Entries this day: Briefly Ultimate

Briefly

2:01pm JST Sunday 8 April 2007 (day 13528)

On my way to ultimate today, I found wireless internet access floating around just across 246 from us. Nice.

Ultimate

8:54pm JST Sunday 8 April 2007 (day 13528)

Shoeless walkin' all the way from the light at the station to the field, where upon sight of the field, I noticed Kerry waving all bigly at me. I waved bigly back and, once I actually reached them, was all, "I feel like I'm being unnecessarily greeted," or something, "what's going on?"

Someone else was like, "Kerry's just in a genki mood today."

"Ah."

- - - -

Completely unrelatedly, except that it was Kerry each time, I had three huge Ds in a row, way in the back field as people were hucking to Kerry. I was like <jyooop> running over and skying for the disc over her head (she's just a bit shorter than me). After the second such event, she was like, "hey!" and then on the third, "Rob, why do you keep doing that?"

"It's totally not personal. You just keep playing in the backfield where I like to play!"

Later, after a point, we were swapping sides and I held my hand out to give her five as we passed by, and she didn't notice (given that it was at the last second) until too late and was all, "sorry!" and I joked back, "okay *now* it's personal!" [hahahhahaah]

Twice near the beginning of the game, actually my first two big throws, Sock Monkey Bruno Dd both of my throws. One to the tune of a bruise on his left wrist, and the other barely hit his right fingertip, but enough to send it not where I wanted to send it.

Jolian laughed like, "that's two in a row!" which, in fact, it was.

Bruno was like, "you're totally dialing in; I can tell exactly where you're going to throw it."

"Ah; thank you."

And then later, with Jolian facing me, he blocked it readily. (Granted, Jolian is perhaps the best all-around player we have.) He goes, "you always hold the disc behind you until you're just about to throw, so it's easy to block."

"Ah; thank you." (dang!)

My throws featured some terrible gaffes after that; I was experimenting with different techniques, but mostly it was my brain getting in the way. Then later I hucked about 4 or 5 huge tosses, two or three of which were caught by their intended targets for points.

- - - -

There's a "team from Yoyogi" that has come out for the past two weeks. They are all young and some are really fast, especially on cornering, and have a bit longer stamina than I. They play pickup with us, and then request a scrimmage game with just their team on the line. This is definitely a difference from what we "normally" do on Sundays, so the long term pickup players try to accommodate the request in the best way possible for the everyone involved, by (this week) capping the time, or (last week) allowing any pickup players to play.

Last week, if I recall correctly, the team from Yoyogi trounced us, though they were really tired at the end cause we had unlimited subs and they played (nearly?) savage.

This week, though I didn't actually watch, I heard from British Mike, "we killed them; it was 5 to 1, or 5 to 2 when the time was up," when asked by Go-To-Tha-House! Big Jason Collin dot org (currently arm-in-sling gimpy Jason after dislocating his shoulder four weeks ago in the tournament)

Instead of watching, I was tossing "ridiculous throws" with Bruno and Shawn (sp) for a while. We practiced greatests and silly stuff, like me grabbing a pole and swinging around to throw before I landed. After a while it was just Sean (sp) and I, and we were throwing backwards throws just by listening for our target's voice. I did pretty terribly at this echo location, but he did well. We were slightly interrupted by three little bite-sized dogs who had variously escaped from their owner/walker, because they were genki and not much of a nuisance, plus pretty cute. They ran around like little rats saying HI to some of the people practicing throws. (I wonder if/why they can tell they shouldn't run out onto the field? That's where the really genki people are playing!)

Then we saw a huge dog pulling its owner in an attempt to meet (and eat?) the three little dogs, and I went over to help restrain it, with one thumb in its collar and my other hand on top of his head with my body blocking his view of the little morsels, while talking cutely to the dog in a way the owner could know my intention, 「それは食べものじゃない、ね。見られない、でしょ？いない、ね。」 or something like that.

Shaun (sp) supported by intercepting a couple of the hors d'oeurves before they ran blithely into the gaping maw of death.

But

It turned out a bit opposite from our fears. The big dog had no intention of eating; 何匹 just sniffed each other hello and it seemed fine. The owners were like, "「大丈夫だよね」 and I agreed and let go of the horse-dog. Then the little yappers yapped a couple times and my little pony jumped back, like, "whoah! sorry!" It was funny in a way.

Sheauwn (sp) and I got back to our game, which had changed to jumping over a bush. We each tried once unsuccessfully, and then as he head back to watch ultimate, I tried again and *basically* made it.

Aw man, S (sp) wasn't watching.

Ah well.

- - - -

After the game, I was asked by 純（きいと）(*) for my name. I rarely see Japanese forget names so I thought I must not have met her before, so I asked her, though I was pretty sure she was きいと. I was right, and a bit miffed at my own disbelief that I *could* remember someone's name.

She had been invited by やすこ to come play; they are in the same Mandarin class together.

(*) this kanji comes up easily when entered as じゅん、but not at all as きいと.

I invited 純 to eat with us; we visited the same courtyard area as last week. I got the same meal as last week, and sat next to 純, which happened to put me in the same seat as last week (at one end of the table). Interesting. Across from her sat JC, who was talking to Mike about Heros, some new show in the US, and occassionally asking questions of きいと and translating for me what I didn't get. Funny was at one point we native English speakers were all, [okay, from now on, let's speak English], but we kept saying it in Japanese.

純 works near Tokyo tower for a building materials resale company. She's done Japanese archery since Junior High, and lives south of Futakotamagawa.

It became time to leave, so we said さよなら to Alex, who on Wednesday is headed back to ice-cold Canada for a year+. Szaughn was like, "does anyone want to make a night of it?" and I encouraged him to go chill with the kids at the other table though he was like, "I don't know any of them..." and I chided him, "if you don't, you're going to go home and not be able to sleep cause you'll be all thinking, 'I could still be out having fun with some new friends!'!" I think he ended up heading back to hang out with them.

純 walked to the platform with me, and I didn't really know what to say, so I made small talk, trying to explain that I had to take the local train, but it is passed by the express train at my station (so she should take the express (so see ya later, alligator)), but, interestingly, it turned out she had to go the *other* direction, and didn't realize she had to use a different set of stairs to get to her correct platform. (it was apparently her first time at this station)

So we got to the top of the escalator, said bye in the non-contact Japanese style, and she headed back down and I never looked back.

Looked forward to see Jolian and Jeff, who were watching me say bye, but who chose not to say anything about it.

I said bye to them as my train came, and they were like, "we're not in a hurry," and hopped on with me. Nice. As we waited in Sakurashinmachi, I thought it would be inappropriately funny if I hopped off as soon as we arrived, leaving them alone to wait for the express train to pass. Instead, I told them, out of the blue, an express version of my double concussion skate injury story.

Jolian was like, "well, I'm glad you made it."

"Me too; thanks... See you next week!"