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 » 19 Apr 2012 08:22

It's been a really long time since I wrote in here, for a few reasons. I was going to do an NYJ write-up but my heart just wasn't in it. And I'd forgotten details and yada-yada. Anyway, I have a lot of stuff to recap. And today I have the time to do so.

So starting with NYJ...

It was definitely a different experience. We were in a new location, we had to do some things differently because the Holiday Sports Fest is a casualty of the city's budget problems. We charged admission, because we had to pay for the space, and I'm glad everybody was cool about paying. Special thanks to guys like Jordan and Evan who donated a little extra. Of course we would prefer to keep it free, we know people are already paying to travel to the event, and stay at the hotel, but there was just no other way to keep the event going this year. Please don't even talk to me about getting sponsorships if that's what you're going to suggest.

Now, one of the very cool things about this NYJ was everyone who participated got a prize. And not some shitty VHS that's been sitting in a basement for 12 years. These were really good prizes, from cash for winners of our events, to shorts, quality DVDs, water bottles, and quality footbags.

The other very cool thing about this NYJ was it was on the 48th floor of the Swissotel in downtown Chicago. The view was incredible, overlooking Navy Pier, where they shoot of New Year's fireworks. We were just a few hundred feet away from where the fireworks were shot off. Unfortunately, some jagoff put a building in between us & the fireworks. So that was fun, in a different, more ironic, way.

On a sadder note, there's another reason this was a weird event for me. On the first day of the event I got there early, checked in, coordinated some stuff with the hotel people, then had to go back to my neighborhood for a memorial service for a friend's son. So that was just... indescribably sad. It was really surreal leaving that and coming back to a big hackysack tournament, you know? Once I got back I really wish I could have been more social, and said hi to more of the guests and stuff, but all I wanted to do was spend some time with people I'm really close to. So, big thanks to Zeke, and Reile, and Jeremy for going to get some noodles. That dinner is probably the highlight for me, because it was exactly what I needed at that moment. Sorry to everyone that I didn't really talk to, I was just kind of... subdued I guess.

Anyway, thanks to Emily & Tom for running the event, getting sponsors & collecting money (Emily) and getting the site & getting events started (Tom). Thanks to the judges, thanks to Tommy A. for getting shirts printed up, thanks to Tim for all your help, and to all the other people that help out in big & small ways to make tournaments run a little smoother.

There's basically nothing to say about how I played. I was incredibly rusty and didn't play much. I got to kick in a circle with Evan & Aleksei, that was cool. I advanced out of the qualifying round in two square, that was nice, since last year I didn't. I still think I get seeded way too high at NYJs, since I don't even play two square or four square except once or twice a year.

Oh, yeah, that was the other best moment. The first night we had a pretty robust game of four square. Reile, Emily, Fletcher, Jeremy, et. al. I think that was one of the moments where I relaxed a little bit and was like "alright, we're at NYJ. Sweet." And then having my GF there for the fireworks on the last night was also really nice. She's very supportive of me continuing to play, and she likes watching people play. Either that or she's just very good at saying the right things. :D

So that's NYJ. On with the rest of my endless ramble... I had been kicking a little bit, like two or three times a week, in March and early April. I hit double switch & toe grifter for the first time. I've also been running at least once a week, and found that it wasn't as bad as I remember it from high school. Last time I ran for three miles, probably never done that before in my life. In the limited cross-training I've tried (biking, yoga, running) I find that footbag has made it easy. Yoga especially was a joke. Stand with your arms out! Stand on one foot with your arms out! Yeehaw!!! But maybe I just need to find the right class.

Unfortunately, I tried to kick last Saturday and found that my knee is fucked. I can't do an inside kick with my left foot without pain. I can't do support leg functions without discomfort, so even toe-to-toe basics were out of the question. So I'm back on the disabled list for the time being. This is the knee that I hurt last fall, and also aggravated a little at NYJ.

For the past two years I've been facing increasing injury, usually of mysterious origins, usually without much success treating them. In a couple of cases there was a specific moment where I know I injured myself. But the really troubling injuries are the ones that just develop over time. Like the occasional numbness in my right foot when I do drifters. That shit scares me. There's my snapping hip problem on my right side. The soleus muscle pains that I can't seem to treat with RICE, can't seem to stretch out...

All these injuries are definitely taking the fun out of the game for me. We have all these players in Chicago now, and I want to kick with them. And I enjoy this as a form of exercise more than anything else that I've found. But the passion and dedication to improving has been diminishing for a while now. I used to go to tournaments to seek out advice, and now I just don't feel like it. I used to go talk to all the people I didn't know yet, and now I mostly talk to people I've known for a while.

I don't want to drill anymore. I feel like there's stuff I've drilled for months and didn't see improvement on. I've gotten better at this sport than I could have imagined five years ago, and feel like at times I've played at a level that I only dreamed of. At the same time, I get bored with my strings and want more variety, but I don't know if I'll put the work in to add the concepts that will take my game to the next level.

When I was playing, I was only playing like 2 or 3 times a week. My personal life is really full, and it's all good stuff, but it's hard to find time to do everything I want to do. It's tough to find balance. I'd be fine with playing 2 or 3 times a week if I could stay healthy, see my friends, have fun, and maybe hit some new shit once in a while. My GF keeps telling me that I can't treat this like a casual sport, that I have to cross-train and strengthen my various joints daily if I want to play without injury. And I think she's right.

So, that's a pretty good summary of where I'm at mentally/emotionally with footbag. I've been feeling like I'm at some kind of crossroads with footbag for a long time now but I haven't really put it into words.

Other big news, for those who might not use facebook: I'm starting a new job April 30. I'll still be downtown, and if anything, I may have more free time. It's still a full-time job, and there will still be some long hours when deadlines approach, but I don't expect to be put in situations where I have to work 15 hour days to get the client back up & running. So I'm excited, I'm excited to leave consulting behind. I really think this will be a better fit. In the meantime I'm in that really awesome zone where I have no real responsibilities or consequences at my current job, and my future job is just an abstraction! I love it. I love that whatever the problems are at my current company just aren't my problem any more. My intention going into grad school was to make a career transition, but I ended up doing the same work as before grad school. And I think I made the right choice at that time, even if it turned out to not be a very good fit. And I feel good about the transition I'm making out of consulting. I'm really excited that I'll get to use the same kind of skills, and continue to build on them.

And lastly... me and the GF have been talking about taking a vacation to the west coast. She's from Idaho & went to college at Evergreen. So we're talking about going to US Open & then spending some time in Olympia, Seattle, and bumming around Portland. And then the weekend after will be the Assembly of Awesome. I'm looking forward to that, it seems like there's some new blood in Michigan and Ohio, and hopefully the larger midwest scene can start picking up again. Should be an awesome trip.

End of ramble.

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CIC flurry
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Post by CIC flurry » 20 Apr 2012 01:30

Nice post, pony.

Tell me about it with the injuries. They are a bitch indeed, to worry about even after healed.

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rjadamson
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Post by rjadamson » 20 Apr 2012 21:34

Frank_Sinatra wrote:So we're talking about going to US Open & then spending some time in Olympia, Seattle, and bumming around Portland.
Just thought I'd jump in here to say Seattle would love to see you (again) after the U.S. Open is over to get a little bit more kicking in. Our club is quite active, and we can probably work around your schedule.

Great blog! I hope I have this much to say in my posts further down the line in my own footbag career.

Frank_Sinatra
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Re: Frank Sinatra Lives

Post by Frank_Sinatra » 20 Aug 2012 05:51

Hey Reilley & Tom, thanks for stopping by. I don't think I have that much to say about footbag, I just repeat the same few things over and over.

Going to USO in a few more days. Four more days of work. I'm really looking forward to it. My last few attempts at a vacation have been hassled by the man, man. This time Friday I will be at the airport (assuming no crazy shit happens between now and then).

Work is going good. I'm super busy, but I like my projects. I'm still learning new things. And my boss & team are all fun to work with. There's a lot to be said for just having a boss that's a decent human being.

My knee is still bad and I haven't got a lot of free time, so I haven't been kicking that much. When I do kick, I just work on stringing more basic stuff, not really pushing myself these days. Not really drilling either. I'm not playing enough for this to get boring, which is nice.

I think the only new trick I hit since the last update was spinning rake.

See some of you folks in a few days!

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CIC flurry
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Re: Frank Sinatra Lives

Post by CIC flurry » 22 Aug 2012 11:35

Franky lives

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Re: Frank Sinatra Lives

Post by C-Fan » 29 Aug 2012 07:48

Great seeing you at USO; I'm glad we got to hang out.

Me: Do you have happy hour specials?
Waiter: Yes. During happy hour, which is 5-7...on weekdays. Since it's not a weekday between 5 and 7, that means we aren't currently having happy hour.
Me: Couldn't you just say "no?"

Frank_Sinatra
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Re: Frank Sinatra Lives

Post by Frank_Sinatra » 09 Nov 2012 12:03

Oh Portland. That waiter was special. Good seeing you out there, Ken.

So, yeah. Went to Portland, USO. Kicked a little. Went to Toledo for the Assemblage of Nerds and kicked a lot.

I don't kick much anymore. Tom wrote something in his blog a while back about everybody being worked up, gfed up, or old, or all of the above. He forgot injured. Maybe that falls under old.

I don't have much to say about what's going on w/me & footbag, or actually I do but it's not very positive and I'd rather keep that kind of stuff of the board. Just... not sure if it's worth trying to get myself to a point where I can come back and keep playing. You know, somebody threatened to stab me this summer while I was playing, and it's not the only kind of incident like that I've had. There's some things about this sport that I'm just fucking sick of to be completely honest. Well anyway...

There was a stretch where I kicked four days in a row. Broke my BOP record a couple times, got to 63. A while back Ken challenged me to a 50 contact guiltless string w/10 non-BOPS each side, or something like that. I would like to do that. I watched the collab video, and it really made me want to play. I do miss playing.

YAY

Frank_Sinatra
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Re: Frank Sinatra Lives

Post by Frank_Sinatra » 06 Jun 2015 07:53

I don't know why, but I just thought I'd check Modified for the first time in a while...

I've kicked maybe twice a year for the past couple years? Sometimes I miss playing footbag, mostly I miss the benefits of footbag. I'm 300 pounds, and I do my dishes in the bathtub.

Anyway, hope all you guys I know who still kick are doing good.

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Re: Frank Sinatra Lives

Post by F[uns]tylin' Eclectic » 06 Jun 2015 11:18

Yo man, glad you stopped in. You should up your playing schedule to 3 times a year, at least :P you just have to remember how fun it is... Have fun with your bathtub dishes!
Nick Polini

Footbag is good for the SOLE

Funblog

"Yeah dude it's all mental. Then it's physical" ~Evan Gatesman

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