2009 US Open

I have only been following the tennis since the second week of the 2006 US Open. I didn't really know that much about it and used to think that it was boring but I was depressed about my mom being in the hospital and put the TV on to take my mind off of this. I wanted to watch The Price Is Right and was mad that the tennis was on but part of me was thinking give it a chance - well, mostly I left it on because I was thinking that the two players were kind of cute. One was an American, Robbie Ginepri and the other a German, Tommy Haas. After this event, I was thinking that there wouldn't be any more tennis until late spring so I really wasn't paying attention to sports. I felt so stupid when I found out that I had missed the Australian Open and other events. I did see the last few days of the French Open 2007.

I really wanted to go to the US Open in 2007 only my anxiety problem kept me from doing so as it did in 2008. I finally got over my fears and my brother and I went to the first 4 days of that event in 2009. If I hadn't gone into the city to see Federer at a charity event maybe I still would have been too scared to go. We didn't get the tickets until a few days before the event. I had never ordered tickets on line or printed them out before. I was so glad that tickets were still available.

I have good memories of being at the US Open then but also the memories of some of the stupid things that I did haunt me. I have been better at letting all that go these days and am focusing on the fact that I was brave and didn't let fear prevent me from going and also am thinking how lucky we were to be there. We were at 4 matches in Armstrong stadium on that Wednesday which was the best day there. We saw Pennetta v. Mirza, Safin v. Melzer, Bartoli v. Clijsters and Del Potro v. Monaco. I could have gotten Safin's autograph when he was practicing but was too afraid to. My brother did get me another Russian guy's autograph the next day - Davydenko.

I went to 2 Tommy Haas matches. The first one I was sitting real close on the outside bleachers exactly where I wanted to be only I listened to the guy next to me who said it was better to be on the inside. I regretted moving even like 20 minutes later. I probably could've gone back outside and gotten closer than the 6 rows up that I was on the inside but my idiot voice said it was too late and I had to stay where I was. My camera battery ran out just as the match ended so I was unable to get a photo of him leaving the court. I am embarrased to admit that I ran out of there just to get close to him. Originally I only planned on going 3 days to this event but I added a fourth just because I wanted to see Haas again.

The photo is of Tommy Haas at his second round match against Kendrick which he won in 3 sets. I was sitting pretty close there only my brother was in another section because we were dense and didn't listen to the 2 nice people who we were talking to as we waited an hour before the tennis center opened. They said that the closer seats on the one side were for grounds pass people and not reserved but I asked an employee inside and she said they were. Why did I believe her? She must've misunderstood me.15 - 20 minutes later I asked another employee and he said that we could sit over there. I forgot to ask my brother for the binoculars -I would have had a great view of Haas if I had those. His seat was on the opposite side of where I was. I'm still ashamed that I was going a little ga-ga over him.

I saw 4 or 5 other matches. On the last night we were watching Kohlschreiber but we left after the 3rd set which we regretted. I don't know why we just didn't stay for the whole thing. Oh well, we aren't too bright, I suppose. Mark was happy that he got to see his girls and despite some of the stupid things that I did I enjoyed being at this event that for a couple of years that I was afraid to go to. Yes, I was still feeling anxious about being around so many people but I managed to do okay with that and even socializing with them. I sat next to a nice guy who looked a bit like James Blake at the Tsonga match on day 2. He was from Canada. I only took 3 pictures at that match. I didn't do the match hopping like alot of people do at this event so they can see more players that way. I would have liked to have seen more of my guys like Ferrer.

Mark and I were exhausted after these 4 days. We were up by 5 a.m. and out until like between 9 and 10 pm. It was well worth it though and we said that we would definitely be getting tickets for the next year's US Open like shortly after they went on sale which we did - actually I got them the first day. I had been having this bad feeling even like right afterwards that Haas would not be there then and unfortunately I was right. Safin had retired the year before not long after that event. I'm trying not to think about the fact that I wish that I had gone in 2007 and 2008 and I would have gotten to see more of my 2 favs in person. I can't belive that I used to think that tennis is boring.

Bon Jovi and US Open tickets

I had not intended on going to any concerts this year because I've mostly been saving for US Open tickets but this past Wednesday my brother informed me that he had been at the TicketMaster site looking into the ticket prices for both events. I was suprised that Mark changed his mind about not fitting Bon Jovi tickets into his budget. He seemed pretty excited about wanting to go which got me feeling the same way so I went to the site and ordered them for us.

It's my fault that he is into Bon Jovi now. He seems even more into them than I am. We have been to 2 concerts together. One was the Bounce tour- was that 2003? We were at Giants Stadium for that. It was the Prudential Center in Newark in 2007 for the Lost Highway tour. Crappy seats for both and likewise for the upcoming show in July. The tickets went on sale a few weeks ago so we are just glad that we were able to still get some.

This is only the second event that I've ordered tickets online for. Last time it was for the US Open in 2009. We did that like only a few days before so I had to print them out which was kind of frustating because our printer gives us problems often. This year I plan on ordering them early and having them sent by mail. We get the grounds pass and will be going for 5 days instead of 4 this time.

I always worry that tickets will get lost in the mail or sent to the wrong place. Until I have the tickets in my hand I will be anxious about this. I have always said my address twice to the person on the phone but I still worry that he or she misunderstood me. The tickets always get here, thank goodness. I worry too much about many things anyhow, I can't help it.

I heard You Give Love a Bad Name on the radio today and was feeling both anxious and excited about the concert. There are 4 shows in May but 3 of them are sold out and the 4th one had even crappier seats left. The opening act will be Kid Rock. I know a few songs by him. I am definitely not driving to the Meadowlands- it's too stressful. Luckily now they have a bus link from the Secaucus train station that will take you there so we'll be going to Linden station for the train. They only started doing this recently. They should've had that for many years- we would've went to more events there. I have driven there about 6 times and am glad that I don't have to again.

We aren't sure when the tennis tickets go on sale, maybe next month. If you are a member of the USTA you can order them now. The weather during the US Open had been nearly perfect the past 3 years. I have this bad feeling that this time it won't be and am praying that I'm wrong. Watch, it'll rain sometime during the first week but be perfect for the 2nd. I haven't gotten rained on for any outdoor concerts yet, I hope that this fortune continues for this one. It'll be interesting seeing the new Giants Stadium.

Pictures

I've never really been that good at taking photographs. I also used to not take that many of them, something that I really regret especially during vacations to Spain, Germany and Switzerland. I don't know why I didn't take more - maybe I was afraid I'd appear too touristy, which is ridiculous. It's not like I'm ever going to be able to afford to go to those places again. I was lucky enough to have such oppurtunities when I was in my late teens and early 20s.

I love looking in my family albums. It's kind of funny seeing the different fashions and hairstyles throughout the years. Mom would let my brother and I pick out which pictures that we wanted for our albums. We usually wound up with the best shots. My brother did something very foolish in the late 80s or early 90s- he threw away most of his pictures. We were so mad that he didn't give them to us. You can't replace these. Well, I was able to get copies of some but we didn't have all the negatives. My father has them and he won't lend them to us. This pisses me off. He has negatives from my Switzerland trip. This is so unfair.

I didn't get a digital camera until December 13, 2008. I wasn't really that interested in one. I liked my 35mm camera. It's kind of embarrasing that the main reason that I got this was because I was going to a Duran Duran concert the next day and part of me wanted to take pictures of this event. I knew that I'd be close to the stage because it was general admission and I planned on getting there a few hours early. I am mad at myself for going overboard with the snapshots and for not realizing that the battery would die out quickly. A girl told me that she always brings a spare battery with her. Very smart.

I have taken lots of pictures of my cocker spaniel Buffy with this camera. I hadn't taken any pictures since Christmas of 2004 and regret not doing so. I didn't take that many puppy pictures of her which was stupid. She was the cutest puppy. I wish that I had taken alot of pictures of Ginger. We had her from 1979-1986. I only have like 14 of her.

We had a Polaroid camera too. Dad still has one that he got in the 90s. I liked the old Polaroid commercials with James Garner and Mariette Hartley. Kodak came out with an Instamatic that we had but we had to turn them in eventually. I forget exactly what the deal was with that. We got checks or credit for them. My dad took my Kodak 110 camera too. I wish that mom had hidden this and our negatives during the divorce so he wouldn't have found and taken them.

It took me a while to figure out how to get copies of photos from the Walgreens site but I finally did so a few months ago. I had alot of US Open photos. I went overboard there too- mostly at the 2 Tommy Haas matches. I tried scanning my old family photos into the computer so I could get copies of these either through Walgreens or trying to print them out myself but they are too small. I don't understand why they are like this and don't think there is a way to make them bigger. I'm not that good with computers. I guess that I will just have to make copies of them on the printer. Our printer is kind of screwy so I have to be careful because I don't want to waste the expensive special photo paper.

Federer Day

I thought that my brother was joking when he said that Federer lost yesterday because he's always teasing me about him but he wasn't. That's a shame. In the past I probably would've been more upset about this but I'm not sure why I don't care as much anymore. Maybe it's because I like alot more players than I used to or perhaps part of me is thinking "well, he's won enough already, let the other guys have a chance." Another part of me is thinking that that is so mean. I was actually happy when Baghdatis beat him- was that last week or the week before? I like both players. I sometimes get conflicted in this situation but this time I was rooting for him.

It seems kind of unreal that I actually saw Federer in person last August. There was a charity event in New York City. My brother told me about it. Even though he teases me about him he also has him on his Facebook - it used to be on fan pages but now they have it in my friend section. I debated whether or not to go to this event. It was sort of a last minute decision. My brother came with me.

We got into the city very early. I forget exactly where this was - somewhere downtown, maybe not far from a park. Was it Madison Hill park or something like that? I have such a craptastic memory. We saw them setting up the temporary tennis court from across the street. I wanted to go over there shortly afterwards but was too afraid and also too embarrased to do so. We were people and doggie watching. We saw a lady talking to a guy with an adorable Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and were listening to them talk then were talking to her. I finally got up enough nerve to cross the street where we talked to a security guy for a bit then we walked around the block.

We got on the line when we returned. It wasn't overly long but we would've been about the 3rd and 4th persons in it had we not been sitting across the street for like 50 minutes. This would've guaranteed us spots on the bleachers. We wound up standing behind the camera people so we had a semi-blocked view. I was putting myself down mentally and telling my brother what an idiot I was.

We did meet some nice people there, although the one was talking alot and I really should not have responded to her when Federer was talking- I missed out on much of what he was saying. He did mention his twin baby girls, of course. John McEnroe was also there. I blew a chance to have a close up picture of him because I hit the on/off button on my camera by accident. The guy next to me and I were joking about this. No great loss- he's not much to look at or something like that. I got some really crappy shots of Federer. Only one or two okay ones when he was closer to us at the end.

Another girl asked me if I was going to the US Open and told me that she had tickets for the second week. I told her that we couldn't afford to go. I didn't mention that I was also to afraid to do so. I really wanted to be there in 2007 and 2008 but fear kept me from going as did my going into credit card debt for too many unecessary items. Part of me was thinking that after seeing Federer here that I really wanted to try to get over this fear. I did have some money saved but this was supposed to be for the eye doctor and new glasses. I was thinking well maybe I'd put that off for a while longer. I debated over what to do that afternoon.

We could've stayed to see more tennis stars, Monfils and Nadal, but we were tired and also hungry so we went to a cafe type place for lunch then back to Penn Station. When we watched the news that evening they didn't show that event on it but did show a tennis one that had taken place in Bryant Park. We didn't even know about that but might have if we went to the bakery near there like I originally planned on doing. Maybe we would have seen signs or noticed alot of people and asked what was going on there. Whatever - it just wasn't meant to be, I suppose.

That night I went to the Ticketmaster site to check the price of the grounds pass and it was less than I thought it would be. I asked Mark if he was interested in going and he said yes so I ordered us tickets for Day 1 and Day 2. I'd never ordered them on line before. I did the print out ones and got annoyed because the printer was giving us problems then was relieved when it finally worked.

I was both excited and nervous about finally getting to go to the US Open which was only less than 5 days away. I went to the site the night before and wrote down the schedule of play for the players that we were interested in. I was embarrased to be especially happy about going to the Haas match. I already had all the info about what trains to take - I had written that down 2 years earlier. I tried not to beat myself up about being too scared to go there then. I couldn't wait to be in Queens for this event. If we hadn't gone to see Federer would I have even contemplated going there? Possibly not. It's as if seeing him and also hearing that girl talking about going inspired me to become brave. That sounds kind of cheesy, doesn't it. More on this to come...