Hylte... GRRRRR!

Well, it was a disappointing 4-hour trip out to Hylte yesterday. We'd had a pretty decent week of practice, and though I wasn't quite feeling 100% (slightly under the weather, and sore knees) I felt as though we were in a good position to take down top-ranked Hylte.

Unfortunately from the very start things looked grim. Believe it or not they jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the first set. It was frightening almost how luckily they were able to dig balls and time after time smack them to the floor, uncontested. They were a well-oiled machine just playing good, consistent volleyball. We finally managed to side-out and actually did a pretty good job battling back to gain some momentum. Obviously the set was far out of reach though, and we lost 19-25.

It's incredible how easy it is to play good, consistent volleyball though when everyone plays "good enough" and everyone contibutes. No one stood out in particular, but we played great sideout volleyball in sets 2 and 3 winning both of them 25-21, 25-22 respectively. The highlight of those sets came at the final point of set 3 when I was one-on-one blocking their best hitter and made a huge move into the seem and BA-BOOM - THUNDERCLAMP FOR THE WIN! I wasn't hitting particularly well and it was good to finally do something noteworthy.

Set 4 was a display of solid sideout volley. Each team traded serves and smashes, blocks and errors. We passed extraordinarily well. I maybe had one ball that wasn't perfect, though I can't actually recall one. I actually served pretty well too. No aces, but I did crack a couple and surprised even myself. It came down to the final swings and we lost 22-25 sending the match into game 5.

We haven't had very much success winning 5-game matches, but I suppose we are getting better. We won the first point when I got a set from Dave that I buried down the line - you have to win the first point to give yourself a CHANCE in the 5th in my book. We traded point 'til about 7 when they jumped ahead two, 7-9. No good. They were a few spirts that looked like we might make it back into the game, and even the final ball had Tarik's hands all over a big kill on a block that landed just out of bounds. We lost 13-15. Truly a bummer.

It was a good showing for us, as obviously we weren't expected to win, but it sure would have been nice to come out on top of this one. The worst part was the drive home. I dozed off a few times, only to wake up at everyone one of our 4 stops (Why so many? who knows??? I just wnated to get home). It was a late night and I didn't feel well at all by the time we got back. I didn't sleep very well last night either. I was up at 8am and couldn't go back to sleep. Today is our day off and it'll be a long day of laying in bed with the computer on my lap.

Anyway, we're moving forward. We play Sater on Thursday night and have the weekend off (YAY!).

Good to be Back

I had my window open this afternoon, the sun beating down on my back as I read in my chair - a mild glimpse of what I'll hopefully have the chance to experience more in spring. The ground is wet from fresh rains and melted snow - clear skies and a million stars tonight. This of course is a GREAT change from the weather when I stepped off the plane on my return to Sweden. Our plane landed and taxied to the wrong terminal, so we had to descend a mobile staircase and jump on buses to go over to the international terminal for passport processing. I don't know how we actually landed, because the instant I stepped outside the plane I was blanketed with a sheet of snow. Both sides of my glasses were splotched with white flakes and my beard and jacket were quickly wet. I couldn't see more than 200 meters (once I wiped my glasses) and my tush was frozen in no time. Welcome home, huh?

By the time I had arrived in Vingaker after the 2 hour train ride I was ready for a nap. That nap quickly turned into a full-scale hibernation that lasted 17 hours, broken in two be a quick venture over the gym for a 2 hour practice. I'm pretty sure I slept through that too.

I think I am fairly re-adjusted by now and actually managed to have a long, successful day today. I was up at 6:30, checking email and doing a little web-surfing. Dave and I coached at the local middle school from 9-12. We have classes again tomorrow, this time for four hours. It's a long day in the gym and we have many more of these days coming up the next 3 weeks. Fun fun.

Today was Maria's birthday. She's the dishwashing girl in the restaurant downstairs. She had some brain trauma or something a few years back as a result of a team handball accident and is a little slow now, but always has a smile on her face. She loves when Dave and I sing to her. Anyway, I had cake this afternoon which I think upset my stomach. This was on further exacerbated by Maddis who insisted Dave and I come over for dinner tonight. We had DELICIOUS cheeseburgers that made me feel right at home, followed by yet ANOTHER cake for MY birthday. Very sweet of her, but as some of you may know, I'm NOT a sweets person so my stomach is no tied up in knots.

We spent a few hours at her house watching Sweden play Germany in a team handball match. Dave and I discussed it and we're prepared to begin our second professional careers as handball players for the US National Team. Watch out Beijing! Time to grease up the old cannon and let 'er rip!

I had a wonderful visit at home - incredible how the week flew by, but Michelle's wedding was absolutely beautiful and I had an awesome time. All the pictures everyone’s been sharing have been so much fun to go through - even the few with Kacie crying in my arms. She'll learn. ;) It was really, very nice to see all the family I missed at Christmas time. It would have been nice to have spent a LITTLE bit more time relaxing around the fire and TV for some football, but you can't do it all, right? I did receive some incredibly generous birthday gifts! Thank you Uncle Rod and Teta Von, Teta Joan, all my sisters and their hubbies (crazy, two of them are married now!), and thanks mom and dad! (I REALLY hope I didn't forget anyone - it's late and I'm extremely tired!). Mom rocked the house, hookin' it up with a sweet under armor pullover and some rainbows. Gotta hand it to you mom, you rock! Thanks everyone for making my stay at home so great. Awesome to see all my friends too! They're the best - it honestly felt like I hadn't been gone at all!

It's great to be back. I must admit I thoroughly enjoy the tranquil, slow life I live here. As we drove into Vingaker tonight from Maddis' it was remarkable just how peaceful it was. There wasn't a soul on the street, and not a car in sight. It's so nice to go about my business free of the stresses that LA causes. The Swedes don't understand how I can love it here so much, but they've warmly welcomed me back - nice to know they still want me around.

Volleyball is interesting. Shaking off the rust from the week off. I managed to do a little something to my knee the first day back - no idea how or what it is, but I figure it'll be good to go by Sunday when we play league-leading Hylte. Be at your best when your best is needed right? LET'S DO THIS THING! I'll do my best to stay updated here - until then, Heath Ledger RIP.

Puss Puss.

Blue Skies

I just had to share that I woke up this morning to the SUN shining across my bedroom. There are BLUE SKIES with swiftly moving clouds. The ground is still well from the rains and the melting snows. It's the most beautiful day I've spent in Sweden.

Oh, and we were on the front page of the newspaper this morning. Go VVK!

Bouncing Back

Well, after our disturbing performance in the Grand Prix, we seriously needed to jump-start the second half of our season. We opened tonight at home against Sollentuna, the team we lost to in the bronze medal match of the GP. With Erik out with his knee injury we had to seriously mix things up in order to be productive. We ended up going with 4 outside hitters, Dave setting from the middle blocker position. We had to alter our passing line-ups and our hitting arrangements, and it was going to take some serious focus to make sure we were not continually out of rotation.

The starting line-up looked something like this:
Linus Tarik Dave - front row
Tobey Vedad Paul - back row

And ROTATE!

Dave has been sick the past 3 or 4 days but pulled it together to get out there and give us even a chance! During time outs and between games he had a jacket on and was pounding water. He threw up a little in his mouth some point during game 2. Serious Canadian Warrior! He actually did a tremendous job blocking in the middle, leading the team with 3 blocks.

I don't know what it was - maybe the crab-meat pasta we had before the match, but we KILLED IT!!! The first game FLEW by as we served aces and sided-out close to perfect. Perhaps focusing on the rotations took our minds off the actual game-play, but we were on fire. We played fast, controlled volleyball. We made few errors and rocked their block, pounding kill after kill. Linus was on FIRE!! He was getting UP. He'd sit in the air, wait for the ball to get to him, then turn down the line and THUMP it in front of the defender time and time again. He nailed their setter HARD in the chest. They just got out of the way after that. We brought some serious THUNDER!

Our play stayed almost perfectly consistent and we swept them 25-19, 27-25, 25-23. We scored the clutch points in the end and sealed the win. The crowd was going nuts. Everyone contributed, everyone played well.

I had a stellar match, and as Vildan put it "my best match yet." While I'm not totally sure I agree with him, I put up some impressive numbers. I made just 3 errors the whole night (serving and hitting) and registered 16 points in the first 2 sets alone! At one point I had 3 consecutive kills off the pipe, out of the backrow. I was blasting hands, finding the floor, hitting perfectly. I finished with 19 points on 17 kills, an ace, and a block. I had 3 kills on 3 swings in the final set. It was beautiful. I was named player of the match. Linus finished with 13 points and the rest between 5 and 7.

After the match the VVK director came over to me and congratulated me. He said it simply, in a simple Swedish accent, "Awesome!" I had seen him earlier at lunch in the hotel and he was concerned about our chances. He said to me then, "you'll be fighting alone tonight, huh?" With so many injuries and illnesses no one thought we had much of chance, but it's pretty cool how the town still shows up to matches. In any case, Vingaker is happy again, at least until Sunday when we play our next match. Are we having fun yet or what?

Well My Goodness

Well I can't believe it's been as long as it has since I last wrote; I can't believe as much has happened in the past few weeks too! We've had LOTS going on including my Swedish Christmas experience, a visit from a special someone, New Years, some sight-seeing in Stockholm, the Grand Prix and my anxious wait until my week-long vacation home.

First off, no one does Christmas like Sweden: the 24th is spent much like an American Christmas, around the table with family, food and presents - real Christmas cheer. But the 25th is an all-out PAR-TAY!!!! After a brief meal with Dave at Maddis' we came back to the hotel to quickly dawn our finest and head over to Roban's (our libero) place for a little early-evening gathering of teammates and local Swedish girls (I say girls because few of them are over 20). Not long afterward everyone aged 18 to 25 (with some exceptions of course) that live in Vingaker pile into cabs and cars and drive into Katrineholm, the next city to the west. Here, everyone from these two towns gathers in one massive night club for a giant party. There were something like 1300 people crowded into this place which felt more like mardi-gras than Christmas. We were out late, dancing the night away. It was a blast.

Santa Clause was a little late this year for me. Alex showed up with bags big enough to fill Santa's sleigh just one day later, the 26th. My buddies Bullin and Vildan made the 2 and a half hour journey to Arlanda, Stockholm to pick up the tuckered traveler. But, Little Miss Clause came bearing gifts for more than just me and ushered in a renewed sense of holiday cheer. My family and friends sent me some really GREAT toys and treats - a few I haven't been able to put down or stop eating!

We spent our first couple of days relaxing, including visiting a nice spa club in orebro with the team. While Alex was a bit ill-prepared for the trip, I enjoyed the massage chairs, the sauna, and the hot tub to their full extent.

New Years was right around the corner and after a few practices to keep our volleyball wits and a trip to the liquor store we were ready to ring in the New Year. We HAD planned on going out to the local ski resort to stay in a cabin and do some sledding, but with the absence of snow, we found it a little more difficult than we would have liked. Instead, we headed over to Tobey's parent's house here in Vingaker for a night of games and FIREWORKS!!! We had dinner (prepared by the family Basic - my "family" here), then had a few drinks, a few laughs, a few games and songs, then the BIG BANG! New Years here is done right! The snow had begun to fall that day so there was a soft blanket of about 4 inches everywhere! Just before midnight everyone in town was outside lighting off fireworks. The sky was lit with the whole spectrum of colors. Tobey was our fire chief, regulating the fireworks as they exploded off his front lawn. Up they went one after the other, bursting above our heads all around. It was truly stellar! We started our countdown with bottles of champagne at the ready and at "one," off went the finale firework display - fired from a giant firework launcher, double the size of a coffee can. We sang songs, smoked cigars, and poured one out for the homies. It was spectacular. We wrapped up the night back at the hotel around the pool table some time near 5am. We slept most of New Year's Day.

On the 2nd day of the New Year Alex and I jumped on a train into Stockholm. We left Vingaker about 4pm, not knowing exactly where we going, how we would get there, or where we would end up - real American tourists - but we were excited and armed with cameras!! We arrived in Stockholm about and hour and a half later and ventured through the city. We found our hotel room and then spent about 2 hours trying to find a place to eat. It hadn't stopped snowing since New Year's Eve so the city was caked in white - a frozen palace. Stockholm is perhaps one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen - of those which my humble eyes have laid upon. I thoroughly enjoy its scenery, however, over the likes of Venice and Rome, and dare I say Los Angeles? We spent a wonderful evening together walking the narrow corridors, trying to ice skate, throwing snowballs, and planning our next day.
We enjoyed an incredible breakfast that morning in the hotel before hitting the streets. It had dumped even more snow that night while we slept and the gusty winds made it absolutely FREEZING outside. We braved the cold and stepped out onto a ferry that took from one island to another. I can't say their names, let alone spell them, so I won't bother.

Here are the two of us on the boat all bundled up! We decided we had to take it all in, so we actually sat outside on the boat's deck. We took lots of pictures and video to capture the moment. BRR!!


Our first stop was the Aquarium. Why? I don't know! We were typical tourists, I told you! Naturally, the aquarium was not as fantastic as some we see in the states, but they did have a very cool, life-like rainforest that you could walk through. The bridge lead directly over a pool of piranhas. Don't get too close!

After the aquarium I'm proud to say we made our way over the Vasa Museum. The Vasa is an old Swedish ship that sunk on its maiden voyage out of Stockholm harbor. It was raised from the bottom of the ocean after 333 years and was almost perfectly preserved! The ship now stands in its own museum and is reconstructed with nearly 96% of its original pieces. The picture is a little fuzzy. I was in charge of taking the video. Alex has TONS of pictures on her fancy-shmancy camera! The ship is truly remarkable, and we spent well over an hour walking the 6 different floors of the museum dedicated solely to the ship.

We spent the remainder of the day walking around the city, hoping to do a little shopping, but time flew and we had to be back to Vingaker because I had practice that night! Can I tell you how tired we were?? Moving on!!!

THE GRAND PRIX WAS NOT SO GRAND!!!
After struggling desperately to make the tournament Vingaker Volleyball Klub STRUGGLED to say the least. The Grand Prix is a big deal here in Sweden - bigger than winning the actual championship. The winning club receives a ton of money, a birth in some international cup, and some serious bragging rights. Our first match was against SUPER-powerhouse Falkenberg and no joke, they smashed us. It didn't help that the 3 days prior to the tournament Tobey, one of our middle blockers, came down with the stomach flu. None of us really expected him to play. If any one of our starters is out we have a serious problem retaining the same level of play. Tobey managed to get out there and do a decent job, but not 3 plays into the game, Erik, our other middle, came down funny and twisted his knee - out. Still out. WHO KNOWS how long it will be??? The docs don't appear to be REAL adept to dealing with these sorts of things. Anyway, we tried our darndest, I got a lot of sets and lead the team with 11 points. I don't want to know how the other guys on the team did. It's not worth going into detail. They wiped the floor with us, beating us in 3, 25-18, 25-17, 25-20. Regardless, I managed to have some fun. The crowd wasn't as big as I thought it would be, but it was entertaining to say the least. I did what I could to help out the team and in the end could only chuckle.

Perhaps the most miserable part of the weekend was not losing, but having to wake up to play the next morning. The bronze medal match was at 9:30am on Sunday!!! Why so early??? Again, WHO KNOWS?? There were matches all day for the different divisions, but the last was played at 4:00. Why not push it all back? WHO KNOWS?? Anyway, we out on the floor by 8 getting ready to play Sollentuna. Sollentuna is an ugly team with some not so friendly guys. We've beaten them twice already this year, once in the regular season (in 5) and again in the Swedish Cup (in 3). In the regular season we were one of their two losses. With Erik out, and the match not really meaning much (in Dave and my eyes), we started a different line-up, letting Vedad get some reps in place of Linus, and Thomas in at opposite for Tarik. Dave, Tobey and I were the only regular starters. Hampus filled in at the other middle spot - ouch.

Again, THE GRAND PRIX WAS NOT SO GRAND!!! These guys smacked us around like a twirling tetherball. Our passers couldn't pass. Our hitters couldn't hit. The scores were a LITTLE better than the day before: 25-22, 25-23, 27-25. Fortunately I showed up to save us from total embarrassment, again leading the team, this time with a respectable 18 points in the 3 game loss. I got just about every-other set, but as you see it wasn't enough. I switched to opposite in game 3 which seemed to help, but we all the saying "too little too late."

In the end, Hylte upset Falkenberg in a 5 game thriller. I actually received a few good words on the volleyball website here http://www.volleyboll.se/. I finished 3rd in total points for the weekend behind a first place tie - not too shabby. Apparently I turned the head of the Falkenberg coach, or so someone told me. Big whoop, right? The biggest bummer is we play Sollentuna in our first match back to start the second half of the regular season. Did I mention that's tomorrow? Oh! YEAH! Tomorrow at 7pm in the Vidakerhallen!! VVK vs. SOLLENTUNA.

It should be interesting. After the Grand Prix Roban got sick with the stomach flu, then Dave has been sick the last 3 days with a 102 degree temperature. RAD!! So we're going to run an interest line-up tomorrow and see how it pans out. Luckily (don't worry mom), I've been taking care of myself, drinking lots of water and LOTS of milk, trying to get down some veggies, and staying up on my airborne. The LAST thing I need right now is to get sick!! I mean HELLO!!!! I'm coming home in 5 days!!!

I'm anxiously awaiting the moment I get to sink my teeth into that sloppy Double-Double Animal Style with 2 milks, then the Taco Bell Burrito, followed by the Del Taco Spicy-Jack Quesedilla. Maybe I'll have time to slither some SUSHI down my throat, binge on a Baja Burrito, and maybe have a little.....LOS TOROS!?!?!?!!?? Can't forget Carl's Jr. and the SHACK! Subway still eatin' fresh? MMMMMMMMMMM I can't wait! Oh, and yeah, I'm sure the wedding will be a blast!

Well, Alex made it home safely, arriving there last night around 11 (8am this morning my time). Like I said, we had a busy couple weeks while she was here and I think she even had a good time. It will be nice to get settled down here again, maybe clean my room? Anyway, I'll have lots of pictures to share when I get home if you're interested! Sorry I couldn't share more here, but Alex has most of them. See you all soon!