Danny Boi'$ FootblG

[DC Clinks]

God you're weird.

PSU jam today was sick. Went for like 3 or 4 hours with a bunch of different people. Met a lot of new people from PSU. Didn't really hit much other than legovers x5 and some pickups for the first time.

[Ryan_Morris]

Yeah, that guy is a bit odd.

Also, so nice to meet you, Dan! I wish I'd had more time to shred with you.

[krustykrakk]

Step 1: Moar Talk
Step 2: Hand Touch
Step 3:
Step 4: Profit

[DC Clinks]

Ryan: Yea, in a good way though. Love that guy.

For sure, you're a really cool guy. Yea, wish we could have gotten in a circle together or something. But just seeing you shred was sick too, that string on Sunday was FUCKING RAD DUDE! Seriously amazing, props.

Ben: Talk below. You bacon?

----

TL;DR (Too Long, Didn't Read): Footbag.

Moar talk! Much hand touch had this weekend because I went to PSU Arts Jam! Many things to cover. Side note: Went to put in my password and accidentally typed Modified, I have a problem.

Thursday (not really footbag related): Had job orientation at the track, I was really anxious because I would find out when I had to come back in again. I thought it was either Sunday or Monday so I was freaking out thinking it would be Sunday and I wouldn't be able to go to Arts Fest. Turns out I don't have to go back in until Wednesday, so that's great. I also met my friend Gabb there, I guess he got into the same position as me! Sweet. Hopefully we can work together, would probably make things a little less dull. Anyways, I was all set to go to PSU when Matt said he still needed to work out his transportation stuff first. Turns out he got a new car! Oh sweet! He ended up being a little late because he actually just drove it off the lot to my house to pick me up! Kinda crazy. Shit was clean with a capital C.

Friday: Spent the morning and afternoon packing and otherwise getting ready for the trip. Matt came around like 5 or 6 and we started the journey to PA. Neither of us had really eaten anything, so we stopped at a Subway and got some shit to eat. I learned to great excitement that Coke came in large cans, sweet sweet caffeine:



We eventually make it there after much talk of footbag and what various terms and concepts meant. Didn't understand some of it but it was nice to listen to anyways, sorry Matt! I at least remember what the difference between Ducking and Diving tricks are now, but I probably won't be implementing that knowledge for some time lol. So we make it to Shred House after several minutes of the GPS failing us at the last neighborhood, and find a bunch of people footbagging already. Nick, sweaty as always, Ryan, other Ryan, April, Ben (slightly tipz), and Ivan.

Ben asked very politely for some help with some trick or another. Matt did a mini-workshop in skate shoes (shit's inhuman) for Ben or Ryan I think. I really wanted to join them but all the stuff was still in the car and by that point it was like 1 AM. We talked a bit about footbag-related things until 2 or 3 then went to sleep.

Saturday: Woke up at 6 and wasn't really tired so decided to get up. Made a breakfast of champions with some crackers n peanut butter I brought along, pretty much ate this for the entire weekend lol:



After reading some stuff on Modified and Reddit it was about 7 or 8, wanted to do something so I grabbed a notebook and did a quick sketch of the view outside. Didn't end up finishing it but here ya go:



Also saw this cool Footbag-Mobil type thing in the room, thought that was pretty sweet:



At around noon we got to Old Main and there were a lot of people already shredding. I probably kicked for 3 or 4 hours, meeting some new faces along the way. Nathan, Marc, Aidan, and Chrissy. Fucked with some Orbits and ATWs. Got a couple Pickups for the first time which felt nice, really starting to understand the whole in to out dex stuff.I also matched my record of 5 for alternating legovers. Went back to Ryan and Ivan's place and chilled. Ivan showed me how to get started stitching and I set to work on making a 14 panel (this failed on an epic scale, more later). I really love the sense of family and community in the footbag collective. Really interesting to see different friendships and group dynamics.

Sunday: Actually got some sleep this time, headed out to IST around 12 or 1. Saw some kid eat shit on pavement falling out of a stroller on the way there. That sucks lil homie. I only played for maybe an hour or two as my leg was hurting pretty much as soon as I started. Kicked with pretty much everyone though, except Ryan and Matt. Hit some pretty normal stuff, with some 122 string of various kicks (Ryan Thomas helped with one kick at the end lol). Took a couple pictures of Matt doing Matt things:



Sorry for potato level quality, had to zoom in a bit. Seemed like it was 4 PM in a instant and we were going back to Shred House (Haus? I guess Shred House was already taken or something) to shower and depart. Matt and I ate some shit at BK Lounge, and got on the road. Turns out Matt's actually a secret nerd so we listened to LOTR, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones soundtracks on the way home (just kidding bud ). We listened to some highly intellectual and well-informed arguments on the issue of same-sex marriage, courtesy of godandcountryradio (read more on his blog). Eventually got home after a fucking downpour of rain for the last half an hour or so. Fell asleep very soon after that, was exhausted at that point.

Today: Woke up, wool-gathered for a while and then set on a mission to finish my 14 panel. Turns out after a few hours of struggle and tears I ended up messing it up beyond all repair:



So I guess I have to use one continuous thread for each square, which I didn't do. At all in any way, shape, or form . Supposed to end up with 6 knots and 2 loose ends, my monstrosity had 9 knots and 1 loose end. Oh well... A bunch of thanks to Ivan for getting me started and answering all my questions. I saved all the filling and plan to make a 32 the correct way this time around. Once I get some fabric anyways. Extra thanks to Nick and April for helping me as well.

Matt might call me a big idiot dumb like those enlightened individuals at godandcountryradio, but I had a session today, albeit it was a short one. Drilled some stuff, all marathon style shiz:
-Inside stalls x50 (25 BS)
-Toe stalls x100 (50 BS)
-Inside> Op Toe > Op Toe > Op Inside > rpt x10
-Toe > SS Inside > SS Toe x20 (10 BS)
-Orbit x20 (10 BS)
-ATW x 10 (5 B FUCKING SAUCE, OH GOD THIS FELT SO GOOD TO HIT ON MY LEFT SIDE, I FUCKING GET IT FINALLY)

And that's it. All caught up to the present I guess. Might have a session tomorrow, probably shouldn't. I don't know, will update later.

[isirc10]

Turns out he got a new car! Oh sweet! He ended up being a little late because he actually just drove it off the lot to my house to pick me up! Kinda crazy. Shit was clean with a capital C.

Matt mentioned how new his car was all weekend, but I think you truly captured it's state with your statement. Also, thanks for joining us.

[Cass]

Okay I don't mean to lecture.. but wait yes I do.

Your body will heal faster and be nicer to you if you replace soda with water and fast food with vegetables, fruit, tuna etc.

Great to see you improving, keep it up!

[DC Clinks]

Haha it's coolio.

Matt and I actually talked a little about fast food on the way home. I think it's kinda like yea it's not gonna kill you if you have a couple meals of it every now (like 1 or 2 every few months) and then but it's still unhealthy, in more ways then just to your body. So I agree. I think the convenience of it is what makes it so tempting really.

Definitely trying to change my diet in general though for sure. I always feel more energetic and "fresh" when I eat clean foods like fruits and vegetables, if that makes sense. Trying to replace my soda addiction with just straight water as well so we'll see how that goes.

Thanks for the encouragement! Was really cool to kick with you again, hopefully we'll see each other at east coasts or something.

[DC Clinks]

Did some kicks yesterday, that's it though. No session today, heels were hurting from standing around at work without in-soles. Dumb me. Might have a session tomorrow, going to the pool though so not sure.

-Toe kicks x40 (20 BS)
-Outside kicks x40 (20 BS)
-Inside kicks x100 (50 BS)

All marathon style... Toe kicks are looking better. Outsides are getting there.

[DC Clinks]

Today's session, some reflections, and random bullshit.

Random bullshit first:
Saw some show/ commercial with a bunch of people eating at a table. Some guy is talking to a girl and said (paraphrasing a bit here, don't remember the exact words used) "How can you hate spices? I just don't get it" "Like Hitler or genocide" "Hitler is fine to hate, but cinnamon buns...?" Just thought it was kind of funny.

Does anyone else talk to their pets like they can completely understand you sometimes? I think it's really fun to do; just imagine their reaction if it was actually true. They would be all "What the fuck? Three years of this incessant baby talk to us and now this dickhead of an owner just decides to speak in full sentences while conversing?!?" It would totally blow their mind... Oh well, maybe someday with advances in technology we'll be able to talk to our pets... Who knows?

I feel like they can already understand our general mood and are able to comprehend our tones of voice after a while. All that's left is the whole language barrier thing! Although I'm not too sure about the intelligence level of humans v. dogs. Like would they be able to understand and process complex ideas and thoughts? Need an expert to weigh in on this, I'm way too under-qualified to be talking about it lol.

I watched a movie today, it was called "The Recruit" with Al Pacino and Colin Farrell. It was about this "wicked smart" MIT grad who undergoes CIA training to become a Non-official cover (NOC), which I guess is basically a spy without diplomatic/ legal protection from their government. So if they get caught it's kinda like nice to know you, see you never again type of deal. It was a pretty cool movie, really got into the whole mentality of what it's like being a spy-type character-- how they perceive things differently etc. I really like movies with the whole Jason Bourne spy/ assassin vibe, very interesting to watch and think about.

Anyways, had a session today! Pretty much my first real one since PSU Arts Fest Jam. My heels were really killing me after my first run at work, need to remember to put my in-soles in my dress shoes. It was kind of a late night ish session, sun was setting, wasn't too hot or too cold-- really nice. I liked it a lot, going to have to try it more.




Nick/ Matt finally figured out what's up with my leg pain I think. I posted a video of just some random stuff, legovers, ATW attempts, and Nick messaged me (kind of weird actually, it was pretty much instantly after I posted lol). Said I was moving my knee way too high up while doing the dex on legovers, and probably over-exerting my hip flexor muscles in the process.

I read up a bit about it here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 000682.htm and it made a lot of sense, a lot of stuff lined up with what I was experiencing. Matt said it was probably just a combination of different stuff. New movements, overuse, under "stretchedness" (Is that even a word Matt?) etc. So I figured I would do a little experiment right? And it's a scientific test so I gotta have a control group. So today's session I did no legovers! Pretty top notch science, I know. But it worked! About an hour after the session and I'm not feeling any pain in the area I normally feel it in. Might go to the doctor just to make sure but in the meantime I'll just take my time warming up and stretching, and work on legovers more slowly.

So, here's what I did end up doing:
-Inside kicks x100 (50 BS)
-Toe kicks x40 (20 BS, left leg is really starting to get the form up, just need to mess with timing/ positioning)
-Inside stalls x100 (50 BS, 20 in a row)
-Toe stalls x100 (50 BS, 120 in a row [getting pretty close to my original goal with these])
-Toe > SS Inside > SS Toe x20 (10 BS)
-Inside > Op Toe > Op Toe > Op Inside x20 (10 BS)
-Orbits x20 (10 BS)
-ATWs x20 (10 BS)

Wanted to try more stuff but figured I shouldn't push it as I have my first real day of work tomorrow. That's about it for today. Hopefully a session tomorrow if I feel up to it, maybe one with Matt over the weekend (Matt was talking about his friend Will possibly coming, that would be sick).

[DC Clinks]

Another evening/ dusk session. Drilled a few things:
Inside stalls x100 (50 BS, 38 in a row)
Toe stall x100 (50 BS, 70 in a row)
Inside stall > Op toe > Op toe > Op inside x15 (12 in a row)
Toe > SS inside > SS toe x20 (10 BS)
Orbits x6 in a row
Orbit x40 (20 BS)
ATWs x 10 (5 BS)

Oh yea, this was basically me on my first day as an usher:



Not that bad though, worst part about it is just standing around for extended periods of time. Really did a number on my feet and ankles. Footbag seemed to help though oddly enough... I think anyways.

Definitely need to start pushing some other concepts, work on Clippers, Mirage, Pick-ups etc. Maybe tomorrow?

[DC Clinks]

Today was pretty decent at work. My feet and ankles are still killing me halfway though my shift but towards the end it gets bearable. Had some nice conversations with interesting/ genuine people and got tipped to take pictures of these two couples. So that's good.

Short session, didn't really do much before the sun went down.

100 inside (21 in a row, 50 BS)
100 toe (135 in a row, 50+ BS [this felt really nice to get, new toe stall record I think)
Inside toe toe inside 10
Orbit 10 5 bs

Matt and I sorta got a session figured out now so that's sweet too. Haven't seen him since PSU a week ago.

Might try for a early morning session sometime soon, maybe that would be better.

[F[uns]tylin' Eclectic]

Early morning sessions are great. Have done them before. It's nice to get a good workout early on. And Vasek says in his manual that it is best to train between the hours of 5 and 7 am or pm. It is in these hours that the earth gives off the best vibrations. Pretty cool stuff. I think it works if you believe in it.

[DC Clinks]

Nick: Yea, I think it might be better for me to do sessions before standing around for so long. Huh, really? That's interesting, I'll have to try and give it a shot soon.
@Modified: Did something change for the desktop layout? Something feels different, I don't know, whatever.
----

Anyways, bunch of stuff to talk about I guess. Gonna be a long ass post. Work today was pretty fucking dull. It was a Monday so the track was pretty much a ghost-land for a good part of my shift. Made a new friend in Maintenance, his name is Jack. Since there was no one around, every time he came to a trash can near me he would just laugh because it was empty the whole day. Was pretty funny. Kids are usually pretty interesting to talk with too. They're just so full of wonder and amazement at like every little thing, it's neat to watch (more on this later). They're usually more entertaining to talk to than actual adults so far, I don't know, they just think about things differently then the rest of us. Lots of cool people there though, I'm not actually dreading work on Wednesday. Definitely going to have a rest day on my day off though, give my body some time to recuperate and recover.

Kemmer and I had a session today! Been a while since we footbagged together so that was sweet. It was really good, about 2 and a half hours. We both hit some cool stuff, I'll let Matt cover his own stuff. We played outside this library in town, it was a really sweet spot! Here's a picture of it:



It was interesting because it was kind of secluded but also near a public place so had a bunch of people going through (more on that insanity later). We talked a bit about the overall atmosphere of the place, and agreed it gave off a better vibe than the park we usually go to. Anyone else feel like some shred spots give off a more positive "aura" than others? I don't really know how to explain it. Matt said it would also be a cool place to make some footage later on. That'd be cool.

Warmed up slowly with a bunch of kicks and stretches, then moved on to my everyday drills. Matt helped me out with my Legovers and ATW/Orbits and I think they improved a little, going to need a few more sessions for everything to really sink in though. He also said I need to practice more Clippers which is unfortunately true. Ugh fuck Clippers, you'd think they would be so easy like "Oh it's just an inside stall but behind me, I can do that shit ez" Nope. Going to focus more on these and other shit in the next couple weeks.

Anyways, a bunch of people were passing in and out of our area. Some parents with their kids, and the kids are all "OH WOW. WHAT'S THAT THING THEY'RE DOING WITH THE BALL MOMMY?" and parents are all like "Oh that's just hacky sack dear, come along now" and boom with one sentence all childlike wonder and excitement extinguished. Got me thinking like what if we got one of these kids and trained em up from early youth. We could have some sick child prodigies if they started at like 4 or 5 and kept with it for some years, like those pro-skateboarder kids that are 13-15 years old. It'd be so sick.

And that's another thing, ya know? Listen here lady, this isn't "just hacky-sack", it's footbag, and it's a god damn sport. Probably one of the more challenging ones out there too. I may not be very good yet but I drill this shit multiple times a week to excel and improve my skills and abilities. This ain't some dandy hack-circle you get together with your buddies every couple weeks, it's hard work. Sorry for the rant but I was kind of mad at that comment.

Anyways some weird shit went down in our session. Let me tell you guys a story about this guy named Nathan. I pretty much remember every detail of clothing and accessories he had, because he was just such a memorable guy. Let me indulge you all on just the get-up this guy has. Nathan is sporting a Call Of Duty: Black Ops II tank top, a nice cross necklace, some casual denim jeans, some worn out running shoes, and from what I could tell some kind of blue rubber bracelet.

Now half this story is basically just from Matt's perspective as I was inside when Nathan introduced himself. But I'll start from when I go back outside. I think to myself "Oh cool, someone else is footbagging with us" so I go down, introduce myself ya know. "Hi I'm Dan", try to shake his hand, doesn't work very well as he doesn't even seem to notice the attempted hand touch. Get back into the circle and I found out he's probably something like a casual kicker guy. That's sweet, I used to be basically the same a year or so ago. Except he's just dead silent not talking at all. Try to give him some props when he gets a string like "Hey nice man", no response. Kemmer goes into the library to get a drink or something, so I figured I'll make some small talk right? So I'm like "You live here in Saratoga?" and he responds "Yea"-- after about 5 seconds. "Oh, cool cool. You hack often?", no response.

So Matt comes back out and we go back into circle mode for a while, eventually Nathan makes some sort of mistake and says "Oops, sorry, I'm drunk and high right now" Oh. Okay. We continue on for about 10 minutes before Nathan seemingly remembers some urgent appointment, says "Cya", grabs his coat that looks suspiciously like a trench-coat, and peaces off into the night. I was laughing on the ground for about 10 seconds because what the fuck just happened.

So yea, more on Nathan in Matt's blog probably, anyways moving on. Towards the end of the session me n Matt are both trying to hit something, finish off with something good ya know? So I try some ATWs and Legovers, try and link em together and I got Legover > ATW bsauce after a dozen tries. Felt good to hit it but I still need to drill them both individually more to get them down solid. Also tried for ATW > Legover but my feet were just done at that point and I probably wouldn't be able to hit that whenever anyways.

Can't forget Matt cursing at the bag "Come on you piece of shit" every time he fucked some string up. Good stuff. That's about it, cy@ for now.

[DC Clinks]

P.S. Matt's afraid of school-children.

[Cass]

P.S. Matt's afraid of school-children.

They are terrifying!


Definitely looks like a cool shred spot.


I liked that blog post and also props on having good grammar

[DC Clinks]

Cassy: Matt was talking about NYC school kids, who apparently creep him out or something. I think he's just a weirdo  

Thanks! I've been trying to incorporate more random stories and pictures into my posts. I try to write fluently and correctly most of the time. 

It's not perfect by any means, and I could do with some brushing up lessons on some areas. But at least it's coherent and organized lol.

----

Some thoughts and reflections over the past couple days. Not exactly footbag related, moreso myself and how I perceive things I suppose. Just wanted to write it out somewhere: 

~~~~
I feel like I'm growing a bit as a person. Working at the track forces me to be social, more outgoing, and... Not friendlier... But more welcoming to people. This is basically in direct conflict with my social nature for the past dozen years or so. I've always been a bit shy, introverted, and timid around people I'm not 1000% comfortable with. In the past I've been really awkward in ways of conversation and socializing.

But recently in the past 6 months I can feel that slowly changing. I can open up to friends, share my feelings and emotions better, keep conversation flowing more frequently, little things like that.

The other day when I was walking from work to the shred spot in town, I found myself still in "usher mode" despite work being over and my outfit in my backpack. Laughing with some people walking down the road for a bit, smiling at some girl riding a bike, just walking with confidence and my head high I guess. And the weird thing is... It felt normal, and good. And I can't even describe how happy that makes me.

I know to some people this just comes really easy, like just skills you learned in high school but I'm a bit of a late bloomer in that regard. So to be able to talk to people, have confidence in myself, and not be afraid of social interaction... It just feels really great.

I think it's in part thanks to footbag and all the awesome people I've met along the way. It's so cool to belong to something like the community here. Everyone's just so friendly and helpful, and I love it. So thanks everyone

Okay that's all for now, gotta get to sleep and rest up for work. Solo session most definitely tomorrow.

[F[uns]tylin' Eclectic]

It's funny you say you're usually timid and shy and don't like to engage in conversation… I could kind of tell you were one of those dudes the first time we met. I appreciated that you were that kind of person though, because you reminded me of myself at my first jam. Hardly said more than 3 words to any single person. This is one of the reasons I love this sport so much.. It got me to come out of my shell for the very first time. I'm guessing when you were young, like 4 or 5, you used to go to the grocery store with a parent and if some stranger would wave at you, you would cower behind said parent instead of waving back? We;;, that was me too. You wouldn't think so, based on how extroverted I am now. Footbag taught me to embrace my weirdness. So I did and it's awesome. You should embrace your's too. It feels good. I think this new job will also be great for you, in the sense of coming out of your shell. I mean, I already noticed a difference between Net Jam to PSU Artsfest. You've definitely become more open with us. It's cool to see. Definitely reminds me of myself. Very cool and very real post that you just made. Cya soon man.

[akprice]

i can relate as well dan. my first jam was back in april at psu. looking back on it, i hate that no one really got to know "me". i was so intimidated by everyone's talent and felt weird because i could barely do anything. i was extremely quiet and just kinda soaked it all in. i can't wait to go to my next jam where people will meet the real me!

[DC Clinks]

Nick: It's that obvious, is it? Yea Net event was pretty crazy, I was kind of freaking out a little bit like "Oh fuck there's all these amazing footbaggers who can do all these cool ass tricks and then me like... I can do some toe stalls..." haha. Yea Arts Fest was a lot more chill for me, even the people I hadn't met before I sort of knew about and made friends with quickly. I'm pretty fucking weird with my friends at school, maybe that'll show a bit at the next jam.

Aaron: Yea, exactly! I was pretty much just like damn, all these people are so good. That's about when I started freestyle stuff. For sure dude, same here haha.

----

Well, said I was going to have a session today and I did. The rain kinda sucked and I struggled to keep positive but I did a few things:
-Inside kicks x100 (50 BS, 92 in a row)
-Outside kicks x60 (30 BS)
-Toe kicks x40 (20 BS)
-Inside stalls x100 (50 BS, 20 in a row)
-Toe stalls x100 (50 BS, 100 in a row)
-Inside Stall > Op Toe > Op Toe > Op Inside x15
-Toe stalls > SS Inside > SS Toe x20 (10 BS, 10 in a row right, 6 left)
-Orbits x20 (10 BS)

I know I said I wanted to work more on Pickups/Legovers/Mirages/Clipper/Illusions but today just wasn't the day for it. I probably would of just had an awful session and went to bed frustrated. Maybe tomorrow if the weather doesn't shit the bed again.

A bit of talking to myself while doing the Inside Toe Toe Inside drill: "If I can do 10, I can do 15-- Fuck that weak ass shit" *serves bag, drops the first inside stall* "Apparently not..."

Also, during my session with Matt the other day, I forgot to mention I actually got a pretty cool string of stuff on one go. Can't remember the exact order, but it included Leg-overs, Orbits, and ATWs with some toe, inside, and outside stalls for filler. Felt really good.

[DC Clinks]

Edit: deleted
That's it for now, time for some ZZZs. Hopefully a session tomorrow either with Matt or solo.