Adrienne's footblog

The Energizer Benny · Post by **The Energizer Benny** » 04 Mar 2008 19:38

spiritually highest time in my life was a week I spent in New Orleans cleaning up the flood's mess.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 11 Mar 2008 07:17

Benny, I totally agree with you. As cheesy as it sounds, I think service is one of the most beautiful things you can possibly do with your life. Especially for people whose lives are so blessed like ours. I think my life is so much more fulfilling because of the service I do on a weekly basis. One day I am going to make it down to Latin America and spend a couple months to a year just doing service. That's awesome you were in New Orleans helping out. Moments like that really give you perspective on how lucky you are and how you can use what your given for the benefit of others.

So Shred for Savvy is a week and a half away! It is going to turn out so well and I am totally pumped. Everything for the space is now 100% in order, we got a couple donations from local businesses, there is definitely going to be a relatively decent amount of spectators. I hope ya'll are ready for an awesome time!

I decided that I am not going to try and learn anything new until after the tournament. I am just going to work on my routine, especially because I have a feeling I won't have a lot of time to play on the actual day of the event. But I do have a lot of people helping me out so I will get some time to play.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 12 Mar 2008 20:00

Just wanted to give you props in a public forum for undertaking this tournament. I really feel every footbagger who has ever attended a tournament has the obligation to host one themself at some point. Your tourney has also motivated me to practice routines, which is something I should have done long ago, and which I'm finding to be real fun and rewarding. Have fun in California, and let me know if I can be of any help when you get back.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 16 Mar 2008 22:30

Thanks ken! You are a sweetheart. You have definitely been such a big help to me in planning it and just supporting me emotionally (even though you may not realize it

)

Right now I am in California visiting my aunt for spring break. It has been pretty hard balancing between getting last minute stuff organized for Shred for Savvy, practicing my routine, and spending family time.

It has been a pretty fun time down here, though. I have been influenced by the culture of keeping healthy around here and have been eating well and exercising everyday. My cousin has been teaching me to play chess which is cool, but embarrassing because and 8 year old is kicking my butt in chess.

I have gotten some footbag practice time even though it has been less than I had hoped. I had a bit of routine practice and have been adding footbag drills to mine and my aunts daily workouts.

This afternoon was pretty fun because my aunt, my cousin, the foreign exchange student that lives with them (Sirush) and I went to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. While we were at the playground (which is the coolest playground ever by the way) I heard drumming. When I heard it I immediately thought "There will be hacky sack there!" so we all walked over there and sure enough there was a hack circle. I played with them for a little while but then I left that circle and stared one with Sirush and my cousin because they were too intimidated to come in the big hack circle, plus I could use my own bag and they wouldn't mind me freestyling. So then I guess a couple of the guys in the hack circle saw me doing tricks and came over to play with us. Turns out they are old school freestylers who haven't played in awhile, but were really excited to see and play actual freestyle. There names were Andre (just Andre...) and Ben Little. It was cool because I wasn't really able to plan to meet up with anyone from here because my aunt really likes to plan full days and I didn't want to spend a couple hours off randomly playing footbag, but I got to meet some new people and freestyle anyway.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 20 Mar 2008 17:58

So I am totally bummed out at the moment. Among the slew of random and terrible events that happened while I was at work today, I twisted my ankle really badly. No one was at the gym, so I was practicing my routine. I went to do a reverse whirl but somehow landed on top of my foot. To make a long story short, it is probably the worst sports injury I have ever had but I don't get injured that much so I don't know how badly it will effect me.

The thing that sucks the most is Shred for Savvy is this weekend. If it was any other tournament, any in the world, I wouldn't care. I would still go, hang out and be fine. But why did I have to hurt myself before this tournament? I have lots of friends and family coming and they may never get a chance to see me do a routine again. I was working so hard on it too. There is still a chance that I still might be able to pull something off. If it heals a little bit I think I can pull through but my routine will change a lot. I don't think I would be able to do any side or clipper stalls on my right foot. I am going to rest it tonight and tomorrow then see what happens Saturday.

Anyway I am just really frustrated and thought I would rant to people that definitely understand. But on a positive note, if I am not able to do a routine, I will have managed to host my first tournament and that in itself is amazing. And even better, it is for a good cause.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 20 Mar 2008 19:19

Oh Adrienne.

Ice, compress, and elevate for the first 24 hours. Try to keep weight off of it. Even if you don't heal up, you're right: it's great that you are hosting an event. I think that's awesome. See you tomorrow night probably, and if not, Saturday morning.

the Executioner · Post by **the Executioner** » 21 Mar 2008 08:59

that sucks Age....dont sweat it, it's gonna be a great weekend either way, but it still sucks.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 25 Mar 2008 21:23

I have successfully ran my first tournament! It was a breath of fresh air when it was finally over because doing it was so stressful (but in a very rewarding way). The morning of the event, I was having hot flashes because I was so nervous.

I did get to compete. It was okay but my ankle hurt so the routine had to change a lot without practice and I only had like 10 minutes to warm up. I generally like to switch my music for every event, but I will keep this one for a bit. The routine had some potential and I want to perform it to that potential. I didn't get to play at all after routines partly because of my ankle and partly because I had so much to do. But it's okay. I had a lot of fun and it seems like everyone else did too. That is what was most important to me. Even though some not so great things happened, all in all it turned out pretty well.

We raised $500 for Savannah which is awesome. Everyone was really generous with their donations. Thank you so much!

A couple people have put pretty detailed accounts of the event, so check out Ken or Barrett's blogs for the full low down.

My ankle is still pretty messed up. I hurt the outside of my right ankle so doing any side or clipper stalls (or just cranking my foot in that direction) is really painful. I am going to not kick at all for a couple days, then see how I feel on Thursday during UMD's regular footbag session. Will probably take it easy even if it is feeling better.

In the meantime, I am going to join the UMD juggling club. I have been going to some meetings and have been getting better at the normal 3 ball cascade. Also, my friend taught me how to take the balls from someone while they are juggling and continue to juggle them. Next time, one of the guys is going to teach me poi (spelling?) because I have always wanted to learn it.

I am also going to be stitching more. I originally learned so I could make them for myself, but my friend Matt Evans (intermediate routines winner at Shred for Savvy

) asked me to make him some. He figured if he was going to buy them, he should buy them from me. I had never planned on making them to sell but if he wants them, then why not? My stitches are much more even now, but I pretty sure that's because I am paying attention since it is for someone else. Waylon would be so proud

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 26 Mar 2008 10:33

Age, ice and compress as per usual for your ankle. Sprains don't heal within a couple a days, nor in a couple of weeks. Take care walking in general, especially up and down stairs.

As for sewing, if you want I can send over a few incomplete footbag projects I've done recently to give you a detailed view of how I stitch footbags. I learned how to stitch well by looking at a busted Lonn Irish/Vo 32 that Drew Martin gave me. Then there's the Russian footbag website that details step-by-step on how to make even stitches. Heck, I can even give you a pentagon flower showing you how I stitch 32s, and from there you can inherit my sewing craft.

I am proud! I'm proud you're sewing and making hotter bags upon each completion. But you know, playing is more imprtant than stitching, and even more important than looking at the aesthetics of footbags in general. Once you've got the knack, you won't ever lose it.

I want to see the 20th bag you've made.

I feel we didn't get to play as much as we could at Shred for Savvy. I want you to heal up 100% and train, so that we can reach guiltless sometime this year. I'm expecting you to show at the NFA Invitational this summer.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 26 Mar 2008 11:22

Wasabi wrote:Age, ice and compress as per usual for your ankle.

Actually, don't. Ice, compress, elevate in the first 24-48 hours, but not afterwards. Keeping weight off is a good idea, but ICE is only for the first 1-2 days.

Iron Clad Ben · Post by **Iron Clad Ben** » 26 Mar 2008 11:52

Just dropping by to say congratulations on running your first event

You never really can appreciate how much work and stress it all is until you do it yourself. It sounds like you did a great job. By all accounts I've read it looks like everyone had a great time, and you really helped out Savvy's family to boot. I hope this positive experience will spur you on to staying involved with organizing footbag events. The sport needs more people who are willing to take the initiative and do stuff like that.

As for the ankle, take Ken's advice. EASE back into things and don't be afraid to be overly cautious. That's speaking from experience on recovering from injuries the wrong way several times

Believe me, it's worth it to take it SLOW.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 02 Apr 2008 16:54

Thanks for the kind words, Ben! I don't know when I can host a tournament again, but I certainly hope to one day.

The ankle hasn't been getting much better, which is pretty much my fault. I played more than my far share of four square last Thursday, I am taking ballet for a grade, and I am just not being really careful in general. I go to the health center on campus tomorrow (which I have tried really hard to avoid the last 2 weeks), and I am hoping to get a note for ballet. I continue to do it even though it really hurts because I am worried about my grade.

Although, juggling had been going pretty well. Keeping me busy while I can't footbag. Learned a new pattern: throwing the bags over instead of under. Also, I learned poi and the beginnings of unicycling. There are lots of cool people in the juggling club so it has been really fun to get to know them. They also seem to be popping up around campus in the most random places. One guy happened to rescue me when I locked my keys in the car the other day.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 29 Apr 2008 08:09

Wow, so it has been almost a month since I wrote on here. Life has gotten really busy with it being my last semester. I haven't done much school work, but I have made sure I am living up my last semester.

Haven't be playing a ton a footbag because of my ankle, but a couple of dys after GRASS Vince and I got together and I was playing really well out of nowhere. It was awesome.

GRASS was really fun even though I didn't play much. The show on Saturday was the best juggling show I had ever seen. Jorden rocked and was the only person to get a standing ovation

It was fun to get to know Dave better. The new Vasek video is pretty sweet.

Juggling has been going well. I finally learned to juggle clubs, at the cost of really sore forearms.

My friend from the juggling club, Christian, has started getting really into footbag. He can hit ATW, mirage and legover. I made him a bag and he carries it everywhere. I let him borrow my Gravity Man DVD and apparently he spends too much time watching footbag videos. I am super excited to have him to play footbag with

As I have mentioned before, I am in a co-ed community service fraternity. Sunday we had something called paddle presentations, and this is where a pledge presents his or her mentor with a gift that they made that is supposed to represent something about the mentor. I wanted to share a pic of what my little made for me:

She drew a laver that is decorated with juggling clubs and balls. Then to the side there is a pic of a girl playing footbag.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 29 Apr 2008 11:15

Hey Age. I was just commenting to Liz the other day that I miss hanging out with you. I'm thinking that this Friday I want to go to Vince's sushi and billiards. If you're interested, maybe we could sneak in a shred right before.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 31 May 2008 22:22

Yet another month has passed without a blog entry, but it has been quite an eventful month. So this post is pretty long...

The biggest event being my college graduation. I hadn't planned on walking in the graduation, but I am really glad I did. The professors said something about each individual person, and I was able to see my other foreign language friends graduate as well. To celebrate, I did the only thing that makes sense: pudding wrestle. Which is hands down one of the most fun things I have ever done.

This is the picture I am sending out with my graduation announcements. I wasn't planning on sending them out, but this picture really sums up my college experience and is just so awesome that I feel the need to send it to my family in place of the professional graduation pictures. By the way, Dave, that is your bag I am showing off in the picture.

It still hasn't sunk in that I have graduated and I half expect next year to just be your typical year in undergrad. I am sure there will be a moment that reality will hit me hard. As for next year, I will be going to grad school, but it will be full time student teaching (a full time job that I am paying to do

)

The last week was filled with tons of fun and footbag. I have played everyday since Sunday, first with Ken, Vince and Matt. To add to the awesomeness, Monday we also bowled and ate Rita's ice cream. They are pretty much the best activities to combine in one day.

Tuesday, I went to Erie, PA to visit with the Erie crew. On Wednesday, we taught a gym class for an entire day about footbag. It was awesome to combine teaching and footbag

We kicked at this fair in Erie later that day, and this random guy was so impressed by my footbag, he gave me his giant blow up hammer because I asked him about how to get one.

From there I visited a guy I met when I was in Spain who lives in Hermitage, PA. He doesn't footbag but he can hacky like a mad man. He is really fun to play with because he will run all over to get the bag. Anyway, it was really good to see him again because we were pretty close in Spain.

I then stopped in Pittsburgh to say hey and kick with Ian and Jake. Matt also played with us, so now I finally know who that kid is Ian is always talking about in his blog. We played in front of this building called the Cathedral of Learning that looked straight out of Europe. It was an absolutely gorgeous Gothic-style cathedral that apparently has never been a church. It was definitely the most beautiful place I have ever played. During that session I came pretty close to hitting a ducking butterfly, which once I hit it will be my first 4 add move. After we played, Jake, Ian and I went out to dinner and hung out for a bit. I was once again amazed by the hospitality of footbaggers when Jake offered to let me stay at his place. Thanks dude. You rock.

On a separate note, I really enjoy seeing footbaggers outside of events. When everyone is at a tournament or jam, the most prominent topic of conversation is footbag. When you visit people outside of these events, you really get to know the person in their life away from footbag. Which is awesome because everyone who plays footbag are such interesting people . So if anyone is ever in the D.C. area, make sure you come say hi

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 09 Jun 2008 14:07

This weekend was a pretty good weekend for footbag. Friday night I saw Zohan with Vince and Matt. Vince and I kicked a little bit before the show, but the streets were really crowded and he wasn't dressed to play. It was cool to see Alex Strassman but really sucks that Pete's scene got cut. The movie was better than I expected but I wouldn't say it was one of my favorite Adam Sandler movies. Although, I must say, I think I am going to travel to New York and get myself a haircut from the Zohan...

Speaking of New York, I went there this weekend to hang out with the NYFA crew. It was pretty random because one day Ken calls me and asks if I want to go, so I say sure and show up to New York having no real idea of why I am there. Although, I assumed it was to hang with NYFA. It was a really good time. We played in the sweltering heat for a few hours, hacked to the beat of a cool band in Union Square, went to Barrett's going away party at a bar, played some pool, and I feel asleep to the soothing sounds of Grand Theft Auto 4. It was really nice to get to know Bruce better and hang with people I haven't hung with in awhile.

While in New York, I played absolutely horrendously but had fun. I had a bit of a session today where I worked on things like posture and moves on my flip side. The only real highlight from that is that I finally did 3 butterflys back to back.

I am going to California in two days for a month and a half to tutor and work at a Spanish camp. I think being there will be really good for my game because 1) There is a large emphasis on eating healthy and exercising in Sonoma where I will be living and 2) I will have way too much free time on my hands given that I don't know anyone there besides my family and the community is not exactly swarming with young adults. It is a very family oriented community. I hope to practice a hella lot because I really, really want to compete at the US Open. I am not going to if I don't think I am ready to, but it is not often that I get the chance to go to an event on the west coast.

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 09 Jun 2008 16:15

It was good to see you last weekend, Adrienne. Hopefully I can see you again at the US Open.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 11 Jun 2008 20:28

It was good to see you too, Waylon and you will definitely see me at the US Open!

I am stuck in Atlanta at the moment because my first flight was delayed so I missed my connecting flight to San Fransisco.

During the delay, I played in the airport for like and hour or so. Continued to work on flip side moves. My right ankle hurts a good bit. Ever since I hurt my ankle, it usually hurts after a session but today it hurt worse than usual. I think it is because I tripped over a box while I was rushing around trying to pack this morning.

Yesterday Vince, Ken and I played at Ken's dorm to have my last D.C. session for a month! *tear* Ken convinced me to do a "One Shot for Stephen Barnes" which I am mortified about. My first video on modified is pretty pathetic

But something useful did come out of it. When he started to tape me, I got really bad butterflies in my stomach and my body tensed up. It is the exact same feeling that I get when I do a routine. So I think I am going to use the One Shot to help me get over my fear of performing. Put one up every few days to practice playing under pressure.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 20 Jun 2008 18:25

Everything is going pretty well here in Cali. Weather is beautiful, people are super friendly. Done some wine tastings, so I might come back from the wine country knowing a thing or two about wine. I am tutoring my cousin, and he is a total brat. His parents are going on business trips this week, so we will be alone for 4 days. I am a little worried how that is going to turn out, but hopefully he will behave.

I have been volunteering at his nature camp, mostly because I don't have much else to do while he is in camp. We are going to do some juggling next time I go

Spanish camp starts in July, which is one of the main reasons I am here. In addition to playing with little kids while speaking in Spanish, I get to teach footbag. Apparently, the woman who runs the camp knows John Leys' mother and was really excited to hear I play. She is ordering some footbags so I can teach it to all the kids.

My game has been coming along pretty well. I am footing my paradox illusions, which is an improvement. Ducking clippers and infinities have also been coming along nicely. Strings are getting a tad longer. For the US Open, I decided to do a different song than at Shred for Savvy. It is a merengue song, and the beat is a bit easier to play to.

While I thought doing the One Shot for Steven Barnes thing was a pretty good idea for me, I realized I forgot the attachment for my camera to go into my computer. So, unless I can get my aunt to let me use hers, there will be none until I get home.

Tomorrow I go to Steve Goldberg's house to play and on the 30th of June I am driving to Tahoe to meet up with Chase Card-Burns. It will be nice to play with some west coast players.

colefieldhouse22 · Post by **colefieldhouse22** » 23 Jun 2008 15:23

Went to "Steve's Shred Palace" on Saturday to play. Once I got into his town, the ride was absolutly terrifying because he lives on top of a giant hill and I had to drive a manual pick-up truck, that I just learned to drive last week. But it was well worth it. The house has a shred room, complete with special flooring, a 4-square court, and Sirius radio that blasts sweet shred music. The house is gorgeous and has a panoramic view of everything from San Fransisco to Standford and beyond. Wow.

I meet 5 new guys: Dustin, Alex, Abram, Mark, and Jeff. They were all real cool. We shreded some, and Steve gave me some 2-square tips. I am pretty sure every point I got on him was just him being nice

It was really nice to finally get to play with some people from Cali. After we were done playing, Steve made us all pizza, really good pizza, which apparently is a weekly thing. It is super generous of him to have people over his house to play every week and then feeding them on top of that.

Today I had a really good session. My strings were unusually long, I hit my two main 2 dex moves semi-consistently (DLO and pixie legover), and I planned a good deal of my routine for the USO. I changed my music back to XO by Fall Out Boy because merengue is very repetitive and while the beat was good, I liked the change in rhythem the FOB song has.

Until the USO I am not going to worry too much about learning anything new. I just really want to perfect what I have an plan a decent routine. But after that I am really going to start schooling. Sometimes I think about it, and I am embarassed that I have been playing for 4 years but am only at the skill level I am now. There are people who have been playing half the time I have who are 100x better than me. Footbag has never been my #1 priority becuase I do so much other stuff, but I really want to make it a priority. So this is my vow to you all, pretty soon I am going to be a badass footbag player. So watch out