And, since we started defense at water polo today, I can actually call water polo the Defenders, no matter how incredibly corny that still is! (Time did not diminish the high levels of cheesiness.)
The ocelot glanced side to side furtively. Her face was half submerged, giving off an impression of apathy. But every muscle was tensed. She saw the bobcat coil her muscles out of the corner of her eye. When the larger cat sprung forward in the water, the ocelot was ready.
She leapt backwards into the bobcat's path. The bobcat lunged sideways, but the ocelot blocked that way too. The rolling about in the water lasted for only a few seconds, but at the end, the ocelot was the clear winner.
The ocelot's accomplishment of the day was that she had gotten a much larger cat to threaten her.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Friday, February 24, 2006
Osprey Opening
Hah! San Diego gave me more than sun. I got closer to the team, and one team member in particular decided that it was okay to talk in the presence of girls.
I have been swimming with the osprey since I was eleven. Yes, six years. Not once in those six years have we exchanged more words at once than, "Hey, good job" and "Thanks". Every once in a while it would be, "Thanks, you too." I have now had two conversations that lasted at least a minute each with this guy. Wow. Milestone moment.
I have been swimming with the osprey since I was eleven. Yes, six years. Not once in those six years have we exchanged more words at once than, "Hey, good job" and "Thanks". Every once in a while it would be, "Thanks, you too." I have now had two conversations that lasted at least a minute each with this guy. Wow. Milestone moment.
Water Polo, Day 3
Hogui Bear was there! I'm so happy. He made me grin, and it made me work harder, just to show him what he's taught us. I wish he could be there all the time. *sigh* But he talked to the new coach about each one of us (privately, of course, but you could tell he was pointing to the players he knew and saying what he thought of them). That makes me happy as well.
I now know a total of...seven names, but I can only match six of them to a face. The names I know do not include people I knew before this season of water polo.
The new recruits are learning well. Yes, they are. Mwahaha! We'll make fiends of them yet. There are a certain two guys that I just met that are catching on quickly. Certain other folks are good too. Zach (guy #1 or 2, methinks) has a nice shot, but he hesitates about it. His little brother needs to get his arm out of the water when he throws.
Next week we start defensive work! Then I can really shine. I love defense oh so much. Beyond that, if I can prove that I can take hole-d, the bobcat won't have to worry about having to play both hole and hole-d. (I'm sorry to those of you who don't understand the positions I'm talking about. If you're really curious, I'll go into detail and perhaps scan a picture. On second thought, there will be no picture. I don't think I can make it work. Just know that hole and hole-d are the hardest positions for offense and defense, respectively.
Anywho, my back is full of knots, my legs are about to fall off, but my enthusiasm is still running strong. We are going to be awesome this year!
And I'm mongo stressed over stuff in general--school, poetry night, my CPR certification, the birthday kidnapping tomorrow--and now I stupidly agreed to help plan a season-opening party for water polo. Yeesh. If I would just stop doing things, I wouldn't stress! Gosh!
I now know a total of...seven names, but I can only match six of them to a face. The names I know do not include people I knew before this season of water polo.
The new recruits are learning well. Yes, they are. Mwahaha! We'll make fiends of them yet. There are a certain two guys that I just met that are catching on quickly. Certain other folks are good too. Zach (guy #1 or 2, methinks) has a nice shot, but he hesitates about it. His little brother needs to get his arm out of the water when he throws.
Next week we start defensive work! Then I can really shine. I love defense oh so much. Beyond that, if I can prove that I can take hole-d, the bobcat won't have to worry about having to play both hole and hole-d. (I'm sorry to those of you who don't understand the positions I'm talking about. If you're really curious, I'll go into detail and perhaps scan a picture. On second thought, there will be no picture. I don't think I can make it work. Just know that hole and hole-d are the hardest positions for offense and defense, respectively.
Anywho, my back is full of knots, my legs are about to fall off, but my enthusiasm is still running strong. We are going to be awesome this year!
And I'm mongo stressed over stuff in general--school, poetry night, my CPR certification, the birthday kidnapping tomorrow--and now I stupidly agreed to help plan a season-opening party for water polo. Yeesh. If I would just stop doing things, I wouldn't stress! Gosh!
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Water Polo Begins
And the chaos has commenced. Our new coach isn't talking a lot with us, so I don't know what kind of guy he will be. But him not talking is a good thing. That means he wants to be impartial on matters of positions and such. I know that he can't ever replace or match Hogue, but no one ever could, so I won't hold it against him.
They have done away with the Division I and II thing we had last year. We're going with the high school 3A, 4A, 5A dealio, based on where the majority of your players came from the year before. Since most came from OHS, we're 4A. Do you know what that means? Of course not. No one knows the skill levels of our state's water polo teams except water polo players. I'll speak simply: our main competition is Murray, and we only lost to them by 3 last year. We lost a few players, but they lost their best two, and if we focus and work our tails off and play as a team, we could take state. The greyhound, the bobcat, and I have made it a goal. We've also decided to really focus on team building by having parties and hanging out on weekends, and avoiding talking about the racoon behind her back. I've made an individual goal to know everyone's name in three weeks' time. This is a toughy, because the new coach is bringing a lot of his swimmers into it.
We're also going to make sure we don't huddle with the people we know, or those that have played before. Today, when we paired up for passing, we made sure to pass with people that we didn't know and that were inexperienced. We even crossed the gender barrier (ooooo). I have learned three names for sure, and one tenatively. Three down, twelve to go! That is, if no more new people show up...
They have done away with the Division I and II thing we had last year. We're going with the high school 3A, 4A, 5A dealio, based on where the majority of your players came from the year before. Since most came from OHS, we're 4A. Do you know what that means? Of course not. No one knows the skill levels of our state's water polo teams except water polo players. I'll speak simply: our main competition is Murray, and we only lost to them by 3 last year. We lost a few players, but they lost their best two, and if we focus and work our tails off and play as a team, we could take state. The greyhound, the bobcat, and I have made it a goal. We've also decided to really focus on team building by having parties and hanging out on weekends, and avoiding talking about the racoon behind her back. I've made an individual goal to know everyone's name in three weeks' time. This is a toughy, because the new coach is bringing a lot of his swimmers into it.
We're also going to make sure we don't huddle with the people we know, or those that have played before. Today, when we paired up for passing, we made sure to pass with people that we didn't know and that were inexperienced. We even crossed the gender barrier (ooooo). I have learned three names for sure, and one tenatively. Three down, twelve to go! That is, if no more new people show up...
Monday, February 13, 2006
Wolfhound Wanderings
For those of you who are keeping track, the wolfhound is the final incarnation of the wolf/coyote schizofrenia issue.
The river folk gathered once again at the greyhound's den but this time they were invited. Many of the younger animals that had been at the taking of the greyhound were absent, but they had not known the wolfhound. The ocelot pitied them; the wolfhound was a creature worth knowing.
When most of those who were coming had gathered, they started down the hill. The ocelot ran ahead, with the flamingo and the bobcat close behind. The greyhound and the agouti followed at a more leisurely pace, but they didn't arrive long after the others.
Gathered at the meeting place were others--the cougar, the chipmunk, and the squirrel from the other side of the river, and the tree frog and the brown bear cub from the males of the stone jungle. The hawk flew in unnexpectedly. The only beast missing was the badger. The ocelot missed her.
After a time, silence fell on the gathering. The gathering was not small, and the river folk did not represent the majority, but when the wolfhound rose to speak, it was like he was talking to them. The wolfhound spoke of many things, but under every word spoken was another of farewell. The ocelot was torn between happiness for the wolfhound and sorrow for herself. She buried the latter emotion, as she felt a little self-centered for harboring it.
After the gathering had reached its end, the wolfhound greeted all of them merrily. The ocelot took her turn embracing her rarely-seen friend and lingered watching him after he had moved on. For two cycles of seasons, she would not see the wolfhound.
She turned to the rest of the river folk, tears hiding just beyond her eyes. She looked especially to the bobcat, the cougar, the flamingo, and the bear cub. In her mind she saw them standing with the serval and the fox. Behind them were the hawk and the badger, and farther were animals that the ocelot held in fondness, but only vaguely recalled. She bit back her tears. She didn't like to cry. But she couldn't imagine these creatures, her family away from her family, falling into the obscurity the older animals had passed into. Her fur stood on end. She wouldn't let that happen. Never. And to keep these creatures close, she would keep the wolfhound near with words, if in no other way.
The wolfhound is leaving on the 15th. He's going to Peru after the MTC. He's so awesome. You think I missed him and the hawk and the badger last year, when they had only graduated. Hah! And the seniors this year...I think this is the closest I've ever been to the swim team. I'm not going to get through the end-of-year shindig without crying my eyes out.
The river folk gathered once again at the greyhound's den but this time they were invited. Many of the younger animals that had been at the taking of the greyhound were absent, but they had not known the wolfhound. The ocelot pitied them; the wolfhound was a creature worth knowing.
When most of those who were coming had gathered, they started down the hill. The ocelot ran ahead, with the flamingo and the bobcat close behind. The greyhound and the agouti followed at a more leisurely pace, but they didn't arrive long after the others.
Gathered at the meeting place were others--the cougar, the chipmunk, and the squirrel from the other side of the river, and the tree frog and the brown bear cub from the males of the stone jungle. The hawk flew in unnexpectedly. The only beast missing was the badger. The ocelot missed her.
After a time, silence fell on the gathering. The gathering was not small, and the river folk did not represent the majority, but when the wolfhound rose to speak, it was like he was talking to them. The wolfhound spoke of many things, but under every word spoken was another of farewell. The ocelot was torn between happiness for the wolfhound and sorrow for herself. She buried the latter emotion, as she felt a little self-centered for harboring it.
After the gathering had reached its end, the wolfhound greeted all of them merrily. The ocelot took her turn embracing her rarely-seen friend and lingered watching him after he had moved on. For two cycles of seasons, she would not see the wolfhound.
She turned to the rest of the river folk, tears hiding just beyond her eyes. She looked especially to the bobcat, the cougar, the flamingo, and the bear cub. In her mind she saw them standing with the serval and the fox. Behind them were the hawk and the badger, and farther were animals that the ocelot held in fondness, but only vaguely recalled. She bit back her tears. She didn't like to cry. But she couldn't imagine these creatures, her family away from her family, falling into the obscurity the older animals had passed into. Her fur stood on end. She wouldn't let that happen. Never. And to keep these creatures close, she would keep the wolfhound near with words, if in no other way.
The wolfhound is leaving on the 15th. He's going to Peru after the MTC. He's so awesome. You think I missed him and the hawk and the badger last year, when they had only graduated. Hah! And the seniors this year...I think this is the closest I've ever been to the swim team. I'm not going to get through the end-of-year shindig without crying my eyes out.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Breaking 100
*fidgets*
I've done it! Behold, Son of Sferesh now contains one hundred seven pages! And weighty events have been put into motion. A new wave of characters shall enter, including the long-awaited Elyste! I'm so excited.
*inhales deeply*
Calm, Ayliel. Calm.
*whirls around and begins typing furiously again*
I've done it! Behold, Son of Sferesh now contains one hundred seven pages! And weighty events have been put into motion. A new wave of characters shall enter, including the long-awaited Elyste! I'm so excited.
*inhales deeply*
Calm, Ayliel. Calm.
*whirls around and begins typing furiously again*
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