vball: shoeless Bri =)

"What's the story behind this picture?" you might wonder...

All both of you.

These are the shoes I played volleyball in tonight. And... They're not mine.

What the what?

See, due to scheduling of off-nights, I'd been away from vball for over two weeks, and when I suited and packed up for vball this evening at home, I spaced on grabbing my shoes. Of course, I didn't realize it until I got to the gym. Options? Let's see...

1. Drive to the mall and buy some new shoes, and probably miss the first match of the evening.
   
2. Hope/ask around for someone who's got an extra pair of size 10-and-a-half sneakers (and no fungal issues) with them tonight.
   
3. Play in my boots (they've got a 3/4 or so inch sole, not good).
   
4. Play without shoes.

Well, given the photo, you're probably thinking that I managed to execute on option number 2. Not so. Not wanting to miss any court time, I nixed option 1. I couldn't find anyone who could loan me any fitting shoes, so option 2 was a no-go. No way could I safely play in my boots, so "no" to option 3. Which left me with option 4. And thusly, I played my first match barefoot!

My What Has Eight Legs And Wins? teammates weren't ecstatic about my decision, but I insisted (of course). I was a little concerned with the crummy floor surface, but except for a couple of obvious divots and uneven floorboards, it wasn't an issue. The worst part of the experience was how frickin dirty the gym floor was, and so, how scrubby and dirty my feet got.

Playing on hardwood in bare feet, It actually felt kind of nice. A ghost sensation of the outdoor vball experience, y'know? I could imagine onlookers thinking I was a nutjob pining for summertime volleyball, grass or sand beneath my bare feet. They wouldn't really be wrong, either. =)

Andrew suggested that I needed a Grateful Dead tee shirt to complete my barefoot volleyball playing hippie look. Longer hair and shades would've rounded it out, too, I'm sure.

I was just setting and playing defense, so I didn't have to do any jumping. I found I couldn't send myself diving the way I usually do. Not sure if that was because of physical safety/ability without the shoes or if it was psychological, me being overly aware and concerned about my shoelessness.

It did seem that my concerned teammates kindly stepped up their passing to accommodate, tho. =)

Oh, but hey! What about those shoes, right? Well, just as we got started with our first match, teammate Kathy called her husband Bob at home and explained the situation. Bob wears size 10-and-a-half sneakers, so Kathy asked him if he could swing by and bring a pair that I could use, and, great sport and samaritan that he is, he DID!

Actually, he was kind enough to bring three pairs to choose from!
Hil and Kathy likened it to girlfriends lending each other, or travelling with, clothes and accessories. Always having options and all, y'know? Heh.

Hrmm... Come to think of it, I think the black ones would've worked better with what I was wearing...

The shoes arrived in time for the first game of the second match of the night, and we called what referee Dan declared was "the strangest time out" he'd ever seen, so that I could make my shoe selection and lace up, and I played the rest of the evening in the Puma sneaks. I can't recall now how we finished for the evening. Regardless, it was a fun night (as Thursdays typically are =).

But, oh man, I need to invest in some new knee pads. Every other week I manage to leave a decent swatch of my skin on the frickin floor. I manage to scrape myself in the oddest places. This time I lost some skin from my left leg, below the knee cap, toward the outside of my shin, when sliding on the floor. I just have crappy diving form I guess. But two weeks ago, I somehow managed to dig a chunk of skin out of my left kneecap, which was covered and protected by a knee brace AND knee pad.

I'll spare you the photo (I can post it tho, if either of you would like to see it). Bleah.

Keep on keepin on~

* January 30, 2007. And now, skinless Bri! Beware! Images of a graphic nature follow...

From the day after the scraping...And from today...The pink dent in my kneecap is what remains of the core sample I took a couple weeks earlier.

Yumm!