short story vs. long narrative

[anotheranon]

Another competition, another deconstruction:

Did something very stupid in pools - I let the fact that I lost my first 3 bouts pinch my ego hard enough to affect my 4th bout. I did win, but was panting like a dog and rushing things it bugged me so that I was doing poorly. Need to remember what belfebe said - no single competition is a referendum on my worth as a fencer or a person. I lost, so what - get over it, do the next thing.

I did much better in direct elimination, which is an ongoing thing - it's easier to figure out what my opponent's doing when I have 15 touches to play with rather than 5. I made it through the first DE (a first, I think?) to the pool of 16, where I finally struck out but not before rattling the cage of a rather stressed teenage fencer. I kinda felt sorry for her because she didn't seem to be having much fun, but I didn't feel enough pity not to use her frazzledness against her ;)

Other observations - fencing is not only becoming my primary physical outlet but also my main social one, which I'm not exactly happy about. My fencing buds are very cool but I do have friends who don't fence, have no interest fencing and I do miss them. Also I fear in conversation I'm turning into to something of a broken record about my latest practices and competitions, which I admit are of little interest to anyone who doesn't fence. I need to work on this - like drag my lazy carcass further into the cold than the 5 minutes it takes to get to club!

Comments

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

You speak the truth - I don't think I'd be there so often if I wasn't friends with my fellow fencers, but then, I probably wouldn't have made friends with them if we didn't spend so much time together :P

I think what I'm expressing is a need for balance in my life.