Dear Summer

Central Park. What up.

I've been patiently waiting for summer to show up while biding my time in Peg City which has, I'm told, been experiencing its coldest summer on record this year. I don't even wanna check on that, I just know I had to wade through knee-deep snow drifts on my way to the gym a couple times already this summer so I'll just chalk it up to a little taste of what's to come this winter... More on that later.

Right. Sweet.

I think last I wrote I was kickin it on the sandy shores of South Beach. A lot happened after that so to sum it up, let me just say it's remarkable how much mayhem occurs in a month. Post-Miami, I had a little trip with Team Canada to Puerto Rico for a world championship qualifier tournament; rocked NYC for a few days off with my mama; then rolled to Phoenix for the last 5 days of my break. Oh and I turned 23... I'm officially old bones.

Looks like 23 is about to be an interesting year for me. That sounds all deep but I found out/decided in July that I'm gonna be staying in Winnipeg longer than originally expected - aka peacing it PROMPTLY at the end of the season with the natty team - so note to self: I'll be gone 'til November. Ooooor make that May. Snap.

Turns out the head coach they brought in here this year is a baller and is pretty much the best I've had in, oh I don't know, five years so I figure it's a good situation to get to stay and work with him as long as possible. Enter the "You have a lot of potential but you're still really raw" line I've been fed my entire life, and I think I'm due to finally come up good on that. Somehow it doesn't have the same motivating effect it did when I was 14. So I decided that instead of goin back to Europe to play pro who-knows-where, I'ma be back on familiar ground and I'll be in Canada until next fall. Assuming I live through the winter here.

For those in the know, I'm cold approximately... all the time and this is what I attribute my having been miserable for the first 18 years of my life to. And I'm not even kidding. I was not made for this climate. I done did that and that's why I left and moved to possibly the hottest city in North America for university. That was not by chance my friends. People shouldn't live here and suffice it to say that living in Canada through my first winter in 5 years is about to test the limits of my will to live. Gifts in the form of wool mitts and seal skin parkas are welcomed. Eff.

Talkin about that is bringin' me down so I'm just gonna focus on the next 2 months of somewhat bearable weather and the volleyball tasks at hand. We have our next world's qualifier in Tijuana at the end of the month. I'm thinkin maybe I should get over the whole weather thing here and focus on not getting gang-banged on the way to a game. Just sayin. After Mexico, we roll back to Puerto Rico for another tournament at the end of September. Then it's freedom for a month until full-time training starts here again in November and I'm back on the grind for good.

That's about enough writing for one day so here's some pictures of the delights over the last month...

Raptor arm stance? The Brazilians liked it.

Love these kids

Faker smiles were never captured on film

Everyday I'm hustlin'

Bored maybe

Witness the Carnage

NYC with the Moms. The required tourist shot.

R.I.P MJ... Harlem pays its respects

Old used hats. Never/always a good look?
I probably have rabies from putting that on.

Dinner with fam

And yeah, I don't know what's up with the picture quality on here. Mad apologies