Seeing Dani & Andrija with a Bounce-Back W - Blog #6 (Nov. 11-17)

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Basketball Update:

Big time win for us on the road versus BAL (Basketball Academy of Limburg) down in the southern part of the Netherlands. We won 65-88 and had a pleasant bus ride home. It was huge for us to play well and get a win because of our first international break of this season. When you have two weeks straight of practice before your next game, it is nice to have good vibes. The game was good besides the fact that our captain and starting big man, Roeland, got hurt in the first quarter from a sprained ankle. I played some 5 and my usual heavy minutes at the 4, which was fun. When I was at the 5, we played a newer defense where we switch every screen. It takes a lot of communication and focus, but when done effectively, it can really mess some teams up. We were able to turnover BAL 21 times. They are a young team that has struggled, but we handled business. I played fairly well. I made most of my threes and got some easy buckets inside too. I only had 4 rebounds which should have been higher. Apologies to those watching online as I believe the stream cut out in the first half. Bank was open on a Saturday night! ;) Highlights below from when the stream was working.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/L5LkoNfOWS8?feature=share

Leadership Lesson:

One of the most interesting things that I learned while completing my Master's at CSU was the Importance of giving a level of autonomy to the people you are leading. This is a great way to increase motivation in people. Giving people some kind of control over the task or project they are working on makes them feel more involved in the outcome thus increasing motivation. This is why leaders who take a more egalitarian stance on project management tend to have more success than those who act as dictators who believe it is "my way or the highway." Taking into consideration group members' ideas is proven to increase their motivation. For example, if a sales manager is struggling to get their employees motivated, they might have a meeting with their sales team to field ideas for new sales strategies. A meeting like this will give the employees a perceived level of control over themselves and their work.

The best and most sustainable motivation is intrinsic. If you are motivated externally by money, fear of your boss, or words of affirmation from coworkers, then your motivation will not last. The impact of these things is fleeting and will not motivate you on a daily basis. A person who is internally motivated will have sustained motivation. The way to do so is for a leader to give some control to the people they are leading. Autonomy, mixed with guidance and support, is the best way for people to grow. Something as simple as giving employees more of a say over their work schedule can lead to more autonomy.

Top 5 of the Week:

Cuisines

1. Indian: It is pretty remarkable that this is my number one considering the first time I had it was within the last 3 years. For whatever reason, we did not have Indian food growing up. One of my favorite meals that I would choose to eat when going out to dinner is a good butter chicken curry with garlic nan bread. That stuff hits the spot and is going to be number one for me.

2. Chinese (American version): I have actually been to China, and I was pretty disappointed by the food when I was there. The best Chinese food I had on the trip was at Panda Express in the airport before boarding our flight. I love orange chicken/sesame chicken with rice and a fortune cookie. I also love crab rangoons. The American version of Chinese is wonderful. It also reminds me of watching football on Sundays at Hillsdale with my buddies.

3. American: I am not totally sure what this all entails, but when you think about all the different types of food that America is known for, it has to be on the list. Barbecue, burgers, Tex-Mex, and many more.

4. Mexican: Burritos, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, guacamole... the list goes on with great Mexican dishes. This has to be in my top 5 and is something I deeply miss about the States.

5. Italian: I don't know how this isn't higher than 5, but I couldn't put any of my top 4 behind it. Italian is very versatile and is something I could eat much more often than Indian or Chinese. Pizza and spaghetti are two of my favorite foods. I have been to Italy, and the food did not disappoint.

HM: Thai, Japanese

What Else Did I Do This Week?

It was a great week. Nikki and I mostly stayed home during the week, cooked, and watched Game of Thrones. We just finished season three, and if you have seen GOT, you know where our heads are at right now. On Monday, I met up with Nikki and her work friends in Amsterdam to see Switchfoot. We only knew a couple of songs, but Hagen (Nikki's work friend) hooked us up with free tickets because he is friends with one of the guitarists in the band. It was a great time!

On Friday, Hagen had a housewarming party for his new houseboat. It is incredible, but we did not stay too long because I had a game the next day. It was fun to hang out and spend time on a houseboat for the first time. Houseboats are a limited supply in Amsterdam because they made a law several years ago banning any new houseboats on the canals in the city. Pretty sweet!

Sunday was an amazing day. Nikki's cousin, Dani, her husband, Andrija (footballer in Italy from Muskego), and their daughter, Lili, came to visit Nikki & I and Andrija's agent, Jimmy. We met them for breakfast in Amsterdam and spent the rest of the day hanging out and getting some good food. Breakfast was a blast because the service was pretty slow, so we got to hear a bunch of stories and be in the presence of Jimmy who is about as Italian as it gets. He is a very "passionate" guy who talks with his hands and has a lot of charisma. We were laughing pretty hard. Then, we spent the rest of the day just us five, walking the red light district, grabbing cake & tea, and strolling the streets of Amsterdam. After our train got back to Leiden on Sunday, we still had about a ten-minute bike ride back home to Warmond. It was pouring, and we got drenched (post-bike ride pic below). It was kind of fun in a weird way, and we will have to get used to the cold, rainy weather here. We also grabbed dinner on Monday and said our goodbyes. It was awesome to catch up with them and meet Lili. I got some good advice from Andrija who has been playing soccer in Europe since he was 15. I look forward to hopefully getting down to Italy at some point to visit them!

Top Meal of the Week:

Nikki, Dani, Andrija, Lili, and I went to a great Indian spot, The Madras Diaries, on Sunday night. I went with butter chicken and garlic nan. We also got some spicy pineapple, Indian onion rings, and lamb for appetizers with an ice-cold, fresh Heineken to wash it down. It was a wonderful meal!

One Thing I Miss About the US:

I desperately miss having a normal washer and dryer that apparently only exist in the States. Our washer here is a washer and a dryer combined in one. The nice part about it is that you can run one cycle in about three hours. The annoying part, however, is that my clothes really do not smell great, they are always damp after the cycle, and you can only wash like four items of clothing at a time. It requires me to do laundry like every other day because of my profession. America does this much better. Thanks for reading!