Has Anyone Ask People To Sponsor You Yet?

As Roger Federer took to the court for the Wimbledon final in his patented “RF” all-cream colored ensemble featuring pants and a multi-pocketed slightly-strange, slightly-military-style jacket with a high collar, you couldn’t help but recall the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper”-era get-ups, and as the match went on, the song “With a Little Help From My Friends.”With a little help from Andy Roddick on a set point that turned the entire match, Federer raised the Wimbledon trophy and inherited the title of GOAT (Greatest of All Time) with a 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14 victory over the AmericanIt was the third time Federer has beaten Roddick in a Wimbledon final, and the sixth career Wimbledon title for the Swiss. The win propelled Federer to the all-time head of the class in terms of Grand Slam singles titles won, eclipsing Pete Sampras’ 14 titles with the magic number 15.Roddick won the first set and was well in control before disaster struck.Leading 6-5 in the second-set tiebreak, Roddick had a relatively-easy high volley put-away on an attempted Federer pass that he for an instant took his eye off of — an instant that changed the match from a potential 2-0 set lead to one-set all.“That was a definite choke right there,ccie certification” said NBC commentator John McEnroe. Roddick proceeded to chunk a transition net shot on the net point, then make a backhand unforced error as Federer gave out a “Yeah!” shout upon clinching the set.
Roddick hung on gamely in the third set until the tiebreak, where Federer imposed his will in addition to some “C’mon!”s, showing the fire that at this point Roddick was lacking after the specter of the second set giveaway. Down 1-4 and 2-5 in the tiebreak, Roddick made a brief resurgence until Federer opened the toy chest, luring the American to the net and passing him. Roddick brought it back to 5-6, but then Federer closed it out on his next service point for a two-sets-to-one lead.ccna examThe American broke for a 3-1 lead in the fourth, then survived a difficult hold for 4-1 before closing out the set to force a fifth.In the marathon fifth set games went according to serve until 14-15 when Roddick finally succumbed on his service game.Roddick drops to 1-4 in Slam finals, but retains the small consolation that he is playing perhaps the best tennis of his career. He is fitter than ever and hitting through his backhand with the help of coach Larry Stefanki.“I know how tough it is,” Roddick said prior to the final at the prospect of beating the Swiss. “But, you know,ccie questions I’m excited about this one. I didn’t know if I was going to get to play a final of Wimbledon again.”
Among the former champions in the star-studded crowd were Sampras (seven Wimbledon championships), Bjorn Borg (five) and Rod Laver (four).The 27-year-old Federer, who has reached the final of 19 of the last 20 Slams, completed the career Grand Slam in June by winning his first French Open, a goal that eluded Sampras during his reign.

Just got started today and I've got four people to commit, plus one actual donation. Raaarw!

What I've done is I've made a pledge sheet, where folks jot down their name, email, telephone #, and pledge amount so they don't have to give anything right away. It feels a little more professional, more gentle. I have the pretty amazing advantage of running a yoga studio, too, where I know half the folks walking through the door, can include this in our newsletter, etc. I figure the "sign-up now, pay later" approach may just pan out, as I do see these folks on a regular basis. But then I'm also naive and like to think that people who rock out in Vedic-inspired sweat-fests are likely to be more reliable than the average Jill I might bump into at the water cooler. Given all this, I am also preparing for my plan to backfire a little bit, and so I am setting my goal slightly higher than the 40 pledges I've committed to, projecting a "flake margin" of about 15%, or 6 people.

Still, am I setting myself up here? Am I gonna have to stalk inboxes and shake yoginis down on Bedford Ave. to collect? Is this about to get messy just as I gear up for finals season at school?

In any case, this is a pretty rad arena for the practice of mindfulness. Some pretty uneasy feelings have been arising for sure. I also noticed after the last pledge today that I got pretty light-headed and spacey, which could be the dinnertime signal, but could also be a clever, unconscious defense mechanism. In any case, I am officially down for the practice of mindfulness of feelings as I collect names of (aspiring) donors.

The thought that is driving me so far is remembering that this is actually providing an opportunity for people to practice generosity, gain merit, burn off old karma, and get happy. I spent a little bit of time in an ashram once where there was a rule that you could never ever turn down a gift from another ashramite. The idea was/is, if one was to turn down a gift or offering of any sort, one would be standing in the way of another's generosity practice, which is actually a subtle form of violence if you look at it closely enough. So, basically, this is the opposite situation.

Hats off to His Emenance the Venerable Nichtern for tossing the lot of us into this unique and wonderful practice with eyes wide open. I can't WAIT to be sitting there wondering why the hell I signed on for this madness as I come back to the breath for quazillionth time!

-Ralph