Back in the Saddle Again

Hooray! Volleyball season started again! This time around is a little different than before because I am the team captain of my BSSC league, and I'm a lot more confident playing. With the lessons I took in the spring and the play time I got during the summer league, my play has improved, and with that my confidence.

Last night was our first night and we've got a good team - I've played with all but two of the team members before. We're playing in a formation that I've never played before and we're all picking it up pretty quickly, so I think once we get it down we'll be a legitimate competitor in our league.

I'm also playing in Stephen's work league, which starts in October. We're playing on different teams and while we've never played against each other, I'm looking forward to the new opportunity. Hopefully we play against each other as well as we play together!

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

Spring is just around the corner and with the warm(er) weather and increased sunshine come lifted spirits. My Debbie Downer funk strained my relationship and began to push away the one person who is my entire support system up here. I was so busy focusing on all the negativity consuming me that I never stopped to realize the blessings and love I have right in front of me!

It's such a vicious cycle and I feel awful about complaining about my "problems" when I see people who have actually suffered; they have a right to complain about their dark days. Fortunately my funk lifted and surprisingly enough things are looking up here. Work is getting better and I'm finally starting to "get it" with what I'm supposed to be doing. With increased confidence comes greater results for my clients and that relates back to me doing a good job.

We're starting to make some friends and hang out with more people and now that spring is just around the corner we'll be hanging out even more and getting to know people better which will strengthen our friendships.

Also, Stephen and I start volleyball tonight with some of my colleagues and Stephen has promised to coach me and whip my butt into volleyball shape. I know that as I continue to play and practice I'll develop into a better player and I'm looking forward to his advice and expertise. And it will be fun to play on a team with him. I just feel bad for whoever is on the receiving end of one of his brutal kills.

If You Can Dodge A Wrench

Last night Stephen and I played dodge ball with some of my colleagues from work, and I can't tell you how much fun it was! It felt straight out of Dodgeball the movie. There was a guy on a team we played who had bigger man boobs than I have natural ones, and he reminded me so much of Ben Stiller's character! He straight-up cheated the entire time! Despite this, I was impressed with how many women were out playing, which leads me to an observation about the women up here.

For the most part the women up here are F-I-T. They're all toned and look like they spend hours at the gym. And it seems, for the most part, like most of them do. Many of the conversations I hear from my co-workers is that they're going to the gym after work, which has prompted me to want to join a gym (especially if I can start looking fit like the women up here.) My motivation has tripled since it was announced on Tuesday at our agency's kick-off party that one of our new benefits for 2008 is a $1,000 stipend for health and fitness. This is in addition to the $150 stipend I get from my health insurance provider. So the $1,150 I now get will surely pay my monthly membership dues at a health club, now I'm in the process of researching clubs in the area to see which option is right for me. In the meantime I'll keep playing on the dodge ball team and hopefully playing with Stephen's volleyball team at work; that should help start me on my way to becoming fit.