All-Star

I'm so sporty.

As I promised myself I would do, I bought a bike this weekend.  I went the economical way and bought used, and I think scored a pretty good deal.  Can't wait to get my bike on!  Since I like to name things, after I've ridden it a few more times, I will refer to it with a name and as "her" or "him".   Silly it is, but it makes me grow affectionate to my gadgets/modes of transport.  Which, to me, helps me feel better about the money and time I put into using them, and provides for fun jokes.  I have already fondly dubbed my car "Oliver" (/"Lafonda the Honda" when he gets real sassy) and my GPS "Donna", and we tight.

I'm not an athlete.  Anything involving running and balls are great to watch, but getting on a field or court frankly scares the heckle deckle out of me.  So, I did what any sensible girly-girl would do and joined an adult kickball league.  Ha. But I had my first game this week and it was a total blast!   Rules were loose, seriousness was way down, and sportsmanship was all around.  I seriously can't think of a better way of geting out of my comfort zone than mixing the game with friends, a boombox, jorts, and beer. And not only did I play the field for 3 innings, but I also kicked and made it to first base, and we dominated the game 6-1.  Just watch, I'm gonna be a pro by the end of the season.  And I'm going to wear jorts and I'm going to like it!

My involvement in sports greatly heightened my good times this weekend-- after a downtown party for the kickball league last night, I found myself at a DC United soccer game with some teammates. Not only was it a perfect spring night for a game, but the stadium was beautiful and full of devoted fans.  There were painted faces, ginormous flags, and one guy who circled around the upper levels with a bass drum, carrying the rhythm of the entire stadium's cheers.  D-C UNITED! clap clap, clapclapclapclap!  I'm finding a big perk of living in a big city is that there are teams in the major leagues to root for.  What a concept (sorry, Rochester Red Wings ...)!  There was extra excitement for us last night because a high school classmate of friends I was with had been drafted for DC United and started in the game.  Pretty amazing for them to see a friend on the field with the pros, including one particular one.  Oh yes, to my surprise and excitement, playing for last night's opponent, the LA Galaxy, was the only male soccer player I have heard of, obviously because he is uber famous (and hot).  Can you guess?  Why yes, it was DAVID BECKHAM.  Here he is in my stalker-ish photo, thanks to my 12x zoom lense:

*Girly squeal!*  I was way too far up to see any of his specimen-like bod, but it made things a little more exciting nonetheless. At one point, after a rough tumble, he almost started a fight with someone.  Ooo, male aggression.  I was there to support DC United, though, so I was eventually able to tear my eyes away from Beckham to follow the ball (and watch my friends' classmate make some good plays!).  It was a great game, and with a penalty kick in the last minute, DC United tied it up for a draw.  Fans went wild!

And to end the evening of sports, a group of us partook in the most intense, competitive, and skill-requiring game of all:  Catchphrase.  Now that's my kind of game.