Definitely Not The Last Straw

I've had this post in my drafts for almost seven months and, what do you know, suddenly it's relevant to my life again! So it's time for Christmas in July. Which is ironic, really, since I'm Jewish. But let's roll with it.

Waaaay back in December (it feels like a different lifetime!), I went to the USA Volleyball Christmas party. It was pretty fantastic, but I mean, after the Halloween party, does this surprise anyone?

Team Jamaica, still friends even after our bobsledding careers were over. ;)

A good chunk of the staff went out together afterwards, and by "went out" I mean "stayed at the same place but at the bar instead of the private room we had the party in." Because really, when the temperature is in the negatives, why go outside? Exactly.

That week we were graced by the presence of Bill Hamiter, the head coach of the women's national sitting volleyball team, who's based in Oklahoma. Since he was in town, he joined us for our holiday festivities. He's incredibly nice and was the life of the party when we were at the bar. He has a veritable arsenal of party tricks that he was showing off and teaching everyone, starting with this straw thing. Wish I had a better name for it, but no, it's just the straw thing.

Basically, you put a straw in your mouth so it's sticking straight out. Only using your mouth -- no hands allowed! -- you turn it sideways and shuffle it along to the other end. Then you turn it so it's sticking straight out again, turn it sideways again, and shuffle it back to where you started. You're essentially trying to rotate the straw 360 degrees.

I promise, it doesn't look or sound difficult until you have the straw in your mouth. 'Cause we all sat/stood around, straws sticking out at odd angles and littering the floor, whining about how we were stuck and couldn't turn it. Eventually most of us were able to turn it at least, but then very few were able to move it from there. That's where I ultimately got stuck; the straw sticking sideways out of my mouth. It was hilariously frustrating and I lamented about how I couldn't do it.

But then someone piped up. "Oh, no, I read your blog. I know how you are. You're going to sit in your room and practice, but never say anything about it. And then in ten years, when you're working at a different NGB and making five times as much money as the rest of us, you're going to have it down and be like, 'Take that, Bill Hamiter!'"

Well... I have not been practicing the straw thing. Whoops?

But there's a reason I wrote this all down immediately after I got home that night. This exchange happened a week or two before my internship ended and I was plunged into my first stint of unemployment. It was cool to know that someone reads my blog, first of all, and it was also really neat to hear that someone thinks that my eventual success is inevitable (though I definitely won't be rubbing anything in Bill Hamiter's face!). It's kind of hard to envision that life right now, while I'm not working anywhere and my big accomplishment for the day is getting out of pajamas and into real clothes. But knowing that other people have faith in me is a pretty nice boost and keeps me feeling positive! (Guys, it's been a week and I'm still riding my optimistic wave! This is UNPRECEDENTED stuff right here!)

For the time being, though...

Welp. Hopefully it doesn't take ten years.