Goodbye

If you are reading this, it means that I'm already gone. It was a tough decision but in the end, I think what I'm doing is right.

I know that where Im going might be insufferably hot or very pleasent - there is no telling which will greet me - Ill accept whatever consequences lay in the future for me. It was the right thing to do.


Goodbye...














.....I'll see you when I get back from SPRING BREAK!!!!! in Texas. Centex and then beach house - ridiculousness will ensue right after the Squids unleash on some fools.

Predictions for the festivities include relaxing, working on my tan, finishing "Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintainace", sleeping 9hours a night, eating and drinking only the best money can buy and generally having a restful and reinvigorating vacation from school. Actually, none of those things will happen (eh, i might finish Zen in the airports - but then again, i remember it getting pretty complex at the end from last time I tried to read it in HS).

To all you other Spring Breakers: be safe, but remember "safety" is relative - human livers are a lot stronger than we give them credit for. To advocates of moderation, I say: If not now, when?

Stupid and Unsafe are not the same thing. Be safe but not sane, there is plenty of time for sanity the rest of the year.


-Sorry if i scared anyone. Go tell your family home much you love them

Biology Final

...went ok. I was thinking hard the whole time. I dont know if this is a good sign or not, there was certainly stuff I didnt know. Yet, I feel I knew a decent amount, and if it was hard for me (a historically good "test taker"), it must have been hard for others, which is good for the curve. Understand? Not sure I do either. See the toll Finals week puts on my mind?

Worked in my lab today a little after the test.

Went back to school to work out at our gym. Started my workout at 5:30. Totally forgot about the team track practice at 6. Honestly, this wasn't one of those times someone conviently forgets. I really had no knowledge we had track practice (the one emphasised at Saturday's practice) . Honest. See the toll Finals week puts on my mind?


We'll, at lest the workouts were good:

Usual warmup & 2000m speed row with helpful comments on form from some dude on the crew team.

35 reps
115lb Clean (from the floor) and Jerk
Time: 11:33

This 5 minutes better than the last time I tried this workout. It really is a mental battle. My form is getting better as is my strength, but the real reduction in time came from doubled mental toughness. Amazing. Im not at Grace yet, but im working at it.

10-8-6-4-2 Reps of :
140lb backsquat
35 lb dumbell swing
35lb dumbell french press
Time: 5:46

Nice and solid, not too long.

Ended with some time on the GHD machine; i try to get some time in with this puppy whenever I go to the gym.



What I am really happy about, is that I am finding movements and weights with which I can get maximum power output. Too heavy and you gotta take lots of breaks, to light or too simple a movement and you dont exert yourself fully.

The key is finding how to exert yourself for a long period at high intensity without needing copious rest. Know your body and its easy to push yourself in the right ways at the gym.



Phil Paper, Phil Final, Ochem Final and then freedom: Centex and the Gulf Coast (like I need more beach)


Wish me luck.

Trust pt. 1

(This is something I wrote a while back but never posted. I'm not exactly sure what I wanted to be different about it, but I think ill post it now even if it seems incomplete. I have plans to write more about this topic later.)


One of the most important things necessary for a group of individuals to play well together, as a team, is trust in each other. But not the trust you may be thinking of...

I'm not really talking about trusting a teammate to execute "above" their level, I'm talking about trusting him to make the right decision in an particular circumstance. Not that he will have the forehand bomb, but that he will ONLY throw that if it is too the right cut and he is sure of the pass's success. While its great to have someone on D that can run a 4.3 40, its vitally important that I know he will follow the structure of the team D set.

I need to trust in someones intuitions about themselves, their teammates and the current game state.

Flow comes when teammates can predict each other's moves. O has a massive advantage when they know whats coming next based on who has the disc where. Likewise, D has a massive advantage when it knows just as much about the potential actions of a untrustworthy thrower as the offense.




I've been thinking about this Trust idea for a while now, but a recent event precipitated some waves of crystallization in understanding about the whole thing. Last night we were scrimmaging and doing some work on Vstack offense. I was 3 in the stack on a dead disc - my man is committed to poaching the open lane right in front of the throw. I ran to the break side under and just stood there across the field without my defender even following. That thrower, Kyle "Kenobi" Frost, recognized the situation, turned toward me and made the difficult 25 yard cross field backhand break. It what had to happen- my defender played that gambit - and he saw this and worked hard to break the essentially flat mark. The exact instant he did this I had an amazing sensation of satisfaction wash over me. After the point i realized that from that moment on, i trusted him. Not his throws - hes just a sophomore and a little rough around the edges. Not his cutting - he could have a faster first step and better closing speed. But i trust his intuition. He can realize the situation and apply the skill set he actually has to help the team.

Ive haven't been so aware of a-ha! moments with other teammates but maybe thats because I havent started trusting anyone since I started thinking about the concept. I can say this for sure though: when I look to the side line for a O player in a big game, Kenobi is has my nod of approval and that seems more important than any other single personal characteristic.

Life is Good

5-2 at Ripon. Word
No turns against Oregon while Playing 90% of the point. Word.

1-0 vrs my brother's team

1-0 vrs my brother at Poke` during a timeout

Finally figured out what this song is. Props to anyone that correctly identifies the1970's Progressive Rock band De La Soul sampled from.

These next two weeks are gonna be hard, but I'm gonna survive. And then Centex and ...


PS- Some really great writing on the necessity of the swing.
PSS-Florida checked its boner. Its HUGE. Congrats to a team that is way better than we give them credit for.

Wheels

I currently have 8 pairs of cleats in my personal possession (6 actually belong to me, 2 are lost and not found yet).

Eastbay is having a sale so I just bought 2 more pairs.

Ladies, I will never make fun of you for having too many shoes, I understand now. Shoes make the outfit: spiffy cleats and short black socks make you play well. Practice can make you good, but cleats and socks make you a baller ----->





Stanfo ...er...Ripon Invite this weekend is gonna be awesome but a little wet. Nothin' like a dry pair of cleats after a mud bath to make game 3 go smoothly - ill be ready.