we’re all here to learn

a bit of pre-tryouts planning:

* what team culture do we want to promote?
* what’s the buy-in?
* the team should empower younger / minor players to teach and otherwise contribute off the field.
* make sure everyone can connect the big picture with the details with the execution.

wed 02.22.12

30 min throwing at Waimea Bay, part of a most excellent last day on Oahu.

other adventures:

• matsumoto shave ice: breakfast! i got the green tea special; we also bought hoodies to wear and share.

• thai food at a restaurant where arcade fire made me cry. did not want to leave Hawai’i, no thank you.

• got them to the church on time! phew.

• beautiful, shining, narnia sunset at ala moana park. wended our way through boot camps and picnics, between joggers and carefully around stray cats, to the concrete edge of the water. paddleboarder out in the light rain, you have the right idea.

• kimchi [miso] ramen round two at ramen nakamura (spicier, fewer flavors, no meat, but great for the cold)

• coffee-sipping, fancy-hotel-people-watching (“whoa, you’re getting married! i’m… getting out of the way.”), wave-gazing with two favorites.

we’ll be back one day.

tue 02.21.12

recovered from kk25 / fought a sudden cold by running 4.6 miles and doing three 0:45 planks with stretches and down-dogs in between.

~ ~ ~ surfers ~ cameras ~ ~ ~ wading ~ mac-ing ~ napping ~ reading ~ ~ ~ shrimp truck ~ island cats ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ sake ~ haupia ~ sleeping in the loud room ~ ~ ~

kaimana klassik 25

i played with rephined. our shirts were green feat. business giraffe.

day 1: L-W-W; made power pools, yay!

day 2: L-W; survived to reach the championship bracket. i’m not used to winning do-or-die games like this unless it’s at regionals (and then i fully expect the cinderella story).

day 3: L to phine, our sister team. they proceeded to make finals and lose a multiple-lead-trade barn-burner to air. it was like fools fest 2010 redux, kind of depressing. except who cares because i wasn’t playing, hahahaha! cheering for both teams is fun!

personal: legs & lungs were fine, but oh my poor feet! cuts & blisters galore. i think i played well but not that well, finding myself overreaching in a lot of situations. then again… i wouldn’t have helped this team much by playing conservatively.

thu 02.16.12

eggs, portuguese sausage, and mac pancakes at Eggs’n'Things (surrounded by giggling Japanese girls, weird). walked around Fort DeRussy watching the sunrise shine through and reflected wherever buildings were not covered in concrete owls.

later, a hike/climb/clamber up the railroad to the top of Koko Head Crater. shared a beer, made friends with the guy running the ascent, wondered at the leftover structures and shells of machines. my plan had been to hike down and out and around the crater rim, but by midday it was already too windy for our liking. another day i’d love to do it all by moonlight / by sunrise.

wed 02.15.12

first full day in Hawai’i! we hiked pretty fast up Diamond Head and generally walked around looking at things. spam pandwix joined the caravan!

food adventures:
Liliha Bakery (delicious breakfast, malasadas, green tea puffs)
Los Chaparros (carne asada, chicken with tomatillo sauce, a variety of margaritas)

tue 02.14.12

valentine’s day spent mostly in transit:
bus to Takoma Park
Metro to Union Station
Amtrak to Newark Airport
direct flight to HNL
drove up a mountain to Pali lookout
Kyoto ramen, hotel, conversation, sleep.

a good day, all things considered.

sun 02.12.12

4.5 mi trail run in the snow. such a happy cat!
50 squats, 50 toe raises
much stretching.

stayed up way too late planning adventures on oahu… now staying up even later working.

sat 02.11.12

3 x [25 pushups, 50 squats, 50 toe raises, 50 crunches] + 25 pushups

totals:
100 pushups
150 squats
150 toe raises
50 v-ups
50 toe touches
50 bicycles

sat 02.04.12

all mixed up together, using upper body rest time to do lower body exercises & vice versa:
100 pushups: 20, 25, 20, 15, 12, 8
3 x [50 squats, 50 toe raises]
4 x 10 burpees (no jump, no pushup)

watching the clippers trounce the wizards made me think:

• damn, basketball looks so much harder than ultimate.
• blake griffin’s dunks aren’t winning this game; footwork and creative passing are winning this game.
• no matter what it looks like, whole-team play matters. applied to ultimate: i don’t care if we score on long balls or score in 50 passes so long as the whole team works to make it happen. ditto defense: however we force the turn is okay by me, so long as we all force the turn. contributing isn’t only about getting the ball in your hands.
• i need to throw more! have much to work on, like learning to bend my knees.