Week One

Well, I survived week one. And not only did I survive it, I think I held my own just fine. I defended pretty well and put up good passing numbers. On Friday, I passed a 3.53 with 67% perfect! So yeah, I'll take those numbers any day. The thing I like most about this training block is the level of intensity. In the winter, we all had fun every day playing and getting better. As Hugh would put it, it was "all rainbows and ponies". Well, this summer is not going to be "all rainbows and ponies". The stakes are much higher, therefore the level of intensity is climbing. After all, people aren't just playing to get better anymore. People are competing for a spot on the Olympic roster. And to add to that, the coaches keep score of EVERYTHING. So, you work your ass off to win every single point as it may be the difference between making a roster and not making a roster. And if you take points for granted or let a point slip away on a play that you should've made, you will definitely be hearing about it from the people around you who are trying to get as many point as they can. Basically, the "rainbows and ponies" are gone. So, I'm grinding every day because like I've said, London may not be completely realistic for me, but it's what I have my sights set on.

Anyways, this last weekend was definitely a good one! My good friend Brooke Delano was in town and spent the entire weekend with me!!

Brooke and I in Hawaii!

Brooke and I have been playing volleyball together for the past four years at Nebraska. We came in in the same freshman class in 2007. Brooke redshirted her freshman year so she still has a year of eligibility left. It was definitely weird having senior night without her :( Anyways, she flew in to Santa Ana on Friday afternoon and after a quick stop at my apartment to drop off her bags, we headed to Long Beach to have dinner with fellow ex-husker Tracy Stalls. We went to a cute little diner that served breakfast all day! Yum! So, It had probably been four years since the three of us had sat down and had dinner together, and it was a great "catch-up" session. After dinner, we went to "First Friday" which is just basically a chance for local artists to display their work and live musicians to show off their music. It was cool to experience something different. We didn't stay too late. We were back to the apartment by 9. We had plans to go out in Newport, but fatigue took over and we decided to have a chill night. We watched a movie and hung out with fellow USA teammates Jenna Hagglund. Friday night we decided that Saturday was gonna be a beach day. We planned on leaving at like 11 am and spending literally all day there. Well, the weather didn't like that idea and decided to be cloudy all day. We still went in the hopes that the clouds would clear up. They did, eventually, the minute we left the beach. The sun started peeking out on the drive home :( When we got home we had a baking session with Jenna and my roommate Destinee Hooker. We made delicious Oreo balls! We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the men's volleyball championship match. Saturday night we went out in Hollywood! We went to two clubs and it was super fun! The weekend ended with us heading back to LA on Sunday for a taping of Simon Cowell's new show "The X Factor". The show was really poorly run and took way longer than it needed to but the acts were very entertaining. This is including a 62 year-old woman who sang "I Touch Myself". It was hilarious. After the show Brooke's cousin picked her up and they were off to Bakersfield for the week so she could spend some time with her family. Overall, it was a great weekend! 

I guess that's all I have for now. And of course, here is your "The Office" clip. Enjoy!

Kayla