Set Phasers To Love Me! [April's Footblog (PSU)]

[krustykrakk]

Top.

[bluevampire101]

Add Block: Thanks, I'll keep that in mind

Dan: Yeaaa boii. Keep an eye out for the thread that Ben and I will make (in the For Sale section) most likely soon enough. If you want a custom bag/design let us know

Ben:


Anywho. This past week was pretty cool! Making bags. Boom! (said in accordance with showing the bags)

I figured that I would show a different angle than the one in the 'Bags You've Made' section. Spice things up, eh?
My personal fav. is the top middle green one from this batch.

Also, made cupcakes for this weekend.

Ooey, gooey deliciousness.
(The frosting might look weird, probably because I tried to make it not as fat by substituting apple sauce for half the butter).

Yesterday (Saturday) was the day to kick. It was the day to kick... That was a lot of fun.
Ben and I headed to Old Main a bit early (what worked best with the bus schedule as to not be late). We warmed up a bit (stretching, warm up). I semi-practiced my flip pixie and set out to hit flip PLO by the end of the session.
When it was rearing 4 o'clock (session time), we wondered where everyone was. I checked Facebook and realized that I had originally stated IST because it was supposed to rain. Upon preparing to leave, we saw Ivan walking up. Shortly after Ivan reached Ben and me, we saw Ryan on his bike heading towards IST, and so IST it was.

At IST: everyone warmed up on their own, Ivan stitched bags (sorry Ivan, you are not included in everyone).
My warm up was mostly still trying flip pixie (great warm up, I know. /sarcasm) I probably tried other things too... Like Legover>Legover, so forth.
Ryan, Ben, and I eventually convened (reconvened?) to start a group.... Like normal sessions...
We ended up moving farther and farther away from Ivan. Because. Ivan.
But no, it wasn't really on purpose. First it was for room and shade. Then, as circles usually do, it slowly shifted.
Around 4:30-5 (I wasn't keeping track of time), Khoa showed up with a friend of his who joined, Jacob, a freestyle footballer who's still in high school. It was really cool of his mom to drive him down just to kick with Khoa.

As for the kicking part of the session, I feel like I made a lot of accomplishments, just not necessarily in the way of new tricks or long tiltless runs or anything. It was more of a personal accomplishment. My Osis has been feeling better, though I still need to get used to that restart-thought/motion. I hit flip PLO (sloppy-ish, but still. it's a work in progress) - and today was the first day I spent quality time with flip Pixie. I hit Clipper>ss Mirage bsos - I'm not sure if this was a first, but ss Mirage from Clipper clicked more when Ryan explained that it was kind of like a reverse Butterfly (Thanks Ryan!). I also worked on flip (and strong) Whirls. Thanks to Ivan for some pointers/tips/observations. I still haven't hit flip Whirl, but I feel that it is improving. Soon. Soon I will hit it. I'm not sure what else I did for the day that's worth mentioning, but yeah, this is the gist.

On my attempts at Drifter:
Ivan: "Two words. Can you guess them?"
Me: "Uh.... cranked ankles?"
Ivan: "Try Harder"
Yes, yes. I should try harder. Next time! (for Drifters)

Different situation:
Me: "Is there a trick that is like Guay but you end on a butterfly?"
Ben: ..."Yeah. That's called Dada."
...Right. Duh.
Ben: ..."Look at you trying to be creative."

Anywho, after a bit, I got tired and talked to Ivan for most of the rest of the session. We talked about footbags, stitching, fabric colors, tricks, and so forth.
After the session, we headed to food, and on the way to food, Ryan helped Ben move some stuff out of my sublet apartment. Desk, bed frame, drawers in the desk. Thanks again Ryan!
For food, Khoa got some from Little Szechuan, while the rest of us went to Jersey Mike's.
At Jersey Mike's there was a portion of conversation where we were all coming up with team names to put "butt" in front of. Butt Raiders. Butt Chargers. Butt Oilers. Butt Heat. Butt Buccaneers. Fun times.
Jacob left after food was over. He got a cupcake.

Then we headed to shedhaus. We watched footbag videos, since Ben and I had to leave early (he had work in the morning and we had to catch the bus for whenever it ran).
The videos made me want to kick again, so it's planned for Ben and me to kick later today (Sunday).
At some point (after cupcakes were had), some BAP'd name suggestions were thrown my way. I am withholding the suggestions because they didn't have anything to do with footbag, I didn't particularly like them, and I was almost a bit insulted. Plus, it probably wouldn't sound good or funny without any context. If curious, ask in person.

Ben and I left at around 10. On the way to the bus stop, we talked about kick still. In particular, we talked about Whirls (at least half of the way). Yes, yes, Ivan said he likes Ben's Whirls. (He mentioned it twice on the way home).
Thanks everyone for a good day!

[bluevampire101]

So, it's been a while, eh?

Well, I haven't kicked or stitched since my last post (about a week ago). It's felt pretty hectic lately since Ben and I have been moving things around his apartment and have to prepare to move soon. Also, Ben got a new job recently (awesome ), so we've also been adjusting for that since he has to get up early in the morning. I've also been finishing up with my last online class, which officially ended Friday. Now, I'm considering applying for a school scholarship from my college. I only need a personal statement to write, which I've been reflecting what I should write about, but I feel like I have a general idea.

Anywho, today, instead of yesterday, we kicked. There was Ben, Ryan, Ivan, and myself. Also, I made cornbread!
We kicked at a different spot than usual today - outside of Pollock Commons - which wasn't too shabby. There just wasn't much shade to go around and a lot more insects around where we kicked.
Today felt like a good day kicking.

Highlights:
Maverick! on one side (Pixie ss Osis) - even strung after the second cleaner one
Some pretty good strings
Illusion bs (not new, but I have sort of been neglecting Illusions... til now!)
A couple of alright Fairy sets (Thanks Cassy! Your video really helped! I kept it/you in mind while trying the sets)
Mirage x4 bs (I should practice Mirage more...)

After today, I'm more excited to kick more/again. The week was sort of a stress break/reflection break/break break, but I would like to kick more! I will probably most definitely be kicking more after Ben and I move to our new studio apartment in two weeks (so no more moving stress). Plus, it's closer to campus where we can kick with probably everyone else that goes to campus frequently. And... school will have then started pretty much by that time, so... yeah. People will be back.

[isirc10]

Backing up some of these claims with a quickly edited video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6NXXR7eHso[/youtube]

[Ryan_Morris]

April, I was super impressed with your game yesterday. Can't wait to see you hitting tricks out of fairy.

[Cass]

Awesome April! I'm glad my video was somewhat helpful.

I was really impressed with your first run in that video. So smooth and long! Props!

[krustykrakk]

So smooth and long!

Heh. Heh.

[C-Fan]

coming up with team names to put "butt" in front of. Butt Raiders. Butt Chargers. Butt Oilers. Butt Heat. Butt Buccaneers.

Butt Thunder.

Also, Butt Rams, Butt Nuggets.

[F[uns]tylin' Eclectic]

Killing it, April. I slow mo'd the entire video and wanted to find some little things you guys could all fix to improve your games, but I actually couldn't find one thing for you to fix! Just keep doing what you've been doing!

Also, attempt double the amount of flip Pixies that you hit on strong side every session. If you hit 4 on strong, ATTEMPT (you don't have to hit them all) 8 on weak. Pixie is one concept you really don't want one side to rule. I'm living proof of that :/ You don't wanna go down that run.

Your style is really crisp and smooth. Fun to watch. Keep it up.

Stoked to see how good you'll be at ECFC.

[bluevampire101]

Ivan: Thank you! Thank you!

Ryan: Thanks! Yes! You almost/kinda saw a bit today More to come soon!

Cassy: Yeah! And it wasn't that your video was only somewhat helpful, it was plenty helpful! I even had Ben film some of my attempts to show you (will be posted somewhere below here). I just said my fairies were alright because it was my first time trying them and I wasn't sure if they were just passable or what.
And thanks again! For the fairy video and the compliment

Ben: Heh. Heh heh.

Ken:

Butt Thunder.

Also, Butt Rams, Butt Nuggets.

Good ones My favorite from that bunch is probably Butt Nuggets.

Nick:

Killing it, April. I slow mo'd the entire video and wanted to find some little things you guys could all fix to improve your games, but I actually couldn't find one thing for you to fix! Just keep doing what you've been doing!

Your style is really crisp and smooth. Fun to watch. Keep it up.

Thanks...?...!
I will indeed keep on doing what I've been doing, except also more, so I'm not just doing the same ole things.
And yay! Thanks! I am glad to hear that my style has a style and is fun to watch. Thanks again! And for the Pixie tips!


I kicked today! With Ben and Ryan. At IST. Today was basically officially the last day of classes for the summer. My online class ended on Friday. I think I got a B- on it (4 pts away from a B), but the grades haven't been posted on the school grade-site thing. Also, I recently submitted an application for a school scholarship. *fingers crossed*
Ben had his last classes for ... ever! Grats!
Before kick, Ben and I got delicious Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk (and spring rolls) from a pho place nearby. Delicious coffee. Yum. Yum.... Coffee..

The session was supposed to start at 3:30PM, but Ryan didn't get off of work until 4PM. In the meantime, Ben and I started warming up and stuff. I made some Fairy attempts - filmed a bit (thought I would show Cassy my progress ). I also tried some Illusions. Eventually Ryan showed up and we all warmed up a bit, and then eventually kicked. We kicked for a while. I made attempts for Drifter bs but to no avail. Ended the session with more attempts at Fairy and to show some comparisons.

Highlights:
Fairy ss Pickup BS! (AWESOME. AWESOME. AWESOME. Nallegam) - hit one side before Ryan showed up, and the other side while we were all warming up
Got complimented by a passerby - too focused on string that I didn't get to say thank you until I kind of whispered it as he was already on the other end of the bridge
Drifter strong side ... it's been a while. still need to practice

Video! Dedicated to Cassy Taylor!
Disclaimer: These are only fairy attempts, and there are no tricks hit after, so bear with me.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5xvnkS7-Zk[/youtube]

Enjoy!

[Cass]

Fairy ss Pickup BS!

NO FREAKING WAY!!!






Get it.. they're props


The very first set in that video was pretty much perfect! They are looking so awesome!! The only thing is the set is off to the side a little but if you can get it a little more in front of you with some consistency they will be great!!

I challenge you to Fairy op Legover both sides as well as Fairy ss Mirage BSOS.

[bluevampire101]

Cassy: Thanks! I'll definitely work on the set being straighter.
And that sounds like a fun challenge. I'll definitely work towards those!


I haven't kicked since Wednesday, but I figured that I would post in my footblog because I've been having trouble sleeping. To prove it (not that I need to prove it), I have compiled a bunch of pictures of pets up for adoption around the U.S. They're moreso pets that I like (looks: patternwise, breed, etc.).


In other news, I was talking to Ben about Fairies, and that perhaps instead of spreading myself thin with trying to learn Pixies and Fairies at the same time, I should put more focus on Fairies since they come easier to me (both-sidedness) compared to Pixies. Plus, they're kind of more unique than Pixies.

I'm hoping to have both Pixies and Fairies dialed down by Jamps, if not by the new year.
And I also was telling Ben that I'm hoping to be guiltless by next July (it would be 2 years playing for me).

I talked to Nick recently and figured that I would give Dyno a go every now and then to see if I could hit it. I plan to make my first attempts the next session I have/attend.

Another thing, I'm slightly concerned about Fairies because my knees pop (more-so the first time I tried them, less-so the second time I tried them), but my knees haven't hurt. Ben says that popping sounds are air bubbles, so perhaps nothing to be concerned about. But I am going to keep an eye on any pain around the knees.
Oddly enough though, I've been having feelings of muscle tightness or tenderness around the hip, butt, and back areas. I'm thinking they're ideally good tenderness feelings due to my muscles strengthening, but maybe not. I very recently considered that my back might feel sore due to picking up the bag a lot (mostly during Fairy attempts). As for the other parts, I'm not sure. Maybe Illusions?
Anywho, I'm not too concerned about any of the above, since I have a feeling that they're not going to prevent me from kicking, and I won't even feel the soreness while kicking... Just perhaps afterwards. Though, I do feel like I'm making greater strides, so perhaps my muscles just need to catch up.
(That might have been a cyclical thought process I guess).

Oh! The chainmail kit I ordered came in recently. I'm not sure where to start off or anything in terms of creating anything with it. It'll probably take a while to make a decent chainmail footbag...

Classes are going to start soon! (a week and a half). I'm nervous for that. I'm going to be taking four classes, which isn't that bad, but I'm not sure what to expect for them.
First off, there's an English class, which is a gen. ed. for I suppose resumes, or at least that's what Ben tells me. It's Effective Writing: Writing in the Social Sciences. For my major(s) I could either take that one, or the Humanities one, though I'm not sure which helps more if I want to be an academic advisor... Perhaps either, or neither, doesn't matter?
Second, there's Russian. Third semester - Intermediate Russian. I've passed the first two semesters with the same professor (for the two), but she retired and is back in Russia now. So, for this last semester of Russian that I will be taking, I have no idea who the "new(?)" professor is - whether it's a he or a she, whether s/he is nice, strict, or what. I'm sort of just hoping to pass, though I should probably try harder than that, especially since my old professor told me that she wants me to get an A for it. We'll see...
Third, there's my first 400-level Psychology class. I feel like it probably won't be too bad. Multicultural Psych in America. It sounds like it could be fun.
Last, there's Philosophy. I've had the professor last semester, and I got an A in the course. Last semester was 19th century, and this semester it's 20th century. Shouldn't be too bad, eh? And it'll perhaps be more interesting. The texts we'll be reading for class are (about): Interpretation Theory, Cartesian Meditations, and Feminism/Postmodernism.

I'm also excited to schedule for my spring courses, since I already have them planned out. If all goes according to plan, no classes on Friday. And, I should be able to graduate next fall. Yay!
So I guess I'm also nervous about that too. Surreal already.


Back to footbag. I'm excited for East Coasts! And now for NYJ in Michigan! I'm really hoping I could go to that... Not sure how that's gonna go though.
But East Coasts! Cheesecake Brownies! Lots of people! Cool stuff! Wonders galore! I wonder how intermediates circle is looking And don't get me started about open circle.

/end of random thoughts for the time being

[Cass]

Yeah my knee tend to pop more often when I drill Fairies also. It's probably a good idea not to overdo it when you practice for this reason. If you just do maybe a 15-20 tries per side each session it's probably a good amount. But yeah, I agree that it's probably better to just focus on one set for the time being and fairy is way cooler than pixie

Don't forget to stretch after you play! That helps me a lot with low back and other soreness. The pidgeon pose is a great one for the hips. Parivrtta Janu sirsasana is really good for lower back.

Those sound like pretty neat classes. Philosophy of mind was one of my favourite classes in undergrad. That stuff really gets in your head.

[F[uns]tylin' Eclectic]

The popping knee is not a great thing. It's the reason why I don't do fairy sets often. I can do them decently on each side, but not without my knees popping. I've been told by players like Anssi, that if your knees pop, you're doing it wrong. I would maybe stick to learning pixies first (less chance of injury) then once pixies are solid, then try to figure out fairy sets again without your knees pooping. I agree with both you and Cassy though.. fairy is way way cooler than pixie, but I think getting good at pixies first will get your legs a little more used to fairy sets. You have to put in the time to the less cool stuff to hit the cool stuff. Also, learning how to play out of pixies first will help you learn how to play out of fairy sets in the future. I think you'll be hitting both very well before you know it.

Either way, I see big stuff in your footbag future...

[bluevampire101]

Cassy & Nick: Thank you two for the input. And thanks Cassy for the stretching suggestions Will definitely (try to) start doing them.


Today was a pretty good session. Ben, Ryan, Khoa, and I kicked outside of Pollock Commons around 4PM. I had such a good time, I didn't want to stop and ended up kicking until 6:30-6:45PM.
I wasn't doing well in terms of stringing. I think my legs felt weird still, so... definitely need to stretch more and the likes... Buuuut, I did practice some concepts and tricks and found some cool things out.
I figured that I would try some of the fairy challenge tricks from Cassy (sorry Nick!). I just like Fairies and I find them easier than Pixie

I started off with Fairy ss Mirage. As a disclaimer, I'm not great at Mirages or ss Mirages, so it was iffy, but ghosting Fairy ss Mirage makes sense because it's almost like Fairy ss Pickup. Not that they are the same, but they flow in the same way, as opposed to something like... Fairy op Pickup (if you get my drift....er). Eventually, I hit Fairy ss Mirage on strong side. Woo!
After that, I tried Fairy op Legover, and wasn't sure how to go about it. What ended up happening was that I actually tried Fairy DLO, and almost got it. This is also to say that I've never hit DLO, or understood it before. But perhaps this was a breakthrough... Still need to figure out Fairy op Legover though.
Sometime during the session, Ben was doing Dimwalks and I figured: "Hey! I want to hit Dimwalk!" So, I made some attempts, and hit a pretty clean Dimwalk (if I must say so, plus, ask anyone else at the session because they all saw it).
Then, I figured... Why not try Fairy Butterfly? So after multiple attempts, very many... I eventually hit it! Awesome! Fairy Beater I think it was clean.... Ask Ben. It felt goood though.
Towards the end of the session, I made a LOT of attempts for flip Fairy ss Mirage. I did not end up hitting it during today's session... But soon. To help with it, Ben had me complete 10 ss Mirages on flip, because that is in part of why I had a difficult time. Also... it's flip Fairy.

TL;DR: Highlights:
Strong side Fairy ss Mirage
Random attempts at Fairy DLO (thinking it was Fairy op Legover)
Strong side Dimwalk (Pixie Butterfly)
Strong side Fairy Beater (Fairy Butterfly)
ss Mirage (flip) x 10

I am excited for East Coasts.

[bluevampire101]

Today's session was only Ben and me. I mostly focused on Fairies today. This was my fourth time practicing Fairies. There was little to no knee popping (none at the beginning, and my knees only popped on flip Fairies when they were more forced - my bad).
It was a good time.

Highlights:
Flip Fairy ss Mirage
Fairy op Legover BS
Fairy Beater BS (Flip is New)
Fairy ss Clipper BS
Strong Fairy op Clipper

So, halfway there for Cassy's challenge Yay!

I'm also hoping to hit Fairy Bronze by East Coasts

[F[uns]tylin' Eclectic]

There was little to no knee popping

Nice job on the new tricksss. You should hit Fairy ss Mirage b2b, since you can do both sides now.

[F[uns]tylin' Eclectic]

Edit: Double post

Here is a text picture of a guy running into a wall really fast

>---{o >>!!!>>>!!!>>!!!>>!!>>> : O [[[[[[[[[[[ %@$#$@%@$!!!!!!!

[bluevampire101]

There was little to no knee popping

Nice job on the new tricksss. You should hit Fairy ss Mirage b2b, since you can do both sides now.

Thanks! I tried, but did not succeed at the session, but I shall continue trying at future sessions

Edit: Double post

Here is a text picture of a guy running into a wall really fast

>---{o >>!!!>>>!!!>>!!!>>!!>>> : O [[[[[[[[[[[ %@$#$@%@$!!!!!!!

For some reason I skipped the text part and thought it was something like a broken link to an actual person running into a wall really fast. That would not end well.


I also forgot to mention that I hit something along the lines of Fairy Frigid-Drag/Frigid Dragon/Frigid Dragon-Osis.... Frigid Outside?
It was somewhere inbetween where an Outside Stall and a Dragon Stall would be, but not quite either, hit after a right-side Fairy set. With a turn to the left (to get to the stall).

.... *shrugs*

[bluevampire101]

Hello Modified!

Boy, it seems like it has been forever, and it has been a while.


Here is a caterpillar that Ben and I saw at some point prior to moving.

I kicked on Saturday, but hadn't posted at the time because Ben and I had just moved into our new studio apartment the day prior and hadn't set anything up (internet connection, organizing the apartment, etc.).
The past couple days have been hectic and a bit stressful due to all that, but now it is better!

So... Yeah, moving is pretty stressful. I probably made it a lot more stressful than it needed to be, but I can't help it. Well, maybe I could have a bit. I was probably too relaxed before moving and hadn't prepared enough. On the other hand, I pre-planned that Ben and I should pick up groceries on our way to move-in, so we wouldn't have a difficult time after moving in, since neither of us have a vehicle in which to get groceries (besides public transportation) and no nearby grocery stores (within walking distance). Keep in mind, it wouldn't be fun to lug around 25 pounds of rice.


Here are some flowers/fungi(?) - interesting things - that I saw shortly after the caterpillar.

We were pretty lucky, yet a bit unlucky while moving. One of Ben's managers at his new job was very nice in letting us borrow her minivan. Too bad moving takes a LOT more time than expected. Some things came up and we had to return the minivan before we finished moving, but Ben is very well connected and had some friends that were also nice enough to take multiple trips in their cars to transport our stuff. But we didn't want to impose with getting the groceries, and ended up trying to rent out a car (to no avail), and then asking one of Ben's (now former) roommates' siblings who lived in the same area as Ben.
I promise all of them strawberry cupcakes as tokens of gratitude.

It's a nice and cozy apartment, and I am excited for future events at PSU because it looks like we can fit a generous amount of people (for a studio apartment). Plus! With all of our things put together, Ben and I have a bunch of extra towels, blankets, etc. etc. for when we have guests or when people forget to bring such things.
And, it's not too far from downtown/campus - three blocks from the main road (if you've been to State College before, you've probably been on it at some point) - Atherton St. And we're also living on W. College. Ave. which would be the other street you would probably be familiar with.

So, without further ado, pictures of our apartment (after we tidied up a bit, and by a bit, I mean a lot):

This is taken from the door/entrance to the apartment, looking towards the left.


This is from the other corner (from basically behind the desk), looking towards the right.
There is only one twin-sized bed. *sigh*


On Saturday, I had planned to meet up with Ben and get some stuff done (getting our internets for the apartment), but he ended up working later than expected. I went to our favorite cafe (Webster's) and got coffee and a white choc. chip pistachio cookie. It was good! And on the way out, I ran into this poster:



It's not what you think it is.... Or it might be. It's a call for hackers basically. So, computers. Not footbag. Oh well.

Anyways, after I finished the coffee, I got too anxious and headed back home. For some reason, the beginning of the school year/semester makes me really anxious and I had sort of a meltdown. I sometimes get the feeling of not-belonging or being overwhelmed with the amount of people that come in for college (since State College is, well, a college town), or both.

Luckily, a session was called, and that got me excited and made me feel a lot better. Footbag is good. Footbag is awesome. The footbag community is great, and I am always happy to see everyone.

Aidan was there first when Ben and I arrived. He now lives down the block from us! Cool!
Khoa joined soon after, and Ryan had met up with a friend passing through town, but made it at the end and joined us for dinner.

Highlights:
Nallegam bsos
Dimwalk strong side (not new)
almost hitting Fairy ss Mirage bsos

After the session, we headed to Herwig's for dinner, an Austrian bistro-thing. I wasn't sure how they wanted me to pronounce my order, so I first went with "Sweets," but also asked if I was supposed to pronounce it like "Sveets." I think I humored the cashier and he replied with, "Ah, sveets, yah." (Sorry for my poor spelling). But the Sweets was good (it was a plate of sweet potato patties with pork belly topped with caramelized onions and sriracha, sided with salad). And I also split a Bacon Cheesecake with Ben, which turned out to be chocolate-bacon cheesecake and was very delicious.
Ivan met up with us at Herwig's and after that, we headed back to shredhaus. It turned out Aidan couldn't make it though, which is no problem. Next time!


In other news, today is the first day of classes. I usually have a hard time sleeping, but I guess having slow internet that we just picked up yesterday/last night helps with the going-to-sleep. I slept fairly well, until I woke up, checked my phone, then Ben had to get ready to go to work. Plus, I also wanted to check-in on modified, and do a write-up of the times so far.
I'm nervous for school, as per usual. Mostly just not sure what to expect for now, as well as perhaps a change in a course. I am glad that I have a fairly short day, that is, until tomorrow. I plan to sit in on some courses for today and tomorrow to see if I would like to register for the class and stuff.

Also, session later today! Yay! I'm excited to see everyone (else) that shows up for the school year, as perhaps meeting new faces.