Back to Work!

A couple of things have happened to me to keep me from the table since I got back from the Midwest Classic.

First - I finally served my jury duty which I had been postponing for a year and a half. I was chosen as a juror for a robbery and grand larceny case in criminal court. The jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision and the judge granted a mistrial. I can't believe I have to wait four years before I get to do it again :)


Similarities to "Law and Order" included lots of objections and approaching the bench, overly-dramatic attorneys, and a judge who impartially applied withering sarcasm (complete with eye-roll) to everyone in the court.


Second - A few blogs ago I made joke about my growing resemblance to a fiddler crab because of all the strenuous activities I was performing with my right arm (breaking, demolition, etc.) The joke is on me, however, because I've developed tendonitis in my right wrist. Good one, universe! ROFLMAO, while clutching my swollen wrist! LOL!

The good news is that after two weeks off from playing, and deciding to hire someone to redo the bathroom, my wrist is getting better. I am back at work on my game (minus the break) and going to physical therapy to give myself the wrists of a champion!

- - - - - - - - -

In lieu of a more detailed account of my tournament in Oklahoma, which I promised in my last post, here is a summary statement: Although I did not feel that I was hitting the balls to best of my ability, I was very pleased with my attitude and focus. I worked very hard to stay positive throughout the tournament and to give 100% to every shot. I have to say that this got harder and harder to do as the tournament went on and I got more fatigued. This is something that I have to work on. I am hoping that with regular practice the skills will get easier to maintain over longer periods of time.


LIZ



P.S.

R.I.P. Elliott Smith. These are a few of his songs. He made the sad kids happy.

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All Good Things Must Come to an End

Sadly, I lost to Jasmin Ouschan 9-5. Not my best performance, best attitude or best focus, but I am thrilled with how I performed throughout the tournament and with my 17th place finish. I have to run and catch my plane home. I will give a more detailed account when I get home. Thanks for tuning in!

LIZ

Still Standing

I was unable to give an update after my 6pm match with Leslie Anne Rogers, last night, because I won (9-5) and had to prepare to play again! At 10 pm I played Melissa Morris and won (9-7.)

The last two matches were grind-fests. The pool was far from perfect and it came down to who had more stamina and could make fewer mistakes. Not the most fun way to play but it happens! I was exhausted by the end of it since I had been in focus-mode from about 1pm until 1am.

I got a good night's sleep, which I will need since I face the very tough Jasmin Ouschan at 2pm.

Wish me luck!


LIZ

Success in Attitude and Results

Just a really quick update:

I won my match against Alice Rim 9-6. I started off very strong and held the lead for the entire match although I tightened up as I got nearer to the finish line. It was a definite struggle against myself, but I was able to calm my nerves and fears in order to finish the job.

I play Leslie Anne Rogers tonight at 6pm. I am recharging myself right now so that I can give an energetic and focused performance tonight. My main goal is still to feel the joy of the game and not the fear.

LIZ

I Got Second Place in My Match

I wish I had better results to report, but I lost my match today, to #11-ranked Sarah Ellerby, 9-7.



Sarah played very well and got some good fortune and I found myself down 8-4. I spent most of my match up until that point in the chair as I had relatively few offensive opportunities. A couple of things rolled my way and I was able to run out a few racks to bring the match to 8-7. In the final game I sold out on a kick shot that I hit a smidge too firmly and Sarah ran out.



The good news is that I felt great at the table today and that I was able to remain calm, positive and motivated despite the fact that I faced some adversity. It is easy to love the game and remain positive when you are winning, but it takes heart to have the same attitude when it is an uphill battle. I won the contest against myself by being able to feel the way that I wanted to feel and it showed in my confident play.



On to tomorrow....



I face my friend Alice Rim at 1pm in the elimination bracket.



My goal is not only to carry my positive attitude with me tomorrow, during my match, but to maintain it post-tournament regardless of my results.



Wish me luck... My fifteen minutes are up..



LIZ

Wednesday Night or Why Steve Lipsky is Brilliant

UPDATE: I play my first match tomorrow afternoon at 3pm Central Time against Sarah Ellerby. I am heading off to get a good night's sleep, but before I go I will leave you with some deep thoughts from my friend and pool-player-extraordinaire Steve.

The following was posted on the azbilliards forums a few days ago. A "Googan", by the way, has been best-described as a "Severe Pool Nerd."

The top 20 list of "You Might Be A Googan If"

20) You know what "squirt" is

19) Even though you stink at 9-ball, sometimes you play 10-ball for the added challenge

18) You have fireside chats about deflection

17) You're convinced the only thing keeping you from playing better is a Z-dot shaft

16) You make mental calculations in your head based on if you are using a blue-dot cueball or a
red-dot cueball

15) You're always up on the latest cutting-edge technology of tips

14) You're certain every week you've discovered the secret to pool, and it always involves changing your mechanics

13) You practice on tight pocket tables and rarely come within a diamond of making anything

12) You wonder, for no reason whatsoever, what the right game is between Jeremy Jones and Corey Deuel

11) You rush into pool rooms with the latest info on tournaments

10) You can name every material used in every stick you see

9) You stay close to anybody resembling a pro player, telling anybody else who asks, "Oh, we're friends."

8) You buy a new cue every other week and never sell the previous one

7) You have pictures at home of you and pro players, arms on shoulders, you with a goofy smile, them looking like they can't wait to get away

6) You know who won the 1992 Bicycle Club Casino event

5) You ever posted or replied to a message titled "what cues do the pros use?"

4) You say things like "You shoot a good stick", or "You're a good shot"

3) You wear a magnetic chalk holder when you play

2) You regularly get your shafts googaned (cleaned)


And the #1 sign that you might be a googan:

1) You refer to filipino players by their nicknames (bata, django, etc)



My response:

Outing Myself

Steve - During our conversation last night at Amstercorn, I thought 3 items applied to me. Turns out it's only #14 and #16. However, I bring my own measle ball with me to the pool hall and sometimes, at home, I meditate while looking at it...I really wish I were kidding...

Steve replies:

Good God woman, you carry your own measle ball! I hereby decree you to be, "Liz, Queen Googan of the Googanites".Seriously, that is an insanely high level of googanosity. - Steve

Always seeing the glass as half-full, I reply:

Cool...I always wanted to be royalty...


LIZ

WPBA Midwest Classic

I am here in Norman, Oklahoma for the WPBA Midwest Classic. I thought I would try something new, this time, and share my experiences here as the tournament goes on, with daily updates.

Since I am limited to 15 minutes at a time on the hotel computer, I will have to play it kind of fast and loose, so I appollogize in advance for the inevititable typoos.

So here I go:
I have been struggling with anxiety lately and it has been negatively affecting my attitude towards pool. I realized last week that I felt fear every time I came to the table. I had to remind myself that my anxiety was due to the fact that I was perceiving competitive situations as threats and not as opportunities to learn and enjoy myself.

Since I have addressed the source of my fears and given myself permission to be free from pressure, I have been enjoying the game again. I am really looking forward to this tournament as an opportunity to transcend my negative emotions and feel the joy that comes from playing without self-pressure.

Today is practice and the Player's meeting and tournament play starts tomorrow. I'll be back tonight for an update.

Also, I am thrilled to see that Thorsten Hohmann has started a blog and that he is sharing some of his training programs online. Very cool!

LIZ