I was excited to learn that my uncle who we are staying with plays basketball regularly at the University of Washington and I went with him this afternoon to play while KC came with us to do laps in the pool.

One thing I immediately noticed was how huge these people were. I think most of them were more than 6 feet tall! So I was kinda hesitant and scared on how I will perform against them.

First play of the game, my opponent drove for a lay-up, and I caught him for a block! Well, this guy is just probably my height or if not a couple of inches taller than me. All the same, this boosted my confidence level up a bit. I thought to myself, I can compete with these people. :)

After a few more plays, I was already tired from running up and down the court, I was short of breath and my throat dried up. These guys conditioning level were good!

Next play, I was jumping up for a rebound when suddenly, THUD! Out of nowhere, this 6 and a half foot tall guy bumped me from behind and I fell on the floor on my side. For an instant, all the air from my lungs emptied and it took me about a minute to get up. It was kinda embarrassing and I sat down to regain my composure and just waited for the next pickup game.

The second game was good and we beat our opponents handily but the third game was a different story. I was guarded by a girl who is about 5'10 and boy (or girl) was she fast! I had trouble keeping up with her. I made a couple of baskets against her but then the most embarrassing thing happened. I was set up for a three pointer when suddenly she jumped and blocked my shot! SHIT, I thought. Well, I ended up saying to her, "Nice block." What I forgot to add was, "I will never live that down."

Well, I guess I have to get used to the fact that almost everybody who I will play with here will be a lot taller, a lot stronger and a lot quicker than me. And to think that these guys are still in college! There was a guy there who looked a lot like Dirk Nowitski and played a lot like Dirk Nowitski and spoke a lot like Dirk Nowitski. That left me wondering if that guy was indeed Dirk Nowitski.

My body still hurts right now from all the bumps from this afternoon but the pain will go away, well, the embarrassment, that's another story.