Socal Mom

The California Games

I can't believe I began the summer lamenting that I wouldn't be taking any vacations this year.

Instead, I ended up planning several short road trips. The result: Plenty to write about -- but little time to do it!

I just got back from watching Megan compete in the California State Games, which is a kind of youth Olympics event, complete with young athletes marching in to witness the lighting of the torch. As the march-in was Friday night and her meet was Sunday afternoon -- and the event was in beautiful San Diego -- we made a weekend of it. My sister and her family planned a short stay in Mission Bay to coincide with it, so it was a full family affair...

...which means that breaking away to write was a near-impossibility. Hell, my husband and sister complained every time I glanced at the steady stream of email I was receiving on my Blackberry. You have no idea how much trouble they would have given me if I had gone hunting for a hotspot so I could write.

This is why I have not been online since Thursday afternoon (when the Internet in my home went down for several hours). As of this time last week, I was putting the finishing touches on part 1 of my post about our Las Vegas trip -- and promising to finish the half-done draft recounting our experiences in Palm Springs the previous week.

Those posts remain half-done drafts. And in three days, I am flying up to San Francisco for BlogHer.

Can you say "over extended"?

So... this blog will be taking a non-linear turn this week, as I jump around in time so I can catch up before BlogHer.

We'll start with the trip we just finished: San Diego.

I wish I had photos to show you of the opening ceremony for the California State Games. It really felt like the real deal. For one thing, it took place at Qualcomm Stadium. For another, there must have been thousands of youthful participants, as the march in to the stadium seemed to go on FOREVER. The really cool thing is that the entire proceeding was broadcast onto the stadium's jumbotron -- so I got to see the joyful expressions on the faces of my daughter and her teammates as they entered the field.

The reason I don't have photos is that I almost didn't make it to the Stadium on time, having opted to stay at a four-star Priceline-booked downtown hotel instead of the cheap Mission Valley inn on the trolley line, with the rest of the team. I had dropped Megan off with her coach so I knew she would arrive along with them -- but I wanted to have my own car so I could boogie when the whole thing was over.

The road leading to Qualcomm was bumper-to-bumper, and just as I got there, my cell phone froze on me. This put me into a panic: How was I going to find the other parents? How was I going to find my kid? I managed to get the phone working again by removing and replacing the battery -- but I was shaken. I was already at the ticket booth when I realized I'd left my camera in the car. I had no desire to run back to fetch it.

After what seemed like hours (I had NO IDEA there were so many kids who play softball - I don't think there was an empty field in all of San Diego last weekend!), the ceremony began with a drop-in by about a dozen Navy Seals... who literally parachuted onto the field, ending with one holding an American flag for the Star Spangled Banner. Yeah, it was kind of hokey -- but really cool at the same time. That was followed by some speeches about the value of youth athletic programs and some Gong-show ready entertainment.

The program ended with a pretty nice fireworks show.

Then came the ordeal of catching back up with our kids. As much time as it took for them to march IN to the stadium, finding them after the event took even longer. At least, it felt that way. It was nearly 10:00 p.m. by the time I had my daughter back -- neither one of us had eaten dinner. Fortunately, my sister and husband (who had driven down after work and was already relaxing with the family at their hotel in Mission Bay) were waiting for us. We phoned them a room service order and found a late dinner waiting for us when we caught up with them -- just in time to catch our second fireworks show of the night, emanating from nearby Sea World.

Saturday was our time to kick back, and we decided to do so at my sister's hotel. She and her family stayed at the Mission Bay Hilton, which is right on the bay, so it boasts a small beach, a dock where you can rent boats and jetskis, tennis courts, a spa -- and a fabulous pool (which was adjacent to a fabulous bar that serves truly fabulous pina coladas).

We figured we could get the best of both San Diego worlds by moving our party downtown for the evening. We dined on excellent tapas at Cafe Sevilla in the Gaslamp Quarter (which was within walking distance from our downtown hotel). The food was plentiful...and reasonably priced.

Sunday's gymnastics meet was a lot like any other... except that our team rocked! Megan and her friend Wesley both took first place All-Around prizes for their ages -- and the top three for most events featured at least one of our girls.

I would have pictures of this but for a nasty surprise when I turned my camera on: I must have dropped it somewhere, because I could not access any of the menus. Instead, all I could see was something that looked like a crack on the screen INSIDE the camera.

"Just go to the store where you bought it and get it fixed," my husband suggested.

The last time I tried that with a digital camera I was told it would cost nearly as much to fix as it would to buy a new one. It is also extremely unlikely that, should it be reparable, I could have it back before I go to BlogHer on Thursday. At any rate, future posts will be without photos for the foreseeable future.

It's a good thing I got some in on the half-finished posts that will be going up BEFORE I get to San Francisco.

Happy Birthday, Megan!

Today, you are 12 -- and for the first time in a dozen years, I am not there to celebrate with you.

So I hope your dad will find this post today and show it to you, because -- especially today -- I want to tell you what an amazing person you are growing up to be.

I love your sense of humor: You see what's truly funny about the world we live in and the people we share it with.

I love your sense of fair play. You don't tolerate cheats or cruelty. You don't play stupid girl games.

I love your intelligence. You are one smart kid.

I love your athleticism. You amaze me with your derring-do.

In fact, you have amazed me every day for the last 12 years.

Happy Birthday, baby girl. I'm having fun with all my mommy blogging friends... but I can't wait to get home to you.

My First YouTube

I still haven't found a camera to replace the one that broke. I think I want too much. I need something that is small enough to fit in a handbag so I can whip it out when I see something I want to snap. Because I want to carry it with me, it must be tough (the husband is convinced the old camera broke because I stopped using its case and have been keeping it with me in my purse; of course, that's the reason I suddenly started taking more spontaneous photos). I don't really care about the megapixels; for my purposes, the 5MP of my broken camera were adequate.

What I do want is a better zoom (most of the point and shoot cameras only give you a 3x optical zoom; of course, a lot of that has to do with size and lens), less shutter lag... and I don't want to spend a lot of money.

The Panasonic Lumix model I saw at Costco comes closest to what I'm looking for, but it's not perfect. For one thing, it's larger than I would prefer (but it has a 10x zoom). I can live with its size and the fact that it's not the most attractive camera I've ever seen, and the price is right: $179. But it has a drawback that might be categorized as a deal killer: There's no viewfinder. And the camera reviews I read stated that the image represented on its LCD screen are not accurate. So this camera would take some time to get used to.

A number of friends and family members have suggested other models that look good, but are lacking in other areas (such as that pesky zoom thing I've gotten hung up on). I'm afraid that I can only get the features I want in a camera like the one the husband got for his birthday, or an SLR -- and I'm not willing to spend THAT kind of money on this (nor would those cameras be easy to carry around in a handbag).

So I've put off the decision. And attended Megan's meet on Saturday armed with our video camera. And discovered that with this new computer, I finally have the capacity to easily play with video capture (there simply wasn't enough hard disk space to work with on my previous notebook).

So yesterday, I finally came late to the YouTube revolution. Here's my beautiful daughter on Floor, Vault and Bars. This was NOT her best performance (I decided to leave the Beam out entirely), and you will have to put up with my crappy camera skills (I blame it on camcorder design and my left-handedness -- it's just hard for me to hold and access the controls with my right hand). But it should give you an idea of what $330 per month plus meet fees and coach expenses is buying us:

I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

Wow. The Oscars are finally over.

I've blogged before about how irritating it is that everything that is broadcast "live" is only tape delayed here on the West Coast - even events that originate here. There are a few exceptions: one is the Super Bowl. The other is the Academy Awards.

Thank goodness they started at 5:30 p.m.! What were they -- one hour longer than scheduled this year? Does anyone out on the East Coast stay up for the whole thing? I don't think I could. By their 9:30 finish, I was ready.

As for the awards themselves -- I wasn't unhappy. This is the first year in a long time when I actually got to see a couple of the nominated films ("The Queen," and "Little Miss Sunshine.") It was great to see Scorsese finally win. I felt bad for Eddie Murphy and Peter O'Toole, but happy for Alan Arkin and Forrest Whittaker. Jennifer Hudson and Helen Mirren were amazing in their nominated roles. I  enjoyed the montages about the movies -- especially the tribute to the screenwriter. I know. I'm weird that way.

We had a busy weekend, starting on Friday with Megan's gymnastics meet in San Diego. Documenting her accomplishments on film is a challenge -- you can't use the flash while the competition is on (it could affect the athletes' ability to see what they're doing) and the light is frequently poor. That's one of the reasons my husband gave me for buying his cool new camera. So now, he's experimenting. On Friday, he thought he would try setting it for the fastest speed he could, so he could try and capture her in action. The results were very grainy (which he expected) and he wasn't happy with this photo -- but I include this photo because I was amazed to see how high Megan's jump on the beam actually is. (And Megan says she didn't jump as high as usual!)

She was scored an 8.95 on beam, which I thought was pretty good -- especially as she's only been competing at this level for a couple of months. She went home with third place medals in beam and floor... and looked happier than any of tonight's Oscar winners (even Marty Scorsese).

Our Sophomore Year

I felt pretty good as we drove down to Chino for my daughter's first gymnastics meet of the season. I think I was a lot more nervous last year. It was her first on the team, and the other parents had warned me that the judging could be brutal. On top of that, watching her perform feats of derring-do (i.e., jumping on the balance beam, flying on the bars) scared the shit out of me. Every time she took her turn, I think I forgot to breathe.

And with good reason, because in those early meets, she didn't always hit her mark. She would stumble on her floor exercise, or struggle to lift herself into position on the bars. She would wobble on that blasted beam. And while the rest of her routines were sharp, those mistakes cost her points.

The state championship meet was the most heartbreaking. One of the walls at our gym is decorated with banners honoring all the girls who have come back with state titles. Last year, I used to see her on breaks just gazing at those banners, and I knew she was imagining her own name on one of them. And when we got to state, she was off to a really good start, earning a high 9 on her floor routine (which was not her best event). Her vault and bar scores were also good...

...but then she got to the dreaded balance beam, which was her worst event and the one that made me bite my nails the most. And she fell. TWICE.

She finished that meet with a 35.85 (the same score she got at the qualifying meet a few weeks before). Close, but no cigar. Or banner in the gym.

She cried in the car on the way home, and none of the encouraging words her father and I offered could make a difference.

Still, her scores were consistently high enough that the following week, our head coach promoted her to the next level, breaking his own rule (that a girl has to achieve two 36 All Around scores before moving ahead). Megan was happy about that -- but had really wanted that 36. At our gym, the names of the girls who reach that pinnacle are posted on a board... and after she was promoted, she had to work her way back up (she only achieved a 24 on her first try as a level 5) -- while the girls she left behind at level 4 had begun amassing lofty 36 and 37's, with their names posted. It was frustrating for her.

But my daughter is one of the hardest working people I know. Her final score of the spring season was a respectable 34, and this was before she spent the entire summer training for 25 hours a week.

She's been reunited with her old level 4 teammates, and is continuing with the girls she competed level 5 with in the spring... and is looking good. So good that at a practice meet we held last month, her coaches allowed her to compete both level 5 AND level 6 on three of the four events (they will be moving her up again as soon as she masters some new skills on the bars).

So I, for one, was feeling confident on Saturday. Unlike last year, I have an idea of what to expect. The first few meets of the season are qualifiers for the sectionals: the girls have to achieve an all around score of 32 to go to the next stage -- then at sectionals, they need to achieve a 34 to go to state. Last year, all but one of our girls made it to the state meet. I knew our girls would qualify easily their first time out.

I knew it, but I was still nervous. Especially when Megan got 8.35 on her vault. Last year, this was one of her strongest events. This year, not so strong. At level 4, she just had to vault onto a stack of mats - but at this level, she needs to use the table, and that's a lot harder. Also, it seems that the coaches haven't been working with the girls much on their vault.

The next event was bars. The first two girls got 9's. Megan's score was 8.9. My heart sank. Yes, I know it's a good score, but I was hoping that this would be the meet where she got that 36, and it was starting to look less likely... especially since the next event was beam... and in her warmups, she was having trouble nailing her cartwheel. (Yes, at this level, she has to do a cartwheel on a 4" piece of wood.)

She took her turn on the beam and once again, my breathing stopped. She looked confident and poised as she went through the paces. One of the other moms sitting with us squeezed my hand. "She looks good," she said.

She did look good. But now it was time to do the cartwheel. I braced myself.

She nailed it. She didn't even wobble. She finished her routine, dismounted with ease, and gave the judges her "gymnast salute." I thought she looked good, but what do I know? It seemed like an eternity before the number flashed on the scoreboard.

I screamed. And then I laughed. And then I screamed again. "9.4!  NINE POINT FOUR!!!"

(I apologize to the people who were sitting in front of us and had to listen to me gush. My daughter had never before received above an 8.8 on beam in competition. This was really exciting for us.)

My husband grabbed the program and added up the scores she'd received so far. "She needs 9.35 on floor to make 36."

9.35. That's a high score, but she could do it. I stopped breathing again.

The meet was running long, and the floor exercise was the big bottleneck. Those judges were taking their time. We waited for three more teams to finish their routines before it was time for our girls. Megan pranced onto the mat and did her thing. She looked good to me, but the question was, did she look good to the judges?

They gave her a 9.375. Her final score: 36.025.

We watched as her coaches told her. At first, she looked stunned. Then, she returned their high fives and looked at us and gestured a three and a six.

I don't think I've ever seen her look so happy.

At the end of the meet, they announce final scores and hand out ribbons and medals. They start with the gymnast in 10th place and work their way up. By the time they got to fourth on beam and floor, it was apparent that Megan would be in the top three.

As it turned out, her scores on beam and floor and all-around were not only her personal best, but the first time she ever placed FIRST.

(The team, by the way, took home a second-place award, which was pretty good considering the other gyms we were competing against. All the girls qualified for sectionals. It was a very nice way to start the season.)

At the end of the meet, I congratulated Megan's coaches and thanked them for all they've done for her. They hugged me. "We've been waiting for her to do this for a long time. She just hasn't believed enough in herself," they said.

Now she does.