Kristin Parker Diary
April 17, 2002
Our day began early Tuesday morning when we all met on campus at
6:30 a.m. to ride the bus together to the airport. Everyone arrived
sleepy-eyed and yawning, but as soon as the word “Bruin
Buddy” was mentioned, everyone perked up. At the beginning of
every season we draw names out of a hat and that person becomes
your secret Bruin Buddy for the whole season. At every meet we all
put our gifts into one big bag, and then they are handed out by one
person to keep the Bruin Buddies anonymous. Only at Nationals do we
finally find out who our Bruin Buddies are! We each personally hand
one another our gifts, and although some people have already
figured theirs out, most of us look forward to the surprise! This
year I was surprised to find out that my old freshman roommate,
Malia Jones, had me.
The rest of the day was spent studying and sleeping as we
traveled from L.A. to Houston, Texas and then from Houston to
Birmingham, Ala. After landing, we had one long drive left from
Birmingham to Tuscaloosa, but then the long day of travel would
finally be over. We arrived at the hotel after grabbing a quick
bite to eat at a Southeastern chain called The Cracker Barrel. At
the hotel, we all pretty much stayed in our own rooms with our
roommate, and then a few of us met individually with our massage
therapist. In the following days, he and our trainers become so
essential to keeping our bodies at their best for each meet!
Wednesday morning, everyone took it pretty slow as we adjusted
to the two-hour time difference and hot, muggy climate. We
don’t really have anything that we have to do except go to
our individual treatment times with our trainers, Lorita Granger
and Kyle Brooks (who are both amazing!), and meet at 3:15 p.m. in
the lobby to head over to practice together.
We are all really excited to be here and looking forward to the
days to come. The next few days will be very intense, but our team
always seems to be able to keep things fun and in perspective.
Everyone is thankful that we have the chance to be here again this
year, and we are all ready to go out there and give every routine
our absolute best!