Phase 2 - Day 6 in Asia

Well folks, Day 6 has come and gone. A full day and our last day in Japan.

Woke up to breakfast here in Fukuoka and it was not bad. Eggs, dumplings, pork belly, salad, pancakes and potatoes along with lots of fruit and veggies.

We then had a shootaround at the arena. It is not a bad arena. We went through some things for about 35 minutes and then the girls took shots and some girls did a core workout until 10 when we were finished. We came back to the hotel afterward and I did some tidying up of the China scouting information. Still some left to do. We then had our pregame meal at 11:30 AM. It consisted of little sandwiches, some kind of pork dish, beef steak, potatoes, ugoh, numerous fish choices and some unbelievable corn soup.

Right after lunch we watched some video to prepare for the game. It was relatively short and then we went off to relax. I did some emails and then got ready for the game. I really was looking forward to putting on pants again in high humidity and high 30 degree heat. It wasn't fun. I went down a bit early and chatted with Mr. Taka. A very interesting man who is the secretary general of the Japan Basketball Association. We chatted for about 25 minutes about a number of things regarding basketball.

So we hit the bus and get ready for the game. At the gym, we arrive over an hour before game time and once again the place is half full. They really love their basketball here. So the game starts and it might be the sloppiest/weirdest half of basketball I have seen. Just a back and forth ugly game. Both teams stunk. We got up a bit early but they came back as both teams struggled to do anything right. The half ended with us down by 2. 29-27.

The second half was a tale of two teams. We basically shit the bed for the entire 3rd quarter and they played well. I will also say that the refs were atrocious during the quarter. We got pummelled in the quarter and were down 55-37 at the end. I thought we might fold the tent up but we battled hard to start the 4th quarter and started chipping away. We cut it to 10 with 5 minutes left and then were within 5 with a few minutes left. A few costly turnovers and we ended up losing 68-61. We battled hard but couldn't get out of the hole we had dug. Good point was how hard we battled. Bad point is that we didn't play well earlier and couldn't score.

After the game we waited on the bus for everyone to come out and we were once again bombarded by fans. It was kind of neat. I snapped some pics of them as we drove away.

Back at the hotel we had 1.5 hours until supper so Mike, Allison and I decided to walk up a block to a store we had seen. It was called Ballers Hoop Factory. For years I have searched for the perfect store and I found it in Fukuoka. A complete basketball store. If I had some room in my bags I would have went NUTS in there. I would have bought a few things with my credit card but I am wary as one of the girls bought something 2 days ago and had fraudulent charges on her card yesterday. Not fun. So while I am in the store, in walk 2 little kids. They ask in their best sign language, if they can take their picture with me. I say sure so they go and get their parents. They were at the game and they saw me. They take a few pictures then ask me to sign some things. I thought for a minute, Do they think they met Buddha? I had some fun signing things for them and then of course out comes the 1 yen coin and it eventually becomes a toonie. Another great moment. Once again they can think back to the day they met Santa in a basketball store in Fukuoka.

We headed back afterwards and then head to supper. Last full meal in Japan. They didn't really skimp on things. 5 different kinds of fish including a fish pasta. Fresh sushi, pork, rice , salads, fruit, cream chicken and mushrooms, dumplings and some tremendous tomato soup. A nice pistachio cake for dessert. Not a bad meal.

So now I must repack everything for our trip tomorrow. A busy and tiring schedule.

A brief rundown of tomorrow and the rest of the trip:

Tomorrow

6:45 breakfast with a 7:15 departure for airport

9:50 Flight to Shanghai

10:25 Arrive in Pudong Int'l Airport in Shanghai. then on the bus to another airport in Shanghai

5pm flight to Taiyuan China

7:40 Arrive in Taiyuan

3 hour bus ride to Tunliu China

TOUGH DAY OF TRAVEL

Tuesday is an off day and Wed. we play our first game at 4pm

Thursday is a 6:40 AM bus ride to Changzhi for an 8:50 flight to Beijing. Arrive at 9:50 AM and then bus to Zhangjiakou. Not sure how long that is.

Friday is game 2 then Saturday is an off day. Sunday we play at 6pm

Next comes most likely the toughest day of travel in my life.

Monday August 15th we depart at 6AM with a 7:45 flight to Shanghai.

9:50am arrive

1:30pm depart for vancouver

9:10 AM the same day, arrive in vancouver

1pm approx. fly to toronto arrive at 8:20pm approx.

depart 9:40pm - land in Sydney at 1AM

No idea how long that is but it is over 24 hours of travel. I may not know what day it is or what time it is but I will sleep when I get home. Neat thing is that I get to experience 2 mondays...almost. Craziness.

So now I must pack. Japan is slowly moving past. I can say that it was a tremendous experience here. The people were so friendly, the food was great and the country was beautiful. To Japan and its' people I say a sincere Domo Arigato.

I had a few troubles with my blog when I was in China the last time so I am not sure what internet access or blog access I will have. Hopefully I can keep updating you. We'll see.

Until Tomorrow

Phase 2 - Day 5 in Asia

Konnichiwa from Fukuoka

Today was an interesting day to say the least. So here goes. Woke up in Omura to another warm day. Crazy schedule. 8:30 breakfast then, because we were playing at 2pm, a 10:30 pregame meal. I went at 8:30 and had some OJ and 2 strips of "pork belly" and some scrambled eggs. Also tried a small bowl of an interesting breakfast choice, Beef Stew. Not quite the beef stew we are used to but not bad. Headed back to the room and watched some film with the team. After that, Mike, Allison and I chatted about today's game, about the current national championships being played in Winnipeg and about basketball in general. That took us to about 10:20 so we headed down to be with the team. I tried some noodle type soup and some pork. I also had a sweet corn soup which was fantastic. 2 great soups in two days. Throw a little rice in with it and BAM got yourself a nice bowl of soup.

After lunch, Allison, Livia and I went for a short walk near the hotel. The walks have to be short because in 40+ degree heat, sweating like a pig is not optional. Went into a little kitchen store then we went looking for a watch or a battery for my watch. It died yesterday. So we see this little shop and Livia said she felt we could get a watch there. It said DVD's and stuff on a sign. So in we go. It took us about 30 seconds to figure out that we were in a japanese porn store. Yikes. Not the best when you are representing your country. I knew I couldn't find a watch in there but I did look around for about an hour just to see if I could find one. Just kidding. We went next store to a big variety store and they sold watch straps and alarm clocks but no watches or watch batteries. So we sweated our way back home after that. It was nearly 11:30 and we were leaving at 12:30 so enough time to pack up and grab a quick shower.

If you can imagine 40+ weather in shorts and t-shirt, imagine it in a golf shirt and pants. Christ it was hot. Especially when the hallway windows are left open everyday. I almost swam to the bus. JUmped on and took a few minutes in the air conditioning just to cool down. So off we go to the game. Walk into the gym over an hour before we tip off and there are a few hundred people there already. Fantastic. We hit the court at 2PM and didn't show up until about 2:20. We were the absolute shits for the first few minutes. No passion, no hustle, no execution. We were down 7 with a minute or so left in the 1st quarter and woke up a bit with a few hoops to be down 17-15 after 1 quarter. A little better in the 2nd as we battled a little better. Went into the half down 29-28. Halftime we made a few adjustments and went back at it. We played much better defense and had better offensive spurts to allow us to go up 42-39 after 3. We got up by as much as 7 in the 4th and then they battled back. They tied it at 50 with 3 min. left. It stayed that way for a bit and we went up 56-54 with about 11 seconds left. Timeout China. With their three point shooting we could be in trouble. We told them to challenge all 3's and rebound hard. After a mad scramble they got the ball out deep from the basket in one of their best shooters hands. Her heave left her hands as the time expired. I had a great angle and it was dead straight for the basket. I am thinking we are done. It hits the front of the rim and bounces out. We steal a win 56-54. Needless to say the girls felt very good. We felt the defense was very good but our offense struggled at times and we buried our own energy earlier. Something to work on for sure.

After the game there was quite a delay as two of the girls were helping collect donations for Tsunami relief and there was a lengthy press conference. Mike and I went outside to talk with Japan's assistant coach, Tom. He is from the U.S. and has been coaching for 2 years in Japan after playing here for 10 years. Very interesting guy. He told us about their pro league setup where the players work for corporations that sponsor the team. They have a very rigorous training schedule but get rewarded quite well. Their day consists of 6:30AM wakeup to go and shoot in the gym. 7:30 breakfast. Practice from 10-12 and then 2-5. THey must also do conditioning, have supper and then shoot from 7:30 to 8pm. A hectic and tough schedule.

He also told us that his team was in the playoffs and drove to Fukushima before the earthquake for the 2nd game of their series. He said they were practicing and without warning the building started to shake violently side to side. Many of his players got out but him and 2 players stood under the support for the basket. It was the only place they could go. He said almost immediately all of the windows busted and pieces of the ceiling and walls started to crash down around them. After 1 minute the whole building started shaking violently back and forth in the other direction. He said it was very scary. I can't imagine what that would be like. He is a great guy so we had a fantastic discussion about basketball.

So after this we piled onto the bus and headed up the street. As we did there were a lot of fans on the street waving and screaming at the bus. It is exciting to see people so excited about basketball. We drove a few hundred yards up the street and there is a Starbucks. Well as you can imagine, the bus had to be stopped. As we headed across the street, kids were running and screaming looking for autographs. People in Starbucks were excited and wanting to touch the players and get autographs. I ordered my Caramel Macchiato and waited for it. A bunch of young girls who watched the game came in with an adult. They were excited to get autographs. As I got my drink it was time to spring into action. I told the staff and the players to watch as I went over to two very enthusiastic little girls. Probably about 11 or 12. They were getting autographs from 2 players. They couldn't speak english at all so with a "psst" I got their attention. I looked at them and showed them a Japanese 1 yen coin in my hand. I took the marker out of one girl's hand and gave it to her friend. They weren't sure what was going on. I opened her hand and showed her my coin. I tossed it into my hand a few times and then tossed it into her hand. Of course it had changed to a toonie. That moment is why I love magic. Their eyes got wide, they squealed and started shouting. The team go quite a kick out of it and those two young girls will remember for a long time the coach from Canada who made magic. It was just an awesome moment.

As we left the shop and went outside there were two older girls, probably in their mid-late 20's who wanted a picture with all of us. Then there was another group and another and then a few cars pulled over for pictures. The little girls were giggling with excitement when they had their picture taken. As we crossed the street to get on the bus another group ran across the street and delayed us a little bit more but what a fun delay it was. While all of us coaches love winning with our teams, the reason I think we all coach is because we love the interaction with the kids and there is no feeling quite like seeing the look in kids eyes when they love basketball. Just an incredible feeling.

So we finally get on the bus and get rolling. Heading to Fukuoka. What a beautiful countryside we travelled through. Green and beautiful and perhaps the cleanest country on the face 0f the earth. We drove about an hour or a little more and landed in Fukuoka. A very nice city. As we arrive we stop on a bridge. Not sure why. There are all the hotel people with carts. The bus can't get down the road by the bridge so they met us. Took us to a fantastic hotel. As we arrive our interpreter, who can't really speak english well, tells us that "in evening, very many pretty woman here...they on road and...and...and..and" then she started to blush so I said "prostitutes". She said "you look, no touchy". I had to laugh out loud. Settled into a very nice hotel and then down to dinner. Some chicken, two types of fish, rice, salads, squash soup (fantastic & makes 3 for 3 on the soups), udoh which is a noodle soup, breads and desserts. A decent dinner.

So there is a lengthy update to a full day. A great day actually. Tomorrow we are up for breakfast at 8:00 and then shoot around at 9. video at 11 and lunch at 11:30. Game at 3pm. Last full day in Japan. Busy day ahead so now on to video.

Until tomorrow.

Phase 2 - Day 4 in Asia

Konnichiwa from Omura. Day 4 is in the books...almost. Still some more video of China to watch before bed but the day is winding down. A day off between games but we still practiced.

This day started off with a regular breakfast in Nagasaki and then we hopped on the bus to head to Omura. However before we headed to Omura. It was a stop that I will never forget and another one of the moments in life that make you think a little more deeply than you have before.

We travelled not far from the hotel and took a little side road and went up a hill. The bus stopped and we all hopped out. A few hundred metres away was ground zero where the atomic bomb was dropped during WWII. Walking toward the area was a different feeling. One of anticipation where you wanted to see it but also a feeling of dread as we were all taught in school about the devastation that occurred here. You can see a pic of ground zero below.

It was amazing to stand there and think about what happened. I spent a few minutes just thinking about how lucky we are in Canada and how lucky we are to have our families and friends with us. There were a few things that were erected there as reminders. One was a piece of a temple that was built in the 1600's. The piece was the only thing left standing of the temple after the explosion. There was also a piece of a church there. We then walked up to the Peace Park which is a very nice park with statues donated from around the world.

After this we came back to the bus with about 25 minutes or so left before we left. Mike and I decided to go into the Atomic Bomb Museum. I thought that ground zero was moving. Not even close. Perhaps the most sombre and moving 25 minutes of my life. There were many remnants left from the explosion. Melted bottles, a piece of wall with the burned in image of a clothes line and clothes, glass shattered and embedded in rock plus all kinds of other things. Many mind blowing things. Then came the pictures of people both dead and alive and pictures of the suffering. Very sad. I had to stop reading some of the things. It was tough. There is also a story and picture of a little boy after the explosion that was very sad and I will never forget the image. Needless to say it was a very somber experience. Very moving.

Once everyone got back to the bus we headed off for Omura. It was a nice ride for about an hour. The country side is very green and lush with different trees and grasses. Very pretty. We passed a number of traditional homes which were quite neat to look at. We arrived at our next hotel and it is very nice.

Lunch came right away so here goes:

Chicken in radish sauce, fries, ginger pork, Udoh with noodles (like a vegetable pancake - Fantastic), Beef and tofu, different fish dishes, salads, fruit and one of my new all time favorites....Drum roll please......Chilled Pumpkin Soup. Absolutely outstanding. Fantastic.

After lunch we had a film session with the coaches at 2:30 and the players arrived at 3:00 for their viewing. At 3:30 we departed for the gym for practice. We had a pretty decent practice but it started slowly. Went OK though. The facility is beautiful.

After practice we came back to the hotel and had a little rest before supper. I had washed some clothes in the tub when we got here and was hoping they would dry better at this hotel. What a find I made. Outside on my balcony there is a hot air vent which apparently is part of the cooling system. Some strategically placed hangers and my stuff is all dry....WOOHOO. Keeping clothes clean in this environment is a pain in the butt.

Dinner was at 7PM and it wasreally good. Here is the breakdown of the offerings:

Beefsteak and veggies, grilled hamburger steak, sweet and sour pork, rice, beef and veggie curry, salmon, some other fish, shrimp, cheese balls and lots of fruit and salads. A good meal.

So now it is off to watch some filmand get ready. The temperature in the room with the air conditioning on is 25 degrees. Comfy sleep coming I can see.

Tomorrow we check out at 12:30, go play our game at 2pm and then travel 2 hours to Fukuoka for our next game. The Japan phase is winding down.

Until Tomorrow

Phase 2 - Day 3 in Asia

Well Day 3 is in the books. Another hot and humid day here in Nagasaki.

Day began with a breakfast at 7:45. It consisted of much of of the same stuff as yesterday except it added french fries and a different fish paste. It was OK but the best part of breakfast is the fruit. It is so sweet here.

Immediately after breakfast we headed off to our game day shoot around which went from 9 until 10 or a little after. We had a decent practice and then headed back to the hotel. We had a long stretch until pre-game meal at 2pm. I decided to work on the China film for the start of the week. After watching some of that and then a few episodes of COPS I had on my computer it was almost 2pm. I joined the rest of the crew for lunch.

Lunch had pasta, fries, spicy chicken, "steamed hamburger steak" - basically little hamburgers soaked in gravy, salads, dumplings, spring rolls, rice, noodle soup and different fish items.

After lunch we had a time slot from 2:30 to 5:30. I needed to get out of the hotel and it just happened that our guide was taking us out if we wanted to go. She is a cute older lady who doesn't have the best grasp of the English language but she is fun and looks after us. So we hit the town with our guide, 2 of the players, the manager and team doctor. We were supposed to walk about 10-15 minutes to a store she wanted to show us. Instead she took us on the streetcar system which was quite cool. We ended up in the heart of the city in a shopping district in a neat pedestrian mall. The store she took us to was unique. It was like a dollar store kind of but it was 5 floors with different levels on each floor. A lot of cheap stuff but nothing "original" but we had fun looking around and watching the people look at us approach us. Most just stared from a distance. THe people are so friendly here and they don't bother us.

We got back to the hotel around 4:30 and we were leaving around 5:30 for our 7pm game. Time for a quick shower and I tried to keep drying my clothes. I had to handwash some things and it is hard to dry them in this humidity. I have the air conditioner on the lowest setting around 15 degrees but my thermometer which is built into my travel clock said it was 27 degrees in the room. Not comfy.

Now off to the game. We arrive at the arena and as we walk in, there are people in the bleachers. We ask about it and they told us people started arriving an hour earlier than we did. They expected almost 2000 people and apparently got well over 1000. When I travelled to China, we were in a remote city and there were 4 people from Canada with a Canadian flag. I remember going to meet them after the game. Tonight there were 2 people in the crowd with our flag but after the game we were whisked away quickly so I couldn't get to say thanks for coming. hopefully they come to the next game.

But back to the game. The fastest game I have ever been involved in. Very few fouls called and the tempo was good. We battled back and forth and were down 5 at the end of the first quarter. We slowed the tempo, executed our offense better and turned the ball over less in the 2nd quarter and went into half time with a 5 point lead. 30-25.

The third quarter was a bit ugly and we were leading 40-37 afterwards. THe 4th quarter started with us getting a nice 9 point cushion but we had a bunch of lapses in a row and they took the lead. Down the stretch we didn't execute or rebound the ball well and we ended up losing 64-54. They are quick and can shoot. That killed us in the 4th quarter.

So we have some work to do but I think we can get better and win some games here. Lots of film to be watched and practice tomorrow so hopefully we regroup.

After the game we headed to the bus and it was lined on both sides with screaming fans. A lot of them were little girls which was so good to see. They were cheering like crazy for both teams and I am sure tonight some of them will dream about being on the bus instead of being outside on the street. It is where dreams are hatched and kids get that burning desire to be part of it. I love watching little kids in the game. They love to play and want to be the best. They do it while smiling and maintaining that sense of innocence. So much to learn with so much energy ready to help them "make it on the bus". It was fun waving to them as we got on the bus and then as we drove away.

So back to the hotel for a post game meal. It consisted of beefsteak, ginger pork, and curried pork and potatoes...YUMMY. lots of salad and fish choices. I had a Miso soup with chicken, potaotes (i think), greens and squid. It was fantastic. The food has been very good so far. Hopefully it stays that way.

So now I must watch some film before bed. We have breakfast at 9:00 and then depart at 9:30 for our next hotel. Apparently it is on the other side of the city and the next gym is where they will be hosting the FIBA Asia Olympic qualifier at the end of the month. We will also do some team stuff in the morning. Should be a bit of fun.

Now it is off to film and bed. Until tomorrow.

Phase 2 - Day 2 in Asia

Konnichiwa from Nagasaki. THe first day here has been an interesting one. Get a drink and sit back and relax as it could be lengthy.

Set the alarm for 8:30 as we had a 9:30 breakfast. I woke up just before the alarm went off. Great sleep. Got cleaned up and ready for the day. Opened up my balcony door and the heat almost knocked me over. Another hot and humid day. We headed down for breakfast which was our first interesting culinary experience. So here was a sample of breakfast:

Scrambled Eggs (very wet and almost orange in colour), rice porridge, boiled rice, ham, sausage (like a hot dog), "hashed potatoes" (like a hash brown cake), fish paste, fruit and pollock eggs. Other things there that I never tried but all pretty good. One nice thing here is that our doctor checked the water at this hotel and it is on a super duper filtration system so it is good to drink.

It is amazing how we take water for granted in North America. Whenever we travel, the first thing when we land is try to find water. Like last night when I landed in China and bought two 750 ml bottles of Evian water. Cost almost $14 because it was imported. I had no idea.

After breakfast we went for a quick walk. 15 minutes around the area just to get the legs going and get out in the sun. A very nice area around the hotel and very clean. Did I mention the stifling heat though. Humid and hot. Will go through clothes like crazy here. After we returned from the walk we watched the film of Japan again to get ready.

Finished that and went to room to rest. We went down to dinner at around noon. Another interesting culinary experience. Here were some of the choices:

Potato wedges, pasta and sauce (girls said it was very oily), spicy chicken, rice, noodle soup, dumplings (one of my favorites), "sandwiches with various fillings", rice with beef and mushrooms, pork and cabbage, salmon, other fish and salads and dessert. So a sampling of a few things and lunch was over.

After lunch we got things ready for practice. Hopped on the bus and took a drive for about 20 minutes through downtown Nagasaki to get to the gym. IT is a nice city with about 450,000 people. We passed a big baseball stadium along the way. Baseball and soccer are huge here. The next thing we passed by was another one of those surreal, never ever forget kind of moments. We stopped next to a park which was ground zero for the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki in WWII. Unbelievable feeling. We are going to try and go to the park and memorial centre in a few days. It was just amazing to think that so much death and destruction happened right here. Seeing a site of a Nazi Concentration camp 2 years ago in Serbia was moving...almost disturbing. It was the same here but a slightly different feeling. I am sure it will be a moving experience if we go and visit the area.

So on to practice. A lot of warmup and balance drills to get the girls feeling better and then we practiced for about an hour and a half. The practice was good but the girls legs were a little sluggish so our intensity was up and down. The gym was a nice gym but it was warm. They said it was air conditioned but not really. So we got after it a bit and it was good but then we shut it down a little early. Allison and one of the players had to go to a press conference so we sat on the bus for about 20 minutes but it was air conditioned so no worries.

We got back to the hotel about 4:45 and were scheduled for dinner at 6pm. We were going to go with the girls but Mr. Taka, an executive with Japan Basketball, had other plans. He told the staff to meet him in the lobby at 6pm. I came back to my room and got cleaned up to go. I also washed a few things in the sink. Ahhh the joys of international travel. So we meet Mr Taka and he puts us into a few cabs and away we go. We are winding through the streets of Nagasaki (on the other side of the road which freaked me out) with no idea where we are going. We go down this really narrow alley and stop at a weird looking door. If this was a movie, we could be enjoying the last moments of our life.

We opened this door and walked into an incredible little restaurant. The dining party was Mr. Taka, 2 members who were organizing the tour, Allison, Mike, Myself, our manager and doctor.

What follows next can only be described as one of the most incredible and memorable dining experiences of my lifetime and that is saying something. I couldn't believe it. So let me explain.

First, the meal took 3 hours. It is supposed to apparently.

Second, the meal consisted of 13 courses. yes 13 courses. unbelievable. I can't remember the courses and the order but let me give you a sampling of what we had to eat. And remember, everything is eaten with chopsticks to picture that.

A soup to start with mushrooms, a rice flour ball (like a dumpling), some greens and a fish ball.

Black cod with plum mayonnaise

seaweed

raw tuna and raw "something something fish"

sweetened beans - big white beans like kidney beans with a sweet sauce

crispy balls with melted cheese and shrimp mixed together inside - fantastic

A jelly like cube with cooked fish eggs inside - not bad

A plate with little "minnow" like fish on it. You have to eat them whole

Pickled cucumber and plums

Sweet potato mixed with plum and coated with something

White "something something" radish

A bowl that came with eggplant, some kind of melon, a ball that was a bean paste but made to look like an egg, chicken stuffed with veggies and bean curd with eel on top. The eel was actually quite good.

A rice bowl with a soup that had mushrooms, greens and "slimy" chicken but tasty.

A small "pancake" with pork belly and veggies inside - FANTASTIC

Dessert was a gelly like square with watermelon inside, oolong tea and then a "drink" at the end. It was an incredibly sweet drink with rice balls and a flower inside. The drink was brownish and had cinnamon in it. It had the consistency of thick hot chocolate. Rice balls, flower and all went down the hatch. Fantastic but sweet.

I have forgotten a pile of food things I am sure because it just kept coming for 3 hours but the environment, food and chat was fantastic. I am sure I will remember this meal for a long time.

The way home was the smallest cab and I was jammed into the front seat. most uncomfortable ride ever but the night lights looked cool.

so now it is bed time soon. another early day and then a shoot around before we play tomorrow at 7pm. the games are finally here. should be good

until tomorrow

Phase 2 - Day 1 in Asia

Konnichiwa, Danke Schoen, Benvenidos, Bonjour, Holy Shit

Whatever seems to fit, place it in here. We finally arrived at our hotel in Nagasaki. There is no way any human being should feel this tired, this sweaty or this shitty. What a day of travel. It was over 24 hours of transit. We got up early for breakfast in Abbotsford and it was horrible. Should have stayed in bed. Boiled eggs and cereal yet no milk for the cereal.

Bus for the airport departed Abbotsford at 9AM and the journey began. We arrived at the airport at about 10:30 for our 1PM flight. Got our bags checked in and found out it was 1 carry on bag only and that there were no personal movie screens or plug ins for computers. Looked like it could be a long flight.

The staff members grabbed a big breakfast at Milestone's in the airport because you never know what kind of meals we could get. It was fantastic. A nice Tim Horton's coffee and we were on our way. We got on board and the plane was nice, a little older but nice. There was also room for some of the girls to spread out which was good.

I can't even say the flight was uneventful. 11.5 hours can lead to so many fun things. The meals were OK on the flights (I tried shredded seaweed for the first time) and the service was good. Of course with no personal TV's the only thing to watch was a documentary about something and a large chunk of it was about wasps reproducing. Basically wasp porn. Fantastic. After the IPod and computer died there wasn't a lot left to do but read which was an adventure with the frickin Partridge Family in front of us. Singing and clapping and laughing. Bouncing around in their seats. I wanted to get up and give the little girl a right cross to shut her up. But wait, let's reserve that for a few rows behind us.

There were a bunch of young kids flying with basically no supervision. Argument ensued and fists started flying. One young guy caught another one with a good left hand and stunned him. Not a bad shot. Mike went down and told the agressor to sit down. I am not sure the kid spoke English but he understood what mike meant. So no biggie I guess. It was tough to read or sleep so that made the flight unenjoyable.

We arrived in Shanghai a little bit late and when we did we were hit with stifling heat. Just wrong. Flat out wrong. We waited for over an hour and then jumped on another plane. This time just a short 1hour 45 min flight to Fukuoka. Landed there with no issues and got to customs. It was fairly busy and the place was boiling hot with no air conditioning. Not fun. Made it through with no harm and our bus was waiting for us. Step outside again and extreme humidity. 30 plus degrees and HIGH humidity after 9pm. Away we go on the bus and I tried to stay awake a little but couldn't do it. Drifted off a bit. Woke up as we were pulling up to the hotel. It doesn't look too bad.

So the bed will feel good no doubt. Tomorrow is breakfast at 9:30 and then a walk to get the blood flowing and no doubt a good sweat. Practice in the afternoon as we get ready for the game the following day. Hopefully by then I can figure out exactly what day it is. I know we lost a day in travel and this is confusing.

Now I am off to dream land.

Until tomorrow

Phase 2 - Day 8

Well Day 8 is over and so is this phase of training. Off to Asia tomorrow. Not really looking forward to 18 hours of travel but what can I do. It is also not the fun vacation some think it is. We will get to see a few things but in my role I go from gym to meeting to practice to computer screen or any combination of the above. It is always busy and not always easy to get out and see things. I'll get some pics from the bus no doubt and we'll see some things but the schedule is hectic. The food is always in question as well. Who knows what we might get.

Another glitch is that the airline only allows one carry on bag. I am trying to jam everything into my checked bag and it's not working really well. Gotta get creative here.

On to today. We had a 9AM breakfast and a 9:30 video session. I took the girls through the Japan edit and talked about what they tried to do when we played them. We then headed over to the gym for practice at 11. We went for an hour and a half and the defense was very good but our offense was pretty shitty. Maybe we will get it when we are overseas. We headed out to lunch immediately after and then to another coaches meeting. We talked mostly about how we would defend some of Japan's offense.

I packed most of my stuff afterwards and watched part of a documentary on famous LA Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. An impressive story. Why the hell would I watch that? I loved watching him as a kid even though I hated the Dodgers.

We went back over to the gym at 6pm for our second practice. The assistants for the university games teams were in so they got to watch the practice. It wasn't much. We shot the ball quite a bit and went through some of our offense. Not a vigorous practice. I brought the computer and projector over to the gym and at the end of practice we showed some clips and then walked through how we would defend Japan.

After practice we grabbed supper here and then headed out with the coaching staff of the university games team and our team. Where did we go?? Oh right, Starbucks. I am getting sick of the place. It was nice to get out and chat with everyone though.

So now I am waiting for laundry to finish. Tying up some loose ends on email and administrative stuff. I will also try to finish packing.

I am not sure if we will get internet access at the hotels in Japan or CHina so this might be the last of the blog. Who knows. We will see. This has been an interesting experience again and I am sure it will get much more interesting.

Until whenever

Phase 2 - Day 7

Well Day 7 is in the books. Man time is flying here. We have one day left before Asia.

Today was an early day with a 7:15 wakeup and 8am breakfast. Standard scrambled eggs and cereal.

Practice was at 9:30 this morning and it wasn't that bad. The intensity went up and down a bit but it was good for the most part. Our strength coach showed up after practice for a workout which was quite neat. I filmed all of the pieces to take back home with me. Of course training camp wouldn't be training camp without a visit from our friends at the CCES or Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. As usual, one of our players got selected for drug testing so off she went. I don't think I have been at a training camp where the players weren't tested.

After the workout was done we headed over to lunch which was a nice fish with potatoes. Very tasty.

After lunch we headed up the street to the usual spot, Starbucks. We had a good meeting and planned the evening practice. Lots of good things get discussed here but it is getting a bit monotonous with Starbucks all the time. Their coffee sucks which is why I get some different drinks at times. Their prices also SUCK. Tim's is better in my opinion.

After the meeting I returned here to try and get some rest but that didn't happen. I had some DVD's to copy and I finished up the China video.

So back to practice for 6pm. It was light with a lot of shooting and some work on our execution. Supper followed with teriyaki salmon, rice and a really tasty spinach pastry thing that was kind of like greek spanakopita. We headed back to the dorm for a quick meeting regarding our travel. What we have heard is that the airline to china is not good at all. Lots of bad reviews. China is paying for it so we can't complain. We get what we get and need to make the best of it. The reviews though say the food stinks, they don't feed you often, the seats are small with no legroom and there are no TV's on the flight. Guess that means take some snacks and charge up the laptop.

It is always an adventure when we travel so we have to make the best of it.

Tonight, instead of starbucks for a meeting the coaches chose Dairy Queen. A good choice. Once we finished there we came back and I took Tom and Allison through the edit I made for Japan. Tomorrow I will show the team and then take them through it on the court to help them prepare. This is what my main job is so I will make sure it is ready to roll.

Tomorrow we have 2 practices. One at 11 and one at 6. The first one will be hard and the second one a little easier. After that it is the last minute prep for the trip. I will give a full update tomorrow.

One of the last nights in this hotbox of a dorm room on a shitty bed. Woohoo. My back has been killing me on this bed. So now I will head off to bed. It is after 11AM so I will see if I can sneak in an extra hour of sleep

Until tomorrow

Phase 2 - Day 6

Well day 6 is in the books. A day off and parts of it were just boring.

I slept til about 8 this morning. A big sleep in. Woohoo. Got showered and took the rental vehicle down the road to get off campus. Grabbed a quick bite to eat and then drove down to Costco. I am a fan of Costco. I went basically to get a load of granola bars, trail mix and beef jerky as you never know what the food will be like in Japan and China. Even found a nice pair of pants for $20. Can't beat that.

Headed to walmart after that to get a few travel items and some snack size baggies so I could divide up the trail mix for travel. It was good to get off campus for a few hours. Rolled back here around 11 and cleaned up my room and tidied up our video for Japan. I also completed the scouting report.

Today was hot and since there is no air conditioning in the rooms I went to the lounge with my computer and notepad. It got even hotter and it is very warm in here now. I was hoping to maybe get off campus again in the afternoon but it didn't happen. All 3 vehicles were gone off campus so i was stuck here on my own for the whole afternoon. It was pretty boring after I had the video done. I was also getting hungry around 5pm as I hadn't eaten since breakfast. There isn't much around the area of the campus and on campus there is not much. It was almost 6pm when Allison arrived back so her and I went to a neat little Italian place and had a nice meal and a good chat. She is very knowledgeable and loves to share. I had a great chicken pesto dish. YUMMY. To add to it, I had a phenomenal Peanut Butter Chocolate Gelatto for dessert. Did I mention it was PHENOMENAL.

We headed back to campus as we were awaiting the arrival of our other assistant coach, Lisa from Saskatchewan. When we got in, Mike was back from his day in Vancouver and he brought 6 new coaching DVD's for me to watch and copy. BEST PART OF MY DAY. I have already begun looking at them. Awesome so far.

Lisa arrived a short time later so the coaches and our manager went for a relaxing coaches meeting at Starbucks. They are making a killing off of us this year. It was good to chat and we discussed a lot of things within the entire program. Good to be involved in these chats.

So now it is back to residence. No video for me tonight. I am actually gonna just open up my netflix account and watch a movie or TV show. Try to change things up a bit.

I do have a few more details on my trip toshare. I will provide much better details when I get them. I am hoping to be able to blog from Japan and CHina but sometimes the internet access is sketchy and I was not able to access some sites while in China last time. Hopefully no problems but we'll see.

So here goes.

We leave Abbotsford at 9AM on Monday. We arrive in Vancouver at 10:30AM for a 1:30 PM flight. Gotta be there so early for international flights. We fly out at 1:30 pm on August 1st and arrive in Shanghai at 4:35pm on August 2. With a time change I believe that is about a 13-14 hour flight. When we land in Shanghai we wait until 6:15 pm and fly to Fukuoka, Japan. We land at 8:50pm. Then we hop on a bus for 2 and a half hours. I have no frickin idea of how long that is for travelling but I know it is long. That is our first stop in Nagasaki. We are there for a few days and head to Omura and then after one night we travel back to Fukuoka. We spend 2 nights there.

On the 8th we fly to Shanghai again for our Chinese leg of the trip. We are just getting details on this so I will send a complete schedule when I get one.

I do know that we play Japan on Aug. 4th, 6th and 7th. We play China on August 10th, 12th and 14th.

Here is the killer. On the last day we have a flight that we have heard is about 1 or 1.5 hours long to Shanghai. We then connect to Vancouver. We leave Shanghai at 1:30pm on the 15th and arrive in Vancouver at 9:10AM on the same day. Back in Time. Then I connect to home.

So if I do the math. 1 hour + 14 hours to Van. + 5 hours to Toronto + 2.5 hours to sydney means I am on a plane for roughly 22.5 hours not mentioning any layovers. Can't wait for that one.

Anyway I will update it more as I get a better schedule. So now I am off to watch some TV. We have a 9:30 AM practice followed by film, a meeting and another practice at 5:30pm. Work to be done. Below is an official team pic.

Front (Left to Right) Janelle Bekkering (Taber, AB), Alisha Tatham (Brampton, ON), Theresa Gabriele (Mission, BC), Kim Smith (Mission, BC), Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, ON), Lizanne Murphy (Montreal, Que), Shona Thorburn (Hamilton, ON)

Back rown - Mike MacNeill, ME :), Chelsea Aubry (Kitchener, ON), Tamara Tatham (Brampton, ON), Leanne Evans (Port Moody, BC), Krista Phillips (Saskatoon, SK), Miranda Ayim (London , ON), Kalisha Keane (Ajax, ON), Trainer Marcel Charland, Allison MacNeill

Phase 2 - Day 5

Well Day 5 has come and gone. It is flying by fast.

Morning started off with an 8AM breakfast of blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs then we had practice at 9:30. Might have been our best practice yet. The defensive intensity was up and our offense looked very good. I introduced a transition drill that really helped our defense and upped the intensity in practice but the players said they felt it in their legs. Liked the drill and it was competitive but hard. The girls really battled today and they felt good afterward. The team had the rest of the day off and tomorrow as well. Some have dispersed with BC girls to their homes. Some will head out around here tomorrow and I am not so sure yet what I will do tomorrow.

After practice the girls did a weightlifting session and I came back to take care of some emails. We met for lunch at 1 pm which was a nice caesar salad and a phenomenal quiche with bacon, mushrooms and caramelized onions on top.

After lunch the 3 coaches went out with our guest coach Tom for a meeting. It was a good discussion as we chatted about the efficiency of our offense and what tweaks need to be made in the coming days before we head to Asia.

As soon as I returned I scrambled over to the gym to meet with Roger our team sport psychologist. We were discussing things yesterday and he arranged for another hour today. I am so grateful for his help and for giving me his time. He is an incredible guy who is deeply interested in helping people. Today we discussed the use of questions with athletes which is something I had asked about. We also got into perceived pressure and how to deal with it. We also discussed team building and he helped me with some ways to get our athletes more in tune with their own "plan" which was a big topic I asked him to help me with. A fantastic guy and a fantastic session. I took many notes afterward. Loved it. Can you tell?

Right after that session I came back here for a little while to catch up on a few things then Allison and I went out for supper. We had a nice meal and some great conversation. Tremendous opportunity to be 1 on 1 with the national team head coach and pick her brain. Interesting part of the meal was the free dessert. We decided to have dessert and I ordered a sampler they were promoting. A few shot glasses filled with different things. I took the first one and took a bite while chatting. I looked down at the next bite and part of the bottom and side were missing. The glass was cracked and there were bits of glass in the bottom of the dessert. The piece of the glass had fallen out on the tray underneath. Luckily I didn't bite into any glass. They were nice enough to give it to me for free. After dinnerwe ducked over to a grocery store for a few things. When we got home I checked some email and here I am now typing this.

Tomorrow is off so I may sleep a little then headout to get some supplies for the Asia trip. Saturday and Sunday is filled with 2 practices each day and meetings so it will be busy. As always I have more video to tidy up so I will get that done tonight and tomorrow as well.

I'll check back tomorrow

Below is a pic of the team when we went to Kim Smith's house for supper the other night

Phase 2 - Day 4

Well Day 4 is in the books.

Breakfast at 8AM followed by a 9:30 practice. Practice was good this morning in parts with varying intensity and focus but for the most part it was solid. WE are making progress on our defense and the offense is slowly coming along.

We had a nice lunch of beef and veggies. I spoke with our sport psychologist and set up a time to chat with him this evening. I could listen to him speak all day. We headed back after lunch to rest for about 45 min and then we headed to chat at Starbucks. A Vanilla bean frappacino was in order. To make it even better, I found 5 bucks when walking across the parking lot so free drink for me. We came home and then had practice about an hour after that.

The second practice was mostly a shooting practice and we refined some things on offense. Not much intensity but we expected that. We then headed off to supper at 7:30 before we had our session with Roger at 8:30. Supper was lemon roasted potatoes, pesto pasta salad and venetian Tilapia. Best supper we have had yet.

After Supper Roger and I stayed behind to chat. I wanted to ask about a number of things. We chatted about building a connection with athletes and I also asked about the use of questions in communication. We went all over the map here and ran out of time. We had to get over for our team session with Roger.

He led a phenomenal session about dealing with fears and uncertainties. He also discussed our ultimate goal and strategized how to get there. A whole lot of fantastic stuff. Like I said, I could listen to him for a long time so we are going to set up another time in the next few days to sit down and chat.

We have one practice tomorrow and then we are off until Saturday. We get up tomorrow at 8AM for breakfast and then practice at 9:30. We will be back for 2 practice on saturday, 2 on Sunday and then we leave on Monday

SO not a ton to write about tonight. I am tired and gonna crash to get some rest.

Until tomorrow

Phase 2 - Day 3

Well here we are, almost another day in the books. A little video to finish before bed time but sleep needs to come soon.

Started the day with pain. These residence beds killed my back last night so each step was shitty until I got it loosened up which took half the day. Breakfast was a same old breakfast of boiled eggs, yogurt and french toast. Fun times....woohoo. Then we headed off to our practice for the day. Our defensive positioning and intensity is getting better but our offense bogged down a bit today. We need to get back to the proper spacing and to do things with more precision. Always stuff to work on for tomorrow. WE also battled the injury bug a bit. We were down a few bodies to start with a lost a few more during practice. Nothing too serious but enough to keep them out of practice for today. The energy wasn't the best as the numbers dropped but we tried to keep them going.

After practice the girls went to the weight room and I returned here to do some work. It was good to see Tom Elwood back here today and he is now rooming with me. Tom is a high school coach out here who has run the same offense as we do for many years. He has it down to a science and it is nice to hear his thoughts. He is a very good basketball mind so talking about anything is always worth it to pick up a few tidbits. We headed over a little early to lunch and chatted while we waited for the team. Lunch was an eggplant dish, potatoes and broiled salmon. Pretty good. Roger, our team sport psychologist, was back around lunch time today and it is always good to chat with him. Actually I do a lot of listening. I find him fascinating.

After lunch we scrambled back to get ready for pictures. It was team and individual picture day. It was kind of funny as the girls couldn't be serious for long and the fits of laughing busted out everywhere. The process took a little longer than expected.

I took a quick drive to walmart after the pictures to pick up some back pain medication. Popped two of them and my back loosened up so i began to feel better. We met at 4:40 to drive out to the town of Mission where Kim Smith's parents hosted us for supper. Great people and an amazing spread of tasty food. We headed back around 7:30 and made it back to campus for 8pm. OF course what followed next was a coaches meeting at Starbucks where Tom shared his thoughts on our practice and we chatted about what we were going to do in the coming days. We arrived back here a little after 10. IT was a great chat.

So tomorrow we have one practice in the morning and another in the evening. A full day. Gotta go and get some rest.

Until tomorrow

Phase 2 - Day 2

Well Day 2 is in the books...almost. Still have some film to tidy up before bed.

I zonked out pretty hard last night and apparently they pounded on the door and rang the phone but I never got up. One of the assistant coaches ended up getting a key to get into my room around 11:30. I had forgotten to hand in my visa forms for the China leg of the trip. I was too tired and forgot. So I got them for him and then crashed again. I slept HARD until 7:15AM when the alarm went off.

We headed over to breakfast which was boiled eggs and cereal. Not quite a tim's bagel and coffee. We had a quick team meeting afterwards and then went to practice. During our meeting, Allison took the team through a visualization exercise which was very powerful and moving. A nice way to kick off the camp.

Our first practice was a good energy, high intensity practice. Good competition and dusted off some rust. Looked OK for 6 weeks off.

We broke for lunch which was much better than breakfast. The team doctor, Doug Richards, was out for the first day with us from Toronto. I met him before I was fascinated to listen to him talk. Today was no different. He is a brilliant man and has some interesting info and stories. He talked about his time with the Raptors which was interesting. At the end of lunch he gave us Dr. Doug's 3 rules for international travel.

1. Don't get hit (statistically most fatalities of canadians travelling to other countries is because of getting hit by bad drivers)

2. Don't get bit (be careful of the bugs and other animals)

3. Don't eat shit (eat stuff that you can peel or has been boiled or you will shit...a lot)

After lunch we headed to Starbucks for a coaches meeting. When we came back I headed to the grocery store to get some water and a few snacks for the week. Our second practice was at 5:30 and it was pretty BLAH. Not great energy but we did get a lot of shots up.

We ended practice and headed over to supper which was good. Roast beef, potatoes, rice. Good stuff.

After dinner we had a quick coaches meeting and then a film session. At the end of the session I showed them some different film. It was a setup for the jokers of the group, Megan and Janelle. I showed a few clips of last year and set up by talking about how slow we were at running our offense. About 3-4 clips in the screen changed and it became a video of Janelle and Megan AKA Muffins and Pearl. That is their rap names and they have been doing videos for a few years. This one featured everyone's name and it was HILARIOUS.

So now I sit here contemplating the day and what lies ahead. I picked up some great new drills today and a nice zone set or two. Lots of good things here. It is always like basketball school when I am here. I can't help but think about the coming year though. Hopefully by the time I get back we will be done recruiting and ready for the year. When I return I am taking most of the rest of the time off until training camp to rest and recharge.

Still awake????? OK, let's read on.

I looked at some notes from the book I just read and I came across an interesting point. The author stated, "Sometimes we have to see what we don't want , to know what we do want."

I couldn't agree more with this. I remember starting at CBU with the shittiest team in Canada. I wanted to be a winner right away but it didn't happen. Going 1-22 was not a waste though. It seemed like shit at the time but it made me see what I didn't want and has driven me to get to what I do want for our program but it is not all scoreboard results.

I jump ahead to this year. We had another strong season. 16-4 and 1st in the AUS. Winning with a team that wasn't supposed to. A run to nationals and a few baskets away from the national final while coming home with the bronze. Many say "Woohoo what a great job". I say bullshit. While it may have been one of my best years from a technical standpoint of getting a team ready to play, I failed miserably in building a cohesive unit. The year was not fun or rewarding in terms of what really matters. Yes winning is nice but not when it comes with a price. By the end of the year it was dread and a feeling of "let's get this over with". When the final buzzer went off in Windsor and we won the bronze, I was happy. Happy for some part of winning but mostly happy because I could try to put this failure behind me.

So I read this book and another section jumps out at me.

"Every crisis offers an opportunity to grow stronger and wiser; to reach deep within and discover a better you that will create a better outcome. So while this is your crisis, what matters most is what you do with it."

I have chosen not to dwell on the season. It was what it was. We had some bad chemistry and a relatively shitty experience. So what do I do with it? I come back motivated to build a team, challenge it to get better every day both on and off the court. I will not let anyone disrupt the chemistry on our bus this year. We should have the talent to make a deep run but not if we are a disruptive group of individuals. I have pushed myself to re-examine my methods and refresh myself with new ideas on how to build our group of young ladies into a powerful team.

The evaluation of self is never final so I will continue throughout the rest of the summer and the year to see what I can learn. I owe it to our 5th year players to make it the best year I can. I cannot and will not let them down. They have put so much time and effort into making us great and they have believed in me as their leader. Now I have to prove to them that I can take our bus on that glorious ride to our final destination. Definitely an interesting challenge.

So now the day wraps up as always. More film. People say "you are so lucky, you get to travel and see the world". I love it and will never complain but it is not what some might think. My days are filled with meetings, practices and sitting in front of a computer or video screen. IT can be tiring and it is not a holiday. But hey, I could be sitting in an office doing the same shit every day but that little round ball keeps it interesting.

Until tomorrow

Phase 2 - Day one

Well here I am back at it again from the beautiful Fraser Valley town of Abbotsford.

Phase 2 started today as my clock went off at 4 AM (Midnight out here). Got to the airport by 5AM and jumped on the plane. They tried to bump me off but I told them I had a close connection in Toronto. I really didn't. More like a 4.5 hour wait. Flight was uneventful and landed in Toronto slightly late at 8AM.

WEll the old saying "Karma is a bitch" got me this time. Telling Air Canada I had a close connection was a bad idea. I had to get my bags in Toronto, get to Terminal 3 and check in with Westjet. Everything going well, having a nice lunch when they announce my flight has been cancelled. So now instead of heading out at 12:45 or 1:15 or whatever it was, I am rerouted through Edmonton instead of Calgary at 3:45. So I meet up with Chelsea from our team as she got on the same flight. As we wait to board I go to Starbucks. Funny thing I see. The girl waiting on me is drinking a Tim Horton's Iced Coffee. I chuckled out loud.

So off to the plane we go. Relatively uneventful as well except for the fact that I fall asleep for about 20 minutes and wake up with my head on the shoulder of an Asian man next to me. Guess I am warming up for opportunities when we travel. Land in Edmonton to a little over an hour wait. Hold on...Karma again as the flight is delayed. We end up getting out late and getting into abbotsford at about 8pm. Now it is 9pm and I have been up for 21 hours. Kind of tired.

We head out to breakfast tomorrow at 8AM followed by an 8:30 meeting and then a 9:30 practice. Another training session later in the day. This will be a hectic week of practices and meetings as we get ready to leave on the 1st.

Japan and China await. I have been to China but am still excited to see three different cities and I am really excited about Japan. People say it is very nice. I am eagerly awaiting the sights, sounds, smells and tastes. I described China the last time as a bombardment of the senses and I feel it will be the same again.

I finished reading a really good book on the plane that really makes you think about things. One particular section talked about the blessings we have in life. Often we bury our heads in our stresses and get drained because of them. I have been blessed by a number of things in my life and basketball has been one of them. Yes, she is a hateful bitch on a number of days but most other days she is a loyal companion. I have said to a few people that the game has been really good to me. It pays me well and I have a nice truck to drive around in all because of a round, orange ball. THe most important things it gives me though are the emotional connections. Working with the players, the big wins, the tough losses, developing friendships and traveling to places that move you in different ways. It is tough to think about on some days but the game has been fantastic to me. I am not sure where I would have been without her.

So now I must get off to sleep. I am tired. I will be posting every day throughout the phase as long as internet access is good. I will discuss the regular things such as the practices and games, the food and the way the day unfolds but I will also try and give more this time. We will see how it goes.

Until tomorrow

Coach

Phase one - Spain Day 6

Well Day 6 in Spain is winding down. An eventful day. Woke up to breakfast at 9am which was the same old meats and cheese then we hopped on the bus to head to Madrid. It was warm out but very dark in the distance with a sprinkle of rain where we were.

As we headed to Madrid most of the team and staff went to sleep. My curious nature made me stay up. I wanted to see the country side and see what that area of Spain looked like. Along the way there was a lot of livestock in the fields. I also was able to see at least a dozen storks. That's a lot of kids being delivered! They are a very cool bird though. I saw one in Serbia a few years ago but there are a lot here in Spain. The landscape is very rocky throughout the rolling fields and there are a lot of small trees. A very interesting looking place.

As we got closer to Madrid it got much darker and it started to sprinkle some rain. We had to go in a tunnel to go through a mountain and when we came out on the other side it was pouring rain. Very hard rain. The closer we got to our hotel the lighter it got and then it was sunny and hot when we arrived. How would I describe our hotel? Rustic. Yes Rustic would be a word I would use to describe it. Glad I am here for one night only.

Our day after arrival was pretty hectic. We went almost immediately for our lunch which consisted of some very good salad, tremendous bread, pasta and flattened chicken. There was also rice and french fries available. A good meal. We went from meal to our video session on Japan. The team played them last year so we were able to see some things they did in that game. After the video we had about 2 hours before we left for game time. The session ended at 1:40 and we were leaving at 3:45. I decided to head out with our team manager to explore a little bit of Madrid. Well this section looked a little sketchy but we found a grocery store for the team and then decided to walk a little more. I wanted to do a little bit of shopping for souvenirs because I hadnt had a chance to do that yet. I forgot that at 2pm in Spain they have this little tradition called Siesta. Everything shuts down. People close their shops and the streets are a lot less busy. Of course with the shops closed, my souvenir venture went awry. Oh well, I can say I tried.

On the way home we stopped into the grocery store so Livia could get some bananas for the team and when we came out it was a torrential downpour. Luckily we were close to the hotel so we didn't get soaked.

Next up, Canada vs. Japan. We played at a very nice facility but it lacked one thing - Air Conditioning. WEll at 25 degrees or so outside you can imagine what it was like inside. Hot and Humid. It showed in our play too. We lacked energy and were sluggish all game. We got down early and fought back, then got down a little bit again and took the lead. We held the lead for a large chunk and then we went cold. To go with our cold spell, they hit 5 three point shots in 6 trips down the court and they shot them from DEEP range. We battled hard but could get back in it and lost 70-55. The frustrating part was not our defense but our offense. We were absolutely horrid at times. Brutal. Interesting part of the game though came in the 2nd half. We had the 2 doors on the far side of the gym open to let some air in. It started to rain and then got progressively worse. Next came the hardest rain I have ever experienced and then hail the size of peas. The players were distracted on the court and slowed the pace a little.

So we headed back to the hotel for supper which was Salad, Pasta, Fish and potatoes. Not bad but it doesn't rank up with the other spot we stayed at. We decided this evening to go out and relax. We walked to a place Livia and I discovered earlier. It is a beautiful square with outdoor pubs and fountains with a beautiful OLD church at one end. It was a nice relaxing evening. We noted that the sky was bright at 9:40 pm and we were in shorts and t-shirts. Beautiful spot.

So there it is. Spain is complete. It was an interesting trip. I learned that the people here are very nice and helpful. They also love to smoke and eat and I am not sure which one is more important. Nice country though and it is one that I could live in. Having visited China and Serbia before I am not sure I could live there but I could live in Spain. What I also learned while in Spain is that I really love home. We never realize how well we have it until we are away and I have learned that for sure. I just wish that North Americans could live like the people here in some regards. Here they enjoy life, take time to sit down with friends A LOT and they are not tied to a clock. We are so schedule driven it is not funny. It is much more relaxed here.

So without getting too long winded, I just want to say thanks to those people who joined me along the way. It gave me an outlet to think about my experiences and hopefully share what it was like for me here in Spain. I started this blog 4 years ago when I first joined the national program and I started it for one reason. I did it so my mom could follow my journeys around the world so I know 1 person read this every day.

My journey home begins tomorrow and it should be just about 25 hours. I leave Madrid at 7AM and fly to Paris. From Paris it is on to Toronto. Shitty part is the 8 hour layover in Toronto before flying home to Sydney around 1AM. It will be nice to get home but it will be tiring. Am I complaining. Absolutely not. What started as an innocent trip to the gym years ago has turned into an obsession and that little round ball has given me the chance to earn a nice living and travel all over the world and meet lots of people. It's been a fun ride.

I will be back at my blog for phase 2 which is Japan and China later in July. For now I must do some last minute packing and get ready to go. 5AM comes early.

Buenos Noches

Coach

Phase one - Spain Day 5

Well Day 5 is almost in the books. Woke up to a beautiful morning. Sunny and warm. Quite warm actually. Breakfast was the same. Meat and cheese. The coffee still sucks. No surprises for breakfast so far. After breakfast we relaxed a bit and then went to our shootaround at noon. Pretty basic strategy walk through and then we headed back to the hotel.

We got back at 1:25 and lunch was supposed to be at 1:30. as we headed into the dining area they told us lunch was at 1:30 and to come back in 15 minutes. We said it is almost 1:30. They said no, it was 1:15. Spanish time is an interesting thing. As one of our girls who plays professionally here said everything in Spain is Manyana meaning tomorrow.

So we settle down for lunch and it starts with a nice pasta with 2 sauces. A nice tomato sauce with meat you add in yourself or a nice carbonara sauce. I was the only one who opted for Carbonara and I definitely WON. Fantastic. That is all I can say. Next was salad and bread. I was shocked at the next thing. Basically a half a chicken with vegetables. Not a chance I could finish it. I did save a little room expecting fruit again but they came out with Creme Caramel. JACKPOT. It was Muy Bueno. We watched some film immediately after lunch to help us get ready for Spain.

Game time was 6pm but we didn't leave for the game until 5:05 today. Hot out and hot in the gym so we got there in time to do a pre warmup, meet and then do the game warmup. Spain is one of the better teams in the world and finished 3rd at the last world championships. I was a tad worried as they are big and skilled. We lost the jumpball but got a defensive stop and then we scored. We started playing well and led after the 1st quarter. WE kept playing well throughout the 2nd and managed to lead by 6 at half. The crowd was quiet and spain was frustrated. We continued to play pretty good throughout the 3rd and held a 4 point lead after 3. THe game was a battle. Both teams played hard. We slipped to start the 4th quarter and Spain took their first lead of the game with 4:30 left. From there it was back and forth. They managed to go on a little run to go up 4. We had a few bad bounces and had to foul late in the game to stop the clock and we ended up losing 66-59. We battled so hard and our defense was IMPRESSIVE. We had them frustrated all night. Our offense looked much better as well and they struggled with it. They had to change defenses 3 times before they slowed us down.

So back to the hotel after the game. We were supposed to eat right away but our meal was disrupted. A slight delay. By what you might ask. That's right. Dance Class. They had cleared all the tables out of the dining area and were giving dance lessons. So we had to delay a little. Once we got settled we had a nice veggie soup to start and then it went downhill. Some kind of tomato, egg and olive salad with fish oil and tuna on top. Then they brought out artichokes and a flat cut of beef which tasted like it should have been purchased out of the back of a '72 Plymouth Fury Station Wagon. Dessert was nice though so they saved the meal.

After supper the coaches watched some video on Japan that I had prepared. We have breakfast at 9AM and then hit the road at 9:30 for Madrid. We check into our hotel around 11, go for a meal, watch some film and then play Japan at 4:45. A long day of travel.

My night will finish with a whirlwind of packing as I leave Madrid at 7AM the next morning for the long trip back. It has been an interesting journey which I will sum up tomorrow. A little work to be done before bed.

Until Tomorrow

Phase One - Spain Day 4

Well another day over here in Spain. My time here is dwindling. Just two more days and then I make the long trek home.

Woke up this morning to an 8AM breakfast but I had to be downstairs around 7:30 to review the edit I had put together with the other coaches. Breakfast was the standard meats and cheeses like everyday with something different. Our manager says it might be tamarind but it looks like a fruit bar of some sort and it is not bad. Tried the coffee this morning and it just isn't Tim Horton's. The other thing they have for breakfast is chocolate croissants. They are magical.

After breakfast we scooted off to practice for one hour from 9-10. Basically just prepped the girls for what was coming from Cuba. I took them through some video clips and then walked them through what would happen on the court. Immediately when practice was finished at 10 we were whisked away to a private sports school for the clinic. Allison was supposed to speak at 10:15 but they changed it. The Cuban coach went first and he spoke about spacing and how to execute the pick and roll. He was good but we had to fill in the blanks because he only spoke spanish. It looked very good though and we could understand what he was trying to do. Next up was Allison and she did a very good job and had a translator with her. It seemed to go well from what I could tell but on the ride home we asked the driver a question and we weren't so sure anymore. We asked him how old Segovia was and he said, "Yes I will be there at the coaching gym tonight as I look after the referees". So we really weren't sure if anything he translated was legit.

The last speaker was the spanish coach and he talked for 20 minutes to start the session. WHen you don't understand a language, 20 minutes of it is like sticking your head into a beehive. He finally started talking about his defense and it was very good with some neat drills and ideas. We had to leave a few minutes early to get back to the hotel for our video session. We talked about what to expect and showed them the complete video.

Next came lunch. A beautiful Lentil Stew to start with crusty rolls followed by salad and then pork and tomatoes. The pork was done differently than I have ever tasted but it was good. Yogurt and fruit for dessert finished off the meal.

A little down time to get ready for the game and then we were off. We got the team ready and then I experienced one of those moments that are impossible to describe. I have said it before and I will say it again, there are very few feelings quite like hearing your national anthem while wearing your colors. It is an absolutely amazing experience.

So on to the game. We started sluggish and their athleticism put them up 10-3. We were pretty sloppy on offense but were ok on defense. We were forcing too many things and then missing easy shots. We were down around 8 at the quarter break and I believe it was 12 at the half. We made some adjustments and played better in the 2nd half however we had to weather a storm. They pressed a bit and got up 14. We had the chance to fold but didn't. WE rallied back and had a chance to win the game but dropped it 62-59. Interestingly enough, Cuba brought a referee with them and I want you to try and guess who called 5 offensive fouls against us and the worst intentional foul call I have ever seen. Nope not the other 2. You are quite wrong!

After the game we went outside and it was a perfect evening. Absolute perfect temperature and nice. Lots of people around the streets. It was 9:15pm and the sun was still in the sky just hovering above the horizon. Phenomenal.

Back to the hotel after the game for dinner. One of the best soups I ever had. They said it was pumpkin squash with orange zest and some other shit. It looked like baby shit but it was one of the best tasting things ever. Throw in some chorizo sausage, a different cut of pork, a potato and egg quesadilla (kind of like quiche. No tortilla, just egg) and you have yourself a meal. There was also salad and then they came with fish and veggies. I asked if i could trade mine in for more soup and they said sure. The final course was fresh watermelon and a different type of melon. OUTSTANDING. My favorite meal thus far.

More work to do after supper. We finished around 10:30 by the way. Then off to watch our game from tonight. So now it is almost 12:30 and just wrapping up the day. Tomorrow is a 9:30 breakfast, 11:15 video and 12:00 practice. Game vs. Spain at 6. They are GOOD. It will be interesting.

Until tomorrow

Phase One - Spain Day 3

Well I guess it is true what they say about the plains of Spain because it has rained all day. Cooler but still warm. Showers off and on all day though.

9:30 breakfast this morning with the same old same old cheese and meats with toast and jam.

After practice, because it was raining, I stayed in my room and worked on some film of France from last year. I also finished watching a documentary called The Two Escobars about Drug lord Pablo Escobar and soccer star Andres Escobar in Colombia. A Fantastic documentary that I would recommend to anyone. It really shows the connection between the two although Andres didn't seem to want it. IT also showed how a drug lord can really help a country when they put so much back into helping the poor. Great movie.

WE then had a meeting regarding some technical details and then had lunch. ANother great pasta dish today. Fantastic. Also salad, fruit and Chicken with Asparagus. Very good.

Our practice was from 5-7pm so that is what was planned for but as I have learned in international basketball and in foreign countries, things aren't always what they seem. We started at 5 once the kids were cleared out of the gym and the practice was pretty good for the most part. Quite intense and competitive. At about 6:20 a representative from the Spanish Basketball Federation told us we had to leave because they had one bus and they had to pick Cuba up for their game at 6:45 so we had to leave right away. PRactice was shortened quickly and away we went.

When we came back we stopped in for our nightly supper which was an absolute strike out. First one of the trip. Started with a plate of roasted veggies that weren't very good then they followed that with salad. What was in the middle of the salad??? I'll take Sardines for $200 Alex. Not a good start and it got worse. Being Friday, one could only expect fish and they brought out asparagus and some kind of fish i have never had before but one bite turned my stomach. Had to kill the taste with some Lemon yogurt.

So we left supper and headed to the gym to watch Spain and Cuba play. A good game which spain won. THey are very skilled and big. Cuba is not as big but they are fast.We should have 2 good games against them. Spain is ranked very high in the world and you could see why. they execute very well and they are very skilled.

After the game we came back and had a brief coaches meeting in the lobby to discuss the practice tomorrow at 9AM and our game plan for the game.

We have an 8AM breakfast, a 9AM practice and then we get picked up at 10 to go to the clinic. Allison is up first and she wants to have all of us involved. That will be fun. We are also going to stay and watch the other 2 coaches so I am pretty juiced for that. There will be some prep time and then game time at 7pm or 2pm in Nova Scotia.

One last point about tonight. As we were sitting in the lobby, the elevator opened and out walked a Mariachi band. A man with an accordion and a women with a guitar (or at least I think it was) and they had wireless mics on so they were busting out their music right away as they headed for the big party in the large banquet room. As soon as I saw and heard them I thought that "nighttime would find me in Rosie's Cantina. Music would play and Fellina would whirl". If you don't know what that is from you need to download yourself a copy of El Paso by Marty Robbins and give it a few dozen listens in a row. It's a tragic tale of mistakes made and love lost. I think I shall find it now and listen to it.

So now I must get to the video from the Cuba game. My job is to prep the team for games and now I must do the prep.

Until Tomorrow

Buenos Noches

Phase One - Spain Day 2

Well Day 2 is over. Time for some sleep.

Knocked out at 9:30 last night, I was awake at 4:45AM. Did some email stuff and then laid back down and slept from 7-9. Woke up in time for a 15 minute walk and then breakfast. Today was all kinds of meats and cheese with some cereal and toast. Fruit and yogurt as well. I stuck with meats and cheese with toast and peach marmalade. A nice choice.

We had a video session at 11:30 and then hit the bus for our practice at noon. The facility is about 5-10min away and it is not bad. We practiced for almost 2 hours with the girls being very sluggish for the first hour as most would expect. After practice they did a short core workout and then we walked down the street to a little grocery store.

We arrived back in time for our scheduled 2:30 meal which was quite good and interesting. It started with rice and tomato sauce which tasted great. However the interesting topper was the fried egg on top. Very nice combination surprisingly. Salad was next. After this the young lady brought out yogurt and fruit which would be a nice end to the meal. Hold on though because the last course was coming. Grilled zucchini and a steak. The steak was flat and not overly flavorful but some ate it. After lunch our manager spoke to the people here at the hotel regarding portion size so they will reduce it a bit. They love to eat here though so who knows what will happen.

After lunch, a number of us jumped in a taxi and went to the heart of Segovia to walk around. On the way I said that a building on our left must be something they told us to see. She told us in very bad English " No, No, Ole, Ole" while taking her hands off the wheel and making a motion of waving a red cape. It was a bullfighting ring.

The historic part of Segovia was impressive. It featured little cobblestone lanes with shops and cafes everywhere. It also had cathedrals, historical points and a castle. Very pretty. The town is also hosting the International Childrens Festival so there were groups of youth from everywhere around the world singing and dancing. Neat to see some of this stuff.

We arrived back from there around 7PM and headed for a team meeting at 7:30. Just a getting to know you better kind of session. Off to our 8:30 dinner after that. Tonight the meal started with a vegetable puree soup. Then we had 2 fish fillets with roasted vegetables followed by salad and yogurt with fruit.

Tomorrow we have practice again at 12. I will begin watching video of the teams they will face in France in a few weeks. Tomorrow evening we also will go to watch SPain play Cuba so it will give us a chance to scout and see what we need to do.

But now I am crashing. Hitting the wall as they say. Time to go to sleep.

Until tomorrow

Phase One - Day WHO KNOWS

Figured I would start this while I could still think a little bit straight.

Morning started off early in Vancouver. Windy road drive t

hrough the back roads because apparently it was the easy way to get to the airport. Actually it was the easy way to make 3 wrong turns and be later than expected at the airport. Flight from Vancouver to Toronto was uneventful. Big plane and full but luckily the seat next to me was empty.

Walked what seemed like forever to find our gate in Toronto so we could wait for 4 hours to get on that plane. Only a 6.5 hour flight from Toronto to Paris. Luckily again, I had the seat next to me wide open. So far so good onthe planes. Tried to get some sleep but that only lasted about 2 hours. Just restless thinking about our team back home and what needs to be done and how we will be next year. My mind never stops. On the flight I broke down the last of the game vs Japan last year so we would have an idea of how we might play them. I also watched a coaching video (a very bad one) and then I watched a documentary on the debated existence of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker which was supposed to be extinct years ago. After the documentary I would say the people in the area who supposedly saw it really saw a Pileated Woodpecker but purely my amateur observation. If that doesn’t sound like an incredible trip I don’t know what could top it. Oh wait, the $4 bottle of water that I just purchased. I could get 24 of them for 2.97 down at Walmart.

So as I sit and type this part it is 11:16 AM and I am in Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris. I look outside and I think of the movie taken. I want to be Liam Neeson and say, “Over a number of years I have acquired a very special set of skills……I will find you and I will kill you”. What a great movie that was.

So we have been traveling forhours and moreto come. Hope the flight to Madrid goes smoothly. I will be back soon.

Well the flight didn’t go as smooth as I wanted. Couldn’t sleep much but I tried. There was a woman in front of me with fancy clothes and big earrings, blah

blah blah. She is unhappy when I put my bag in the over head bin. She makes a commotion about my bag touching hers, rolls her eyes and takes hers down..of course after she slams mine around. So then during the flight she jams her seat all theway back and keeps on pushing it back. Meanwhile everytime I bump the chair she says something. Glad to get rid of that bitch.

So we land in Madrid. A nice looking landscape as we land. Rolling hills with a ring of mountains around the city. Very dry city though as everything was brown and I have never seen that much graffiti in all of my life. So after almost 24 hours of flying comes the next adventure. We have to wait for over 30 minutes to get our bags and then Allison’s was missing. We had to wait another little while to straighten that out then off to the bus. Cuba was supposed to arrive tomorrow but they arrived today so we had to share the bus. Cramped conditions for an hour and 15 minutes but we made.

Settled into our nice little hotel. It is small but nice and clean. The shower felt awesome but of course the backyard sprinkler would have been sweet after all that travel. So we had an hour to relax and shower and then off for a walk to get some blood flow. The neighborhood around our hotel is beautiful and there are a lot of really nice homes that are fenced and gates. We returned from the walk and hit supper.

Now I must give you fair warning. Sit back and enjoy this tale of our supper.

Started off with wine (not for me) and bread with Olive oil, vinegar and salt. A nice bread to start everything off. Next came a bowl of pasta which was fairly big. Accompanying it was fresh grated parmesan, a beautiful bowl of cooked up meat and veggies (ground beef, ham, onion, sun dried tomato, mushrooms) anda beautiful tomato sauce. Plain but extremely flavorful. We thought “Wow, what a good first meal”. Think again. Next came the salad and then 2 pork chops with pureed potatoes followed by fresh fruit and yogurt for dessert. Mother of pearl that was a meal!!!! If the rest are like this, GIDDYUP!!!!

So now I am at the point of over exhaustion. I am going to crash into bed in a few minutes. We have a 9:30 breakfast and a 12noon practice tomorrow. 2:30meal and then a 7:30 meal again. Try to get my bearings tomorrow

SLEEP AWAITS

Pic 1 - Mountains just outside madrid

Pic 2 - Typical houses in our neighborhood

Pic 1 - Peopl open a gate and drive under their house to park in their garage

Pic 2 - another few houses on our walk

Phase One - Day 9

Well Day 9 -terminado. Gotta work on my Spanish for tomorrow.

Up early this morning for a 7:30 breakfast followed by our last practice of the camp. Not a particularly aggressive practice basically just tying things together. The girls are tired while at the same time anxious to get going and play. We will have 3 good games in Spain and they will get 3 great games in France.

After practice the girls went to the weight room so I came back and finished up my laundry and tried to get some packing done. I also had some time to send some emails and tidy up some loose ends. The hard part about being away is that, while most schools are done recruiting, I am still pushing to try and get some players committed. It is part of the job at CBU that will not change and we have to live with it. Frustrating beyond belief but since we are not a high priority for many kids we have to dig and wait and dig and wait to see what we get. So some of my afternoon was spent recruiting and sending info to people.

Later in the afternoon I went to the grocery store and walmart for some last minute things. We never know what the food will be like so I scooped up a lot of granola bars, trail mix and some beef jerky. Need something in case the food is not good but as people know, I will probably be fine and write about the food in my blog. (Much to the entertainment of certain Philadelphia Flyers fans) Yes I will probably savour some meals in different environments and implant them in memory to be pulled out in some obscure conversation at a place in Halifax while telling Len that the Peanut Butter Burger he took me for is a pile of shit and tastes nothing like the meal I had once in some little restaurant. It's about immersing in the culture if possible and seeing how others live.

This evening the 4 coaches went out for a meal and it was quite nice and tasty. Good conversation and good food. Now I am back here and almost completely packed. Need to work on some things still but still some time although 4:45 AM wakeup comes early.

So now I must finish those little things. Hopefully we have internet in Spain and I can fill in the details of another adventure. I have been working on all the Spanish words that the Mexican girls taught me but they are all swear words and I may get myself in trouble over there.

One last bit of Spanish before I depart

Te Amo Mami. Muchos Besitos.

Buenas Noches

Coach

Phase One - Day 8

Well Day 8 is in the books. We had the regular 7:30 AM breakfast and then off to the gym. Today we had a scrimmage against a local group of guys. It was good to get some competition against someone else. We played well in spurts and ended up losing by 2 points. The guys weren’t supposed to play any zone defense against us but they wanted to win so they played the entire 4^th quarter in a zone. We had 8 turnovers in the first 3 quarters and then 9 in the 4^th quarter. We need work against the zone.

After the game it was off to lunch and then Starbucks for an hour. Tom, our guest coach, and Rich were heading out today so we went out for a last chat. We came back to residence and I tried to sort out a computer issue. I couldn’t get it figured out and it is still bothering me. Not my computer so at least that is OK. I also started to edit our game against the guys which we will watch when we arrive in Europe.

We had an hour and a half practice this evening mostly installing some new offense and working on our transition defense. Off to supper immediately after practice and then back to have cake as it is our managers birthday today.

So I finally have some details on the travel. We leave residence Tuesday at 5:30AM and head to Vancouver for a 9AM flight. About 45 minutes to get to Vancouver and then we have to beat rush hour so that is why it is so early. We fly to Toronto first. Arrive at 4:20PM. We depart Toronto at 8:30PM and arrive in Paris at 9:40AM on Wednesday. Our connection to Madrid leaves at 12:30 and gets in at 2:40pm. So doing the math, we leave Residence at 9:30am Nova Scotia Time and arrive in Madrid the next day at 9:40am Nova Scotia time. 24 hours of travel. Yee haw!!!! Gotta bring a change of underwear in the carry on bag for this trip.

Our schedule in Spain is as follows: (this could change easily as I have learned in my previous travels)

First city and city where we spend most of our time will be Segovia. 30-40 minutes north of Madrid with just over 50,000 people.

Thursday, May 26

4-6pm Practice

Friday, May 27

4-6pm Practice

Saturday, May 28

This will be game day but the fun part for me if we can work it out will be the coaching clinic that will be going on. Allison will be speaking at it along with the other coaches and I will be watching/filming as much as I can. This happens in the morning.

7PM we play Cuba

Sunday, May 29

6pm Game vs. Spain

Monday, May 30

We get up and take the bus from Segovia to Torrejon. This is in Madrid or just on the outskirts. We play at 4:45pm vs Japan.

Tuesday May 31

This will be when I depart from Madrid as the team trains for a week and then heads to France for 3 more games. Crappy part about this is that the 31 and June 1 will be total days off and the team will be exploring Spain. I guess I will miss the exploration.

My travel on the 31^st is to depart Madrid at 7:15AM and arrive in Paris at 9:20AM. Leave Paris at 11:20am and arrive in Toronto at 1:15PM. I then have to wait until 9:40PM and fly to Sydney arriving at 12:55AM that night. Almost another 24 hours. Might have to change that.

So there is the itinerary. Sorry for the long post. Tomorrow is an early breakfast, light practice then the day off to pack and shop for necessities

Until then