Friday, March 13, 2009

This would have been a Hollywood ending...

So tonight Team Bond Girls chatted with Patti Lank - who just finished curling in the US Olympic Trials and her team came so close to being the US Olympic team. They faced off against Debbie McCormick and ended up losing to her in the final. So sad!

Patti agreed to take a photo with us and then she switched our final ranking to the top spot on the leader board - which we all thought was totally hilarious! She rocks!!

Here is the photo proof:

Live and Let Curl!

I thought that the title of this blog was appropriate. Today, we played against Washington in our 9th game of this curling competition. So far, we have played more games in one week, than back at our own curling rink in two months (since we only play on Sunday nights). During this game, we came so close to making a few essential shots, but we just couldn't always get the exact weight or line at the right moment. We nearly came around the guards or took things out or drew around guards. There were moments where I felt that we swept harder in this game than any other game during this whole competition, and I'm going to quote Cindy, "My arms felt like jelly." One good thing that I'd like to highlight from this game was that I was finally getting my most of my guards up. Finally! That's for you, Marissa! NO FAIL!

We took a lot of beating, and in the 7th end, we finally scored 2. They stole another one in the 8th. We decided to go and curl another end despite Washington's lead. Marissa slid down and said, "You ready for one more?" Of course, we were! And I'm going to give you 3 reasons: 1) We are resolved never to give up 2) Mathematically, until we run out of rocks, there was still potential that a miracle could happen (It could happen. We are from Hollywood.) 3) We love opportunities to curl on dedicated ice and this will be the last game...at least for a while. We ended up scoring another 2 points in the 9th end! I think we all would have enough strength for even another end (especially if we scored 3 or 4 points) even though we couldn't feel our arms anymore and there were aches in our legs. BUT to us, those last 2 points represented that our effort was enough. We finally shook.

I admit, today was not our best game. We definitely needed a little bit a tweaking here and there to be perfect. Plus, the score does not reflect how close we came to getting some of these hard shots or the amount of effort we put in trying overcome all the obstacles in our way. We have learned, grown, and curled together which was our goal coming to Nationals. There's a great improvement in our curling, thanks to Utica. We have made some great friends, learned how to curl in a professional tournament/environment, picked up some great advice, and learned the etiquette of good sportsmanship. We won 3 games over exceeding our expectations coming into the tournament, and we're placed 7th in the Women Club Nationals. Now, we are all ready to soak in the tub and take a few ibuprofen, but this has been a extraordinary week.

Here's just a few wishes for the future...Even in that last hour, when it looks grim, may there always be smiles on our faces. That we will always let go our disappointments and heartaches, find the inner strength to keep going, support each other in every win, and learn from each loss. That we will never have a uniform malfunction, and once in a while pull a really great Hollywood stunt. I hope that we will never change, except of course to get better.

Live and Let Curl, Everyone!!

Utica Club Brewery Tour

Well.... after our game this morning we had delicious breakfast at Liz and Joe's house that Liz made for us - yay Liz! Then we treated ourselves to shoulder massages at the club and on the recommendation of some of the local Utica folks, we headed off to the Utica Brewery for a tour. I've never toured a brewery before.... beer is hard to make - it takes a long time.

We ended up at the brewery at the same time as Team Minnesota #2 and had such a blast hanging out with them and chatting in the bar area for an hour or so afterwards. They are a great group - lots of laughs!

It was fun to get to see a bit of the sights around town and not be preping or resting for our upcoming curling game.

Here are some of the highlight photos:


Team Bond Girls and Team Minnesota #2









7th in the Nation

Just wanted to post a quick blog that we lost our game this morning to Washington 11-4. It was tough - we hung in there and made some really great shots, but a lot of things just didn't fall our way. Oh well - that's the way of the curling world. But we aren't disappointed... we came here to learn and get as much experience as we can on dedicated ice, but most of all to have fun curling with good friends and making lots of new ones. We had some outstanding wins and some losses, but we took advantage of every moment we had out on that ice to practice, get better, and take in as much as we can. I don't regret a single moment and I think we got out of this tournament so much more than I ever originally imagined.

We had a great week and had such an amazing time nothing could bring us down. We came in hoping to win at least one game and we ended up winning three which ranked us #7 in the tournament (and as a friend of mine pointed out... the 7th best women's club curling team in the nation) - I really like the ring of that!!!

Like I've said all week - I couldn't be more proud of the team or more excited to have gotten the chance to spend time with such a great group of girls who I can count as very dear friends. Everyone kept their heads up, always had fun and a willingness to learn, and were always great sports through the good moments and bad. We keep saying how lucky we are to have found each other - and how we can't wait for all the curling adventures that lie ahead!!

Special thanks to Jon Wilson, Fred Maxie, and everyone who took the time to give us coaching, advice and tips to help us grow as curlers. They help brand new teams like us grow leaps and bounds and are helping to grow and expand the sport of curling in so many great ways. Bravo to them! And to all of our fans - it meant the world to us that you followed us all along the way. We're so excited that the Wisconsin men helped us figure out the live stream over the internet and give people a chance to watch.... through all of our ups and downs.

Thanks again! That's all for now...

Marissa

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Love our Morning Breakfast



Delicious dinner with Joe and Liz



Joe and Liz took us out to dinner at Joey's Restaurant in Utica tonight... it was so much fun. Amazing food, cut atmosphere and we had tons of laughs! They are the best!

Game 8 Update: California vs. North Dakota WIN in extra end

Hi everyone, this is Domino as promised updating the blog about game 8 even though we have to wake up early for the very important Washington game at 8 am (Eastern Time). Here's the website if you need it to watch the live stream: http://www.mogulus.com/bondgirlscurling

So Marissa did give a little teaser about this game in her blog about Illinois. It indeed was a Hollywood ending. With a little bit of pain, suffering, disappointment, and nervousness, we overcame with a happily ever after with a score of 10-9 in the 11th end.

So forgive me if some of the information was incorrect...Things are a little fuzzy since we were so intensely involved with the game.

It was a rough start in the beginning with North Dakota in true curling fashion scored 2 points with the hammer in the first end. We came back and scored one in the 2nd end. We tried so hard to score more, but we couldn't pull it off. We ended up stealing 1 more point in the 3rd end and 4th end. I'm sure some fantastic things were going on this end...a lot of supersweeping and a lot of draws. North Dakota scored 2 in the 5th end. They did have a chance to score 3, but I think their draw crashed on a guard. There was a lot of drawing to the button behind the guards, and there were a few attempts at hit and roll. After the 5th end, I was totally not paying attention that we were allowed to go on break. (Hehehe, It seems I remember my awful moments quite clearly.) Marissa gave us a really great prep talk. She told us to keep calm, and that we were doing great, and as always to have fun.

After a very tough 6th end, North Dakota scored another one making the score 5-3 ND. In the 7th end. We used some back guards and kept drawing into the button and then try to protect them with guards. North Dakota was able to peel the guards away, but we just kept putting them back. Some of ND's take outs and draws missed, and we took advantage of that. At one point, there were 3 rocks in the button, and there was no way that North Dakota could take them all out. I think they were able to hit one of them out, but in the end, after Marissa's last shot, we were lying 3, and took the lead (6-5 CA). North Dakota scored another 1 point in the 8th, tying it up. In the ninth end, we pretty much did the same thing as the 7th end. We took advantage of the rocks in the back of the button, and drew on top of them as well as draw behind the guards. Jennifer Lindsay did 2 really beautiful draws behind the guards. Cindy overwhelmed them with her freeze against a yellow rock in the back 4th area. Marissa threw a guard up, and they I think peeled it away. We took advantage of missed takeouts and draws. And Marissa had to draw into the house to try to score 3. At first, I thought that her rock would be a little light and would end up as a guard, but she said, "No, you can bring it in. I believe in you. Super Sweepers!" Something like that in a more excited and encouraging, but yelling curling fashion. So we swept our hardest, and pulled that rock right in there. The power of Super Skips!

The 10th end was a really tough end, and I know Marissa is really hard on herself about it, but it definitely made things exciting. I threw my rocks through for my first 100% for that end!! It was fun just lopping the rocks through, and North Dakota put a guard and one in the house. There were a lot of really great take outs, and the we ended up missing a couple of take outs. We had to make North Dakota run out of rocks, but they were able to place 3 in the house, and Marissa with shot rock just missed taking 1 of them out. It became another tie game, and it put us into extra ends. That's the way things go.

In the 11th end, I missed both my shots, after Marissa stressed the importance of the corner guards in our break in between ends. FAIL! For some reason, especially towards the end of our game, I was throwing rocks through the house or over compensating and the guards don't end up where they needed to be. I'll definitely work hard on that. I told myself that if I couldn't throw those darn guards, I will sure as hell sweep! I feel that all of us try to put our best effort in the sweeping, and tonight I felt like we did sweep, and pretty well. This end was an intense game of seeing who could draw behind a guard first and then protect it. It was good that we had the hammer coming into this end. I think it was Cindy and Jen who put rocks in the house, and all Marissa had to do for her first rock was to throw a guard...I could be in the wrong order, since it is getting late. I remember North Dakota trying to draw in...Honestly, I couldn't watch most of this half. I was incredibly sick to my stomach with anxiety and nervousness. I'm sure all my teammates were feeling the same thing. Well, in the end, North Dakota couldn't do it, and we took the 1 point for the win.

It was an incredible feeling to finally have the game over. I know some people on the team were shaking as well as myself. The best feeling though was walking into the viewing room, seeing all those people clapping and cheering because it was probably an intense game to watch for them as well. We all hug each other and Liz and Joe as if we had won the Olympics or something. I think that for all that it's worth, winning a third game exceeded our expectations. In this game, we stuck in there, try to calm each other down when things got tough (10th end), supported each other to get the stones where they needed to go, and yelled really intensely to get that extra chi POWER to sweep and sweep hard. I am PROUD to be part of Team Bond Girls and all of our accomplishments. North Dakota always put us on our toes and did not make this an easy win, but I think we got a lot out of this game and all our other games.

I know it's late, John. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

One more thing, together, us Bond Girls, need to gather up everything we've gone through and learned with each throw, each end, each game, against each team, and make it all come together for this really tough Washington game. It's going to be good!

Tune in for our live feed just in case you missed it at the top:http://www.mogulus.com/bondgirlscurling

Forgive my spelling and grammar. No time to proofread! Going to sleep and signing off - Domino

Current Leader Board... It's fun to be in there in the middle!

Illinois vs. Team Bond Girls... a distant memory....

Sorry we were slow on the posts today... our first game at 8am was against Team Illinois. Getting up at 5:30 am is officially our least favorite part of Utica and the Curling Nationals. But we had lots of energy today. Donna was on the feed calling the game and doing a great job. We were up to about 65 viewers at one point. We all think Donna has a future in sports commentating and they need to bring her to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics to call all the curling games... or at least the ice dancing....

We started off super strong - the 2 rockstar highlights of the game were the 2 amazing triple take-outs by all-stars Jen G and Cindy - those shots have been the talk of the curling club today. Bond Girls rule!!!

The game didn't end in our favor - everyone made some really solid shots, we had a few bad luck ends, and missed a few - but we picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off and got ready for the 4 pm draw against Team North Dakota.

I'll let Donna our resident beat report chime in about the excitement of the 4pm draw.... (yes - we were up by 3 going into the 10th end and ended up needing to play an extra end when North Dakota took 3.... bad Skip!) But don't worry... it's a Hollywood ending. :)

Our cute bags from Liz and our cute model....





Liz made us these awesome tote bags that we can put all the pins that we are collecting from the other clubs on! We are very excited. Liz is the coolest!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Injury Report

Domino here on the beat. As always, I like to write some pre-game commentary just for fun. Here's an injury report for Team Bond Girls:

Looks like we have a couple big bruised knees from accidental "stunts" on the ice, and it's funny that it happened to the twin Jens. Jen G. also has been drinking some joint juice, and they're going to need all the rehabilitating they can get since they have a game tomorrow. The bruises have slowly been healing, and it looks like they should be good to go.

I had a minor eye injury this morning, even no one but the team could tell. There are a couple of theories...maybe there was something stuck in my eye, maybe I scratched it, maybe I was a little dried out from the 2 beers from last night's partying, and the eyelids just wouldn't open up properly. Whatever it is, the eye condition was remedied with a little flushing of eye drops, a few shed tears, and a lot of blinking. It was a good thing that I didn't have to play the early draw. By the afternoon game, the eyes seem to be working just fine, even made a couple of good shots.

Already, Cindy's working on her broom bruise...that's the secret to her incredible sweeping.

There were a few close calls...sweeping, skating, running, even walking on ice are always a risk, and so far there are no major injuries to report. "Knock on wood." Not Cindy Wood, real wood, tree wood. Although, that's a thought, we do need all the luck we can get.

Hold on! This just in...looks like we have a few minor, knee drag bruises to report for both Cindy and Marissa. They are looking a little red with spots, but don't worry, folks, that's a good thing.

This is Domino reporting. We'll see you tomorrow 8 am Eastern time. LIVE: http://www.mogulus.com/bondgirlscurling

Game 6 Update

The final score against Massachusetts ended up with another loss for the Bond Girls. It took us a little long to get used to the foibles of sheet 6, and after 4 ends we had a lot to catch up. Luckily, in the 5th, we were able to steal 3, and we tried to close in on the gap. In the end, Massachusetts knocked out our rock out, and we couldn't stop them from scoring. Good thing is that sheet 6 is out of our lives forever. Let's hope for red rocks tomorrow. Red seems to be good luck since every game we've won was with red stones.

Tune in tomorrow for the next set of games. Here's the information:

8:00 AM Sheet 4
California v. Illinois
First Practice
Throw Dark Handles
LEAD: Jennifer Lindsay
SECOND: Jennifer Gamboa
VICE: Cindy Wood
SKIP: Marissa Messier


4:00 PM Sheet 5

California v. North Dakota
First Practice
Throw Dark Handles
LEAD: Donna Umali
SECOND: Jennifer Lindsay
VICE: Cindy Wood
SKIP: Marissa Messier

Again there will a live feed. Donna will be the commentator for the morning game: http://www.mogulus.com/bondgirlscurling

In Search of Hollywood in Utica, NY

Domino here again...just doing another one of my special blogs in between all the curling action.

So this is my 3rd time on the east coast, 2nd time in upstate, NY. The last time I was in upstate it was also wintertime. When I left California, it was cold, and that for me is 60 degrees because of my Hawaiian roots. So far we've been averaging 40s with a really cold windchill and lots of rain. Amazingly, we missed the snow storms, and we can see remnants of that with the piles of brown snow slowly melting away. Luckily, we have not encountered icy roads or else we'd have another way to practice our slide. I am extremely thankful that I am not in charge of driving this time around. Cindy's been doing a really great job. It's hard seeing all the traffic lights (I'll post pictures so you can see what I mean), plus there's no lines on the street, and avoiding all the pot holes is impossible. It's already hard enough for me to see over the dashboard or reach the pedals.

So it's been about 5 days since we saw some California sunshine, and maybe there's a little homesickness settling in. No matter, we will find our Hollywood in Utica! There was a rumor in the club about a Hollywood street that can be found close to the Utica Curling Club. We don't know what this is all about or how it got there, but us, Bond Girls, are on a mission to 1) find this Hollywood 2) Take a picture of it 3) post it on the blog site. We have 4 days left to get this done. We will seek it out. We will find it. We will SUCCEED. And yes, this is one of my cheesier blogs. It's the result of the early morning draws. Time to rest up for our 4 pm game. See you there!

Photo Highlights from the Minnesota Game









Donna - the "Beat Reporter" getting ready for action

Yogurt for Breakfast...

Game 5 Udpate

So after a very long and close game, the Bond Girls lost against Minnesota #2 9-5. It was an extremely exciting game. At the 10th end, we needed to steal 1 to tie it, but luck wasn't on our side. Despite that, all our players made some amazing shots that put us in a really close position. There were some beautiful draws to the button and really nice take-outs. There was a funky thing going on with rock #7 where it didn't curl as much as the others. I feel that we're getting a pretty good feel for the ice compared to when we first started. Live and Learn!

Domino's out. Here's the information for our next game:

4:00 PM Sheet 6

Massachusetts v. California
Second Practice
Throw Light Handles
LEAD: Donna Umali
SECOND: Jennifer Lindsay
VICE: Cindy Wood
SKIP: Marissa Messier

Here's the website: http://www.mogulus.com/bondgirlscurling

Shakin' Our Tails at Utica Night


The Blues-ettes. Getting ready to twist and shake.


Dance "Blues-ettes" dance!


Dinner!


Donna cracks up at Marissa's lack of ability to Electric Slide....

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

a few curling pix from our game vs. Pennsylvania






More to come...

When the Going Gets Tough...

You gotta play some funky music...

Domino checking in with some pregame information before the big day tomorrow.

So Cindy has burned a mixed cd of our Bond Girl motivational music for us, and we've been playing it since day 1. I dedicate our win today to this cd. Here's a list of a few of our songs:

1) Rainy Day - Coldplay
2) Da Rock Wilder - Method Man and Red Man
3) Hot Stuff - Donna Summers
4) What is Love - From "Night at the Roxbury"
5) Tick Tick Boom - Hives
6) The Howling - Within Temptation aka Donna's kill, kill, kill song
7) Billy Jean - Michael Jackson
8) Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
9) Together Wherever We Go - From "Gypsy" the musical soundtrack
10) Moving Right Along - From "The Muppet Movie"
11) 7 Shades of Black - Smashing Pumpkins
12) Life - E-Type
13) Viva La Vida - Coldplay
14) Best of You - Foo Fighters

I challenge you to figure out whose song is whose. We each picked about 2-3 songs to help us through this tournament, and we've been cycling through them every day. It's kind of funny that we learn new parts of the lyrics with each play. It must have cycled about a hundred times by now. It's definitely an eclectic mix which mirrors our team. I mean where else would you find a Disney producer, Tax Preparer/Pastry Chief, Smallville Assistant Editor, Architect, and Engineer all in one place? That's the only clues you are getting tonight.

I will post the answers tomorrow as well as announce it over the live stream during the 8 am game.

Until tomorrow, this is Domino signing out.

Skip Messier


Getting my head in the game complete with iPod and a cup o' peaches....

Go Team!


With the leader board... it's fun to have some in the win column.

Yay Liz and Team Bond Girls!!

Party like it's 1995....

Well we had a great time at the Utica night party this evening. It was a dinner that featured a bunch of the local food from businesses around town - Chicken Riggies, Tomato Pie, etc. Then the Blues Brothers performed and two of the Bond Girls made their debut as "Blues-ettes" and danced up a storm to "Shake a Tail Feather". Plus we all got out on the dance floor to do the Electric Slide (well - I tried to do the Electric Slide.... mostly I just flailed around to the music.) Then they broke out the Macarena and the YMCA and I quickly discovered that the only dance I really know how to do is the "Hand Jive" from Grease, but they never played that song.

There were lots of laughs and everyone was still on a big high from winning our game earlier today. The whole team really pulled together and played so well - we had a good time, kept our cool, everyone made great shots - it was a shining moment for the Bond Girls. We were all very excited.

Well - gotta get to bed because we have the 8am game tomorrow morning. Then we play again at 4pm. We'll post some photos (and the hilarious video of Cindy and Jen G dancing at the Blues-ettes) tomorrow. Just a reminder that the games tomorrow will be available to view at the live stream site: http://www.mogulus.com/bondgirlscurling

Go Team Bond Girls!

Marissa

Game 4 Update: A Win!

Hey Everyone,

Here's a delayed update of today's game. The final score was: 9-6 against Michigan.

Today, we started off with a clean slate. We gained a lot from yesterday's practice and was able to work on draw weight. We took a little advice from the Wisconsin team, and worked on delivery and draws, twirled our rocks, and used "blinders" to focus on the line. Everyone made some really great and crucial shots. We were tied for the first few ends, and after end 5 when we stole 3, we were rockin' and rollin'.

Here are the highlights (Feel free to add more):

- Cindy threw an awesome rocket for a double take out
- Donna almost lost her footing while sweeping
- Marissa had lots of comments on her snazzy pink-striped socks
- Jen Lindsay did some really great take outs

So our final overall score is 2-2. Here's the information for tomorrow's game. Looks like we got another double header:

8:00 AM Sheet 2
Minnesota 2 v. California
Second Practice
Throw Light Handles
LEAD: Jennifer Lindsay
SECOND: Jennifer Gamboa
VICE: Cindy Wood
SKIP: Marissa Messier

4:00 PM Sheet 6
Massachusetts v. California
Second Practice
Throw Light Handles
LEAD: Donna Umali
SECOND: Jennifer Lindsay
VICE: Cindy Wood
SKIP: Marissa Messier

Okay, so wish us luck. We'll see you tomorrow. Here's the website that you can see the the live stream from: http://www.mogulus.com/bondgirlscurling

Monday, March 9, 2009

Tuesday's Game

Here's the information for Tuesday's game:

12:00 PM Sheet 3

California v. Michigan
First Practice
Throw Dark Handles
LEAD: Donna Umali
SECOND: Jennifer Lindsay
VICE: Cindy Wood
SKIP: Marissa Messier

We did a practice again tonight, and we're going to do everything we can to pull off another win! Wish us luck.

Teddy Roosevelt Said So...

Ok - as the evening "draws" to a close tonight - wanted to post up a quick note. We won one and lost one today, but totally reaffirmed how much we love playing with each other as we experienced the super highs of a win and a bit of the lows of a defeat. You can tell how much we care about each other because we are so tough on ourselves and want to be great for each other even more than we want to be great for ourselves. I am constantly amazed by how lucky we are to have found each other to form this great team. I am so proud to be a Bond Girl.

We're back on the ice for one game tomorrow at Noon eastern time where we are going to have a "Bond Girls blast" out there on the ice and put up another win on the board.

This quote is dedicated to the team - I've always really liked it. Teddy Roosevelt said it....

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

World of Curling

So I've thought long and hard about what to write tonight, and this is what I came up with. I've compiled a few images that will hopefully stay with us as we play our games tomorrow.

The world of curling is an interesting place. It's such a niche sport, but the ones who do it, definitely love it. Plus, when you add a little bit of creativity into the mix, who knows what you will come up with. Here are a few curling related material that I've found...

For Star Trek Lovers Out There

It's really nice to know that curling is also found in outer space. Imagine the possibilities in 0 gravity. No push off necessary. Here's a shout out to Team Starship Enterprise at the Hollywood Curling Club.

Other Uses For Curling Rocks


So Marissa told the team this story about how "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson received a curling rock in the mail one day, and he didn't know what to do with it. Here's an idea! What would you do with a curling rock?

Anyone Speak Japanese?

I'm sure there's benefit from learning curling on a DS in a different language. I definitely enjoy listening to the different countries as they yell directions across the ice. Hai! Oui! Some I just can't pronounce...

Curling Iron


"External Use Only," huh? I think I will take that advice with me on the ice tomorrow.


These are just a few that I found surfing the web. I invite anyone else to post additional interesting curling related images. I know that there's a lot out there. It will make our day.

Game 3 v. WI

That was rough. But the important thing was they looked good, as always.

After a strong outing this morning, the girls just couldn't get their grove against the Wisconsin juggernaut. Playing their first double header, the girls fell behind quickly and were unable to recover.

Final score, 15-0 after 6 ends.

I didn't get watch as much as I would have liked, so everyone who did see, please, post your comments below!

The girls head onto the ice for one game tomorrow at noon (Eastern) against Michigan. I understand there will be some revelry to follow, so look for updates and photos from their other events.

In it to win it....

{ Look - we are tied for 2nd right now... ;) }


So we pulled out our first win this afternoon against Team Pennsylvania - it was a great feeling to put a "W" on the board.  The Team Pennsylvania girls were all really nice.  They are junior curlers and curl out of a club in Philadelphia.

Everyone played so well.  We made some great shots and there was lots of sweet sweeping going on! 

Donna was a rock star with the commentary on our live stream and I think we had around 30 people watching the feed which was very cool.  Thanks to all of our amazing fans!

Cindy and I invented a curling term during the game called the "reverse mullet."  When there are a bunch of rocks crowded up together in the 12 ft and top of the 8 ft, having a "party in the front" of the house - we will now be referring to it as the reverse mullet.

Our record is 1-1 now and we have our second game of the day at 8pm Eastern time tonight.  We are resting up at the hotel right now and haven't heard anything from the ghost of the Radisson this afternoon.

Also - adoptive Mom Liz made us the coolest tote bags today that we can put all of our curling pins on!  The are so cool.  We'll post photos later...  we're going to use them as our handy, dandy laptop bags.  Liz rocks as always!

Ok - that's all for now - Jen Lindsay will be the commentator on the live feed tonight and will help explain confusing curling terms or shots to anyone who is a bit lost on what is happening.

We'll keep you all updated!

Marissa

Game 2 v. PENN

So the girls awakened early for their second match against the team from Pennsylvania. This time Donna presided over the webcast while Jen stepped onto the ice.

They started out with the hammer, and took the two in the first end and haven't looked back. Every end has seen the Bond Girls stealing points, and at the 5 end break, they lead 7-0.

Coming out of the break, the thievery continued as the Bond Girls walked away with 5 more points, pushing the score to 12-0 in the 8th end when the teams shook to call the game.

Impressive win for the girls, coming off their loss yesterday. The Pennsylvania team is ranked fifth, and loss the only close game yesterday (7-6), all the rest were blowouts that were called early.

The girls move to 1-1. After facing the best team in the competition and now getting their first win in a decisive fashion, their confidence is soaring and they can relax and have (even more) fun.

Opening Ceremonies Video



Here is a short (and a bit shaky) video from Opening Ceremonies yesterday.

And We're Up!

Domino here, rising and shining for all those dedicated blog readers out there. Good Morning!

Well, our first real hiccup in our rise to glory...The Radisson Hotel that we are staying at does not include breakfast in our group rate. It was a little disappointing to find that out 8 am this morning, but now we have to look somewhere else to fill our need for the most important food of the day. It's a good thing we found out where the Walmart is located. =)

Now, we I've compiled a growing list of Radisson quirks:

1) We have a ghost...we heard it last night. It's a ticking noise that happens randomly, and we have no idea where it's coming from. Scary!

2) There's a sweating toilet in Jen G. and my bathroom. There's so much condensation around the bowl, that it's creating puddles on the floor. How is this even possible? I will contemplate the toilet mystery during my curling meditation.

3) One of the sleep number beds doesn't work. It's definitely a cool toy to try out when it does work, but boo on the broken bed. It's sagging. Hopefully, it will get fixed today. And I still don't know what my optimal number is...

So I'll be keeping tabs on the hotel room since it is important. This is Domino signing out until playtime.

See you at 12 pm (Eastern Time) on:
http://www.mogulus.com/bondgirlscurling

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Le Curling en Rose - Curling, Pink Colored

This is Domino (Donna) on the clock as the beat reporter for the next round of exciting events. Jen G. did an awesome job keeping the blog and livestream updated, and I'm going to try my best to follow in her footsteps. Officially, it's midnight, and I am going to take my job seriously; so I here I am.

Here is the information for tomorrrow's games:

12:00 PM Sheet 4
California v. Pennsylvania
First Practice
Throw Dark Handles
LEAD: Jennifer Lindsay
SECOND: Jennifer Gamboa
VICE: Cindy Wood
SKIP: Marissa Messier

8:00 PM Sheet 6
Wisconsin v. California
Second Practice
Throw Light Handles
LEAD: Donna Umali
SECOND: Jennifer Gamboa
VICE: Cindy Wood
SKIP: Marissa Messier

It's going to be tough with the double header, but we can hack it. Our conditioning that we've been doing for the passed couple of months is going to be our best friend...and the hotel hot tub I might also add.

So the first few days at the Utica Curling Club has been such a whirlwind. I can tell because I've only been able to call the other half (Paul, my fiancé) only a couple times a day to check in. We've met so many people, and I'm sure we've forgotten most of their names. We're adjusting to a new environment (COLD), a different time zone, and new schedules. Despite all that, there's a few things that keep us afloat amongst all the newness. First of all, we found a really great bagel shop that has all kinds of bagels and cream cheese flavors. Secondly, we have 3 GPSes: a Garmin, an iphone, and a verizon phone to help us not get too lost. Thirdly, we have found an adoptive family (Liz and Joe), and we have fans. It's a really great feeling to look up and see smiling faces, waving hands, and pink signs all routing for us to do well. I think that tomorrow is going to be a pink day, even pinker than today. There's so many things to look forward to, especially since we got Minnesota and ironing some kinks out of the way.

Another observation I have is that we've painted the town/curling world pink walking around with our snazzy kilts and cool, newly embroidered jackets. We get assumptions from total strangers in public places like restaurants and Walmart ranging from cheerleading to track to breast cancer awareness. They are definitely curious about us, and what we are doing. Obviously, we are not local. Like good curlers, we are spreading the word about curling, and at the same time, I think we make people stop and think. Even within the curling world, there's been positive attention with the kilts. We've been getting really nice complements on our uniform, and to me, I feel that people are not only noticing our stylish tastes, but also the strong bond we have between us. No pun intended. And that is one of the qualities that makes our team strong.

Okay, it is getting late. I will save some of the commentary for tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Until next time. Goodnight and stay pink!

Liz Rocks!!




Liz embroidered our names on her Bond Girls t-shirt and made an official Bond Girls Baseball hat! Woo hoo!

Thanks Sue )and Aunt Vicki)!!


Sue came to cheer us on and made us this awesome sign.

It's not so much a loss as a learning experience right?

Ok - so our first game wasn't quite as close as we dreamed, but it was a really great learning experience for us. Plus we didn't want to come out with a big win right off the bat to scare away the rest of the competition, right? We'll ease into the whole winning thing....

The best news of all is we had the most amazing fans in the audience - woo hoo! It's great to have the coolest fans in all of Utica. Liz looked especially awesome in her Bond Girls gear, complete with a Disney martini glass and the coolest baseball hat that I've ever seen. And Joe gets a special shout out for being an expert on explaining strategy and helping Jen G with the iSight that they lent us! We have the best adopted family in the world!!!!

Plus my Aunt Vicki's friend, Sue, came to cheer us on - complete with an amazing pink sign for Team Messier - that was the best surprise ever! We were all so excited - it meant the world to us.

We played Team Minnesota, who is the #1 ranked team in the tournament - so we faced the tough competition right off the bat. We actually really held our own for the first 5 ends and were only losing by 3 points at the 5th end break. Two of the members of their team just played at the US Olympic Trials - so the fact that we were playing them at all was pretty exciting. They were really nice and had a bunch of sweet things to say afterwards. We figured out a bunch of things to work on. Sure - we missed some shots, but every single one of us made some as well. So we'll get into our groove as the week goes on and then we'll be unstoppable!

Jen G was a rock star doing the live internet streaming of the game and keeping everyone updated. Go Jen!!

I couldn't be more proud of the team or more excited to play with such a great group of girls. I promise all of them that I'll keep fine tuning my Skip skills and I'll try my best to not let them down. :)

Ok - it's pretty late - we better get our rest for our two games tomorrow! Thanks for following us.

Game 1 v. Minn part 2

Returning after the break, the girls fell down two more. Despite a killer double take-out by Cindy, Minnesota took 2 more in the 6th to push the score 0-5. In the 7th, the girls were sitting three late, but Minnesota managed to snag another one and increased their lead to 6.

The girls gave it their all, but the rocks didn't fall tonight for team Bond Girls. After 9 ends of curling, the game was called at 0-12.

First half of the first game

So we took a break after the 5th end only down by 3, and back on the ice ready for to find our mojo. We are sweeping hard! Update you at the end.

Game 1 v. Minn

After 5 ends the score stands at 0-3, Minnesota.

Minnesota started with the hammer and blanked the first two ends. They finally scored 2 in the third. In the forth end, they were sitting 4 when Marissa drew a near perfect stone to cut the damage to one point. The Bond Girls blanked the 5th end to retain the hammer before heading into break.

Warm up in progress!!

First game of the event is about to start and Pussy Galore is here to document it all. I will be maning the live feed as well. Go Bond Girls!!! We have second practice so here we go...

Our sweet pins.



We got adopted!!

So a couple of the local Utica curlers - Liz and Joe - officially adopted Team Bond Girls! They are going to look out for us and help us out while we are in town and we are so excited to officially be a part of their family for the week. They already hooked us up with awesome Utica Curling Club pins and they'll be at the game to cheer us on tonight. They rock.


Liz and Joe


New Utica Family....

Opening Ceremonies

The Opening Ceremonies were lots of fun. A bagpiper piped all the teams onto the ice. We had two local girlscouts, who were sisters, carrying our California flag. They were super sweet. Local government officials and dignitaries spoke and a barbershop quartet sang the national anthem. Then each of the Skips introduced their teams and we were presented with Club National pins. Very exciting.

When I introduced our team I said.... "We are from California, representing the Hollywood Curling Club... and I am Angelina Jolie. Ok - not really but it made you all look." It got a laugh and we got lots of comments afterwards from the other teams who thought it was funny.

Here are some pix:








With the bagpiper, Daniel, showing off our kilts.



Live Streaming of Games

Ok - so we are going to give this live streaming of our games a whirl thanks to help from the Wisconsin Men's Team.... here is the link:

http://www.mogulus.com/bondgirlscurling


We're going to try to get a camera to be able to stream the games - if not - we might be able to do the iSight.

Suited up and ready to go....


Opening ceremonies are in about an hour - we're gearing up and getting ready to go. Lots of comments on how "cute" we look in our uniforms and we've already pretty much been voted best dressed.

I've got to announce the team members when we go out on the ice for opening ceremonies - so the rest of the girls should totally be worried about what I might say. :) And a girl scout is going carry our state flag for us as a bagpiper pipes us out on the ice. Fun! We'll post photos.

On a side note - we won the first coin toss we did - good job Cindy! We get the second practice at our first game tonight at 8pm. Good times ahead.