- I suppose an update is long overdue - Tuesday, December 07, 2004 Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Back to back world cups can wear you out! Of course, a 4 hour plane ride from Chicago to Cali isn't a picnic - add to that a 5 1/2 hour drive to Sac, and that just about did me in! Before I go on, I want to say a big "I Love You" to Lupes, and despite the passing of her beloved grandmother, she's been going strong. Lupes, Madison wasn't a world cup without you. Well, Madison was fun. Although, one of the highlights was this lunatic Polak that took us in from the frozen streets of Chicago, and said, "Hey, get in this house before you ruin my reputation in this town..." So grateful that she let us crash at her fabulous pad, and what a tour guide/hostess! I mean, she directed us to the ghetto in a matter of minutes, had us bowling in 23 ft of snow, and then told us it would be hot going by Navy Pier, so suggested we were shorts and tank tops. Now, we drove by Navy Pier about 345 times. Call me a Californian, but I never felt the heat. Actually, I was so numb, I couldn't feel anything. Oh, and the Polak knows how to pick 'em, cuz C.P.A.B is one cool kat. You know you're in when the blonde/short jokes start flyin' within the first 15 mins of meeting. Molly and I spent some great nights roaming around Chicago at night. Took some fun pictures of us with the hotels and high-rises in the background. Beautiful place to visit. I must give shout outs to our girls, Tiasha and Janie. Man, what a wild last night in Madison we encountered! You guys are so much fun, and most importantly, just plain real people. Speaking of real people, I just love our US ladies. They've been underrated for so long, and are really working their asses off this season and giving the world something to look at. It was wonderful to get in some good chats with Allison and Bridie (B, I wish now I could have come to Canada!) and got to meet Allison's parents for the first time. Super great people, and you can tell they love and are so proud of their daughter. Again, I think the minute the short jokes begin you know you're 'in', since Allison took her turn at me - standing next to her she laughed, "Hey, I never realized how short you are!". I then showed her that I was even wearing heels. Yikes. But I have a special short track corner of my heart for Hyo-Jung "Hallie" Kim. This chick (along with Allison) was on FIYAH in Madison, and her style is very similar to a certain Japanese-American we all know and love. I remember hugging Hyo-Jung before she went out to the podium to receive her first Gold. Later that weekend, I talked with her at the banquet. I wasn't quite sure if she remembered me, but I asked and she said "Of course! From the lunch in CS." I just had to have a pic with her, and now it's one of my fav comp pics: It's amazing watching these athletes grow and continue to blow our minds on the ice.

posted by April @ 7:19 PM 0 Comments: Post a Comment << Home