west of philly - bob
glad you enjoyed that ken 
--
7 days down, 3 to go. Hit weakside pdx whirl today. Probably not the first time ever, but it's not a regular thing by any means. hit strong pdx whirl > dlo. and best of all, dlo > paradon > osis > other dlo > other paradon. which is great because it has both weak paradon and weak dlo in it which are like buttoning your shirt with mittens on for me.
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7 days down, 3 to go. Hit weakside pdx whirl today. Probably not the first time ever, but it's not a regular thing by any means. hit strong pdx whirl > dlo. and best of all, dlo > paradon > osis > other dlo > other paradon. which is great because it has both weak paradon and weak dlo in it which are like buttoning your shirt with mittens on for me.
Bob R.
9 down, 1 to go. if i do say so myself (i.e. I'm not scott d or cal ripken... shit I ain't even somolinos circa last week), 10 in a row ain't bad for an old dude with crazy job and kids and wife and barns and stuff. yo. anyways, best thing i can remember tonight was a string that started: stepping ss mirage > toe set whirl > ducking butterfly > whirl > pdx DLO > paradon > a couple more contacts run
Bob R.
got that 10th day last night.. it was pretty rough.. today and tomorrow are rest days.. then peter bowler is here to shred with me on saturday.. it'll be fun to see whether the work and rest combination will pay off with a good session or not. I think it will. I generally play better when I'm with players that are more skilled than me (the exception is when the player is so much better than me that I get shut down... like when I've played with clavens. It's just pointless because I get caught watching, and then can't do anything at all)
some guinness to celebrate st. patty's (wife is 100% irish.. I'm 1/8th irish)
Bob R.
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h0ag3yb3atZ
- Egyptian Footgod
- Posts: 1161
- Joined: 03 Jul 2008 09:05
- Location: Shaolin
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slapdash21
- Futureless
- Posts: 4681
- Joined: 29 Sep 2004 14:50
- Location: Beantown, kidd
well, my all-footbag-all-the-time lifestyle was short lived. back to normal life these days with way less time for kicking every night. but i'm still going to try to play some. Shoot for 3 times per week or so.
i guess the next goal right now is to learn a few things before east coasts.
which leaves me about 8 weeks. One week of that is my woodworking course, so call it 7 weeks.
so, I think if I drill for 2 weeks, 1 week just play, 2 weeks drill, just play until the event. That might be a good way to go.
Then again, if I have the opportunity to actually play with people, I'll do that instead.
And really, I want to bike and play golf and basketball too. I'd like to play tennis again someday.
i guess the next goal right now is to learn a few things before east coasts.
which leaves me about 8 weeks. One week of that is my woodworking course, so call it 7 weeks.
so, I think if I drill for 2 weeks, 1 week just play, 2 weeks drill, just play until the event. That might be a good way to go.
Then again, if I have the opportunity to actually play with people, I'll do that instead.
And really, I want to bike and play golf and basketball too. I'd like to play tennis again someday.
Bob R.
hmmm, not a bad idea, but I guess with golf spikes on I should stay away from certain moves...
--
got back to drilling last night using my card system. This week's version goes like this:
- do all tricks in warm up pile a few times both sides. not to exceed 10 minutes.
- 10-15 minutes of bread and butter. I usually pick 2 or 3 and just build repeat combos out of them.
- 10-15 minutes of tricks I'm close on. I use them as run starters or early in a run, and then shred out of them.
- Give some tries on a unusual trick, a hittable trick that I haven't hit before, and a total stretch trick.
- Do a couple runs of whatever
anyways, it was fun to get back to drilling. I was really bummed after my session with peter. I've gotten so much better and I finally had a chance to show that to another player and I totally sucked. I was thinking thoughts like "dude, you're old, time to give it up". While it's true that I'm "old" having fun last night showed me that this is still a good way to exercise. I'll have good days and bad days, that's what happens when you play hacky sack at 33 years old.
I think I'll just drill a lot through April, and then just play in May up until East Coasts. I have to figure out what portion of that event I want to attend - I couldn't give less of a shit about the competition portion, I just want to shred.
--
got back to drilling last night using my card system. This week's version goes like this:
- do all tricks in warm up pile a few times both sides. not to exceed 10 minutes.
- 10-15 minutes of bread and butter. I usually pick 2 or 3 and just build repeat combos out of them.
- 10-15 minutes of tricks I'm close on. I use them as run starters or early in a run, and then shred out of them.
- Give some tries on a unusual trick, a hittable trick that I haven't hit before, and a total stretch trick.
- Do a couple runs of whatever
anyways, it was fun to get back to drilling. I was really bummed after my session with peter. I've gotten so much better and I finally had a chance to show that to another player and I totally sucked. I was thinking thoughts like "dude, you're old, time to give it up". While it's true that I'm "old" having fun last night showed me that this is still a good way to exercise. I'll have good days and bad days, that's what happens when you play hacky sack at 33 years old.
I think I'll just drill a lot through April, and then just play in May up until East Coasts. I have to figure out what portion of that event I want to attend - I couldn't give less of a shit about the competition portion, I just want to shred.
Bob R.
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slapdash21
- Futureless
- Posts: 4681
- Joined: 29 Sep 2004 14:50
- Location: Beantown, kidd
dont worry about it bob you shredded good. just wait til the video comes out, you layed down some pretty solid strings. hopefully the video will be done within about a week. thanks again for letting us crash at your place, everyone had a wicked good time and thom hasnt stopped talking about your barn yet. i see you didnt mention anything about being bested by a 4-11' chick in horse and nearly toppled by me in an amazing underdog darts game
i might have to get a board for myself for next time im down your way (hopefully soon so they'll be some pork roll left in your freezer...). alright take it easy,pb
Pete Bowler
B$C
keeps it offah da ground.
617 FOR LIFE
B$C
keeps it offah da ground.
617 FOR LIFE
oh shit, i totally forgot about that... pete's lady (all 4 foot 11inches of her) whupped all the guys' butts in a game of horse. of course, it was "boston rules" of horse which are totally lame/stupid, so it barely counts, and I did kill everyone in the 2nd game.. but still, I give her props.
Bob R.
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slapdash21
- Futureless
- Posts: 4681
- Joined: 29 Sep 2004 14:50
- Location: Beantown, kidd
To quit, or not to quit.
That's really where I am right now I guess. I'm going to try to play tonight. But I just don't care. The game makes my body hurt, I'm not very good, there's no one to play with, practices are often a chore instead of being fun, I'm old for this game, I have tons of other time chewing responsibilities and hobbies.
Part of it is that we're trying to move right now too. Need a different job very badly. Yes, it's been almost 2 years of job searching. But we're hoping something will come through soon. Networking and searching and submitting every single day. Wife is doing the same amount of effort on my behalf. We're deeply researching new hometowns. We stayed in a new area last weekend to test it out.
Modified is dead, so this isn't fun either. I have close to zero connection with other footbaggers. No real desire to go to events either.
So, I'm not real sure. I think it's about time to call it quits. At the very least, I think I'll shut down the ol' pointless blog finally. And I'll toy around with different practice methods for awhile to see if I can find a way that's fun for me to play. But, I think this is the beginning of the end finally. Whatever.
That's really where I am right now I guess. I'm going to try to play tonight. But I just don't care. The game makes my body hurt, I'm not very good, there's no one to play with, practices are often a chore instead of being fun, I'm old for this game, I have tons of other time chewing responsibilities and hobbies.
Part of it is that we're trying to move right now too. Need a different job very badly. Yes, it's been almost 2 years of job searching. But we're hoping something will come through soon. Networking and searching and submitting every single day. Wife is doing the same amount of effort on my behalf. We're deeply researching new hometowns. We stayed in a new area last weekend to test it out.
Modified is dead, so this isn't fun either. I have close to zero connection with other footbaggers. No real desire to go to events either.
So, I'm not real sure. I think it's about time to call it quits. At the very least, I think I'll shut down the ol' pointless blog finally. And I'll toy around with different practice methods for awhile to see if I can find a way that's fun for me to play. But, I think this is the beginning of the end finally. Whatever.
Bob R.
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Frank_Sinatra
- Avenging Disco Godfather
- Posts: 1660
- Joined: 09 Jan 2007 12:43
- Location: Chicago, IL
Hey Bob. I haven't been on in a while, but then I saw this, so I figured I'd talk down to you. I mean, talk you down. Yeah, that's the ticket...
When you're talking about feeling like footbag is a chore and not a diversion, I can relate. I've definitely been there & it was a tough rut to get out of, the bad things about a session always stood out, the problems with a spot or with putting a session together were very frustrating, some dumb conflict would happen, and on and on. I spent a lot of time wondering why I was doing this to myself.
For me, the answer is I'd rather be playing footbag than doing most other things. Obviously, responsibilities are a drag but have to be seen to. But even compared to other hobbies or ways of wasting time that a person can find, nothing makes me feel good the way footbag does. Even after a bad session, I feel good... maybe its just dopamine, and if it is just dopamine I don't care, but I feel good in my soul after getting out and playing.
Footbag is always going to be here if you ever decide to come back. I've only been active on Modified for like three years and I've seen lots of people declare their retirement or whatever, and come back. Its just that when you do come back, you'll regret not playing that whole time, thinking about the tricks that have become rusty or the progress that you could've made.
I know that you're very driven to succeed, but footbag doesn't offer much in the way of traditional measures of success, like money, fame, groupies, and since you play by yourself you don't get a lot of peer reinforcement/ acknowledgment for what you accomplish (which is all most of us can ever expect as far as external motivations). And second, who are your peers in this sport, exactly? There aren't many (relatively) older guys with career goals, other more substantial priorities in life, etc. So for you there's that added sense of isolation, which makes anything seem pointless.
I really want to talk you into not quitting, but I'm not sure how to do that. The motivation to play and satisfaction from playing have to come from within. No external reward, or praise, or whatever is going to fix your game or your mindset about your game for you. I feel like lately I've been much more at peace with the sport (but not always, not every session), and here's some things that help keep me in that mindset: I try to emphasize my successes when I practice and try to shrug off the drops. If something is bad one day, I've only got two choices - keep working on it until it feels better, or do something else. If I notice a problem, before I decide if I'm gonna fix it, I ask myself if it really matters to me. I try to play my game as well as I can, and not some imaginary style where I'm good at everything.
Remember that in the wide world of people who've ever spent time in a circle, you, and I, and everybody else on this board are in the top few thousand who have ever played. We can do things that other people think are impossible.
Also, you've been very encouraging and helpful to me over the last couple years. From the conversations we've had I know we think along similar lines about a lot of things, so just for me personally it would make modified even less worth checking if you left.
If you do decide to quit, I'll understand, but I won't approve. I hope you can find a way to make it fun and rewarding. Maybe just take the pressure off yourself to improve and only work on tricks that you enjoy doing? Maybe play less often and only play when you want to?
When you're talking about feeling like footbag is a chore and not a diversion, I can relate. I've definitely been there & it was a tough rut to get out of, the bad things about a session always stood out, the problems with a spot or with putting a session together were very frustrating, some dumb conflict would happen, and on and on. I spent a lot of time wondering why I was doing this to myself.
For me, the answer is I'd rather be playing footbag than doing most other things. Obviously, responsibilities are a drag but have to be seen to. But even compared to other hobbies or ways of wasting time that a person can find, nothing makes me feel good the way footbag does. Even after a bad session, I feel good... maybe its just dopamine, and if it is just dopamine I don't care, but I feel good in my soul after getting out and playing.
Footbag is always going to be here if you ever decide to come back. I've only been active on Modified for like three years and I've seen lots of people declare their retirement or whatever, and come back. Its just that when you do come back, you'll regret not playing that whole time, thinking about the tricks that have become rusty or the progress that you could've made.
I know that you're very driven to succeed, but footbag doesn't offer much in the way of traditional measures of success, like money, fame, groupies, and since you play by yourself you don't get a lot of peer reinforcement/ acknowledgment for what you accomplish (which is all most of us can ever expect as far as external motivations). And second, who are your peers in this sport, exactly? There aren't many (relatively) older guys with career goals, other more substantial priorities in life, etc. So for you there's that added sense of isolation, which makes anything seem pointless.
I really want to talk you into not quitting, but I'm not sure how to do that. The motivation to play and satisfaction from playing have to come from within. No external reward, or praise, or whatever is going to fix your game or your mindset about your game for you. I feel like lately I've been much more at peace with the sport (but not always, not every session), and here's some things that help keep me in that mindset: I try to emphasize my successes when I practice and try to shrug off the drops. If something is bad one day, I've only got two choices - keep working on it until it feels better, or do something else. If I notice a problem, before I decide if I'm gonna fix it, I ask myself if it really matters to me. I try to play my game as well as I can, and not some imaginary style where I'm good at everything.
Remember that in the wide world of people who've ever spent time in a circle, you, and I, and everybody else on this board are in the top few thousand who have ever played. We can do things that other people think are impossible.
Also, you've been very encouraging and helpful to me over the last couple years. From the conversations we've had I know we think along similar lines about a lot of things, so just for me personally it would make modified even less worth checking if you left.
If you do decide to quit, I'll understand, but I won't approve. I hope you can find a way to make it fun and rewarding. Maybe just take the pressure off yourself to improve and only work on tricks that you enjoy doing? Maybe play less often and only play when you want to?