Hi team -
I've taken a much needed break from blogging and soccer organizing. It will still be relatively slow, but it's time to come back from the wilderness and reconnect.
Let's start with a great story. Remember Andy from Little Urban Achievers, who made a comeback from cancer to play in the Fall 2010? D2 championship game against us? Read this
old post. Well, we didn't take a victory from that match, but the prelude was memorable. We raised a fair amount of money for cancer awareness, something we have
some experience doing.
Anyway, I got a great update from Andy. He's living a charmed life in London now, attending the London School of Economics and seeing some EPL games. Here's the chain:
Tim -
As discussed via g-chat today, I am interested to hear more about your teammate, Andy, and how he is doing. I would love to pass on any good information to my team, who will surely be interested to know what he's up to. I plan to do another post on the blog about it. Andy's a great fellow.
Happy Holidays!
Best,
Peter w/ Goleros
| 12/26/11 (10 days ago) |
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Hi Peter- I hope you are well and your soccer team did well this year.
This year I decided to make some bold moves. After my health issues I decided life was too short not to take some chances and see what was out there. So I applied for Masters programs in London- and somehow got into the London School of Economics! It took some courage to accept, as I’ve been living and working on Cap. Hill for close to 10 years and most of my good friends are in DC, but I did it. In September I packed up my life and moved to London, which is absolutely the right decision. I’m studying International Relations at the LSE and working part time for think tanks in London. It is an absolutely fantastic city where I meet interesting people all the time. I do a lot of traveling around the UK and Europe thanks to the cheap airline tickets, so I’m seeing a good bit of the world while I read newspapers about the demise of the euro (a good time to exchange dollars for euros, and pounds actually). I also got a Membership for the Tottenham Hotspurs. They have been my team for some time now, and Ive seen about half a dozen matches at White Hart Lane as well as gone to watch Clint Dempsey at Fulham a few times. I have a lot more matches line up this coming year- which is causing me to go broke. But I’ll gladly eat PB&J sandwiches for dinner if I can watch a few EPL matches each month!! haha. Going back to school after being out of academics for a decade has been a bit of a challenge, but I really do relish challenges in my life now. the big challenges are never that big once you jump in- and the rewards are always worth the effort. The school has been fantastic for me- I am learning a ton about the world not only in the classroom but from my classmates. My program has one of the most diverse student bodies in the world, so every day I learn something new about a culture or how someone else perceives the world. I’ve also continued to raise funds for cancer research. Over the past several years we’ve raised over $5,000 for cancer research and your team played a major role in these efforts. This year I’m doing a fundraiser in London where I hope to raise around 1200 pounds to donate to cancer research in the UK. So that is a bit about what I have been doing. Some major-major changes, but all for the good. I’m loving life and living it to its fullest. If you or anyone is making any trips to London, please let me know. There will be a good pint waiting for them, on me, and some soccer tickets if we can make that happen too.
Happy Holidays. I hope all is well with you. And thanks so much for checking in. It is very kind of you.
All my best,
Andy
Andy -
What a great update. I couldn't respond earlier for fear of giving it short shrift. It's fantastic to hear that you've thrown off the shackles and gone after what interested you. My dad always gave me those speeches, and whenever I followed them, I always felt right about it. But of course enrolling in the London School of Economics is not exactly like backpacking the world or becoming a ski bum. What great experiences. Are you taking Ryan Air or Easy jet or another carrier on these short jaunts? I am an aviation analyst, I care about such things.
I wish I could visit White Hart Lane with you. I eased into the EPL last season, but this season I dove in full speed. I watch the games on the weekend. My favorite show is the Premier League Review, produced by the league and played here on Fox Soccer Channel. I have never fully committed to a team. I won't do Manchester United or Man City or Arsenal for a number of reasons. I've always been drawn to Liverpool and I would say I follow them most closely. But of course I've had my eye on Fulham for years given the McBride/Dempsey connection. They're finally on a tear this season. And it's funny you mention Tottenham. I never considered following them closely before, I'm not sure why. But watching them this season has been a pleasure. They're an extremely talented side. I enjoy watching Modric play, and Adebayor and others are thrilling. One question for you though - why is Gio Dos Santos riding pine? It seems he's a pretty electric player - he's not even worth a shot sometimes?
It's also nice to hear about your cancer awareness efforts. The Goleros have continued in that vein, recently raising a modest amount for our teammate, who did a Breast Cancer walk in support of a family member.
All the best,
Peter w/ Goleros
From: Tim
Sent: Sunday, December 18, 2011 9:56 PM
To: Andy
Subject: Fwd: news about Andy
hey Andy!
The email below is from Peter, the captain of the soccer team Goleros that we played in the Div 2 championship game last spring. It was Peter and Goleros that helped raise some money for cancer research during our championship match you may remember. Anyways - Peter wanted to send around an update to his team, per his email below. Can you get in touch with him?
Meanwhile - what is your plan for when you are in DC after xmas?
Tim Daly
