From Dreams to Reality

The other night, I dreamed that Midas won the PresDay Qualifier. My feelings when waking up were of pure determination: I want to get my team to win that tournament! This got me to think, then, about how we'll get there. In my humble opinion, at the moment, Midas is probably going to place around 5th, solely based on what I know about the teams attending and how we have played them in the past. The first thing I did upon firing up my computer was research last year's team records for the teams I had no idea about (Okay, so maybe we CAN beat ASU and Chico!).

San Diego State kicked our asses at Stanford Open because we just didn't expect such a high level of physicality from them. But how do you teach a team of girls to want to fight for the disc more? That I am still unsure of. Unfortunately people tend to misconstrue Midas as a team for girls who don't care as much about the sport, and such a mentality becomes increasingly polarizing i.e. the people who care get upset that others don't, and the people who don't feel bolstered by the fact that others share in their mentality. So we'll see. But if short little me can run through D a girl on that team, anyone can.

We lost by one to Pomona at Sectionals. I remember this game was so incredibly frustrating because this was our last game of Saturday, meaning everyone was tired. In short, I recall blaming our loss on our lack of maintaining what is, in my opinion, one of the most important skills on the field, holding the mark. As a whole, Midas loves to throw our zone defense. We're pretty damn good at it when we have the energy, but as soon as our cup starts to get broken, we tend to get very worn out both mentally and physically. Not to say Pomona didn't deserve it, they've got a killer in Mich! But at the same time, they did do worse against other teams than we did, and they had about half the players we did so were probably much more tired than we were. So how will we beat them? Track workouts and better subbing! While it's okay to be tired after a few hard games, it sucks when your top players have been playing so much that they can't hold out to win one more point. I say throw the game against Santa Barbara, and Long Beach, once you see you're going to lose really badly, and save up for the games you should win.

Which brings me to Long Beach. I think these girls will be our biggest challenge. They have become such a dominant team in the past few years. Igloo is pretty much unstoppable, and the other girls have grown to become an amazing support system to let her rip through defenses. I remember when it was enough just to shut her down, and play tough D to force the others to make mistakes. Except now they don't make mistakes. They pretty much dominated our one-day tournament in the fall, and that was without Igloo. I also think those girls are some of the sweetest, most dedicated ones in college ultimate out there; in the end, I think it will be an intense game, but however it ends, the two teams will be hanging out and laughing after. I am still incredibly unsure about how to beat them. I think it'll just depend on how the day goes and what strengths Midas can rely on at the moment. Or maybe we'll get lucky and not have to play them at all.

SLO Motion is also attending this tournament. Having stated my previous feelings about this team, I think Midas' biggest challenge will be to not let them get in our heads. To play out of respect for their skills by shutting them down at every turn. To not get frustrated when they break through our defense, but instead adjust so it doesn't happen again. I'm not sure how many girls still burn after that game at sectionals last year, but I know I do, and hopefully that will help with our desire to win. On that note, I also haven't really seen them play this year so I have no idea what girls are still left on that team or who they picked up. I just really hope we get a chance to play them, but at the same time, I sort of hope we don't have to. I'm not sure Midas is ready to see Angry Ozone so early in the season.

Claremont will probably also be a challenge. Those girls have been incredibly dominant in the past, but simply cursed by the fact that they are in one of the most talented regions in the country. Midas has never really beaten the Greenshirts, but we have definitely had some close games. I am not sure what girls still play on that team though, so don't know what to expect. That means scouting! Actually it means I hope we get to play them early in the season (ideally at SB Invite, but I'm not sure who is going to that), and can use a game like that to figure out how to beat them later.

The last team I think will be a close game will be Humboldt. They came out incredibly fired up this year. They beat BLU split/mixed at Sean Ryan in the fall, so I'm not sure how Midas can hold up. To our credit, they have a small team, so if we play them, I hope it's towards the end of the day, preferably after they lose a really close game (is that bad spirited to say?). I think this will come down to the level of mental fortitude - if we are determined to beat them, we probably have a chance. Otherwise... This is just another game I hope we don't have to actually play.

So how do we get all of these things accomplished? Thank goodness I have friends determined to help me through this season. One of them sent me a blog post of one coach's plan for a semester. Considering Midas really has no coach, Maddox and I are sort of learning as we go. For a team that dreams of dominance, there is no room for mistakes, even early on. So getting any advice from more experienced coaches is always helpful. This entry was amazing, if only because it coincides with what I believe is a good strategy for teaching new topics. Each week introduces a new concept, with emphasis on throwing (for us it will be outside of practice) and scrimmaging frequently. I believe that there is no learning like playing a simulated game. The challenge with scrimmaging is to get people to practice as they would play a real game, but hopefully we'll get there.

You might also notice that I did not discuss any B teams in this post, because I still have full faith that Midas is the best B team in the country and we should destroy any B team that comes across our path. I do want to note, though, that those games can sometimes be the most fun, and I look forward to each and every match, if only for the great halftime games.

Have any advice on practice plans? Know some secrets about these teams that you want to share to help Midas dominate? Here's one of those posts where feedback would be awesome. Help this little girl realize her dreams!

A New Take on Sweating

If any of you have ever worked out with me, you'll know I'm a sweater. As in, I sweat easily, not like an article of clothing. No big deal, really. I get a few odd stares when people first see it, but it's just how it is. Genetics, I guess. Yet when I'm around people I don't know, such as at the gym, it is sort of embarrassing. I mean, when you picture people sweating heavily, you (or at least, I) picture overweight people who are working really hard to do something. It doesn't help that I'm really white and get red quite easily. By now I'm old enough to just tune it out - it really is mostly in my head, but I still feel that twinge of self-consciousness once in a while. After my kickboxing class today, I go to the front desk to get my pass on my way out. The young woman working there says, "Wow, you look like you had a great workout!" I respond, "yeah, I did!" She says, "I wish I could sweat that much when I work out." I stare blankly at her, not sure how to respond. She says "Oh, it's that kickboxing class, huh? It gives you that good of a workout?" I say, "Well, um, yeah, I mean, it's intense, I get really into it, you should give it a try!" She says, "Yeah, I definitely will."

Wait, so a girl is actually envious of my sweaty, red face, and wants to achieve that herself? And she might actually take my advice to doing it? I think it's time to start feeling good about sweating a lot, and take pride in the fact that I'm working hard to get there.

On a semi-related note, going primal has gone well. I felt bad a night or two ago because I sorta cheated. I pretty much got down on a cup's worth of dried cranberries, and would have kept going if there were any more left in the bag. Now, that's a ton of carbs. Feeling dejected, I tell a friend about this at breakfast the next day. He responds with something along the lines of, "Wait, you feel bad for eating some dried fruit?" Good point, I think. Another perk of following this lifestyle - "cheating" involves eating things that aren't too bad for you, but are still delicious. Also, I recently discovered that if I really feel pressured to and/or I want to, I can get away with having some alcohol. Wine is ideal, but if I skip all the fruity fillers, hard alcohol is definitely okay. All in all, I still feel great, and I've lost over 2 pounds already. I hereby deem Primal Week 1 a success! Oh yeah, and I don't miss bread yet. Nope, seriously, I don't. Now get those gingerbread cookies out of my face.

Home is Where This Little Girl's Heart Is

A few nights ago, I drove home from my friend's house just a few miles away at after 1 in the morning. We had just finished watching Inception on his new BluRay player (super awesome). Of course, me being a thinker, and having experienced a super creepy random power outage in the middle of the film, was pretty creeped out on my drive home. I have never driven on a main street where I only see black in my rearview mirror. I speed home, anxious to get in my bed, and as I step out of my car, I look up to the sky. It seemed like every star out that night was ablaze. I could point out some constellations; my favorite was always Orion, as the linearity of the belt just seemed so perfect to me. This experience immediately threw me back to high school, where I would just walk around my neighborhood or even just sit on my driveway and stare at the stars. It's the only place close to civilization I have experienced on a regular basis where you can see the stars on any clear night, regardless of the light pollution. Seeing that night sky, my night sky, made me so incredibly happy to be home. By now I had forgotten my insecurities, and felt warm and safe. Between the time that I got out of my car and got ready for bed, it had begun to rain. I lay awake in bed staring out my window at the rain fall past the streetlights, listening to its pitter-patter on my roof. So relaxing. It's so great to come home to the comfort of the familiar - going to the same gym for workouts I did in high school, driving past the same stores, most of which still stand, the same guys working at the Greek restaurant that still flirt with me, the same punks still sitting outside of the coffee shop because what else do you do on a Friday night in Cupertino. It's also cool to see how new things have become incorporated - new TJ's down the street? Awesome! I can't wait to see my friends. I've been really taking some personal time to destress from this quarter and mentally sort out my life, and haven't had the energy to go be social. But I know when I do, I'm going to really enjoy immersing myself in the throwback.

On an ulti-note: Beware-Ho 14! Everyone should sign up. Now I just need a kickass hat.

Team Planet Express Ship is coming together well. Pretty sure we have a finalized roster and our jerseys are in. Success!

On a I'm-suddenly-pissed-off-Primal-note: My mother just informed me that our chronic ant problem has extended to my almond meal that I bought yesterday. Yesterday. Still a lot left. It's relatively cheap, except, you know, I'm a poor college student. I also got in a stupid fight with my parents yesterday about how they wouldn't even buy eggs as we had ran out since they had eaten them all the night before. Gosh it's so frustrating when, not only do they support me in the cases where it's nothing to them (just go buy some eggs! you need them anyway!) but apparently I'm supposed to know that we'll have ants get into any semi-open container?! And then my mom throws in the little guilt bomb: "yeah, we had to throw away a lot more than just your stuff..." I feel no guilt. Just dislike.

Excuse the little rant, looks like my noon kickboxing class is going to be quite energetic.

Edit: Just found out my class was canceled to be replaced by some stupid holiday 2 hour exercise thing. Sure, I could go. Or I could do what I feel like and mope about it. Considering I was super sick yesterday, guess I'll just take the weekend off. Not my day.

Little Girl's Advice on Pulling

Today a teammate asked me for some tips on how to pull. I wrote up such an extensive response that I felt like I wanted to post it here. Obviously different techniques work for everyone, as I personally have gotten incredibly varying, sometimes even completely opposite, advice over the years. Here's my personal compilation of tips and tricks that work for me.

Message from teammate: "i was wondering if you had any tips on pulling. i tried it out today but my throws were mostly too high and not far enough.
also, i'm a lefty but i had trouble pulling so that the disc would be a OI going from left outside to right inside, sometimes it would even be a OI going from the right outside to left inside, so i think my throwing must be wrong. if you have any tips, that would be great!"

My response: "Okay well first, it's a preference. If you like pulling OI, go for it! I personally pull IO. If you're pulling OI, it means your disc isn't angled enough. To start changing that to IO, throw short, extremely bladey throws. I start very close to vertical (pointing down) when I pull. So grab a partner, get 10 yds away, and just throw blades to get your hand used to holding a disc that way.
Second, don't try to add footwork before you get the throw down. In fact, a lot of people lose momentum when they try to add footwork incorrectly. The idea is to get your weight behind your throw, and all that momentum moving in the direction of the pull. Start by standing stationary facing away from the field, but twisting from the hips. Most shorter throws don't require so much force, but this can help with hucks too. Remember, if you feel off balance, that's okay. On a pull there's no such thing as a "travel." In fact, you ideally want to be falling forward as you pull, as this will get your body traveling down the field and indicates you put so much momentum behind your throw that you launched your body forward.
Once you've got that down and are happy with some increased distance, feel free to try some footwork. The footwork that I was taught (flipped for left-handers) is one step with your left, then the step with your right should turn you should be almost with your back to the field, then the next left step will be your step out and the start of twisting your body. 3 steps. Left, right, left. You can jog up a little before that to get momentum, but build slowly. A lot of pullers find that adding the steps actually takes away from their form. I would get a pull with good form down first, so come game time if you haven't mastered the steps yet, at least you have a pull you can rely on.
As far as throwing the disc itself, you want to think of your arm as like a whip. This is why pulling over and over again (like I had to do last season) really fucks with your elbow. You should be throwing in practically three steps: elbow, hand, wrist flick. Practice doing those steps slowly. Again, the angle of the disc is all about how you release it, so practicing shorter throws will train your wrist to throw how you want. To help with the height, I try to focus on an object across the field. For example, a light post or a tree or something. By eyeing where you want to throw, instead of the sky, that might help. Think out, not up!
But honestly, at the end of the day the pull is just a really hard throw. Get in the gym and do some lifting, or at least do some pushups every day at home to gain muscle."

I'm always looking for more advice, so if you agree, disagree, just want to comment, definitely let me know!

As a total side note, Going Primal day 2 has been a success. It's not that hard cutting out breads and sweets when you realize how delicious meat tastes (to be fair, we'll see how long that sentiment lasts in the coming days). Also, I have rediscovered a great workout in kickboxing. Totally primal, right? Our ancestors totally would have hand-to-hand combat! Today I had 55 g of carbs, and still felt completely energized throughout my whole workout - exciting! Since I know that soon I will be jonesin' for the sweets again, my goal is to put together some primal snacks in the next coming days. First, some trail mix. Next, pie!

Little Girl Has a New Jam

"Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too" by Say Anything

I'm not really sure why, though. Hm.

Little Girl Goes Primal

I've been on and off diets since I had heard of the concept. My parents are, in general, health nuts. I played sports in high school, mostly volleyball, and spent my offseason at the gym. I've been going to the gym (and lifting!) since I was a freshman in high school. My mother tried everything: Atkins, Weight Watchers, you name it. She would consequently impose these concepts on me. I remember there was a few good months where the only carbs in our house were "Atkins" pita bread pockets. My dad was blessed with the metabolism of a horse. To be fair, as he got older, he pretty much stopped eating. Here is my father's daily diet: a bowl of cereal with coffee for breakfast, a soy mocha at Starbucks, one or two pieces of fruit during the day, and dinner. So reading that makes it seem healthy and all, but I don't think I know one college student that can sustain themselves on two pieces of fruit between the hours of 10 AM and 6 PM on a regular basis. Yeah, don't kid yourself. Except when I go to make a sandwich, it's pretty much guaranteed that I hear "are you sure you need to eat that?" This does wonders for my self esteem, I swear. I think the worst it ever got was around my junior year of high school. I had transferred to a boarding school and knew no one. The school was absolutely awful, not challenging or really welcoming in any way. I made friends with a girl who had also transferred that year, who had the interesting ambition to become a news anchor. She was about 4'11" and curvy. Knowing she could never be on television with her body, she had come to adopt her own eating style; in other words, she didn't. Eat, that is. As she and I grew closer and realized we had similar body issues, we became each other's enablers. We each had our own vice; hers was french toast or something, mine was the dining room cupcakes. Knowing each cupcake was about 500 calories, I would go weeks at a time where my daily diet would be a cup of cereal in the morning to get my going, water all day (surprisingly suppresses your appetite for a few good hours), and a cupcake. That was it.

Obviously that is nowhere near healthy eating, and after leaving the school for my senior year, I thankfully realized it. That was about the time my mom was trying Atkins, so I joined in. It actually worked for a little while, but I remember thinking it was so weird that as long as you don't eat the bun, you can order a bacon cheeseburger. That did not seem healthy either. As most people know, it was really only a matter of time before Atkins became linked to all sorts of cholesterol/atherosclerosis problems. At this point I was about 5'3" and weighed around 145. My weight, that stupid number, had always bothered me. Even to this day, I can tell myself it's all about muscle mass and fitness level and whatever, it still bothers me. After my first year two years in college, I gained about 10 pounds, and was up to 155. However The summer going into my junior year I was living with my boyfriend at my house. I was all excited, because I could once again go to my gym, take the classes I liked, cook for myself, etc. I didn't realize how comfortable I had become in my weight range. I got a free health assessment with my registration, and while I laughed when the trainer gave me all their bullshit spiels about how I should pay for personal training and take supplements, I was genuinely shocked at my BFP (around 30%) and what it indicated. I hit the gym hard, starting to go 4-5 times a week for over an hour at a time. That wasn't so crazy, and felt good, but didn't see many results. I decided the next step was to try a lo-cal diet. If Calories In < Calories Spent, you lose weight, right? So I started logging everything, aiming for less than 1000 during the week, and 1200 on weekends. Well, I dropped down to 146 at my lowest weight, but was moody and upset at everything. I almost ruined my relationship because every little thing would set me off. It wasn't until I went back to school and adopted a normal eating schedule that I realized what eating so little had done for me. That led me to probably the most upsetting realization: if I have to eat less to lose weight but I am absolutely miserable when I do so, how will I ever lose weight?

Fastforward over a year later and a friend shows me this blog, Mark's Daily Apple. I immediately become fascinated; a lifestyle that focuses on what the human body is built to digest with workout recommendations that seem more fun than tedious? How are all these success stories really true? Instead of questioning why it may not work, this little girl has decided to give it a shot. Today is my first day of eating primal: first step, try to replace the grains I have come to rely on. Breakfast was a piece of fruit, lunch was eggs scrambled with leftover meatsauce (surprisingly delicious), and for a snack I had some nuts and dried cranberries, and a few slices of ham. Ideally I'd probably eat less fruit, and more veggies, but I think for day 1 I'm doing okay. My goal is in generally to have less than 100 g of carbs, and so far I'm at 59.4. Assuming I'm going to have a meat and veggie based dinner, I'm pretty sure this goal won't be too hard. While I realize I may not be able to incorporate the exercise routines into my daily life (thinking for when I go back to college), I know that with a little commitment I will be able to eat better. Who knows? At least I'll learn some awesome recipes along the way. I'm extra happy today because I get to go to a kickboxing class that I haven't attended since last summer tonight. Good workouts plus improved eating habits; Here goes nothing!

The Job Application Process

Here's what I've figured out so far: It begins with me being all ambitious and fixing up my resume, and ends the second I walk into Coffee Society, grab a coconut chocolate bar and a latte, and sit down in this comfy chair. Updating the blog just seems like so much more rewarding an endeavor than looking up positions I'm just not qualified for. If you're not going to apply for jobs, writing about it seems like the next best thing.

Lately, I feel as if a reminder of the impeding doom of graduation pops up at least once an hour. Graduating used to be a sign of success; with that little piece of paper, the world was at your feet. A recent graduate was young, intelligent, and ambitious. Now, graduates are broke, scared, and desperate. I genuinely did not believe this world would be so bereft of employment opportunities years after the recession began. Even now, as trends are indicating a slow but steady rise in economic standing, jobs seem to be more and more scarce. You hear horror stories frequently of students applying to over 200 positions, to get just a few interviews, and only one offer. For some, that offer is so good it makes all the work worth it. For others, they're grateful to get a management position at their local Target and living with their parents for the next few years.
In a world where good jobs are about as easy to find as that ring you drop down the garbage disposal (seemingly hopeless, possible with some luck, and even then you really get a product not as nice as you had initially expected), what is a young man or woman supposed to do?

So far my answer is work hard, wait, and pray.