Tarpley’s Thoughts

So Marci Miller created this game for us called “secret buddies”.  Each of us drew one name out of a hat and we are supposed to give random gifts to that person.   For example, throughout the week people have given “secret” notes, presents and food from our snack trunk to their secret buddy.  It has been really fun giving and receiving these fun gifts!  My favorite gift from my secret buddy was a cutout picture of the “sun” which she made out of yellow paper that she found.  She included a note saying “since we don’t see the sun much over here I thought I would add some sun so you can work on your tan!”  Ha ha.  The sun has actually been out more than it normally has over here in China!

We had our first USA ping-pong tournament this afternoon.  It was a lot of fun. Our press officer, Aaron Heifetz, created brackets and organized the tournament.  My partner was Joanna Lohman, who by the way is a great ping-pong player!   She puts spin on the ball and slams it across the table.  Since everyone on the team knew how good she was, everyone hit the ball to me.  Luckily, the family ping-pong tournaments from my past came in handy (we always get into some pretty heated ping pong tournaments when our family gets together).  I was nicknamed “most consistent” because I would just try and hit the ball right back to the person who hit it to me.(little did they know I was just trying to get it back over the table..haha)  But hey, it must have been working a little because I rode Jo’s back all the way to the championship as we beat Marcie Miller and Steph Lopez in the final match.  It was a barn-burner which we won 21-12.  It was a really fun afternoon!

We start our games tomorrow and we are so excited!  All three games are going to be challenging, but we are excited and ready to play!  We have done a lot of creative things to keep ourselves occupied over here in China but now it’s game time! 

We found the Starbucks!!!  We went to the “Mega Mall” of Guangdong and there was a Starbucks in the mall.  My typical vanilla latte in the states tasted a bit different over here, but it was still nice to drink and enjoy.  I sat at Starbucks for a few hours soaking up the Chinese culture.  I’ve started collecting Starbucks coffee mugs from places that I’ve been with the national team, so I picked up one from Guangdong to add to my collection.
The mall was huge and every floor specialized in a certain thing.  There was an electronic floor, clothing floor, game floor, etc. There were tons of people.  No matter what floor we were on, it was jammed packed.
To cap the day off, we got to eat out at an Italian Restaurant in the city.  It was amazing.  We had delicious appetizers for starters and then I had a steak with vegetables for my dinner.  To satisfy my sweet tooth, I had two scoops of ice cream for dessert!   I thoroughly enjoyed this meal and I was so full leaving the restaurant.
Only a few more days until we start the games!
YEAH!
Tarp

We arrived in China after a day of traveling!  We left Los Angeles, CA at 8:00AM on Tuesday morning.  We flew to San Francisco and then to Beijing.  We didn’t arrive into Guangdong until 12:30 on Wednesday morning.  It was a long day of traveling!  But, all of the flights weren’t completely full so I had an empty seat next to me which made a huge difference.  On the 13 hour flight over here, I read a book, watched DVDs, and slept a little bit.  It actually went fairly fast!
We are staying in the Guangdong Olympic Hotel and our game and practice fields are right out the window.  The Chinese National Team uses this area to train and it is a great facility.  We walk to practice and we will walk to the games. The game field has a beautiful stadium and it is fun to be able to look out the window and see it.
We got off to a great start.  We have been training twice a day and that has helped our sleeping schedule.  So far the weather has been nice, but today it is raining, windy and grey.
We are looking forward to starting the games.  It is going to be a great tournament and we play 3 potential World Cup opponents: Germany, England, and China.
We are heading into the city today to find a Starbucks!  I will write more later.
Thanks for reading.
Tarp

Alright, after a nice break it has been time to get back into the swing of things.   We have a lot going on this year and I am really excited!   I was fortunate to come back to Los Angeles, CA to do a photo shoot for Nike on January 7^th. It was my first photo shoot with Nike and I had a great time. They are wonderful people and I feel very fortunate to be part of the Nike family.
We started camp this past week on January 11^th in Los Angeles, CA. There are 28 players in camp and there will be a roster named on Monday to determine who is going to go to China to compete in the Four Nations Tournament. It is going to be a very competitive tournament. We play our arch rival Germany in our first game followed by England and China. As always, it is a great environment for us to play in.
Camp started with a light training session. Then the next morning we ran the famous beep test. It is a test of our fitness base. I’ve run it a lot, but I still get nervous! After we finished the beep, we started playing. The easiest way to get back in the swing of things is by playing. It has been a very competitive camp with a lot of younger players.   It has been really great seeing everyone again!
The team is heading to China on Tuesday morning. I will write more when I get there!
Thanks for reading!
Tarp

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. The holidays always seem to just fly bye!
I had a very nice time with my family and friends. My holiday started off in Kalamazoo, Michigan visiting B.J.’s family and my brother’s family. I was expecting really cold weather, but it was fairly warm! It didn’t even snow’ which is shocking for that time of the year. I enjoyed the warmer weather for a change, but I missed the snow!
My next stop was Chicago to do some shopping with my mom. I took the train into Chicago from Kalamazoo. It was one of my first experiences on the train and I didn’t realize that I could only have two pieces of baggage. This was a problem because I showed up with four pieces and had to frantically repack my bags into two. Let’s just say I ended up leaving a bunch of my things in Kalamazoo, but most of the Christmas presents made it on the train with me. It was definitely an experience, but it was a nice easy way to get into downtown Chicago. My mom drove down from Madison, WI and we stayed in downtown Chicago for a night and did some major Christmas shopping. We had a great time catching up and spending time together. Again, the weather was warm and rainy which is bazaar for that time of the year. Michigan Ave. just wasn’t the same without snow!
I made it back to Madison, WI and I stayed there for the rest of my holiday. I had a great time being home and relaxing. My older brother and his family came for Christmas so my entire family was together. We carried on several traditions and we even managed to make gingerbread houses from scratch. Making the gingerbread houses turned into a competition (which is normal for my family!). Despite my brother’s creative landscaping and stain glass windows, mine had a soccer field and people in the yard so I thought mine was the best! I think I ate more candy than I put on my house though! Ha Ha.    
I was able to do a lot of training on my own over the break.  I was also fortunate to be able to play a bit in Chicago and Kalamazoo (which was a lot of fun!)  We just played a lot which is always nice. 
The holidays came and went, but I thoroughly enjoyed being with my friends and family. I had a nice relaxing break, but I am ready to start gearing up for 2007! I am looking forward to a great year!
 
Happy New Year to everyone,
Tarp