Moving on...

October is interesting. First of all, I got trounced badly enough to have to review not just the way I am hitting the ball when I play tennis but also my whole approach to the game. More about that once I've stopped sobbing and crawled out from under the table. And then on top of all that, I haven't been able to go to the gym regularly and I suspect I've lost some muscle, too. Luckily, I haven't put on any weight, though I suspect the fat content of my body has gone up a little...unless I've put on some muscle on my thighs and butt. Never mind that because now, I also have to start looking for a new home before the end of the year.

I went to view a couple of places and one of them, offered by a friend at a very good price, is also ideal as a potential pottery studio. It won't be ready for some time yet so I'll probably have to rent a temporary place for a few months before I can move in there. It's good to get that settled and out of my hair so that I can get on with other things in my life.

It's been raining like crazy here in Penang and normally, I'd just go to the gym but with all that looking for a new home, I've been too busy and too stressed out at the end of the day to even drive there. Hopefully, it will be different from tomorrow onwards.

I'll post photos of my new home when it's all done and over in a few months' time.

I Nearly Crawled Under The Table...

Some days I just feel like I want to crawl under the table and cry. Yesterday was one of those. All that training and pushing myself until I nearly black out sometimes and then I go and play stupid tennis and proceed to get bushwhacked 8 games to 1. My own fault, really, because first, I was not using my best shots and then I proceeded to rush to hit winners when a little more patience would have got the same result. Of course, I can take some positives from the experience but what made it really hurt was the fact that I had to continue hanging around the place and pretending like it was all okay...when all I wanted to do was go home and lick my wounds in darkness.

Oh well...there's always next year, I guess...

Beginning of October

On Wednesday, I found out that I'll be playing singles against a gentleman ten years younger than me. He doesn't smoke, drink or indulge in any of my favourite sins either. He's also 30 lbs lighter than me, doesn't suffer low blood sugar problems and will have the stands cheering for him, into the bargain.  am not complaining, however.

Win or lose, I love a good fight.

Besides, I've been working as much on my game as I have been working onmy strokes and techniques.

For starters, I swallowed my pride and tried to play really well against lower-skilled opponents. Not that I ever refused to play against anyone for that reason. I've always remembered other players not wanting to be seen on the same court as me when I was a beginner (and how hurtful hat was) but I never really felt like wanting to focus and strike the ball properly. So mea culpa, I was disrespectful even if I meant well by not trying to crush them with superior skills. These last few months, however, I focused on placing the ball well (not on trying to whack the hell out of it) and discovered that not only did they enjoy it more but that I also improved a lot mentally from having to focus on pure strategy.

And then I also picked a couple of different things that I wanted to focus on doing well each match, like hitting acute crosscourt angles which are easier against people who don't hit so hard, or playing drive-volleys against soft, high, deep balls. Just one or two different things each time, which I wouldn't have the chance to practise in a regular game. And I found that when I did play against people with similar or superior skills to mine, I was actually able to execute my game plans better using precisely those very techniques I'd practised against weaker guys.

So, without writing a very long post, I can say that I'm a very different player than before and I'm confident that playing well against a younger, fitter man isn't quite the one-sided battle it seems like at first glance.