Underwater Hockey!

I went to my first underwater hockey practice and I had a blast.  The whole concept of underwater hockey is a little silly, but it ended up being a lot more fun than I expected.  I had a hard time getting used to some of the gear, but they say that after 3 or 4 (or sometimes more) times, you get used to it and it becomes a lot more fun.  So I think I'm going to stick with it! 

With underwater hockey, each player has a mask and snorkel, a little hockey stick that is about a foot long, and fins.  There is a puck that stays on the pool bottom, and two goals that are at the bottom of the pool at either end.  The general idea is similar to that of soccer or hockey where you just want to score in the other team's goal, but the play is actually really different than any other sport I've ever encountered.  Since you're playing underwater, the distance you can pass the puck is quite short, so everyone has to be pretty close together.  Then, since everyone is diving with a mask and snorkel and holding their breath, you have to consider that they can only go so far or do so much before they need to resurface for air.  There is also the fact that you're essentially playing a 3D field, so every time you resurface you have to be aware that there are people snorkeling above you watching the play waiting for a good time to dive down and join.  So it becomes a tangled mess of people and fins and....it was surprisingly awesome!

When I arrived, I didn't think I knew anyone there.  I was waiting in line to sign in at the YMCA for my free pass, and I turn around to pick up a towel and I see someone that I knew.  We made eye contact, and we knew we'd met before, but we knew we hadn't met at underwater hockey.  After a second, we were both like, "ahhhh, FRISBEE."  We'd met at the tournament I played at ocean beach on Halloween!  Her name is Lucy, and she's really awesome.  I went and changed, and when I walked out onto the pool deck, Lucy came out soon after and introduced me to a guy named Tom.  He was a good underwater hockey player, and he was super nice!  When he heard that we'd met playing frisbee, he got all excited and went over to his bag and pulled out a frisbee and showed it to me excitedly to show me that he plays a lot too.  It was so cool.  He helped me get all the gear I needed, and talked to me about how to warm up and practice a few skills with the snorkel so that I wasn't completely freaked out when the gameplay started.  First, he swam with me a few times where I just swam across the surface with the snorkel, getting used to breathing.  Then he had me dive down a few times and learn to blow the water out of the snorkel so I could breathe again.  He had me do a few other drills where I learned to move the puck, then move the puck in a zig zag pattern across the pool bottom, and then turn the puck around 180 degrees or spin around the puck to protect it.  Tom also told me a few things to keep in mind such as, if your hips are lower and closer to the pool bottom, it's easier to control the puck and protect it.  You don't want your arm outstretched for the puck, because the closer you are to the puck, the more you can protect it.  He was really nice and positive and outgoing, and especially friendly that I was a beginner.  I was having a blast!  Then gameplay started, and I was so surprised.  I didn't realize how close you had to be to everyone, and how crazy and fast it was!  They were really friendly about the fact that I was new, and they were super encouraging.  I really liked the group of people.  They would laugh and pat me on the back whenever I surfaced and couldn't clear my snorkel of water and ended up choking and gasping for air.  I liked that it there was no pressure, so if I needed to I could just tread water and catch my breath again.  I really liked the environment.  They have different levels of practice; two practices a week are more advanced, and two practices a week are more beginner focused...so you can easily go to whichever practice fits your level of play, which I really like.  It was a lot of fun!

After the game, Lucy gave me her email, and we're going to try to meet up more at underwater hockey practices and frisbee pickups!  I'm so excited!

Swimming and Frisbee!

I had a really pleasant day today.  I went to work, which was pretty typical and uninteresting, and then after work I headed straight to downtown Berkeley.  Navi was at daycare, so I wanted to pass more time before going home so that when I picked her up, she was really tired.  I decided to park in the downtown area on my way home from work, and wander across campus to swim at Hearst pool.  Pam wanted to come along, so I picked her up on the way, parked about a 30 minute walk from the pool, and we talked and meandered around.  We  were changed and ready right when the pool opened, so it was pretty empty which was a real treat!  I thought I'd only want to swim for 20 minutes but the next time I looked at the clock, 45 minutes had passed.  There was this guy who swam at a really close speed to me, and I was so tempted to ask if he wanted to work out sometime and do a real workout together.  I never really got the guts up to ask because I was slightly intimidated.  Maybe next time..  We left the pool, meandered back to the car, and Pam headed home on bike.  I love the bike racks on top of my car - so useful, all the time!  I've rescued Tim and other friends from rainstorms on bike rides, I've rescued them after they get hurt and/or damage their bikes or have flat tires and no supplies to fix it, I've been rescued from those circumstances, I can pick up friends with bikes, throw the bike on top, and them dump them in the middle of nowhere and expect them to get home on their own.  It's great!  And I can bring my bike anywhere I want.

After swimming, I headed over to pick up Navi, and the woman working at MetroDog today was my one of my favorite women there.  She knows sign language because her mother in law (I think?) is deaf, but it's funny because she learned british sign language because she's from England, then she came here and learned American Sign Language.  Most of the time, she does well, but every once in a while a sign I've never seen before slips in, and she'll say "oops, I think that sign is british, isn't it??"  It's so cool!  She loves Navi, and we always chat for 10 or 15 minutes when we see each other.  Turns out she just became pregnant, which she's really excited about!  I really like her.  There was also another really nice guy waiting for his dog, which turned out to be a happy calm brown labrador.  Cute.

Then, I headed home, scarfed some food, hopped onto my bike, and pedaled over to my first East Bay Winter League game of the season.  We were supposed to start last Thursday, but the game was on grass fields that got rained out.  Tonight's game were on turf, which are rain or shine...thankfully the weather was nice!  I hadn't met the team before, which is always kind of interesting because you show up on the field and you have no idea who your captain is, or where you should go, or anything.  We didn't even have a team color.  Sometimes I have a hard time with this because while I'm bold enough to go up and ask about what team people are on, I never know how loud to speak (very very loud because the field is by the highway but I'm never loud enough!) or I can't understand people and it becomes slightly awkward...but I lucked out this time because my friend Whitney saw me, and she knew she was playing against me, so she'd already figured out my team for me.  I walked into the field and she was like, "Hi!  That's your team!"  Easy as pie, right?

The team turned out to be a pretty nice mix.  The only thing that could be better is if there were more players my age.  Everyone is much older than I am.  However, this is a double edged sword because the guys who have been playing for longer are often better handlers.  I haven't played on any teams lately with anyone that has a good deep throw against a mark, and a few guys on this team have that which is really nice.  I ended up having a lot of fun, but I was tired at the end of the game.  I had a good hand block, which was nice, and I had a lot of really good cuts.  My defense was a lot better, too.  After the game ended, we still had 30 minutes of field time, so we played some pickup and changed up the teams a bit.  It was fun, but I was really tired after.  Then I had to bike home up the hill...so I was even more exhausted.  It was a good way to end the day.

Apartment Hunting!

My search for a new apartment is finally over!  I've been searching the posts for apartments online endlessly, emailing people, viewing apartments, and the whole process has been a little irritating.  At one place, the guy who was showing the apartment was 45 minutes late, and then didn't know anything about the costs or availability of various apartments.  Some places had really annoying secretaries and so many rules and formalities.  I even left one place before I even got through the whole "interview" process because I couldn't stand the apartment complex rules.  Another place, the landlord showed me the apartment and I was really interested.  The person staying in the place had told the landlord (who was showing me the apartment) that he lost his job and needed to move, so I would be subletting.  The landlord and his current occupant dragged the "negotiations" about rent and all that out for a really long time, and then I finally find out that the occupant had decided to stay in the apartment three or four weeks later.  It was kind of annoying because I would prefer to know that someone is "considering" leaving than being led to believe they are definitely moving out.  Then, I didn't make things easy because I'm a little picky...  I really, really hate going to the laundromat because I never have a 2 or 3 hour period free in my day, so it was important to have a washer and dryer in unit.  It was also really important for the bathroom to have a bathtub.  I wanted some carpeted floors so that Navi can play tug of war again, but most of the apartment to be hardwood or something non-carpeted.  I wanted the kitchen to be really open so that I can see the majority of the apartment without walls or doors in the way.  I wanted a bigger bathroom with a nicer sink that doesn't have a faucet for cold water and a separate faucet for hot water.  I wanted one faucet that can serve any temperature of water you wish.  I wanted to not have to bend over backwards in order to wash my hair in the shower.  I wanted it to be close to all my favorite grocery stores and shops so that I can walk Navi AND get errands done.   I wanted to be away from my current landlords because I don't like them very much. I wanted off street parking...and I didn't want to pay an exorbitant sum.

Needless to say, it was turning into a little bit of a nightmare until last night.  I FOUND IT.  It even has a balcony and a nice view of the sunset.  My lease at the current place is up at the end of December, so I decided to move into the new place December 10th.  That gives me some time to paint the place a nice color, move in over the weekend, and have Navi settled in the place before Christmas swings around.  She gets really panicky during moves, so I didn't want to have to move right before I left for Christmas because then she'd be freaked out that I had left her at the place she will be staying while I'm gone.  I'm really excited!  Yay!