Hello Everyone,
In case you could not tell from the last entry I’m so glad camp is over, but we had to do one last activity to send it over the top. We were honorary members of the polish rowing team (sarcasm), but we did go rowing. I have a lot of respect for the people that do that as a sport. That is one tough sport, but it also did not help that we were rowing in the ship that the Vikings were using. Actually that is giving this boat far too much credit. We used oars that weighed 20 pounds and were cracked. We had to focus on keeping the oar in the boat and staying on pace (we were terrible). I felt like my left arm was Pop-Eyes after he ate the spinach. The right one did not get so much work as we stayed on one side and tried to row around this island. Drew decided to be He-man and break is oar, so he did not have to row anymore (it was a brilliant move). Let’s just say I will not be joining a rowing team anytime soon. We packed our bags up and headed to Lithuania about a four hour drive from where we were.
We had to exchange some polish money to Lits as the currency was called. I gave them 50 zlotys (polish currency) and got 50 Lits. I then attempted to buy some ice cream, but did not realize we had stopped like 20 feet from the border and was still in Poland. I could not figure out why the lady would not accept the money. Skip had to spot me the 3 zlotys. We stayed at a very nice 4-Star Best Western (I don’t think they have the same star system as the states). Hopefully, the tour I took on my camera works below so you can take a glimpse of the hotel. The food was also better, but they still were pretty skimpy on the portions. We were talking about how if someone wanted to get fat in Europe you really had to try. We stumbled upon a really cool pizza joint in Lithuania one of the nights we were still scrounging for food. They had a little stream with fish running through the middle with rock formations everywhere and the pizza was pretty good also. The two games we played were not in the same city as we stayed. We drove 45 minutes Thursday for the game and about hour in a half on Friday for the game.
We won both games, but they were not pretty. We were a little rough around the edges in the first game and it took us a little while to settle down. We took a lot of jump shots as we are still learning the system. I believe we shot 7-30 from three, and I was 3-6. The positive thing was we won both games differently offensively, but the defense was strong in both games.
Personally, I played very well the first game. I was able to get myself going with a couple threes and a couple break away lay-ups. I think I was like 6-11 shooting and 2-4 from the line for 17 or 19 points. I played very solid defense drawing a couple charges and some strips. I have to try and get used to these refs again as they are so inconsistent. Both teams we played were very physical, but nothing compared to the second game. I believe this teams plan was to use all 17 guys and all there fouls. I have never seen a game so physical before. It made some of our games with Wright State Detroit, and Milwaukee feel like high school games. We had our point guard with a huge gash above his eye, one big man with a big Charlie Horse, and drew looked like he had just fought a cat. I had a rather unlucky game 2. I did not even play 1 second before I was injured. I was boxing out on a free throw and went up for the rebound when the guy behind pushed me in the back and I landed straight on the hip and elbow. After I shook it off I went back in and drew a three point play, then drove for a lay-up. I scored it but in the process landed on there big guys foot and twisted my ankle pretty bad. I had already tweaked in practice and had it taped up, but that did not seem to matter. I guess if one was to look at the stat sheet I would look pretty good (2-2 fg, 1-1 ft, 2 minutes played). The ankle is swollen up pretty good. It looks like I’m out for about 4 days as we try to get the swelling down. I will miss two games in the process, Sunday and Tuesday. We have a tournament next weekend and I should be ready to go by then.
We drove through the night Friday night after our second game and arrived in kolberg around 8 AM. Luckily our apartments were ready. I have a very nice apartment that should suit me very well. It has a bedroom, but the beds our very small and I will just be using the couch as a bed. The kitchen is very modern with a nice stove and a big fridge. The apartment was not very functional when I first arrived, I had to move some things around. I like the setup and should be very nice. I really like the balcony as it has a nice view into the city. Also, the bathroom is the nicest I have seen out of all my apartments. It has an awesome shower and a nice big sink and faucet. I also took a little video tour which will hopefully work. With the long trip of carrying my luggage everywhere it seems my ps3 cord was broken. I will be trying to find that as well as getting internet set up for the apartment. The good news is the WII (Nintendo system) works. The apartment is very close to the gym like a 30 second walk. I can see it from my balcony. Also, downtown is rather close, but there is no grocery store close that is the one bad thing. It is very nice to have everything unpacked and I will be beginning to settle in my town for the next 8 months. I am posting this from a wireless hot spot downtown and it is food time!!
P.S. I guess you can’t use the word historically when describing a laugh, and finance is not the same as fiancé. Thanks to my little proof readers I am getting smarter with each post;)
Until next time!
This is BC gone for now
I am trouble uploading the videos should hopefully have them by the middle of the week!
Aug 30, 2008
Aug 24, 2008
Is camp over YET??
Hello Everyone,
Well we have about 2 days left of camp and it could not come any sooner. I think everyone is ready for a change of scenery. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining because I’m defiantly not. This has been a lot easier adjustment then France was and I have been able to keep my weight on here. However I have been living out of a bag for about 2 weeks now in two of the tiniest hotel rooms with one of the biggest guys on the team (Drew). He has been a good roommate and we get along well, but he does snore louder then me. I believe that is a big accomplishment from what people have told me about my snoring. I have actually had to start sleeping with ear plugs at night. Don’t worry I’m not talking behind his back we have had many conversations about it. Like I mentioned in the last entry we drove about 10 hours to the north east of Poland for camp.
The place is nestled in between a forest and a huge lake. There is also a horse farm on the hotel grounds, but we did not have a chance to ride any (nor did I want to). The food has defiantly been a surprise every day. For example one of my breakfasts at the hotel was hot dogs and spaghetti. Sounds like a breakfast of champions getting those carbs early in the day. They have been serving there milk warm as well so that is hard to deal with. They seem to treat there lunches like dinners here, where you have soup to start then the main course of meat and potatoes and salad and vegetable (usualy not a bad meal). Now dinner is another story in itself. We have had some interesting dinners to say the least, like a hot dog onion tomato soup, pancakes with some meat (not terrible), and one night with dino eggs as we labeled them (meat inside this huge flour oval shaped thing). They def. missed the memo where all you need is chicken and we will be pleased. Luckily for me I’m not a terribly picky eater, but some of the guys have had a rough time with the food. We have been ordering pizza in almost every night. Hard to go to bed hungry knowing you have two workouts the next day.
The days were all pretty much the same in terms of workouts. We woke up and ran or lifted in the morning sometimes both and then practice would be every evening. We had to take small buses about 5 kilometers to the gym. It was pretty amazing that they made it to the gym everytime. The team has been coming together pretty well. I still believe we can be pretty good, we have a lot players that can create miss match problems. Our point guard is about 6’4” and we just go up from there. We have been scrimmaging a lot in the practices which I love. I feel that is far more important then drills at this point in the career. I have been shooting lights out right now which I am very pleased with and def. hope that keeps up. I also have been dealing with some knee soreness I think from running on these different terrains. We had today off (Sunday) and it has been very good for the legs. We will head to Lithuania on Wednesday to play two games and start a very busy pre season schedule. We will play 13 games in the next five weeks before the start of the actual season.
We had a chance to go on a boat ride the other day on the lake, but it really did not turn out the way I was hoping. We had to sit on the boat like you were on a horse (pictures below) and then the guy tried to tell us how fast it went while he was taking unnecessary turns. If the goal was to get everyone motion sickness I believe he succeed with getting about half of the team. He also made about 5 sailboats mad as he sped by about hitting two of them. The funniest part about the trip was when one of the teammates put on the life vest and pulled the red cord. It was one of the jackets that you only pull the cord like after you fall in the water. It started inflating and everyone just started laughing historically. The boat driver looked like he wanted to punch him in the face. While that is not the only comedy we have had for the week it was the major one. This team seems to get along very well and we should have a fun year.
Well we have about 2 days left of camp and it could not come any sooner. I think everyone is ready for a change of scenery. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining because I’m defiantly not. This has been a lot easier adjustment then France was and I have been able to keep my weight on here. However I have been living out of a bag for about 2 weeks now in two of the tiniest hotel rooms with one of the biggest guys on the team (Drew). He has been a good roommate and we get along well, but he does snore louder then me. I believe that is a big accomplishment from what people have told me about my snoring. I have actually had to start sleeping with ear plugs at night. Don’t worry I’m not talking behind his back we have had many conversations about it. Like I mentioned in the last entry we drove about 10 hours to the north east of Poland for camp.
The place is nestled in between a forest and a huge lake. There is also a horse farm on the hotel grounds, but we did not have a chance to ride any (nor did I want to). The food has defiantly been a surprise every day. For example one of my breakfasts at the hotel was hot dogs and spaghetti. Sounds like a breakfast of champions getting those carbs early in the day. They have been serving there milk warm as well so that is hard to deal with. They seem to treat there lunches like dinners here, where you have soup to start then the main course of meat and potatoes and salad and vegetable (usualy not a bad meal). Now dinner is another story in itself. We have had some interesting dinners to say the least, like a hot dog onion tomato soup, pancakes with some meat (not terrible), and one night with dino eggs as we labeled them (meat inside this huge flour oval shaped thing). They def. missed the memo where all you need is chicken and we will be pleased. Luckily for me I’m not a terribly picky eater, but some of the guys have had a rough time with the food. We have been ordering pizza in almost every night. Hard to go to bed hungry knowing you have two workouts the next day.
The days were all pretty much the same in terms of workouts. We woke up and ran or lifted in the morning sometimes both and then practice would be every evening. We had to take small buses about 5 kilometers to the gym. It was pretty amazing that they made it to the gym everytime. The team has been coming together pretty well. I still believe we can be pretty good, we have a lot players that can create miss match problems. Our point guard is about 6’4” and we just go up from there. We have been scrimmaging a lot in the practices which I love. I feel that is far more important then drills at this point in the career. I have been shooting lights out right now which I am very pleased with and def. hope that keeps up. I also have been dealing with some knee soreness I think from running on these different terrains. We had today off (Sunday) and it has been very good for the legs. We will head to Lithuania on Wednesday to play two games and start a very busy pre season schedule. We will play 13 games in the next five weeks before the start of the actual season.
We had a chance to go on a boat ride the other day on the lake, but it really did not turn out the way I was hoping. We had to sit on the boat like you were on a horse (pictures below) and then the guy tried to tell us how fast it went while he was taking unnecessary turns. If the goal was to get everyone motion sickness I believe he succeed with getting about half of the team. He also made about 5 sailboats mad as he sped by about hitting two of them. The funniest part about the trip was when one of the teammates put on the life vest and pulled the red cord. It was one of the jackets that you only pull the cord like after you fall in the water. It started inflating and everyone just started laughing historically. The boat driver looked like he wanted to punch him in the face. While that is not the only comedy we have had for the week it was the major one. This team seems to get along very well and we should have a fun year.
Until next time!
This is BC gone for now
This is BC gone for now
Aug 14, 2008
I Have ARRIVED
Hello Everyone,
I have decided to write the first part about my trip from the plane. One reason is because I wanted to listen to the music on my computer and not run the battery on my PSP all way down. I made a rookie move by not having it all the way charged before I left. I was going around the airports looking for ports. The second reason being that the entertainment system on board is from 1984. It has one screen for the economy class that is the size of my computer screen. They have played one new movie (what happens in Vegas) and the rest have been cartoons from 1978 and a show about parrots. Of course it has been hard to watch with people standing in line for the restroom and small girl who has been screaming since we left. The start of the trip went very well. I was able to escape paying $75 in luggage fees for having too much weight and too many bags. The computer was down or something the attendant said (I think he just liked looking at my finance). I met up with drew in O’Hare and we boarded shortly after that. Even though the plane is from WWII they did manage to have some good chicken and rice. I am going to attempt to get some sleep, but I am right next to the screen and it is a little too bright for me. I can definitely say I am a little more excited already just because I have someone else that I can communicate with the whole time. I lost no bags and had a ride from the airport when we landed. Now if Poland is as good as the start of this trip we should be just fine.
We are about four days in and things have been pretty well. We will not have our apartments until after we return from training camp, which is about an eight hour trip away. The hotel they have us in is right on the beach. You have to go through a path in the forest and then there is the beach. We have been doing some running out in the forest and on the beach. There are a ton of trails and then you go over the hill and there is the beach. The Baltic Sea is pretty cold. Drew, Skip, and I took a late night swim around 9 pm. We used it as a cold whirlpool, but it felt really good once we got out. People were staring at us like crazy. I compare it to Lake Michigan in September and October. The hotel takes care of all three meals with breakfast and dinner buffets and then a sit down lunch were they bring the food like family style. I have not had a meal I have not liked yet. They like there meats and soups which sits well with me. If you are wondering if I have had in polish sausage (kabasa) the answer would be yes. I believe I have had it three out the four days in different ways or instances. The first time was in my soup, the second time was out at a hotel bonfire, and the third was as the main course for dinner.
The arena we play in is not huge but has a nice floor. The cool thing about the stadium is there is an indoor water park on the other side that we get to go in for free (three hot tubs and slides that come out of the building). Practices have been pretty light as we have been missing two other players and not had enough to play 5 on 5 yet. I guess camp is like 8 hours away in a town that has absolutely nothing but a gym and a fitness center around more forest and lakes. I have seen many areas that have reminded me of the episode in band of brothers when they are just blowing up all the trees in winter time. If you have never seen Band of Brothers I will take this opportunity to suggest it, a wonderful series about Para troopers during world war two. Ok, back to basketball, after the 10 days of camp we play two games in Lithuania and then make the trip back home. Then it seems things really big up after that with two or three tournaments before the start of the season which starts the 27th of September I believe. The coach seems to be really laid back and a great guy. He just finished playing last year and went straight into coaching. He is German and speaks very little polish so he tries to figure things out as well sometimes.
So hopefully the next update I will be in my apartment with internet and all settled instead of living out of these suitcases. Some funny observations so far have mostly been on the beach. It is a very small city beach and people put up little fences to claim there territory. We also witnessed an older man trying to jump and run from the waves. The third terrible observation was two guys in thongs flying a kite or hitting a ball. Quite frankly I do not remember what they were doing cause I was too busy puking the other way. They also tie their cows down. I know that is random but making the 1 hour trip from the airport to the city I saw about 15 cows who were leashed like a dog to graze. We also ran on the beach that took us into a part that was a nude beach. Saw many naked people there that I wish I had not seen. Overall, what I have seen Poland has been very rural. The town we are in has a lot of people right now, but all the teammates said they are German tourists and by season time the town is empty.
I have pictures but will not let me upload so i will do that next time!
Until next time!
This is BC gone for now
I have decided to write the first part about my trip from the plane. One reason is because I wanted to listen to the music on my computer and not run the battery on my PSP all way down. I made a rookie move by not having it all the way charged before I left. I was going around the airports looking for ports. The second reason being that the entertainment system on board is from 1984. It has one screen for the economy class that is the size of my computer screen. They have played one new movie (what happens in Vegas) and the rest have been cartoons from 1978 and a show about parrots. Of course it has been hard to watch with people standing in line for the restroom and small girl who has been screaming since we left. The start of the trip went very well. I was able to escape paying $75 in luggage fees for having too much weight and too many bags. The computer was down or something the attendant said (I think he just liked looking at my finance). I met up with drew in O’Hare and we boarded shortly after that. Even though the plane is from WWII they did manage to have some good chicken and rice. I am going to attempt to get some sleep, but I am right next to the screen and it is a little too bright for me. I can definitely say I am a little more excited already just because I have someone else that I can communicate with the whole time. I lost no bags and had a ride from the airport when we landed. Now if Poland is as good as the start of this trip we should be just fine.
We are about four days in and things have been pretty well. We will not have our apartments until after we return from training camp, which is about an eight hour trip away. The hotel they have us in is right on the beach. You have to go through a path in the forest and then there is the beach. We have been doing some running out in the forest and on the beach. There are a ton of trails and then you go over the hill and there is the beach. The Baltic Sea is pretty cold. Drew, Skip, and I took a late night swim around 9 pm. We used it as a cold whirlpool, but it felt really good once we got out. People were staring at us like crazy. I compare it to Lake Michigan in September and October. The hotel takes care of all three meals with breakfast and dinner buffets and then a sit down lunch were they bring the food like family style. I have not had a meal I have not liked yet. They like there meats and soups which sits well with me. If you are wondering if I have had in polish sausage (kabasa) the answer would be yes. I believe I have had it three out the four days in different ways or instances. The first time was in my soup, the second time was out at a hotel bonfire, and the third was as the main course for dinner.
The arena we play in is not huge but has a nice floor. The cool thing about the stadium is there is an indoor water park on the other side that we get to go in for free (three hot tubs and slides that come out of the building). Practices have been pretty light as we have been missing two other players and not had enough to play 5 on 5 yet. I guess camp is like 8 hours away in a town that has absolutely nothing but a gym and a fitness center around more forest and lakes. I have seen many areas that have reminded me of the episode in band of brothers when they are just blowing up all the trees in winter time. If you have never seen Band of Brothers I will take this opportunity to suggest it, a wonderful series about Para troopers during world war two. Ok, back to basketball, after the 10 days of camp we play two games in Lithuania and then make the trip back home. Then it seems things really big up after that with two or three tournaments before the start of the season which starts the 27th of September I believe. The coach seems to be really laid back and a great guy. He just finished playing last year and went straight into coaching. He is German and speaks very little polish so he tries to figure things out as well sometimes.
So hopefully the next update I will be in my apartment with internet and all settled instead of living out of these suitcases. Some funny observations so far have mostly been on the beach. It is a very small city beach and people put up little fences to claim there territory. We also witnessed an older man trying to jump and run from the waves. The third terrible observation was two guys in thongs flying a kite or hitting a ball. Quite frankly I do not remember what they were doing cause I was too busy puking the other way. They also tie their cows down. I know that is random but making the 1 hour trip from the airport to the city I saw about 15 cows who were leashed like a dog to graze. We also ran on the beach that took us into a part that was a nude beach. Saw many naked people there that I wish I had not seen. Overall, what I have seen Poland has been very rural. The town we are in has a lot of people right now, but all the teammates said they are German tourists and by season time the town is empty.
I have pictures but will not let me upload so i will do that next time!
Until next time!
This is BC gone for now
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