* !104707727 by Jackie Roe, TW Social Director*
Evening, everyone. It feels like I've been saying this an awful lot lately, but I'm coming off of a really busy work week and I'm still drowning in work (two big deadlines on Monday!) . . . so today's Deuce Club will be short and sweet. Not that this should be a problem, right? The DC's our place to chill out, go off-topic, escape the usual TW knife fights, and catch up with one another, and all of that can be done with or without an extensive post. Or at least that's how I console myself when I don't come up with something stimulating for you guys.
So have at it! Feel free to discuss whatever is on your mind. I've drawn up a few topics, if you need some help getting started:
~ Baseball. Again. Tonight marks Game 1 of the ALCS between the Rangers and the Yankees. I'm firmly behind the Yanks, though I'll admit it's fun to watch Rangers ace Cliff Lee at work, carving up batters left and right. I'm hoping for a competitive series—with my favorites coming through, naturally. And speaking of brilliant pitching, how about the match-up in Game 1 of the NLCS between Halladay and Lincecum? That should be a real slobberknocker. Will you guys be tuning into the games this weekend? (CPM, Papo, Codge—I'm counting on you to show up, just as you did last Friday.)
~ I had to give Ana Ivanovic's embarrassing bathroom break fiasco a mention since it made headlines, even though I can't quite believe how much attention it's getting . . . and I'm mortified for Ana. Come on, this stuff happens to everyone, right? So let's talk about some of our own embarrassing moments, bathroom-related or otherwise. And please, keep it, er, clean. (This was a DC topic back in November of last year, but I couldn't resist reprising it.)
~ It's performance review time at my company (everyone's favorite, right?), so one of the projects on my plate this weekend is completing my self-assessment for the last fiscal year. A few nights ago, it occurred to me that this is something we should try to do here. Like, a TW comment-posting self-assessment. Hear me out.
Don't you ever find yourself evaluating the job you're doing, not just at work, but in all facets of your life? How good of a friend, or spouse, or sibling you are? Well, why should it be any different when it comes to your role as a TW poster? So that's what I'm challenging us to do today. Let's take a moment to think about our strengths and limitations as posters and come up with ways we can improve on how we post and interact with others.
Here's what I'd say about myself: I think my greatest strength is my ability to engage with a variety of posters (regulars or newbies, guys or gals, Rafans or Fedophiles) and make them feel welcome. So that's the good. As for what I can work on, I should contribute to Pete's red-meat posts and match calls more often. And not be afraid to voice my opinion. I still remember the day, back in '08, when after much deliberation (and a gentle nudge from Sherlock), I decided to post a pretty incendiary rant about Djokovic and his parents. (I'm a Djokovic fan now, but at the time, I was constantly raging at him!) When I hit "Post," I braced myself for what I thought would be an onslaught of negative responses. Instead—surprise!—people actually agreed with me. And those who didn't, shared their thoughts respectfully and tactfully. Well, whaddaya know. Coming out of that unscathed encouraged me to continue making myself heard on the blog . . . but for whatever reason, I’ve misplaced that gumption in recent months. I'm nervous about upsetting people and leery of confrontation. I'm also lazy; I just can't be bothered to maintain any sort of serious, tennis-related dialogue. This is all fine, I suppose, but I'd rather be more involved in the discussions here and resurrect the boldness that was so liberating way back when.
Now it's your turn. How would you say you've done as a TW poster? What do you bring to the table here, and what are your areas of improvement (e.g., being more/less critical of posts, posters, or players; ignoring trolls; reading what you've typed before submitting your comment(!); welcoming new posters; grammar)?
I guess I lied about this being short! I hope I've given you enough to work with. Have fun, and enjoy the weekend!