Rocking the House

Game on...

2006-05-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

While the debate in my head rages on about whether or not my new activities are causing me to loose weight, thank the stars tonight was curling! My injury is healed, and my power is back….too much power. Every rock I threw save for the last two were way too hard. Some of my throws felt fine and some were a little shaky but overall I just need to dial it back. Scott, our skip, pulled me aside a one point and said “You know, you should think about throwing second. You have great takeout weight and your aim seems fine but you just need to dial it back to throw some guards. Just get one to dribble over the hog line and I will be happy.” I didn’t make him very happy but it’s all good. I had a great time and on more than one occasion I was able to sweep hard enough to get a rock to creep into the house and one actually sat shot rock so it wasn’t all a waste.

But of course the fun while you are curling is only half the fun of curling, it’s the after party in the bar that really gets out of hand. Last week it was all drama and intrigue and while today there was some mention of drama it has apparently been talked out and all is resolved, leaving only the fun. I had one beer and was ready to leave when Marcie insisted I stay for a second, which quickly against my protests lead to a third. Judy seemed a little distant at first but the more the night raged on the more she came out of her shell. The running joke about me being called Jeremy was revived as I pointed out that picking on someone about a topic I can’t discuss was something Jeremy would do – not me. Marcie was having so much fun at one point she accidentally told Judy to dare her which of course is a challenge that had to be met. So Marcie had to pose, Madonna like with plastic cups under her shirt to make ridiculous cone breasts. If the picture turns out I will post it…Oh yes I will.

It is all such fun and I really can’t wait until the next time on the ice but that won’t be for two weeks again as next week is a holiday. More time to exercise and read Curling for Dummies.

As I texted to Jenara, from the bar: I am having soooo much fun!

Aftermath...or what happens outside Curling should stay there...

2006-05-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

So after Curling comes the partying with your Curling friends. It’s always fun with libations to help soften the edges – or so I thought. Sunday after Curling some interesting things came out of the group discussion. I have to tease someone about getting my name wrong, but at the same time she was teased about a situation beyond her control that really shouldn’t have come up at the party so let’s just leave all that alone. I am Jeff, this is my blog, it’s all good. The provided food was amazing. I really felt like I am fitting in and finding my place being ferociously hammered by Chuck. I think his cries for harder sweeping hit a four octave range during the game. We are all still getting to know each other so there were the standard “What do you?” questions and gentle ribbing and good-natured humor. I really think this crowd could jell…

Not healed

2006-05-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

My leg is still sore and that made pushing off a bit hard so I spent most of the night trying to throw the rocks without the right-leg push-off I was taught and that’s like changing your swing or pitching with the other hand. It was so bad Chuck kept pointing to the woman in pink sweats and asking me why she was throwing the rocks with more power. Oh well, with the weekend off I should have time to rehab it and make it happen. We lost tonight’s game 5-4 or maybe 5-3 but it was a loss at either score. We had some good shots and I again swept like a banshee but it was fun. The ice was really causing problems and after the second end they re-pebbled it. Overall I had fun but my leg is sore and the rest of me is sore from the sweeping but some advil should fix me right up. I’ll post more about the after game festivities tomorrow when I have more time.

OUCH!

2006-04-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

So I arrived at the ice a little bit early and it looked like the guys on the “D” sheet or fourth sheet were just throwing rock so I went down to ice level and was met by Chuck. Now Chuck is a huge guy and he is know for wearing a kilt so think big, imposing, and kilt-clad and you can picture Chuck. “You want to throw some rocks? They’re just doing a pick-up on D so head over and toss some.” So off to sheet “D” I went. I met the three who were throwing and was immediately ushered to throw the next rock. I got set in the hack, squatted down, looked down the ice, rocked back, butt up, push off, BAM. My f-ing leg exploded. OMFG did that hurt. My legs hadn’t been sore since Wednesday and I stretched a bit before I went down to the ice so what gives? OH MY FING GOD does this hurt. I tried throwing some more practice rocks and then decided to try stretching it out more, and resting it, thinking if it’s going to hurt, I may as well be throwing for real. Wholly crap does my leg hurt. The game tonight was fun and very interesting. Chuck turned out to be our Skip (Captian) and since he was filling in for the Skip of the opposing team we all got to help plan the shots. I learned a lot about strategy and on a few occasions Chuck thought my suggestion would be the best shot. It was pretty cool, but nothing can subside the pain in my leg. We won our game 7-5 and I am really looking forward to next week but I have to do something about my leg. I have some Advil and a hot pack for now. I need to do some cycling this week to help it along. My God this hurts…Maybe I am too old for this…nah, just the wrong shape for now…

15 to go...

2006-04-29T23:40:00.000-07:00

Just under 15 hours until I get to curl again! I can't wait...but it's bedtime for this old guy. I'll post an update when I'm off the ice and after West Wing. Night all as dreams of draw weight will fill my head...

Fame? - check Talent? - Developing Pain? - Over it!

2006-04-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

Today, which for me is still Thursday because I haven't been to sleep yet is the first time I have stopped hurting from curling on Sunday...hmm...that long of a turnaround is unacceptable, I should be in better shape. Ifinally had time to do some real surfing and I found that Judy mentioned my takeout in Dan's blog! Wow...Fame already! Heh. I am so looking forward to Sunday and then on to Wednesday after that where I will give my speech on Curling at the Toastmasters meeting. So much going on right now but I just wanted to mention that I was mentioned by Judy on Dan's blog, so click the link at the right and enjoy!

Curling Virgin

2006-04-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

First off, let me assure everyone that while curling looks easy on TV it is impossible to get my fat arse to balance on my stubby legs. Also, doing two hours of yard work with your spouse before leaving to curl might make you hurt more later that night. See curling uses muscles I not only didn’t know I had, I apparently haven’t used them enough ever before to prepare them for my first foray onto the ice. Tonight I was a curling virgin and as I shuffled onto the ice and tried not to fall down I quickly became aware of several things. I have no balance, I weight way too much, and most important though not as easy as it appears on TV, I am completely hooked on curling. We divided up into groups – mine had five and we set about learning how to deliver a rock and the first thing you find out and I was surprised to learn is that it’s hard to balance on one foot and knee when you release the rock. This motion led to most of the rollovers. We practiced and practiced and while other teams had moved on to sweeping we were still practicing not rolling over like giant SUVs going too fast. Before my group moved on to sweeping skills, the other team on our sheet of ice was ready for a game so we shook hands and it started. “Ends” are the innings of curling so we blanked the first two ends it means no one scored in the first two innings. We (Donna) got a rock in the 12ft of the house for a point at the end of the third end, we blanked the fourth. The final end we were able to play during this instructional game saw the other team score two to win by one. I got frustrated by the second end so Judy gave me some pointers at the start of the third. The first rock I threw after Judy’s help knocked out the others team’s rock and left my in scoring position. I was ecstatic. Judy, I found out is a very skilled curler and her line of curling T-Shirts are very impressive. There’s too much to talk about now and I could go on and on all night about meeting Mark Davis and talking to him for a bit or the guy who drank WAY too much while we were curling and proceeded to sing (VERY BADLY) when we all came back from the games. I could go on and on and on but the bottom line is my first night of curling is in the books and I had a blast. I am on team #13 (we’ll pick a name Sunday) on sheet D at 5:30PM at the Duncanville Dr. Pepper Stars Center for the next 10 Sundays (aside from two holidays) so if you are in the ‘plex, feel free to drop by. First round is on me!

TV? Why is fun so expensive?

2006-03-04T00:09:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't it be great if DFW Curling games were televised? I mean newbies like myself could watch and learn and others could see the sport more. I was talking with a member and was reminded that I have already done some Cable Access before so I have started to investigate it. Maybe we can get a game or two on TV and see what happens. Only, of course, it's expensive...Like $135 for the class to get certification for the portable video equipment and I'd need to get edit suite time! All that and I just broke to the wife the news that I'll need $200 for the Spring/Summer league! Crap...That doesn't include $100 for membership...Doh!

It has begun

2006-02-28T23:12:00.000-08:00

Grip the handle, shift the weight, peer down the ice, push off the hack, lean into it, gently release the handle with a clockwise turn...Gliding...Gliding...Start shouting like a madman!

Oh....I am hooked on curling in such a big way...

This is the first of potentially many posts on a curling specific blog. My curling experience so far consists of watching about seven Olympic games from start to finish and missing two open houses with DFW Curling but after listening to the podcasts, talking to several people and reading everything I can on the web I am pretty hooked. Hooked and I haven't even set foot on the ice yet! So this blog will chronicle my odyssey to learn chess on ice and have a great time along the way.