Skippin'

 I am happy to report that my Thursday night Skipping debut went pretty well. Final score of 9-2 in 7 ends. We won and we all had a lot of fun. Team Clog and Bash are blast to play against. They have a lot of fun together and are pretty hilarious. They are among some of my favorite people at the club.



I'm totally loving the red #7 rock on sheet A. That rock can do no wrong.

 I have determined that I don't like to Skip. Too nerve wracking. I was too tense all the time; I ended up giving myself a head/neck ache. While it was a lot of fun, you can't really let loose since you have to be the one in control and you may be the one that has to bail your team out. I leaned on the Husband and our usual Skip a little, mainly because I'm a little iffy on the strategy. But I learned a lot and I have a lot respect for the good skips at our club. Plus - it's too damn cold to play Skip! I was wearing two pairs of pants AND two shirts under my jacket AND I was still chilly.

 At the table afterwards, the Husband and I figured out that I am undefeated as Skip. Now before you go 'wow', I'm only 3 and 0. And I doubt either one of those numbers is going to get higher any time soon.


Look at me pretending like I know what the hell I'm doing!! :)

Gearing up for a fun March

 Gearing up for a fun March - both literally and figuratively! I am currently searching for new pair of curling shoes, since my current ones are pretty worn out. I have also purchased some new pants. Why all this for the last few months of the season, you ask? You see, this is what I call the our busy curling season. Between out-of-town bonspiels, friendlies (both home and away, this year), and Rochester's own International Bonspiel, I am going to very busy in March and April. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a real test of my nerves though; school is bound to only get harded and I may have to get good at doing homework on the road.

 Now, let me tell you about tonight! Since school is on break this week, I am rejoining my Thursday night team for the night. And for this draw, our Skip decided to "mix it up a little." To "just have some fun." Wait, wasn't having fun the point all along?? Oh riiiight, we get too intense. Sometimes it helps us, sometimes it screws us up.

 So! Tonight is all about fun. Not only are we playing one of the more fun teams in the draw (we have dubbed them "Team Clog and Bash"), but tonight is my Thursday debut at Skip. Oh yeah, this should be fun. Now, I've skipped before on different nights. And I've actually had some successes. But I've also failed horribly at certain things. I'm just going to have to remember to laugh the fails off, and just have fun right? Sure.

Long Time No See

 First things first - I need to apologize for not posting in a while. The month of December is a whirlwind for me; between the holidays and my birthday and vacations, it's a crazy month. Curling slows down a little bit too.

We are now back into the 2nd draw. My schedule has freed up a little bit and I am now playing on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. In a few weeks my schedule gets more complicated and I have to drop playing on Tuesdays and Thursdays (so sad - more on that later.) But for now, I'm enjoying myself.

 Mondays I play with the Husband and some friends. Mondays are a night that new and inexperienced players can come to and get used to the game. Because of that, Mondays are a little lighter and not as competitive.

 Tuesday is with the team that I've become a Perma-sub for. We won the B division in the first draw, and that means we are now playing in the A division. And so far it's been rough. The A division is pretty good, and they don't let up on their opponents. We have played some really good tough games and won a few and lost a few. Last nights game was a real heart breaker. We were down 3 to 0 after two ends, and managed to claw our way back and steal some points to tie it up at 4-4 after the 7. In the 8th end my skip managed a once in a lifetime shot on his last stone, to draw around numerous guards into the button and nudge one of their stones out of the button - BUT! The nudge wasn't enough. A measurment was taken, and I don't remember the exact numbers, but theirs was sitting at something like .30 and ours was at .50. That was how close they both were to the button and how close they were to each other. Such a heartbreaker! But I didn't walk away feeling that bad, since it was such a good game to play. My team all played really well, and we forced the other team to play their best game. Personally I had an awesome game. I feel more comfortable with fast ice (something that used to rattle me) and am really comfortable with draws now. I was pretty good at finding my line fast and was narrow on only one or two. But even my narrow ones still ended up in a good areas. One thing I did not do at all last night was any hits. I'm a little iffy on hits, so I was hoping for some more chances to try it out.

Homework or Strategy Session??

 Now about my schedule - Recently I've planned a career change and that means going back to school. Starting at the end of January I am taking some classes part time and that means no more Tuesday or Thursday curling for the rest of the year. You have no idea how much this is killing me. I know that school and careers should be the most important thing in a persons life - but me, right now, it's not. I love curling. And I love curling on Tuesday and Thursday nights!! Tuesday nights are extremely competitive and I've watched and learned a little from some of the best players at our club. Thursdays nights are fun to play and there is a certain amount of nostalgia and setimentality I have towards my Thursday night team. So...just gotta roll with it I guess.

 The husband and I are planning some trips to out of town Bonspiels for the rest of the season, hopefully I get enough of my curling fix from those. Right now I am trying to put together a team to go to the St. Catharines Open in March. The husband is going up with some guys and I figured I would try to put together my own team. So far, I'm not having any luck, but I've got a few people thinking about it. St. Catharines is a cool town to visit, and I'm hoping to make a weekend of it. We'll see.