Cass shreds - Spring Training 2024

[Cass]

Yesterday I made another trip to Oakville to hang out with Jay!

I realised half way there that I forgot my awesome speaker. Lame. And then there was an accident that caused me to be 20 minutes late. And then Jay had sent me a link to a different community centre then the one that he was at. The universe was sure making this session difficult.

Jay managed to bring a big styrofoam cup to amplify my phone speaker so that was okay. Not really ideal after getting spoiled with bass lately.

We got started about 45 minutes after our planned session time. We were planning to play in this community centre where apparently we can get four free passes. The weather turned out to be really nice so we decided to shred outside instead.

It was a productive session for all. Jay was playing really well. He’s nuts.

The most memorable moment for me for some reason was when he was doing delusional set and he leg made a weird optical illusion. Like when you hold a pen and make it look like rubber. Only his leg was rubber!! SO TRIPPY.

Playing with Jay is cool cause he gives awesome tips and I actually get highlights!

Food Processor First try! Gotta get that flipside but it shouldn’t take too long
Neo ss Dragon Swirl bs

There were probably more but I can’t remember

I also had some runs that felt really good. I’m pretty pleased with the way I’ve been playing lately.

Jay hit Nemesis BSOS like no probs and lots of other cool shiz.

After the session Michelle joined us for a lovely lunch of many cheeses (5 different kinds!?) and sausages and fruit and croissants.



Unfortunately I’ve been at odds with my digestive system the past few days and this did not sit well. I felt bad cause I wanted to hang out more but I started to feel ill so I headed home. Luckily I managed to make it home before all that cheese and meat came back up. Definitely less appetising the second time around.

My stomach still just doesn’t feel quite right this morning. I ate something weird on Thursday and I’ve been messed up ever since. I guess I’m going to have to see a doctor if this continues much longer. Luckily it hasn’t affected my footbag sessions at all.


Silencer arrives tomorrow. Holy shit.

<3

[PrunusAberration]

Bummer to hear that about the food. Do you have issues with light food? It may just require a longer recovery process. For myself, I had delicious sushi over the weekend and got super sick myself. Which is quite sad because sushi is amazing! However, everything pass and I was back to 100% Perhaps, it just needs to run it's course with you as well. Good luck none-the-less!

[jay7]

This may or may not be yours now.

Also, the trick I was perhaps 2nd happiest you learned yesterday, was gyro rake. Such a devious one. You were also slapping around the legover-inside stalls like you didn't give a shit.

I was really happy you saw me get tombstone-gravedigger repeat.

Fingers crossed the next time I see you will include me giving over the Silencer.

[brianbear]

Just keep hitting food processors and your digestive system will follow suit
but seriously, i hope you get better quickly and stay that way.
neo ss dragon swirl sounds pretty cool loooking!
shred hard with the silencer

[Cass]

Things are still a little weird with the digestive system but the situation is improving. I'm being really careful about what I'm eating lately.


Jay. You are fucking awesome. I'm not sure what I did that inspired you to make this absolutely gorgeous bag but it is so greatly appreciated!! Thank you so much <3

Gyro rake is devious. I should dial that one.


Thanks Brian See you sooooon!


Okay so with East Coasts coming up fast I just wanted to quote myself [with a few minor changes] as a reminder to any newer players that might be attending as well as the older ones with bad habits Check it -

Yeah so circle etiquette! I wish more people followed some basic rules. It makes shred so much smoother and better for everyone. And it’s just good manners. Here are some of the key ones for me, especially for big events like this one:

Always pass to the left

Never join a four person circle (unless you’re Evan Gatesman.. then it’s cool)
I pretty much always leave if someone joins a four person circle that I’m in. It drives me kinda crazy cause I feel like I’m being forced out. It’s impossible to stay warm in a 5 man.

Always join the circle to the right of the person with the bag.
This way you get the bag last and don't butt in front of someone.

Give props when they are due I understand that this can be tough for newer players, but do your best to give props when you see a cool string or trick. Additionally, it's polite to pay attention to the person currently shredding in the circle you're in (it's kinda rude to watch Brian shredding in that other circle even if he is hitting some dope ass stylish shit).

Don’t over-prop

Don’t be afraid to change circles or start your own circle! Especially if there are lots of big circles already. Chances are someone like me that enjoys a good 3 man will join.

Don’t hand catch the bag when people serve it to you. Unless it’s a really bad serve.

Never self-serve more than once! This is only forgivable if you are super new. And even then it should be like, max 2. The bag will always come back around and it really kills the flow of the circle. Especially in a 4 man.

Don’t ask me if I want a pass back!
If you think I deserve one then just give it to me. If I don’t want it I will send it right back. I feel like a bag hog if you ask and I say yes so I’ll usually just decline. If you simply return it then I will say thanks and try again.

Don’t be so hard on yourself!! Stay positive! Everybody drops. Get over it

If you're new, don't be afraid to get in there! We've all been there and the best way to learn is to play with higher level players. If you don't step out of your comfort zone and join some circles you will probably regret it.


I think that's pretty much everything. I know some of these might be a matter of opinion but it makes a big difference in how enjoyable a circle is if people are considerate with respect to these points.

I don't especially enjoy razzing people for their bad etiquette. So don't make me do it

<3

[Cass]

Two man shred with Evan this evening.


God damn.

[Cass]

I didn’t want to hog the silencer all to myself and I figured he should at least see a tiny bit of Toronto while he was here so I took him out to Christie Pits yesterday for a shred with Erik.

I was worried that it would be a little too cold and I would be a little too sore but it turned out to be a great session! The guys were tearing shit up as usual which was really enjoyable to watch. I played decently - definitely better than the day previous.

It’s such a pleasure to watch Evan play. Wow. His style is just so clean. He manages to hit some of the craziest links.



The session had a great atmosphere overall. Awesome.

Just as the sun was setting I had a nice run and called it a session. The guys kept playing until it was too dark to see. Afterwards we said goodbye to Erik and I grabbed some food at a sushi place with Evan. Om nom nom. The best.


Heading to Michigan tonight with a stop to see Johnny on the way!

Woo footbag adventures!!!

<3

[Cass]

I just had a seriously EPIC weekend.


Evan and I began our journey west Friday evening, making our first stop at the home of Johnny Suderman. We chilled out around a campfire and had a nice visit.

Soon we were on our way again. After a bit of a frustrating detour trying to find gas and a pretty easy border crossing where the guard rolled his eyes about hacky sack we were at Antons place outside of Detroit, Michigan. It was well past two when we arrived and I felt a little guilty for waking him and Jordan up. They were kinda groggy but also seemed really stoked to see us. We all chilled out for a bit and caught up before bed.

Saturday morning Anton was up decently early making a kickass breakfast. Bacon, pancakes, fruit, eggs, potatoes, coffee. So much win.

The four of us had a really nice, chill morning and we seemed to be pretty on the ball in terms of getting our shit together which is always nice. We headed to Zach Jahners place to meet up with the others. Adam Keith came out to play as well as David Moutard whom I met for the first time. After a quick session it was time to go session!

We went to this park/educational facility/conservation area type place? I’m not really even sure what it was. We stopped to talk to the guard at the entrance who gave Anton kind of a hard time but he was very persistent.

The shred spot was super decent and the weather turned out to be perfect!



At one point everyone was shredding it up and this guard came by. I was so sure we were getting kicked out. He was straight up like “You guys need to be wearing shirts”. What a relief!

I had a really good time playing with Anton and Johnny Breakdown. We are all similarish levels and it’s fun to push each other. Pdx Drifter>Pdx Whirl was a combo we were all trying to hit. Anton got it bs no problem and Johnny also got it pretty easily I think. This seemed like it should have been easy for me but actually ended up taking me quite a while to get flipside. I did end up getting 10 ripwalks in that circle which felt good.

Near the end of the session Jay Moldenhauer, an oldschool kicker who is also really into freestyle disc stuff came out.



Overall this was a really nice session with a great atmosphere. I think I played decently well.

After the session we grabbed some food and headed over to Zach’s place for some hangouts.

I need to photoshop Johnny into this photo



I gave David some advice that was meant to be constructive but may have been a little harsh. Sometimes it’s important to tell it like it is.

In the evening Anton, Jorden, Evan, and I headed back to Antons place to gear up for party time. I was pretty tired but I knew I needed to push through and find that second wind. Evan was beat and ended up passing out. Bad idea

Anton, Jordan and I went to a killer electronic show at a pretty decent venue near Anton’s place. We met back up with Johnny Sarah who we split up with earlier in the day. He is such a crazy guy to party with. Awesome, awesome, amazing night. Thanks Michigan for knowing how to party. Awwww yeahhh.

We ended up getting to bed past 6am sunday morning. I’m usually getting up around that time. Crazy.

Evan woke me up around noon and again there was an epic breakfast in the making. More bacon, pancakes, fruit, and some freaking delicious eggs with feta cheese in there. I felt spoiled.

We headed over to Zachs a little behind schedule for our second session of the weekend. It was a little rainy but it cleared up for long enough to have some outdoor shred and then we ended up having a big circle in the garage after that. Jay came out again to watch and David and Adam came out to play again. Even after partying hard the night before [but not drinking] this was actually the best session of the weekend for me! I had a great circle with Anton and David for a while. Anton and I were going back and forth kicking ass. David seemed to hear my advice and played a completely different game on Sunday. That was so awesome to see. He has a great foundation so far.

I also got to spend some time in circle with Zach and he had a few really nice runs. I enjoy playing with him a lot because he has really nice style and solid swirl game which is my favourite.

Johnny made it out to watch for a bit as well which I didn’t expect so that was awesome!

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout for this little Michigan jam. The crew seemed to be super stoked to have visitors. Evan kicked a whole bunch of ass as usual.

We headed back to Antons place and I was pretty beat by this point but I knew I had to drive home still. Anton hooked us up with some soup and we chilled out for a little bit watching some kickass nature documentaries.

This whole weekend was filled with kickass music. Anton is a fucking rad dj. So many good beats. I spent a great deal of time dancing. So good.

Soon it was time to say goodbye to Anton and Jordan. They were some of the best hosts ever for a footbag jam. They are also my favourite footbag couple. They are just fabulous.


The drive home wasn’t too eventful. Even ended up driving the last hour because I was just soo tired by that point. The trip to Antons place is a super easy highway drive that is about 4 hours. I will definitely be back soon.

This was seriously one of my favourite events of the year. What a great time!!!

<3

[Kylescook]

Glad to hear your digestive issues have passed. That sounds like a seriously fun trip.

[Cass]

Yesterday I had my last shred before ECFC with Evan! It was a good session and perhaps the best I've played with him. Things are a little sore from the event over the weekend so the plan is to take it easy until Saturday. That was followed by my Tuesday evening yoga class which was good but kinda weird and not as focused on my legs as I would have preferred. Some poses can be a real challenge after an hour of shred.

I haven't practised my routine in ages but honestly competition is not a priority at this point. I should probably listen to my song a bit before this weekend though.

I had some runs yesterday that felt really controlled and strong. My swirls are feeling good and my unconventional bail tricks like zoid set, dustpan, and outside stall type things are getting better.

I am SO FREAKING EXCITED to see everyone this weekend!!!

<3

[Cass]

I’ve really been struggling to sit down and grind out this event write up for a few reasons. I’m pretty sick, low on energy, and behind on school responsibilities. Not only that but it’s a daunting task and also a pretty sad one. I know that I won’t be going to many events this winter and this writeup represents the end of the best summer of my life. Knowing that I won’t see certain people for quite a long time is really, really difficult.

Evan and I left my house at 4am on Friday towards Toronto where we met up with Adam Greenwood. Super glad he could make it. Our next stop was scheduled for Hamilton to pick up Alex Venis. Unfortunately this didn’t go as planned. He made the mistake of going out drinking the night before and slept through us trying to pick him up. This was really frustrating because we wasted an hour trying to find him. We banged on the door of the address he gave us (at 5:30 in the morning) and woke up some poor girl who had no idea who he was. She was surprisingly cool about the whole situation but we did not successfully find Alex. After about an hour we finally gave up and decided to hit the road. If you read my blog regularly you know how I feel about Alex. He is one of my favourites. This was pretty disappointing. Probably worse for him though when he realised how bad he messed up.

I drove the whole way to NYC myself. Evan spent the vast majority of the ride passed out in the back while Adam did a great job keeping me company. Luckily he’s a talker so that helped me stay alert. The drive wasn’t bad.. just real long.

The closer we got to NYC the more aggressive the driving got. I’m definitely not accustomed to transport truck drivers that drive so nuts. Getting cut off by huge trucks is a trip. I really had to get aggressive myself which was stressful after already being on the road for 9 hours.

The GPS took us on a route directly through Chinatown in Manhattan which was a bad time. Getting to the parking spot in Brooklyn took way too long and was super stressful but I did it! I feel like this experience has levelled me up as a driver. Would do again.

We dropped the car off at a parking place that was only slightly sketchy. I was just SO STRESSED OUT at this point. I actually stole a couple drags off Adams smoke which is rather unlike me. He suggested getting a cab to the rental house which I was all for.

We finally arrived around 3pm and were greeted by the lovely Jordan! She looked super cute. Anton and Johnny Sarah were at the house as well.

I checked out the house. It was totally rad! Four floors of rooms with beds and other things you expect to find in a house. I chose a spot at the very top where Anton and Jordan were also staying. Our room ended up having some pretty rad people - Evan and Brian ended up sleeping there also.

Here's the view from the stoop. The spot was really convenient. Everything you need could be found within a couple blocks.



At some point or another a bunch more people showed up! This included Brian Sherrill, Chris Dean and many more! Dave brought the tiniest tv that had a VHS player in it and a bunch of oldschool shred tapes! That was really cool of him.



Whoa I’ve barely even scratched the surface. Multi part posts aren’t usually my style but I’m definitely going to have to break this one up.

Much more to come!

<3

[bobgreen]

It was nice meeting you this weekend, and I'm looking forward to the rest of your writeup. Currently trying to find the time to get through my own.

The closer we got to NYC the more aggressive the driving got. I’m definitely not accustomed to transport truck drivers that drive so nuts. Getting cut off by huge trucks is a trip. I really had to get aggressive myself which was stressful after already being on the road for 9 hours.

I can definitely commiserate with the stress caused by aggressive driving outside of New York. I don't think your route would have taken you through Conneticut, but here are my wife's comments on our drive down (from Facebook):

I used to have romantic visions of exploring the picturesque hills and dales of Connecticut. That vision has been obliterated. A messy, horrifying death. Blown to bloody remnants by the big ol cup of reality called US Interstate 95 South. Every death-seeking, homicidal driver that has narrowly missed ricocheting off my car has had a Connecticut plate. The rules of the road, the social contracts loosely followed by many citizens do not apply in Connecticut. I can safely assess that the entire state, or at least the bulk of it, has a conduct disorder with severe narcissistic features. And I now have panic disorder. Thanks CT for the terror.

[Cass]

Thanks Bob! I'm sorry that we didn't get to talk more. I definitely let my introvert show this weekend just by virtue of the number of people I was required to interact with. It's hard for me to have energy to get to know new people when there are so many old friends around that I rarely get to see. Coming down with a head cold last Thursday didn't quite help the situation.

On that note sorry to anyone I got sick this past weekend

That quote from your wife sounds fairly accurate, although I didn't specifically notice any plates from Connecticut.

I did get a chance to try your green salsa! It was really interesting and tasty!

[krustykrakk]

Hey it was great to finally meet you this weekend. I have been keeping up on your blog and was excited to get a chance to introduce myself in Brooklyn. Your style's all like whoaa. See you again at nyj?

[Cass]

Silly Ben. Maybe I will understand you some day..


Okay where was I?

I forgot to mention that I came down with an annoying head cold on Thursday which would be fighting against me all weekend. It definitely knocked my energy level down a bit and was mostly a nuisance.

Some hangouts in the basement happened with lots of cool people. Shred vids on the little tv. With only a small amount of the usual confusion it was time to gear up for shred!

A bunch of us took the subway and then walked for just less than an eternity before we arrived at this place:



I forget which bridge we were at but it was pretty scenic and neat. This one:



We shredded near a roller skate rink at this athletic centre place. They had some music going which was decent.

Drew brought battle. I think that’s what it’s called? Where you stand on little platform and each person grabs an end of the rope and tries to knock the other off. It was pretty fun. I think I beat Drew and Brian pretty easily but Chris kicked my butt.

Another crew of people met up with us at the shred spot eventually and we ended up with a pretty large group. I met Andre who I recognised but totally blanked on his name. It’s cool to see a new player that is stoked and not afraid to get in there at his first event. I’m not sure we actually really played together though.



I felt great at the beginning and had some really fun runs. My energy faded fast and I stopped playing so well. This was pretty much the theme of the whole weekend for me. Play 15 minutes and get burned out, hang out, relax and chat with people, rpt. Could have been worse I suppose. At least I was able to play and even avoid overuse injury.

I remember hugging Drew and Boats a lot. They are the best and did such a great job with the event!

Once the sun went down and shred wrapped up we split up. Some people went out for food, I went with the others back to the ECFC house to clean up and hang out.

Brian and I walked to the grocery store down the street from the house to grab some grub. I spent about $40 on some fruit and vegetables, bread, yogurt, orange juice, coconut water (this stuff is the best!), and Brian and I split on the PB/J. This was such a good call. I spent very little time over the weekend worrying about food and I managed to eat pretty well without spending a lot. Not the most exciting food but at least it wasn’t greasy or expensive (relatively speaking).

Back at the ECFC house things were getting crazy! There were SO MANY footbaggers there! It was totally overwhelming. Groups of footbag people all over the place. It got so hot in there from all the bodies.

I managed to sneak upstairs and have some peace and quiet with Brian. He is the best. He gave me a lovely solid blue footbag that got shredded a whole bunch over the weekend. Super choice. It’s nice to have a footbag that is all one colour for good visibility.

I’m not even sure what else happened Friday night. It was such a blur. I didn’t drink at all but I was kinda messed up from all the excitement that day. So many great people around!

I passed out uncharacteristically early for a footbag event. It was before midnight I think. I slept great and I definitely needed it! Nothing like sleeping a full 8 hours in a real bed at a footbag jam!

I was up around 7:30 and a few others were awake before long. Jordan and I walked to the nearby coffee shop where I got a delicious americano and the coffee shop guy also gave me some leftover smoothie from Jordans order. Score.

The weather all weekend was perfect. Uncharacteristically warm for the time of year and sunny. This was one of my biggest concerns about this event aside from the housing situation which also ended up being great!

It was a pretty chill morning which was nice. There was no rushing and we still managed to leave for the event site at a reasonable time. I ended up walking with a few people to a different coffee shop just for something to do.

Marc didn't want to smile for a photo.



I found out at the last minute that the event site for Saturday had been changed to the same one from the previous year. I was pretty vocal in my objection because it wasn’t ideal but I made sure to get the outrage out of my system and let it go long before we actually got to the event site. Ted asked my opinion about the setup at the site when we got there. That was cool because I felt that my objections were at least considered. It didn’t end up being so bad anyways.

On the walk from the subway to the event site we came across this mural. I found it pretty interesting. That eagle is rattled.



More soon! Still over two days to write about. Crazy.

<3

[Cass]

We got to the event site at a pretty reasonable time saturday and they were still setting up. There wasn’t really a rush to get straight to shred so I hung out a bit and talked to people. I sorted out my routine music with Ivan who was super helpful. He also fixed up my favourite bag for me (the one I won last ECFC) and I was really grateful for that.

April tempted me with a big handful of super nice bags. I wasn’t planning on getting another one but one bag in particular jumped out at me. I knew I had to take that opportunity because it would not last long. I’ve wanted a bag with active green for a while and now was my chance! I swiped it right away. I haven’t shredded it much yet but I know it’s going to be a great bag.



Eventually I geared up for some shred. I don’t really remember too many details from before competition. I was playing in a circle at one point and I noticed someone new had appeared but they were kinda far away and I didn’t recognise who it was. A few moments later I look over again and lock eyes with the Ryan Thomas! I hadn’t recognised him initially because his hair is a little long now. I kinda like it

This completely distracted me from what I was doing so I left the circle and went to greet him. It was so great to see Ryan!! Many hugs. He came out with Adrienne who I also got a chance to talk to for a while. She is super cool, too bad she didn’t get to stay long and we never shredded together.

Tons of people arrived throughout the afternoon. So many hugs! This event was massive! It was really neat already knowing most of the people that came out. All my adventures this year have made it such that I am acquainted with pretty much the whole east coast scene. Neat.



Intermediate competition happened first. I didn’t watch too much of circle but I enjoyed watching the routines. I was impressed that Andre decided to compete. Ben had a really nice routine.

I wasn’t too worried about competition. I hadn’t practiced my routine lately, was sick, and had also been partaking in coaches meetings that day which I wouldn’t do if I was serious about competing. I knew my chances were poor anyways so there was no point in stressin’. I just wanted to compete for the sake of making an appearance. I got seeded 5th of 8 which was kinda cool.

Ryan was seeded below me and had an absolutely beautiful routine! LOVE. Anton and Kevin were also before me and did their first routines at open level. I wasn’t really warmed up when I went on but my lack of energy made being warmed up a challenge. I went out and did my thing. It started off alright. But then I missed all my rakes and the middle was a bit of a dropfest. I did nail my knee bump cues which I was pleased with and also finished strong with Smear>Dimwalk. No so bad.

I knew Ryan beat me and I was glad he did. He totally deserved it! Only the top five advanced which was perfect. I didn’t come last and I also didn’t have to worry about competing on Sunday! Win win.

All the routines that came after me were so awesome! Mathieu and Brian had really nice routines. Ken did a kickass dropless routine to Poker Face which I learned after was improvised. Neat. Evan did an absolutely stunning dropless routine. You should watch his prelim if you haven’t already. It’s easily one of my favourite routines ever. Just beautiful.

<3

[krustykrakk]

I agree that most of the prelims were more kickass than the finals...except for ken's. Also, the bag you bought from April is, from a stitcher's standpoint, Damn near perfect. I am overjoyed that you got it...makes me wish I had made bags to sell for the event.

[brianbear]

that april bag is beautiful!!! you got some choice bags this weekend for sure, glad you like the blue one I made for you evan's dropless routine in prelims was freaking amazing. I am totally biting off your style of breaking up the write-up for this event. pb&j's for life.

[Cass]

I'm glad you and April are glad that I have that bag, Ben! It will be well loved

Brian. You rock. Thanks for being you.

Here’s some more somewhat scrambled Saturday memories.

Going off to the side with bear to burn before comps started.



At some point during the Saturday afternoon I shredded with April a bit one-on-one. We were rocking out with some fairy sets and I got a fun highlight.

Fairy op Pickup x7

I got to play footbag with so many cool people but never for long enough. It’s hard to remember them all. Ted Fritsch was kicking some butt. There was definitely some Pete Bowler action which was really great. It’s so hard to remember who I played with and when! I never lasted long in a circle - it was always more of a cameo because I would get tired and/or distracted by the arrival of another friend. I must have played with Mikie, Boats, Anton, Ben, Brian, Derek, Chris, Marc..



Open circle was stacked! I knew I wouldn’t be advancing but I just wanted to play decently. My circle was with Anton, Kevin, and Chris. Chris and Kevin kicked some serious butt and Anton put up enough of a fight that I wasn’t even sure if I maintained my seed. They never announced the order which is fine. I don’t really remember much about what I hit in the circle. It definitely wasn’t my best competition but also not the worst. I do know that my rakes still weren’t working haha.

Super delicious amazing cream cheese brownie from April. I wanted to eat the whole pan. What a tease hehe

More coaches meetings by the wall with people including [but not necessarily limited to] Derek, Brian, Kevin, Pete, April, Ben.

I had one of my hoops with me and Alyssa (Mikies girlfriend) also brought her neat folding hoop. I played a little but not too much. I was happy to lend mine to Jordan to use. At least I hadn’t brought it all that way to only spend 10 minutes with it.

Khoa and Dave did some neat freestyle football stuff for us and Nick also did some crazy body contortion. So cool.



Once all the competition wrapped up I was feeling pretty beat and ready to go back to the house. Then it happened. The best shred of the day! Initially I thought I would be first to leave and ended up being the very last!

My most favourite circle of the event happened at the very end of Saturday. It was with Bijan (I’m pretty sure he was in this circle, I know I had a couple good ones with him this weekend), whom I met for the first time at this event and has some nice tricks up his sleeve; Kevin Hogan, who just tears shit up; and Ryan Thomas, one of my favourite styles, and people, like ever! After a while I think Boats switched places with Ryan which was also really awesome. Such great people to play with. I feel like I really got in a groove with this circle for the first time that day. Waves of people were leaving for food and showers and there were no more distractions of friends arriving or competition or anything like that. It was just pure, awesome shred with great people. I played until I had nothing left. This is what it’s about!

By the time I finally stopped shredding only a few people were left at the site. Luckily Adam was still hanging around since he was the only other person going straight back to the ECFC house. The two of us made the walk to the subway through this weird industrial area of Brooklyn together. It was sort of peaceful after the chaos that was the afternoon. I was definitely glad for his company and that he knew where we were going haha..

What a great day so far, and now it was almost time to party!

<3

[Cass]

The photos are going to begin getting more scarce because this is about the point in the weekend where I maxed out the capacity of my phone. There was just too much going on to waste time trying to delete a bunch of stuff to make room.

Back at the ECFC house things were getting pretty chaotic. I managed to grab a quick shower and get some pasta sauce. I had to wait what felt like forever for the actual pasta but it was exactly what I needed by the time I finally got it! Om nom nom.

The place was just overflowing with footbag players! It was so HOT as a result. Cool people everywhere. I bounced around a bit but mostly stuck with a crew including Brian, Derek, and Kevin, and some others like Anton and Jorden, Boats, Drew, Johnny Breakdown etc. Several of us went with Vince to the liquor store. We split on this massive 2 litre bottle of tequila that he insisted was a good tequila. I should have know by the price ($25) that it was not

We went to a convenience store and I grabbed an aloe juice and another coconut water for the next day (why didn’t I start drinking this stuff sooner?!).

Back at the house we did a couple shots! The night is kind of a blur from here in terms of the timeline. I didn’t actually drink a lot though - four shots total I believe. I’ve determined this to be the perfect amount of liquor consumption for me at footbag events.

Cramming a whole bunch of people into the upstairs bathroom to smoke bowls. Just like college. That was sort of the theme for the weekend.

I missed the whole Hogan-knocking-boats-pasta-into-shower fiasco and totally thought someone had vomited in the shower when I went to use it the next day.

Watching Nick hit Paradox Dada and then Maelstrom with the glow bag to win it. Pretty impressive.

Derek pushing multiple large bottles of Jager on people. I refused to accept it of course but I was actually baffled how much Jager they went through. Well over two big bottles!

Everyone singing happy birthday to Marilyn and nobody actually knowing her name

I guess Hogan got pretty wasted. I didn’t notice how fucked up he was and when he suggested more tequila shots I was totally on board. We went down to the kitchen and I poured five shots but there was only four of us so Hogan ended up double fisting the shots. Drew was in the kitchen and Hogan put his arm around him and was like “you’re my best friend!” Apparently this is something Drew has heard before and it’s not a good sign. Drew suggested that maybe Kevin shouldn’t have the tequila and I was like “Naw it’s fine!” Maybe it wasn’t though. We all did the shot and Kevin took his first one. He then proceeded to shove the other shot into Drews chest while covering his mouth with his other fist. I was to Kevins left at this point and totally in the splash zone. I could feel a light spatter on my leg and right shoulder and was trying to get out of the way as fast as I could. As this was beginning to happen Drew was telling Hogan to “go to the bathroom.” “Go to the bathroom!!” “GO TO THE BATHROOM!!!!” Finally I think Hogan realised he was standing immediately next to a bathroom and made it there before things got real bad. I blame the Jager.

A lot of fun and entertaining things happened at this epic ECFC house footbag party. There is one thing that happened that was much less awesome and I did just want to mention briefly because I don’t want it to be forgotten. I found myself alone at one point with somebody and we were having a good time together but I decided I wanted to get back to the party. They didn’t think this was such a good idea and they physically attempted to restrain me and force me to stay. There is no world or situation where this is in any way okay. Luckily I managed to gtfo of there without a serious incident but it really scared me. I had to have an uncomfortable and very serious talk with this person the next day but I made it pretty clear that this is not okay and they seemed to hear me and be extremely apologetic. I usually feel so safe in the footbag community and this was sort of an eye opener for me. I hope it doesn’t happen again.. to anyone.

I think the vast majority of the rest of the time was spent chilling in the upstairs (where there was an A/C) and smoking in the bathroom. So many cool people around. So much love!

I have no idea what time we passed out that night! Such a fun footbag party. Gosh.

<3