Wet-Ball!

Hello, reader's, I am finally back from my aweso- my basketball camp at George Fox university. I never thought I would say I was tired of basketball, but after that I might not touch one until my next basketball camp. Don't freak out, but I think, right now, I am leaning towards not liking basketball. I know! Here is my story.

Well there I was sitting on my couch bed, in my really small dorm. I looked around the room and took it all in. It was the first time I had really been alone all day, but it was worth it. My roomate was in the bathroom, taking a shower and all the other kids had finally stopped dribbling there f***ing ball down the hallway's. Before, I was laying down, trying to relax, but I couldn't, due to the bouncing of the balls.

My roomate came into the room and almost immediately turned off the light and got in his purple sleeping bag. I decided that I liked him. All the other people that I have stayed with at a camp have been the kind of kids who wake up at 7 without an alarm, and decide that they are bored, so they wake you up. I hate those people.

I tried to shut my eyes, but I couldn't at all. I couldn't go to sleep, so I thought about my day. We left at 12:30 and when we were on the road we listened to mom and Thomas' valentines cd. It was beyond sappy. We got to the main building at about 1:30 and we got into a long line, to sign me up, or rather to check me in. We went to find my dorm, and than found out that we had to drive to the high school because there was a bell choir staying in there. We dropped my stuff off at the dorm and drove to a gym that was at a different high school.

Once we got there we quickly found out that we needed to have my ball, even though the list said that we didn't. (flip off, flip off.) We than, drove back to the dorm and got my ball.

We were all separated into groups and I was in the 3rd one. Our group went to a big gym, right across from the one that we were in. I took a moment to look at all the coaches and coaching staff. For privacy purposes I will not use there real names. There was a really, really white one named marion berry. Now, when I say white, I mean, white. He was wearing his socks really high and his shirt was tucked into his shorts and his shorts were pulled up to his belly button.

There was a really fit one who seemed to be pretty good, a short one, and another short one, who was the one yelling at us at that moment.

I am not going to tell you everything about camp, just the general stuff and the highlights. The cafeteria was in the back of the main building and it was a really big room. We would get in a line and get a trey and some silverware. We got to get our own drink and everything, it was like a buffet. I thought that the food was going to be good, boy was I wrong. The food was basically freeze dryed grease. It sucked balls.

When we were in the gym, when ever someone would make a 3 someone would always yell out wet-ball. It got really annoying after a while. Every 2 seconds you would hear someone yell, WET-BALL!

That is why I named this blog after it, because it was the word that I heard the most.

The next cool thing that I did was on Tuesday night, we did this thing called intensity night. It is where we do all this work out stuff like push ups, mushroom hops, super-man's, mini holes, what have you. I got the best work out that I think I have ever had... ever! It was so intense. I sweat through my entire under shirt and I was so tired that after a while it was a rest to do push-ups.

The next thing I want to say is that I learned a lot at this camp, but I didn't really like it that much.

The last thing I want to say before this is over is that I thought it was only going to be a little catholic. Wooi mama. I was wrong. there are bible quotation's everywhere you looked and on the last night a speaker came and he made us ask god to save our mortal soul. Yes, we were forced to pray.

In discussion groups we were asked to say how god has effected our life and I said that i didn't have a story and I wasn't really religious, and the coach said that if I wanted to live my life like that, "so be it." I feel so bad!

Wet-ball!

Me and My Daddy,

I just want to start by saying that I will not be blogging until Thursday, when I arrive back from my, supposed to be awesome, basketball camp. I will share my journals and the feeling of having a real shower after 5 days of sweating. Do they have showers at colleges? I hope so because I can barely stand myself after 1 game of basketball. In the words of grandma, "Sssss!"

Today was the day where my daddy was supposed to come over, and he did and it was awesome. He got to our front door at about 10 and that surprised me because, on days that he hasn't partied, he usually gets up at around 1. He told me that his bag had gotten stolen, and that made me mad because he was writing a story that I wanted to read.

We were going to watch the world cup game, but I decided that I wanted to go play basketball, and my father followed suit. I taught him some of the basics, of how to hold the balls and how to dribble them and how to hold them, while your dribbling them. I have to say that he got pretty good, at least the way he shot got better. He looked like some people that i know who are pretty good.

When we came back in, the world cup game was on and so we watched that for a while. My dad fell asleep, and eventually got to taking a nap. He was asleep for such a long time, that I went out to play and than came in, watched television, and after that he was still sleeping.

Once he woke up, me and my father went out and started to haul dirt and we realized one huge problem, we had to much dirt, and when I say to much dirt I mean that we are going to have 2 cubic feet of dirt in our driveway for the rest of our lives. We did so good, we filled in the bed and now we are okay to plant onions. Yeah!

After that we started to wash Thomas' car, because my dad needed some money. It was so fun to spray that nice blue car with water. So cool.

After that we went down to plaid pantry and me and my father had a really nice chat. All in all it was a nice, last day before basketball camp.

Day #3,

Today pretty much turned out just as I had planned at the beginning of the day. The only thing that really sucked was the draft. It was a whole lot more boring than I had planned. I thought that there was going to be this big draft conspiracy where the number one team traded there picked for the number 2 pick and everyone goes crazy. Turns out not, just an old guy standing there, behind a podium, with the back ground noise of vuvuzela's. And for all of those who don't watch World Cup Soccer (Fifa is a bitch) a vuvuzela is an African noise maker that makes the most annoying sound you will ever hear. It makes you double take whn you turn on a baseball game and hear a vuvuzela. You think "I thought it was the world cup, not the world series." Hahaha thats a knee slapper and bu-dum-sh.

The day started the usual way, I got woken up by the tele-marketers and helped myself to a nice bowl of Apple-Jacks. I deserve to eat food like that after living with my mom for 12 years. Though the other day we did go to KFC and thomas bought me a KFC double down chicken sandwich, but that was ruined when he told me that they grossed HIM out! That totaly sucked, because if a food grosses thomas out you know that it must be made of mustard. Eww.

Anyway, after that I sat on my brown swivel chair and watched countless NBA draft preview shows on countless different channels. I hated listening to the same thing over and over and over again so I tuned it off and played Nerf ball with my new red and purple ball that will probably be lost once i take it to my house. I did this for a few hours until I had a nice lunch of Hebrew national Hot-dogs. they get better every time I eat them. it almost makes me want to make a commercial out of it.

"When I say Hebrew you say National, Hebrew National go blend of meats, usually chicken, beef, pork, or turkey and then meat fat, oatmeal, bread crumbs, various seasonings, and other ingredients. They are then mushed together and put into hot dog molds. Store bought hot dogs are put into cellulose casings, but homemade are usually made of intestines that people try to caaal meat! That might not make sense.

After that encounter I went to the basketball court again to make my self esteem drop again because of the shitty rim that they put there. Grandma made me bring a water bottle this time so instead of drinking out of it i poured it on my head every few minutes to keep cool. No one was there gain today. i thought that they must have been at the pool, but when I checked with grandma I found out that the only pool in Goldendale in history was the one in our back yard. On the way home, while listening to our audiobook I saw the guy who I played basketball with yesterday. He gave me the head nod and me, trying to be as black as my white skin would allow, nodded back.

When we got home I laid on the bed, watching several draft preview shows. it really sucked, even up until the draft too. The draft was so boring in fact, it might still be going on. Oh yeah its still going on and it started at 4:30! Portland got this guy called Elliot Williams. That totally sucked.

just another old day in Goldedale...

*Caution* this post contains lots and lots of sarcasm so don't believe everything you read... good life lesson.

Who am I?

I feel like a completely different person, now that school is over. For one thing I can pretty much just sit on the couch and veg all day. For another I can sleep in and wake up when ever the hell I feel like it. just for the hell of it, I still set my alarm for 7 even though i don't wake up, then. I like the feeling of waking up, thinking it is a school day, realizing its not, and than going back to sleep.

Maybe its just the summer air but I have been having some pretty wacky dreams lately. For example, last night I had a dream that PPs had funded a trip for the entire JMP to go around the moon. Not on, just around. The teacher that would be taking us was, of course, Mr. Groom. Before we got on the rocket he made each of us sign a little waver that said if we die our relatives cannot sue PPS. I signed it. I remember 2 things that were weird from the dream. 1.) I sat next to Anna Claire (one of my worst relations of all time) and we had an argument about how she shouldn't keep her papers in a CD case because it would waste glass. I think that maybe i just wanted to argue with her. 2.) Milo (see "Supporting Cast") had a white computer from the language lab and on the screen was a weird version of the Comcast cable menu.

When I woke up I was unusually oscitant. I think it had something to do with the really weird dreams.

Thomas has been really into watching World Cup soccer in spanish and let me tell you, the people just talk a little fast for me and after a while the voices can get really annoying. oh mi gosh que era uno de los mejores movimientos del futbal de toda la hora. guau! eso era asombroso! and so on. That is the voice that is echoing in our home while I write, read, play basketball etc.

It isn't a bad thing but after a while it can get just a tad bit annoying.

Another thing that I have been doing with my summer break is reading to write. yesterday i went to the library and got 3 boks on writing, editing and fiction. One of them is called Writing Fiction for dummies.

And I have to say it has definitely helped me and so I definitely recommend it to anyone who seeks fiction writing enlightenment.

Thats all the time we have for now.

What is With all the short kids that can kick your ass?

Today as I walked t the park I was eager to get all my energy out before all the rain came in and "rained on my parade." I could see the dark storm clouds in the distance, closing i on me, watching my every move, thinking "hahahaa we are going to get you Eli." It started to sprinkle lightly and i knew that my time was going to be strictly limited due to the cloud. I started to run to escape the rain and as i did, ever so slowly, it started to stop sprinkling and the clouds parted, revealing the bright yellow sun.

As I closed in to the park I could hear the sound of a basketball being dribbled and I thought to myself yes i get to beat somebody and as i turned the corner, that led to the hoops i saw this really short really white kid playing against this girl and beating her. I thought that this guy was going to be beat so bad that he was never going to come back her again. I did my normal "i want to play a game with you" routine. I walked over to his hoop and started to shoot. We make eye contact and he seemed pretty good, he made some shots and made a really cool through the legs lay up, but than things changed.

I went up for a jump shot and I air balled it. He looked at me and said "nice shot," and than he got my ball for me. I said "thanks but i bet you can do better," and he gave me a funny look. He asked me if i wanted to play a game with him and i accepted. He walked over to his friend who was sitting on his bike watching us and said that e should watch him beat the crap out of him. I thought that this kid could never beat me.

I did my normal pre game routine, i told him he could start and i threw the ball in his face to let him know that i meant business. He started by trying to distract me by asking a bunch of questions like what school i went to and how old i was and than i fell for his fake and he went in and made a lay up. I cursed silently because i had never won a game where the other person had scored first and he seemed pretty good, so there was a good chance that that record might still be there when i wake up tomorrow.

He went into the corner and made a really hard contested 3 with my hand in his face and i gave him the ball and we checked. To keep things interesting I started to trash talk him. I asked him how tall he was and he said he was 4"7 and than i told him that was 5"5 and he said that the bigger they are the harder they fall.

"Are you calling me fat?" I asked after that remark. He said no and than he went in and made a lay up. Wow. Every time i play somebody they always fall for my humor and it distracts them and it makes the game easier. but not this guy. If i wanted to win this game I was going to have to go all skill on him. He shot a 3 and aired it which mean that it was my ball, but he said that there was no outs. I said yeah there was, and he said that we could do outs. At this point i was really pissed. He was doing the whole "even though we are going to play by your rules i am still going to kick your ass" routine and I didn't like it.

He gave me the ball at the top of the key. I finally got the ball and so i was going to make something of it. I had noticed that he hadn't done any behind the back moves and so i thought he didn't know that move so I was going to try it on him. I drove to the right and got really close to the rim and did a pump fake go him in the air, did a behind the back move and made a lay up. Even though it was the biggest double dribble of my life he didn't call it.

He gave me the ball at the top of the key and we did the thing all over again. This time I drove left and did a behind the back move but he stole it and he did it fast like he knew it was coming. Man, he adapted fast. Now that I think about it he kind of did look like a guy that would have had no trouble blending in on the Borg Mother Ship.