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batskeetsOy. Going to Berkeley feels like going to another planet. Everything I do there seems so far removed from my normal life, especially now that I've been away from UO for almost 2 years. Being back feels incredibly odd, but I have wushu class tonight, so maybe things will start feeling normal again after that.
Let's see...
UO Wushu Reunion! I rode down with the current year's UO squad, which still includes some of the folks I coached in the year before I moved away. They kind of insisted that I crash with them instead of couch-surfing, so we spent a lot of time catching up, and there were all kinds of people from UO teams of years' past, dropping in on us at the hotel on Friday night. I think this was the first time we had everyone back together in a while, d'awww! I'm glad I didn't miss it this year.
Picture-taking. Taking shots on the competition floor was awesome! How often do I get to nerd out about wushu and photography at the same time? ;) I think my only complaints were the gross lighting, and my battery running out (the latter being totally my fault), but I still got some cool shots. I have maybe 10% of the photos I took posted on Facebook, and more will go up later tonight.
Mental game? As mentioned, my event didn't go well. I blanked out in the middle of a form I've been doing for FOUR YEARS, so yeah, I feel like an idiot. When it comes to tournament, I'm my own worst enemy, and regardless of where my physical ability is, I still have *no* mental game whatsoever. I have a lot more to say on this, but I'm interested to see what my counselor will say about it, so I'll save it for later.
Spawning wushu bad-assery. It was super-awesome to see people I coached as freshmen perform well (and place in their events!!), and people whom they coached do well. Some of them have tons of potential, and I'm glad they've been able to keep improving so much since I left. :D
A family member sees some wushu. After going to this bloody tournament for the past 5 out of 6 years, I finally convinced someone in my family to come watch. My aunt came in from Santa Cruz and stayed for most of the afternoon, and we grabbed dinner after my event was over. She seemed to think the whole thing was really cool, and she got there in time to see the nandu events, so now at least one person in my family knows what wushu is supposed to look like. ;)
After-party! It's always a blur, and this was no exception. (Hurricane Juuuuice) My legs actually got sore yesterday from all the dancing we did, and there are some party photos that demand explanation, heh. I also owned face on the foosball table, haw haw. And ate steak tacos that weren't from Taco Bell, at 3am in fresh outdoor air. I wish there was more non-crappy food available at odd hours here in Portland.
Getting hit by an RV. We were at the gas station on Sunday, and there I was, standing outside in a sleep-deprived stupor, when an RV backed into me! The amount of force wasn't much--basically, equivalent to walking into a door frame or some such thing--but dude, hitting me with a large vehicle? NOT COOL.
In-N-Out Fail. We'd all decided not to stop at In-N-Out on Friday's trip down, because we didn't want to hog it up the night before competition. So, we agreed to stop there on the return trip, and were basically waiting in anticipation all day Sunday for delicious In-N-Out burgers... but when we got there? It was CLOSED due to Easter Sunday! Bastards, the lot of them!
That's all I can remember right now! There's always too much to sort out after one of these trips. Until next time... :)
Let's see...
UO Wushu Reunion! I rode down with the current year's UO squad, which still includes some of the folks I coached in the year before I moved away. They kind of insisted that I crash with them instead of couch-surfing, so we spent a lot of time catching up, and there were all kinds of people from UO teams of years' past, dropping in on us at the hotel on Friday night. I think this was the first time we had everyone back together in a while, d'awww! I'm glad I didn't miss it this year.
Picture-taking. Taking shots on the competition floor was awesome! How often do I get to nerd out about wushu and photography at the same time? ;) I think my only complaints were the gross lighting, and my battery running out (the latter being totally my fault), but I still got some cool shots. I have maybe 10% of the photos I took posted on Facebook, and more will go up later tonight.
Mental game? As mentioned, my event didn't go well. I blanked out in the middle of a form I've been doing for FOUR YEARS, so yeah, I feel like an idiot. When it comes to tournament, I'm my own worst enemy, and regardless of where my physical ability is, I still have *no* mental game whatsoever. I have a lot more to say on this, but I'm interested to see what my counselor will say about it, so I'll save it for later.
Spawning wushu bad-assery. It was super-awesome to see people I coached as freshmen perform well (and place in their events!!), and people whom they coached do well. Some of them have tons of potential, and I'm glad they've been able to keep improving so much since I left. :D
A family member sees some wushu. After going to this bloody tournament for the past 5 out of 6 years, I finally convinced someone in my family to come watch. My aunt came in from Santa Cruz and stayed for most of the afternoon, and we grabbed dinner after my event was over. She seemed to think the whole thing was really cool, and she got there in time to see the nandu events, so now at least one person in my family knows what wushu is supposed to look like. ;)
After-party! It's always a blur, and this was no exception. (Hurricane Juuuuice) My legs actually got sore yesterday from all the dancing we did, and there are some party photos that demand explanation, heh. I also owned face on the foosball table, haw haw. And ate steak tacos that weren't from Taco Bell, at 3am in fresh outdoor air. I wish there was more non-crappy food available at odd hours here in Portland.
Getting hit by an RV. We were at the gas station on Sunday, and there I was, standing outside in a sleep-deprived stupor, when an RV backed into me! The amount of force wasn't much--basically, equivalent to walking into a door frame or some such thing--but dude, hitting me with a large vehicle? NOT COOL.
In-N-Out Fail. We'd all decided not to stop at In-N-Out on Friday's trip down, because we didn't want to hog it up the night before competition. So, we agreed to stop there on the return trip, and were basically waiting in anticipation all day Sunday for delicious In-N-Out burgers... but when we got there? It was CLOSED due to Easter Sunday! Bastards, the lot of them!
That's all I can remember right now! There's always too much to sort out after one of these trips. Until next time... :)
