Preference for Punishment

As some of you may know, last summer and fall I participated in two tennis leagues and had a collective score of about 1-6500. Though I took every opportunity to complain about the ladies on my teams, the ladies I played, the bad beer they always wanted to drink afterward, the fact that they all thought I was still in high school (and therefore not allowed to drink the beer they brought), the extreme crappiness of my playing record...on some level I must have enjoyed it, because I have just signed up for two more tennis leagues. One is a singles ladder, and one is a mixed doubles team. Both are through a large public facility here in Denver, so hopefully the people I meet will be a little more normal and a little less country club. For instance, they may show up in an old t-shirt, rather than a brand spanking new tennis skirt with matching top and visor, and wearing more makeup than I wore for my own wedding. At any rate, I'm shooting for a few more wins (two would be quite an improvement) and hopefully some fun in the bargain.

The mixed doubles experience should be interesting. The pro that I take lessons from had a moment of shocked silence when I'd told him I'd signed up for a doubles league. We had just spent 45 minutes trying to improve my volleys (as in, he was trying to enable me to hit them over the net rather than into it), so I can't really blame him. Still, it wasn't the most encouraging response. Joe is going to be my partner for this doubles league. I kind of think no one else was interested in the position, because the captain of the team suggested it. Hopefully the extreme frustration I experience when playing against Joe will turn into cheerful camaraderie when we're on the same team. Hopefully. The league starts in April, so we've got a few weeks to work that out...

As for my old team from last summer, they are apparently recruiting to fill my position, as one of the only other women under 40 at our club informed me. I haven't actually told them I don't want to play, and they haven't bothered to ask. I believe you need to win ten percent of your games before an invitation to rejoin the team can be extended. Especially when you are so unpardonably lax in maintaining the fashion code of the team. Shapeless, grey cotton pants with small holes in the backside are tolerated only slightly more than losing 0-6, 0-6. And since I'm guilty of both, it seems we must part ways. Though I did buy new pants. One step closer to success!