Assassin

     This week saw the start of Senior Assassin at Reading Memorial High School. I was very happy when I heard we would be playing it this year. I have heard countless exciting stories from my older cousins who had played it in their towns in the past. Basically how it works is everyone playing is assigned a target that they must "assassinate" with water. Any assassinated player is out, and their target is assigned to the person that shot them. Eventually our pool of 191 players will be whittled down to two. In the end, there should be one winner. So after four days of intense competition, here are some observations.

     First, I have realized this week that being a stalker in the 21st century is unsettlingly easy. All it took was a few Google searches and I had my target's address. Now stick the address in street view and you have a pretty solid idea of what the target's house and neighborhood looks like. You can even pick out the bushes that might be good to hide in. As you're reading this, you're probably having the same feelings I was having while I was doing it: this is not ok. Don't worry, I know. But this is really the only time in our my life where being a stalker won't be incredibly illegal, so I might as well embrace it!

     The other funny thing I've noticed is the increased level of paranoia around the game. While some people claim to have made "alliances", we all know it's every man for himself. Everybody is incredibly suspicious and very hesitant to trust anything anybody says. I feel like this game has a strange way of bringing the class together as a whole, while at the same time, destroying friend groups. The past few mornings I have run from my house to my car with water gun in hand. Every time I hear a noise outside I immediately stop whatever I am doing and check it out. It's certainly deafcon 1 around my house and it will be interesting to see how the game progresses.   

More Crazy Gym Games

     Last week in gym we played broomball, a crazy combination of roller skating and hockey. This week we stepped it up by playing basketball on roller skates, with the added physicality of hockey. Once again this "sport" combines two things that I'm not particularly good at, skating and basketballing. While hockey isn't much different with roller skates, basketball definitely is. You wouldn't think it makes that much of a difference, but it completely chances the game. Everything associated with shooting is completely off. Many times I made shots without being at a perfect stand-still, and as a result, the trajectory of  my shot was way off. Even a simple layup becomes difficult when you have the added velocity of the skates. Defending is also nearly impossible considering I am unable to skate backwards. When the attacker gets by me with the ball, I can't generate any momentum going backwards so they are able to blow by me every time. And then we get to the physicality. Nobody on either team, with the exception of one or two, are really good at skating at all. I, like most of the people playing, am can skate decently fast in one direction. So this becomes a problem when nobody can quickly change directions. We've had a few big collisions over the past few days but I don’t think anyone has been seriously injured.

     I must say that I am really impressed that the gym teachers have let this go on. I've always thought of them as uptight and very strict when it comes to fooling around and being aggressive. Even last year my friends and I lost the privilege to play basketball because we were "disrespecting the sport". But I'm glad to say that I think the gym teacher have finally lightened up and are letting us just have fun. 

Broomball

     Ever thought something was going to be completely stupid and boring, but turned out to be incredibly fun? That has been my experience with broomball. I first played broomball last year in gym, and I’ll admit, I wasn’t overly excited when I first heard we would be playing it. At least for me, the name “broomball” didn’t really catch my excitement. But it was one of those things where as soon as you start playing it, you can really have a fun time. It’s especially fun when everybody playing can’t skate or play hockey, because those are fundamentally the two components of the game. I have always considered myself a decent skater- in one direction! My ability to stop and turn quickly has never been my strongest aspects to the game. But that’s ok because everybody’s in the same boat.

     Today in gym we again tossed on the skates and many protective pads, and played a very physical game of broomball. There was aggressive checking, blocking, and even a few punches were thrown. I don’t think anyone was seriously hurt. Although I did notice after the game had ended that my helmet had a pretty sizable gash through the center. But that’s what it’s there for I guess. Anyway, broomball is a lot of fun.

Trying to Become a Sailing Instructor

                Earlier today I learned that I will, officially, be teaching sailing again this summer. Although many people here in Reading do not sail, sailing has been a part of my life for a very long time. My dad's family grew up sailing in Scituate, Ma; and in carrying on the tradition, our family spends most of our summers in Scituate as well. We are surrounded by family of all kinds: cousins, second cousins, distant relatives who I didn't even know were part of the family. And we do a lot of sailing. I am lucky enough to get to teach sailing at the same place I learned myself, the Satuit Boat Club.

                That's all great and I'm very much looking forward to another great summer on the water. The only difference this year is that they are expecting all the instructors to be certified level 1 coaches. This is the first time I have had to deal with accreditation, and it is not fun. I've heard from others how painful it is to work with these big accrediting organizations, not just for sailing but other things as well. Using the website has been a hassle and I'm beginning to think that this might be a scam. In order to sign up for the class itself, I have to be a member of US Sailing. Not just a teen member, but a fully paying adult membership. Also, another boating safety course must be taken prior to this course. So now I get to sign up for 2 classes. Although its frustrating right now, I hope that by the time its over I will have become a better sailing instructor.

Let the Madness Begin

                 The NCAA Tournament started just this afternoon, and I can already see my bracket crumbling before my eyes. There have already been several first round upsets that I, along with 99% of the people in America, did not see coming. I don’t know why I'm even surprised because this happens every year. Upsets always happen. Although I do not really follow college basketball whatsoever, I am always disappointed with how my bracket turns out. And since I really don’t follow the whole season that much, I, like many others, rely heavily on statistics. ESPN provides its users with an abundance of statistics and comparisons to help people make informed decisions while filling out their brackets. I often make choices that statistically make sense, only to see the team I chose suffer a crushing upset. And I know I'm not the only one this has happened to. But what I've come to realize, it's not our fault!

                It's important to remember that this is not the pros. They're all inconsistent college kids, obviously things are going to go wrong. Looking at many of the upsets just today, Little-Rock over Perdue for example, there is no reason they should've won that game. While looking over the comparison of the two teams a few days ago, Perdue were better in every statistical category: BPI Rank, points per game, points against per game, field goal%, free throw%, etc. But that’s why you play the game. If we relied on stats we wouldn't even have a tournament in the first place. Upsets and unexpected moments are what make March Madness, and all of sports for that matter, exciting to watch.  

From Virtual Games to Real World Passions

     Video games are often criticized for trapping kids. They trap their users in these fantasy  worlds and simulations, therefore limiting our interactions with the real, physical world. These allocations are not completely wrong, as many people do become overly obsessed with video games. However if it weren't for video games, I would not have discovered my interest for Liverpool Football Club.

      Although I had played soccer all my life, I didn't truly follow it until four years ago. I would go to the occasional Revs game at Gillette, but my extensive knowledge  of real, European football pretty much boiled down to a handful of the mega clubs and two players named Messi and Ronaldo. This all changed when I got an Xbox for Christmas four years ago. The first game I got was FIFA. As soon as I got it, I started a career mode and had to choose a team.  I don’t remember exactly why I chose Liverpool in the first place, I didn't know a single player on the team. However it happened, Liverpool was my team and together we made a rather impressive career.

      I didn't start following the real life team until the start of the next season. It was fun to watch all the players that I had played as in the video game, but now in real life. Luckily for me, Liverpool were having an incredible season that year. They were scoring a ton of goals and were firmly cemented in the title race. Everybody in England was wrapped up in the excitement and I suppose I got wrapped up in it as well. It was going to be the first Premier League title for Liverpool in their history(They started calling it the Premier League in 1992) and I definitely got caught in the excitement. They were top of the league with three games to go, but a crushing loss to Chelsea and a draw against Crystal Palace saw the title slip through Liverpool's fingers. Although I had only known about Liverpool's existence for about a year and half, I had the same gut wrenching feeling that every lifelong Liverpool fan that spring. Although it sucked to see Liverpool loose the title, I didn't just hop off the bandwagon and jump on next year's contenders. This is due largely impart to my successful career on FIFA. While the real Liverpool were fighting for the title, I had turned my virtual team into the best club in all off Europe. I wanted to see the same thing happen to the real life team.

     So 3-4 years have gone by, and I'm still waiting for that "best club in Europe" thing to finally come true. It hasn't been the best couple years for the club by any stretch. But things are looking up. It’s crazy to think that 4 years ago Liverpool were not a part of my life. I watch as many games of theirs that I possibly can, and a day doesn't go by where I don’t read about them, or soccer in general, online. It's funny to think that this obsessive passion started on FIFA. I wonder what would have happened if hadn't picked them to start my video game career.       

a Haiku

I was sick last week
I forgot to make a post
Even worth it now?