FEEDtheVAN.COM ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

The Wake-Up Call...

PICS!!!

It has been quite a space in time between each blog since I've been on the road, but I plan to blog more often now, so keep posted!

Here's the news since I last blogged:

I did actually get into the third of the three Florida Futures tournaments in Boca Raton. I won my first match 6-3 in the first, then down 5-2 in the second I came back to put it into a tiebreaker, which I won handily 7-1. The second round match I came up against an aggressive serve-and-volleyer, the exact opposite from the stay back clay-court style of the Chilean I played in the first round. I was also not in match condition that second day, as I pulled something in my right hip and also felt and a little knee wear on my right knee, as it's been a while since I've hit this much on a hard court surface. Needless to say, I lost 6-2, 6-2 and knew that I needed to practice heavily to get back to where I peaked about a year ago, then to step it up to a new level from there. Pics from the tourney above.

I am still in West Palm, as my Aunt Jacki and Uncle Keith have graciously let Andy and I stay here for an extended period of time so that I can prepare for the South Florida Championships here in West Palm. This tournament starts on this Wednesday, the 31st and goes to the 4th. It is not an ITF sanctioned pro tournament, but it is a USTA sanctioned money tournament, so it should be a good one.

Andy will be flying out of here on Sunday the 4th and I will be then moving on to Birmingham, Alabama to see Julie Johnson, a very good college friend of mine, en route to my next destination of Brownsville, Texas for the next scheduled Futures Tournament.

If you want to contribute to the cause - and get something in return - go to feedthevan.com and purchase some advertising space on the van. This money will be used for traveling expenses in getting the van to Texas. Andy I participated in a local swap shop today to raise money for the journey, as well as promote feedthevan.com. I'll be posting the video from it soon...

I have not done any gigs yet here in West Palm, so only one in Florida for the month of January. Maybe I will get a gig for next weekend. I'll keep you posted...

Signing off...

~ Nate

Long time no talk...

That's because I've been having too good a time! Well, besides the bust also in Miami. I was drawn as the 5th alternate this time and didn't make it in again. Andy and I stayed with Sarah Hennessy, a friend of mine from college, down in the Fort Lauderdale area. Her family was absolutely awesome to us and Sarah took us all around the area, including (but not limited to): South Beach in Miami where we hung out and got to see a street pyro show, Los Olas Blvd in Ft. Lauderdale (where we talk her dog in the van), a huge baptist church in the center of Fort Lauderdale, tons of her friends, Hollywood Beach, etc. All the while I kept up on my training schedule. Now I'm here in West Palm Beach at my Aunt Jacki's house (Mom's sister), and I'm training for the Boca Raton Tournament, which starts on Friday.

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Well, you all may know from reading a prior blog that I was very inspired by the One Red Paperclip story. Well, after church on Sunday we all went out to lunch with a big group of 20's singles from Sarah's church and I got to hear about another Internet website story that inspired me - It's called The Million Dollar Homepage. The ideas behind these two sites inspired me, in a 'spur of the moment' thought on Sunday, to build a site called FeedtheVan.com. Well, by about 11pm that night I had built the startup version of what will, within a year, be heard across the Internet world and inspire many. Please check these three sites out and contact me to tell me what you think.

Alright, signing off for now!

- Nate

Running out of Juice...

Yes, I only have a few minutes of battery power left on my laptop, but I've got the internet!

A summary:

Left for Jacksonville on the 2nd to stay with Erin Whitford, a friend from college. It rained so I got lots of things knocked off the To-Do list other than tennis.
Left for Dade City to pick up an eBay purchase, a roof rack, then straight to the tournament site from there to make the 4-6pm sign in.
Met a player that let us stay at his place for the night in at U. of South Florida.
Missed playing in the tourney by 1 spot. I was drawn as the 2nd alternate, and the first made it in. There were quite a few alternates drawn, so being the 2nd was pretty good. Oh well, we camped out in the van in Clearwater for the next two nights, then headed further south on 75 on Sunday. We stopped in Bradenton to see the world famous Bollettieri Tennis Academy, then practiced on my ball machine at a public court. Andy kept me going by picking up balls as I hit and worked the stopwatch for the sprints.

Next stop, Sanibel Island to visit my Grandparents. We got in last night. This is where we are now. It has been 10 years since I visited here last, and the same was true for a surprise cousin that was there. David, my Dad's brother's son, who is 2 years older than me, is here. We played tennis this morning... he's still hitting the ball pretty well, especially for not hitting in so long. We went to the famous Mucky Duck for lunch. It'll be back out to the courts shortly...

Signing off...

- Nate