Update #3 Weather, butterflies and of course, volleyball.

The past week and a half or so have moved along pretty fast, which I welcome, since I would like to get this season underway. To get after it, some may say. We participated in a two match scrimmage against our distant neighbors, Lindesberg. We played 10 sets in total and won 2. Lets face it, they are a good team, but I think we are and can be better with a little more time and practice together. Maybe I am delusional, or maybe I am just being an athlete. Never stop trying to win, never stop thinking "we are better, faster, stronger" and most importantly, never giving up. All teams in this league have strengths and weaknesses. Its all about exploiting those weaknesses, however big or small, during a match and taking full advantage of them for the win. Its about being aggressive in the moment, not through feelings of disappointment in the locker room, after the game is over. My thoughts about the game are simple, if I put my all into every match and do everything I can to win, there is no reason for me to be upset or down on myself after its over. Win or lose. On another related note, we will play against my old team, Orebro, this saturday. Some asked me if this was going to be tough for me or in some sense, like a grudge match...the truth...the team that is there now, is completely different then the one I spent 3 years with. Yes, there are 3 girls I played with before and one that went through all 3 years with me. So I guess it will be fun to play against them, otherwise, I have no idea who this team is. I am interested to see how our team has progressed or digressed and work on sharpening the rough edges before our first match next Thursday.

Taking a break from volleyball talk for a moment, the weather has started to take on the feeling that winter is on its way. I was told that the summer was warmer then usual, which apparently means a lot of snow. I love a lot of snow, so bring it on! Can't wait. Like common Swedish weather, it has been cloudy, rainy and cold since the beginning of October. Today is the first day I have seen the sun come out for longer then an hour. Does this bother me? Yes, sometimes, but other times, I like the feeling of cold and seasons when its supposed to be. I like feeling cozy and warm in my apartment when the weather is cold and wet outside. It is starting to get darker earlier now, but have no fear I say, its only dark for about 2 months and then it gets lighter again. Like I have said in the past, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, always. So bring on the cold weather and snow. This is how season should be experienced anyway!

I wanted to mention the butterfly house I recently visited. The amazon like tent is located in Haga park near Stockholm. It took me a little bit to find the area via bus, but I eventually found myself in the right spot. Once I walked into the huge tent of lush greenery, man made ponds and humidity, I instantly felt like I was in an actual rain forest. Hot, wet air and green tropical plants and flowers everywhere you looked. At first I didn't see any butterflies and felt a little disappointed. After looking closer and up to the ceiling, they began to make their presence known, flapping their wings all around and above me. One, that looked as big or bigger then a small bird, clumsily flew straight towards me and proceeded to try and land on my face. It took everything in me to not swat it away like I would a fly. There were so many different types of butterflies and some that were in the middle of hatching as well. It was amazing in there, I could have stayed all day if I hadn't felt like I was going to pass out because of the heat. My favorites were the ones with brownish wings and then when opened, a bright color would be shown on the tops of their wings. I also spotted one with green and brown spots on its wings. I could definitely see myself going there during the winter time, the heat alone would get me out of a winter funk.



Our first match of the season is the 16th next week. I, like many others, are excited to finally get this league started. We play Lindesberg and will hopefully find a crack in their armor and beat them. I believe we can and I hope that everyone else on the team feels the same. Just because they are ranked higher and seem better then us doesn't mean we can relax and just lose. Winning is hard, losing is easy. I prefer to win, however hard it may be. Until next time!

Swedish words:

fjäril (fee-ya-rrill) = Butterfly
Soligt = Sunny
djungel = Jungle