .I can see the reason for the marching band being out there, playing entertaining music for people's ears, but why in the world do they have the color guard!? Once again, no offense to the color guard people themselves, but seeing that everyone I've asked this question to has yet to come up with an answer, I'm quite sure now that there is really no purpose to color guard, if not just to confuse me. PS If you have a legitimate reason for what color guard is there for, please email me or let me know. This question is very agitating.

You win, you win. You lose, you don't win.

Last Tuesday I played in a regional tennis tournament. I couldn't have asked for a better draw than the one I got. In my first round, the girl I was supposed to play was sick, so I got a buy. In the second round I had the opportunity to play someone who usually played 2nd doubles. Finally in the championship I was playing an old friend of mine from a summer league that I could easily beat. Then why did I lose!? When I was warming up, I was playing my best tennis. Then in the second round I was playing terribly, but luckily I still won. In the championship I was playing awful and so ofcourse I lost. After watching other people play tennis, and seeing myself winning all my region games and losing in the tournament, I've come to the conclusion that tennis requires more mental game than any other sport.
Tennis is the only sport in which it's just you against them. When you mess up, the only person there to blame is yourself. Other sports are never quite as individual and direct as tennis. In track, swimming, and golf, sure you're competing by yourself, but your opponent isn't right there in front of you immediately responding to all you do. And then to top that off, after every point you always have time to think about your mistakes or accomplishments.
Intimidation is another factor that heightens the mental game of tennis. Some people on my team who played doubles, once had the opportunity to play against this extremely intimidating girl. She was very tall ,muscular and blonde and she would wear a sweat towel on her head while she entered the court. Our team won , but it took a lot of mental ability for them to beat the "towel girl."I've even tried a little bit of intimidation on other people myself, and boy does it work. I used to play doubles over the summer and my partner and I would stand on the other side of the court and act like we were discussing the other teams strategies. Then we'd point at random places on their court as if they were weak spots or something. It worked. The other team would be focusing on those spots that we were pointing out and they would forget to focus on the game. We would also try grunting for each other, but I'm not sure that had the same effect. Also, mental game is such a big factor in tennis that on the video game Topspin, they've even included a button you can press after ever point called the "attitude now" button that raises your players mental ability. If you press it a lot, your player plays better and makes harder shots, just like you'd play in a real game with a good mental game.
The mental game of tennis is huger than any other sport's mental game. You can be physical and athletic, but you could never survive in tennis without a good mental game.

How Batman Began (not really, just a good title)

This past week, two of my little nieces and my nephew came to visit. They had a great time being at "grandma's house" and playing with all the old toys my parents had accumulated after having eight children. There are six boys in my family, so we have a monsterous supply of cars, army men, GI joes and all the other cool stuff that little boys like to play with. However, our supply of dolls and girly toys is limited because there's only me and my sister who ever played with little girl's things, and we actually tended to like boys things more when we were little because of our brothers. After watching my nieces and nephew play with my old stuff, I came to notice how different girl toys are from boy toys and it made me think that maybe toys and the way we treat children have more to do with the way they turn out when they're older than we think.
Little boys always get to play with the army men, the GI joes and the re-mote controlled cars, outside in the mud, whereas little girls are inside playing with soft, baby Sue and gentlely feeding her from a plastic bottle. When a little girl falls off her bike what do we do? We rush over to her and say, "Ohhh, you poor little thing. Are you okay? Do you want a band-aid? Do you want me to get you some ice cream?" But when a little boy falls off his bike people say, "you're okay buddy. Walk it off, you're tough." From the start boys are subconciously taught to be macho men and girls princesses. However in some famililes, like mine, there is sometimes a shortage of girl or boy toys, or maternal or faternal care. These tend to be families that bring forth the variety of tom-boys and tom-girls into our society. Some kids are raised thinking they're the best at everything, and they will be. Others are raised thinking they're worth nothing and don't deserved to be loved and boy, will they struggle. Ofcourse there are always exceptions to this, but generally the way you're brought up tends to be the way you turn out. I've seen it in my own life and many other's lives. But the real question is, who started this treatment? Why do we do the things we do?... I guess I'll end this with a quote from "Man of La Mancha" or maybe its "Cameolot?"Anyways some lady sings,"Why does he do the things he does?" ( sorry this ending probably doesn't make too much sense, but that song always comes into my head whenever someone says why and its a good song...don't you think?)

Ice Cream, Joy of Man's Desiring

As I'm sitting here writing this blog, I am being EDIFIED by a thick bowl of Superman ice cream. If there is one thing this world could not go on without, I'm sure it would be ice cream. In all circumstances, ice cream prevails. Every time anyone is feeling bad, what do they eat? Ice cream. After a great accomplishment in one's life, what does he/she eat? Ice cream. When someone is about to die in the hospital, what does he/she eat? Ice cream. If we truly analyze our lives, we will find that all things rotate around our intake of ice cream. We would all be dead without it. I beg to differ with Sarah McLachlan's hit song, " Your love is better than ice cream." She was obviously high on something, drunk, or just plain stupid when she wrote this song. Nothing in the world could possibly come close to being better than ice cream. I'm serious! Not even your love. Your love will fall like rain on the mountain, whereas ice cream has and always will stand tall in deliciousness. Just thinking of the cold, cool, cream and the smooth taste makes one not want to throw up, like one would when one thinks of your love, but live forever just to die another day. Ice cream is by far the greatest substance on the planet. It does not cease to brighten our lives daily. Greater love hath no man this, but to eat ice cream . Thank you.