March 21, 2005

i am now a golf fan.
that's right. come summer i'm signing up for golf lessons. i'll be spending some mula at the ranges to hit me some balls. golf balls that is.

i came back saturday from orlando where my biz unit hosted our member's symposium. the conference itself went well. i finally met clients i have been working with all this time but never got the chance to meet face-to-face until the conf. i also got to hang out with some peeps from our STL office, pretty cool bunch. if not for the fact that they are all the way in missouri, i would seriously consider a transfer - that's how cool they are. i learned a lot from the conf, got some exposure, and ate lots of good food (ate at the BAAAM! man's restaurant "Emeril's" at city walk, CityJazz, Vito's chop house, and Palms at the Hard Rock just to name a few...).

anyway, the Bay Hill Invitational was also being held in Orlando. it was the very first time i have been to a golf tournament so you can imagine how exciting it must have been for me. actually, at first i was kinda blah. big deal. but once i was there, i got all gung-ho about it.

som highlights:

- i almost took out Tom Lehman the night before the tournament. the guy was nice enough to show up during our reception on wednesday night to say hi to all of our attendees. of course, before that night i had no idea who he was. anyway, i was going around taking pictures (unofficial photographer) and while trying to take a picture of a big group, i just kept on backing up to try and fit them all in the picture. back up. back up. then BAM! i backed into someone. i turned around to apologize and then proceeded to ask them to move for a sec. what followed after this idiotic move was everyone within earshot of me took a step back and gave me this horrified look. 'What are you doing?!?!?!?' was the next thing that i heard. apparently, the guy i backed into, the guy that i asked to move out of the way, was Lehman himself. i apologized non-stop, grovelled even, but of course that wasn't enough coz i will never hear the end of it from my coworkers who are big golf fans. needless to say, when we finally made it out to the tournament, i followed him for a couple of holes and cheered for the guy. it's the least i could do.

- besides lehman, i also met arnold palmer and vijay singh.

- saw tiger and vijay do a sucky hits


Tiger waiting for his turn.

Vijay heading to second hole.


- MC's hospitality tent was just awesome. i think the whole experience would have been different and would not have been as cool if i didn't have access to the hospitality tent. since MC is the presentation sponsor of the PGA tours, we get special access to PGA events. i had, hands down, THE best chocolate chip cookie at the tent - it was almost an inch thick and filled with chocolate fudge. i made myself sick stuffing myself with those cookies.

- part of the MC's PGA experience is the 'swing analyzer'. it's basically a simulated golf course thingie-majiggy and there's a whole bunch of cameras aimed at you that takes your video. after you swing at a couple of balls, there's a trainer waiting for you so that they can review your video and tell you exactly what you're doing wrong.


- i actually got some color while hanging out and watching the tournament. that's always a good thing. i'm done with my pasty self. summer, come now, dammit!

- i got some golf goodies for mark five who is probably my only friend who has been consistently interested in the game. if i get tix to any of the events, he's first on the recipient list.

anyway, i'm too lazy to read back what i just wrote so you guys will just have to decipher the stuff you can't understand. i don't want to have to go back and edit this entry. just know that there will be other golf-related entries in the future.

Comments:

Hey Girlie! Just be patient when you're learning...I started playing when I was 13 and I still suck! It's probably cause I don't practice. That's the thing with golf, if you don't keep doing it you won't get any better. Have fun! Oh and my one tip that I tell everyone...pretend the ball is someone you hate for the day and wack the hell out of it! =D

# posted by  Leensworld : March 22, 2005 3:37 PM

 

hahaha ej! why do you think i look like that in the pic??? i look more like i'm holding a bat! thanks for the tip tho =).

# posted by  G. : March 22, 2005 5:04 PM

 

i'm jealous. next time take me and i'll tell you who everyone is. oh yeah lehman is the captain of the next ryder cup team

# posted by  Anonymous : March 22, 2005 7:36 PM

 

mark five - you're on top of the list for the next one =). i got you something cool though - well, atleast i think it's cool!

# posted by  G. : March 23, 2005 9:35 AM

 

Ive always want to learn how to golf.. but its always rain, cold and more rain here in the UK. Bah! I bet youll be playing like a pro in no time.;)Keep it up chika

# posted by  Anonymous : March 23, 2005 9:40 AM

 

Hello. I think that right now is the most appropriate time to tell you that it's not recommended that you eat 6 Krispy Kreme glazed donuts in one sitting right before you play golf.

# posted by  David : March 25, 2005 3:50 PM

 

david - it wasn't doughnuts... it's the cookies - damn those cookies were good!

# posted by  G. : March 25, 2005 10:17 PM

 

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