So I've been training everyday still and I seem to be getting a little wear and tear on my right hand. I had a pretty thick callus on my hand which had a blister underneath which eventually popped and was hurting like a b-tch for awhile... and then 2 mornings ago doing a smashing drill, half the callus came loose and you could literally see the red meat of my hand.. pretty gross eh?? So I took the next day off from playing with my racquet and just did leg weights and dead lifts.

Today we had a guest player come in from Guatemala, Pedro Yang. He's a part of the IOC and was in Vancouver because he was a torch runner for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. So guess what he brought to ClearOne???? The Olympics Torch! It was pretty cool and I got a couple pictures of myself holding it! Unfortunately those couple pictures are not on my camera and I will post it when it gets emailed to me..

Now tonight I had a family dinner. I had to drive my grandma and it was just her and I in the car. My GM is notorious for talking, talking, talking, talking, and preaching everything that's in her mind. Now at the dinner was my dad's cousin from HK. He's a real big shot. Very successful and charming. He use to race cars professionally and now he sells luxury yachts. If you ever need a nice yacht to keep in HK ---and around $20,000,000 CAD---for the nicest one ;) --- I know who you can call! But yes, anyways... My GM... on the way back from dinner she was telling me a little more about my dad's cousin. She was telling me how he was always outgoing, daring, and just loved to play. He raced cars and did a lot of things and that I should never attempt to do stuff like that. She said racing is too dangerous and I should always focus on being safe. She started saying stuff that all led to the fact that you should never take a risk in life and it's always better to live safely. Sorry, but that's not me at all... I believe there that life won't be exciting if you aren't willing to take a risk. Okay, Im done ranting. The mentalist is on! Goodbye for now!

A winner never whines. -Paul Brown

Here's a something to think about from a book I borrowed from the library ("Get Motivated!")

"What's important is not being like some other athlete, but being the best athlete I can be."

Back to life

I have been back in Vancouver for a few days now. I started training again the next day cuz I didn't feel like I deserved a break from training. It's Thursday now and I'm at the centre stringing up my racquets and I thought "Holy crap, I havent updated my blog in awhile!"

So here I am, 30 minutes before afternoon training quickly trying to put some words down..

Let's start with the national finals. Mixed doubles, Jon Vandervet and Milaine Cloutier claimed victory over Alvin Lau and Fiona Mckee in 3 games. I won the 3/4 playoff and came out with a bronze medal and a pair of red Vancouver 2010 mitts.

My first prediction was correct!

Second prediction... I was half right.. Anna Rice won in 2 games over Michelle Li. Watched only the end because I was ordering/waiting for my victory poutine! Oh yes do I love poutine!

Third prediction... 3 for 3 now on the winners. Alex Pang defeated Martin Giuffre in 2. Martin put up a good fight but was not enough over Pang's speed and skills.

Fourth.. Womens doubles... Melody Liang and Lydia Jiao.. Need I say more?!!! Praise to Lydia, she is a machine!

Last and most exciting match, mens doubles.. Jon Vandervet and Alvini Lau fought back after losing the first to win in a out of your seat match against Toby Ng and Adrian Liu. Ng and Liu were up 20-18 in the 3rd but lost 22-20. Alvin Lau tied the match point with his flick serve! What did I say before??? Watch out for his flick!!

So that was the 2010 Canadian Nationals. I found this year was rather.. anti-climatic?? I dont know... I just know I can do better.. and I will do better...

So there has been some talk about going back to work after Nationals. I called my Union Hall to see if I would be sent back to work but it seems with the Olympics, I would not be working for a very long time. I have decided that I will continue training full-time and will start travelling in a few months. Olympics is creeping up and will be here before we know it. So I need to start preparing now. This is it... Derrick Ng and Badminton begins now!