I'm not sure where to start or if this will add anything that hasn't already been said.
Listen
Please listen to these voices that are fighting to be heard. Protests are a form of expression, listen to their message. Have some empathy for a group of people that have been oppressed for nearly 250 years in this country. I will never know what it's like to fear the police and I will never know what it's like to live in a system that has been built to treat me as second class.
The riots are saying enough is enough. They have protested peacefully & we have not listened. They have yelled as loudly as they can and we are still not listening.
So take some time to listen, empathize, and keep listening. It is uncomfortable to realize that the systems which have granted us so much agency & respect has denied it to so many others. We must listen.
Once you've listened, keep listening.
Use your voice
Use your voice. We must vote in local and federal elections.
Make your opinion known to your elected officials.
Make your opinion known within your community.
Use your money to support organizations which help people of color and deny it to ones that don't.
Understand your position of power and how you can influence others to bring others to your cause. We all have power in our lives to create change, use yours.
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Monday, May 18, 2020
Avatar episodes ranked
This is an ordered list of avatar episodes. I made this list by adding each episode to a tier, and then sorting through each tier roughly by preference. I rewatched the show recently in December/January, so most of this is still pretty fresh. Note that there's a 'bottom tier' but that doesn't mean I don't like them, I just like them less.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Friday, March 13, 2020
Fear as a motivator
The public reaction for coronavrius in Seattle has gone from 0 to 100 in about 2 weeks. 2 weeks ago, the world was a normal place. On Monday and Tuesday the first official COVID related deaths are reported. Tuesday evening, Amazon emails everyone in Seattle to let them know someone in a SLU office tested positive. Wednesday most folks work from home, then on Thursday Microsoft and Amazon tell everyone to start working from home through the end of March. From there the curve has gotten much steeper.
The rate at which the world has flipped upside down feels unprecedented in my short life. It's been a sad & frustrating couple of days and I'm heartbroken for the college season to end so suddenly. I empathize with everyone who's lives are impacted much more than mine.
However if you're skeptical about whether the public reaction to coronavirus (as of March 13) is too aggressive, watch this video (~9 mins): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kas0tIxDvrg
It's a good reminder that, 1) Your life is literally now a high school math problem and
2) Any significant reduction in the rate of infection can have a very impact on the total infected population.
Correctly applied fear can bring about rapid change. "If no one is worried, that's when you should be worried."
The rate at which the world has flipped upside down feels unprecedented in my short life. It's been a sad & frustrating couple of days and I'm heartbroken for the college season to end so suddenly. I empathize with everyone who's lives are impacted much more than mine.
However if you're skeptical about whether the public reaction to coronavirus (as of March 13) is too aggressive, watch this video (~9 mins): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kas0tIxDvrg
It's a good reminder that, 1) Your life is literally now a high school math problem and
2) Any significant reduction in the rate of infection can have a very impact on the total infected population.
Correctly applied fear can bring about rapid change. "If no one is worried, that's when you should be worried."
Monday, February 17, 2020
Some broad generalizations about Seattle
- Seattle drivers are terrible on the freeway.
- People in Seattle do not j-walk.
- Seattleites are polite and conflict averse.
- Everyone owns a flannel.
- Everyone owns chacos or similarly rated heavy duty sandals.
- Everyone drives a Subaru.
- Climbing is popular in Seattle.
- Everyone in Seattle hates Amazon, but everyone also works at Amazon.
- Seattleites love waiting in line for no reason.
- There are more dogs than children in Seattle.
- It is acceptable/expected to be 30-60 minutes late in Seattle.
- There are lots of Asian people in Seattle.
- Seattle public transportation is slow.
- It rains a lot in Seattle.
- Seattlelites love hiking, camping & spending time outdoors.
- Everyone is a liberal.
- People in Seattle do not j-walk.
- Seattleites are polite and conflict averse.
- Everyone owns a flannel.
- Everyone owns chacos or similarly rated heavy duty sandals.
- Everyone drives a Subaru.
- Climbing is popular in Seattle.
- Everyone in Seattle hates Amazon, but everyone also works at Amazon.
- Seattleites love waiting in line for no reason.
- There are more dogs than children in Seattle.
- It is acceptable/expected to be 30-60 minutes late in Seattle.
- There are lots of Asian people in Seattle.
- Seattle public transportation is slow.
- It rains a lot in Seattle.
- Seattlelites love hiking, camping & spending time outdoors.
- Everyone is a liberal.
Monday, September 30, 2019
The Bug
The frisbee bug is a virus. I caught it in summer 2016. I just wanted to play. I worked out four days a week. I learned how to throw a flick farther than 20 yards. How else could I get better? I watched film. I recorded myself and requested more throwing feedback. The grind was sweet and the rewards were sweeter.
I had the bug in 2017 & 2018, and even 2019, but I don't have it anymore. I haven't lifted since a month before regionals. I haven't been throwing more than twice a week since sectionals & I've been feeling like I'm on autopilot since July. I wasn't getting excited for practice & I'm not upset now that the season's over.
I'm not sure how I lost the bug. It's tempting to blame Birdfruit, but that's selfish and doesn't really line up since BF was a real fun team with some real fun ballers. Mixed doesn't seem like a good culprit either since mixed mini & regionals in college was one of my favorite parts about frisbee. Plus mixed teams in Seattle are a competitive bunch.
Work might be to blame. After switching teams, expectations have grown and I'm finding myself spending longer days at work, investing more mental energy into my time in the office, etc. But this is the classic excuse, ('I have too much homework!,'), so it doesn't count either.
My shoulder injury might be the cause. My left shoulder subpluxes or slides on about 3 out of 4 layouts and sometimes while extending upwards quickly. Physical matchups can also knock it loose. I'm laying out less frequently and playing more timidly as a result. This doesn't hold water either, as plenty of other players have suffered worse injuries and retained their passion.
Julia & Kamal still have the bug. Roy might have lost it for a little bit, but he's got it again I think. Dan and Judith don't have the bug anymore, but they've both played since high school & they're already quite accomplished and talented.
Maybe it's just time for new bug. Or maybe I'll catch the frisbee bug again. Kenneth is talking some pretty big game so maybe I'll mess him up.
I had the bug in 2017 & 2018, and even 2019, but I don't have it anymore. I haven't lifted since a month before regionals. I haven't been throwing more than twice a week since sectionals & I've been feeling like I'm on autopilot since July. I wasn't getting excited for practice & I'm not upset now that the season's over.
I'm not sure how I lost the bug. It's tempting to blame Birdfruit, but that's selfish and doesn't really line up since BF was a real fun team with some real fun ballers. Mixed doesn't seem like a good culprit either since mixed mini & regionals in college was one of my favorite parts about frisbee. Plus mixed teams in Seattle are a competitive bunch.
Work might be to blame. After switching teams, expectations have grown and I'm finding myself spending longer days at work, investing more mental energy into my time in the office, etc. But this is the classic excuse, ('I have too much homework!,'), so it doesn't count either.
My shoulder injury might be the cause. My left shoulder subpluxes or slides on about 3 out of 4 layouts and sometimes while extending upwards quickly. Physical matchups can also knock it loose. I'm laying out less frequently and playing more timidly as a result. This doesn't hold water either, as plenty of other players have suffered worse injuries and retained their passion.
Julia & Kamal still have the bug. Roy might have lost it for a little bit, but he's got it again I think. Dan and Judith don't have the bug anymore, but they've both played since high school & they're already quite accomplished and talented.
Maybe it's just time for new bug. Or maybe I'll catch the frisbee bug again. Kenneth is talking some pretty big game so maybe I'll mess him up.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Club Tryouts 2019 Post Mortem
I'm writing this before tryouts are actually over. As of right now, I'm awaiting decisions from the final round from Lights Out and Birdfruit. Voodoo has their next tryout on Saturday June 8, when Sockeye cuts will be rolling in. Ghost Train has offered me a spot.
This is my first experience trying out for club teams in Seattle. It's also the first time I've truly had to make a roster since fall 2015 when I tried out for NUT. In 2016, I was more or less safe as a NUT returner & in 2017 I captained (easiest way to lock in your spot). Summer 2017 I walked on to Union and summer 2018 I walked on to Ghost Train.
In 2015 I remember having an extreme amount of anxiety about my NUT tryout. Even after attending MLC and receiving multiple pieces of positive feedback from Bruns and others, my nerves refused to subside until after the final roster was released.
College was a simpler time. In college, all the players try out for one team. If they don't make it, they play on the B team. A clear hierarchy with only single gender divisions. Nathan Dan and I have reminisced about the relative ease & lack of coordination required to make or set a roster in college.
In contrast club players try out for multiple teams that are in different divisions, have different timelines, and operate as completely independent entities. There are pockets of pick up and pods to attend, there are tryout committees and captains to meet. Players have to consider outcomes ranging from making every roster all the way down to zero.
Despite the increased complexity of trying out for 4 different club teams simultaneously, I am not nearly as wired as I was in 2015. At times it's been easy to start spending a lot of time and energy worrying about results and imagining different scenarios after each round of cuts, but I try not to get caught up thinking about variables that I can't control. Julia and I agree that we both play better when the #1 goal is to ball out.
I'm a much better player now than I was in 2015 & more confident as well. I've had a 6 month offseason of mini, throwing, footwork, and strength training to improve some of my targeted areas for growth. My game is good & I'm having fun. I'll play for the best team I can make this year and have another go next spring if I'm not satisfied. Can't wait to grind this summer.
Lessons Learned/Other Thoughts
Birdfruit 2019, let's ride.
I need to throw more breaks and less turnovers.
This is my first experience trying out for club teams in Seattle. It's also the first time I've truly had to make a roster since fall 2015 when I tried out for NUT. In 2016, I was more or less safe as a NUT returner & in 2017 I captained (easiest way to lock in your spot). Summer 2017 I walked on to Union and summer 2018 I walked on to Ghost Train.
In 2015 I remember having an extreme amount of anxiety about my NUT tryout. Even after attending MLC and receiving multiple pieces of positive feedback from Bruns and others, my nerves refused to subside until after the final roster was released.
College was a simpler time. In college, all the players try out for one team. If they don't make it, they play on the B team. A clear hierarchy with only single gender divisions. Nathan Dan and I have reminisced about the relative ease & lack of coordination required to make or set a roster in college.
In contrast club players try out for multiple teams that are in different divisions, have different timelines, and operate as completely independent entities. There are pockets of pick up and pods to attend, there are tryout committees and captains to meet. Players have to consider outcomes ranging from making every roster all the way down to zero.
Despite the increased complexity of trying out for 4 different club teams simultaneously, I am not nearly as wired as I was in 2015. At times it's been easy to start spending a lot of time and energy worrying about results and imagining different scenarios after each round of cuts, but I try not to get caught up thinking about variables that I can't control. Julia and I agree that we both play better when the #1 goal is to ball out.
I'm a much better player now than I was in 2015 & more confident as well. I've had a 6 month offseason of mini, throwing, footwork, and strength training to improve some of my targeted areas for growth. My game is good & I'm having fun. I'll play for the best team I can make this year and have another go next spring if I'm not satisfied. Can't wait to grind this summer.
Lessons Learned/Other Thoughts
- There's a ton of really good players floating around in the Seattle. This has been clear to me for awhile but I was still impressed by the overall talent at all the tryouts, especially younger players still in high school.
- The club scene here feels very much like a market where teams are sellers and players are buyers. For the best teams, ie. Sockeye/Riot/BFG/Mixtape, it's a sellers market - most players will accept an offer to play for those teams. The next level down however, Voodoo, Underground, Lights Out, Birdfruit - in this tier the players have a little more bargaining power, depending on what they can bring to the table. For players who are exiting the top tier of their own free will, or because they got cut in the last round, these second-tier teams have to do a little more to convince players that theirs is the roster they want to target. Players who only have an outside shot at playing for an elite team have much less room to wiggle and are more likely to take what they can get. This is where I lie right now. If we go down one more tier, to third-tier teams like Ghost Train, Soul, or Pegasus - these teams are in a buyer's market.
- Related to the previous two points - I think there's room in the market for another low-second-tier men's or mixed team. Based on the quantity and quality of players I've seen in the Voodoo/Lights Out/Birdfruit circuit and the realistic number of spots available, there will be some pretty good players that don't get offered spots on club teams this summer.
- A lot of people complain that trying out for multiple teams can bring a lot of stress on their bodies. I didn't really experience this. I think that the mental strain of juggling outcomes for 4 different teams is much higher.
Birdfruit 2019, let's ride.
I need to throw more breaks and less turnovers.
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