Monday, January 31, 2011

Episode 23 - Case of the Hitchhikers

So this Sunday, January 30th, Team Bond Girls had a field trip to take their team photos at the Lake Hollywood Dog Park. Here's some information to all those making a trip to Hollywood sometime in the near future.

LAKE HOLLYWOOD INFORMATION

This is one of the best places to get a photo of the famous Hollywood sign. We thought that since we were representatives of the Hollywood Curling Club, we should at least have it featured somewhere in our team photo. I don't think it could get any better than this.

Well, it was a very cloudy day. There was actually rain drizzling on this sleepy Sunday morning. The Bond Girls coerced Matt, husband of Jen (2nd) and member of Team Zissou, (not to mention, this day was also his birthday...yes, we made him get up really early in the rain to work on his 29th birthday) to be our photographer. Thank you, Matt, for a spectacular job!

After about 30 photos, negotiating the best route around dog poop, and trying different poses and facial expressions, we finally got it! We had in our hands the perfect photo or photos...There were a few good ones. I'll have to post some of the good ones that didn't make it to the finals. We only had one faux pas. Matt, our ever-focused artist, took a misstep and found himself some smushy dog poop...all for the love of capturing Bond Girl smiles. BUT it was all worth it. Right, Matt?

We were all packed up into our cars ready to caravan to the fabric district to pick out some new kilt material, when Matt was flagged down by a couple, a man with a walking stick and a woman with blond short hair. I was in the back seat; so I couldn't hear the entire conversation. All I know is that the doors flew open, they hopped into the back seat with me, and Matt started driving in the opposite direction. Marissa, in another car behind us, also watched the action. She was probably wondering if we got carjacked.

Apparently, this couple lived "around the corner," and asked if we could give them a ride. Usually, they walked this path everyday, but today wasn't a good day to walk in the rain. So Matt very kind-heartedly drove around the corner, up a slight hill, around another corner, down a small hill...So it was slightly longer than around the corner, but time passed quickly. We chit chatted. We were dressed in our jackets, so they were wondering what we were involved in. Finally, a mansion appeared and it took my breath away. It was an old Spanish style house with a beautiful pool and new, expensive cars in the driveway. It was gorgeous. I wish we could have stayed longer to see more of the house and maybe drop a hint or two about needed sponsors for our curling team. Regardless, it was really cool to have met them and get a rare glimpse inside a Hollywood home. In the end, I'm sure Matt just got a shot of good karma for this good deed, and maybe it'll rub off on the team.

We wonder who was this mysterious couple, and maybe we'll never know. We never had time to delve into personal details; so for now, this will be known as Team Bond Girls' "Case of the Hitchhikers," another unexpected Bond Girls adventure into the back hills of Hollywood. I guess you never know who you'll run into on a rainy day.

- Domino

Information From the Inside...

So we got an agent in Minnesota feeding us some inside scoop.

Here's the latest report for your eyes only.

Apparently, we have confirmation that it could be "pretty darn" cold in March. We've got a recommended list as far as some of the essential items we're going to need for this mission:

Warm gloves for outside and on the sheet
Long johns
Fleece
Bring your ski jacket!
Bring a decent pair of boots, however hikers will do
Bring a scarf and you will be fine

These will all be on the Bond Girl's checklist. And off course, we can't forget our fancy, important kilt.

Here's a bonus list...FOOD. We can't go to a new place without any recommendations on where to eat. Looks like we're going to have more choices than time to try them all. We'll see how many of them we can get to in Mankato.

Patricks in St, Peter (Tons of good beer, best burgers around)
Olives - Greek food, great lunch buffet
New Ulm - Schells Brewery tour and very Authentic German food in New Ulm town (where New in Town was filmed)
Westwood Marina on Lake Washington - Out on the lake check out some ice
fisherman! Great atmosphere, OK food.
Dinos Pizza - Great Italian
Mazatlan - Mexican
Buffalo Wild Wings - Good wings and beer

I think we got a good head start as far as preparing for this week. If you have any more suggestions, feel free to leave a comment or more.

We want to extend a very warm Team Bond Girls thank you to our "Agent" Scott who sent us all this information. We can't wait to meet you in person and to curl at your club. That's all for now!

- Domino

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Competition

The pictures are posted for the Club Nationals participants. You can get a glimpse of a Team Bond Girl pose at The Granite Club during playdowns.

PHOTOS

Click on
"2011 Club National Championships"

Tentative Draw Schedule - 2011 Club Nationals



This is off the www.usacurl.org website.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Where Oh Where is Mankato?

The one thing unique about curling and curling competitively is that sometimes, you end up in places you've never heard of or would have never thought of visiting. In 2009, we traveled to Utica, NY (I've never been even been to New York, New York). In 2010, we competed in Madison, WI (Well, at least we have some relatives that are kind of close by.) This year, the 2011 Club Nationals will be hosted by the Mankato Curling Club in Mankato, MN. I can't say that it's been on my top 10 list of places to visit, but it looks like I'll be going there before I visit Japan or again New York City.



I've been keeping an eye on the daily weather forecast in Mankato. Last Thursday, it had a high of 0 degrees F and a low of -26 degrees F. Looks like this born and breed Hawaiian child is going to freeze her fancy kilt covered butt off. It is a small city located in the Southern part of Minnesota. Population is about 35,000. According to Wikipedia, there's a ton of Indian history associated with this city. And you've probably heard of Mankato from "Little House on the Prairie" which is where it was referred to as "the big town" where everyone journeys to for shopping. I don't think I'm going to do much shopping there. I just found out after talking to the woman trying to make hotel reservations that the sales tax is around 10.375%. That's even more than our crazy California tax at 9.75%, not by much though.

After visiting Utica which is pretty far North and Wisconsin which is generally in the same mid-west region, I think Mankato would be about the same, a bit chilly, flat spaces, cute houses, lots of trees. I'm hoping to hear some really cool, genuine "Minnesoota" accents. I think we're going to see a bunch of Vikings and Wilds fans. Maybe I should leave my Green Bay Packers and King's hockey colors at home. I'm also trying to figure out what kind of food is associated with this area. We ate a lot of pasta when we were in Utica and toured a brewery. Wisconsin seemed to have a lot of German influences. Plus, we found a mustard museum there. What adventures are we going to have this year?

So Mankato, The Bond Girls are getting ready for you. Are you going to be ready for us?

See YOU on the ice.

- Domino

Thursday, January 20, 2011

NoHo Curling

Our friend Matt wrote a fun blog about us and our cosmic connection to Katy Perry.

Check it out and like NoHo Curling on Facebook!

NoHo Curling: California Curls

California Curls

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Playdown Summary

And now...the end of the first half of "Team Bond Girls: License to Curl Renewed"

So this playdown didn't go exactly how I had written it. Like all good stories, real life is always so much more dramatic. "Team Bond Girls: License to Curl Renewed" already has a very Hollywood feel to it. Most of it was a blur, but here are the highlights.



GAME 1
GAME 1:
Team Bond Girls vs. Team Oregon


Thievery would be the one word to describe this game against Oregon. Team Bond Girls steal their way without the hammer throughout the first five ends gaining an 8 point lead. Eventually, Team Oregon finally gets into the game and on the scoring board with 1 point in the 6th and 3 points in the 7th. Unfortunately, it was a little to much of a deficit for Team Oregon to fight their way out of. Team Bond Girls has a great start to the competition. Final score: 8-4


GAME 2
GAME 2:
Team Bond Girls vs. "Shot Rock Girls" (aka Team San Diego)


It was a rough start with Team Bond Girls losing 3 in the first end and another 1 in the 2nd. Finally, Team Bond Girls got their stride gaining 3 in the 3rd end, and they tied things up in the 4th end. The girls in pink pull away in the 5th and 6th ends leading the score by 3. Team San Diego finds curling magic by completing 2 difficult shots, an angle take out 2 times in a row, to oust Team Bond Girls from shot rock position. They tie things up in the 8th end. Now, the ladies must play an extra end to determine the winner. After a grueling match, the Shot Rock Girls pull away with winning point. This game was a heartbreaking loss for the Bond Girls. Final Score: 7-8


GAME 3
GAME 3:
Team Bond Girls vs. Team Arizona (aka "flashy pants")

Team Arizona returns again to challenge Team Bond Girls for a playoff spot. In last year's Playdowns, they were the only team that threatened Team Bond Girls chances to move on to Club Nationals. After 3 matches, Bond Girls proved their curling skills, and beat Arizona, 3-0. This year, Arizona came prepared. Team Norwegian inspired "Shagadelic" pants clashed with pink and black kilts. It was war. Unfortunately, Team Bond Girls put on their fashion blinders and took the lead by scorning 2 in the first end and 1 point in the second end. Team Arizona comes back into the game scoring 1 point in the 3rd end. Team Bond Girls responds to their attempts with a 4 pointer in the 4th end. Team Arizona squeaks in a point in the 5th end. In the 6th end, Team Bond Girls secures their win with 2 more points. Despite the potential "fancy pants" distraction, the Bond Girls shook off the shock and curled a great game. At the end, both teams took a colorful picture together. Final Score: 9-2


GAME 4
GAME 4:
Team Bond Girls vs. Team San Francisco


This game was crucial for Team Bond Girls. If they win, they secure a spot to go to Nationals. If they lose, they must reschedule their flight home and play tie breaker games, including a back to back game with Team San Francisco. They did not want to even think about the possibility of losing. The Bond Girls start off well playing a cautious game and scores 1 point in the first end and jumps 3 more points in the 2nd end. San Francisco scores 3 points in the 3rd end to cut down the Bond Girls lead within 1 point. Bond Girls score 2 points in the 4th trying to pull as far away as they could. It was frustrating in the 5th and 6th ends where San Francisco kept scoring points again cutting the lead within reach. Team Bond Girls breaks free with 3 points scored in the 7th. It was a nerve wracking end as blue stones stacked in the house in the eight. At one point, San Francisco had enough rocks to maybe tie Team Bond Girls' score. 2nd to the last rock, Team Bond Girls miss their take out. It was up to the last and final rock to determine Team Bond Girls' fate. Marissa calls for another take out. If successful, Team San Francisco would run out of rocks. Marissa executes her shot beautifully. She takes out 2 of San Francisco's rocks and cuts down their shot rock count to 1. Final Score: 9-6


Team Bond Girls ends the playdowns with a 3-1 record, defending their title (Co-Champions with Oregon 3-1) for the 3rd time in a row. Both they and Oregon will move forward to the Club Nationals in Mankato, Minnesota which will be held from March 5-12, 2011. Good curling!

-Domino

4 Women and a Little Plum

This year, Team Bond Girls has the pleasure to introduce an honorary 5th team member during the Regional Playdowns. Though you might not have seen this new participant, s/he been present throughout the entire competition. (Maybe this presence could have been a major factor in our team's performance.) No, we weren't cheating. This new member just came along for the ride. S/he is only as big as a plum right now, but just watch it grow...maybe we'll find ourselves with a new junior curler one day.

Here's all you need to know about Baby Mendoza:

Mom: Donna Umali Mendoza (Team Bond Girls - Hollywood Curling) aka "Domino Vitali"

Dad: Paul Matthew Mendoza (Team Zissou - Hollywood Curling)

Age at time of Playdowns: 13 weeks

Features: Big head, "balloon," currently has eyelids and forming organs, strong heartbeat

Sex: Unknown until age 20 weeks

Favorite food: Bananas and french fries

Favorite song: "Fireworks" by Katy Perry

Hopes to learn:
Theater trivia from Auntie Marissa
Pastry and crafts techniques from Auntie Jennifer
Antique cars and sewing from Auntie Cindy
Piano from Mommy
Hockey from Daddy
Curling from Everyone

Favorite thing to do: play with his/her hands

Expected Birth Date: July 25, 2011

Thank you for letting Baby Mendoza curl, slide, and sweep along in the tournament. It was so much fun!

- Domino

Saturday, January 15, 2011

The Competitive Curling Life

It's a typical overcast day in Seattle, no snow...yet. Temperature is 53 degrees F with lows of 40. Granite Curling Club looks great as usual. Ice is clear, fast, and curling. Company is friendly. It's like a mini reunion with our favorite people. Plus, there's some new faces in the playdown circle. Excitement is high. Colors are COLORFUL. It's another great, fun-filled, sore-muscled curling weekend.

(All this was very hard to type on an ipad with no keyboard. So I gave up. I apologize for posting the blogs late.)

I was talking to a friend about this competition and what it's like when you move on to Club Nationals, and I told him it's like a self imposed torture. You have to push yourself mentally and physically. You have to deal with all sorts of pressure situations. Sometimes it comes down to the last rock in the last end, which actually did happen in our game against Team San Diego...a heartbreaking loss.

It's kind of hard to explain why anyone would put themselves through this process. Maybe it's the bragging rights. Maybe it's the feeling of victory after overcoming so many obstacles. For some, it could be the satisfaction of doing something new, something that you never thought you could do before. That's how I felt when I did my first take out and later on, a double take-out. I'm looking forward to the one day I get to do a triple. I'm not usually in the position to do take-outs. As a Lead, I throw the guards and the draws. Take-outs are usually reserved for everyone else. So when called upon to do those crucial moves, I get really nervous. I miss more often then I'd like to admit. When I actually do hit it and hit it exactly the way it was called, I feel extreme pride and gratification. It's the best feeling in the world. Of course, when I miss, it's the worst...we are always the hardest on ourselves. Thank goodness there's 4 people on a team; so when someone is feeling down, there's always someone else to pick them up.

In curling, it's not really what you did during your one shot or two shots in the game. For example, the skip wouldn't have to make a miracle shot at the end, if things were going smoothly from the beginning. The game has to be perceived in it's entirety: communication, sweeping, watching line, thinking ahead, setting up, capitalizing, psychological aspects, preventing mistakes, etc. The sum of all this and more determines what the playing field is like (which seems to be constantly changing), and we just have to work best we can with what we've got. Curling is an extremely complicated puzzle, and we, crazy competitors, are all addicted to solving it.

So here we are again, the third time in the MoPAC Club Regional Tournament. It gets better and more competitive every year. There's a lot more at stake and maybe a little more reward. So what is it that attracts all these curlers, sucks them in and traps them in a world of cold temperatures, heavy rocks, and a lot of HARD work? I'll speak for everyone participating in the Regionals, and I hope they all agree. Despite aching muscles, bruised bums, highs and lows, the competitive curling life is the kind of life to lead.

-Domino

We made it!

We are here in Seattle and ready to get on the curling ice!

Made a quick stop at the Granite Club last night to say hi to "M" and wish him luck in his league game... Then we checked into the hotel and got our beauty rest.

First game today at 2:00pm against the Evergreen Team from Oregon! We are looking forward to it. Now we are off to eat and go scout the other teams at the club!

Follow the action at - http://www.curlingseattle.org/competitions/event.php?event=2011ClubState&disp=teams

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Bond Girls 3: License to Curl Renewed

So it's that time again. Team Bond Girls are gearing up for some Club National action starting first with the Playdowns January 15-17 in Seattle, WA at our favorite Granite Curling Club. We anticipate playing against 4 other women teams that we must defeat in order to qualify for the Club Nationals which will be held in Mankato, MN from March 5th to March 12th. Let's recap.

2009 - our first year as a team, we qualified automatically to compete in the Club Nationals which were held in Utica, NY. (This is where we were adopted by Liz and Joe. We miss you guys!) After 9 grueling games, we placed 7th...not bad for our first major competition.

2010 - Team Bond Girls beat Team Arizona to become the MoPAC Regional Champs and move on to Madison, WI where we placed 8th under heavier competition. Not to mention a lot of snow driving by the short, Hawaiian, thin-blooded Filipino girl.

This year there might be a little pressure on our team to perform well and to renew the title we've held 2 years in a row. I think, there's just more excitement to be curling on dedicated ice again and to have a higher level of competition. Plus, we get to visit our friends at the Granite Club, and maybe we'll see a little snow.

Over the course of this year, especially during the Wisconsin Club National experience, Team Bond Girls have grown leaps and bounds. We also had a special treat when a group of charming Scottish men, clad in those familiar kilts, came down to LA to participate in Hollywood Curling's Summer Blockbuster Bonspiel. We were lucky to engage in some friendly curling, a touch of scotch, and bonding together with both Scottish teams. We kicked butt and as well as had our butts kicked. In true Hollywood curling fashion, it was a lot of fun. 2010 ended sweetly, as Team Bond Girls were able to play in both championship games during the last league of the season coming away with 2 medals (1st place-League, 2nd place-Club).

"Bond Girls 3: License to Curl Renewed" has had a great beginning, and if I were to keep the story going, this is how it would go.

Team Bond Girls arrive in Seattle ready for action. They are faced with 4 adversaries all with special skills and abilities. Team Bond Girls must fight each one using all the skills and experience honed by their previous curling masters. Coach Joel, observes and tracks their progress from afar using advanced video technology. Mysterious "M" also watches on the sidelines. Team Bond Girl Fans don their T-shirts and powerfully pink kilts. Team 1 goes down with a little resistance. Team 2 uses a slightly different strategy, and makes Team Bond Girls nervous. Team Bond Girls channel their inner Bond and pulls out a strategy that overcomes Team 2's advances. Team 3 pulls various trick shots trying to throw Team Bond Girls off their game, but in the end, no trick is tricky enough to fool them. Team 4, the hardest and most challenging team, brings on their best players and curling. Team Bond Girls must follow each move with a better move of their own in order to win. They are neck and neck, and it comes down to the last 2 rocks. The 2nd to the last rock didn't go far enough....oh no! Now, it's up to the last and final rock to draw behind multiple guards, past the opponents shot rock in the house and settle nicely into scoring position. The skip is very nervous, but she takes a deep breath. She slides. She lets go of the rock. The sweepers sweep...HARD! The rock glides over the hog line. Will it squeeze through the port between all the guards? Will the sweepers sweep hard enough to drag the rock to scoring position? Will the skip yell loud enough? Will Team Bond Girls win Regionals and qualify for Club Nationals? Will the Filipino drive in the snow?

Sorry, guys, I have to make things dramatic...

Tune in next weekend, January 15th-17th.

Same Team Bond Girl Place, Same Team Bond Girl Channel.

Check back for more updates.

--Domino

Hollywood Tri-Color & Silver

These are the colors of the 2010 Hollywood Curling 1st Place Winter League Championship and 2nd place Winter Club Championship medals which starts Team Bond Girl's medal collection. Here are some highlights for this season:

- Marissa: Making it to the semi-finals in Vacaville and going champagne tasting with the team... And us all meeting Debbie McCormick and finding out she had heard all about the Bond Girls!

- Cindy: Had a blast at the Crush bonspiel, this having been the first bonspiel away with the girls. This season I vowed to be more involved at the HCC, becoming Vice president, and part of various committees. Found out I'm going to be an aunt.......and crossing my fingers to hopefully get another curler in the family!

- Jennifer Gamboa: Sometimes life gets in the way of curling, and a number of times this past league we found ourselves playing with only 2 players! It was a mental and physical workout, as we were thrust into new positions, we lost some and won some, including a big win against the boys in the finals!"

- Donna: I had my first beautifully executed "crotch and squirt." This is when the stone I throw hits "the crotch" right between two stones that are parallel to each other with a little bit of space between them. They get hit out of the house. My stone "squirts" out behind them.

Two major battles were waged between the "husband" team, Team Zissou. Even though Team Bond Girls gave them a good whooping in the league championships, they got their revenge to win the club championship title in the end. No matter...medals are medals, and we'll hopefully add more colors to the collection. We got our eyes set on GOLD.

Curling season is well underway, and Team Bond Girls are gearing up for the upcoming Curling Club Nationals Playdowns and Spring League. Wish us luck!