The Season and The Wait

Brandice Balschmiter stepped onto the Florida Atlantic University softball field yesterday in black and white skull earrings. After months of anticipation, the University of Massachusetts had finally started their season, and Brandice was just one of UMass' players who was looking for a new and improved self.

Most of the team wants their changed selves to show up in the form of more hits and better defense, but Brandice took her transformation a step further. "It's a new look for a new season," she announced proudly in the UMass weight room months ago. New eye black, slightly intimidating earrings, and a new attitude have all helped her so far, and B, as we like to call her, is flinging 72 mile an hour fastballs over the edges of the plate.

Our team started the season ranked 30th in the nation, but we kicked off the year with a loss against number 12 ranked Michigan 1-0 and another one against Maryland. This morning we continued the second day of the 2008 season with a loss against Northern Florida and then a win against 23 ranked South Carolina. We have yet to put everything together, but when we do I think our results will start to improve. Tomorrow's game will be announced later this evening pending the results of other games in the tournament, but we'll most likely play at nine a.m. Then it's back to snowy Massachusetts.

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On the other side of my life, I feel like I'm at a point where I'm waiting to see where what I've done so far is going to get me. I applied to NYU, Columbia, Brown, and Northwestern. I was also nominated for the Lowe's Award and the 21st Century Leader's Award. I suppose the best thing to do is continue to work as best as I can, but sometimes it's tough to wait without knowing where you'll be in a few months. I suppose it's a reminder for living in the moment.

In the spirit of living in the moment, take a listen to Horse Feathers. Their singsong instrumentals fuse with a low key folk sound. They'll suck you in and slow you down until you're relaxed to the max.