I will start my second blog off my saying thank you for all the nice comments.  They are very much appreciated.  I look forward to a continued blogging relationship with all of you.  Feel free to ask questions if you like.  If not that is cool as well.  I don't judge.  I will do my best to reply as much as humanly possible. 

     On to the updates.  Since the next tournament doesn't begin until Monday of next week I am in full training mode.  Trying my best to be as ready as possible for the next go round.  Normally, I like to practice around two and a half to three hours a day during a tournament stint.  On top of that I like to get a workout in of some sort.  Whether it is running or pumping some serious iron, it is good to get the body going on the off days.  So yesterday I decided running was the way to go.  I laced up my New Balance kicks and was ready to go Rocky style on these Mexican streets.  I was pumped to say the least.  So I ran up the driveway of my housing (roughly a 15% incline and about 40 yards or so) and by the time I got to the top I could not seem to locate any oxygen.  The altitude can be pretty ruthless sometimes.  So I took a good three minutes or so to regroup.  Needless to say that took a little bit of the edge off.  The pumpedness had subsided quite a bit. Anyways, I did somehow end up getting a pretty decent run in.  That is just an everyday tale of perserverence.  I consider it a win.  Me 1 - Altitude 0.

     Back to the tennis though.  I decided that you guys should see the balls that we are playing with.  I snapped this picture after hitting for about ten minutes.  Needless to say they wear down pretty quickly.  There is usually one ball in the group that pops mid practice.  You win some, you lose some I guess. 

     On a side note.  The spanish troubles just continue.  I tried to communicate to the taxi driver yesterday to take me to my housing.  After a few minutes of struggling I just took out the trusty Iphone. Typed in what I wanted to say on the iTranslate app aka lifesaver and then we were on our way.  This app really is pretty sweet though.  If you haven't seen it yet, you should definitely check it out.  For those of you without smart phones, I apologize for rubbing it in. 

     Speaking of apps, I had an all out war with the kids from the housing last night.  We were comparing high scores in all of the apps we had in common.  Let me just tell you right now, things were getting heated.  I actually considered making up high scores just so I could get the W.  Too competitive?  Probably so.  I ended up taking the high road and being honest though.  Unfortunately that did make me the loser.  I am still trying to recover.

     Ok so that is about all I have for you for this post.  I do want to mention that I am trying to get on a blogging schedule.  I am going to attempt to post on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and once on the weekend.  So you guys can have an idea of when I will be posting. I may post quotes and things at random times, but that is all just random bonus coverage. I want the site to be as user friendly as possible as well so if you have any comments or anything on it, don't hesitate to speak up.  Anyways thanks for stopping by and stay classy.  Looking forward to our next meeting.  Have a blessed day.

All the best,

Devin Britton

     So this is my first ever blog post.  Pretty excited about the whole deal.  As a tennis player I have a decent amount of free time on my hands, whether it is sitting in a hotel room or sitting at a airport gate waiting to head to the next city.  So I decided, why not do something somewhat productive with my free time.  Let some people out there know what it is like in the life of a tennis player.  Obviously I am not at the top of the ladder ranking wise just yet.  My ranking this week is 612 in singles and 283 in doubles.  I am hoping to inform you guys of some progress in those numbers in the weeks to come.  My main goal is to keep you guys entertained though. 

     I am currently located in Mexico City, Mexico playing a futures event here.  The altitude is pretty much out of hand here.  I googled this area yesterday to check what the exact number was and it came out at roughly 8,200ft of altitude.  I am not a mathematician or anything but I am pretty sure that is over a mile and a half up.  Which is pretty high if you think about it.  In order to try and offset the conditions they have to play with pressureless balls here.  They come in a box that is not sealed.  Have you ever been to the Walmart sports section and seen tennis balls?  These balls wouldn’t make the cut.  Not to complain or anything I actually like the conditions here a decent amount.  Well anyways, I should say I was playing in a futures event here as it is past tense now.  I lost a tough match today to Cesar Ramirez of Mexico 7-6(7) 6-4 in the second round of singles play.  I will tell you guys this much.  I served for the first set at 5-4 as well as serving up 6-4 in the tiebreaker.  I hate to say it, but I really choked this one.  Not an easy loss to take, but one I have to take either way. My doubles partner for this week got hurt yesterday so he had to pull out of doubles so that was a little bit of a bummer. Hopefully he will be alright soon.  So I will be practicing here for the next couple of days and most likely head to Celaya, Mexico (for the next tournament) on Friday or Saturday.  It is apparently a 4 hour bus ride away.  Some of the locals informed me that for $10 extra I can ride the VIP bus and not risk the chance of the drug cartel pulling the bus over and searching everyone’s bags.  I say why not roll the dice.  YOLO right?  Only kidding of course, I will be paying the $10 extra with a smile on my face.  I consider that deal a true bargain.

     So every once in a while you luck out at a tournament and get the opportunity to house with a local family.  This week was one of those weeks.  The people I am staying with are incredibly nice.  Along with welcoming me into their home free of charge, they also have been cooking incredible breakfasts and dinners. Tacos, quesadillas, flautas, and much more awesomeness just like those.  I don’t know about you but Mexican food is probably my number one favorite food of all time.  Either way it is a great setup for the week.  It is a huge upgrade from a hotel, that much is for sure.  The language barrier can be a small issue every once in a while.  My Spanish could use some serious work though.  I know some basic stuff but every once in a while someone will just walk up and shoot out a full sentence of Spanish to me.  My reply is usually just to stand there for a few seconds with a dumb look on my face.  Works nine times out of ten.  

     Also I have to give my sister a shout out.  She created this site like it was no big deal.  She is awesome.  End of story.  Check out her website while you are at it.  www.katiebritton.com

     One last thing.  Please excuse any punctuational errors and things of this nature.  After all, I am a college drop out.  So don’t set your bar too high.  I will also post pictures and possibly even videos here and there so stay on your toes.  I am hoping to post blogs three or four times a week.  Some longer than others but just bare with me for a little bit as I get the hang of things.  On a side note, the site still is not fully complete yet.  There will be a few updates here and there.  Nothing too crazy though.  Any feedback is always helpful.  You can find my email under the contact section of the site.  Working on getting a comment section in so it will be more user friendly.  Anyways thanks for taking the time to read my first ever blog post.  I really appreciate it.  Have a blessed day. 

Adios amigos,

Devin