Tag Archives: tennis elbow

A Sudden Burst

8 Jun

I have forgotten what it is like to carve balsa having worked on Meranti so much last month. Last night I pushed myself to go back to my Citizens on balsa instead of Meranti Gnomes. And my goodness! It’s so effortless.

So much so, the sudden burst resulted in four new Citizens – one in the morning before going to work and three in the evening after dinner. Yay. Maybe I should stop the Gnomes series for the time being and just focus on Citizens of Gigglesville. After all, their population count remained stagnant at 132 since Apr 24th.

Honestly, working with Meranti wood has aggravated the tennis elbow again. Not a good sign especially if I want to go back to playing golf. I shouldn’t allow this to flare up and if I want to also continue carving I should stick to balsa, a much softer wood. This may be the best balance to have the best of both activities.

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Unfinished and ugly for now but that’s the process

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Bigger and Bigger, Part 2

21 May

The carving seems to have taken a toll on me. Lately with all these bigger pieces that I am working on with Meranti wood which is harder than balsa, I could feel a slight pain especially on the right elbow when I exert some strength. The tennis elbow problem! And this is evident when I try to play golf. Sigh…

When an injury hits, one never truly recovers. The body is weakened, the game suffers and the confidence drops, a vicious cycle. Add in the lack of playing because of my other problems (the Infectious Colitis and the laparoscopic surgery recently), I simply have not had much opportunity to go onto the fairways.

I need to find the right balance to carve and play golf without one activity suffering at the expense of the other.

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Carving is Good, Carving is Bad

14 Sep

I’ve come to conclusion that carving has been good and bad. Good because it’s an outlet for me these past few months to channel my energy all this time while resting to recover from my tennis elbow; bad because I sit so much, I feel that my ass has grown. Ugh. And this was confirmed by Mom sometime back when she commented that I had expanded sideways. Ouch.

Then again, it can’t be that bad because Gigglesville was created with all these cute and lovable citizens; and the physical problem can be resolved over time.

Thank goodness these days I am back to playing golf and being at the gym, and Gigglesville continues to bloom beautifully.

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80% Effort, 100% Result

25 Jul

Golf is a funny game I always say. It is also a game of opposites. When you try hard, the more difficult it becomes somehow. But when you don’t try so hard, everything clicks. It is almost like when you hit rock bottom and just about to give up, you play one of your best games and because of this, there’s a renewed zest again.

Over the weekend I decided to participate in an away Interclub match for my golf club. After all, a golf buddy signed me up ages ago, I thought it would be good to try playing again after such a lengthy rest.

It has been three and a half months since my last competitive game. Although there were a couple of social games in between, the performance and ability had been questionable. With the persistent tennis elbow, golf has taken a back seat in my life. In its place is of course, the carving and the growth of my Citizens of Gigglesville.

So without any expectations except to not aggravate the elbow injury, I played my best game ever! This is truly a case of 80% effort and yielding a 100% result. I am dumbfounded at my ability but pleasantly gratified with the achievement.

The partnership with another lady saw the two of us emerging as the best pair (not first runners up or even second runners up but BEST pair) for our club, beating the men who are always better. Each of us played one under to our handicaps for a combined Stableford 74 points.

Well, it is indeed a confidence booster and a new secret discovered – putting in only 80% effort to yield a 100% result. This theory has made me wonder if I have been doing it wrong all these years? Hmm… If this is the case, I should remember this formula to have a good outing and at the same time, enjoy the game and not aggravate the injury.

I now look forward to future games and no, the Citizens will not be forgotten, they will still strive in numbers.

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A Good Mess

20 Jul

Everyday I would sit at the living room and carve if time permits. Gone are the days where I would be on the iPad, being device-reliant all the time which is bad. So this is a good thing.

I wouldn’t say the place is messy because I am stationary in the middle of the spacious comfortable zone. And with everything I need within reach in an IKEA RÅSKOG trolley (which M2 helped to put together), it’s a good spot. A good mess I’d say.

Days when I don’t have time to carve, I would take out the Citizens of Gigglesville and just look at them. Simple silly act but full of satisfaction. Delight would envelop my heart whenever a citizen is completed. It’s funny how I discovered this engrossing activity, thanks (sort of) to the tennis elbow.

Carving-2

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I Missed My Friends

11 Jul

Sometimes an injury not only takes the person out of action, it makes a person out of sight, out of mind too. I have not been to my golf club for ages because of the tennis elbow. And because of this, I missed all my golf buddies. Boo hoo hoo…

The friendship and friends are far more important than the game I realized. I miss the company, the laughter, the silly banters, and love. Throw in the food and drinks, I miss all this. Boo hoo hoo…

Over the weekend, the club held its Annual Championship and for the first time, I did not participate. I don’t think I could survive the two-day tournament. The spirit may be willing but the body, the arm specifically, would not be able to withstand the outing. It would be a painful nightmare and a big setback to healing.

But I went to the club to support all my golfing buddies because I missed them. It was indeed good to catch up with everyone who played in the tournament. And after the two days of intense golf, the defending champion prevailed to retain her title and I am glad I was there to celebrate with her and the rest of my golf buddies.

The 12-year old Glenlivet whiskey (and 12-year old Singleton plus an 18-year old – which I forgot what label) were thoroughly enjoyed on that humid Sunday afternoon after the morning excitement subsided. And it felt good to see most of my friends after so long. Ahh… the company, the laughter, the silly banters, the love and drinks…

Maybe I should reconsider playing again just to be with friends. After all, it’s the friendship that matters, not the game.

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Blame It On the Rain

27 Jun

The weekend getaway was good despite the late start. We played a round of golf and sadly, my tennis elbow suffered a setback. But I didn’t care. We had a good time because the golf course wasn’t crowded. When rain came down unexpectedly with five holes to go, we didn’t care. 

We felt at ease and no hurry in the world. So we patiently waited it out. And when the downpour dwindled to a slight drizzle, we continued the remaining holes because there was no siren. By the end of the round, both of us were drenched. Blame it on the rain.

During the stay with hubby’s parents, it was all about eating and sleeping. This is all we do whenever we visit. My bathroom scale hates me every time after such trips.

By Monday, it was time to leave and we started our journey late, at 1.45pm. The initial stretch was not too bad. The paddy fields are always a sight to appreciate as we zoomed along the highway. The rich bright green creates a sense of peace.

Traffic wasn’t as heavy as we feared, however things took a turn for the worse when the rain came down. And it rained all the way home, complete with thunder and lightning. What a light show it was! Horrendous conditions to drive if you asked me. We arrived home after almost eight hours on the road. Blame it on the rain. 

But rain or holiday-makers traffic aside, we got home safely and it was indeed a good getaway.

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Setback

13 Apr

You know you’ve got it bad when you’re at the grocery store and can’t even pick up a head of cabbage! And it’s not even like it’s the biggest one on the shelf. Uh oh.

I injured myself again last weekend during my Saturday golf game. I suspect it’s from the week prior when I played in a monthly medal game and the pain suddenly flared up.

This time it’s a tennis elbow problem and not so much my old injury on the left wrist recurring. Funny it’s called tennis elbow when the injury is actually from golf. Regardless, the right elbow needs to be rested and no golf for at least two weeks or more. Super sigh.

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