ARGH!

Currently my Dad is pissing me off.  He is being ridiculous.  He called me ~2 hours ago, telling me basically how stupid I am.  I am a blockhead, but I already went over the blockheadedness part with him 2 hours before that.  I got lectured on where to put my money when I go to the airport, and was discussing shuttles with him earlier.  I didn't need to know exactly how much money I need to put in each pocket that I have, or in my backpack or in my luggage.  I just wanted to know how much money I should bring.  I'm not used to the whole "shuttle" thing, and I am going to place that I've never been before, and I haven't been in an airport by myself before, so it is new and kind of scary.  I want to be paranoid, but I don't want others to tell me what in such a "demeaning" way.  Ah, overprotectiveness is killing me and it's killing my Dad too.  That's the sad part...he's probably stressing himself way too much over this because he thinks that I can't ever learn anything.  I mean, it's his fault for talking my ear off all the time.  Of course I'm bound to brush him off and stop listening.  It's just what kids do.  And both my siblings do this too, so it's not a personality issue.  I might be the worst, but would you listen to someone who just continued to rant?  You'd do it for a friend, but not if your friend ranted to you about the same things all the time, right?

Meanwhile, my mp3 player has died.  This REALLY sucks because I listen to it all the time: on the way to class, on the way from class, in my research lab.  And it just stopped working while I was listening to it, and I can't get it to recharge at all!  And it runs on a lithium battery so I'm not sure if the battery is completely dead (why didn't the player shut off before it completely drained?  I don't understand) or if some connection in my mp3 player went kaput.

Ah, I miss tennis.  I miss parents who were helpful when I messed up with my credit card and activated a fraud alert...  I need to sleep, and relax, and read fiction but stupid thesis...

Post Australian Open

The tournament was unbelievable for me.  First off, congratulations to Novak!  He deserved the title and played awesomely.  Secondly, congrats to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, for playing fun to watch tennis and for being himself.  Welcome to the top 20!  I can't wait to see you on grass!  Thirdly, congrats to Ana for making her second Grand Slam final!  She didn't play as well as she could, but she still kept trying.  Much better than the nervous and painful to watch match against Justine at the French last year.  And congrats to Marin for doing well and being "Mario-like".  It obviously couldn't be the best tournament ever, but for me it was the best tournament so far.  And it made me very, very happy.

I'm going to miss tennis, but I also actually have some work to do.  And then interviews!  I'm excited to go to San Francisco on Thursday!  (And come back and do work...lame.)

OMG ANA!

I stayed up until 1:43 AM to see the end of your 3-set win!  Crazy, especially with you being bageled in the first set!  I always knew you were a fighter; I want to see you fight against Sharapova Friday night.  I want to see you NEVER GIVE UP!

AJDE!

Australian Open - Quarters and Beyond

Woot, what a tournament so far! There was good and bad for my favorites, but overall I think the best thing about it is how interesting it has been. Or maybe I'm biased because awesome is happening to my favorite people at the moment, Ana and Novak!

Now all the match-ups should be pretty awesome. I can't complain about ESPN2's coverage, which is better than last year's, though I wish that there could be more. But then I would have no life, since I have watched almost every match broadcasted, usually the whole match but sometimes just a set. I have employed my super fast-forward method (fast-forward between serves, points, switching sides, interviews, commercials, etc.). I've also gotten some other people into tennis. And I don't really get any work done, but oh well...

I got some stuff done for my trip to UCSF and for my trip to Spain! Got myself some tickets! However, I did the "stupid" that many other early credit card users do and tried to buy tickets on my own card that were ~$900. Basically Citi thought someone was using my card and suspended it! So I have that cleared up and hopefully fixed up soon. Meanwhile I'll have to argue my way with U of M about the tuition charge that should be billed to MET and not to me, and figure out why I feel so sad about rejecting UC Irvine after receiving an email invitation for interviews from Northwestern. I guess I'm stressed a little and uneasy. Tennis causes stress but also relieves it. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Australian Open Round 2!

The fun times of scoreboard watching because ESPN2 has to show college basketball instead of tennis...  At least I got to see a little bit of Novak and much more of Ana!  And lots of Jelena, though that match was insane!  And too long, but what can you do?  Also liked seeing Tsonga v Murray (was basically as good as I hoped), a little of Svetlana and Amelie.  And congrats to Marin for winning his first grand slam match!  I have no idea how he will do against Jurgen Melzer but of course I will hope for the best!

Also, I have picked up a new up-and-comer to root for, Viktor Troicki.  Yes, he is the dude that beat Novak sometime last summer.  I like what I've seen of his game so far and hope he gets himself into good shape before the French.  I think he can climb those 12 places up to 104 and get direct entrance!  And maybe not have to play against Nadal...

As I look at the draw, I realize that there are still a ton of people that I don't know.  Especially on the women's side.  So I don't have many great match-ups to think about, because I don't know if they will be great!  But one thing for sure - Lindsay Davenport v Maria Sharapova will be good.  I am going to watch that before class, no matter what.  If I end up naturally waking up at 3:30 or around then, I will watch then.  Otherwise my alarm is going off at 7:45 and I will be pumped after my shower!

Also awesome will be Marcos Baghdatis v Marat Safin and Richard Gasquet v Feliciano Lopez!  And maybe Janko Tipsarevic v Fernando Verdasco.  But really, nothing that awesome, so I'm sure I'll go to sleep early.

Other drama that I haven't blogged about may be blogged about eventually.  These include stupid things like my random attractions to certain people, my fangirlness, and drama with my parents.  But the last thing is too depressing to talk about during this time of awesome, so long live tennis!

Australian Open Preview

The draw is out and I'm excited for the tournament! So time for the preview.

Overview - Roger Federer and Serena Williams are the defending champions (Fernando Gonzalez and Maria Sharapova, but Justine Henin had a dominating year last year and didn't play the open due to her divorce. This tournament is also the first slam for Lindsay Davenport since having a baby. Tommy Haas, Guillermo Cañas, Gael Monfils, and Mario Ančić aren't playing due to illness and injury, while almost everyone else is in. With the top half having seeds 1, 3, 5, and 7 for both draws, I feel like the top is a bit rougher than the bottom. With the tournament only 2 weeks into the season, I expect some upsets. I just hope it doesn't include my favorite players losing early!

Wishes - That someone I like makes it to the semis! That Roger and/or Justine don't win. That Novak and Ana take the titles (of course!).

Interesting 1st round matches involving seeds

• Andy Murray (9) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - Tsonga has been climbing the rankings and had a nice run at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Andy Murray is coming back from his wrist injury and might be headed to the top 5. I hope they show this match because it also involves two of my favorite players going against each other. Those matches always happen, unfortunately.
• Jelena Jankovic (3) vs. Tamira Paszek - The young, somewhat "stout" but talented and powerful hitter going against the runner with the beautiful backhand down the line. Jelena had problems with her leg during the Hopman Cup but seemed to recover enough to play this week. Jelena should win.
• Juan Carlos Ferrero (22) vs. Nicholas Kiefer - The German has had his injury issues, but he always does well at the Aussie Open. Ferrero did quite well at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open (I think) for a "clay-courter". I'm not exactly sure how the surface will play, but it should be faster than the clay. Upset is totally possible in this case.
• Svetlana Kuznetsova (2) vs. Nathalie Dechy - I don't know what has happened to Nathalie, a top-15 player a few years ago. Her experience makes her dangerous, but Svetlana just reached the final in Sydney, so I have faith that she'll take care of her business in Melbourne.
• Dmitry Tursunov (32) vs. Xavier Malisse - Hopefully Xavier is in good shape and gives Dmitry a nice challenge. I want it to be a 5 setter, maybe. Really, if Xavier wins, it isn't much of an upset at all.
• Marcos Baghdatis (16) vs. Thomas Johansson - Marcos is a former finalist and ToJo is a former champion. ToJo seems to be a good form, and Marcos has been "lazy", so his fitness may be questioned. Basically I have no idea what shape Marcos is in. I just don't think his talent alone will win this 3 out of 5 set match. So he better be in shape, because my sister likes him.
• Stanslisas Wawrinka (26) vs. Julien Benneteau - a rising star and a late-bloomer who is a solid top-100 player. I think Stan will win, but it also shows how deep tennis is becoming.
• Julia Vakulenko (32) vs. Elena Vesnina - two "youngsters" climbing the charts. If Elena wins, it really isn't an upset. The women aren't as deep as the men, but it really is that the top 10-20 are leagues ahead of the rest, who really don't make too much of a name for themselves at the opens unless they beat Maria Sharapova (or not).
• Ai Sugiyama vs. Vera Zvonareva (23) - Ai is a veteran who knows how to play steady as she goes, and Vera can be temperamental.
• Na Li (24) vs. Severine Bremond - It's not France so really Na Li might completely obliterate Severine. But Severine is talented, I think. Or maybe not.

Other 1st round matches that I'm tracking (besides all of my favs)

• Fabrice Santoro vs. John Isner
• Ernests Gulbis vs. Marat Safin
• Nicolas Mahut vs. Jose Acasuso
• Kateryna Bondarenko vs. Aravane Rezai

The first round matches of my favorites!

Men

• Marin Cilic vs. Nicolas Almagro (27)
• Novak Djokovic (3) vs. Benjamin Becker
• Richard Gasquet (8) vs. Nick Lindahl (WC)
• Ernests Gulbis vs. Marat Safin
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Andy Murray (9)
• Frank Dancevic vs. Jesse Levine (WC)

Women

• Yung-Jun Chan vs. Lindsay Davenport
• Jelena Jankovic (3) vs. Tamira Paszek
• Amelie Mauresmo (18) vs. Tatiana Poutchek
• Iroda Tulyaganova vs. Sania Mirza (31)
• Dinara Safina (16) vs. Qualifier
• Sorana Cirstea vs. Ana Ivanovic (4)
• Akiko Morigami vs. Michaella Krajicek
• Meilen Tu vs. Maria Kirilenko (27)
• Vania King vs. Daniela Hantuchova (9)
• Nathalie Dechy vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova (2)

2008 So Far

First week of school, yay, blah, blah...  I'm so happy that my classes start at 10 AM, since I can't sleep well anymore.  Stupid bed...it must be it.  Thinking about class, I need to get books sometime.  That will happen tomorrow, along with the stupid MET form I need to sign and have the registrar fill out.  I guess I need to give them an envelope too so they can send it?  I don't like how they change their policy even though my parents bought the MET like 10 years ago.  It sucks.  And they better pay for the rest of my credits!

Good news: I got an invitation for interviews with UCSF!  More good food, more good times?  At least that means I have 3 choices, though I really want to hear back from Stanford or Washington...  Maybe I should have applied to UCLA.  Even though I don't want to go that far south, it would at least be another Pac-10 school.

1 week until the Australian Open!  I can't wait to see everyone again, especially Ana and Novak.  Hopefully Marin gets past the first round and Mario is actually healthy.  And hopefully they don't all lose on the same day...  Lindsay is back too!  Maybe she can get another Slam?  She wants to go to the Olympics!  The Olympics are going to be awesome.

Monthly Outlook: January 2008

Recap: Finished 2007 by slacking off at home and eating a lot of food, managed to get good grades despite the slacking, finished Tales of the Abyss, watched a lot of NCAA volleyball and the NCAA Division I soccer championships. Somehow my professor is not mad at me for slacking off so much, and I heard back from U of M and Emory so at least 2 schools to visit for interviews.

Outlook: I hope this month is relaxed (even with the Australian Open), though taking an upper level writing class might suck. I hope I'm not in the lab too much because I have a thesis to write! Shouldn't be too busy. I hope to stay organized so I can get a lot of things besides schoolwork done!

Events/Activities: Australian Open, Lincoln Jazz Orchestra concert, basketball games, gymnastics meet?

Goals: to get at least 20 pages of my thesis done, to finish reading Lord of the Rings, to review the 10 lessons of BCS that I studied previously and remember noun declensions, to keep up with my other goals