Badminton with the Vs

It was July 2010...

Dust and cobwebs have already accumulated on my racket when I opened it. The grip, tattered to pieces from a game a long time ago, was gathering molds.

It has been a year, maybe more, since I last held a racket and smashed a shuttlecock. I tried holding the racket (Of course it's already been dusted and I had already changed the moldy grip.) The racket feels almost foreign to me now. Just almost. Somehow, thankfully, my hands still remember the all too familiar feel of the handshake grip. I swing it in the air, poised to smash. Swish. The familiar sound of the racket slicing through the air fills my ear. Aaahhh. I haven't forgotten.

But after a few more swings comes the reminder of a year of not playing. Although the mind has already made the connections and familiarized itself with the sport once again, the body is none too willing. The shoulder especially is much too eager to warn the rest of the body of the lack of training. Stiff and inflexible, it sends a not so gentle reminder that practice and a lot of warm up and stretching are much needed, and pain, a lot of pain is expected for sure.

I prepared my stuff. Today is going to be a long day. Queen T made sure I wasn't late so she woke me up around 630 in the morning, calling 6 or 7 times to make sure I made a move to prepare my things.  I packed my racket, shoes and a few shirts along with some toiletries.  I was as ready as I could be.
I took the taxi going to Powersmash, where we agreed to meet.  I was there early, 10 minutes to 8.


The commute took shorter than anticipated as there wasn't much traffic yet.  However, to my surprise, the parking lot was already full of cars.  Bad sign.  And none of us thought of getting a reservation!  I went inside and inquired at the counter.  Indeed, the place was full and calling ahead wouldn't have mattered as they had 3 tournaments scheduled for that day.  I called Queen T and gave the bad news.  We had no back up plan!  But it's not the end of the world.  We resolved to try other courts.  I had one in mind - Blu Racket, also along Pasong Tamo.

They were still 10 minutes away so I waited.  Walked around and jogged a bit hoping to warm the muscles up.  When nearly 10 minutes had passed, I went outside to wait for them.  I was watching car after car go by when I noticed the General's car.  But they were going a little fast.  They didn't see me.  And apparently, no one among them knew where Powersmash was.  I called Queen T again.

"Hey!  You just passed by Powersmash!"
"Of course not.  We haven't reached Walter Mart yet."
"Walter mart is after Powersmash, stupid!"
"Hahahaha...Sorry, sorry.  I thought it was AFTER Walter Mart.  We'll stop in front of Don Bosco.  Is it okay if you walk?  We don't wanna U turn anymore."
"Fine.  Wait for me."

When we got to Blu Racket, we noticed a 'for lease' sign.  Aarggh.  Second bad sign.  We wanted to make sure so I got down and asked.  As expected, they were already closed.

On the way to Blu Racket, we were already trying to remember other courts in Makati that we know.  I also texted friends and tried googling, too.  But my friends were probably still asleep.  3G wasn't cooperating either.  Good thing Queen T remembers a court in Malugay St.  She doesn't remember the name though or the exact location.  But that was our best bet at the time.  So off we went to Malugay.

Initially, we headed to the wrong side of Buendia but we found The Zone in the end.  Unfortunately, there weren't any free courts there, too.  But the person-in-charge assured us of a court by 10 am plus there was a possibility of a 9 am court should the person who reserved not show up.  We decided to wait.

Geologs was really eager to play.  He scouted around and found an Indian doing shadow play in one of the courts.  He asked if he wanted a partner.  He consented to a doubles game.  Unfortunately, the Indian was too good for us. We couldn't keep up. Only Geologs was ready for that kind of play.  After two sets, we quit, rested for a bit.  And finally, a court opened for us.

With our worn out shoes, we played - Queen T, Geologs, the General and I.  But we were no match for the practiced Geologs. He was just too good.  No matter who his partner was, they won.  So we switched and switched and switched partners until everybody experienced a win. Haha...  

And when everyone had won, we played some more until we could no longer feel our legs. Oh what a fun day it turned out to be in the end despite the lackluster start. But every day is a great day when you're with friends. =)