I had a lot of fun this last holiday weekend. Saturday just hanging out and taking walks at the parks up by Capitol Hill and in West Seattle (Lincon Park). Gorgeous day and nice to be out and and about in the Northwest on such a weekend (they can be few and far between). Sunday was spent playing in the local Duke & Duchess grass volleyball tournament. I had a blast and finished in the top 4 of the 32 men there, not too shabby for a broken down player like myself. I thought I might go a little farther but really hit a wall in my last 3 games and had nothing left to go on...oh well, not to shabby in my own mind at least. I am looking forward to a fairly mellow holiday on the 4th and hope to have a few burgers, beers, and laughs with my friends and family in the Seatle area, should be fun no matter the final destination I would imagine. I might play in the local grass tournament on that date if I can find a partner on short notice. Many of my friends plan to play and it would be nice to join them on the field if I am able to do so. Only time will tell I guess. I have recently gotten into a war of words with some of the sand volleyball community as to the relative strength of players in the region. I hate getting involved in these fights, and do so less often as I try to be conscious but have a VERY tough time holding my tongue....as long as it stays as just words I guess. It is so easy to get involved with these conflicts online as they seem very impersonal and you never have to look anyone in the eye while it happens or oftentimes afterwards as well. I think it just comes down to feeling like I have had to fight hard to legitimize my participation in a sport that I live for the last 16 years, I have become extremely defensive and find it remains one of my primary hot buttons these days. Man I am long-winded!!! All for now.

Hey out there. Just trying my hand at this thing and seeing how it goes. We have had some great weather in the Northwest this last week (high 80's-90's!!) which is always a surprise this early in the summer. I hope this means we will continue to have great weather with lots of opportunities for me to camp, BBQ, play v-ball, and walk the local parks in the glorious sun. I just hosted my first v-ball events of the summer this last weekend and felt like they were a huge success. I find that I do not do as well playing in my own events, I think I get too scatterbrained but still love doing it. The praise that I receive from running the events is really unexpected and completly appreciated. I hope the rest of my planned events go this well. Only time will tell!!!