kapachino

Tag: Soccer

  • recovering from the weekend

    So I played a soccer game this past weekend for the first time in a year. I’ve basically only been running regularly the past few weeks. Our team was two players short, so I had to play the whole game. It was definitely well into the 90’s. You can imagine how that felt.

    (For the record, we still won.)

    I went nonstop for the rest of the weekend, giving in to an urge to clean my house from top to bottom. And because I have the best parents and parents-in-law in the world, they came over and painted and cleaned and did chores without me even asking.

    Quick! I need a party to host!

    Although I expected to sleep exceptionally well after such a weekend, I tossed and turned – maybe due to the extreme soreness in every muscle of my body. And then there was work today which, although not strenuous, was still work.

    Basically, I’m tired.

    All I want to do is lie around and read. And sleep, if it will come. See you soon, when I recover?

  • #47. Go To Another Dynamo Game

    The Dynamo are Houston’s major league soccer team. I know most of you are probably like, “Who cares?” and that’s fine. If you were writing about, say, water polo, I would have the same reaction. But I love soccer. I have played it since I was seven years old, and I pretty much lived and breathed it from the time I was in junior high through college. I’ve been playing on adult teams since then, but because of my schedule I can now only play during the summers. So I consider it my duty to support our pro team.

    I was so excited when my parents told me they had an extra ticket to today’s game! It’s the first round of the playoffs, it would be a fun chance to hang out with my family, and it was free! We had great seats that enabled us to see the whole field well, with the bonus of a nice view of the Houston skyline.

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    A sea of orange!

    It also gave me a chance to wear the super cute Dynamo jersey I own.

    IMG_0095My mom, me, and brother David. My husband’s not really into soccer, unless I’m playing. :)

    I tell you what, there is nothing quite like soccer fans. They are wild and tireless. There was a small section of Seattle fans right across the aisle from us, and every time our goalkeeper took a goal kick they would shout, “You suck, a**hole!” It didn’t take our fans long to catch on, and every subsequent time they would repeat the phrase, but directed at the Seattle section. I was thinking to myself how tacky the opposing teams fans were, until I realized that every time Seattle’s goalkeeper took a goal kick we were shouting this which, if you grow up playing soccer in south Texas, you learn is Spanish for something not very nice at all. I can’t even bring myself to type it, because I try to keep things family friendly around here. So apparently it’s just vehement hate on both sides.

    IMG_0101Enjoying the game

    But guess what? We won! 1-0 in overtime. My husband says soccer hasn’t caught on in America because there’s not enough scoring. But I say that the entire game is exciting even without the goals. You will rarely see The Wave being started at a soccer game, because The Wave is a sign of boredom. (And for the record, I detest The Wave, and yet find it strangely fascinating.)

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    Celebration at the end of the game

    Seeing soccer made me so nostalgic for it. There’s just something about lacing up your cleats, stepping onto the grass, and having that whole field in front of you. The feel of the ball at your feet, and coming together as a team. I’m lucky I still get to play at all, but I miss the competitive days of my youth where I could play three full games during a summer tournament and wake up for another the next day. My body would revolt if I tried that now.

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    At least I can still be a fan!

  • I Want My Normal Life Back

    Hey everyone, I’m returning to the internet world. I’ve been almost completely cut off, only able to briefly check my e-mail at work. I have to say, this past week has been pretty depressing. Not because of the lack of internet, but because my life is in upheaval. My roommate Amanda moved out last week, taking all of her furniture and dishes with her. Courtney and I lived the whole week in a bare apartment, with no TV, no internet, barely any food, no plates or bowls, etc. It was a lonely place. I did a lot of reading.

    Also, I am still getting used to my work schedule. I love my job, but there are times when I despair over waking up at 4:30 a.m. and going to sleep at 8:30 p.m. I have only a few hours in the evening to myself, and although there are so many things I want to be doing with that time (being with David, planning the wedding, working out, playing tennis) I rarely have the energy for any of it. I’m hoping that things will get better the longer I go.

    And then finally yesterday I moved out of my apartment. My amazing fiance, parents, and soon-to-be parents-in-law helped me out immensely. My furniture is being stored at a friend’s house for the time being, and all of my stuff is now piled in an extremely disorganized fashion in the guest room at my parents’ house, where I will be living for the next few months. I’m house-sitting this week, and I am trying my best not to think about this:

    Some people may have an anxiety attack when they lose control of a situation, others when they are forced to throw things away, but I lose it when my life becomes extremely disorganized. I’m barely holding it together here!

    Also, I injured my toenails again. First week I played outdoor soccer this happened:

    Beautiful, right? And I’m sure it won’t be gone in time for the wedding. Oh well, that’s my life. And by the way, outdoor soccer during the summer in Houston? Is pretty much hot as hell, but with a lot more humidity.

    To end on a positive note, here is a picture of my handsome fiance with our pastor’s son Isaiah. We went out to eat with their family this afternoon, and I think I only caught about half of the conversation because Isaiah insisted that I sit by him and he talked to me the entire time. I’m not complaining, I want one just like him!

  • Thirteen Things

    1. My day in the ICU yesterday was kind of boring. Both of my patients had brain aneurysms. They were awake, alert, mobile, and for the most part independent. That means there wasn’t a whole lot for us to do for them.

    2. One of the patients was a woman from Baton Rouge, a really sweet lady, and I loved her Cajun accent. She hugged me when I said goodbye to her.

    3. The other was a nice man who would have talked to me all day long if I’d let him. Once he found out that I majored in Christian ministry for my first degree, he told me his whole life story. It was very interesting, but for the sake of time I will just say that he was the founder of this ministry.

    4. There was a job fair at my school today, where I talked to four different hospitals. I was then inspired and went ahead and applied for the graduate nursing program at all four places. The application for the one I really want, though, is a little more extensive than the others and thus I am not finished with it.

    5. Luckily I know a woman who worked at that hospital for most of her life who agreed to write me a letter of recommendation.

    6. I have decided that I am mostly interested in working in the areas of critical care and oncology.

    7. I am really proud of my indoor soccer team, because we had an awesome come-from-behind win tonight.

    8. However, I do not appreciate the fact that there were no female subs, meaning I had to play the whole game, and thus I am utterly exhausted. (It is a coed team and three girls are required to play at all times – six players on the field total.)

    9. Tomorrow I have a clinical for my community health class. I make home visits to senior citizens for the Meals on Wheels program. I don’t like it a whole lot, but it’s not too bad.

    10. My birthday is next week. I will be 26 years old. The celebration begins this Saturday and ends a week later.

    11. I am giving up sugar for Lent this year. Lent begins right in the middle of birthday week, so I am going to stuff myself with cookies, cake, ice cream, brownies, and every kind of chocolate I can get my hands on before then.

    12. I need to shower in a bad way. Sometimes showering is such a chore, like when I’m tired and just want to go to sleep. When I was younger I used to skip it if I didn’t feel like it, even if I had played a soccer game that night. I guess sleep has always been my priority.

    13. But I don’t do that anymore!