In tennis, love means zero – nada…nothing…basically, you suck. I always found this very interesting and while I could take the time to research the origin of this scoring system, instead I am going to think about it with you. How could love – having it, losing it, growing in it, living for it – represent the losing end of a match? How could an emotion so strong that it connects us all and has the ability to drive human beings together, and sadly at times even drag us apart, amount to nothing?
Another interesting question came to mind when I thought about the fact that love is being used in a game. I wish it weren’t true, but finding love is often a game – how should I act to make this person like me? Who should call who first? There are so many rules to dating, you would think we were playing an intense game of chess. As women, we constantly debate how to make the guy feel like we are hard to achieve the “thrill of the chase,” when really we just want to throw in the towel, be up front and simply say, “listen, I think you’re great.” And I am sure that men, trying to unveil the complicated and intricate workings of the female mind have issues of their own trying to translate women’s actions. There is all of this confusion, self-contemplation and effort simply because we are trying to win in the game of love. But in life, if love is the prize we are all seeking, how come in the game of tennis, love is a loser’s score?
Why all this tennis talk? Well this morning, Andrea, Laura and I went to Wimbledon to see the famous racquet club that holds the annual Wimbledon tennis tournament. I woke up this morning, had some oatmeal and got ready for the day. Then we headed on the tube for about an hour getting on and off, switching lines and finally arriving at the Wimbledon Park tube stop. It was a very cold day (like FREEZING…) but again the sun was out and shining, which makes the cold manageable. We stopped first into a cute tennis shop right outside the stop, and then walked up hill for about 15 minutes searching for the actual tennis club. We passed the Wimbledon Golf Course, which was beautiful, and made our way to Gate 15 of the Wimbledon Club.
An escort arrived and took us through the outdoor walkway surrounding the many courts on our way toward the Wimbledon Museum and gift shop. He gave us some fun facts, but we really weren’t able to see that much because the centre court (where all the big televised matches happen) is under construction and is closed off to the public. Instead of paying the 15 pounds for the tour and museum entrance fee, we did a bit more looking around the ground and of course, went shopping in the gift shop. After, we walked another ten minutes up to Wimbledon Village.
This small shopping area was very quaint, and had tons of restaurants, home stores, and dress shops. It was a very proper English town, and we had a delicious lunch at Giraffe to get out of the cold. Afterward, we walked around a bit in and out of some of the shops and then headed back to the tube.
It was a bit of a sleepy ride due to a food coma. Halfway through the journey, Laura and I split from Andrea who wanted to head home, to meet up with Katie and Kristy at the amazing Westfield Mall. This mall is London’s finest and just opened about two months ago. It is stunning and has every upscale designer store you could imagine. Plus it is so high tech – the maps are interactive and you can search specific entities, such as restaurants or shops, or certain floors. It was very cool. Plus the inside was beautifully decorated for Christmas! IT WAS GORGEOUS, like a complete winter wonderland at every turn. And it was a REAL mall, and I haven’t been in one of those in forever. The trip reminded me how much I love a good mall. The mall is my second home – well that and a movie theatre where I can live vicariously through the fashion and romance of the characters on screen… I am a loser, I know.
We did a bunch of browsing and I walked away with one really cute top (which took a lot of self control to only purchase one thing J But I considered this one item a birthday present to myself (2 MORE DAYS!), and it was pretty reasonable. Then the girls and I had dinner at Nando’s and sat talking for an hour or so. I love Katie, Kristy and Laura – the four of us are so much like the Sex and the City girls: I am Carrie of course simply because I spend most of my time behind my lap top writing to all of you. Kristy is Miranda because she wants to be a lawyer and has that wonderful cut the bull-shit attitude, which I love. Laura is Charlotte - the very demure and sweet girl next door, and Katie is Samantha – no she is not a whore like Samantha, but she is fun, dependable and always speaks her mind in the most hilarious way. I think in the end, we are each a combination of all of these women, but to have three best friends like them is such a blessing. I just hope when we go back to Elon the bond of our sweet foursome does not fade.
After dealing with a little oyster card situation at the tube stop (long story J) we got back on the tube and headed home. Tonight we are staying in and I think I am going to watch the movie Wimbledon to see if I recognize anything… I am not sure that they even filmed it in the actual stadium, but we’ll see.
Which brings me back to my original thought. In an attempt to understand the scoring system of tennis, I am going to make a leap. Maybe the reason that love comes up first in the scoring of tennis is because love is the baseline of everything we do. Love is at the core, and without love there is nothing to build from. If you start with love, then good things should follow – be it points in a match, or experiences in your life. Because for me to believe that love could ever mean zero is not something this hopeless romantic is willing to do.
Love and hugs,
Jenny
1 comment:
very well put
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