Well, I have a lot that I would normally say, but I don't really feel like saying it. I guess it's time for another list:
I went to Nationals. I streamed my matches in rather poor quality. I played okay. Not great, but I'm not mad or sad or anything.
I had a great time with the people I went with. Even the stupid people were amusing most of the time. And I had some really funny conversations.
I was told I was the one who made the whole trip worth it (due to my comic relief) by multiple people. That felt good.
It took a lot of effort to be that person for five days straight. To wake up with a joke on my lips. To make one last wisecrack about how I was going to cuddle with a man before going to sleep. But it was funny, and fun, and I'm glad it happened.
I was enthusiastic about things just for the sake of being enthusiastic, which is something I haven't done in a really long time. I think that's one of the things I miss about the frisbee crowd (and that whole period in my life). I could just take a stance and stake my claim to something. This trip it was ice cream. I became the guy who loves ice cream. And yeah, the ice cream was freakin' delicious. But I'm not really that guy. It was really fun to be that guy, though.
I wouldn't have lasted another day. As the plane was landing I sort of switched off and didn't say anything the rest of the night. Maybe that was just because I didn't want to be home. But I was tired of being cheerful, also.
Our ladies made three out of five possible finals appearances. Granted, I have no idea how they finished in relation to their initial seeding, but it was great to have so many people playing on Sunday. They even took runner-up in Division II for their gender. Which is impressive considering they only had four people and up to six can score.
It was nice to just be reabsorbed today by my classmates. I didn't talk to anyone, just nodded and smiled.
Because when I can't sleep, I depress myself further, here is a video I watched recently:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB7xs7UpIfY
Here's a poem I laughed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2j3ZPE65xE
And here is another poem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnsTD8KAqCs
I didn't love the ending, but hey, pretty good anyway.
(I hate people who snap their fingers at poem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJgiYBdD2VA
This was interesting in that it was philosophical, but rejects the idea that our fascination with objects, and consumerism in general is "commodification" or "fetishization" but rather proposes that it relates to how we strive to show love. It was refreshing after being told for years of philosophy class that our growing fascination with technology and consumerism is the most terrible thing in the world. As with anything, I'm sure there's a tenable middle ground, but this guy was likeable enough that it was worth reading the subtitles (it's in French).
It was awesome to have my dad at my handball tournament! And it was beyond generous for him to treat us all to a dinner of Mellow Mushroom pizza.
One of my teammates, Drew, was chatting up a girl in the Irish hotel room and she said she was applying to law school. She got in at Washington, and said she thought about applying to Minnesota. My buddy, the consummate wingman, directed her attention my way. We chatted. She opened by inquiring my LSAT. I told her. She told Drew I was a genius. She said she thought her 3.5 GPA might have helped her out. She did a double take when I took the opening to brag some more. Hearing I was in the open bracket in the tournament pretty much pushed things over the top. When Drew mentioned my scholarship, it was hard to imagine a more perfect script. Drew wound up with a lady of his own by the end of the night. I passed on the opportunity. It was weird, because I feel lonely, so I was expecting to have to, at a minimum, overcome a bit of temptation. But it never manifested, even slightly.
I didn't do any writing on my trip. I wasn't really planning on writing, but I feel a bit guilty now. Or I feel like I should feel guilty? So maybe I feel guilty that I don't feel guilty. That's a thing, right?
Because my league team went undefeated, we have a bye this week. My shoulder is still a bit sore from the tournament, so I'm not sure what I should do. Should I hit the courts and try and get my game better, or hit the hay and try and get my shoulder better, or hit the books and try and get my schoolwork under control?
I am watching video of handball to try and figure out how to adjust my game. Martin overpowered me a bit, so I don't know whether to try and match that with more power or switch to a defensive game. I often feel like the longer a game goes the better I get, but I'm not sure that holds at the highest level.
When a male security guard goes around the library to check ID's he does it alone. When this lady just asked for mine, she had a guy right behind her. He didn't do anything. I feel like there's something weird with that. Either trust a female security guard to ask for ID's alone (because what good is she going to be if there's a security threat if she can't even do that), or just have the guy do it, because it's pointless to have them both there.
On Sunday Martin (the top seed I lost to) told me I was playing well, had decent power, and not to get discouraged by the score. He said anyone can go on runs like that, gave a nice little anecdote of how it had happened to him, and finished by saying I should go to more tournaments. He's a stand-up guy. I am impressed.
I'm headed home to the land of questionable internet. Thanks for reading!