Springtime is finally here - I can say less, and show more!

Presenting the first outdoor session of 2010, complete with as-promised "first rally" - plus more! Teh h4x0r is s0 plz w/weath0rz!

I definitely didn't realize the camera was rolling when the student from the Missourian caught me for some questions. One of their photographers was there, and The Maneater was there snaping shots too. I had a couple awesome rallies today, got some genuine props from the audience, put in an hour and a half, and best of all, I'm "marking my territory" by the first of all the speaker circle freaks to bloom!

Thanks so much to the peeps that hung out and watched today - l0v3z teh energies!

Thanks for tuning in, hope there's more outdoor next week!

Plans, meet addiction. Since I was figuring on a short session, I hit it hard from the get-go. And I was having a great time, feeling the music, hitting the groove. As long as I wasn't counting guiltless contacts, that is. Just doing the hacky-dance thing, pushing the energy level but paying no attention to add counts, I was playing smooth and keeping the bag off the ground.

So it went - for the first hour. Then I decided to go for the guiltless strings. As good as I felt, surely I could hit a 20+ contact rally in the last 15 minutes. Bzzzzt! Almost 40 minutes later, my best was 19. My average was... I ain't telling. Yikes! And now it was 12:20 in the morning. I was fried. I gave up. Some days, gravity wins.

Still, I'm amazed at how sore I'm not after a session like that. My muscles feel good. Too bad my knees don't agree.

Not much else to say, except I'm dreaming of the day I can be the symbol of spring, and bloom on Speaker Circle. Long range weather forecast says I'm screwed, but... they've been wrong before. I'm jonesing to get the video fired up again. Speaking of video, don't miss this little clip from the Vegas Jam!

11:40 in 2010 so far. Thanks for tuning in!

Then I kinda hit a lull in the middle. I was planning to do 1:30 tonight. In the last 15 minutes, I decided to try counting guiltless strings again. I swear almost every string was either 14, 17, or 19 contacts. Damn! I only broke 20 once! I was so pissed about it, I kept hammering away past quitting time. But persistence paid, and I finally busted out with a 34 contact guiltless run. Best counted rally of the year so far!

I also hit a pair of torques and a pair of paradox whirls in other 'clean' guiltless strings. Still getting the Drifter mojo too, and I hit a few decent blenders. I even got all cocky and tried a couple blurs; I'll be damned if they didn't end up being decent ripwalks instead. WTF - where did those come from? My right side whirl was back from vacation too. Furthermore, I made a small breakthrough in my juggling. I finally stopped looking at my feet and focused on the apex of the bag flight instead, just like in hand juggling. Much better! Of course I still stink; I think my best was a mere 5 contacts. But changing my focus sure made it seem easier, like there really is a chance I can get better.

Still jonesing for that first outdoor session. In my mind, it will be glorious! In reality, it will probably be windy and disappointing. Whatever. I promise to post my first outdoor rally of 2010. Even if it does suck. For now, another 1:45. I considered pushing it to and even 2:00 tonight; the janitor schedules have changed so I've got plenty of time. But I got what I wanted, and I do have to go to work tomorrow.

Next session won't be until Thursday next week. Until then, thanks for tuning in!

Remind me, I need to wash my bags. I meant to do that after last week's session, but forgot. Still seeming like a slow-go on the simultaneous break-in of 2 bags, and my feeble attempt at learning juggling is, well, feeble. But a good washing will help. The poor things have hardly ever seen the outdoors, but with snow, salt, sodium chloride, and mud everywhere, the floor where I'm kicking is still filthy.

Despite the solidness of the session, all I'm doing is counting contacts and watching the clock. Tonight's best guiltless was again 24, but I only had to count 4 or 5 rallies to get that. I'm putting in the time, putting in the effort, but I'm not escaping. I'm not losing myself in the game. That's typical of indoor winter sessions. I dream of the warm summer days again, kicking on Speaker Circle. It will come, but not nearly soon enough. Last week's insistence that I'll get an outdoor session in Feb. looks like a pipe dream.

When summer does come, I want to be ready. I want to be conditioned, mind and body. I'm pumped about the longer sessions. Already at 3.5 hrs for the month, and that mental and physical conditioning for going that long consistently is important.

When I read other footbag player's blogs, I feel kinda silly being excited about hitting drifters and whirls. Everyone else is doing pixie gyro this and atomic leggy that. My only consolation is to wait and see what others are doing near their 30-year career point. I've been saying I've been kicking for "almost 30 years" for a couple years now; technically I've got a little over a year before I officially hit that milestone. That's one of my immediate goals - to actually make it to the 30-year mark and still be styling. At my age, almost any injury or health problem could take me out. NOT what I want.

Oh, and yes I did get a haircut, and trimmed the megastash. Thanks for tuning in!

Definitely a better session than last week. I got a late start, and figured I could only do 1:15. But then I decided I was just gonna keep kicking until the janitors showed up. They never did. I finally quit at 1:45. I almost pushed it to a full 2 hours, but... I still had to make a CO- double F- double E- Filter run. Drug addiction (caffeine in this case) is not always a pretty thing.

The important part is, I felt more motivated, pushed myself a little harder. I definitely worked up much more of a sweat tonight than last week. I still can't seem to do much in the consistency department; my best guiltless string was a whopping 24. Oh boy. I'm gonna blame the floor. Tile. Dirty. Slick. If only I could be there right after the janitors, not before. But I started really strong tonight, got a little mojo working, and had a good time. And slick floors make me more (painfully) aware of my (lack of) balance.

In the music department, tonight it was Pandora that was lame, and Last.fm that was rocking the house. Either way, I love internet radio!

I've got a better start on my time goal this year than ever before. I like how my body feels after pushing myself longer. I'm so looking forward to 2-hour sessions in the warm sunshine at Speakers Circle! Speaking of which, fuck that goddamned groundhog. I'm gonna get at least one outdoor session in February. I believe in global warming more than a dirt-digging rodent.

Until next time, thanks for tuning in!

The good thing is, the janitors are usually really cool people. They're working at night, on hard times themselves, the last thing they want to do is cause other people trouble. A little respect goes a long way. I think my secret is still safe for now, but I've got this window between about 8:10 and 10:05 to be in, do my thing, and be out. I've given up on trying to find a legitimate place to kick this winter. I just can't afford it.

It was a dark and stormy ni... wait, no, wrong profession... It was a crappy, uninspired session. I'm rather irked at Last.fm; it seems like every time I tune into my station, it's all different, but not in a good way. A few weeks ago, it went from Fatboy Slim / Chemical Romance / Other Funky Stuff to lame Easy Listening crap. Tonight it was all Ambient tempo stuff. That worked OK for a while, but the beat started getting monotonous. Good thing there's more than one of those internet radio stations. Pandora seems as true as ever to the kind of music I like to kick to.

But what about footbag? you ask. Oh yeah, that. What this blog post is supposed to be about. When I can't get into the groove, I'm reduced to bean counting. I needed 1:45 to make "par" for the month (5 hours) and that's what I did. I managed to hit at least one of all my usual moves, but certainly not in a single rally. I'm working hardest to re-integrate drifters into my strings. I like drifters.

I don't take my camera to the secret hideout, because I can't really post the video. Not being able to post the video makes me not care about the blog; I blew it off last week. I might just start taking it and filming anyway, because I like being able to go review and count rally contacts after the fact. I hate counting contacts while I'm kicking; it turns me into a bean counter instead of a freestyler. But I did spend the last 30 minutes of the session counting guiltless contact strings. My best was 20. My average was probably 6 or 7 (In nearly 30 minutes of trying). In a good session, I can double that. Bleh...

I'm still working on the dual footbag break-in. I kick with each one for about 10 minutes, then switch. Both my Abshire bags are sweet, but subtly different. And since I'm doing this, I've decided to practice juggling just a bit - at least once per session. I never really got the hang of it back in the day, and I quite frankly still suck at toe delays. But the practice seems to be paying off, because I actually got a few rounds on each foot tonight. It would be nice to have just a little of that for next summer's Speaker Circle sessions. Kinda like pendulums and probes; not that hard, but a crowd-pleaser.

That's it for now. Thanks for tuning in!

With my new goal of 60 hours this year, I've upped my "minimum" session time from 1 hour to 1:15, and am trying to hit at least 1:30 per session. I'm still looking for a legitimate place to play in the winter though, and there's a good chance I'll only get an hour at a time. I'll be glad when I can do 2-hour sessions in the warm sunshine again.

Thanks for tuning in!

50 hours of footbag: YES! I did 58.5 hours. I was hoping to hit an even 60, but... then it snowed. I ditched the last session of the year to play in the snow with the kids (Win!). Along the way to my footbag goal for the year, I've been featured in a local newspaper and been the subject of several J-School student documentaries.

2,400 Km on the bike: YES! I finished the year with 2,918 Km (~1,813 mi). Was hoping to hit 3,000Km, but again, the snow. So, don't expect me to feel bummed that I didn't quite make the 3K mark. I still ride a bike to work and back every day, and lots of other places too. So far in my life I've displaced at least a quarter-million miles of car travel with bike travel. Stick that in your carbon footprint and smoke it!

Reduce my anger: YES! Against all odds, against my life's history, the "fever" of rage and anger finally broke. I went through a very bleak period this summer, feeling suicidal enough to go buy the exhaust extension hose I would need for the job. I had it all planned out. Before I pulled the plug, I took a short trip through SSRI land. THAT SHIT SUCKS BIG TIME. The crap made me feel awful. No, I wasn't getting angry while I was on it, but I sure as hell didn't get happy either. I just got numb. I physically felt like crap all the time, and mentally felt like a zombie. Two words about me and SSRI drugs: NEVER. AGAIN. That goes for the therapists, shrinks, and doctors who push that crap, too. The only person that belongs in my head is myself.

In the end, it was one of my best friends that helped me get my head screwed back on straight. Once I finally found the strength to cast the enormous weight of hatred and anger overboard, I discovered many other things were tangled up with that albatross, and went overboard too. Fear? Yep, that was just another lead weight tied to anger. Motivation? Oh shit, that's tangled up with the fear and anger too. In fact, I'm still reeling from the change, trying to find a new balance in my life. But I can't go back. The anger, and everything tangled up with it, is at the bottom of the ocean, unrecoverable.

I did get genuinely angry for the first time in months on Christmas Eve; A 2-hour job blew up on me and turned into an all-day frustration fest. Afterwards, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Being angry takes too much energy. I just can't do it any more.

60 hours of Footbag - I got so close this year, I've got to try to hit the mark next year. It's going to be tough; I don't have a good winter kicking place, and that's where I lose so much ground against my goals. Securing an indoor facility for 2010 will be a top priority.

3,000 Km on the bike - Again, I got so close this year, I've got to try to hit the mark next year. Just a few more lunchtime bike rides, or taking the longer route to work and back, and I'll have it.

The first two goals never change much: X amount of footbag, and Y amount of bicycling. The 3rd goal is always the crazy, out there, fru-fru kind of thing. And I can't make up my mind. There are so many things I want to try! I got a harmonica for XMas; I've always wanted to be able to wail the blues on a harmonica. I'll try that. I'm also disappointed in my relative financial status; this year has seen income reductions and expense increases. I'd like to increase my income in 2010. That might dovetail well with my desire to learn new technology, maybe a new programming language. I also want to be more affectionate with the wife and children.

Lots of ideas, and I need to pick one to call out as my goal, or resolution. Ah, yes... more affection with the wife. That's it! Thats definitely it. Wish me to get even luckier in 2010.

Thanks for tuning in!

I do want to give a shout-out to Richard Abshire - all footbag sequences in my documentary were filmed using an Abshire bag. 58:30 for the year... still gunning for 60!

Thanks for tuning in,

A million and more thanks to Nick Velliquette for his time and incredible enthusiasm for producing this documentary. Your professor better give you an A+++ for this!

Thanks for tuning in!