IT'S A GIRL!!

... but we knew that already

i have a new baby cousin
actually,

someone help me out here
what do you call the child of your cousin?
my niece? would she call me auntie?

i'm confused.

i've got the volleyball... jones?

oh the bliss of sweaty kneepads sticking to the legs, purpled limbs hitting the floor again, surge of energy stuffing a hit, moment of awe landing kill...

it's back baby, oh yeah! but not like ever before...

did you know...?

at Christian Universities:
-try-outs are like drop in vball or intramurals - all for fun
-players encourage you even when they know that you're their competition
-coaches never say a harsh word even when they know you're sucking madly
-trash talking seems like blasphemy - won't be any of that coming out of my mouth this year
-lots of sorry's, thanks', and general politeness on and off the court

it's kinda nice! i think i'm gona enjoy this place. the lack of swear words and intimidation and almost too much love and happiness! heh...

it's like grade 6 junior mixed volleyball team. oh man, those were the good old days. everyone cheers when you get a serve over or get 3 hits on each side. competition was great and we never lost a game... but it was the heart of a child playing for the sake of playing, not winning. that's what i miss.

grade 8 vball was also lots of fun. more giggling and girliness. lots of boy craziness at tournaments. (funny cuz that's when i met my eventual best friend, the nicky) still never lost, but we were getting serious about winning.

high school - ohh high school vball. lots of suicides (the running kind), even more jumping drills, serving clinics, hitting clinics, full practices devoted to fundamentals. that's where i got educated. it all pays off in the end. OFSAA baby... can't say we never lost... but we always had fun playing at that competitive level.

Queen's - funny how competitive and crazy intramural ball can get... still miss playing with them AIA boys and girl (yay for lo lo) tho... tons of fun!!

it's that instantaneous feeling

- the moment you set the ball and you know your hitter timed it perfectly and you turn just in time to see the kill. BAM! so beautiful!

- the moment you jump and reach for the ball and hit it down with all you've got, perfect approach, perfect jump, perfect form, and a little twist - gota love that cut!

OH I CAN'T WAIT FOR VBALL SEASON TO START!!!

them talons will scratch your eyes out

Honestly now, how cool is that?
That's right boys and girls Tyndale is the new place to be and varsity women's volleyball is my dream home.

so i have try-outs in a couple hours... butterflies are already creating a storm up in the abdominal region. it means it's game time... oh adrenaline how i missed you all these years. you bring youth back into my veins!!

and imma outta here...

fun times with randos who aren't randos no more

left china a month ago with temperatures of 40 degrees every day...
diving into clean clear muskoka air - FREEZING my butt off!!! - true north strong and free for sure. man. this weekend was so cold, especially being up north.

what? Seminary student retreat
Where? Muskoka baptist conference
When? This past weekend

it was such good times. even tho i was reluctant to go (being the anti-social girl that i am - they call me hermit back at Queen's). i ended up going for the sake of fellowship with my bros and sis's - important lesson learned in China. Turned out to be such great fun.

seminary kids (ranging from young'un like me to grandparents) are the nicest ppl ever. it's grea times with all the pastor kids jokes... cept everyone gets them.. .and it's so funny. we sing camp songs at the top of our lungs and do cultic dances around the campfire to king of kings haha.. oh the jew in us all. haha... it's like... good, clean fun. no crude jokes or cynical insults... just a nice environment to enjoy with friends and profs, which btw are like second parents who realy care about the students and take the initiative to talk to us and get to know us. it's so weird. but cool at the same time.

eek! so FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL TOMORROW.

[kiddies first day of school]

~~~~~ now imagine with me ~~~~~~~

china girl... and india girl... going to seminary...

luv ya joycemama...

(btw. i'm joining the brown crew at tyndale. - jess you should be proud of me!!)

ladies and gents.... commuters of the Toronto streets...
BEWARE - i'm driving to school .

that's right... gota practice for that G test.

i hope i don't fall asleep in class...
i better get to sleep, eh?

"i'm too excited to sleep"

Orient'd

it's like first day of frosh all over again
awkward stares and silences
fake smiles and meaningless small talk

except NOT
cuz it's seminary -WOO!

10 reasons why this year is shaping up to be beeeeeeeeeeautiful...

10. joycemma - my life sci connection

9. only 9 hours of classes a week... not tooo sure what i'm gona do with myself... FREEDOM!

8. already know the student council (and coach! :P) - oh how i love the asian connections

7. on-site coffee shop - yummmmm

6. profs are so nice, they give out their cell # for students to call for questions

5. i'm classmates with university profs (who are really nice!)

4. profs who actually want their students to learn and do well and who pray for their sudents

3. it's not weird to be "cheerful" "perky" "encouraging" "modest" "thoughtful" "friendly" (things ppl used to explain as my "christian-ness") - this stuff is expected!

2. eligibility for varsity volleyball tryouts

1. dusting off the spandex shorts!!! (ie. varsity vball WOOOOO!)



for the lack of fun tyndale pictures - here's more china fun!