Session with Manna was had.
It was a frustrating ALMOST GOOD jam. I couldn't make runs happen. But links were okay and big tricks were on. That's frustrating when you drop JUST as the run gets good.

I hit a milestone. I don't know if I've ever said that before, except when I started to be able to hit 20-contact runs on command (ha... ironic, today). I hit flip tapping DLO (in just a couple attempts) Man did that bloody feel good. There's a bit of story as to why it's a milestone for me.

I was first seriously injured in the spring of 2004. I had a sprained ankle before, but that was just for a month or 5 weeks or so. This injury in spring '04 was what I thought at the time to be a pulled groin. I even took off, like, a month from work because it hurt to walk. I went to, like, 5 different doctors, had accupunture, MRIs, xrays, athletic therapy, the works, and they never figured out what was wrong. I guess just pulled muscles? Torn muscles? Though nothing came up. So I stopped playing altogether for about half a year. I tried to play again in the winter, and started doing more spinning and ducking (hence my current style -- before this point I was more of a toe shuffle kind of player (and very one-sided)).

I avoided everything more or less. There are a couple of videos on the site (the double-angle sessions to Postal Service) that Andrew really likes that are from this time. I started pushing too hard and had to stop altogether again for another half-year or so. Repeat this right up until about this past summer where I seem to have been playing semi-consistantly where the pain is either bearable or bad, but not causing me to give up altogether.

So, the reason for that initial injury, or the cause rather, was trying to push my flipside of some bigger, hip-twisty tricks. Mostly a session where I was pushing flip tapping DLO and flip PS whirls (yes, regular whirls -- I did at one point do these...). I footed flip tapping DLO sooo many times that day, knowing it was a bad idea, but HAVING to hit it. I never did. Until now. That feels good. Bloody good.


I almost BSOSed it a couple times tonight, which will happen soon. Man, it totally just BARELY hurt! What else? I hit quantum rev whirl almost BSOS (both sides anyway). I don't think it's new, but certainly not common for me, but quantum and atomic are getting a comeback! Footed toe rev whirlygig for Kyle from Edmonton a couple times. Some epic eggbeaters runs (eggbeaters are finally almost owned! MAN eggbeaters feel good!) Torques still... elude(?) me like crazy, though... I gotta learn to hold the osis like Byrin. My crank sucks too, though. Umm, but back to eggbeaters. I can practically flip bedwetter on command. I don't have a flip wet dream (my new favourite trick, thanks to Aleksi!) Actually, in my Heartbeats video, my favourite clip is bedwetter > diving symp mirage BSOS, 'cause the second bedwetter > diving symp mirage is flip for both tricks!!! I love that. So this one epic run (not really epic, but for me, and eggbeater-wise) was something like bubbabeater > same egg > same egg > same egg, pdx egg BSOS (flip is almost harder than flip bed) and then ending on bedwetter > hand catch :D Felt goooood. Threw lots of same eggbeaters in runs too. It's seriously fun!

Well that was kinda a long one :)
Bubble tea and bath time!


PS: Oh, I also hit spinning rev > ps rev [repeat]. It wasn't the first time, but actually it was the first time I did it where I had to spin out of flip ps -- that felt super. I always thought I sucked at that. I guess not! I have loved the regular whirl version of this combo SO MUCH since Eli's section on Where The Ripwalk Ends. Man does he make that look immaculate. One of the first times I hit it was in a circle with just Nate Pipenberg, and I totally didn't get props :( Umm, I also did a bit of nuclear pain-free today. Some matadors, which are totally harder for me than sumos. I think I did both tricks BSOS (though not one run).