Well, the week's come and gone..thank God. Memorial Day Weekend! 3 days of pure nothing. I"m going out. I also have to scout BBQ places for my team's end of the year cook out. Or should I say, my old team. Today I was told that Monica and I wouldn't be needed for the 7th and 8th grade years for their volleyball team and that their athletic director has found that the coach, before Monica and I took the team is willing to coach them again. He happens to be one of the parents of the players. Next year the team will split up to A & B since the team is 13 an it's time that they split it with some players on 8B. I can only pray that the team doesn't sink to the level Monica and I saw them at (1-8) when we first took them on. Funny how it's so easy to give something that's hard up but even easier to take it back when the job's been made easier huh? The girls already found out too. Monica and I were hoping to tell them on our own but word got out. Their fairly accepting of the fact that we won't be returning and a little disappointed. Over the past 2 years we've taken on a very close bond to them but all of us understand that after 6th grade, it was time to bow out. Next year I will be joining school clubs (one of which will be taking a trip up to Portland), possibly join choir, and will be working on either cast or crew of the fall production. I also have my studies and will be studying hard in Spanish to qualify for a scholarship to be able to travel to Spain during the summer of 2003. Monica will also be studying at a local college for her last year and will be going to Davis. It would be even more unfair to coach them as 7th graders and then leave them on their own for their 8th. Even though there are reasons, I'm still kinda sad. I've always called them "my girls" and I always wish I could go out there and play for them when moral is down on the team. Oh well.
Things have been kinda busy lately. In fact I've been "kinda busy" since November of last year. I guess I can tell you all now since everything's 100%. I'm moving this summer. I'll be moving out of San Francisco...by 2 whole minutes. The two whole minutes will cost my my 415 area code but will give me a 650...Ludacris doesn't have a hoe in that area code I don't think.... It's a fresh start and new beginning come this summer. We get the keys to the house on Ryan's birthday. I haven't told a lot of people because the housing market is crazier than a Townsend crowd before a performance. We've signed papers for MULTIPLE houses and just haven't gotten them. Well, in April we finally got a house. Smaller than what we were planning but the location is perfect and we plan to build on to the house in a few years. It's the ugliest color of a pink but still a place to call our own. I"m personally ready for the move, I"ll be a lot closer to more of my friends and best of all...closer to the malls! San Francisco will always be a place called home but now so is the 650.
I had a eventful memorial day weekend. Saturday we did a lot of arrands. We got our first home accessory...a washer and a dryer. I also had Dip 'N Dots for the first time since June of last year. (Memories Amber & Meg lol...) Monday mom and dad bought a dining room table. Everything's finally beginning to fall into place. Monday I also went out with 6 people to Yuerba Buena Gardens for a little fun. I hadn't been there since August to see Gina's play. I went in to Zeum just for the hell of it and to this very day I swear to you I still can't open up the door. (Amber, Courtney, Joy, Katie, & Andrea) lol. I went ice skating and fell 3 times in 2 hours. Twice on my side and once on my knees. I personally prefer falling on my side...less pain. I held Niki and Katrina's hand the ENTIRE time. We must have looked like fools with 5 year olds zipping right past us. Katrina's boyfriend, Beck, and 3 of his friends went high speed occasionall with Niki while Katrina and I believed in the slow and steady method. I hadn't ice skated in maybe 6 to 8 years and here I was out on the ice again and scared as heck. I contemplated NOT skating and just getting my refund to watch all of them and pig out on nachos for 2 hours but I just took my chances and went out there. Beck's friend Ian was particularly nice...speedingme from behind every chance he got by either pushing me, grabbing me by the arm to see if I'd fall (since I couldn't use my breaks), or throwing ice slush at Katrina and I forcing us to speed up. In the end I did fine and had fun until we decided that it was time to leave since all the girls in leotard and their teachers got out on ice to show off and make us look bad. (Out of 6 of us only 2 of the guys knew how to skate really well...the other two guys and Niki just happened to be fast at catching on.)
Have you ever noticed though how a little push is better? As we were outside lined up for admission I told everyone that I hadn't skated for a really long time and that the last time I did I had a bruise the size of the western hemisphere on my rear end. Ian said, "Just do it because I don't either and it's more fun for us to fall and get back up...plus you're not about to pay 9 bucks to sit and watch. Get your 2 cents worth." Needless to say I spent 9 bucks to fall...but to get back up again. I may have been black and blue all over my legs, may have internal bleeding, sore on my arms from supporting both me AND Katrina at times we almost fell, and my arm may be shaky to this very second but I got back up and I did it. I almost sound like my big brother. "Well at least I finished." I got back up because I knew that if I just skated at 1 mph that the prissy little kids laughing at Katrina and I would laugh even more. Sometimes I supported both of our weights, sometimes she did, and sometimes we were able to balance evenly and not worrying about the other falling. If we did fall we picked the other right up, dusted off the slush, and started up again.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is, you fall, so get back up. You think you won't do it right, just do it to see. Because if you don't get back up and you don't even touch the ice, how are you going to know if you could've done it right and proven people wrong? The guys were like me before they put on their skates. They didn't know if they wanted to do it, i mean like normal people I"m sure they had their question marks wondering if or when this may show any kind of success. Sure they have fallen a few times...in fact some falls have been tough to get back up from but they did it and kept skating....i mean going.
Through the times that they've gone through as a group, when just one fell, the guys stopped, helped him back up, brushed him off and then helped him carry on with the rest of them...even if it meant supporting more weight until he was back on his own again. I look at them and have decided that I can't think of 5 other guys that do that. I really can't. I think i's cute and it makes them worth all the strife of a normal relationship. It's actually worth everything that has happened up to now. I look at them and still see a couple guys that were just regular guys and when I zoom out I see so much more around them that i have to shake myself into the now of it all. I thank God every night for blessing me with ALL that Nick, Ryan, Todd, Matt and Dom have brought to me, including all of you guys.
They've given all of us the ability to see so much more in everyone and the ability to realize that you need to read the book before you can critique the book. They've seriously opened my eyes to new perspective on a lot of things that don't even relate to the music buisness but to the buisness of love, life, and friendships. The 5 guys have all taught us to get back up from a fall and just skate our hearts out.
Stay Safe & Stay You
Love Always,
Kristen
xoxoxo