Last Blog of the Year, South of France, and Wrapping Things Up in Leiden - Blog #30 (June 1 - 15)

Basketball Update:

To put it lightly, Den Bosch whooped our butts. We got swept 3-0. Our closest game was Game 1 at their place. We got beat by ten. They were faster, stronger, and more athletic than us. We got outplayed, and the better team won. They started playing their best basketball at the right time of the year. We showed spurts of good basketball, but they were too much for us. It is kind of funny because on the season, we are 3-3 against them.

As I reflect on the season on the court, I am pretty proud of myself. Before I started the blog in my first few weeks in Leiden, I was struggling. I did not have much confidence and simply was not playing well. I was doubting if I was good enough or if I had what it took to succeed as a professional. I was able to prove myself to my teammates and coaches in practice. Then, I started playing better in games. I was pretty inconsistent for a large part of the season because of foul trouble, playing a new position this year, and teams focusing on me more. However, I still had a great season overall and am excited for what next year might hold. Here are some highlights from one of the finals games.

https://youtube.com/shorts/XYOgJtT0in8?si=j7Isb2pBByGgTRes

Leadership Lesson:

I learned a couple of lessons from the finals. The first one is that the enemy gets a vote. I think that is a Jocko Willink quote that references military training, but it raises a great point. Sometimes, you may prepare the right way, do all the right things, and even perform as you are supposed to, and you still get beat. Your opponent is probably doing most of the things that you are doing yourself. You can prepare all you want to defeat the other team, but they have a plan too. We can often discount the competition and their preparation. We feel like we can control everything and have an unrealistic impact on the end result. It is a hard reality to accept if you are intensely competitive. Understanding all of your uncontrollables will help you to improve your controllables (attitude, effort, focus, etc.).

Top 5 of the Week:

Memories from This Season (On the Court):

1. Buzzer Beater Vs. QSTA in Cup Quarterfinals - This is a bit selfish, but it was really cool hitting a buzzer-beater in such a consequential game. You don't get many of those!

2. Semifinal Series Win Vs. Leeuwarden - If you all remember, I fouled out in brutal fashion via a technical foul. This was huge for us to pull out the victory and an unforgettable feeling of relief.

3. Supercup Win Vs. Den Bosch - Our only trophy of the season, but it wasn't number one because of how early in the season it was. I did not have a full grasp of the competition and what it meant. It was still great to hold a trophy, and I played well in the game too.

4. Quarterfinal Win Vs. Zwolle - Our first playoff series win. We had been struggling and had lost several games in a row. TJ and I came back for the playoffs, and I think we really helped team vibes.

5. Boxing Day Win at Den Bosch - This was a huge win for us on Boxing Day versus our rival. It was an awesome team win, and great to get it done over the holidays. Great vibes after this one as well.

What Else Did I Do This Week?

Since my last blog, we said goodbye to Kara and Lauren. We went to the beach with them on their last night. As I mentioned last week, they went to Prague during their time here. They had a great trip, and it was so much fun having them.

After my season ended, most of the team went out in Leiden on Friday night. A few of us went to Amsterdam as well after Leiden. It was great to recap the season and hang with the guys. We had all been pretty wound up from the season, so it was nice to chillax with the team. Saturday, we had our last team dinner with the whole organization and some fans. It was a sad goodbye, but it was good to see everyone one last time. Most everyone headed home on Sunday. It is crazy to see many of those guys for what could be the last time ever. It is the sad reality of playing sports. No team is ever the same two years in a row. I will miss so many of those guys, and I hope our paths cross again.

Our childhood friend, Sophia Jaskolski, came a couple of days after Kara and Lauren left to visit us. She came to the team dinner, and then, we went out with the team in Leiden. It was another really fun night. On Sunday, we explored Amsterdam with her and had a great dinner at A-Fusion. It is a great sushi place that I had been to with my boy, Jacob, once before. It was stellar. Then, we got tickets to this comedy show at Boom Chicago. It is an all-English-speaking comedy club, and we went to an improv show. These four comedians were so unbelievably funny. It was my first comedy show of any kind, and it was amazing. Loved it.

The rest of the Jasko squad got here on Monday, and we went to Amsterdam on Monday and Tuesday. We went to an authentic Dutch cuisine restaurant, The Pantry, and stopped at the Flying Dutchman which is a neat cocktail bar. Tuesday, Nikki and I went kayaking through Leiden which was something we had been wanting to do for awhile. It was a great, new way to see the city. At night, we met the Jasko's again for drinks before heading back to pack up for our trip to the South of France. They were awesome company, and it was cool to spend some quality time with them. It was fun to catch up and see some people from home.

We left for Nice last Wednesday night and got in fairly late, around 10:15. I was in charge of getting the hotel, and there was a great deal on Booking.com that was more of an Airbnb-style place because it was in an apartment with a host. I let the guy know what time we would be arriving, and he gave me the all-clear. Well, we get to the apartment, and the door is locked. All we needed was the guy to unlock the door virtually, and he was not responding. We ended up having to get a hotel room at 11:30 pm that cost just as much for the one night as our whole stay at the apartment. Still working on getting a refund from Booking.com, but that was a fun start to the trip. Good news is, that was the only bad thing about the trip.

Thursday, we went to an awesome bakery right by our house. They had really cheap croissants and other pastries. Then, we went by the coast in Nice and checked out their market. Then, we took the bus to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and walked around the peninsula. The views were breathtaking. It was a great walk, and we came to a beach restaurant/lounge area. We got a couple of beach chairs and had a very relaxing afternoon. I caught a crazy sunburn because I refused to pay for 30 EU sunscreen at the beach place. Mistake. I got the sunburn because I fell asleep for too long. Nikki got a little burnt, but not nearly as badly. We got back to Nice and checked out their Old Town area a bit. It was really cool, and we ended up spending a lot of time there over the rest of our stay. We had a dinner reservation at a beachside restaurant. It was a really nice meal. Then, we grabbed a drink and called it a night.

Friday, the sunburn was in full effect. We took the train to Eze to do the hike up to the village of Eze. You can take a bus, but if you know anything about Nikki, you know she would never do the easy option, so we hiked up. We did not plan great for it, because it was over 80 degrees, and I did not bring another shirt. I had to go shirtless because I was dripping sweat. My shoes also were not the best hiking shoes, so I slipped on got a small cut on my hand. I got some blood on my shorts. We only had like half of Nikki's small water to last us the long trek to the village. For a couple of hiking vets, we were ill-prepared for this one. Once we made it to the village, there were a bunch of tourist groups staring at me with disgusted looks on their faces. It was pretty embarrassing, and Nikki was laughing hysterically at me from a distance. Tough look, but it is pretty funny to look back on. We got some ice cream and checked out this really cool garden with amazing views over the coast. We also had an awesome lunch at this place, Deli. After, we headed back and did the same thing as the night before. Chilled for a bit, then went back out in Nice. For dinner, we grabbed a bottle of wine and some poke and sat on the beach. It was a great night with awesome vibes. We had one more drink and headed home.

Saturday, we went to Antibes. It was awesome. They had one of the coolest markets I have seen. We got some fruit, crepes, and souvenirs. The city has an amazing vibe. We grabbed lunch to go and went to the Bay of Billionaires. It is a cool bay with a rocky beach. We were swimming, and Nikki felt a quick pinch. I kind of thought she was being dramatic, but she has a nice mark with a bruise around it. We are pretty sure it was a jellyfish sting. She toughed it out, though. The rocky beach was tough because we were lying on rocks and had to walk across rocks into the water. We made our way back to Nice. We went to an amazing wine bar that Nikki found for a couple of amazing glasses. Then, I found a nice Italian spot where we had outstanding salad and pasta. We headed back, packed up, and hit the hay. We left the next morning and had a smooth flight back to Amsterdam.

The last couple of days, we have been packing up and moving Nikki into her new apartment. We also walked around Vondelpark in Amsterdam and said goodbye to Jenny on Sunday.

I am definitely sad to be leaving, but right now, I am more excited about getting home and seeing family and friends. I have my brother, Dominic's, wedding right when I get home, then I am going to Nashville to see my Hillsdale boys, then I am going up north for the 4th of July. I am also doing some basketball stuff with Marquette High School that should be fun. It is going to be an awesome summer, and I can't wait. With that said, I am sad to leave Leiden and the Netherlands. There is a chance that I will come back to Leiden next year, but you truly never know in this business. I wanted to thank all of you who have read any of my blogs this year. It is a great way for me to document Nikki and I's adventures while we are living it up in Europe, but we also cannot wait to see all of you soon. Nikki and I probably say to each other at least once a week, "I can't believe we are living in Europe together." However, the hardest part is missing out on weddings, family events, etc. For now, it is a tradeoff that we are willing to live with, but we do not like that part of it. It has been a fun year, and it has been awesome having you tag along for it. Just a reminder, we are always welcoming visitors! No blogs this summer. I think I will probably keep it rolling next year, but we will see.

Top Meal of the Two Weeks:

Nikki and I had what might have been my favorite meal of the year. We went to Miri Mary which is an Indian restaurant in the De Pijp area of Amsterdam. It was insanely good. The funny part about it is that my first week here, I came to Amsterdam and planned on going there. However, I went at like 4 pm, and their kitchen was closed at the time. I decided to go somewhere else. They do Indian but shared plates. They also have region-specific cuisines that represent the different places in India. We chose the chef's special. The chef gave us what he/she wanted to give us. We got a fried lamb dish, fried chicken, and this hashbrown-yogurt dish. They were all amazing. Then, we got brought some butter chicken with naan which is my favorite. We got a dessert that was pretty mid, but the meal was outstanding.

One Thing I Miss About the Netherlands:

I think my favorite thing about living here is the canals. The vibe of walking along and hanging by a canal is unmatched. I have realized how much I loved being by water since I have started living here. It is the number one thing I will miss when I am back home. Good thing we have lots of lakes in Wisconsin! Thanks for reading!