Frank Sinatra Lives

Keep a diary of what you're hitting, what's frustrating you, and your goals.
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Frank_Sinatra
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Post by Frank_Sinatra » 03 Nov 2010 06:11

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I've only kicked twice since the last post. Between the weather & my recently very busy schedule its just not happening. One highlight: pixie ss clipper> whirl> drifter bsos. That's been a goal for over a year now, I've hit it both sides plenty of times, all the links are pretty easy, I've footed the drifter on the second side several times but its just one of those things that always eluded me. So that was very satisfying. I made a list of goals for links & strings about a year ago and about 2/3s of them are done.

Anyway, I was pretty circumspect in my last post about what's going on with my career, but now I'm more comfortable sharing some details. I went back to work for one of my old clients, they fired the firm I used to work for and their new firm needed my skills. And I could use the money. I didn't get the second contract, but that's fine, because it would have been really miserable work. But I really think freelance is the way to go. If I had enough clients to bill for 100-120 hours a month, that would be just about ideal. I'd have free time, I wouldn't be sitting in an office on nice days with nothing to do, just because I'm supposed to put in 40 hours, I'd be able to travel...

Its a nice dream but I need to get through grad school first. My heart just hasn't been in to reading and studying and all the busy work assignments lately. For one of my classes I'm doing a pro bono consulting project for a well known Chicago non-profit, so that's at least challenging and interesting. No text book, no homework, just project documentation (which can be kind of frustrating because its business-y writing, which is not my favorite). My other class is fucking worthless and I hate it and just don't care, which will probably mean not getting a grade up to my standards. And the only thing I'm getting out of the class is a grade. I'm certainly not picking up any valuable skills.

So my schedule is crazy lately. Which is fine, this is a good time to take a break from footbag. I bet that by the end of this month I'll be missing it enough to start kicking indoors again. Roll out the ol carpet. Maybe hilarious hijinx will ensue.

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Post by Zjeezy » 03 Nov 2010 07:02

When I read your blog title, all I can think about is this...


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGp6xC5MXic[/youtube]

Have fun trying to enjoy the rest of your day with this bullshit song stuck in your head.
zach jahner

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Post by CIC flurry » 03 Nov 2010 12:46

Maybe hilarious hijinx will ensue
I hope so

Frank_Sinatra
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Post by Frank_Sinatra » 30 Nov 2010 10:59

Zach, I didn't listen to the song. My blog title reminds me of that Biz Markee song.

Tom, so far, no hijinx.

I've kicked seven times this month. November 3, 7, 8, 9, 12, 15, and today. Not much to report. Was thinking of doing a BSOS 3, then realized I'd never get it filmed & turned in, but thought I'd practice the links anyway. My goal was terrage> swerve> terrage but I haven't hit it yet. Did hit the first link starting on flip.

Also hit pdx dlo a couple times, new for me. I think I struggled before because I didn't plant the miraging leg. Now when I plant it super fast & then push off for the dex I've got enough speed to complete the trick.

Its been almost two weeks between today's session & the session before it, so I was really rusty & out of shape just now. Gonna stick with it as much as my schedule allows & hopefully by NYJ I'll be alright.

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Post by Frank_Sinatra » 13 Dec 2010 08:39

This will be a recap of all my December sessions so far.

Dec 1 - 45 minutes - spent most of the session on infinities. 36 contacts of butter> infinity> osis> pdx mirage> rpt was not a record but was close, and I was pretty surprised to pull that out. Otherwise still rusty, footwork is sloppy, stamina is poor.

Dec 4 - kicked with Tom, Reid, Tommy, Grant, and Hania. Fun session with the crew, but I was still working off some rust.

Dec 5 - kicked with Tom & Josh Elmer. I think we kicked for almost two hours? Was able to start getting an idea of what concepts are back to normal & which still need work - stepping, whirls, and ducking were all poor today, while toe-to-toe was just ok. Had some better runs when sticking with my bread & butter. By the end of the session I felt close to being back to my usual level. Even had some... highlights?
:arrow: terrage (set from heel - never thought to do that before)
:arrow: tap bs
:arrow: terrage> ss grifter

Dec 8 - 35 minute solo session. My solo sessions have been shorter than I'm used to lately. I think its because they aren't fun. Anyway, just trying to keep the legs moving when I can. I did feel like this session I was back into "training mode" though, so that's a positive. Worked on osis, infinities, and ducking.

Dec 10 - 50 minutes solo. Things clicked a little bit more. Ducking, whirls, and BOPs were all better. And I hit gyro mirage BS - ugly, ugly gyro mirages, but I'll take em. Not sure if I hit that both sides before or just one side.

I'm not really sure what this week will be like for playing. My space gets cold when its this cold outside (right now its 12 degrees, with wind chills between -10 and -20). Work is always unpredictable, but with school I think I've got my homework almost done for the week. So we'll see. I'd love to kick once or twice between now & NYJ. Which is happening in a week. Oh lawdy lawdy.

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Post by Reid » 13 Dec 2010 10:36

I'm glad one of us is still playing regularly.
"...You have to get, really, practice, like eight hours every day. Then you get good level and then you can compete....There is no money, so players are like big family and that is what I -like" -Vasek-

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Post by PegLegHolly » 14 Dec 2010 04:53

your structure is awesome. i feel like ive seen the woman at the top of the page...
Holly Mathews
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Post by Frank_Sinatra » 28 Dec 2010 12:53

Thanks guys.

I kicked once before NYJ, on Dec. 13, didn't record any highlights but my note says "generally moving in the right direction." Guess I'll focus on the NYJ writeup for the rest of this post.

So, for me NYJ was very different this year. I think a lot of it has to do with how my schedule is right now. I've probably mentioned this before in the blog but I'm working and taking more than full time classes, so life is very hectic (except for this week, which I basically have off from everything). The timing for NYJ was actually pretty bad for me, I really need my weekends to get caught up on all my school work. But it worked out fine.

In the weeks leading up to NYJ my only involvement was lodging some people/making some suggestions to people about getting hotel rooms. Let's see, how should I put this... in 2009 there were a lot of problems with accomodations. This year I thought was much better in that area, despite the uncertainty about the third day of the event. Again, it worked out fine.

I'd like to do a long, very detailed narrative recap but I honestly don't remember enough. I'm also kind of struggling to find some highlights. Like I said, this was a very different event than most years for me. I didn't play that much, I didn't really care that I wasn't playing. In previous years, how well I played really mattered. Not so much this year. The fact is NYJ is in the middle of the offseason and I'll never be at my peak for it. Its become more important to enjoy spending time with all the friends that I don't get to see except for once or twice a year. And playing badly & enjoying myself generally don't go hand in hand.

The day before NYJ, the guys from Toledo - Donovon, Greg, and Sawyer - crashed at my place. We went up to Reile's & hung out with the crew, which was a good way to get things started.

On the first day, I played for a while at the event site, probably too much, and really wore myself out. But it was fun. I got to play with a bunch of cool people. Eating deep dish pizza basically shut me down for the rest of the night.

I barely went to the event site at all the second day, which was on purpose. For one thing I had to check out of one of the rooms that was in my name, and for another I walked around the whole event looking for other sports to try. Golf is hard. And apparently I've got a swing like Charles Barkley. Maybe its time to change my nickname here on modified... Archery was fun. I would do it again. Having archery and footbag for hobbies might just be too weird for me to handle.

After basically blowing off the event on the second day, I watched part of the Steelers game in the CIC room & ordered some Thai food with Tim, since neither of us partake in the beef sammiches. Then went to the sauna with Ken & Evan, which was great.

I did compete in request combo and the 2 square tournament. I got to the sixth round I think, which was ripwalk> pdx whirl or some toe-to-toe combo with legbeater & some other trick I've never done. I commented to Emily & Steve that I could do one of the four tricks in the round, and figured I'd at least hit the ripwalk and then maybe have a valiant attempt at the pdx whirl. Nope. Out on ripwalk for the second year running. Which is fine, I hadn't been working on stepping lately & it was pretty poor all through NYJ.

As far as 2 square goes, I'm pretty sure I had the toughest pool in the tournament, with Zeke and Tommy. Three Chicago guys in one pool? And I looked at some of the other pools and man... anyway. I did not advance out of my pool. With Zeke in the pool, I figured I would have to sweep everyone else to advance. Even though I put up a good defense against Zeke and capitalized on his mistakes, I also made a lot of mistakes. Four outs and two short kicks that landed in my own square - just way too many mistakes against someone as good as Zeke.

I started off well against Tommy but he really stepped up his game and I did not advance. He had one shot that I just could not defend. I was kind of mad at myself for about five minutes for sucking out on the last point, but oh well. Again, a few years ago it really mattered to me to at least make top 8 in 2 square, but I've barely been playing squares these past few years so I can't really take it too hard. I watched and judged several of the remaining games, which were all pretty good I thought.

Played some good games of warzone, and also some shady games of warzone. Sorry Ken. The warzone league should fine me for that hit. I think its really fun but its definitely not for everyone. And while the tackling aspect can be fun - e.g. picking someone up & bring them into your square to get a foul against them is hilarious - I think its the most problematic part of the game. Maybe a rule against holding on to the other player or something is needed. I felt like Reile, Tommy & I built some good chemistry & developed some good plays.

Other than warzone & the 2sq tournament, I didn't play any foursquare. This is fine. I don't like the really big foursquare games with super long lines.

Checked out the next day, straight back into the grind of another week of classes, which could have gone better but oh well.

After the event, I kicked with Tom, Tim, & Zach. I was really glad to do this because I barely kicked with Zach at all during the event. Maybe briefly on the first day? I had a great session. Probably the last session that felt this good was kicking with Tom at Merrimac when I hit pixie ss rake & pixie op rake bsos, or with Tommy downtown at Millennium when I hit swerve> dlo & a bunch of other stuff towards the end of the summer.

:arrow: terrage x4
:arrow: slice
:arrow: pixie muted clipper> double pickup
:arrow: pdx dlo
:arrow: smear> plo> smear> pixie ss clipper> ripwalk> whirl> dlo> symp mirage> some bops
:arrow: assorted other good strings

Shoutouts/highlights/random other things:

:arrow: the first documented case of "footbag fans" - five of them! And they all snickered at "gyro butterfly swirl"
:arrow: props to Toledo for showing up, especially Donovon for organizing that scene. Looking forward to hearing more about the Toledo jam.
:arrow: Grant Mooney is a funny guy
:arrow: Quench Man
:arrow: Waking up next to Ken :oops:
:arrow: "This guy bones like Frank Sinatra!"
:arrow: Steve Goldberg, for sponsoring the shred room and giving us all a place to chill
:arrow: Everybody who contributed $$ to the shred room
:arrow: Montreal, for road tripping out like champs. Always good seeing you guys
:arrow: kicking in a hack circle 8O
:arrow: Emily, for stooping to my level
:arrow: Zach Jahner, great to see you kicking again & not being injured
:arrow: The Pennsylvania/Ohio guys for getting another active scene together
:arrow: Tom Kotsakos, for running all the shred room stuff
:arrow: Scott Davidson, for running the event site stuff
:arrow: Tim Werner, good hanging out while you've been in town, maybe San Fran this summer? Maybe
:arrow: James Risden, we didn't really play but it was fun hanging out
:arrow: Antoine Dodson, just for being himself
:arrow: Zac Miley, for killing it in circle & advancing to finals
:arrow: Sauna with Ken & Evan
:arrow: All the other homies that I am forgetting at the moment
:arrow: Brian has gotten so good since, what, two years ago when he got 2nd in intermediates at NYJ? Crazy.
:arrow: Zeke, for a great Christmas present that I will most definitely get a lot of use out of

Anyway, if I didn't mention you by name, my bad. Good times had by all.

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Post by defender » 28 Dec 2010 22:48

Frank_Sinatra wrote: :arrow: Zeke, for a great Christmas present that I will most definitely get a lot of use out of
Bacon?
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Post by CIC flurry » 29 Dec 2010 15:49

Image

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Post by C-Fan » 05 Jan 2011 11:47

Challenge: terrage- swerve rpt.

If that's too hard, how about just: terrage-symp mirage-smear- rpt.

Frank_Sinatra
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Post by Frank_Sinatra » 19 Jan 2011 15:13

I'm pretty sure I've hit the second drill, the first one is going to require me to get a lot better at those tricks. I definitely want to hit it though...

Only kicked twice since the last update. Once was on New Year's Eve when it was like 60 degrees out. I played for about 30 minutes before the rain started coming down too much. I just played for fun, bread & butter stuff was good enough that I could string a little bit, but nothing spectacular. Dyno> ps mirage. Tried to start a lot of runs with stepping tricks.

Then today I finally had some desire to play. And enough free time. I'm glad I've got a lot of warmup drills because I could just focus on those for the most part, and not push too hard too soon. Did hit one alright drill - smear> plo> pixie muted clipper> osis> pdx mirage> rpt. Definitely out of shape. About 40 minutes into the session my left knee hurt, and I felt like puking. So I kinda lost motivation at that point. With my schedule I know I can't expect to play regularly, so pushing through all that rust is not important.

I do miss playing though.

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Post by Frank_Sinatra » 26 Apr 2011 07:58

Alright blog, time for an update.

I have not been playing regularly yet this year. I haven't had the time. That will probably change soon, since I'm done with grad school in three more days. That calls for sunglasses. 8) Because my future is so bright, etc. etc.

Anyway, I've kicked a total of ten times. No highlights to report, no new tricks. I did get to kick with Zach, James, and Reid the day after wine & cheese, that was fun. Kicked with Tom last weekend. Got to hang out with Zeke & Reile & Tommy as well, I haven't had much time to hang out lately. Fun fun fun fun partyin partyin yeah.

As far as how I played when I could play, well, it was up and down. I'm not hitting everything I'd like to hit, but I don't feel too far away from what I want to hit either. Its just rust, balance is off & that makes linking tricks really difficult. Its too early in the season to think about what I need to fix, I just need to play regularly for a couple weeks, to rebuild balance & endurance & basic techniques, and then take it from there.

I do have some early goals for the season though: play when I can, and stay healthy. That's about it. Eventually I'd like to get back to working on all of the new concepts that I started working on in the second half of last summer, just to stay interested in practicing, and then to get all those secondary benefits of practice (like being in shape, getting outside, seeing friends, and stress relief).

I think this will be a pretty fun summer for CIC.

Now I'm gonna go get a haircut and go downtown to present my capstone project. After tonight I just have one more presentation to give. Go Bulls.

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Post by Zjeezy » 26 Apr 2011 09:25

Good luck on your presentation. Also, Congratulations on finishing grad school.

Go Blackhawks!
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Post by Rieferman » 26 Apr 2011 09:38

boy, they'll let anyone through grad school these days won't they?






ha ha, kidding of course. congrats. I remember the feeling of relief at being through school. Sounds like you should visit Philly as a celebration.. there's a shreddddd barrrrrrrn waiting for you (in a sing songy voice) :)

go Sixers... yeah right

go Flyers... maybe

go Phillies.. yawn.. still 100+ games to go
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Post by C-Fan » 26 Apr 2011 17:10

Congrats on finishing grad school. I know it's not a lot of fun, but life gets a lot better now. Weird how a piece of paper will get people to offer you a lot more money, even if your skills are pretty much the same.

Oh, and go banana!

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Post by Frank_Sinatra » 05 May 2011 08:34

Hey guys, thanks. The presentation I gave that night was actually fucking awesome. Just absolutely killed it, shot it through the eye and then dumped its body into the sea. The other presentation went fine and now all that's left is the commencement ceremony. Next week I'll start pursuing some job opportunities. But for now, I'm on vacation. A much needed vacation.

So what have I been doing with my freedom from meaningless writing assignments, go-nowhere team meetings, freeloading students, and the dispiriting lack of professionalism & maturity that was my graduate experience? Playing hacky sack, of course.

I've played five times, averaging about an hour and ten minutes a session, over the last six days. The first session was with Tom, the last four have been solo. About halfway through the session with Tom I started just working bops. And then during the solo sessions I've been slowly adding symp mirage, ducking clipper, pdx illusion, whirl, and drifter in with the bop strings. I'm trying to establish a good foundation for the summer, get some stamina & endurance back, and maybe (finally) get consistent with whirls.

Oh, and I got myself a camera. So here's a video of where my game's at right now. For the most part I've been staying away from uptime but there are a couple pixie clippers thrown in here.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJb9yUI9Ses[/youtube]

I think the illusions on one side are pretty clean but the other side - not so much. I know I've got to keep pulling those ankles up on all my clipper tricks. And, after reviewing all the raw video, I'm still dropping on really dumb stuff.

Happy Cinco.

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Post by RipWalker » 05 May 2011 10:58

Style's looking smooth as always man. I think we're at something of a similar point in our games -- this post was very inspiring.
Mark Bull

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Post by Frank_Sinatra » 22 May 2011 19:57

Thanks for the kind words Mark. Just so you know, the majority of kickers that I've been on the same level with have gone on to rocket past me. So I expect good things from you. :D

So I've kicked 10 times since the last post, including some fun sessions with Reid and with Tom. The weather has been fucking my twat with 35 degree temperature swings. We seem to be bypassing 60 & 70 degree weather entirely, its been either 50s or 80s for the past couple weeks. Maybe now we're getting to a point where it'll be reliably nice outside. Maybe.

Mostly I've been working on adding variety to the foundation. Drilling pdx illusion out of osis, and doing more pixie clippers, crispy DLOs, and terrages. Also drilled drifters some. Oh and pixie butterfly - a move I've never really liked, because of how it looks, but I figure I could use another option to expand my current 12-15 trick vocabulary.

So I didn't write down a lot of highlights for those sessions, because I had the camera. But I didn't always film, and I didn't always get the highlights on film even when I was filming. So, I'll just mention that today I hit all of the goals I set for myself, including 5 BOP strings of 20 contacts or more, and some highlights you'll see in the video below. There was one string I didn't get on camera, because the camera kept blowing over in the wind, but maybe I'll get it next time. Oh Bob Dylan, how could you have known. Enjoy:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX63Nx2PhmE[/youtube]

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Post by The Actual Sized E » 29 May 2011 11:44

Frank_Sinatra wrote:Maybe now we're getting to a point where it'll be reliably nice outside. Maybe.
Bwa-ha-ha.... Your insolence will not go unpunished.

Your style and consistency has progressed so much since the last time I saw you play (which has been quite a while). Drifters are looking very solid, as are the pdx illusions. You're pdx illusion ending on right toe is really unique looking, the dex is really deep and hippy. It looks cool and super clean, I wonder if it might be hard to do more complex illusion tricks like that later though. Pdx Dlo was nice and of course the cam face fuck was the cherry on top. It would be nice to see some more spins, the couple in the last vid were looking pretty controlled, it would just be nice to see some more of them. Maybe try some spin osis/butterfly for next vid, or try the gyro mirage w/o a plant? Anyway, keep it up and I'll keep watchin :)

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