Dear Wimbledon: You Cannot Be Serious.
written: 8:40 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008
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OVERSEAS BALLOT APPLICANTS
Please enclose an International Reply Coupon (in place of a stamp) where possible.
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Why can't I download an application form from the website?
When we receive your completed application form, we scan the details into our ballot database. The scanning equipment we use is sensitive both to the inks used to print the application forms and to the positioning of the boxes.
An application form printed on a desktop printer run from a PC would not be able to match either the scale and register of colours on the forms or the precise position of the boxes. As a result, our scanner would not recognise the data and your completed form would be unusable and therefore void.
I appreciate the prestige associated with the most important tennis tournament in the world, and I concede that having a public ballot for tickets is only fitting for a tournament of Wimbledon's stature and class. If tickets were so easily available like the other tournaments where anyone with a credit card could buy them online, then Wimbledon loses some of its specialness. I get that; I really do.
But what I don't get is the need to send in a request for an application form. Talk about inefficient and inconvenient, not to mention time-consuming! By the time the application form gets to me, I'd only have a week to send it in - and by then it'd be the post-Christmas period which means the mailers in the UK would be even more inefficient than usual since everyone's going to be preparing for the holidays. And their reason for not having an online application form that one could print is...their scanner is extremely sensitive.
More like old and outdated! Maybe they should consider getting an upgrade. They make so much money from the tournament every year anyway; I'm sure they can afford to overhaul their balloting system.
Ugh. Unbelievable. I'm too damn lazy to go and request for a freaking application form, but I really want to see if luck would allow me to score tickets to Wimbledon, where Roger will capture his sixth and claim back what is rightfully his. Not to mention - Wimbledon itself is tennis. Tennis is Wimbledon. Players dressed in all white, playing against the green of the grass, the atmosphere still and quiet - it is what tennis is. Elegance, tranquility, class; more than just a sport. And Wimbledon sits at the very apex of the sport. The phrase 'tennis whites' has to be derived from here.
But why, oh why, is this so damn troublesome? Bloody inefficient, I tell you.
***
On the subject of tennis, I watched the 2007 Australian Open semi in which Roger played against Andy Roddick.
Um, or should I say: In which Roger Federer absolutely demolished poor Andy Roddick. The pre-match introduction was full of reports on how Roddick hired a new coach (Jim Connors) to improve his game so that he can finally beat Roger after only winning once in like, their previous 10 meetings or something like that, and by extension, how Roddick's game had improved a lot. I already knew the score: 6-4, 6-0, 6-2. I also saw poor Andy's post-match interview in which he was sarcastic and testy and had this to say about the match: "It was frustrating. You know, it was miserable. It sucked. It was terrible. Besides that, it was fine."
After Roger broke him in the first set for 5-4, it was all downhill for Poor Andy. I felt so, so bad for him. He rushed the net just to put pressure on Roger, but couldn't even execute his volleys properly and kept getting passed. Over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. It got to a point where he got broken by Roger AGAIN and he was so pissed that he hit the tennis ball in his pocket out of the stadium, and in the process lost his grip on the racquet and accidentally flung it towards some photographer.
Poor Andy. And it wasn't like he played crap; it was, quite simply, a case of Roger playing tennis that isn't from Earth. Absolutely stunning performance from him, and if I'm not wrong, he went on to win the Australian Open 2007 without dropping a set.
I hope he can come back to such greatness next year; I really do. I hope he demolishes Djokovic early in the Australian Open and proves that Djoker winning was only because he played against MonoFed. (I'm over Djokovic. He's back to annoying.) I want to see him far surpass the Sampras record because he has the innate talent to do it, and no one deserves it more than he does.
He is, quite simply, the best.
***
Still on the subject of tennis: Sixuan and I played tennis this morning.
Or rather, we attempted to play and spent our time picking up balls.
It was quite sad. A few times I tried to whack the ball across the net but it flew up instead, to the point that I didn't know where the stupid ball was and ducked in case it hit me while landing. Sad, right? I know.
Even sadder: I attempted a backhand volley. I failed miserably. And this is after watching Roger and other players do it like, a million times. I saw the high ball near the net, got to it in time to volley, but wasted 3 seconds trying to remember/decide if I'd ever seen anyone do a double-handed backhand volley before. Then I saw Roger do it with his single-handed backhand in my mind and I tried to emulate it, but...failed. Just Failed.
On a brighter note, I hit two pretty decent backhands and one pretty convincing forehand lob. On the downside, my forehand is still non-existent. I don't think I hit even one forehand that made it over the net and within the boundaries of the court.
I'm depressed. I need Roger to coach me. Boo.
I also completely died after like 40 minutes, to the point of feeling nauseous. Quite clearly, I have zero stamina. I suck.
***
On another note, I finished shopping for Taiwan much earlier than I thought I would. Mango's doing its end-of-season sale, right? Well, I bought four items, almost totaling to $300, and after I swiped my supplementary Isetan card, I got scared and decided to stop hunting for non-leather boots to wear in Taipei.
It's damn sad, right? I really think it is. I only bought a skirt, a long-sleeved turtleneck, a bag, and my coat! My coat has been marked down to $178 which is totally awesome, and the long-sleeved turtleneck...well, I have the same top in two different colours HAHAHA. Okay, I shouldn't have bought the red I guess, but I really loved the red, and today I HAD to buy the brown because it matches my skirt. Isn't that great? I think it is. And my new bag is totally awesome too, so I'm happy!
before sunrise // before sunset
Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010