Intro

My entire left arm was in pure agony and the ache in my right arm was magnifying by the minute. Determined to fight through it, I continued. My face now bore a permanent grimace and my breathing heavy. Come on. I can do this.

Usually I would enjoy this kind of flirtation with the pain barrier, but on this occasion I was not deep in the third set of an epic tennis match, nor was I battling to complete a grueling workout. I was typing. Sitting at a desk and typing. Pathetic. I was studying for an insurance licensing exam and I was taking notes on the computer with such fervor that I had developed some kind of repetitive strain injury.

For most of my life I was a serious tennis player, but in May my tennis ‘career’ came to an end after a thrilling final season of college tennis. Now I felt somewhat lost without it. As my Word Doc trickled over the 28,000 word mark, I decided I need to seek new sporting and competitive endeavors. So that evening I made a simple Google search and then fired off an email to Ardy at the ChiSlam Table Tennis Club. I played in table tennis leagues from ages 7-18 and I was eager to get back into it. His reply was a series of bullet points that failed to shed any light on the details of the club, but he did include his phone number and the next night I called it to inform Ardy of my imminent arrival at his place of ping-pong purveyance. Could I recreate some of my old table tennis magic?