Day 240 (Recall) Sorry!!

I recently attempted to play tennis. Our association gives us free access to the club tennis courts so I figured, "Eh, why not?"

This isn't relevant...and I don't even like him...but it's here.

Since I've been on my working out kicks in between actual work, I've gotten pretty accustomed to running on inclines, weight-lifting, and spinning classes. That's not to say that an hour and a half of active gym time doesn't still kick my ass, but I'm kind of in the mood for something new. So I annoyed Susie for a month and we just barely managed to squeeze some time to play. 

I roll up to her house and leave Stu behind as we trekked through the back way to the courts, creeping onto them and trying to avoid the security guy who's going to ask for our IDs...which I do not have. Susie introduces me to a few friends before leading me to the practice walls and attempts (very hard) to teach me how to swing a racquet. I think this is superfluous because of my oh-so-infinite knowledge of hitting a ball stemmed from sporadically playing racquetball (without knowing all the rules) back in college. ...I am proven wrong very quickly.

Half an hour and four lost balls later, I am a mix of frustrated and disbelief that I could really be this awful even if it is my first time playing. Susie laughs,

"It's okay!" She insists, slapping the neon-yellow ball to the pavement and whacking it at the ball in one, fluidly effortless motion that I envy. The fuzzy menace hurtles towards me and I back up a few feet before swinging at it and actually connecting. "Good!" Susie smiles then hardens her stare. "Now position your hand correctly!"

I adjust my grip immediately because, while she' admittedly one of the more nicer girls in my circle of friends, Susie's kinda scary if you don't listen to her. At some point, Susie deems it an appropriate time for me to go play on the actual courts... I think she's crazy and promptly tell her so. She shrugs off my concerns and thus, we spend the next hour with Susie's friend, Didi, just smacking the ball around. 

...Well, they smack the ball around; I just swing and hope for a number of things

1) That I can hit the ball

2) That said ball will go over the net

3) That said ball will not hit anyone

4) That said ball won't go over the fence

I gradually learn that I can actually manage all four...if I'm stationary. Otherwise, it's pretty much me smacking the ball into inconvenient places and making Didi and Susie run around grabbing wayward balls while I cringe on the other side and shout, "Sorry!!" for the 25th time.

 Suffice to say, Day 1 of Tennis-learning is a fantastic, sweaty, humidified fail. But a fabulously fun one. Repeat soon.