Knockin' Doors Down

Drinking for the second time this week.

Doesn't matter, my muscles are going to break all of my clothes.

Stiggles ran over ten miles this week. If you visit Hell, bring your winter jacket.

Better hop on the bandwagon now.

P.S. WEEK ELEVEN OVER

But now I'm rappin' 'bout money, hoes, and rims again.

The only time I can't wait for practice tomorrow is when I am going up stairs.

Did infinite pull-ups today. Shit's crazy.

Played lazy defense today. Tired is a state of mind.

Freshmen can almost play real ultimate. So close.

I am going to learn to play a position in zone besides cup. Hopefully this weekend!

Throws in the wind are looking pretty nice. I even threw some backhands today.

Thought for a second about taking tomorrow off, but if Stone is going to practice 4 days in a row, how the fuck am I not going to practice for 4 days in a row?

Blagging is back in style! Trust me!

I might wear black four years straight

"If you want to be fast, get in the weight room and add some muscle to your legs. I didn't gain speed until Junior year in college when I eased off the bench press and made friends with the squat rack. "

-- Mac Taylor, http://skydmagazine.com/2011/02/player-profile-mac-taylor/

Noted.

Also, decided to lose weight again.

Double also, benched 185x2 today. 200 by sectionals.

P.S. That hasbrouk banana was among the worst I have encountered.

I'm 'bout stackin bank, everyday

Things I learned at Adelphi:

1) Just because you have the throw doesn't mean you should make it.

2) I still can't catch outs.

3) We still have a long way to go.

Taking practice off tomorrow; I have a bruise resembling a gunshot wound in my right lovehandle. Hitting the bike pretty hard, though. I'd run, but I'm a bit weak in the knees. Rather get all healed up while I still can. Laying out indoors, even correctly, gets you pretty dinged up.

Also, Air Alert is legitimate.

And break it on down just a little once again

Finally finished a set of incline pushups on the level 2 chest. Got to literally the last double-crunch before failing, but boy did the entire workout hurt.

Practice on Monday. Be there.

We got nothin' to lose muthafucka we rollin'

Long time no blag.

No running. I suck.

But I can jump really high! I can touch the ceiling fan in my kitchen. Air Alert is legitimate. I have definitely added at least two inches to my vertical.

Literally just realized that I did Air Alert today and I wasn't supposed to. I think the safest option is to do it 4x this week. Either that or do Mon-Tues-Wed. Unsure. Leaning towards the latter.

Absolutely slayed level 2 abs. Perfection until halfway through Double Crunches. Such is life.

Level 2 chest killed me. It feels like I have never seen a bench press before. On the plus side, it will probably make me super strong.

I have found that if I eat when my body tells me to eat, and eat what it tell me to, that I do pretty well. Note that this is different than eating what I want to eat, as that would consist solely of Mountain Dew and Cheez-Itz, but what my body wants to eat. Might not be the greatest way to shed pounds, but boy do I feel jacked.

Pretty sure I actually flipped my sleep schedule back. Haven't slept yet, so we'll see.

Got glasses today, another Chichester visit tomorrow, and back to school on Saturday. An action packed week!

Everybody want it but it ain't that serious

Day 1 of Week 2 hurts more than Day 1 of Week 1.

Squat Hops might end me tomorrow.

Already did my push ups/abs, now to run.

See ya!

Extra bright I want ya'll to see this

Another three miles. MUCH easier than yesterday.

I am just going to run every day because, well, why not?

It gon' take a lot more than coupons to get us saved

3 miles. Worth every penny.

Packers made the playoffs. What a day.

Air Alert today was easy. I bet Tuesday will not be.

That is all.

I'mma touch the sky

Another two miles. Chest was harder, abs were easier. Calves didn't hurt until I ran, now they are angry.

There aren't many things easier than grinding when you got that fire.

Squat hops blow.

And make 'em straighten up their act 'cause she know they soft

2 miles.

Really ain't that cold out. Trust me.

P.S. -- Stretch everyday too.

Just stay hungry

My strategy so far this break has been to eat and drink as shittily as possible to make my body feel as shitty as possible so that when I start eating well again I never want to go back.

Well, I don't remember ever feeling this good. I've tried getting drunk twice already this break and I just cannot do it. I think I am officially off the drank.

Air Alert is legitimate. I recommend. My legs won't stop twitching. Plan is to Air Alert on Air Alert Days + dog walkings, and 8/12 minute abs/chest + running on other days, taking Sundays off.

I am 90% getting MTGO and really hope I go infinite off 20 tix.

That is all.

"Maybe you've heard the maxim, “take a tournament one game at a time.” You'll then be told about how you shouldn't think about “X rounds until top 8” or “I just have to win one more game!”

That sounds great in theory. But you know what? That's really, really hard to do.

Your brain will fight you at every juncture to try and make you think about it. You can't help but think about how it's round seven, and you just have to win this one to draw in, or how if you lose this match you're going to be out of top 8 contention.

The trick is not to avoid thinking about it – there's really no way not to – but just not to care.

When I'm doing well at a PTQ and sit down for each round, I let my brain take in the fact that it's X rounds until top 8 or whatever. I let it wash over me like a cool wave, and then it's over. That's it. I breathe out, and it's time to focus on the match at hand.

I have played much, much better since I began to use this technique. I've noticed it both in my play as well as in how I approach the game. I'm not setting myself up for success or failure, it doesn't matter how much effort I've put into this event, and it doesn't matter what beats have been delivered. It's simply time to play some Magic."

--Gavin Verhey

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/fundamentals/20790_Flow_of_Ideas_So_You_Want_To_Win_A_PTQ.html

Monday!

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0ByJLe7RhYJMjZGY5ZmM0MDctNGE0MS00NjdhLWExOTktMGEyYTQxZWZmNGVi&hl=en&authkey=CLSBg9UJ

"Nowadays I have figured out what is important to emotionally invest yourself into while playing Magic. It is not if you win or lose, but how well you are playing. This is the only thing you can control while playing this game and is the only thing that can help you get better at the game. If you spend time on thinking about how unlucky you are, you will miss important decisions that will help you in the future. It is impossible to play good Magic if you are not making decisions with a clear mind and a healthy attitude."

-- Brad Nelson, http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/fffreaky-friday-variance/

They been waiting patiently for Pinocchio to poke his nose

Air Alert on Monday! That puts fifteen weeks at April 3rd, and the peak jumping time at week sixteen, April 10th.

Hope you join me!

All of the lights

1) I grew

2) I have been feeling super strong lately.

How is your finals week?

My raps don’t have melodies

160 x 9

Fire it up, Fire it up

You gotta want it.

I guess every superhero need his theme music

20 pounds. 17 weeks.

Time to work!

Dear Diary

I am SO excited for indoor.

Creeperin 2010-2011.

Choo Choo

The second verse for my dawgs workin' nine to five that still hustle 'cause a nigga can't shine off 6.55.

(Grab bag post!)

I have been very into little goals lately.

It is quite a daunting task to lose sixty pounds in a year. It is a daunting task to lose five pounds in a month. It is a daunting task to lose a pound a week. It is a daunting task to eat well every day. It is an easy task to drink water THIS meal.

Little goals are easy. It is easy to make yourself do one small thing one time. It is rewarding too -- you accomplished a goal! The best part is, when you finish a bunch of little goals, they get you to a bigger one. One does not think about getting ten completions in a row for Go-To, they think about making a hard fake, a hard cut, and running all the way through. One thinks about having a balanced stance, a tight grip, and completing their throwing motion.

The college frisbee year has three real seasons. Fall, pre-sectionals, and sectionals. We are entering pre-sectionals. The goal of this season to to emerge with the team most prepared for the sectionals season. This places an emphasis on health (mental and physical) and conditioning. What good is one for the big dance if they are banged up, a headcase, or can't run at game speed for the whole practice? This is where everyone learns their role and their position. This is where one levels up their conditioning.

Coming out of the fall, Gunx has something to prove. We've shown flashes of greatness, we've gotten our name out there, and we've got a crop of freshman that by any measure rivals any class we've had to date. Now is the time to show everyone that we are the real deal.

My goal is not to try my best. My goal is not to go to regionals. My goal is not to be the best player on the team. My goal is to play perfect ultimate. This is the easiest, most direct goal to what one wants to accomplish. If one plays perfect ultimate, there is no better way to increase that person's chances of winning a game or tournament.

Sorry for the complete lack of transitions or complete ideas, but better to have blagged poorly than not blagged at all.

"We don't care what people say."

Once again, Tom made my bed most righteously.

Dr. Dre, don't just stand there, operate!

Taking a week off from ultimate is doing my body some good. Hitting this frigid ground ten times a practice takes a toll on ones voluptuous breasts.

At least I'm laying out without thinking.

I wasn't a defensive liability for the first time in my career last weekend. Felt pretty sweet to run down a pull when it actually mattered.

I always feel awkward when kids compliment me in-game because I usually am in the murder-mindset, not the flirting one. Probably why I didn't get a number from any of those Wesleyan kids.

I've learned how to get myself locked into a game, where I can play every point like its universe, but it hinders my ability when I am off the field to make adjustments and decisions. I just get so locked in that I can't take all the information in. The next step is learning how to turn it on and off so I can be a captain off the field and a baller on.

According to the scale I haven't lost a pound in two weeks, but it doesn't feel like that. Either way, I'm buckling down because I HAVE to hit 160 before sectionals. Corn Rows just don't look the same with a belly.

I figure that if I bike for 300 calories a day, that only takes an hour (from when I leave to after I shower), and that is over a pound every two weeks. That alone should get me pretty far.

Almost beat Bowser tonight, but he was doing some crazy three-ball shit and I just packed it up for some Diet Pepsi, dino food, and Force Unleashed II.

Hope you have as good a night as I am!

I might wear black for a year straight

A good, but not great, end to the fall season.

Spring season starts today!

Determination, dedication, motivation

Want to know a way to prove that our win at Witch's Teat was legitimate?

Sunday, November 14th, 11:40am, A1 vs. A2.

All I am thinking about is beating Marist. Every step, every rep, every push-up, every forehand huck.

I don't care how many games they've won this season. I don't care who is showing up this weekend. I don't care about how good Robbie Kohler is. I don't care who marks me. I don't care who they put on Tom.

All I care about is showing them who the best team in this rivalry is.

Doin' work

179.4

There is no try.

"When someone can't afford to go to the movies, buy a wedding ring, fix their car, take a two-week vacation to Hawaii, or go to the concert, it's an experience that's linked to every other experience they ever had. You didn't just start the game in this position. You made the decision to spend that hour watching television, that hour playing Final Fantasy, or that hour listening to music. There's nothing wrong with any of those decisions, but if you find yourself short of mana, ask yourself if you're playing enough land."

"The truth is: it's just a matter of will. What is "trying?" Don't "try" to play enough lands. Play enough lands."

-Patrick Chapin, http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/fundamentals/20337_Innovations_Mana_Rules_Everything_Around_Me.html

I am going to stop trying to do things. I am going to start doing things.

You are about to experience something cold man

Not pulling the trigger on layout ds haunts me for days.

"You should NEVER be prepared to lose.

When you play in a tournament, every loss has to be a stab in your heart. The loss that puts you out of day two or out of Top 8 contention should take away a piece of your soul with it. You should never join a tournament with the mindset that losing is 'ok'"

Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/pvs-playhouse-catching-up-to-brad-a-gp-portland-report-top-8/

Because I never needed the protection of a fuckin' gun

Quite the season opener.

Only ran like 10 miles last week, but Tom showed me these sweet ab/chest home exercises that are awesome. I bet by this time next week I will have control over my boobs individually.

Freshmen are looking good, both in numbers and quality. I'm a bit nervous about how many will show up for week two, but I'm keeping my hopes up. They sure do love partying, though.

Gotta get my eating under control, especially for the weekend. I think I am going to only drink once a week, but that is quite a difficult proposition. Twice tops, definitely.

I'm gonna go for 3+ miles until Friday because I will be out of town for most of the weekend and be unable to get any work done. I can still do pushups on the road, though.

I feel like I am in better shape, but haven't quite noticed it on the field yet. Hopefully we get to battle someone soon so I can see how my powers have progressed.

Gotta love line breaks.

"Rather than focus on what you perceive as "wrong" in your game, or anything else, I would suggest focusing on a positive: what you are looking to accomplish, improve, change, grow, and build upon. What are you trying to accomplish? You might be trying to win more at Magic, qualify for (or win) the Pro Tour, win your FNM with an original deck, build a collection of cards, meet more people who share a common love for Magic, or be inducted into the Magic Hall of Fame. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, your strategy could vary.

Many of these things are things that a number of very intelligent and motivated people are also dedicated to doing, and by necessity, they cannot all be successful, at least at the moment. Rather than place expectations on yourself (“I will win this tournament, or else...”) or make hollow threats and lies to yourself (“... or else I will quit Magic”), you might instead take a long view of what it is you are trying to achieve. This tournament, this FNM, this PTQ, this PT, this year... attachment to any of these things can bring suffering."

"The point is that when you are looking for direction, when you are looking to figure out what you are doing wrong, what to change to get better results, the journey starts inside you. Sam Stoddard wrote an oft-referenced Magic article that helps shine a light on a useful way of looking inside in order to understand where you personally need to go: Creating a Fearless Magical Inventory. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. If you are stuck on a plateau, even if you have read it, you may want to consider pulling the trigger and creating your own Fearless Magical Inventory."

--Patrick Chapin, http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/misc/19885_Innovations_Getting_Your_Eyelids_Out_of_the_Way.html

It's been a pretty bad week, but I have enough excuses that I don't feel bad about it. I have been walking and doing my pushups/excruciators, so it is not a total loss. I'm ready to start it back up fresh on Monday, and the gym is open long enough that I can't even use a deadly hangover as an excuse.

We'll be doing a combine-style practice for the first week or two; get everyone comfortable and acclimated to college before the real stuff starts. Wednesdays will be fun.

I will be in the gym 5+ days a week, or at least running someplace. I want to throw a lot of frisbees one day every week because I just don't know how to throw and it would probably help if the main handler on a team knew how to throw.

I am going to ask all of the returners to make their own Fearless Ultimate Inventory and post it someplace (I will be posting mine here, on the school blag, which everyone can use if they would like, someplace in my aparment, and maybe even Facebook), but if you want to get a head start I won't tell anyone. I'll send out the message detailing the exercise along with my personal Fearless Ultimate Inventory to give everyone an idea of what it is. If you are looking to get a head start, the Magical version is linked above and my first inventory is someplace back in April I think.

There will probably be a returners team meeting someplace, but that hasn't been finalized nor even discussed. It is probably a good idea to have one, though.

Didn't pack tonight. Ate a lot of cheese and it gave me a tummy ache. Drank a lot of water. Feeling the pain of eating a whole bag of Herr's Salt and Vinegar chips.

And we won a Team Incentive Pack!

Oh wait that was last week.

Except the first and fifteenth pretty much

Didn't play flawless in Social semis, but I don't think perfect play from me would have had us in the Finals. Our ladies ran savage, Sonny wasn't there, and the other handlers would prefer to throw a stall 8 desperation huck than dump it to me when I was poach calling for it. I did make a pretty sick layout grab but that was about it.

It was 8-7 in our favor in the finals, and the other team decided they wanted to win and we didn't. We jogged on defense, didn't respect their hucks, and didn't focus.

I got pissed off after they went up 12-8, went on, got scored on, and told the line (who was entirely B-line) "If we are going to lose, let's not lose like this" and we went on a roll and got a few points from capitalizing on White's turns and got to 13-11 Then most of the A-line came on, played lazy ( "I think they are going to give us this game"), and we lost 15-11.

We expected them to roll over, and they didn't. They wanted to win. We didn't.

At least I learned something.

Whoa.

Cold water is delicious.

191.8.

And I had a really bad week. This is cool.

EDIT: I ate pizza and diet pepsi : X

DOUBLE: At least my base set of pushups is up to 60.

I check cheddar like a food inspector

I was definitely not going to run tonight, but nothing really motivates you like WINNING A TEAM INCENTIVE PACK.

YES

EDIT: Until my headphones break. Walking an extra 2 miles, I guess.

DOUBLE EDIT: Just wrote all of the team bios. You have been warned.

T-T-T-T-T-TRIPLE EDIT: I am just really into pushups again. oops.

Goals

Some practice goals --

Start on time. We have limited practice time and it is imperative we use it efficiently.

Have a plan for every practice.

Team dynamic stretching before, team static stretching after.

Never walk. Ever. You don't walk in ultimate, you don't walk at practice.

Freshmen set up and take down the field.

If your team gets scored on, you sprint back to your line. No reason to conserve energy at practice.

Keep the intensity up. Positive energy all the time.

Without a doubt undoubtedly

"What step should you start with? The easiest one, of course! You want the step that will gain you the most ground on your way to your goal, the one that will create the best result."

-- Patrick Chapin, Next Level Magic

The biggest jump I could make in my game was to lose weight, so I am doing it. That doesn't take up my time while actually playing ultimate, so I needed something else. I was comically bad at backhands, a major flaw in my game. I addressed that. One should not neglect their strengths, but rather identify their biggest weaknesses and aim to bring that part of their game up to par. Ask yourself why you aren't getting the playtime you think you deserve, why you aren't starting over someone else, and address those problems. Do not accept your flaws as fact, as something concrete. Take a jackhammer to them and prove everyone wrong.

I didn't want to go to league today, but remembered I promised Paul Travers a ride so I went anyway. Turns out none of Green wanted to go either, and we took the forfeit win into a lock for a first round bye. My team sat on the sidelines and heckled the other two games, which was pretty fun.

While warming up for my actual game that didn't happen I tried to rework my backhand form and made a little bit of progress, throwing much more accurately into the wind than I had before. I know I still don't have it because I was only tossing them about 50 yards. Still, baby steps.

I noticed that my forehand huck is only accurate as long as I can use my normal throwing motion for it. For instance, whenever I have to throw it really far I totally change my motion in order to muscle it out and I lose most of my accuracy. That means I need to learn how to incorporate more of my body into my normal motion.

I didn't run today, but I walked the dog an extra time so it burned the same amount of calories that I have been the past few days. Fun fact -- walking burns almost as many calories as running, so while it is not nearly as effective for improving cardiovascular health or muscle gain, it helps us fatties lose some lbs.

Been doing a lot of GUNX paperwork lately -- got in the T.I.P application about a week ago and we find out on Monday if we get free stuff, and I just sent in the facilities request for about thirty minutes ago. Talked to Slip about some scrimmages and he seemed very interested.

I just can't wait to do a great lift at the gym and then walk down to practice.

If it was actually made out of ice and kept my drink cold

192.6.

I guess a diet consisting of grilled chicken, salad, eggs, and water will do that to you.

Whether he's on salary, paid hourly

Needed one win out of two today at Social to secure a first round bye. Two losses combined with White wining two would put us in the third seed. 1st game went to Universe, with us receiving. I picked up, moved it to the other handle, who threw a very catchable, although not perfect pass to one of our better cutters who ghost handed it. The other team didn't give us another shot and calmly moved it down for score.

We went down 3-1 in the next game and decided to play some defense, and ended up winning 6-4 to secure the 2seed for the playoffs.

I played almost savage, I think 3 points off in 2+ hours of gameplay, as I was the only one with throws again. My hucks were way off, especially my forehand. It was quite windy, but I just couldn't get anything to not blade. I had a lot of really good breaks, though, and once I layed off the bombs and started just breaking the mark literally every time I touched the disc we did a lot better.

Running today was a lot harder, but I was about twenty seconds faster than I was last night so who knows what that means. My lungs were absolutely fine; my legs were gassed before a half mile.

I stared at the diet pepsi in the store today for a solid thirty seconds before walking away.

Is treat everything like it's your first project

Played like 4 points today at summer league. We were up like 14-8 and turned on cruise control to end with with a sick layout from Brian at 15-12. Still haven't locked up a first round bye as there are two games left and 3 teams within 1 game of each other. 1 win in the next two weeks locks it up for us.

Fat Zac noticed that I don't know how to throw and tried to help me, but I only got a few tosses in before we had to play. He said that all the power comes from the hips and that I should be pretending that I am lifting something very heavy when I throw a backhand and that I need to get lower. I'll try to rework my motion to incorporate that. A big goal of mine for the fall semester is to rework all of my throws because I am honestly just muscling them out right now.

He was also teaching some other kids how to throw an IO flick and made a point to exaggerate the curve when teaching it, which I think is a great idea. It is much easier to teach the motion in when you exaggerate than when you only put a little curve on it.

Waking up after Golden Corral yesterday was the worst (sorry, 2nd worst), but I just drank two ices and became a dinosaur and all was well. With no partying on the horizon for the next two weeks I am likely to be clean aside from a few trips to Dinotopia, so we'll see if I can really lose some pounds. My GUTS shirt fits for the first time, well, ever.

I am really encouraged by this weekend, but it also shows that we all have a ton of work to do if we would like to make any noise.

I walked both dogs and ran two miles. Ate well, and I've been off gatorade for a whole week now. I don't drink nearly as much water as I did gatorade, but I feel as hydrated.

Three weeks left. Just stay hungry.

Gimmie da loot

Might post again/edit later, but I had to say 195.4 before I forgot.

The Bends

Today was pretty unproductive. Woke up and felt like a sack of potatoes. I raked for a bit and walked the dogs, but no running. Ate a lot, but not all too poorly (all tasty salads and tuna) so we're in alright shape. I've been really into water today; hopefully the trend continues.

I think the day of recovery will be good for me, both at league tomorrow and for the upcoming weekend of booze and disc. I recover slowly, and one day usually isn't enough for me, so I am banking on today giving me a headstart into it. It is difficult to balance the desire to push to lose weight and the desire to rest up for a tournament, but I think as long as I push really hard at the tournament it is a fine trade.

Tomorrow I am getting back in my game. Smart decisions, favoring in-cuts, aggressive on the dump cuts, a powerful forehand, and hard D. This team did not draft me to jack it deep every third touch. I had focused so much on improving my weaknesses that I had forgotten my strengths.

Weighed in at 196.6, which is the lowest I've been since Freshman year. And I suddenly have biceps.

Baby steps.

Things done Changed

Nothing like running savage at social league to get your head straight.

Coming later:

Two miles

Dog walking

Pushups

Calves

Excruciator

and a tasty salad.

Tasty salads

I have lost all confidence in my forehand huck.

I have too much confidence in my backhand huck.

I only ran two miles today.

I need to buy one of those towel things that the cool Quarterbacks wear because my money hand gets way too sweaty.

I am not as fast as I thought I was.

I cannot run for as long as I thought I could.

I can't box out like I thought I could.

I made a really tasty salad.

What have you learned today?

Sure do, two .22's in my shoes

Highlight of today was running; it was pretty easy. 3 miles, felt less tired than the 2-milers last week.

Lowlights include being hung-over, buck doubles, dinosaur food, and hot dogs. Pushups were just really hard and I don't know why.

All in all, not the worst Sunday.

The big three

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmwJipHdqpA

Didn't listen to music today

Not much to say tonight.

198.6. Ran two miles, very sore from yesterdays pushups. League tomorrow.

Ugh

My vitamins

taste so fucking gross.

P.S. Weighday tomorrow.

P.P.S. 5 Pushups, 4 Calves, 3 Excruciators. Stay busy.

That's a great word, intricate.

I'll keep this one concise:

Remove the phrase "I don't feel like it" from your vocabulary. You have to be honest with yourself -- do not try to get around this by making reasons to not do something. You are only hurting yourself. You are only lying to yourself.

Passed up a eighth-joint yesterday. Ran three miles yesterday, two today. Added calf raises to my nightly routine. Officially off Four LOKO until I see Officer Judge again.

Stay busy, stay workin'.

LIVE from David's bed!

More to come, but,

"All the time spent bashing your fellow player could instead be spent critiquing your own game and improving as a result"

-- Conley Woods, http://strategy.channelfireball.com/featured-articles/breaking-through-a-lesson-in-humility/

201.0

A lot of times we use the word "bitch"

Back to the grind today. Played a lot of points in very hot weather today, we went 5/2 and had two guy subs, one girl sub. I hucked it way too much -- even though sometimes I can rip a full field flick it is far from accurate or consistent, so I should look for in-cuts more until we move down the field a bit. Regardless, I put up some big shots from both sides with and against the wind, got open pretty easily, and stuck with my dude while poaching the lane a bit.

Walked two small laps today and ate a good bit too much, but not bad for a first day back.

I did sixty pushups and boy did they hurt.

We'll see how I feel tomorrow, but I definitely feel in worse shape today than I did a week ago.

"You want to try your Mono-White lifegain deck? Don't mind the haters. Those that have abandoned their dreams will always discourage yours. Never be afraid to try something new. The Ark was built by an amateur. The Titanic was built by professionals. Whether branching out in writing style or finally trying your hand at Mono-Red aggro, getting out of your safety zone is a sure-fire recipe for experience. It may not bring you the trophy or the paycheck today, but a life filled with experience is sure to make you strong, and those things are drawn to strength of character like a magnet. It isn't enough to learn on a theoretical level. If you don't have the courage to apply the wisdom, it is for naught.

At the same time, it does not serve us to be so hard-headed that we find ourselves attached to an idea that we can't see past it. Let go of your preconceived notions, even the things you think you need. Tell me what you need and I'll tell you how to get by without it. No one seems to get your idea? The fact that no one understands you or your idea doesn't make you an artist. In fact, every kid is an artist. The trick is figuring out how to stay an artist when you "grow up," (or in Magic terms, when you get serious about tournament play). Do what inspires you. Create that which you find beautiful. Do what you love."

--Patrick Chapin, http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/misc/19664_Innovations_The_Secret_to_Reviewing_M11.html

Today

Drank at summer league, but played one of my better games yet. Was very aggressive on the handle, put up some big flicks, got position on someone with a big hight advantage and got the D, and played cup for a zone point.

I had a Watermelon JOOSE tonight, but I still did sixty pushups. Win some, lose some.

Bullets

• We are going to win those jerseys.
• Today will be my third consecutive day of double pushups.
• I jumped really high in the hallway today.
• My ankles aren't sore.
• 197 on the dot.

How was your day?

Cupcake Wars

Is apparently a series.

I ran almost savage today (minus three points) for the two-hour games because Sonny and Feldman didn't show up, so I was the only real handler. I played pretty well aside from a 4-point stretch in the first game where I got frustrated because I missed a few throws and cuts weren't coming, so I would put up throws I don't have (like hucks when people are trying to stop them) and

I put up a lot of big forehands with and against the wind and my pulls were around sixty yards with some good hangtime. I missed a layout D opportunity but it would have been literally the sickest ever so I don't mind that one. I horribly misread a disc that was up in the air for game point in the first game and we lost. We won our second game by two and lost our first by two.

I've played the past two days without ankle braces and boy is it nice. My ankles are a bit sore, but I am definitely faster and more agile without the braces. Only my left one is sore and that is the one I cut off of, so as long as it doesn't stay sore the next day (which it hasn't so far) I'm gonna keep it off. Plus I get to wear my new pair of Speed TD's and boy are those hot.

Pushups and excruciator were really difficult today and I ate quite a bit more than I usually do, but I played way more than I usually do so I think I get a pass. I've got a lot of work to do at the other house the rest of the week so hopefully between that and my soda boycott I'll be able to drop some pounds.

I really have no concluding thoughts. Weighday tomorrow, though.

P.S. Today is my 2nd day of double pushups.

I stopped listening to music

I was crutching pretty hard on this blag for a while so I had to take a few days off. Sorry.

I played a good amount in the 1st half today, probably 4 or 5 points out of 13, which is a lot for me, especially in competitive. I started out strong, getting a few crucial dumps off. I got open for a awesome one late in a stall count, then threw a pretty break almost completely horizontal that set up an easy toss for a point. I played pretty average in the 1st half otherwise, and during the 2nd I ghost-handed one and got completely burned on another and didn't really play again. On the other hand, my one pull was actually a good one and got pretty close to their endline with some good hangtime. Definitely one of my best ones EVAR.

We took half 8-5, got lazy and let them back in it, but pulled away after 11's to win 15-13, which puts us in 2nd place. The team is really meshing -- Zac is getting healthy and Eamonn is just turning into a complete animal. He was always on their best cutter today and played good defense and just got up for a bunch. I mean, he wasn't wearing sleeves today, but that can't be all of it. I ended up coaching Brian a bunch and he is turning into a monster. He turned a lot of heads on the last play of the game. He is just a physical specimen.

It seems like my schedule is to do work during the week and then not do work during the weekend, which is ever so close to just doing work all the time. I am not smoking nearly as much as I was even a week ago, but I can't seem to make sure I do pushups when I am on the road or when I drink. I didn't manage to stay sober for more then two days, but two days is better than nothing. I've gotten myself to where I want to be substance-wise during the semester so I want to see if I can trim down a bit because I know wherever I am now with partying I will be worse when school starts.

I didn't post my weight last week because I was embarrassed that I went back up to 201.4, but fuck that. I definitely lost weight and it was just an off day. I guess we will see on Wednesday.

My eating was getting a little iffy but my mom just bought chicken so we're back in action. I am going to ask her to teach me how to prep it so I can just make giant batches and eat BBQ chicken whenever I want, plus I'll know for next year too.

My plan at night is to drink gatorade until I am full.

I did sixty pushups today. I normally do fifty. I plan on continuing the trend.

Excruciator, bed.

If I wasn't then why would I say I am?

Moved furniture instead of league yesterday. I am sore.

I either can jump higher or figured it out more and now I can palm the ceiling on every first jump, but can't quite get it on the second jump.

I bought Men's vitamins. We'll see if there is any difference between them and the women's or old vitamins I've been taking.

Flexing in the mirror is still so much fun.

I almost drank some soda at Travers' house a few hours ago but decided to sort thousands of commons instead. You can thank me later.

US vs Ghana tomorrow at Sonny's. Thinking of buying a Four LOKO to wake me up before my mom drives me over. The perks of being old.

All I ask of you is to drink water. Every little bit counts.

Like it's your first day like back when you was an intern

Social went alright today. Dinosaured in some sketchy corner with some high schoolers and was sober by the 2nd half of the 1st game. I played a bunch of points because we did a hat tournament by ages so I was one of four people on my team with throws. I threw a few either bad or ill-advised hucks but played pretty good defense aside from biting too hard on a breakside cut and getting burned on the forceside for a point. I also played about 8 points while wearing a diaper (our team name was Rugrats)

I moved some boxes and furniture today but nothing substantial. I ended up walking the dogs around midnight and I realized a bit too late that there is a lot more wildlife out at that time of night, which made walking Boris that much more annoying.

Already knocked out my excruciator and pushups, so I might actually fall asleep before 4am for once.

Kind of light on the Ultimate in this post, but there is not much to say about a team full of bad hands, bad hucks, and diapers.

Weighday tomorrow.

So I pick up myself off the ground and fuckin' swam 'fore I drown.

Ended up winning 15-13 today. Was tied until we took half 8-6, and then they went on a 4 point run to make it 8-10 in their favor. We traded until thirteens, when we ended it 15-13.

Apinn had a sick layout to collect some garbage for a point, and then proceeded to sub-out just to talk to me about it. That is someone showing some passion for Ultimate.

Zac layed out (or fell I had no perspective) for a disc and some kid's foot took all of the damage. Quite scary.

Ecto introduced the sweetest cheer at half; if you want more info I don't feel like explaining it so try stalking Sonny's blag or facebook for it.

I only played like 4 points this game, but got to handle for all of them. It's a real confidence booster when everytime I'm on the field I'm picked as one of the two handles. I played alright, being very aggressive for one of the points and trying to be every-other touch on the disc. Another I played more passive and alternated primary with the Zac, and the last I played as the off handle with Darrin and let him be aggressive. I felt lost as the off-handle, as I didn't really know what to do until the other handler got it and I moved in to be the reset. Zac said I can "patch up the stack" but I don't really understand what he means and never got a chance to ask him to clarify it. I really liked being aggressive, as I have a really good first step and change of direction so I can get open much easier when attacking.

I straight turfed a forehand on one of my possessions and did nothing spectacular on the rest. My man got open and got the disc a bunch, but I made sure to not get broken and to be quick on the mark when they got it. All in all, not too bad for coming off ten-thousand minor injuries.

I am taking Apinn's friend Brian under my frisbee wing because he can run really fast and jump really high and quite frankly those are good people to know. Plus if he ends up really good I can say I had a part of that.

Got back into the groove today -- ate normal things and walked both dogs on big laps. Didn't smoke for the first night since sectionals. Didn't drink any soda at Travers.

The past two weeks have been kind of crazy between boozing most nights a week, smoking at least once a day, eating whatever I feel like, not walking my dogs everyday, and not doing my nightly pushups/excruciator. I think all of these drugs are taking more of a toll on me than I would like to admit -- it's not just how it affects my lungs or my weight. I do not think it is a coincidence that I started getting injured when Four Loko entered my life again, nor do I think I suddenly felt less motivated to crank out an excruciator before bed.

I'm taking a break from substances for a bit, one because I just really fucking want to lose weight, and two because when I go back it'll be way more fun. I think I need a drastic change in lifestyle or else I won't be able to keep up any routine. I have proven to myself that this whole moderation thing, in any area of my life, is not something I can pull off right now.

I thought a lot about the beginning of next year and I am just excited to finally execute a gameplan. I think it will be a very rewarding feeling to set something in motion and watch it work.

I missed a spot shaving and I really don't want to go back and fix it, but I know it's going to annoy me. I think I will just shave again tomorrow.

I need to get back to using more semicolons.

I can't forget to write my midterm tomorrow night for Kate McCoy round 2.

I just plan on being all business.

Except tomorrow because I am going to bake the shit out of my car before the BATTLE OF THE GENERATIONS.

P.S. Does anyone else blag anymore or is that last year's thing?

P.P.S. I turned twenty-one and despite my best efforts lived. I bet some people lost a lot of money on that one.

"Basically, it all comes down to this. In order to win you must be willing to accept the challenge and shoulder the pressure associated with the task. It is foolish to think that ignoring the climb in front of you can get you up the mountain. It is fine to break down the task into sections and approach each one separate from the last, even beneficial, but to never confront the threat ahead can only subside one’s fear for so long. You may be able to get by in any given tournament by just “winning the round you are in” but eventually you are going to cave. We are human and to ask us to ignore the mountain and stare only at the rocks at our feet is very difficult. If you never take time to confront the mountain,when you finally do, the challenge may be daunting, and you are bound to crack."

-Conley Woods, http://strategy.channelfireball.com/featured-articles/breaking-through-mental-stability/

I'm way too up to back down

2-0 in Social on Tuesday. Played a pretty good first game -- cannot remember too many details but I don't recall an abundance of turns and threw a sick forehand huck to some girl. I played most of my points in bunches and the game was pretty uninteresting. We established an early lead (6-1 at half, ish) and coasted to an 11-6 (ish) victory.

2nd game was pretty mixed for me. I took some harder assignments on defense and tried to pull the layout trigger whenever I could. I had two lay-out D attempts and another attempting to clean up some garbage on a huck. I didn't get one but I saw my man get looked off significantly more after I showed the willingness to leave my feet. I took a bit too much instant-jack-formula and threw to a lot of out-cuts that were mostly incomplete, but I did throw a nice 50 (ish) yard backhand huck to Sonny.

I was definitely going to play tomorrow, but I sprained to strained or pinched a nerve or something with my left shoulder (hurts whenever I rotate my wrist and whenever I pull it back), plus I'm dinged up everywhere else (rolled left ankle, cleated left shin, left wrist) so I am taking league off tomorrow unfortunately. I plan to go in a show of support, but we'll see what happens.

I must be laying out wrong because the left side of my body is really beat up and the right side of me is in pretty good shape. Perhaps I am just getting a poor luck of the draw and just getting layouts to that side but I think that is unlikely. I might just be too big to be hitting the ground this much but if that's all it is I'll just take a day off every two weeks to get over it.

Starting Monday I'm not drinking soda anymore because I had a mediocre exercise week and I didn't lose any weight, so if I'm not going to do work I shouldn't be allowed any exceptions.

My backhand is really close to leveling up. I can almost get that magic 45 yarder off with a mark so we'll see what goes down in the coming weeks.

Excruciator, bed.

200.6

Quit worrying about what they do and do fuckin shady

I'm not going to take time off for my wrist so I have decided to pretend that it is not injured. I got to sixty pushups tonight after that little break.

Weekends are going to be (and have been) the toughest.

Played like someone who had a Four Loko the night before at league today. Went up and got a D, got scared of Squeege and didn't make a play for another, should have laid out to get another D, and should have laid out to get a mediocre pass to me. I still refuse to attack the field laterally when I have the disc. I ended up turfing one that I should have swung to a wide open handler who I looked off.

But I did throw a really far bad backhand to some fast kid. Before I point I told him to go be fast, I got trapped on the line and saw him clear deep and just put it up. We should do that more. I cleared out well and handled a lot again.

We won 15-13 in a hard fought game. They looked to beat us on paper and we were forced to throw out a bunch of shady lines but we gritted it out. This team has me really excited as everyone on the team is touching the disc a lot, getting to play a lot of points, and contributing.

I just need to make sure I stay on this grind.

P.S. My quads are toast and I don't know why.

Relapse

I've been a bitch the past few days and I'm drinking diet pepsi as we speak.

I hate to be so results oriented, but

200.6

So close.

Starting over tonight -- dog walking and double excruciator to make up for my lack of pushups.

Desperately trying to stimulate what it was that was alright 3 quarters of an hour ago

Had a good time at competitive on Monday. Didn't do much, got a garbage d, layed out for one I dropped (but caught in the end), and threw a shady pass or two. I got a bunch of time in at handler and didn't get open much, but played passable defense.

Went 1-1 at social today, just didn't get amped up enough to take the first one back and lost very suddenly. I misread a huck and dropped it again but this time I kept running so I grossly overshot it. Baby steps. I pulled again and it went OB like 45 yards down. For some reason I just cannot pull a backhand. Had a few throwing turns but what else is new. Played much better game two and layed out for a few.

I realized that whenever I think about my throw I mess it up. When I just think about the spot I want to hit and don't think about the throw itself I am much more accurate. I also need to remember to not get lazy -- keep my grip tight and powerful and to use my body on all my throws.

Walked the dogs two miles, ran one today. I am very sore. I am not sure if I am running tomorrow because I might have made a wager on a shuttle-run-race against Paul Travers. Terms of the agreement are still in negotiation but I'm pretty sure it will go down. Preliminary terms are that if he wins I will drive him and 3 guests to Denny's and will pay for my own meal to eat there, but when if I win I get the power to command him to stop talking for 5 consecutive seconds, as many times as I want, for a year. Pretty solid EV on that one.

The only other advice I have is to not drink Four Loko. Just don't.

P.S. I apparently messed up my left wrist so I cannot do pushups tonight. Just an excruciator I guess.

P.P.S. I had the sickest cube draft today. Plenty of fake Court Hussars, Dragons, and removal. At one point I had Gideon, Good Jace, and Bad Ajani in play. 4-1 in games against Travers and Katt. Easily the best deck I have drafted in a 4-man.

Lay out blueprint plans on you

Woke up at 4pm today. Not too bad. Went and spent two hours picking up a grill and getting food to grill. I tried grilling some peppers and, while they were better than normal peppers, I was not impressed.

I ended up only walking one big and one small lap. Natasha did not enjoy her run so she only ran one and I ran two. I plan on figuring out how far I actually run at some point, but rest assured there are plenty of annoying hills.

Did push ups when I got back. Just did two more sets to bring it to 150 for today, and I'm about to do my 2nd excruciator.

Gotta do work ahead of time for when I am irresponsible this weekend.

I definitely just drank too much water and boy does my tummy hurt.

I'm just, tryin to stay above water, y'know

Lost to Yellow 15-12, the game was back and forth until they pulled away at 11's ish. Neither team played particularly well. Our points came on hucks, a few big gainers, or an early D. Theirs came from lateral movement of the disc and a few hucks. I don't think they got too many D's that they converted (well, they obviously got at least 3).

I played alright -- still not used to cutting. I botched a deep cut, but someone pointed out that when the disc goes up I slow down and read it instead of running full speed and its causing me to undershoot it.

I looked someone off and then threw a dump pass and cleared out a bunch. I played pretty bad defense and conceded position on a disc in the air. Not the worst.

Apinn got handblocked on a huck I told him to put up and then handblocked someone else later. And he repped the GUNX gear.

The team looks pretty sweet -- we have a bunch of tall people and a bunch of people that can huck. Most people on the team can throw and catch which is super nice. I'm going to have to step up as a cutter because we just don't have the firepower from the middle of the stack like we did last year. The team doesn't feel unfair like last year's, but we are a little beat up at the moment so we'll see how we look come midseason. Definitely seems like more fun this year though, so it's worth the trade.

Haven't done much dog walking the past two days (2 small laps, 1 big lap) so tomorrow is going to be two big laps and two big running laps. Similarly, I didn't do an excruciator last night so I'm doing double pushups and excruciators tonight.

I can't quite get my eating under wraps so I am just going to have to run more. At least I haven't been drinking.

I need to throw more -- both my hucks just aren't there right now. Perhaps I'll start tackling the backyard again.

I relapsed a bit with diet pepsi tonight, but it was only like half a liter and I have been Mr. Water lately so I think I'll be safe.

That's all.

P.S. Flex in the mirror it is so much fun.

Name keep poppin' up, Face keep poppin' up

Won our first social league game by something close to 13-3. The powerful handling trio of myself, Sonny, and Jeff Feldman will prove troublesome for other teams in the coming weeks. I played pretty average, but I sat out most of the second half because I felt like it. My throws were a bit off, but I have never been a strong wind-thrower so perhaps they were what they are. I did notice that I wasn't tired as easily, and I was the first one down on most pulls. I couldn't tell how well I was cutting because I had either really old people or really fat people covering me. I threw two pulls -- one I turfed about twenty yards out, the other went out of bound about ten yards outside the endzone.

I went to home depot today and moved a bunch of tile and paint.

Did my homework. Poorly.

Took Boris on the medium lap and he was pretty tired. I think at least one more day of that before going to the big lap again.

Tomorrow starts the "running when there is no league". Natasha will enjoy that.

I am getting bored of the constant one-liners but really, what else do you look for in a blag post.

I only got to 48 pushups tonight. Perhaps I am getting sore.

Early bedtime tonight. This 1pm wake up call is killing me.

If the record's two mill I'm just trying move three

Did a bunch of yardwork and moving today, but nothing crazy.

Took Boris on the big loop but boy was he tired. Gonna take him on the medium one tomorrow.

Hopefully I can get some new headphones tomorrow so I can start running.

Social league starts tomorrow.

Apparently there is a lot to do tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Oversized clothes and chains we off that

Played baseball today. I found out that I am really bad at baseball.

Almost got sushi but then my sushi buddy disappeared so I had some leftover chicken parm. Worse things have happened.

Boris walked the big loop today but he was really tired. Hopefully tomorrow is better.

I really didn't want to do pushups or excruciator tonight but if I didn't do them I'd have to blag about how I didn't do them and I'm off that.

My netbook now has linux but I can't get my wireless card to work.

There is almost no ultimate talk in this post. Bet you can't wait for summer league to start.

Everytime I walk down the hallway I jump 3 times on the way and 3 times on the way back. Every little bit counts.

Waking up at the crack of 1pm tomorrow to actually get some work done. /frown

I'm a couple bands down, and I'm tryin' to get back.

Went to the high school game today. I played 4ish points, didn't do much. Guilderland ended up losing by like 4 but it was 11-10 at one point.

Hung around with some biddies after. Drove some biddies home.

Up to fifty pushups and excruciator in one set. Baby steps.

Walking a lot is pretty sweet. It is like free exercise.

I need to get back to drinking water.

Like I never rode in a limo, like I just dropped flows to a demo

26. If I get beat on a cut I often give up instead of working to get back in position.

27. I have poor field sense and have a tough time knowing where the sideline or endzone is.

I didn't do an excruciator the past three nights but I did one tonight in one set so it can't be that bad.

My highschool is playing in a round robin tomorrow and I'm going. I suspect a bunch of annoying flunkies are going to show up and try to coach, but if they don't I'm going to.

I've been throwing a lot of backhands and scoobers because carrying around my elbow brace is annoying. They are a lot of fun. My scoober is getting deadly.

Boris is walking better everyday.

I have homework for my summer class due tomorrow.

I have been driving my mom's car instead of mine and boy is it nice.

How has your summer been going?

Smokin' weed and bamboo, sippin' on private stock

Summer is nice.

Played pickup on Tuesday. I would like to use being sick as an excuse for me moving slower than me circa 2008, but that definitely doesn't cover the drop or three misreads I had so what's the point.

It is a lot harder to play defense against people who can throw, since my normal strategy of fronting (get it?) doesn't work when anyone with the disc has no reservations about putting up a 50-yarder. Such is life.

Not sure what I am doing for my birthday yet. Sonny seemed like he wanted to have me throwing up on something or someone, so that is always an option. Then again, there's no place to puke like your own toilet.

I woke up at 4:20 on the dot today. I am clearly a master.

I tried to drink beer the other night but boy it was gross. Coastal Wheat BLOWS.

" I remember my first few weeks playing Ultimate in college when, because of my soccer background, standing in a tight stack in the middle of the field felt so unnatural. I wanted to spread out like in soccer. As a rookie who couldn't throw further than 15 feet, I was pegged as a cutter and continued to struggle with the stack concept until one practice where we were randomly assigned different roles. I got to be a handler, and though I still couldn't throw, I could see where I wanted to throw. That's when the stack concept started to make more sense to me. All it took was seeing the field from a different perspective."

- Ryan Morgan, The Huddle

I have always felt this way; I have no idea why I never voiced it.

That's all.

P.S. 204

Get your swag back daddy where your focus at?

Summer league draft is over and Ecto Cool Whip is poised for the repeat.

Eating habits are back to restricted after that nice two-week vacation. Walking the dogs twice a day and running on non-league days. Pushups/excruiciator before bed.

You know the drill.

But the second mother was with the seventh son, And they were both out on Highway 61

25. I am mentally weak. I feign strength to cover up my weakness.

I am done being 2nd best; I do not want to play second fiddle.

Always be content. Never be satisfied.

See you next year.

Free

T-Shirts.

I played lefty at Elders today

I cut.

An appetitite for destruction but I scrape the plate

"'I made that mistake, so I lost...'

Refraining from thoughts like this is overwhelmingly beneficial: each time you stop this train of thought you get closer to victory. Anyone can make play mistakes, and instead of becoming upset when the occur, how about using a method of recovering your concentration and trying to get back on track"

-Tomoharu Saito

Dave Williams, former (kinda current) Magic player, is a professional Poker player (He got 2nd in 2004 to Greg Raymer of weird-glasses fame) and just won a large tournament in Vegas in which he got $1.5 million. The following quote is from a Magic player who was writing about the will to win.

"At his victory party at XS nightclub (which involved the most awesome entrance I have ever been a part of, by the way, including Dave flanked by girls with sparklers and the DJ playing 'The Champ is here!' as he walked in) ...... His response was 'After all these years, I don't think how awesome it is that I got second and won 3.5 million dollars. All I can think about is that I didn't win'"

-Brian Kibler

I don’t be in the project hallway talking about how I be in the project all day

Biked for 40 minutes with Tom today and we introduced Wind Sprints to it. Definitely worth it.

I am only doing push ups tonight. Better than nothing.

I want to do Air Alert III starting next week but I don't know how much of that is frontin'.

Scranton this weekend almost makes me want to slow up so I can play like a baller this weekend. I have decided to go hard and play hard anyway.

I can't quite get my frisbee mentality to cross over to school, but I'm damn close.

I guess I don't use transitions when I'm stoned.

What you think I rap for? To push a fuckin' Rav 4?

Benjamin and myself are captains.

Gonna run the rest of this year pretty easy. No need to tightin' it up with no upcoming tournaments.

I'm not doing pushups and excruciator tonight; I am simply too drunk. Sorry.

Gym or running tomorrow, though. We'll see what and when.

Good enough is not good enough.

I can only hope.

Did a track workout today and some baby lifting.

Pushups, excruciator, bed.

P.S. 210

Now I'm in the limelight cause I rhyme tight

New York Combine was today and it was pretty uneventful. I played pretty poorly, simply misthrowing at least 3 and putting up some shady ones, in addition to not swinging. On the plus side I didn't drop one, was in correct position most of the time, and moved the disc upfield well. If there is one thing I learned today it is the importance of attacking the field laterally as well as vertically.

Learned more about Ho-Stack, some vert-stack offense, and warm-ups. It was also nice to see how they ran tryouts, as well as how they ran practices.

Intermurals tomorrow. Tom can't be there so I will just have to play.

Track workout 1 hour before whenever my game is. Be there.

Pushups, excruciator, bed.

P.S. I haven't showered yet.

A Fearless Magical Inventory

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/misc/15107_Feature_Article_Creating_a_Fearless_Magical_Inventory.html

"How do you make a Fearless Magical Inventory? Simple: make a list of the things you secretly know you are doing wrong in Magic. Be honest with yourself. Stop lying to yourself and face reality. Take your ego out of it and admit you don't do everything perfect, yet.

Make a conscious decision to stop pretending you are better than you really are. You are exactly as good as you are. No amount of fooling yourself will trick you into winning more. Make a list of every weakness in your game, no matter how much you may at times pretend its not. Post this list online. Show your friends. Put it up on your facebook. Put it somewhere public so that you can't lie to yourself any longer"

-- Patrick Chapin, Next Level Magic

1. I don't actually push myself all the way at practice.
2. I use my lack of stamina to play lazy defense, claiming "I'm resting" or something of that nature.
3. I have a tough time balancing between putting every throw deep and every throw under.
4. I rarely, if ever, pull the layout trigger on D.
5. I give up too early on long throws, either to me or my man.
6. I can't read the disc very well, especially over my shoulder.
7. I can't bid going into the disc.
8. I always back my man on defense so I can say to myself "Well, I didn't get scored on" even if my man getting open directly led to a score.
9. I blame the mark getting broken for the reason why my man got open on the break side instead of just playing tighter on them.
10. I couldn't break someone with a backhand to save my life
11. I use the excuse "I'm not a captain" for a lot of things.
12. I blame my receiver for dropping discs that are difficult to catch rather than assigning the blame to myself
13. I have a tough time seeing what is going right or wrong on the field when I am doing anything but looking to see what is right or wrong.
14. I think that just "putting in work" is good enough.
15. I am not good enough at getting open for dumps, which often makes our offense stagnant.
16. I don't know how to function as a cutter.
17. I am not aggressive enough against a mark, so I don't move them around enough or get enough break opportunities.
18. I need to be more vocal in every aspect.
19. I use confusing hand signals when I handle, so people are unsure of whether or not to clear out or adjust their cut.
20. I will drop almost a pass a game for no particular reason
21. My backhand isn't SO bad that it is unusable.
22. I make excuses where I just admit I am wrong so it is extremely difficult to argue with me
23. I am slow and can't jump.
24. I often close my eyes when I bid for a disc and don't catch it, and then blame it on thethrower for giving me a janky pass.

That's all I can think of.

Word

Did that track workout that I did with David and Tom forever ago. It was fun.

Ate a lot of beans. And an Olde.

Win some lose some.

Think I'm just biking tomorrow, but then Elders. We shall see.

213.

If I can't live by my word then I'd much rather die

Went to the gym and biked for like 30-40 minutes. Not too much, but it's something. I figure if I do something every day for the rest of school I won't break the habit when I get back home. I wanted to go to Elders today, but Hasbrouk was just so enticing. Friday, I promise.

Hopefully I'll get someone to do a track workout with me tomorrow; I don't think I'm motivated enough to solo it.

Definitely didn't write my paper tonight. Hopefully will knock it out tomorrow morning. Such is life.

Excruciator, Pushups, bed.

P.S. Drink water it's good for you I promise.

if you a gangsta this is how you prove it to me.

Was a nice 3-day vacation. Back to work.

Pushups, excruciator, bed.

(Pre)/(Post)/Sectionals

Sectionals. There will be a fair amount of not frisbee speak here. You are warned. All numbers are subject to being completely wrong, and possibly just made-up.

Nothing really important happened in the week between Marist and Sectionals. I ate plenty of beans, watched a practice that Brian and Kerry showed up to, and was chosen to call subs.

The night before Sectionals was somewhat eventful, as Thomas and myself decided to have a slumber party in order to make sure we got our requisite 8-hours. After watching Tom level up his characters in FF13, we popped 4 nyquil jel-cap-things each and I passed out roughly 30 minutes later.

There was a giant party across the hall which woke me up a few times and I had a trippy dream involving playing a virtual-reality esque video game that actually atrophied your body. Aside from that, not a bad sleep.

I woke up and played mommy and made Bacon, Egg, and Cheese for me, Mitch, and Tom. That's about it.

I got driven to behind-Bouton by Mitch, and switched into Stiggles' car. Ride was uneventful, stopped as a Petroleum Establishment and picked up some 5-hours. After crossing a bridge that we heard was out, we got there.

Game 1 was against Princeton. I think this was the best game we have ever played. We started out getting a Break and going up 1-0, and stayed with them I believe all the way to 3-3, with half I believe at 8-4. This game was another case of "we don't have an offense" as our defense regularly gave us at least 1 turn per point and we could not convert. As a result, we lost 15-8.

Then we put the orange jerseys on.

Game 2 was against the Army. We went up 2-0 and I personally got a bit complacent and started to pull our starters earlier than I would normally. Two points and tied later I put the heroes back in but we just could not pull away, and even went down one or two points late in the second half. Despite their coach not knowing the rules and losing his voice about ten minutes in, it was 14-14 at hard cap. I forget how we win, but we win. We lose RA David in the process however, as his little feetsies just couldn't take it.

Our third game was against our Arch-Rivals, Bard. Again, I think we just did not take them seriously. We ended up losing 15-7 and just play poorly in every sense of the word. Our offense was a bit worse than our defense, and nothing really worked.

We got back to school, went to a lackluster hasbrouck, and then got really drunk. I don't really remember after that. I know Berg showed up to convince me to play on Sunday, to which I agreed, and then proceeded to be a bitch and not play on Sunday. I did party again though.

I found it difficult to play and call subs, as I have a tough time deciding when I should put myself in while having a ton of people to get in. I also had to spend a lot more time seeing if people were tired rather than watching the game and making adjustments. Because I was watching people run and not how they play, I had a tough time figuring out who played well and therefore poorly assigned playing time in many positions, as well as having a difficult time process how the weekend went.

We often play to our competition, as our best games come against teams that are better than us (Princeton, Marist) and when we expect less of our opponent we put it on cruise-control. This can be anything from just not pushing hard enough or playing mentally lazy.

Our mental game needs some serious work, and some talking with Stiggles last night has me questioning my policy of "Play your best player regardless of practice attendance". Our team has gotten to the point where we have enough talent that we can afford to not play people that are marginal upgrades in order to send a message about practice. One thing keeping us back is our mental fortitude, and while I am not saying that I will play people according to the number of practices they attend, I will certainly make it a larger factor for playtime if I continue to call subs.

We used to not be able to get up for our first game, but now that we can, we don't have the legs to carry us through the day. I hope to see conditioning be a major part of the program next year.

I had planned to get back into the swing on things on Sunday, but between being drunk and the holidays it'll have to wait until tomorrow to start the gym again. I'm excited for next year, as this is by far the best version of Gunx yet and we have a lot of room to grow.

I am going to try to play the moderation game and still be in college while trying to improve my game rather than trying to go all out for a year.

Props --

Hasbrouk after a tournament

Only raining a little

3 Photographers

Cheap discs

Mama Campbell bringing the eats

Slops --

God those fields were the worst

Losing to Bard

Bad hasbrouk after

This post is too long

Round 2

Next season starts today.

Dedication

I woke up 30 minutes early to make sure I would be able to fall asleep tonight.

Think about it.

PS --

Sonny:

you are good, believe in yourself

listen to the spacejam soundtrack

Well you was doin' fifty-five in a fifty-four

The tournament started off with a clobbering of Bard and Purchase. Nothing new.

We were down a lot to Marist in the first half, and while we scored more than them in the second half, we lost 15-11. I don't take scoring more in the second half as anything more than a way to make oneself feel better about a loss.

We then lost to Ramapo 15-11. This is the point in the day where our legs started to get the best of us, as on paper we look to win at least by the margin they beat us.

We then played Marist again in the semis in an extremely close game in which we never lead but finally tied it up at 12-12 only to lose on universe.

We beat purchase with like 8 people to take third.

A positive to take away from this tournament is that we beat shitty teams by a ton and took Marist to universe when no one was on their 'A' game. I feel that we can definitely take a slot this weekend if everyone steps up and plays like they can. It is clear that we are improving far faster than any team we have faced multiple times and it is about time to level up as a team.

A negative to take away from this tournament is that we have no legs. Everyone on the team, by the third game, started to let our lack of stamina get to us. Between drops, running slower, not bidding, unnecessary hucks, we all made some plays that if we were fresh wouldn't have happened. This means a few things: 1) we need to be mentally tougher and not let our fatigue affect our mental play. 2) we need to push harder to get through fatigue; tired is often a state of mind. 3) we need to be in better shape. We cannot get tired after two games and expect to go places.

That's all. Not much to say about this besides we're slow and need to catch.

Props --

Whoever put Jay-Z on at the tourny

Bruce Campbell (of Army of Darkness fame) bringing us eats during the 2nd game vs. Marist

A tournament where we can get hasbrouk after

Hasbrouk after the tournament

Slops --

$175 bid for 16 bagels, a jar of peanut butter, and a bunch of bananananasNOTAGAINFUCK

RA David sized fields

State Troopers

This might offend my political connects

"When people ask me advice on how to handle a situation or just what to do, they are often surprised when they hear my response: 'What are you trying to accomplish?' There is a subtle wisdom in slowing for a moment and reflecting on what exactly you are doing"

-Patrick Chapin, Next Level Magic

Probably close to 3/4 of the D-Line's points today were off of hucks to people that either myself or MC were covering. Most if not all of them were thrown by Ben.

I think we need to step back and analyze why we go to practice. What are we trying to accomplish? If we are just trying to beat the O-line, great, we're on track. But I don't think that is what the D-line goes to practice for; that's not what gets them out of bed each day.

We go to practice for two reasons -- to make us individually better and to make the team better. At practice we have to be thinking "What am I trying to accomplish?". How much is the team really going to improve if the only way we score is by taking advantage of multiple complete mismatches that will not occur in a real game.

I am not saying that one cannot take advantage of their mismatches; that is simply ridiculous to expect someone to play ultimate to win and not do everything they can to win. What I am saying is that they can take advantage of those mismatches in ways that will improve the team. Make them cut in. Make someone else throw the huck. Perhaps we should have O-Line run zone against the defense to make them practice it.

I think we all know 2x4 can outrun me -- make him beat me on an in-cut. We don't need to watch the same play over and over again to know that certain members of the team don't have the stamina to run savage for an hour and some do.

Hell, win in a different way. We won't face teams that will let us throw multiple 50-yard backhands to wide open cutters. That cannot be the source of 3/4 of our points. We are not improving by conducting practice this way. There will be times when someone puts a good mark on our huckers and we won't have the deep shot; there will be times when a team has a ridiculous deep and we won't have the deep shot.

There is value in learning how to take advantage of mismatches. I do not think there is value in repeatedly abusing the same mismatch because that simply will not happen in a real game. If it does, I think we have done it enough to know how to execute. In practice we do not have the opportunity to adjust to take away a mismatch as we are limited by how many practice bodies we have.

This might seem like an O-Line player ranting because he keeps on losing at practice. Believe me, if O-Line kept on losing and the team kept getting better I wouldn't say a word.

But we're not.

Put this shit in motion ain't no rewindin me back

Pickup happened today, but I didn't go. I haven't liked pickup since I thought the forehand was a trick throw.

Today I went to class and cleaned my apartment -- pretty productive day.

The plan was for RA David, Thomas, Benjamin, and myself to do some track workouts whenever David and Tom got out of whatever obligations they like to obligate themselves to. RA David came over, watched me clean for a bit, and we headed to the turf where we found out that Tom locked himself out of his room.

The workout ended up being a 1/2 mile warmup with dynamic warmup after. Then you do five shuttles (5-10-5), 20-yard sprints, 40-yard sprints, 100-yard sprints, and then back down, as well as 1/4 mile laps inbetween. In the end it looks like this:

1/2 Mile

Shuttles (5)

1/4 mile
20-yard sprints (5)

1/4 mile

40-yard sprints (5)

1/4 mile

100-yard sprints (5)

1/4 mile

40-yard sprints (5)

1/4 mile

20-yard sprints (5)

1/4 mile

Shuttles (5)

1/4 mile.

It ends up being roughly 2.25 of distance running and 1 mile of sprinting. Pretty nice. We are thinking of adding pushups and situps in there someplace.

After the 100-yarders Tom showed up informing us that Ben was asleep in his room along with Tom's wallet. Such is life.

Has after was pretty hassy, no beans though. I ended up taking down some Grilled Chicken sandwiches and then some french fries.

Pushups, excruciator, bed.

I know you waitin in the wing but I'm doin my thing

Didn't do much today. Biked for an hour-ish. Threw a bit at Tristan's. My elbow hurt from throwing some very big blades.

And I ate some stupid beans.

The word is that mad heads will be running around tomorrow. Hopefully they will so I can join them. Otherwise it'll be more bicycle.

Air conditioning is so nice.

In fact I'm just previewing it

Pretty sweet practice today. Everyone ran hard and played pretty well. I felt like I was running faster and for longer than I have all year. Apparently not assaulting my lungs everyday is paying off. My throws were alright but basically I only threw twenty-yard ins and some blades. E.Herbst played like a man's man, getting open at will. That will be nice.

Ate some beans at dinner. Ugh.

Went to the gym after and pretty much just biked, but I did a few sets of bench, curls, forearms, and calves.

Unfortunately Has didn't have more beans when Benjamin got there, so I had to eat a bannanananan fuck that word.

Running tomorrow. Be there.

Fresh out the fryin pan, into the fire

This is proving much more difficult than anticipated.

It is getting me much more amped up for disc than anticipated. I have never been more motivated to not be a little bitch.

I just want to be good at everything.

Intermurals was practically pickup. I am not sure if that is their intended purpose. I find it difficult to get motivated to turn a 14-5 win into 15-2 win. I threw a bunch of shitty hammers and a bunch of mediocre blades, mostly for points. Throwing to Tom isn't fair. I also ghost-handed a pancake catch on our defending end-zone. No one is safe from Sassper, the Ghost-handing Ghost.

Both the other teams in the league seem douchey and completely unfun. The Gunxx vs. Gunxy matchup will be fun, and is surprisingly even.

Excruciator, pushups, bed.

Allow me to reintroduce myself

http://dopacetic.blogspot.com/2008/12/why-breaking-up-with-your-girlfriend.html

Look, I'm on my grind cousin, ain't got time for fronting

Vertical stripes.

Pushups and Excruciator. Start it up.