TicketsMyanna Hellsten is a senior middle blocker for the UC volleyball team. She is majoring in interdisciplinary studies.
Natalie Dossman is a junior defensive specialist and team captain for the UC volleyball team. She is majoring in health promotions.
July 29, 2006
by Natalie
Well hey there everyone! I have been quite busy with camps lately, but I have got a lunch break now so I'll catch you up on the short of it.
I have worked camp this entire week but I am making some money, so it's all good. I worked the St. Ursula camp on Monday through Wednesday night and started the all skills camp on Thursday. Camp is going pretty well. I am coaching on a court with Elley, Pete, Jami, and Erin. One day we got a little bored so I decided to play "hide Jami's crutch" so that she couldn't find it. It was rather humerous, although I am not sure she would say the same thing. The campers are getting a lot better and they are very enthusiastic and copperative which is nice when you are dealing with a bunch of 8th grade girls.
Each night after camp gets over all the UC girls along with Maria (Pongonis) who played last year and the new recruits for '06 and '07 scrimmage each other. It is so much fun because we are so competetive and we play pretty tough. I am super excited for the next couple of years because I think we are going to be pretty sweet! Not to mention that I just found out we are playing Stanford my senior year! These oppurtunities are amazing!
Today right before our lunch break Pete and I ran the river, which is the running test we have to pass before we get to practice during pre-season. In other words it pretty much means the death of people on our team haha I am just kidding. Anyways we ran that and did just fine, even though we are extremely sore from lifting yesterday. Well it's about that time to get back to camp so for now have a great weekend! I'll be in touch soon!
July 25, 2006
by Myanna
I am a firm believer in the old saying, "everything happens for a reason". While I do not always know the reason, in fact in my experience I usually do not, I still believe there always is one. Yesterday, I stood in a roller coaster line at six flags for six hours and then did not get to ride it for a reason.
It was about 3:30 when my mother and I entered the line for Kingda Ka, the fastest and tallest roller coaster on the face of the earth. We were warned that the wait would be anywhere from two to three hours but I was willing to wait so I could say I had ridden the fastest and tallest roller coaster. At about an hour into the wait we were informed that Kingda Ka was experiencing minor technical difficulties. There was no estimated time for the repairs. An hour later, yes we waited an hour just to see if we could wait some more, it began running again. Not too bad, only two hours of being in line and probably only about another hour, as people had left the line during the repairs.
Well, as you know, the wait was much longer than another hour. Like idiots, we stayed in line until about 7:45. I'm not really sure why we continued to stand in the hot sun slowly snaking back and forth with metal bars as our guides. I just kept thinking, we've been waiting three hours so what's another 45 minutes, we've waited three and a half hours so what's another half hour.
Then, success!!! We made it to the front of the line! We sat down in the seats, strapped ourselves tightly in and joked about how we finally made it. We sat there for a while until we heard a voice on the microphone, "Would everyone on the ride please unbuckle the harnesses and get off as we are experiencing minor technical difficulties". You have to be kidding me I thought. It was no joke. At least an hour wait for repairs we were informed.
By this point I didn't even care about the ride, it was solely about feeling successful. I will win; I will get on the ride. I will ride the fastest and tallest roller coaster in the world, I will! Well, I didn't. We waited another hour and a half for them to close down the ride completely. I lost. I have no idea why we waited in line for six hours to not ride Kingda Ka. Maybe someone would have gotten hurt or maybe it was just so I could meet some of the people in line. I will never know but I know it was supposed to happen that way.
July 21, 2006
by Natalie
Well hey there everyone! Now that you have heard about the long of it from Myanna, it's my turn to tell you about the short of it! We finally got a break from camp so I got to sleep in until 9 am! Woo hoo! I woke up, had a little breakfast and then headed to class. I am taking a Topics in Literatue course and our topic for the quarter is King Arthur in lit and film. So today we watched The Fisher King and it is an extremely good movie and I recomment it to all of you.
Once I left class I walked back to my new town house (YAY!) and hooked up my computer all by myself! I was very proud! I headed back home to Indy today because it is my dad's 50th birthday (Happy Birthday Dad!!!) and my little sister's high school graduation party this weekend. As soon as I got home I was bombarded with house chores from my mom. I know, how lovely. After we cleaned the house I sat down with my fam and showed them all of my pics from Italy and told them all of the stories. Anyways I am exhausted and I am sure there will be much more work to do tomorrow. So for now goodnight and sweetest dreams to everyone!
July 17, 2006
by Myanna
Back from Italy and straight to work! We started camp the day after we returned and although it has been a long few days it has been quite a success. We had seven teams at team camp with some great kids present. We had girls as young as twelve and they were so cute and fun. One twelve year old girl volunteered for every drill during demos. When her four foot ten inch frame got matched up across the net from me she looked me directly in the eyes and said, "I'm not scared of you!"
She had so much energy and personality. It is girls like her that make working camp so much fun. The kids that always want to get better and learn, even if they do not pick up the skills, make camp worth while. They are the kids that remind me why I should play. They are the kids that play solely because they love the game and enjoy who they are when they are on the court. They are the role models.