In Lisa's Spin, her new regular blog on wtatour.com, Lisa Raymond brings us her thoughts on tennis, life and more. Here's the latest installment...
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
After a fun week in the Middle East (that's a sentence you don't hear every day) I am back. Back to the creature comforts of home and right into the arms of this tennis player's good friend, jet lag.
We have all experienced it, that feeling of helplessness when you cannot stay awake at night or stay asleep in the morning. Funny enough, jet lag is something I actually look forward to when coming back home. Call me crazy but it's true. I am an early riser to begin with so for me, jet lag gives me an excuse to get out of bed at 5am. Take my first morning home. I flew back from Dubai a couple days ago and by 7pm my first night, I was needing a crane to keep my eyelids from closing. Before I knew it, I was in bed, lights out, it was Goodnight, Irene. I slept hard for the first few hours and then tossed and turned for the next few. By 430am, I couldn't take staring out my window any longer, so I got up. Honestly, this has become my favorite time of day. I love being up before anyone, when it is still dark outside and you feel like the whole world is still asleep. After the coffee is made (programmed and set the night before of course!), I begin my assault on the morning. It's 6am and I am completely unpacked, bags put away, laundry is finished and organization is complete. What a feeling of accomplishment! I actually find the hardest part of jet lag isn't the early mornings but it's staying awake in the afternoons. Sometimes I just give into it and crash. Who cares if it's 730pm and I am in bed already? What is the worst thing that can happen - I am up at the crack of dawn? Sounds like a perfect day to me....
Meanwhile, after losing in Dubai last week, I took part in the weekly ritual that all tennis players seem to have come to master - the mad dash. What am I referring to? It's the race that players do once they lose a match and are out of the tournament. Like a Wonder Twin we form a tornado that blows through a town quicker than you can say Auntie Em. Literally this is the fastest you will ever see a player move on or off a tennis court. Once they shake hands, the mind clicks into overdrive and for the next few hours all that you can think about is how quickly can I get out of this city! The mad dash has begun! From the court you race to the locker room, sometimes showering sometimes not, so obsessed with leaving that personal hygiene takes a back seat. You grab your stuff, hop into a transportation car and head back to your room, ready to take on the agenda that awaits you. Booking flights, packing your bags, organizing the room, getting the laundry, arranging transportation to the airport, arranging transportation from the airport, changing arrival dates at the hotel, organizing your coach, and the list goes on. By now a cheeseburger from room service is usually on its way to your room as nutrition is far from a top priority. It's all about getting the heck out of Dodge as quickly as possible. The turnaround time for most of us is usually 8-12 hours depending on how quickly one can get through to an airline on the phone. "What's the first flight out?" is a statement we all have come to know too well. Within a couple hours, bags are packed, alarm clock is set and the city you are in will soon be a distant memory. Morning can't come soon enough. Goodbye old, hello new....
A couple questions tweeted to me this week:
@ MrKash75 wants to know, "What's your favorite cuisine and what's the city that excites your taste buds the most?" Favorite cuisine? Where do I start?!!! I love food, all kinds of food. If there are two cities that I love eating in the most they would be NYC and Rome. I have an Italian background so pasta is in my veins!!! In NYC, there are just too many to choose from but pizza is always on the must have list. Joe's and Arturros are my favorite spots in the city, both downtown. My mouth is watering just writing this...
@hanakomesan asks, "What is your best memory of the Dubai Championships?" This was my third year playing in Dubai and the first time I won a match! That would be my best memory :-)
On my playlist right now...
"Rolling in the Deep" - Adele... such a cool voice, always liked her. Her new album is not a dissapointemnt.
"Uprising" - Muse... my coach put this on a mix for me a long time ago and its just one of those songs I LOVE working out to - just pushes you when you feel like jumping off the treadmill.
"Talk" - Coldplay... who doesn't love Coldplay? When I hear the first couple lines of this song, always brings me back to a good place and I love when a song takes you there.
