I really ought to go to bed earlier. Anyway, I played basketball with Connie and Josephine today. It was girls versus guys, as Connie had challenged a group of Hispanic boys. I hadn't touched a ball in two years... and it showed, but that's okay. :) The girls are still the more amazing side--well, Jo, Connie, and their friend Stella were--I was more like dead weight.
But the second game, it was mixed teams, and I had this really short, really annoying kid on my team. I think he was a couple years younger, but he wasn't very good, but he strutted around saying, "I'm Kobe. Kobe's here," and every time he shot the ball, he'd yell, "GAME!", despite the fact that he'd miss almost every time. At one point, I'd hit the ball out of bounds but it looked like the other team did, but I insisted that it was their ball. My lovely, Kobe-imposter teammate came up to me and completely belligerently, yet in a low whisper said, "SHUT. UP," looking me square in the eyes even though the top of his head only came up to my shoulder. Obviously, Elaine, the one with the lovely temper who always enjoys being talked down (and in this case, both up and down) to, loved that comment. I shouted back, walking past him quite roughly, "HEY. DON'T TELL ME TO SHUT UP, LITTLE KID."
It was lovely. He never passed me the ball. :) Well, he didn't pass very much in the first place. At this rate, I'm going to have all of Mexico chasing after me--throwing chips at people and insulting young basketball players. Thanks for the reminder, Yogin. :)

The other highlight of the game was when another player on that team, the only one who was actually really nice and really athletic, limped off in the middle of the game. We stopped the game and asked him anxiously, "Wait. Wait. Are you alright?"
After limping to the grass and collapsing, he only uttered one word, "Balls."
Lovely. All the girls were torn between bursting out into hysterical laughter and running away in awkward-ness. It was hilarious. When he finally came back on in five minutes, I was guarding him, and I asked, "Hey man, are you alright?" with a hint of laughter in my voice.
"Yeah. Just don't hit me there."
"Umm.. okay.. I wasn't planning on it, but wait. I didn't hit you the first time, did I? I'm sorry!"
"No. It wasn't you. It was... HER!!!" and he pointed at Josephine like she was the devil and he was about to eat her.

Wow. Men. So protective of their area! I'm sure it hurts though, as I've been assured time and time again by various possessors of male genitalia, but to me, it's still rather humorous. Anyway, it was lots of fun. Deprivation of oxygen is always something I enjoy, obviously, which is why Jay has decided that it would be funny to make me run. Grr. Too bad it won't happen. Connie, however, enjoys it just as much. She's psycho too. But I love her and Jo. They're always so nice and so supportive, no matter how badly you miss or whatever it is you do, on the court and off. Genuinely nice people, something you don't come across as often as you'd like. :)