Thursday, April 30, 2009
another test test test
watched idol from Tuesday/Wed this morning while getting ready for my Dr. Appointment. Two things...1....much major shock over the bottom 2.)second? Was J. Foxx lip syncing?
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
one last post...
one last post before everything starts looking weird. I wanted to warn the few followers I have. ;) I am transitioning my blog to a domain that I've owned for some time now, but failed to make good effort to build and update. Funny how we do for others, but put our personal stuff on the back burner huh? At any rate, once this is working correctly, anyone accessing me directly on blogger will automatically be forwarded to www.prettywahine.com. If you're reading through a feed, however, I'm not quite sure how it will work yet. I'l be posting a few more times this week to test that, so bear with me please!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Beat by a GIRL!
This past week I talked to one of my teammates from Thursday night pool and convinced him to come with me to a 9 ball qualifier match in Tacoma. Qualifiers are level one tournaments that "qualify" you for Higher Level Tournaments that could win you money. There are local qualifiers, regional qualifiers and then the end goal is National Level Singles Tournament. One on one play with people in your skill level in the American Poolplayers Association. That National level tournament can net you $10,000 in cash and prizes if you succeed.
I've played before, but never really did well. It's a bracket of 8 players. Lose once and you're done, so there's no room for mistakes because one mistake can mean the end of it all. After a while, I stopped competing for a chance because I played so poorly that it wasn't worth the time and effort in my opinion. Lately, I've been improving enough that I felt I had a chance. So I took that chance and went down for the tournament.
Normally, even at this level you'd only play within your skill level bracket. Skill Level 1-3 (the lowest), 4-5, and 6-9. But when there aren't enough players at each level, the tournment director sometimes gives the players who show up the opportunity to play a mixed bracket. This means you COULD play within your regular bracket or you could be a SL 2 playing a SL8. In Pierce County, where we played, they typically don't have enough people to throw a full regular board. At least that's been MY experience.
At any rate, we went down and settled in for some practice time. The two guys I carpooled with had never been to City Lights (or Malarkey's as it's now known)so they definitely needed the chance to learn the tables since they are smaller than what we normally play on. Noon came around and as I expected there wasn't enough for a regular board. Actually we only had six of the eight so we waited to see if any more players would show. By 1pm we had 7 and couldn't wait much longer. Everyone agreed to a mixed board and payed their entry fee. As I signed my entry in, I noticed that everyone else was pretty evenly matched. Lots of SL5's, an SL4 and a SL6. I was the lone SL2. I momentarily felt bad, but nervously ponied up to play my match. I honestly didn't think I had much chances on winning, but would give it my best shot. After all... I DID wear this shirt to play in...
I settled into my first match. It was against Cal, one of the guys I carpooled with and he was an SL4. Luckily, one of the players waiting to play was John H who was a great encouragment at the qualifier I played a few weeks ago. He reminded me to relax and play my game. To slow down and take my time. To say I was nervous didn't even COVER IT! LOL But apparently, I was doing better that I realized. John called Match end and I was done! When I looked at the scoresheet, I had one straight out by 5 balls! If you're not familiar with APA pool, each skill level in 9 ball has a set number of balls to make. It's a weird math formula that takes in account your last few matches and how you did. Each of the 9 balls is worth 1 point except for the 9 ball which is worth 2. At an SL 2, I only need to make 19 points. But as an SL 4, Cal needs to make 31 points. To say I won straight out means that when I scored my 19th point, Cal only had 14... Can we say wow?!?!
My next match was against a SL5 who did well in his first match. I was impressed and even more nervous, but luckily he wasn't on top of his game and got frustrated easily which affected how he played. He unfortunately didn't buckle down soon enough to win and I moved on to the final match! And THAT was the most challenging...it was against my friend and teammate Ryan. A great easy going guy, I knew it would be a challenge because he was good AND I knew I had a tendency to lose focus and forget that this was a tournament and not just everyday shoot around. I persevered and in the end I beat him!
Next step is the Regional Level Shootout in Salem. When I get there, I'll be playing within my own skill level, so I need to be more on top my game! Wish me Luck!
I've played before, but never really did well. It's a bracket of 8 players. Lose once and you're done, so there's no room for mistakes because one mistake can mean the end of it all. After a while, I stopped competing for a chance because I played so poorly that it wasn't worth the time and effort in my opinion. Lately, I've been improving enough that I felt I had a chance. So I took that chance and went down for the tournament.
Normally, even at this level you'd only play within your skill level bracket. Skill Level 1-3 (the lowest), 4-5, and 6-9. But when there aren't enough players at each level, the tournment director sometimes gives the players who show up the opportunity to play a mixed bracket. This means you COULD play within your regular bracket or you could be a SL 2 playing a SL8. In Pierce County, where we played, they typically don't have enough people to throw a full regular board. At least that's been MY experience.
At any rate, we went down and settled in for some practice time. The two guys I carpooled with had never been to City Lights (or Malarkey's as it's now known)so they definitely needed the chance to learn the tables since they are smaller than what we normally play on. Noon came around and as I expected there wasn't enough for a regular board. Actually we only had six of the eight so we waited to see if any more players would show. By 1pm we had 7 and couldn't wait much longer. Everyone agreed to a mixed board and payed their entry fee. As I signed my entry in, I noticed that everyone else was pretty evenly matched. Lots of SL5's, an SL4 and a SL6. I was the lone SL2. I momentarily felt bad, but nervously ponied up to play my match. I honestly didn't think I had much chances on winning, but would give it my best shot. After all... I DID wear this shirt to play in...
I settled into my first match. It was against Cal, one of the guys I carpooled with and he was an SL4. Luckily, one of the players waiting to play was John H who was a great encouragment at the qualifier I played a few weeks ago. He reminded me to relax and play my game. To slow down and take my time. To say I was nervous didn't even COVER IT! LOL But apparently, I was doing better that I realized. John called Match end and I was done! When I looked at the scoresheet, I had one straight out by 5 balls! If you're not familiar with APA pool, each skill level in 9 ball has a set number of balls to make. It's a weird math formula that takes in account your last few matches and how you did. Each of the 9 balls is worth 1 point except for the 9 ball which is worth 2. At an SL 2, I only need to make 19 points. But as an SL 4, Cal needs to make 31 points. To say I won straight out means that when I scored my 19th point, Cal only had 14... Can we say wow?!?!
My next match was against a SL5 who did well in his first match. I was impressed and even more nervous, but luckily he wasn't on top of his game and got frustrated easily which affected how he played. He unfortunately didn't buckle down soon enough to win and I moved on to the final match! And THAT was the most challenging...it was against my friend and teammate Ryan. A great easy going guy, I knew it would be a challenge because he was good AND I knew I had a tendency to lose focus and forget that this was a tournament and not just everyday shoot around. I persevered and in the end I beat him!
Next step is the Regional Level Shootout in Salem. When I get there, I'll be playing within my own skill level, so I need to be more on top my game! Wish me Luck!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Three things you didn't know about me...
Here's what you're supposed to do...and please do not spoil the fun. Copy, paste in your notes, delete my answers and type in your answers. Then tag a few good friends! Don't forget to tag the person that tagged you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little known things about each other.
A. Three Names I go by
1. Liana
2. Auntie
3. ana
B. Three Jobs I have had in my life
1. Housekeeping
2. Partylite Consultant
3. Technical Support
C. Three Places I have lived
1. Fairfield, CA
2. Virginia Beach, VA
3. Texas
D. Three TV Shows that I watch
1. John and Kate plus 8
2. Dinner Impossible
3. Big Daddy's House
E. Three non-US places I have been
1. Belgium
2. Germany
3. France
F. Three favorite foods
1. Spaghetti
2. Sushi
3. Ice Cream
G. Three friends I think will repost
1. Carolyn
2. Veronica
3.
H. Three things I am looking forward to
1. Paying my last Citi-bill
2. Partylite Meetings
3. Atlanta this summer
A. Three Names I go by
1. Liana
2. Auntie
3. ana
B. Three Jobs I have had in my life
1. Housekeeping
2. Partylite Consultant
3. Technical Support
C. Three Places I have lived
1. Fairfield, CA
2. Virginia Beach, VA
3. Texas
D. Three TV Shows that I watch
1. John and Kate plus 8
2. Dinner Impossible
3. Big Daddy's House
E. Three non-US places I have been
1. Belgium
2. Germany
3. France
F. Three favorite foods
1. Spaghetti
2. Sushi
3. Ice Cream
G. Three friends I think will repost
1. Carolyn
2. Veronica
3.
H. Three things I am looking forward to
1. Paying my last Citi-bill
2. Partylite Meetings
3. Atlanta this summer
Am I really THAT bad?
jeez..I said a week and somehow it evolved into a MONTH! Oddly enough, I had lots of peope message me in other formats about my post, but no one commented! Thus, the RAK'd gas card goes on the back burner for an opportunity later.
It's the Monday after Easter and I'm on my "lunch" hour. Oddly enough, the calories from breakfast were sustaining enough that I'm not really hungry now. I may make an english muffin later, but for now I'm good. Last fall, Washington State brought out this new rule where restaurants have to post the calorie count on their food products. Can I say how much that sucks to order at Jack in the Box and discover that their Denver Breakfast Bowl is OVER SEVEN HUNDRED CALORIES?!? That means paired with my Large smoothie, I ate my calorie count for the day before it barely started! Guess that means the gym tonight? ;)
Speaking of which, I found a GREAT workout area on my comcast On Demand. They've got their own website where you can download the workouts too! ExerciseTV.tv had programs like Cardioke where Billy Blanks son combined singing, working out and dancing. VERY cute and they included young and old, and various sizes in their TV workout group. I actually sat through that one though bc I had just done two other workouts. They had a short 13 minute AM Yoga one that I did which was a good. It was more intensive than the Yoga workout I do weekly with a live teacher, but still nice. They also had a "beginner hip hop" one that was fun. All in all, I did almost an hour of cardio and how good it felt! However, apparently I worked up a decent enough sweat where DH gently suggested I go shower when he got home from errands. LOL.
I also got a call this weekend from my Aunt though. Her eldest child is graduating this year and she wants to make sure she stays on top of everything. She wanted to enlist my help on invitation construction for her graduate and my other cousin who is also graduating. She's good on planning which is good. That way the kids don't get "last minute crap". Her son also just got his driver's license, So I thought I'd send him this card. It wasn't planned out, but the end result turned out rather nice.
cardstock: Bazzil
guitar and sentiment: CTMH
patterned paper: DCMV summer stack
It's the Monday after Easter and I'm on my "lunch" hour. Oddly enough, the calories from breakfast were sustaining enough that I'm not really hungry now. I may make an english muffin later, but for now I'm good. Last fall, Washington State brought out this new rule where restaurants have to post the calorie count on their food products. Can I say how much that sucks to order at Jack in the Box and discover that their Denver Breakfast Bowl is OVER SEVEN HUNDRED CALORIES?!? That means paired with my Large smoothie, I ate my calorie count for the day before it barely started! Guess that means the gym tonight? ;)
Speaking of which, I found a GREAT workout area on my comcast On Demand. They've got their own website where you can download the workouts too! ExerciseTV.tv had programs like Cardioke where Billy Blanks son combined singing, working out and dancing. VERY cute and they included young and old, and various sizes in their TV workout group. I actually sat through that one though bc I had just done two other workouts. They had a short 13 minute AM Yoga one that I did which was a good. It was more intensive than the Yoga workout I do weekly with a live teacher, but still nice. They also had a "beginner hip hop" one that was fun. All in all, I did almost an hour of cardio and how good it felt! However, apparently I worked up a decent enough sweat where DH gently suggested I go shower when he got home from errands. LOL.
I also got a call this weekend from my Aunt though. Her eldest child is graduating this year and she wants to make sure she stays on top of everything. She wanted to enlist my help on invitation construction for her graduate and my other cousin who is also graduating. She's good on planning which is good. That way the kids don't get "last minute crap". Her son also just got his driver's license, So I thought I'd send him this card. It wasn't planned out, but the end result turned out rather nice.
cardstock: Bazzil
guitar and sentiment: CTMH
patterned paper: DCMV summer stack
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