So as you can see from the pics I am officially the UGLY (Understanding-Generous-Likeable-You) Bartender for the Casuarina Sports Club! As I was at work a few days ago this lady named Shelly who works for the Leukemia Foundation approached me about representing the Cas Club to be the UGLY bartender, so without any delay I said I'd love to do it. She then told me about the foundation itself and what the goals of this contest/fund raiser are going to be. Basically I try to raise as much money as possible through different events that I plan out at the Cas Club. It can be raffles, pool tournaments, Kareoke nights, etc... And whatever money is made from those events will go straight to the foundation. All money has to be turned in by Dec.1st so it's really only about a month and a half of time to raise as much as possilbe. We also get a bar mat that says "I'm UGLY i need your help!" and some tips jars and posters to hang up around the bar so people know whats going on and can help the cause. If I can raise over a $1,000 then I will be entered into a drawing to win a bunch of prizes/vacations, so it should be a lot of fun.
I've been wanting to do something for the community of Darwin (outside of bball) while I'm here and have been lazy with really trying to get involved. So I felt like this was God's way of saying "here's a good opportunity for you!" I hope I can put a lot into this and really help make a difference for a few people here in Darwin that need help.
On another note. We had a bball game this past Tuesday and I told coach I was ready to play but wasn't 100% quite yet. The ankle was more like 80%, still a little tender when making cuts and lateral movements. So I started off playing about 3-4 minutes in the first half, and it wasn't a pretty half for the Eagles. We were playing a team that's been having trouble winning games, but they are hungry for a win. At halftime the game was about a 5pt lead for us. Going into the second half coach Wombat looked at Bobby (his leg had been bothering him, so he wasn't playing much either) and myself and said "Soooooo how does it feel, can you guys go more or what??" So we said "yeah, lets do it." We finally pushed the lead up to 20pts at one moment then it slowly drizzled away and we were stuck in a dog fight with less than 4 minutes to go. It finally came down to 19 seconds and we had the ball, tie game, Bobby was dribbling around up top and waiting to make a move. He then dribbled to my side and kicked it in to me. I made a move and got fouled with 7 seconds left! With no hesitation i knocked down both free throws to go up 2 points! ICE IN MY VAINS BABY! The other team called a timeout and got to advance the ball to half court. We had 2 fouls to give and decided to foul them as soon as they passed in the ball, before they could get a shot off. To run the clock down of course. Well after we made our 2 fouls the clock was left at 3 seconds and their final inbounds was a turnover and that was it! We escaped with a close victory, but that's all that matters. We are now 9-3 and in 3rd place but only 1 loss behind 2nd and 2 losses behind 1st. So the top of the ladder is a close competition. I finished the game with 28 points and 12 rebounds. I think I only had about 7 points in the first half and then went on a killing spree in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter. But that's when it's time to take the "CLAMPS" out and shut things downnnnnn baby! hahaha
Anyway the ankle is feeling better and hopefully after another week of rest I will be 100% for our next game. This is a very important game because we are playing the #2 team who beat us prettY badly last time around, so we're out for revenge. Plus this is Colin's team (my buddy from Seattle who's out here with me), so that always makes for some good ol' trash talking :)
Work is still work and it's just motoring right along no problem. I get to start my "school sessions" this week finally. I will have 3 schools for this whole semester until Christmas break, one Monday, Tuesday and one Thursday. It will always be the same school at the same time. They are a one hour session and will just consist of teaching some bball skills and playing lots of games. The goal is to get kids interested in not only basketball but the idea of being active. So it should be a lot of fun, plus I'm getting $40 an hour so that's not bad either lol!
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately as I always have time either at work when it's dead, or on my bike ride to the gym, or just as I lay in my bed before I shut things down for the night. This life can be sooooooo crazy/fun/boring/frustrating/awesome/stressful/exciting at times that we can forget to be thankful for the many day to day blessings in our life. I am very thankful for the family, friends, opportunities and struggles that I have in my life everyday. If it wasn't for those people and times I know I wouldn't be who I am and where I am today. There's a quote by Charles Swindoll that says "life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it". I've always liked that quote and thought it made a lot of sense. You can always take something positive from a negative situation, BUT that all depends on how you react to it...
Before I wrap this post up I wanna give a shout out to the Henley fam as they have recently had a tragic loss in their family. You all are in my thoughts and prayers. Please say a prayer for the family...
Until tomorrow...
"Make it Happen"
No comments:
Post a Comment