not quite...

Had that tournament today:

Pro:

• Was nearby.
  
• Full of friends
  
• C. came out to support/spectate
  
• Small (15 people) and informal
  

Con:

• Still psyched out by opponent's rating and/or height
  
• Not "feeling the Force" - kind of half in, half out of the "zone"
  
• very hard to hear soft-spoken ref
  

It was a good day out and D. met up with C., A., C. and I for Lebanese afterwards.

I swear, I'm still spoiled by my tournament back in August and much as I know I won't win and try not to be a sore loser it really, really feels good to do well :P

little shops of cutesy horrors

Found over at betnoir's: PushinDaisies a "novelty mortuary shop", home of the skeleton flamingos and the coffin cake pan among others;

Both from jlsjlsjls, who has a knack for finding these things: Cuddly Rigor Mortis - people, do I have to say anything else??

Sick on Sin, who makes the elegant Skull n' Scissors tee.

I KNOW where I'm going for all my holiday needs next year!

inspiration

Much as I've been griping about my lack of finesse on the strip of late, I'm surrounded by plenty of individuals to look up to - people who remind me that not only am I at the start of what could be a very long journey, but that it is very possible to improve with age.

My main fencing club is known locally as a "veterans" club. In fencing that means 40 or over, and on many nights I'm one of the younger people there. This was a revelation to me because my prior club seemed to be mostly teenagers, and I always thought of sports as something for young people anyway (hell, when I was a little kid I didn't think adults could even run, simply because I never saw it :P)

NONE of my club mates have slowed with age - they routinely kick my ass and I may be comparatively new but don't suck THAT bad. Their stamina and endurance is all the more remarkable when I remember that at least 3 have had surgery in the past couple of years! It's also worth noting that many of them started in college and have around a 20-30 year lead on me in strategy and experience.

I'm starting to suspect that it's not just at my club either - there are enough fencers 70 and older nationally that the USFA is considering a separate age class just for 70+ (see III).

What I'm seeing with my own eyes plus the occasional stories of fencers who keep playing into their 80s and even 90s(!) gives me hope that if I can stay with this I stand a better chance of maintaining my mental and physical health long past retirement (and hopefully improve my game as well)!