NYJ 2015: Part 1
This is going to be another really challenging write up. This event has been one of the best ever for me, rivaling worlds 2013 and USO.
I made the trip out to Antons place in Pontiac MI nearly a full week early. The weather was cooperative and the drive was an easy 4.5 hours. The border crossing was pretty chill luckily, especially considering I brought something a little sketch along with me. I made sure to be relaxed and just answer the guards questions concisely and it was all good. When I arrived in the early afternoon I was greeted by Brian and Anton! Yay! Let the adventure begin..
Saturday ended up being a really busy day which I wasn’t totally prepared for. The three of us went on an epic grocery store mission. You can buy liquor at grocery stores in Michigan. And, like, everywhere else in that state. I visit the states often but the differences are always striking. Travelling is such a great reminder to appreciate what you have (or don’t have).
After we made a quick stop to drop off the food the three of us headed over to Anton’s parents place for a big dinner with his family. They are so nice! The food was good but also pretty heavy. Lots of cheese and meats and not very many veggies. It was cool to meet Anton’s three younger brothers. They had this traditional alcohol that tasted really bloody strong. I couldn’t even finish the one little cup I was given. At this point in the day I was starting to lose steam and it was kind of a challenging social situation to have to deal with since it had already been a long day. Luckily I had Brian there with me so we were kind of in it together.
After a rice pudding sort of dessert thing we said our goodbyes to everyone and headed out. The next stop was Anton’s good friend John’s place. John is a super chill guy. We hung out there for a while and then went to a bar with free pool to meet up with some of their other friends. It wasn’t that late but I was pretty much dead by this point. We played some pool and I drank some pineapple juice as well as a coffee which helped keep me going a bit. A bunch of Anton’s friends came out but I mostly just chilled with Brian because I didn’t have the energy for new people by this point. And obviously Brian is the best.
Finally we made it back to Anton’s place and I was able to get some rest. What a busy start to a crazy footbag week!
<3
Cass shreds - Spring Training 2024
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 2
Sunday I was up pretty early. I had a nice morning yoga session. I was thankful that this whole day would be super chill, mostly spent smoking and eating in excess. Anton made an awesome breakfast including his bomb pancakes, eggs, and the first of several kickass smoothies to be consumed this week.
The weather was absolutely gorgeous for the time of year! Anton has a nice wooden deck in the back to shred on. I dressed in warmer shred gear and was actually able to get warmed up outside. The weather was sunny and Brian, Anton, and I played for a bit outside. Brian and I were shredding well but Anton was trying hard stuff [being stubborn
] and couldn’t get warmed up. Zach was supposed to arrive soon so we took a break for a bit. I actually think some of my best shred happened during this session. I hadn’t kicked in a few days and had fresh legs. I love the feeling of letting loose after spending a couple weeks drilling in preparation for an event.
When Zach arrived some kitchen shred went down. The shred kitchen is okay I guess (for one or two people) but pretty tight for a four person circle. It was still a fun session and as I recall Zach was tearing it up. He has a really fun style to watch. Brian is just hella consistent. It’s nuts!
Near the end of the session Antons girlfriend Jordan arrived! She is one of my favourite lady friends so I was stoked to spend the week with her. Super chill.
Anton made another delicious meal for dinner. I’m not even sure what it was but I think there was rice, veggies, chicken and some kind of sauce. That boy sure knows how to eat.
I was pretty much KO’d from all the footbag, food, and meetings with the coach that day. I think we watched some nature documentaries and passed out fairly early again.
So far so good. Things would start snowballing in no time!
<3
The weather was absolutely gorgeous for the time of year! Anton has a nice wooden deck in the back to shred on. I dressed in warmer shred gear and was actually able to get warmed up outside. The weather was sunny and Brian, Anton, and I played for a bit outside. Brian and I were shredding well but Anton was trying hard stuff [being stubborn
] and couldn’t get warmed up. Zach was supposed to arrive soon so we took a break for a bit. I actually think some of my best shred happened during this session. I hadn’t kicked in a few days and had fresh legs. I love the feeling of letting loose after spending a couple weeks drilling in preparation for an event.When Zach arrived some kitchen shred went down. The shred kitchen is okay I guess (for one or two people) but pretty tight for a four person circle. It was still a fun session and as I recall Zach was tearing it up. He has a really fun style to watch. Brian is just hella consistent. It’s nuts!
Near the end of the session Antons girlfriend Jordan arrived! She is one of my favourite lady friends so I was stoked to spend the week with her. Super chill.
Anton made another delicious meal for dinner. I’m not even sure what it was but I think there was rice, veggies, chicken and some kind of sauce. That boy sure knows how to eat.
I was pretty much KO’d from all the footbag, food, and meetings with the coach that day. I think we watched some nature documentaries and passed out fairly early again.
So far so good. Things would start snowballing in no time!
<3
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 3
I should really be doing schoolwork right now but I am so damn distracted. The sooner I get this event write up out of my head the sooner I will be able to focus on work [hopefully].
It was such a long event it’s tricky to remember the order of details. Let’s see..
I think I slept in a bit (past 9) Monday morning which is unusual for footbag events. Having a comfy bed to sleep on definitely helps. Anton made another kickass breakfast with bacon and eggs and fruit and pancakes. So good. I stretched a little I think but not as much as I would have liked. I recall it being a pretty chill morning overall. Anton was busy pretty much all the time though. Constantly on the phone or working on the trophies, making food, shredding etc. etc. He killed it all week!
In the afternoon Anton drove Brian and I over to Zachs place to chill out for a bit. Dabs would offered several times this week but I would refuse each time. I needed to keep my shit together and take care of myself to avoid crashing. We chilled for a bit and watched some futurama before heading out for some food on the way to Adam’s place.
The food establishment would be the first of several sports bar type places that ended up being remarkably similar (and not really in a good way). Too many tv’s showing nothing of value, super cheap greasy food, keno (a kind of gamling) on every table and a tv dedicated exclusively to gambling. I was pretty out of it and still kinda full from eating so much food at Anton’s place. The food took forever to come so I was hungry by the time it did. I ate some sub-par chicken tacos and enjoyed hanging out with Brian, Zach, and Anton.
Just as we began heading towards Adam’s place to shred Zach got a call from Shelby that her car broke down. We had to make a detour to drop him off to help her out. Kind of a bummer that he would have to miss the session.
I was feeling pretty out of it from eating way too much food lately. I realised this was not necessary and decided to try to tone it down the next few days because it was definitely slowing me down.
We arrived at Adam’s house. We were partially there to scope out the situation for the event. There was some concern about the fact that 40+ people had RSVP’d and this was the only real crash space. The house was pretty big with a large carpeted basement. Unfortunately there was no washroom down there and the first floor one didn’t have a shower. It became pretty clear that we would need to research other options.
Anton, Brian, Adam, and I played some hacky sack. I didn’t even really feel like playing but I felt somewhat obligated to and I am glad that I did. Adam is a really strong player with nice form. Definitely a pleasure to shred with all three of these guys.
Ripped Warrior
My stepping was feeling good and I had hit Blurry Drifter earlier in the week. I didn’t expect Ripped Warrior to come so easily though! I got it within maybe 6 tries and it felt super clean too! Flipside needs work to get there still but it is feeling strong enough for midstring Blurs and stuff finally. Brian is also killing it with his stepping all week long!
The session at Adam’s didn’t last super long. I quit a little early and enjoyed watching for a bit. After some hangouts we headed back to Anton’s to find Jordan waiting to get in. I felt bad that we held her up but she didn’t seem too bothered.
Another chill evening made a little more fun with some tequila shots! Spent some great quality time with Brian before the madness would begin the next day.
Apologies for the lack of photos so far. They are coming I promise!
New Years Eve is next!!!
<3
It was such a long event it’s tricky to remember the order of details. Let’s see..
I think I slept in a bit (past 9) Monday morning which is unusual for footbag events. Having a comfy bed to sleep on definitely helps. Anton made another kickass breakfast with bacon and eggs and fruit and pancakes. So good. I stretched a little I think but not as much as I would have liked. I recall it being a pretty chill morning overall. Anton was busy pretty much all the time though. Constantly on the phone or working on the trophies, making food, shredding etc. etc. He killed it all week!
In the afternoon Anton drove Brian and I over to Zachs place to chill out for a bit. Dabs would offered several times this week but I would refuse each time. I needed to keep my shit together and take care of myself to avoid crashing. We chilled for a bit and watched some futurama before heading out for some food on the way to Adam’s place.
The food establishment would be the first of several sports bar type places that ended up being remarkably similar (and not really in a good way). Too many tv’s showing nothing of value, super cheap greasy food, keno (a kind of gamling) on every table and a tv dedicated exclusively to gambling. I was pretty out of it and still kinda full from eating so much food at Anton’s place. The food took forever to come so I was hungry by the time it did. I ate some sub-par chicken tacos and enjoyed hanging out with Brian, Zach, and Anton.
Just as we began heading towards Adam’s place to shred Zach got a call from Shelby that her car broke down. We had to make a detour to drop him off to help her out. Kind of a bummer that he would have to miss the session.
I was feeling pretty out of it from eating way too much food lately. I realised this was not necessary and decided to try to tone it down the next few days because it was definitely slowing me down.
We arrived at Adam’s house. We were partially there to scope out the situation for the event. There was some concern about the fact that 40+ people had RSVP’d and this was the only real crash space. The house was pretty big with a large carpeted basement. Unfortunately there was no washroom down there and the first floor one didn’t have a shower. It became pretty clear that we would need to research other options.
Anton, Brian, Adam, and I played some hacky sack. I didn’t even really feel like playing but I felt somewhat obligated to and I am glad that I did. Adam is a really strong player with nice form. Definitely a pleasure to shred with all three of these guys.
Ripped Warrior
My stepping was feeling good and I had hit Blurry Drifter earlier in the week. I didn’t expect Ripped Warrior to come so easily though! I got it within maybe 6 tries and it felt super clean too! Flipside needs work to get there still but it is feeling strong enough for midstring Blurs and stuff finally. Brian is also killing it with his stepping all week long!
The session at Adam’s didn’t last super long. I quit a little early and enjoyed watching for a bit. After some hangouts we headed back to Anton’s to find Jordan waiting to get in. I felt bad that we held her up but she didn’t seem too bothered.
Another chill evening made a little more fun with some tequila shots! Spent some great quality time with Brian before the madness would begin the next day.
Apologies for the lack of photos so far. They are coming I promise!
New Years Eve is next!!!
<3
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 4
So I totally lied. A whole other day happened before new years eve!
Both Derek and Nick were set to arrive on Tuesday evening which I was hella pumped for! Shit was about to get real.
Another nice morning was spent eating and chilling. I made sure to eat lighter this time, having fruit and yogurt for breakfast which is much closer to a normal food day for me. Brian made breakfast burritos for everyone but I just had a little bacon and egg instead. I also chose to avoid the coach for a good portion of the day and keep a clear head.
The plan today was for David Moutard and Zach to come over for some kitchen shred in the afternoon. Antons little bro Christian (AKA mini Anton) also came by to kick. I chose to sit out this day because it was already a five person sesh and ain’t nobody got time for that. I did cameo for a couple runs just for the hell of it. It was a pretty fun session to watch overall. I was impressed with Christians skill - he wasn’t in lavers and still had some solid runs of stalls with some two’s in there. Everyone else played well also. I gave David some advice about set height which he successfully applied to his game.
During the session we learned that Nick’s flight got cancelled. This was pretty upsetting news for me because he was one of the people I was most looking forward to seeing. I knew there was still a small chance he would make it so I tried not to dwell on the situation.
Anton had a lot going on that day and I had already planned to pick Nick up at the airport that evening so I offered to go get Derek instead. I would have picked them both up but it sort of ended up working out better anyways because their flights would have been a couple hours apart. Brian and I drove about an hour to the airport. I’m definitely not a fan of Detroit area highways. I’m not used to how they are set up and they are sooo bumpy. My car did not like that.
We obtained Derek and learned that he was just getting off a bender. Oh man. Super stoked that he made it.
The drive to the airport really made me appreciate all the driving that Anton and Zach did this week. It’s not a short drive and they shuttled so many people around!
Tuesday evening was the calm before the storm. Derek stitched a bag, struggling to stay awake ‘til a reasonable time and adjust to the time zone.
The AirBnB that Anton was trying to arrange earlier in the week fell through. It was pretty expensive anyways. Brian managed to find a cheap motel really close to the event site. Jordan and I both booked a room for the weekend. I was relieved that we took care of that. Can’t beat $60 a night! Michigan is hella cheap.
I forgot to mention in previous posts that Brian gave me my first 92 panel bag! It's soooo nice! What a sweetheart.
Things are about to get epic! Stay tuned
<3
Both Derek and Nick were set to arrive on Tuesday evening which I was hella pumped for! Shit was about to get real.
Another nice morning was spent eating and chilling. I made sure to eat lighter this time, having fruit and yogurt for breakfast which is much closer to a normal food day for me. Brian made breakfast burritos for everyone but I just had a little bacon and egg instead. I also chose to avoid the coach for a good portion of the day and keep a clear head.
The plan today was for David Moutard and Zach to come over for some kitchen shred in the afternoon. Antons little bro Christian (AKA mini Anton) also came by to kick. I chose to sit out this day because it was already a five person sesh and ain’t nobody got time for that. I did cameo for a couple runs just for the hell of it. It was a pretty fun session to watch overall. I was impressed with Christians skill - he wasn’t in lavers and still had some solid runs of stalls with some two’s in there. Everyone else played well also. I gave David some advice about set height which he successfully applied to his game.
During the session we learned that Nick’s flight got cancelled. This was pretty upsetting news for me because he was one of the people I was most looking forward to seeing. I knew there was still a small chance he would make it so I tried not to dwell on the situation.
Anton had a lot going on that day and I had already planned to pick Nick up at the airport that evening so I offered to go get Derek instead. I would have picked them both up but it sort of ended up working out better anyways because their flights would have been a couple hours apart. Brian and I drove about an hour to the airport. I’m definitely not a fan of Detroit area highways. I’m not used to how they are set up and they are sooo bumpy. My car did not like that.
We obtained Derek and learned that he was just getting off a bender. Oh man. Super stoked that he made it.
The drive to the airport really made me appreciate all the driving that Anton and Zach did this week. It’s not a short drive and they shuttled so many people around!
Tuesday evening was the calm before the storm. Derek stitched a bag, struggling to stay awake ‘til a reasonable time and adjust to the time zone.
The AirBnB that Anton was trying to arrange earlier in the week fell through. It was pretty expensive anyways. Brian managed to find a cheap motel really close to the event site. Jordan and I both booked a room for the weekend. I was relieved that we took care of that. Can’t beat $60 a night! Michigan is hella cheap.
I forgot to mention in previous posts that Brian gave me my first 92 panel bag! It's soooo nice! What a sweetheart.
Things are about to get epic! Stay tuned
<3
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 4
Great write-up so far! And props for Ripped Warrior!
<3 right back at ya!
<3 right back at ya!
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 5
Thanks Asmus <3
So I’ve still got, like, the entirety of this write up hanging over my head. It’s been tough to commit to but I’m still determined to finish it and do it justice. I have so many thoughts I still need to get out!
I’m pretty sure I’m the first one awake on New Years Eve. I get up and clean up a bit and make some coffee. This is going to be an exciting day!
Anton made another killer breakfast and I’m pretty sure I geared up for shred pretty early in the day. I wanted to get warmed up before other people had a chance to get in on it. My memory from the session is blurry but we definitely had a fun four person circle with Brian, Anton, and Derek. I was feeling pretty strong but chose to quit early and spend the last leg of the session stretching. Trying to play smart since the event wouldn’t start for another two days!
During this session I noticed that Derek's shoes aren't modded at all! Not even the toe box. I couldn't believe it! I gave him a bunch of shit and decided that it was my new mission to get those shoes modded this week. I knew that an inside and brocka mod would make a big difference in his clipper game. It blew my mind that he has been playing in unmodded shoes all this time.
We got news that Nick found another flight and would be arriving in the evening! This worked out even more favourably than the original plan since he would now be spending NYE with us and not visiting family until after the event! Wooooo.
We all showered and starting gearing up for an epic night of partying. Getting so pumped!
Brian, Derek, Anton, Jordan and I went out to another sports bar food establishment place for lunch. The server was really quirky and kind of socially awkward. I forgot how ridiculous food portions are here and ordered two of the specials - spinach dip and $6 nachos. The server tried to warn me about the nachos. I should have listened.
The massive plate of nachos that arrived at the table was nauseating. You could feed 5 people with that easily. It actually made me uncomfortable. I couldn’t get over the insane food portions at these places. I don’t like to waste food so I ended up taking it to go. I should have known it would not end up getting eaten. So greasy.
The five of us headed over to Zach’s place where I would finally get to see Nick!! It was soooo great to connect with him again finally! He’s got such great energy. I’m so happy he made it!!
Nick came with a bunch of really beautiful bags for sale but he had a special one just for me. I’ll have to get a photo of all my new bags from the event at some point. It’s a really pretty 32 with a pale green colour that I really like. I actually happened to comment about that colour to Brian a couple days before.
We chilled out for a bit with Zach while Nick showered and then began our party mission. Zach ended up staying behind since Ianek would be arriving soon.
The ride into Detroit to the pre-party was pleasant. I got to ride in between Nick and Brian. Poor Derek was in the trunk with all the hoops and things. I felt so blessed to be in the same place as such freaking awesome people!! The excitement was building...
We arrived at the home of Anton’s friends. They all seemed really chill and awesome, as expected. Anton’s little bro Christian was already there. The atmosphere was really good. Great vibes.
I tend to stick with the footbag people I know in these sorts of situations even though everyone was super nice.
Party favours were handed out but I held off because the night was still young. Some tequila shots were had.
Nick made some yummy Mate.
The first of several yoga sessions with Nick happened at the pre-party with Brian, Christian and his adorable friend Lola. Yoga is such a beautiful way to set the mood for a night of partying. It was so nice and relaxing!!
Nick, Derek, and I had some really interesting conversations downstairs. It is spectacular how open and accepting footbag people can be. The three of us had a really good hug.
Time slipped away and suddenly people were gearing up to leave. But I wasn’t ready yet!! I was rushing to get my affairs in order to be ready to party and was clearly a little stressed out. Luckily Brian is the best at keeping me grounded. He’s just so calm and reasonable. He just had to say something like “don’t worry, they aren’t going to leave without you. No need to rush.” and I’m like “oh yeah, you’re totally right!”
The four of us squished in the back seat of Anton’s vehicle this time. The venue wasn’t too far away. I was well on my way up when the most intense moment of the week happened. Without any warning Anton suddenly stopped and yelled “TAKE OF YOUR COATS AND GET OUT OF THE CAR” He was on a busy road with people honking behind us. I threw my coat off and made sure I had what I needed. Poor Brian had all his ID and stuff in his coat pocket and really struggled. It was pretty cold out and I felt so bad for Brian and Derek who have never had to deal with freezing temperatures, let alone without a coat!
We were just across the street from the venue and ran inside. I gave my ticket and got my wristband showing that I was over 21 even though I had no intention to drink. This whole flurry of events was super intense and it took me a few minutes to calm myself after that.
The venue was pretty fucking dope. It was this old theatre in Detroit that was converted to a party spot. It was pretty large and we arrived early enough that it wasn’t so busy yet. I love arriving at parties like this early and watching them grow throughout the night.
Once I calmed down a bit I got in there and danced it up with Anton, Jordan and Brian a bit. We had a prime spot right in the middle near the front. The DJ was killin’ it. It was so fun!
Nick and Derek were missing so I went to go find them. Derek was keeping Nick company since dancing isn’t really his thing. I was a little worried that Nick would get left out. When I found them Nick had already found a lady friend to talk to and I pulled Derek onto the dance floor.
So much dancing and fun! Awwww yisss. This is the life<3
After a while I decided to go see how Nick was doing. I found him sitting at the back of the room. I wanted him to come dance. I asked him how he was doing and he said, “This is a good reminder” indicating to the party that was happened before us. “Of what?” I asked. His response was “exactly!” This is the point when I realised that we were on totally different wavelengths. It was clear that Nick was in a good place though and this made me feel better. I hung out with him for a few minutes before returning to the dance floor.
Before we knew it midnight rolled around. Somehow most of us got split up but I got to ring in the new year with two pretty fucking rad people - Brian and Derek. This is the second year that I’ve rung in the new year with footbaggers and I would like to keep that tradition going. It’s the best!
We had so much fun dancing and were just getting into it when the music just suddenly stopped! It was only 1:15am
wtffff
They wanted $30 for the after party but people didn’t really seem keen on paying that unfortunately. It was kind of a real bummer cause we just wanted to keep dancing!!
Nick had disappeared to go talk to the coach with his new lady friend, Mina. The rest of us prepared to mission to Anton’s car which was in a parking garage about a block away. The run to the car without coats was pretty fucking intense. The entire time we were outside Brian and Derek were vocalizing how cold they were. It was pretty hilarious. The wind was killer.
We picked up Nick and headed back to the house we were at previously for the after party!
I’m going to have to cover that in my next post. This was a hella long day/night so I’m going to break it into two I think.
<3
So I’ve still got, like, the entirety of this write up hanging over my head. It’s been tough to commit to but I’m still determined to finish it and do it justice. I have so many thoughts I still need to get out!
I’m pretty sure I’m the first one awake on New Years Eve. I get up and clean up a bit and make some coffee. This is going to be an exciting day!
Anton made another killer breakfast and I’m pretty sure I geared up for shred pretty early in the day. I wanted to get warmed up before other people had a chance to get in on it. My memory from the session is blurry but we definitely had a fun four person circle with Brian, Anton, and Derek. I was feeling pretty strong but chose to quit early and spend the last leg of the session stretching. Trying to play smart since the event wouldn’t start for another two days!
During this session I noticed that Derek's shoes aren't modded at all! Not even the toe box. I couldn't believe it! I gave him a bunch of shit and decided that it was my new mission to get those shoes modded this week. I knew that an inside and brocka mod would make a big difference in his clipper game. It blew my mind that he has been playing in unmodded shoes all this time.
We got news that Nick found another flight and would be arriving in the evening! This worked out even more favourably than the original plan since he would now be spending NYE with us and not visiting family until after the event! Wooooo.
We all showered and starting gearing up for an epic night of partying. Getting so pumped!
Brian, Derek, Anton, Jordan and I went out to another sports bar food establishment place for lunch. The server was really quirky and kind of socially awkward. I forgot how ridiculous food portions are here and ordered two of the specials - spinach dip and $6 nachos. The server tried to warn me about the nachos. I should have listened.
The massive plate of nachos that arrived at the table was nauseating. You could feed 5 people with that easily. It actually made me uncomfortable. I couldn’t get over the insane food portions at these places. I don’t like to waste food so I ended up taking it to go. I should have known it would not end up getting eaten. So greasy.
The five of us headed over to Zach’s place where I would finally get to see Nick!! It was soooo great to connect with him again finally! He’s got such great energy. I’m so happy he made it!!
Nick came with a bunch of really beautiful bags for sale but he had a special one just for me. I’ll have to get a photo of all my new bags from the event at some point. It’s a really pretty 32 with a pale green colour that I really like. I actually happened to comment about that colour to Brian a couple days before.
We chilled out for a bit with Zach while Nick showered and then began our party mission. Zach ended up staying behind since Ianek would be arriving soon.
The ride into Detroit to the pre-party was pleasant. I got to ride in between Nick and Brian. Poor Derek was in the trunk with all the hoops and things. I felt so blessed to be in the same place as such freaking awesome people!! The excitement was building...
We arrived at the home of Anton’s friends. They all seemed really chill and awesome, as expected. Anton’s little bro Christian was already there. The atmosphere was really good. Great vibes.
I tend to stick with the footbag people I know in these sorts of situations even though everyone was super nice.
Party favours were handed out but I held off because the night was still young. Some tequila shots were had.
Nick made some yummy Mate.
The first of several yoga sessions with Nick happened at the pre-party with Brian, Christian and his adorable friend Lola. Yoga is such a beautiful way to set the mood for a night of partying. It was so nice and relaxing!!
Nick, Derek, and I had some really interesting conversations downstairs. It is spectacular how open and accepting footbag people can be. The three of us had a really good hug.
Time slipped away and suddenly people were gearing up to leave. But I wasn’t ready yet!! I was rushing to get my affairs in order to be ready to party and was clearly a little stressed out. Luckily Brian is the best at keeping me grounded. He’s just so calm and reasonable. He just had to say something like “don’t worry, they aren’t going to leave without you. No need to rush.” and I’m like “oh yeah, you’re totally right!”
The four of us squished in the back seat of Anton’s vehicle this time. The venue wasn’t too far away. I was well on my way up when the most intense moment of the week happened. Without any warning Anton suddenly stopped and yelled “TAKE OF YOUR COATS AND GET OUT OF THE CAR” He was on a busy road with people honking behind us. I threw my coat off and made sure I had what I needed. Poor Brian had all his ID and stuff in his coat pocket and really struggled. It was pretty cold out and I felt so bad for Brian and Derek who have never had to deal with freezing temperatures, let alone without a coat!
We were just across the street from the venue and ran inside. I gave my ticket and got my wristband showing that I was over 21 even though I had no intention to drink. This whole flurry of events was super intense and it took me a few minutes to calm myself after that.
The venue was pretty fucking dope. It was this old theatre in Detroit that was converted to a party spot. It was pretty large and we arrived early enough that it wasn’t so busy yet. I love arriving at parties like this early and watching them grow throughout the night.
Once I calmed down a bit I got in there and danced it up with Anton, Jordan and Brian a bit. We had a prime spot right in the middle near the front. The DJ was killin’ it. It was so fun!
Nick and Derek were missing so I went to go find them. Derek was keeping Nick company since dancing isn’t really his thing. I was a little worried that Nick would get left out. When I found them Nick had already found a lady friend to talk to and I pulled Derek onto the dance floor.
So much dancing and fun! Awwww yisss. This is the life<3
After a while I decided to go see how Nick was doing. I found him sitting at the back of the room. I wanted him to come dance. I asked him how he was doing and he said, “This is a good reminder” indicating to the party that was happened before us. “Of what?” I asked. His response was “exactly!” This is the point when I realised that we were on totally different wavelengths. It was clear that Nick was in a good place though and this made me feel better. I hung out with him for a few minutes before returning to the dance floor.
Before we knew it midnight rolled around. Somehow most of us got split up but I got to ring in the new year with two pretty fucking rad people - Brian and Derek. This is the second year that I’ve rung in the new year with footbaggers and I would like to keep that tradition going. It’s the best!
We had so much fun dancing and were just getting into it when the music just suddenly stopped! It was only 1:15am
wtffffThey wanted $30 for the after party but people didn’t really seem keen on paying that unfortunately. It was kind of a real bummer cause we just wanted to keep dancing!!
Nick had disappeared to go talk to the coach with his new lady friend, Mina. The rest of us prepared to mission to Anton’s car which was in a parking garage about a block away. The run to the car without coats was pretty fucking intense. The entire time we were outside Brian and Derek were vocalizing how cold they were. It was pretty hilarious. The wind was killer.
We picked up Nick and headed back to the house we were at previously for the after party!
I’m going to have to cover that in my next post. This was a hella long day/night so I’m going to break it into two I think.
<3
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 6
The after party as well as New Years day were a bit of a blur so this is probably just going to be random fragments of thoughts.
Lots of great vibes and great people. I think we started out chillin’ in the loungey bedroom area upstairs at first. Spooning is never a bad time. After a while a bunch more people showed up and we ended up chilling downstairs. I regretted not bringing my bluetooth speaker since the music at the after party was definitely lacking. Spent some time playing with my new LED hoop which is really fun. Nick invited his new friend to the party. It’s great that he found such an awesome person! Nick gave me a very much needed and appreciated back massage. So awesome. As it got later in the morning and the party began to wind down most people ended up back upstairs chilling. I went up there for a bit however Derek chose to sit in a recliner in the corner downstairs. Something drew me to him and I ended up spending what was left of the night chilling with him. Few words were said. It felt good to simply exist together.
Before we knew it, it was morning and time to go pick Hogan up at the airport! His flight got in around 8am. I struggled to gather all my things and rush out the door. None of us had much steam left by this point. I don’t remember much from the ride to the airport. We obtained Hogan who was in a similar state to the rest of us. Derek was back in the trunk and Brian, Nick, Hogan and I were squished in the back seat. Nick introduced himself to Kevin and there was a bit of conversation before the car fell relatively quiet. Nick had fallen asleep between Kevin and I. Kevin asked if Nick Landes was coming to the event (he was totally serious) and Anton replied that he couldn’t make it. I found this hilarious and just kept my mouth shut to see how long it would take Kevin to realize whom he was sitting next to. He did figure it out by the end of the hour or so long car ride.
We dropped Kevin off and Zach’s place to get some sleep and made it back to Antons by about 9:30. Before going to sleep I spent some time in the pull out couch in between Nick and Derek. Best cuddles of ever. This was one of my favourite moments of the whole week. So good.
I forced myself to eat a banana and passed out for 3 hours or so.
Awake and feeling half decent in the early afternoon. I got up, cleaned up a bit, and grooved out to some music. I love dancing! It’s so fun.
There were more good times spent in that cozy pull out couch. So comfy!
Yoga with Nick!
Later in the afternoon Zach came by with Ianek, Hogan, and maybe someone else (Ryan?)! My memory is blurry here but according to Derek’s blog Nick P. and Nate also showed up at some point.
Surprisingly, footbag happened new years day! I was still flying a little from the night before and it felt SO GOOD to play. I didn’t last too long but I really enjoyed playing and it felt so good to sweat the party out. I got to shred with Ianek for a bit which was awesome!
Shred took basically all my energy and the rest of the day was hella chill. For a while Derek, myself, Jordan, and Brian were chilling in the bed in the living room watching a silly movie. This was just maximum chill and comfy. The guy in the movie was acting like he was mentally challenged and Brian said something about the ‘retarded guy’. Jordan gave him shit for being rude and his response was just so great. I wish I could remember exactly what he said. Something like “it’s okay to call him that because he’s only pretending to be retarded”. I think it’s one of those things you had to be there for but it was absolutely fucking hysterical coming from Brian.
Brian helped me mod Derek’s shoes. We took care of the toe box, brocka and inside mods for him. I’m glad I was able to make that happen. It’s so easy to talk about doing things at events but never actually get to it.
As usual Anton provided some killer meals. So good. Chicken and rice and veggies for dinner. Om nom nom.
Before we knew it, it was time for bed! I ended up sleeping on a boxspring so someone else could have a mattress and it actually turned out to be hella comfortable.
I feel really blessed to have had the chance to kick off 2015 with so many freaking incredible humans!
Yay I finally get to cover the actual event soon!
<3
Lots of great vibes and great people. I think we started out chillin’ in the loungey bedroom area upstairs at first. Spooning is never a bad time. After a while a bunch more people showed up and we ended up chilling downstairs. I regretted not bringing my bluetooth speaker since the music at the after party was definitely lacking. Spent some time playing with my new LED hoop which is really fun. Nick invited his new friend to the party. It’s great that he found such an awesome person! Nick gave me a very much needed and appreciated back massage. So awesome. As it got later in the morning and the party began to wind down most people ended up back upstairs chilling. I went up there for a bit however Derek chose to sit in a recliner in the corner downstairs. Something drew me to him and I ended up spending what was left of the night chilling with him. Few words were said. It felt good to simply exist together.
Before we knew it, it was morning and time to go pick Hogan up at the airport! His flight got in around 8am. I struggled to gather all my things and rush out the door. None of us had much steam left by this point. I don’t remember much from the ride to the airport. We obtained Hogan who was in a similar state to the rest of us. Derek was back in the trunk and Brian, Nick, Hogan and I were squished in the back seat. Nick introduced himself to Kevin and there was a bit of conversation before the car fell relatively quiet. Nick had fallen asleep between Kevin and I. Kevin asked if Nick Landes was coming to the event (he was totally serious) and Anton replied that he couldn’t make it. I found this hilarious and just kept my mouth shut to see how long it would take Kevin to realize whom he was sitting next to. He did figure it out by the end of the hour or so long car ride.
We dropped Kevin off and Zach’s place to get some sleep and made it back to Antons by about 9:30. Before going to sleep I spent some time in the pull out couch in between Nick and Derek. Best cuddles of ever. This was one of my favourite moments of the whole week. So good.
I forced myself to eat a banana and passed out for 3 hours or so.
Awake and feeling half decent in the early afternoon. I got up, cleaned up a bit, and grooved out to some music. I love dancing! It’s so fun.
There were more good times spent in that cozy pull out couch. So comfy!
Yoga with Nick!
Later in the afternoon Zach came by with Ianek, Hogan, and maybe someone else (Ryan?)! My memory is blurry here but according to Derek’s blog Nick P. and Nate also showed up at some point.
Surprisingly, footbag happened new years day! I was still flying a little from the night before and it felt SO GOOD to play. I didn’t last too long but I really enjoyed playing and it felt so good to sweat the party out. I got to shred with Ianek for a bit which was awesome!
Shred took basically all my energy and the rest of the day was hella chill. For a while Derek, myself, Jordan, and Brian were chilling in the bed in the living room watching a silly movie. This was just maximum chill and comfy. The guy in the movie was acting like he was mentally challenged and Brian said something about the ‘retarded guy’. Jordan gave him shit for being rude and his response was just so great. I wish I could remember exactly what he said. Something like “it’s okay to call him that because he’s only pretending to be retarded”. I think it’s one of those things you had to be there for but it was absolutely fucking hysterical coming from Brian.
Brian helped me mod Derek’s shoes. We took care of the toe box, brocka and inside mods for him. I’m glad I was able to make that happen. It’s so easy to talk about doing things at events but never actually get to it.
As usual Anton provided some killer meals. So good. Chicken and rice and veggies for dinner. Om nom nom.
Before we knew it, it was time for bed! I ended up sleeping on a boxspring so someone else could have a mattress and it actually turned out to be hella comfortable.
I feel really blessed to have had the chance to kick off 2015 with so many freaking incredible humans!
Yay I finally get to cover the actual event soon!
<3
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 7
Friday was a full house at Antons!
A really nice yoga session happened with Nick, Derek, Jordan, Nick P., and Brian I think?
At some point more people came over! This included Nate, Aaron, Matt and also Kyle whom I met for the first time.The living room was full of footbag people!
Anton made some more awesome smoothies for everyone!
Immediately after talking with the coach I had to take care of some motel booking business. That was annoying. Somehow the online bookings got messed up so it was a good thing I called. I managed to arrange it such that all the footbag rooms would be next to eachother.
Eventually it was time to mobilize. I packed up all my stuff because I wouldn’t be coming back to Anton’s. He was such an incredible host. What a week!
I think I drove to the motel with Brian and Derek. I remember seeing some construction on this trip. It was notable because it was the only construction I saw the entire time I was in Michigan.
Other footbag people were already at the motel when we arrived! I checked in. It was exactly what you would expect a 2 star motel to be. Woo.
We had a huge footbag crew at this point! I got to see Evan finally!! It’s hard to recall exactly who all was there. It was definitely starting to feel like a footbag event!
Once everyone was checked in and whatnot the plan was to go to campus to find a spot to shred. My car was acting really weird. It was trying to start itself while I was standing like 10 feet away from it. I think the remote starter was acting up. Then I couldn’t get it to start which was a little disconcerting. I decided not to worry about it for the time being and grabbed a ride with Zach and some others.
We parked at the parking place and met up with the whole crew again. We walked for a little bit and there was talk of food but also a lot of indecision since it was a large group. I caught up a bit with Evan.
The graffiti in this ally was dope!
Nick L. suggested sushi and of course I was immediately and enthusiastically on board. We ended up breaking off from the group. I was surprised there was so little interest in sushi! Derek was the only other person that joined us.
The three of us hit up a nice little sushi place for some grub. It was really enjoyable and I was glad to not be walking in the cold any longer.
I guess the rest of the group walked all the way to the shred spot which ended up not being available, and then walked all the way back to get food anyways. We met back up with some people at another restaurant that had really yummy milkshakes. I got a coffee one. No regrets there.
Eventually everyone met back up and headed back to the motel to regroup. I rode with Ianek this time who was kind enough to stop to fill up a container of gas for my car. That didn’t end up being the issue anyway. My car did end up starting though so that was a relief.
Back at the motel there were more people! My Canadian friends Alex and Johnny had arrived! Also Ben, April, Boats, Vince and more. So awesome! So many hugs.
David was kind enough to give Johnny, Alex, and I a lift over to Adam’s place. This was a pretty entertaining ride. I just remember Johnny forgetting David’s name and calling him “kid”. “You’re alright kid.”
Footbag party!!
There was a ton of people at Adam’s and only limited shred space. I held off on playing for a while. At first it was pretty much only intermediates playing. It’s great to see so many intermediate players at an event!
Drew Martin was there! He was mostly chillin in the corner under a weird not-table thing. I chilled with him for a while and caught up. Khoa and Greg were also there. It was great to see so many familiar faces again!!
Aprils green tea cookies were so good! There was another kind that was really tasty too!
Ben tempted me with a whole bunch of nice bags. The green and purple soccer ball pattern immediately jumped out at me. So bright and pretty. It’s also bigger than most of my bags which I like. Really happy with that purchase.
Coach talks outside in Zach’s truck with like six people standing outside the vehicle.
After a meeting with the coach I was totally ready for some shred! Luckily there was a little more space by this point. I think I mostly played in a circle with Johnny and Evan! So fun! After a while Evan and Derek must have switched out. This was a really fun circle overall. Johnny was just givin’ ‘er. I think I was playing pretty well. Derek was killin it in with his toe game in non-shred shoes.
I quit before I wore myself out too much. After shred Nick gave me a really fucking great shoulder rub. That guy is too amazing.
More chillin and watching people shred and great footbag vibes! Eventually I was pretty wore out and rounded up the crew to head back to the motel. I think we spent some time chilling and smoking and whatnot in Zach’s room before it was time to pass out.
This event was off to a great start!!
________________________________
Current life update. I have been holding off on regular footblog posts because I really want to finish this write up first. I have been training and doing yoga pretty much every day though. My upper back/shoulder issues have been preventing me from training as hard as I would like.
Yesterday I saw a chiropractor. She cracked my back in such a way that a massive amount of tension was released near my spine. When it happened I started laughing uncontrollably and then just bawling my face off. There’s no way I could have held back the tears. I’ve needed that for the better part of a year! The relief was unfuckingbelievable!! My chronic back pain has essentially disappeared! I wish I had done it sooner. I'm going back twice next week for follow ups to make sure the issue is completely resolved. I am absolutely delighted at the thought of training for worlds with a healthy body! Ohfuckyes.
<3
A really nice yoga session happened with Nick, Derek, Jordan, Nick P., and Brian I think?
At some point more people came over! This included Nate, Aaron, Matt and also Kyle whom I met for the first time.The living room was full of footbag people!
Anton made some more awesome smoothies for everyone!
Immediately after talking with the coach I had to take care of some motel booking business. That was annoying. Somehow the online bookings got messed up so it was a good thing I called. I managed to arrange it such that all the footbag rooms would be next to eachother.
Eventually it was time to mobilize. I packed up all my stuff because I wouldn’t be coming back to Anton’s. He was such an incredible host. What a week!
I think I drove to the motel with Brian and Derek. I remember seeing some construction on this trip. It was notable because it was the only construction I saw the entire time I was in Michigan.
Other footbag people were already at the motel when we arrived! I checked in. It was exactly what you would expect a 2 star motel to be. Woo.
We had a huge footbag crew at this point! I got to see Evan finally!! It’s hard to recall exactly who all was there. It was definitely starting to feel like a footbag event!
Once everyone was checked in and whatnot the plan was to go to campus to find a spot to shred. My car was acting really weird. It was trying to start itself while I was standing like 10 feet away from it. I think the remote starter was acting up. Then I couldn’t get it to start which was a little disconcerting. I decided not to worry about it for the time being and grabbed a ride with Zach and some others.
We parked at the parking place and met up with the whole crew again. We walked for a little bit and there was talk of food but also a lot of indecision since it was a large group. I caught up a bit with Evan.
The graffiti in this ally was dope!
Nick L. suggested sushi and of course I was immediately and enthusiastically on board. We ended up breaking off from the group. I was surprised there was so little interest in sushi! Derek was the only other person that joined us.
The three of us hit up a nice little sushi place for some grub. It was really enjoyable and I was glad to not be walking in the cold any longer.
I guess the rest of the group walked all the way to the shred spot which ended up not being available, and then walked all the way back to get food anyways. We met back up with some people at another restaurant that had really yummy milkshakes. I got a coffee one. No regrets there.
Eventually everyone met back up and headed back to the motel to regroup. I rode with Ianek this time who was kind enough to stop to fill up a container of gas for my car. That didn’t end up being the issue anyway. My car did end up starting though so that was a relief.
Back at the motel there were more people! My Canadian friends Alex and Johnny had arrived! Also Ben, April, Boats, Vince and more. So awesome! So many hugs.
David was kind enough to give Johnny, Alex, and I a lift over to Adam’s place. This was a pretty entertaining ride. I just remember Johnny forgetting David’s name and calling him “kid”. “You’re alright kid.”
Footbag party!!
There was a ton of people at Adam’s and only limited shred space. I held off on playing for a while. At first it was pretty much only intermediates playing. It’s great to see so many intermediate players at an event!
Drew Martin was there! He was mostly chillin in the corner under a weird not-table thing. I chilled with him for a while and caught up. Khoa and Greg were also there. It was great to see so many familiar faces again!!
Aprils green tea cookies were so good! There was another kind that was really tasty too!
Ben tempted me with a whole bunch of nice bags. The green and purple soccer ball pattern immediately jumped out at me. So bright and pretty. It’s also bigger than most of my bags which I like. Really happy with that purchase.
Coach talks outside in Zach’s truck with like six people standing outside the vehicle.
After a meeting with the coach I was totally ready for some shred! Luckily there was a little more space by this point. I think I mostly played in a circle with Johnny and Evan! So fun! After a while Evan and Derek must have switched out. This was a really fun circle overall. Johnny was just givin’ ‘er. I think I was playing pretty well. Derek was killin it in with his toe game in non-shred shoes.
I quit before I wore myself out too much. After shred Nick gave me a really fucking great shoulder rub. That guy is too amazing.
More chillin and watching people shred and great footbag vibes! Eventually I was pretty wore out and rounded up the crew to head back to the motel. I think we spent some time chilling and smoking and whatnot in Zach’s room before it was time to pass out.
This event was off to a great start!!
________________________________
Current life update. I have been holding off on regular footblog posts because I really want to finish this write up first. I have been training and doing yoga pretty much every day though. My upper back/shoulder issues have been preventing me from training as hard as I would like.
Yesterday I saw a chiropractor. She cracked my back in such a way that a massive amount of tension was released near my spine. When it happened I started laughing uncontrollably and then just bawling my face off. There’s no way I could have held back the tears. I’ve needed that for the better part of a year! The relief was unfuckingbelievable!! My chronic back pain has essentially disappeared! I wish I had done it sooner. I'm going back twice next week for follow ups to make sure the issue is completely resolved. I am absolutely delighted at the thought of training for worlds with a healthy body! Ohfuckyes.
<3
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 7
I've been enjoying the detailed writeup, so thanks for dedicating the time to it. Also glad to hear that your visit to the chiropractor was successful!
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 8
Thanks Bob! It's been tough to get through but I will be glad to have it to look back on!
Saturday I was the first one awake. I hit up the motel continental breakfast and then went to whole foods where I got coffee and some overpriced fruit. I didn’t realise there was a less outrageously priced grocery store right next to the motel. Some people were awake when I returned. A group went out for breakfast but I decided not to since I ate already and had eaten out a bunch already this week. It was a pretty chill morning since I woke up so early. Hangouts with Alex, Johnny, and Brian in our motel room were swell.
Eventually it was time to gear up and head to the venue! It was a really nice, big space with a great surface. I started shredding pretty much immediately. I noticed Nick doing yoga without me. I was a little bummed that he didn’t invite me but also pretty into shred at that particular moment. I ended up doing some yoga on my own a little bit later.
The sound system set up was dope as was the playlist. Not surprising because Michigan knows what’s up.
I bounced around several circles and also played by myself a little I think. Aaron asked me for some tips on rakes and I did my best to explain them. I played in a circle with Mac and Brandon for a bit which was fun! It’s always cool to see improvements in shredders you don’t play with frequently. I remember playing in a circle with Johnny Sarah and he was just killin’ it! I love that boys energy. I played with so many different people that there is no way I could remember all the specifics. Especially considering how long I’ve been dragging my ass on this write up.
I made sure to play one on one with April. Her style is so nice and smooth! What a pleasure.
The music was so awesome! I spent a lot of time just jamming with my hoops and dancing. So many times a good song/drop would happen I would just get so into it. Every time I would look up and see Johnny Breakdown gettin’ down as well. There were many moments this weekend that him and I would make eye contact and just smile. He knew!
I don’t remember a lot from circle contest and honestly didn’t really care about it. Anton was in my circle and gave me some serious competition. He played better in circle contest than I had seen him play all week! So awesome. We ended up tied for third. I can’t even recall who else was in our circle haha..
Circle final was intense!
I was very much drawn to Derek at this event and spent a lot of time hugging him. His hugs are the greatest.
Evan was just chillin on the sidelines until competition. We had some really good talks. I remember him saying something like “You and I always talk about the most interesting things” which made me feel awesome.
Anton’s little bro Christian came out with his lovely friend Lola! They are great. I think this event might be just what he needed to put the footbag fire in his belly. I spent some time playing one on one with him which was a lot of fun! He was really stoked on my shred and it was so great to see his improvements from the shred at Anton’s during the week.
Michigan footbag plus Drew and Hogan
So much awesomeness! So many great people. Too many to shred with them all. Pure bliss.
I’m going to have to split Saturday into two because very much happened and it was one of the best days of ever.
Coming up next is the most epic footbag party of all time!
<3
Saturday I was the first one awake. I hit up the motel continental breakfast and then went to whole foods where I got coffee and some overpriced fruit. I didn’t realise there was a less outrageously priced grocery store right next to the motel. Some people were awake when I returned. A group went out for breakfast but I decided not to since I ate already and had eaten out a bunch already this week. It was a pretty chill morning since I woke up so early. Hangouts with Alex, Johnny, and Brian in our motel room were swell.
Eventually it was time to gear up and head to the venue! It was a really nice, big space with a great surface. I started shredding pretty much immediately. I noticed Nick doing yoga without me. I was a little bummed that he didn’t invite me but also pretty into shred at that particular moment. I ended up doing some yoga on my own a little bit later.
The sound system set up was dope as was the playlist. Not surprising because Michigan knows what’s up.
I bounced around several circles and also played by myself a little I think. Aaron asked me for some tips on rakes and I did my best to explain them. I played in a circle with Mac and Brandon for a bit which was fun! It’s always cool to see improvements in shredders you don’t play with frequently. I remember playing in a circle with Johnny Sarah and he was just killin’ it! I love that boys energy. I played with so many different people that there is no way I could remember all the specifics. Especially considering how long I’ve been dragging my ass on this write up.
I made sure to play one on one with April. Her style is so nice and smooth! What a pleasure.
The music was so awesome! I spent a lot of time just jamming with my hoops and dancing. So many times a good song/drop would happen I would just get so into it. Every time I would look up and see Johnny Breakdown gettin’ down as well. There were many moments this weekend that him and I would make eye contact and just smile. He knew!
I don’t remember a lot from circle contest and honestly didn’t really care about it. Anton was in my circle and gave me some serious competition. He played better in circle contest than I had seen him play all week! So awesome. We ended up tied for third. I can’t even recall who else was in our circle haha..
Circle final was intense!
I was very much drawn to Derek at this event and spent a lot of time hugging him. His hugs are the greatest.
Evan was just chillin on the sidelines until competition. We had some really good talks. I remember him saying something like “You and I always talk about the most interesting things” which made me feel awesome.
Anton’s little bro Christian came out with his lovely friend Lola! They are great. I think this event might be just what he needed to put the footbag fire in his belly. I spent some time playing one on one with him which was a lot of fun! He was really stoked on my shred and it was so great to see his improvements from the shred at Anton’s during the week.
Michigan footbag plus Drew and Hogan
So much awesomeness! So many great people. Too many to shred with them all. Pure bliss.
I’m going to have to split Saturday into two because very much happened and it was one of the best days of ever.
Coming up next is the most epic footbag party of all time!
<3
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 8
Really enjoying these write ups. Thanks for taking the time to get them done. Stoked for the epic Saturday night write up.
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 9
From the event site we travelled back to the motel to shower and clean up before the party. I was really hungry by this point and decided to walk over to the nearby plaza to grab a pita or something. Matt Kemmer joined me for the walk. Unfortunately the pita place wasn’t open. On the way back Matt splashed cold fucking water all over me twice. Not really a big deal and I know he didn’t mean it. Back at the motel I learned that I missed out on the talk with the coach and everyone was pretty much ready to leave. My hunger and these other things just really got to me and my mood headed in an ugly downward spiral. The party venue was an hour drive away and I knew all there would be to eat would be pizza. This was just the last thing I wanted. Everyone except Johnny bailed and rode in different cars because they didn’t want to get food. Johnny agreed to drive my car which I was really grateful for. Poor Johnny. I always end up breaking down in front of him! I think it was a combination of being high on footbag all week, hunger, and just knowing that it was going to have to end soon that got me. I just crashed and couldn’t hold back the tears.
I really wanted something healthy to eat but we were in Michigan so we ended up going to chipotle. Both johnny and I made the mistake of getting too many sauces on our tacos and it ended up being hilariously disgusting. Omg. So gross.
It was a long, messy drive to the whirlyball place. The weather wasn’t the greatest and neither was my mood. I felt bad that Johnny had to put up with me but I was also so grateful that he was there. He is just the best! Pull it together Cass..
I knew once we arrived my mood would have to change. A coach sesh in the car with Jordan, Evan, Derek and Brian helped enormously.
The venue was dope as fuck!!! After 9pm we had full access to the whirlyball court which is a crazy bumper car game where you have teams that have to shoot balls with scoops through a hole. I had no interest in actually trying this game due to back issues and a lack of interest in team sports. It was great to watch though and amazing to see how much fun the others had! From what I heard team Canada kicked some ass ;D
There were a bunch of real comfy couches, pool tables, a jukebox with a limited playlist. I didn’t take advantage but we got wristbands for FREE beer and wine! So awesome.
I gave out some fun party favours to a bunch of people who all seemed to really enjoy it!
I used what little energy I had left rocking out with my LED hoop. So fun.
What a crazy awesome fun footbag party!! Footbag people everywhere. Great vibes. So amazing!
Ianek brought out his drum kit to jam on which was super dope. That guy has some real skills! Near the end there was some super dope shred to watch too! Kemmer and Adam were shredding it up. Ianek would drum to the beat of their shred which was really entertaining to watch. They would try to mess him up by changing up the speed/flow but Ianek was totally on top of that. Evan joined for a bit near the end as well. This was just the most fun thing to watch. So magical. The trailing effect of the bag was just unreal.
Alex is basically a rabbit that feeds off beer, nuggets and salad. He took full advantage of the free beer. I love that guy. Even when he is plastered he is the most endearing and cooperative (while loud and silly) motherfucker. There was a great big bowl of salad provided with the pizza. He had about eleven plates of salad before proceeding to walk around eating directly from the massive salad bowl. I wish I had a photo of that.. He polished that whole damn thing off. No surprise there.
I didn’t want this party to end. It was just too great. So much good energy and great people.
Eventually it was time clear out from the best footbag party ever. Once again I was so grateful for Johnny’s driving skills. There aren’t too many people I trust to drive my own car over myself but he is definitely one of them. This time Alex joined us in the back seat. He spent about five minutes yelling about nuggets, or salad or other silly things before passing the fuck out. He snored the whole way back. Johnny and I rode, mostly in silence, back to the motel. I love how comfortable I feel with that guy. The effects of the party were starting to wear off and my brain was just everywhere and nowhere.
Back at the motel the party continued! First in Zach’s room. After being offered so many times I was finally ready to try a dab! Of course Zach had run out by this point. I guess it wasn’t meant to be..
Lot of chillin and jokes and coach and awesomeness. Soon Zach was ready to crash and asked us to move the party to another room. The problem was that someone in all the rooms was trying to sleep. A bunch of us were still wired and had nowhere to go. We found ourselves stuck outside in the (surprisingly mild) cold. This was quite the predicament. There was no way sleep was happening already! It was the last night and there was no way it could end already!
We were being loud and ended up having the motel management speak with us which was kind of unfortunate.
We were going to move the party to our room but Johnny was just about to pack it in. We were going to see if he would be willing to move to another room to sleep so that we would have a place to chill. I felt pretty guilty about this since I had already asked so much of him that evening. Alex was initially elected to talk to him about it but this was probably not the best idea. Eventually we told him the situation and brought people into our motel room. After a few minutes it became clear that Johnny was packing up his things to go home. Shit.
Johnny is a completely logical and reasonable person and once he makes a decision you can’t really change his mind. We felt pretty guilty that we were the reason he would leave early. But yeah, he was injured from shred that day and was probably going to leave early sunday anyways. I had a talk with him in the washroom and it was clear that he wasn’t mad or anything, just doing the thing that made the most sense.
We said our goodbyes and with that, the Canadian Hero departed.
Those left in our hotel room included Johnny breakdown, his out of control friend Missy, a mostly passed out Alex, Brian who was just chillin in bed, Derek, Hogan, Nick Landes, and his friend Mina. My bed was somewhat occupied for quite a long time and I spent a bunch of time on the floor chilling with Derek and Kevin, and also Nick for a while. I really enjoyed just chillin and talking to the and stuff. Eventually Nick and Mina called it a night. The rest of us were getting tired too however we had a bit of an issue. Missy was extremely hammered and had to drive home. We basically had to wait for her to sober up and drive home before I could go to sleep in my bed. On the bright side she was the source of much entertainment. 8 minutes was the funniest. Oh man. Chilling with Johnny breakdown was so fun! That guy is just a ball of energy. Watching him dance shirtless. Awww yissss. Him talking to the coach was also unexpected and fucking hilarious.
Derek and Hogan were champs for staying up with me when they were clearly beat. We killed it until 5am!! Eventually they called it a night and went back to their room to sleep. Soon after that Missy finally left and I was able to sleep for a few hours. What a crazy night.
This day/night was easy one of the best ever. Wow. Missing out on sleep to maximize time with these amazing people was just totally worth it!
<3
I really wanted something healthy to eat but we were in Michigan so we ended up going to chipotle. Both johnny and I made the mistake of getting too many sauces on our tacos and it ended up being hilariously disgusting. Omg. So gross.
It was a long, messy drive to the whirlyball place. The weather wasn’t the greatest and neither was my mood. I felt bad that Johnny had to put up with me but I was also so grateful that he was there. He is just the best! Pull it together Cass..
I knew once we arrived my mood would have to change. A coach sesh in the car with Jordan, Evan, Derek and Brian helped enormously.
The venue was dope as fuck!!! After 9pm we had full access to the whirlyball court which is a crazy bumper car game where you have teams that have to shoot balls with scoops through a hole. I had no interest in actually trying this game due to back issues and a lack of interest in team sports. It was great to watch though and amazing to see how much fun the others had! From what I heard team Canada kicked some ass ;D
There were a bunch of real comfy couches, pool tables, a jukebox with a limited playlist. I didn’t take advantage but we got wristbands for FREE beer and wine! So awesome.
I gave out some fun party favours to a bunch of people who all seemed to really enjoy it!
I used what little energy I had left rocking out with my LED hoop. So fun.
What a crazy awesome fun footbag party!! Footbag people everywhere. Great vibes. So amazing!
Ianek brought out his drum kit to jam on which was super dope. That guy has some real skills! Near the end there was some super dope shred to watch too! Kemmer and Adam were shredding it up. Ianek would drum to the beat of their shred which was really entertaining to watch. They would try to mess him up by changing up the speed/flow but Ianek was totally on top of that. Evan joined for a bit near the end as well. This was just the most fun thing to watch. So magical. The trailing effect of the bag was just unreal.
Alex is basically a rabbit that feeds off beer, nuggets and salad. He took full advantage of the free beer. I love that guy. Even when he is plastered he is the most endearing and cooperative (while loud and silly) motherfucker. There was a great big bowl of salad provided with the pizza. He had about eleven plates of salad before proceeding to walk around eating directly from the massive salad bowl. I wish I had a photo of that.. He polished that whole damn thing off. No surprise there.
I didn’t want this party to end. It was just too great. So much good energy and great people.
Eventually it was time clear out from the best footbag party ever. Once again I was so grateful for Johnny’s driving skills. There aren’t too many people I trust to drive my own car over myself but he is definitely one of them. This time Alex joined us in the back seat. He spent about five minutes yelling about nuggets, or salad or other silly things before passing the fuck out. He snored the whole way back. Johnny and I rode, mostly in silence, back to the motel. I love how comfortable I feel with that guy. The effects of the party were starting to wear off and my brain was just everywhere and nowhere.
Back at the motel the party continued! First in Zach’s room. After being offered so many times I was finally ready to try a dab! Of course Zach had run out by this point. I guess it wasn’t meant to be..
Lot of chillin and jokes and coach and awesomeness. Soon Zach was ready to crash and asked us to move the party to another room. The problem was that someone in all the rooms was trying to sleep. A bunch of us were still wired and had nowhere to go. We found ourselves stuck outside in the (surprisingly mild) cold. This was quite the predicament. There was no way sleep was happening already! It was the last night and there was no way it could end already!
We were being loud and ended up having the motel management speak with us which was kind of unfortunate.
We were going to move the party to our room but Johnny was just about to pack it in. We were going to see if he would be willing to move to another room to sleep so that we would have a place to chill. I felt pretty guilty about this since I had already asked so much of him that evening. Alex was initially elected to talk to him about it but this was probably not the best idea. Eventually we told him the situation and brought people into our motel room. After a few minutes it became clear that Johnny was packing up his things to go home. Shit.
Johnny is a completely logical and reasonable person and once he makes a decision you can’t really change his mind. We felt pretty guilty that we were the reason he would leave early. But yeah, he was injured from shred that day and was probably going to leave early sunday anyways. I had a talk with him in the washroom and it was clear that he wasn’t mad or anything, just doing the thing that made the most sense.
We said our goodbyes and with that, the Canadian Hero departed.
Those left in our hotel room included Johnny breakdown, his out of control friend Missy, a mostly passed out Alex, Brian who was just chillin in bed, Derek, Hogan, Nick Landes, and his friend Mina. My bed was somewhat occupied for quite a long time and I spent a bunch of time on the floor chilling with Derek and Kevin, and also Nick for a while. I really enjoyed just chillin and talking to the and stuff. Eventually Nick and Mina called it a night. The rest of us were getting tired too however we had a bit of an issue. Missy was extremely hammered and had to drive home. We basically had to wait for her to sober up and drive home before I could go to sleep in my bed. On the bright side she was the source of much entertainment. 8 minutes was the funniest. Oh man. Chilling with Johnny breakdown was so fun! That guy is just a ball of energy. Watching him dance shirtless. Awww yissss. Him talking to the coach was also unexpected and fucking hilarious.
Derek and Hogan were champs for staying up with me when they were clearly beat. We killed it until 5am!! Eventually they called it a night and went back to their room to sleep. Soon after that Missy finally left and I was able to sleep for a few hours. What a crazy night.
This day/night was easy one of the best ever. Wow. Missing out on sleep to maximize time with these amazing people was just totally worth it!
<3
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Part 10
I woke up about four hours later shortly after 9am. The tv was on which seemed pretty random. I learned that Johnny Sarah hadn’t slept AT ALL. He was flying out on some crazy adventure today as well. I don’t know how he does it!
We packed all our things up and checked out of the motel. One last chat with the coach in Zach’s room. It was sad that it was the last day but luckily I got my cry out the day previous so I figured I should be good today.
A big group of us went out to Denny’s for breakfast. I ate sooo much food.
From there we headed to the event site. The day is kind of a blur. Lots of hugs.
There were some fun little events. I failed miserably at the mirage races. After that a few of us went out to the car. While we were out there we missed the tiltless rippin run. I really would have liked to try that one but that’s okay. I spent that time with great people anyways.
The award ceremony happened. They gave out the awesome disc trophies that Anton spent all week working on. So neat.
Nick Polini was recognized for being inspirational which was cool. Ianek also got recognised for being the most helpful which was just so well deserved. I feel super lame for just wanting to shred all the time when there’s Ianek going out of his way to teach new players concepts and just generally be the most awesome selfless person.
Lots of shred happened and I just did my best to enjoy these last moments with great people. I remember really enjoying playing with and watching Nick Landes shred. Another really fun circle to watch included Matt Kemmer, Hogan, and Derek.
My last shred of the week was with Nick L. and Kyle Cook I think. This circle was notable because I remember feeling extremely strong. This might have been some of my best shred of the week and it was at the very end! I’m really pleased with how well my body held up for this event. All the great yoga and massages most definitely helped with that.
In no time it was time to pack up. How sad. Unfortunately it was kind of blizzardy outside. “Welcome to Michigan” says Anton. We lucked out with really mild weather all week and finally it got bad when it was time to head home.
I gave out many hugs. I even gave pre-goodbye hugs to people I would be seeing again soon. Just in case. You can’t have too many hugs.
A bunch of people were planning to go for dinner so Alex and I decided to join them. I didn’t realize when I agreed to this that we would be driving an hour to get to the restaurant. It was not a super fun drive in the snow but I did want to see everyone for one last goodbye.
Alex and I had some really good talks along the way. We reflected on how we’ve been friends for over 8 years now!! He is one of my closest and longest friends. All thanks to this silly amazing sport.
We finally got to the restaurant that Zach had directed us to and nobody was there. We had no way of communicating with people due to lack of phone service in the States. Damn. We decided to grab a table anyways and order. Luckily shortly after we sat down Zach found us. I guess the restaurant wouldn’t take our large group.
We ended up driving another 40 minutes or so to another place. This time Evan hitched a ride with me so that Antons vehicle would be less crowded and also so one of us would have a phone. So much driving already and we haven’t even really started the journey home! That’s okay though. By the time we ate I was just ravenous. It was a nice last dinner even though everyone was clearly pretty beat.
After dinner there were more goodbye hugs. Extra big ones for Anton who just kicked ass all week, as well as Derek, and Brian who are just too awesome and way too far away. I think I managed not to cry.
Finally Alex and I were off on our snowy journey home. He is a great travel companion. I love that guy. Luckily the roads weren’t too terrible for most of the time. That is until we got in near London, Ontario. The conditions got really bad and I was exhausted and still hours away from home. It made sense to crash at Alex’s place for the night. His bed is so damn comfy! I actually had an incredible sleep that inspired me to buy a new memory foam topper (and also pillow) for my bed. Definitely a great investment.
The next morning I made the rest of my journey home. The brutal cold caused my wiper fluid to stop working and the roads were really messy so that was just a real bad time. But I made it!!
Wow. What a trip!
Huge props to Anton, Zach, Jay Moldenhauer, Adam Keith and everyone else who just put so much great energy and love into this event. Everything just went so smoothly and it made for an absurdly fabulous event. One of the best ever.
I finally did it!!
<3
FIN
I have so many more things that I have been holding off blogging about because of this ridiculous write up that I committed myself to. It's such a relief to be done finally!
We packed all our things up and checked out of the motel. One last chat with the coach in Zach’s room. It was sad that it was the last day but luckily I got my cry out the day previous so I figured I should be good today.
A big group of us went out to Denny’s for breakfast. I ate sooo much food.
From there we headed to the event site. The day is kind of a blur. Lots of hugs.
There were some fun little events. I failed miserably at the mirage races. After that a few of us went out to the car. While we were out there we missed the tiltless rippin run. I really would have liked to try that one but that’s okay. I spent that time with great people anyways.
The award ceremony happened. They gave out the awesome disc trophies that Anton spent all week working on. So neat.
Nick Polini was recognized for being inspirational which was cool. Ianek also got recognised for being the most helpful which was just so well deserved. I feel super lame for just wanting to shred all the time when there’s Ianek going out of his way to teach new players concepts and just generally be the most awesome selfless person.
Lots of shred happened and I just did my best to enjoy these last moments with great people. I remember really enjoying playing with and watching Nick Landes shred. Another really fun circle to watch included Matt Kemmer, Hogan, and Derek.
My last shred of the week was with Nick L. and Kyle Cook I think. This circle was notable because I remember feeling extremely strong. This might have been some of my best shred of the week and it was at the very end! I’m really pleased with how well my body held up for this event. All the great yoga and massages most definitely helped with that.
In no time it was time to pack up. How sad. Unfortunately it was kind of blizzardy outside. “Welcome to Michigan” says Anton. We lucked out with really mild weather all week and finally it got bad when it was time to head home.
I gave out many hugs. I even gave pre-goodbye hugs to people I would be seeing again soon. Just in case. You can’t have too many hugs.
A bunch of people were planning to go for dinner so Alex and I decided to join them. I didn’t realize when I agreed to this that we would be driving an hour to get to the restaurant. It was not a super fun drive in the snow but I did want to see everyone for one last goodbye.
Alex and I had some really good talks along the way. We reflected on how we’ve been friends for over 8 years now!! He is one of my closest and longest friends. All thanks to this silly amazing sport.
We finally got to the restaurant that Zach had directed us to and nobody was there. We had no way of communicating with people due to lack of phone service in the States. Damn. We decided to grab a table anyways and order. Luckily shortly after we sat down Zach found us. I guess the restaurant wouldn’t take our large group.
We ended up driving another 40 minutes or so to another place. This time Evan hitched a ride with me so that Antons vehicle would be less crowded and also so one of us would have a phone. So much driving already and we haven’t even really started the journey home! That’s okay though. By the time we ate I was just ravenous. It was a nice last dinner even though everyone was clearly pretty beat.
After dinner there were more goodbye hugs. Extra big ones for Anton who just kicked ass all week, as well as Derek, and Brian who are just too awesome and way too far away. I think I managed not to cry.
Finally Alex and I were off on our snowy journey home. He is a great travel companion. I love that guy. Luckily the roads weren’t too terrible for most of the time. That is until we got in near London, Ontario. The conditions got really bad and I was exhausted and still hours away from home. It made sense to crash at Alex’s place for the night. His bed is so damn comfy! I actually had an incredible sleep that inspired me to buy a new memory foam topper (and also pillow) for my bed. Definitely a great investment.
The next morning I made the rest of my journey home. The brutal cold caused my wiper fluid to stop working and the roads were really messy so that was just a real bad time. But I made it!!
Wow. What a trip!
Huge props to Anton, Zach, Jay Moldenhauer, Adam Keith and everyone else who just put so much great energy and love into this event. Everything just went so smoothly and it made for an absurdly fabulous event. One of the best ever.
I finally did it!!
<3
FIN
I have so many more things that I have been holding off blogging about because of this ridiculous write up that I committed myself to. It's such a relief to be done finally!
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Complete!
Thanks for the amazing write up Cassy. It was cool to hear about a lot of the stuff I missed out on while busy doing other things. And thanks for coming and just being awesome. You are always welcome in Michigan!!!
zach jahner
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Complete!
Woot! Thanks for the write-up, Cass!
-
krustykrakk
- BSOS Beast
- Posts: 374
- Joined: 14 Jun 2013 09:12
- Location: Bethlehem, PA/State College, PA
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Complete!
Cass, it's been a pleasure to read this, as usual. I'll see you in April, with the high-protein snacks I owe you.
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Complete!
Thanks Zach! I will definitely be taking you up on that.
Thanks for reading, Allan!
Looking forward to it, Ben!
Okay life update time!
January has been kind of a hectic month for me. I tend to want to do it all and expect too much of myself. As a result of overexerting myself with footbag, yoga, school and partying I have come down with a couple really annoying colds that have been holding me back. Gotta cut out the partying I guess. Ain’t got time for sickness with so many important life events on the horizon.
Speaking of partying, here is a cool piece of art from a really fun psytrance event I went to recently. They had so much beautiful black light art there! The photo really doesn't do it justice.
I have been shredding semi-regularly but only a few times a week and only for about 15-30 minutes each time. This is mainly due to lack of energy from the illness but also just being distracted by yoga which I don’t consider a bad thing at the moment. Despite not playing much I feel very strong. I have been very focused on solidifying my foundation and a few key concepts. Most sessions I work on tiltless, bops, spinning, ducking, rakes, and perhaps a couple other concepts like stepping or dragons or whatever. These things are my top priority and I need to have them dialed. Aside from lingering back issues I haven’t had any pain or soreness at all which is great. I’m finally over that stupid ankle injury from Grand Rapids jam last year so that’s cool.
About a week and a half ago I signed up for an intro yoga special at the hot yoga place that is super close to my house. 30 days unlimited yoga for $40. It has been really great so far! I tend to shred less when I do hot yoga so my plan is to take full advantage of this month by learning and healing as much as I can. When the month is over around Feb 20 I will be going into full worlds training mode.
I find yoga to be so rewarding! Just like footbag. I’m constantly improving and ‘hitting’ new poses and stuff. You always feel so damn satisfied after yoga. My body just feels soo good. I would love to do a yoga retreat some time. If I didn’t have all my funds this year tied up in footbag things already I feel my core getting so much stronger which can only help with footbag. I'm terrible with doing core work on my own so this is a definite benefit of taking classes. I can do headstands pretty well now as a result of this new strength. Yay progress!
I bought my tickets to Copenhagen this week!!! It’s totally on. The event is still six months away but having the tickets locked in just makes it so real. I’m really happy with where my game is at at the moment but also stoked that I have basically half a year to improve before the event. I’m going to be smart about it and use my time wisely. I’ve decided that I’m not really worried about competition. Although I will do a routine it is not something I will focus on for a while yet. I would prefer to spend that energy simply getting better at footbag.
There’s another footbag trip that I’m starting to plan for this spring. I’m hoping to make it out to NOLA jam at the end of May. From there I will fly to Cali to hang out with cool peeps there and possibly attend Green Cup? After that we will roadtrip up to Portland for USO! From there I will fly home. These plans are still tentative but I am optimistic that it will work out and be totally legendary.
I’m a month into my last semester of my masters and shit is getting real. I just set the date for my defense this week which is going to happen the Friday afternoon that Jamps begins. This pleases me because I should have no excuse to miss the event. But yeah, things are getting crazy with school. I’m working hard right now to finish up my second paper to submit for publishing. Once that is finished I will have a few weeks [if I'm lucky] to produce and submit my masters thesis. After that I’m visiting Denver March 22-26 for the American Chemical Society meeting which is a massive conference with a huge job fair. The job fair is where I will find my future employer so this is going to be an extremely important event. I’m also doing a talk on my research which is terrifying and will require much preparation. Also shred with Ken!! Woo!
Oh! I’ve also volunteered to perform a halftime show at a provincial basketball championship that is taking place at my school on March 7. I figured it would be a good way to get myself out of my comfort zone and prepare for worlds somewhat. I have never done anything like this before so it’s pretty scary/stressful and is going to require a bunch of preparation. I just recieved my new bag from Marco yesterday which I plan to use for that:
I'm going in Monday to try acupuncture. Looking forward to that. I carry so much tension in my shoulders so I'm hoping this can help a little.
FAT session Sunday!! I haven't had a real shred with people since NYJ so I'm really looking forward to that
<3
Thanks for reading, Allan!
Looking forward to it, Ben!
Okay life update time!
January has been kind of a hectic month for me. I tend to want to do it all and expect too much of myself. As a result of overexerting myself with footbag, yoga, school and partying I have come down with a couple really annoying colds that have been holding me back. Gotta cut out the partying I guess. Ain’t got time for sickness with so many important life events on the horizon.
Speaking of partying, here is a cool piece of art from a really fun psytrance event I went to recently. They had so much beautiful black light art there! The photo really doesn't do it justice.
I have been shredding semi-regularly but only a few times a week and only for about 15-30 minutes each time. This is mainly due to lack of energy from the illness but also just being distracted by yoga which I don’t consider a bad thing at the moment. Despite not playing much I feel very strong. I have been very focused on solidifying my foundation and a few key concepts. Most sessions I work on tiltless, bops, spinning, ducking, rakes, and perhaps a couple other concepts like stepping or dragons or whatever. These things are my top priority and I need to have them dialed. Aside from lingering back issues I haven’t had any pain or soreness at all which is great. I’m finally over that stupid ankle injury from Grand Rapids jam last year so that’s cool.
About a week and a half ago I signed up for an intro yoga special at the hot yoga place that is super close to my house. 30 days unlimited yoga for $40. It has been really great so far! I tend to shred less when I do hot yoga so my plan is to take full advantage of this month by learning and healing as much as I can. When the month is over around Feb 20 I will be going into full worlds training mode.
I find yoga to be so rewarding! Just like footbag. I’m constantly improving and ‘hitting’ new poses and stuff. You always feel so damn satisfied after yoga. My body just feels soo good. I would love to do a yoga retreat some time. If I didn’t have all my funds this year tied up in footbag things already
I feel my core getting so much stronger which can only help with footbag. I'm terrible with doing core work on my own so this is a definite benefit of taking classes. I can do headstands pretty well now as a result of this new strength. Yay progress!I bought my tickets to Copenhagen this week!!! It’s totally on. The event is still six months away but having the tickets locked in just makes it so real. I’m really happy with where my game is at at the moment but also stoked that I have basically half a year to improve before the event. I’m going to be smart about it and use my time wisely. I’ve decided that I’m not really worried about competition. Although I will do a routine it is not something I will focus on for a while yet. I would prefer to spend that energy simply getting better at footbag.
There’s another footbag trip that I’m starting to plan for this spring. I’m hoping to make it out to NOLA jam at the end of May. From there I will fly to Cali to hang out with cool peeps there and possibly attend Green Cup? After that we will roadtrip up to Portland for USO! From there I will fly home. These plans are still tentative but I am optimistic that it will work out and be totally legendary.
I’m a month into my last semester of my masters and shit is getting real. I just set the date for my defense this week which is going to happen the Friday afternoon that Jamps begins. This pleases me because I should have no excuse to miss the event. But yeah, things are getting crazy with school. I’m working hard right now to finish up my second paper to submit for publishing. Once that is finished I will have a few weeks [if I'm lucky] to produce and submit my masters thesis. After that I’m visiting Denver March 22-26 for the American Chemical Society meeting which is a massive conference with a huge job fair. The job fair is where I will find my future employer so this is going to be an extremely important event. I’m also doing a talk on my research which is terrifying and will require much preparation. Also shred with Ken!! Woo!
Oh! I’ve also volunteered to perform a halftime show at a provincial basketball championship that is taking place at my school on March 7. I figured it would be a good way to get myself out of my comfort zone and prepare for worlds somewhat. I have never done anything like this before so it’s pretty scary/stressful and is going to require a bunch of preparation. I just recieved my new bag from Marco yesterday which I plan to use for that:
I'm going in Monday to try acupuncture. Looking forward to that. I carry so much tension in my shoulders so I'm hoping this can help a little.
FAT session Sunday!! I haven't had a real shred with people since NYJ so I'm really looking forward to that
<3
-
boyle
- Post Master General
- Posts: 3173
- Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
- Location: Canberra, Australia
- Contact:
Re: Feminine Freestyle --- NYJ Complete!
Busy times! See you in Denmark. Sure feels real with tickets purchased.
Re: Feminine Freestyle ---
Yay!!!
Yesterday I played footbag with Adam and Erik! It was my first shred with people since NYJ. Playing with them is always a good ego check. Oh, right.. I’m not actually that good at footbag
I arrived a little early which gave me an opportunity to rock out with my hoop. That was a lot of fun!! It’s nice to have enough space to go nuts. I haven’t really hooped since NYJ either so that was great.
Soon Erik and Adam arrived and it was time to shred! We all started off strong but both Adam and I were pretty low on energy before long. These two are so fun to shred with and so hardcore! I shred completely differently with them. They make my want to go so hard and do all the shuffle and intense guiltless runs. This is completely different from my solo shreds where I’m just like ‘lalala..tiltless..bops..rakes..etc’. I’m still kinda getting over this illness and after about 30 minutes my body was just like ‘wtf?’ and it was just downhill from there.
Working on Atomics with them was a lot of fun! Erik's new Atomsmasher record was so dope and controlled! I think I got b2b a few times but couldn't quite get that third one. I had one run with both Eggs and both DLOs and other stuff that felt really good. I think all the core work I've been doing will definitely pay off for these sorts of tricks. My Neo set was feeling really on as well!
We played for about an hour and a half. I really wanted to end on a good note but my body was just so tired by then! I ended up just hitting a couple ripsteins off to the side so I could at least end with a fun trick. Erik and Adam played a little longer than me and I just watched for the last bit. So much hardcore shreddiness.
I didn’t stretch after and actually have some delayed onset muscle soreness from footbag today for a change. My left knee also is feeling a little weird. I was doing a bunch of Fairy sets which I haven't really touched lately so I'll have to take it easy on that for a while. So fun though!
Oshawa got slammed with snow last night. Hopefully my acupuncture doesn’t get cancelled today. Time to bunker down and get some work done!
<3
Yesterday I played footbag with Adam and Erik! It was my first shred with people since NYJ. Playing with them is always a good ego check. Oh, right.. I’m not actually that good at footbag
I arrived a little early which gave me an opportunity to rock out with my hoop. That was a lot of fun!! It’s nice to have enough space to go nuts. I haven’t really hooped since NYJ either so that was great.
Soon Erik and Adam arrived and it was time to shred! We all started off strong but both Adam and I were pretty low on energy before long. These two are so fun to shred with and so hardcore! I shred completely differently with them. They make my want to go so hard and do all the shuffle and intense guiltless runs. This is completely different from my solo shreds where I’m just like ‘lalala..tiltless..bops..rakes..etc’. I’m still kinda getting over this illness and after about 30 minutes my body was just like ‘wtf?’ and it was just downhill from there.
Working on Atomics with them was a lot of fun! Erik's new Atomsmasher record was so dope and controlled! I think I got b2b a few times but couldn't quite get that third one. I had one run with both Eggs and both DLOs and other stuff that felt really good. I think all the core work I've been doing will definitely pay off for these sorts of tricks. My Neo set was feeling really on as well!
We played for about an hour and a half. I really wanted to end on a good note but my body was just so tired by then! I ended up just hitting a couple ripsteins off to the side so I could at least end with a fun trick. Erik and Adam played a little longer than me and I just watched for the last bit. So much hardcore shreddiness.
I didn’t stretch after and actually have some delayed onset muscle soreness from footbag today for a change. My left knee also is feeling a little weird. I was doing a bunch of Fairy sets which I haven't really touched lately so I'll have to take it easy on that for a while. So fun though!
Oshawa got slammed with snow last night. Hopefully my acupuncture doesn’t get cancelled today. Time to bunker down and get some work done!
<3
Re: Feminine Freestyle ---
Why hello there, footblog! It’s been a while.
I’m still having short practice sessions pretty frequently, focusing primarily on the basics. I’m also working on breathing a lot which is definitely helping with run length.
I have a week left of hot yoga so I’m going to continue taking advantage of that. The progress I’ve made the past few weeks has been really substantial. Feels great. It’s like how fast you improve at footbag when you’re still tiltless I am looking forward to shifting my focus to training footbag after next week though. The frequent yoga has definitely taken a toll on my energy levels so it’ll be nice to start putting that energy back into shred.
I’ve been receiving active release technique therapy at the chiropractor (instead of the acupuncture I was originally planning to try). After the first treatment my shoulder improved drastically. I just had my second one yesterday and I am feeling really good. I’m optimistic that these treatments in conjunction with my yoga practice will allow me to heal fully in the next couple months.
Yesterday was my longest solo session since NYJ. I played for over an hour. Felt really good.
Some recent personal records:
Guay x44
PLO x19
Ducking Clipper x19
Ducking Clip>Spinning Clip rpt. 11 contacts
I get to see some of my footbag friends tonight. I am really looking forward to that!!
This is from a really neat house party I went to last weekend:
<3
I’m still having short practice sessions pretty frequently, focusing primarily on the basics. I’m also working on breathing a lot which is definitely helping with run length.
I have a week left of hot yoga so I’m going to continue taking advantage of that. The progress I’ve made the past few weeks has been really substantial. Feels great. It’s like how fast you improve at footbag when you’re still tiltless
I am looking forward to shifting my focus to training footbag after next week though. The frequent yoga has definitely taken a toll on my energy levels so it’ll be nice to start putting that energy back into shred. I’ve been receiving active release technique therapy at the chiropractor (instead of the acupuncture I was originally planning to try). After the first treatment my shoulder improved drastically. I just had my second one yesterday and I am feeling really good. I’m optimistic that these treatments in conjunction with my yoga practice will allow me to heal fully in the next couple months.
Yesterday was my longest solo session since NYJ. I played for over an hour. Felt really good.
Some recent personal records:
Guay x44
PLO x19
Ducking Clipper x19
Ducking Clip>Spinning Clip rpt. 11 contacts
I get to see some of my footbag friends tonight. I am really looking forward to that!!
This is from a really neat house party I went to last weekend:
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