tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28051948210263136912024-02-21T03:00:30.509-08:00Erika AnearAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-53306905168305616502016-01-11T19:14:00.000-08:002016-01-12T03:04:16.829-08:00Chronic illness: the rules according to ErikaSo a friend recently asked me for advice on how to cope with chronic illness...well okay it wasn't that recent now. But then I wrote an article about diabetes and archery. And now this post, that I have had in draft for a few months, suddenly seems relevant. And since this topic has cropped up multiple times, here's my words of wisdom...or at least words:<br>
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1. Bugger being Superman<br>
You don't have to be a hero just to make other people feel better about themselves<br>
Some days you are going to feel like shit and it's okay to hate it. It's okay to be angry or sad. It's perfectly normal and there's no crime in showing you feel like rubbish. You don't always have to pretend to cope better, just so someone else has a better day. We aren't all be brave in the face of 'insert disease of choice' poster material. And some days aren't brave days no matter who you are. Your body is going to let you down. Nothing wrong with the occasional self indulgent, hissy fit or criminally bad hair day when your body won't do what it's told. All the people telling you to get over it and grow a back bone can go get their own shiny chronic disease, and sit on it, and see how it treats them. You might notice a theme to my thoughts. My theory is essentially that everyone should mind their own business (on pretty much everything). There's lots of people telling you a bunch of useless stuff about how to cope with your disease. It's yours. Cope with it how you want. What works for you is not going to work for everyone and if the well meaners were actually well meaning, they would stop giving inane advice for something they have no true understanding of. Trite words like 'chin up' and 'it could be worse' can also elicit homicidal eye twitches in the recipient.<br>
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2.Take the damn medicine<br>
When you become mortally dependent on medication, you stop having any sympathy for folk who suffer headaches or other ailments just because they 'don't like taking pills'. As if not taking the pills somehow elevates them above us poor weak plebs who carry a pharmaceutical arsenal in our bags. One of the leading causes of preventable death in the western world is people not doing what the doctor told them. Something like 50% of all scripts never get filled and an incredible amount of people think that taking 1 or 2 tablets should be enough when they have been given a months supply. I recall a little old lady who stopped taking her blood pressure meds because the doctor had given her another script for a different ailment and she thought it was too many pills. We pay doctors a lot to do that thinking for us. If you are supposed to take ten tablets a day, take ten tablets a day. It's not a difficult concept.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We don't always get it right.</td></tr>
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<i> “You know what they call alternative medicine that's been proved to work? - Medicine.” - Tim Minchin.</i><br>
If it doesn't come with a stack of peer reviewed, scientific, research from reputable Journals, don't take it. People pushing alternative remedies are stupid, crazy, or trying to kill you. Possibly a combination of the three. You don't ask the checkout chick at burger king to change the oil on your car or the postman to fix your archery gear. So don't ask the town monkey or a friend of a friend, with a degree in scientifically unproven drivel, for advice on your health. Ask an expert. Like any part of the human race, doctors can be morons too, so if you don't trust them for some reason, ask more than one and don't ask google unless you actually know enough to understand what you are reading.You'll end up with a fatal case of something no one ever heard of and massive hypochondria on top of what ails you. But!.... If taking weird unproven remedies makes you feel in any way better...nothing wrong with the placebo effect. It's scientifically proven to have benefit. Just don't stop the proven meds and check with your real doctor if there's a chance your weird, witch doctor, hocum might interfere with your actual therapy. Some 'natural' therapies might actually kill you and if you're ingesting something stolen from some poor endangered animal, then I hope it gives you a nasty rash too.<br>
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3.It's okay if you think it hurts<br>
Your pain is not less real just because some jerk says it doesn't hurt. I have been told by endless nurses and doctors, and even diabetics, that taking insulin and blood testing doesn't hurt. Like lying about that stuff will somehow make it less ouchy. One of my favourite stories was a nurse, who had to do a week of 'being a diabetic' as part of her training. She said she had never understood her diabetic husband so well as she had after a week of endless needles and blood tests. But even then, if it isn't your body, you don't really know. My dad barely notices the injections and barely bruises ever. I'm a walking bruise. I have blue and black bruises everywhere and some injections hurt like crazy and some not at all. People who tell you it never hurts just haven't been stabbed enough. I usually offer to stab them.<br>
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4.Take time out<br>
Stuff stresses us. Lots of stuff. Chronic illness causes stress. I highly recommend meditation. 10 minutes a day of just focusing on breathing and nothing else can really make a difference to the overly busy brain. Or kittens. But I recommend the cute and fluffy for most situations. If you aren't allergic, you need a kitten/puppy/hedgehog/preferred cute and fluffy.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relax!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute and fluffy makes the world better.</td></tr>
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5. A really awesome friend to caffeinate with<br>
Regularly. I don't care if you don't caffeinate. We still call it grabbing a coffee when you don't drink coffee. So go somewhere civilised, drink a hot beverage, eat a something and chat about whatever. This does not include drinking instant while you text pretend friends on fb. Conversation with a real live person, who isn't part of your umpteen hospital visits, is crucial to not wallowing in misery.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caffeination with conversation. </td></tr>
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6.Hugs<br>
I'm a fan of hugs. I highly recommend hugs from the lovely Miss Degn of Denmark (aside from boyfriend/girlfriend/family)...but perhaps you should find your own huggable persons. And recall personal space issues before hugging said persons. Not everyone thinks hugs are fan worthy. But if you are one of those...well my lucky, best friend advice is to learn to like hugs from at least one person/kitten/puppy.....<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hugs <3</td></tr>
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7.Time<br>
Some months after I was diagnosed with diabetes, I heard comments like 'still??' and 'isn't she over it, it's been months' etc News flash people. Chronic illness means it isn't going away and may get worse and more complicated with time. So about the time I was being introduced to big scary needles on a daily basis (after months of struggling with tablets and impossible diet restrictions and endless tests), the peanut gallery was busy bitching that I should be used to my condition by now. It took two years to get over needle phobia. I used to stay up all night because I didn't want to take my night insulin. I met a little old lady who told me she had been diabetic since she was little and she still cried sometimes when it was all too hard. I met another who had been diabetic for 15 years and never had a single day of control. The first day she achieved actual control of her blood sugar, I was privileged to witness her tears of sheer joy at achieving something most people never think about because it's as automatic as breathing...Fifteen years....And I met a guy who was only about 40 and had never found that control. He had the biggest freaking scar (which he showed me in the middle of a pub while explaining why he doesn't drink beer anymore) I ever saw and a nice, shiny, slightly used, new set of kidneys, and a pancreas to show for it. He said 'take care of yourself'.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of us might be less patient than others. Hug them too.</td></tr>
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8.Talk about it.<br>
There's a weird fashion in the world to hide what ails ya. I'll admit to finding it rather astonishing. People are actually embarrassed by diabetes, depression, asthma...you name it. Seriously... of all the things that I've been embarrassed by in my life and of all the things I've thought people should be embarrassed by, it never occurred to me that being ill was something to be ashamed of. My dress blowing up around my ears when I had my hands full with a coffee tray.... that was pretty embarrassing. Walking around all day with a seed stuck on your front teeth, baby photos, singing in public, shooting the wrong target at a world event...Can't say diabetes ever embarrassed me even half as much. If other people are uncomfortable, that you have a chronic illness, it's their own weird little problem. Let them stress about it.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shooting the wrong target twice...way more embarrassing than diabetes. Trust me.</td></tr>
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9.That's all she thinks about.<br>
When your body doesn't work the way it is supposed to and your life depends on you getting certain things right, you can seem rather preoccupied by it. When I'm ticking every box and doing everything right my day runs like a diabetes check list. Wake up, check blood, shower, count breakfast carbs, take insulin, eat, go to school, check blood, count carbs, insulin, lunch, more school, check blood, more school, check blood, training, check blood, count carbs, insulin, dinner, homework/tv/whatever, check blood, insulin, insulin adjustment... and possibly a 3am check blood if things are awry and an half hourly check blood if I'm in competition. So given how many times a day my disease crops up in my routine, one can be forgiven for thinking about it more than people with a functional pancreas do. If you had to respond every time your pancreas needed to do something, you might think about it a bit too. Does it make me less able to do other stuff? No. Just means I might mention pancreas a bit more often.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some days are just annoying.</td></tr>
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10.Everyone needs a hobby.<br>
A lot of people waste a lot of time thinking about the stuff they can't do. Like drink the maple syrup (I'm still laughing about a certain Canadian who gave me a whole bottle), fly commercial airliners, or organ donation. I am completely baffled by the need of so many in the population to spend time every day contemplating what they can't do. Navel fluff is surely more fascinating. So stop pondering the cruelty of life over what you can't do and start putting some time into something you can do. Or maybe even try the 'can't'. It's quite often a 'can't' because someone said so rather than because you tried. Do you know why I spend so many hours shooting arrows? It's because I'm really crap at knitting, ball games, riding bikes, dusting, chess, endogenous insulin production.... the list is endless. See how much more archery I get done when I don't waste energy on all those pointless things? And most of those pointless things, I was crap at before diabetes.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember how much I suck at riding bikes? That is not due to diabetes.</td></tr>
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11.Remember to love someone.<br>
And at the end of the day, remember to appreciate your nearest and dearest. They are there for you, even on your bad days. Hugs and caffeination and the person who turns your electric blanket on.... all make the world a much nicer place :)<br>
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<br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-7021442972819183632015-08-17T13:18:00.000-07:002016-01-11T06:21:49.719-08:00My wonderful life as a nobody :)So it might sound like a negative. But this is not a negative post by any stretch. It is a fact. I have in the eyes of the world never achieved anything, because our world is built on the lie of winning. Only winning achieves anything and if you aren't a winner you are by default a loser. And not only have I heard this said by some of the great winners in the world, I have probably said it myself a time or two. But I suppose it really does take a closer look at what winning means. Is it a shiny hunk of metal to put on your shelf or is it to achieve your goals? Is it a win if you got a medal, but failed to achieve your goal? Is it a loss if you didn't win a medal, but achieved all your goals? If the tree falls in the forest and there's no one there to witness it....<br />
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So I'm writing this in reflection to my year as an archery bum which may come to an end when I complete Danish school and get a real job....What did my year achieve? I didn't win any international medals and I didn't break any records so far... so what have I done?<br />
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So in a year of shooting in Europe, I have so far achieved my goals. I fought for and won a coveted spot on the Danish archery team. In a series of 5 trials that included a minimum score requirement and performance in both ranking and matchplay, I earned that spot in black and white. I had, before hand, worried that perhaps it would end up being a place based on just attending, but the top 5 shooters in Denmark all pre-qualified and attended. Even the formidable Camilla Søemod commuted from Canada to make it a real fight down to the last day, for that much desired spot on the World Target team on home soil.<br />
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I got to shoot the European Indoor Championships, where I ranked 11th (equal 7th) and finished 9th (top 16) with a competition PB in ranking. Possibly a first for an Australian shooting the European Champs?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ddTZoI6xphpeYwiKi9H1VE-Pxai9r-euK5-0yqaXsYKj9zTAojqrrG-1kd6COcTaHH6XrQAhQhU_454vRoA7QZLXIdt1cVhiL6g_aGs4l4CsE6dSyuJjY_EF7z-2E_NHwrkf1wfjxBw/s1600/IMG_5551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ddTZoI6xphpeYwiKi9H1VE-Pxai9r-euK5-0yqaXsYKj9zTAojqrrG-1kd6COcTaHH6XrQAhQhU_454vRoA7QZLXIdt1cVhiL6g_aGs4l4CsE6dSyuJjY_EF7z-2E_NHwrkf1wfjxBw/s400/IMG_5551.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moi (Slovenia 2015)</td></tr>
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Shanghai World Cup Stage 1 - I shot 669 and ranked 31st. Finished 33rd (out in the first match) in tricky wind for our first outdoor tournament of the year. I was disappointed, but took away a lot. And took 5th in mixed teams with Stephan Hansen with some solid shooting to make my week worth while.<br />
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Turkey World Cup Stage 2 - 675 and ranked 47th against some tough competition and finished 33rd again but on substantially better shooting (lost my second match). I was beaten by Andrea Marcos of Spain and I told her she had to win now because that's the rules. So she did. And I was very proud to be her agent on the day of her gold medal match. And we took away 4th place in teams. I shot some 8s in our last match, but then so did almost everyone who shot finals that day, including some very notable and famous archers. So for everyone who ever shot an 8 in finals...I hear you, but we're in awesome company. So would have loved a medal, but actually very proud of my team. We did great.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCiP69RCgeVm_ZH-yBE6kRWqdIdiKZ4MibAVuiK9IRi54DhT3n_oMMxhS6C3fCotUI1xP7EBqJ2xw3oZ4oK1mqj4K5urZ-sdyNGqzsUsq32VTdBeirbT70mDEbsyym-v74Yfr8wiyz-E/s1600/IMG_6376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBCiP69RCgeVm_ZH-yBE6kRWqdIdiKZ4MibAVuiK9IRi54DhT3n_oMMxhS6C3fCotUI1xP7EBqJ2xw3oZ4oK1mqj4K5urZ-sdyNGqzsUsq32VTdBeirbT70mDEbsyym-v74Yfr8wiyz-E/s400/IMG_6376.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first team shoot and we made the medal matches :)</td></tr>
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World Target Copenhagen - 648 and ranked 71st. And if all you ever saw was score, this result might make you bleed... but if you had been standing in the miserable weather that we shot in... well I'm okay with my score. I went out in my first match and finished 57th against a lady from Austria who somehow shot Xs when I could barely keep my feet and to compound the day (no pun intended), I discovered my fletches were cracking off. My disappointment continued with our team losing to the Ukraine and finishing 6th. But we shot well and it came down to a line call. I think we did great that day as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIClJ7DO-z56A9JeuCnywnhRhhZuP1VY9TgpRsk0ImQEqoXkVqBaU44tfuzhgN70SZU3ViD47A7l8HF_Rf6b9mBA46iux6vadkh43hwBzQoIL2eprGDX5Eu21KArJprBj1OsrrOHJCJtY/s1600/IMG_6720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIClJ7DO-z56A9JeuCnywnhRhhZuP1VY9TgpRsk0ImQEqoXkVqBaU44tfuzhgN70SZU3ViD47A7l8HF_Rf6b9mBA46iux6vadkh43hwBzQoIL2eprGDX5Eu21KArJprBj1OsrrOHJCJtY/s400/IMG_6720.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biggest World Target ever in our own backyard :)</td></tr>
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Poland World Cup Stage 3 - 676 and ranked 24th. I'm really happy with this shooting because it is basically the same score as in Turkey, but with brutal wind that changed constantly through the day. After 4 matches I finished 7th in the same evil wind. In every event I have learned a little more and adjusted accordingly and, in this event, it paid off. I know of a few who are disappointed with their lack of medals from this week, but I am enormously pleased with my 7th. My goal was to finish in the top 25% of the field. So if achieving a goal and how you feel about your result is all that matters, I'm winning just fine.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5qMe6JMo2QEDP-j2oO1XRUaKppNJJlGA2MdidakDKkJfUDmYI5BtIi2T4dARnsUmPGEmFj2-C-qAp_dMKkQjiY-ddfHpAxyx-Ck3eo3n5nMRO8nzap9ZhwHd2gND_GmdXRZQUH44v-E/s1600/IMG_7208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5qMe6JMo2QEDP-j2oO1XRUaKppNJJlGA2MdidakDKkJfUDmYI5BtIi2T4dARnsUmPGEmFj2-C-qAp_dMKkQjiY-ddfHpAxyx-Ck3eo3n5nMRO8nzap9ZhwHd2gND_GmdXRZQUH44v-E/s400/IMG_7208.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrocław, Poland</td></tr>
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So I've spent a year shooting arrows, learning a new language, travelling the world and representing my new home. Gosh how terrible my life must be....And so far my best is 7th. So my perspective to everyone in the world who didn't get a medal this year and the few who did....I'm really happy with 7th at a world cup and beating two of the toughest shooters in the world (Tonioli and Loginova) to get it. Taking home a medal would seriously add some shine to my year, but I'm going to celebrate my win such as it is. I earned it. It makes me smile. If you enjoy archery only when you win a gold medal, statistically you are going to be miserable a lot of the time. So one day (if all the hard work pays off) that gold medal will not be the be all and end all, it will just be the icing on an already awesome cake.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMTJKNbO5ckBqepu_fMjWrGxaqmGojxAmkWtqUV7puCDH3Kq2-2O9rxvQtQloOQP10pmqJ-pQWvSwJ-1XJgfzOY5BAC0ho48wh-tj2WTH8xf5EHFv5c4uReF5h7k9nSeKMVByG4kweE4/s1600/IMG_6549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMTJKNbO5ckBqepu_fMjWrGxaqmGojxAmkWtqUV7puCDH3Kq2-2O9rxvQtQloOQP10pmqJ-pQWvSwJ-1XJgfzOY5BAC0ho48wh-tj2WTH8xf5EHFv5c4uReF5h7k9nSeKMVByG4kweE4/s400/IMG_6549.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Support staff keeping the bed from running away.</td></tr>
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Bring on Nationals and World Cup stage 4.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-80192360091382146232015-02-20T01:29:00.001-08:002015-08-25T02:52:12.450-07:00What happens in Vegas....OMG she wrote a post! Yes really, I've discovered the keyboard again... it might be covered with kitten fluff and dust... but it still works.<br>
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So two people, who I love very much, just had a major falling out. And I'll duck for cover when they read this since they're both still steaming about the ears. But I had to share the spectacular kaboom that leaves me standing in the ashes of the burned down house wondering how they set fire to it without matches and while it was raining. I mean literally world war 3 just happened and the new cold war started because they were <b>agreeing</b> with each other. And then you have to wonder how often it happens that two people who are just having a hard schtick, meet breaking point on each other, and implode. So offering hugs to stressed people today. Squeeze a kitten, sip a hot chocolate and relax in the bath. Love you guys x<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFWWyQHYpa6PzExLQ3O8fdA1gZgRl-2qh0ngJum5R5e7VzzNYUNDP0JiiBe3cFFBf2s_zK4Rl192oVyBKYBEn1DfNCtkWhH2zUeqCtZE2F-Leslp2eZ3ILiYltOUxNxuka1MfWkbFpjo/s1600/IMG_5433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFWWyQHYpa6PzExLQ3O8fdA1gZgRl-2qh0ngJum5R5e7VzzNYUNDP0JiiBe3cFFBf2s_zK4Rl192oVyBKYBEn1DfNCtkWhH2zUeqCtZE2F-Leslp2eZ3ILiYltOUxNxuka1MfWkbFpjo/s1600/IMG_5433.JPG" height="400" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Felix being helpful <3</td></tr>
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Well the rest of my week has been just (insert Southpark Cartman voice) sweeeeeeeet. I am in the happy possession of two new bows (Hoyt Podium Elites), a whole season of super cute archery bum clothing and I passed my first Danish exam. Shot the first bow down at the range late last night and it was shooting 29-30s on the inner 10. So then of course all agreements to leave it till after Europeans may have gone out the window. The back wall is just awesome. I'm in luuuuurv!<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbq9VK9nuhRdCNyYVQ1UzMgaKulbh-NY_2go1autRg8WVetAbAOm2AlhvZXX3E3Q-l8duTQVl9ibW733oxQZJy5RT9IBmYhxtXCYktORRvD9k0bGk2Mvc0RQhcYAvME50RPJhrKhtkYw/s1600/IMG_5502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbq9VK9nuhRdCNyYVQ1UzMgaKulbh-NY_2go1autRg8WVetAbAOm2AlhvZXX3E3Q-l8duTQVl9ibW733oxQZJy5RT9IBmYhxtXCYktORRvD9k0bGk2Mvc0RQhcYAvME50RPJhrKhtkYw/s1600/IMG_5502.JPG" height="400" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fabian being helpful with my new Hoyt Podium!</td></tr>
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Iceland was a write off. I came second so no complaints about the place. More about the rubbish shooting. Could not shoot two tens to save my life, let alone 3. It was a clusterF@#$@#mmmm of epic proportions and then Nîmes....oh dear... the less said the better. At least I ranked equal top 3 on score for the second chance round and won a nice set of Doinker stabs for my new recurve when it arrives :) But there's something seriously bitter about finding the ten after it counts.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saved my trip to Nîmes with at least something to take home!</td></tr>
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Roll on Vegas and I almost couldn't drop a point the week leading up to it. Then shot utter filth on the first two days. Could have saved my dignity on the 3rd day if I had just shot the right target! An X and a 10 on the wrong target ruined a perfectly awesome score. 24x, 279 with 2 misses. I matched Mr Damsbo on X count. So apart from epic stupidity.... it was awesome shooting :S</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHnt0JTkwnCynIP_vXl0uCb8l-ENm4SuQw4Zb0P0cZe5mYu1IlcW5biyYXjR3p7Dm57beC598QhCGxHrbs_R9ceXvKqhsflq8T-X7yCbkSS1bLgymiBwih_TjEiIHY8pA0TyQMdP2Ljk/s1600/IMG_5259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHnt0JTkwnCynIP_vXl0uCb8l-ENm4SuQw4Zb0P0cZe5mYu1IlcW5biyYXjR3p7Dm57beC598QhCGxHrbs_R9ceXvKqhsflq8T-X7yCbkSS1bLgymiBwih_TjEiIHY8pA0TyQMdP2Ljk/s1600/IMG_5259.JPG" height="400" width="300"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I would have thought responsible gaming advice would be like don't bet your house or something...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small child making us all look like amateurs at practice. She was great! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKO_j9bSsxxb_g-AwX6165ej9FsE4rokUY2OddUHFfPAH9Ep0cwEPoBqpv4qEbJN2IfOzy2VY22crPQm9fBTzRWuYux0_3UDfVfCQ4Q0ZMI-4pPz5lizJlMA3q78eZkgJIm_1ojPQjdU/s1600/IMG_5330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKO_j9bSsxxb_g-AwX6165ej9FsE4rokUY2OddUHFfPAH9Ep0cwEPoBqpv4qEbJN2IfOzy2VY22crPQm9fBTzRWuYux0_3UDfVfCQ4Q0ZMI-4pPz5lizJlMA3q78eZkgJIm_1ojPQjdU/s1600/IMG_5330.JPG" height="400" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of those days :S</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW6NOzPTNHFJPFf7V_ap2HvzQveCUJKEUoAKHff7A6OdtbmrqeFLkZrwzNrULxHU_fb7jMTD11slA6-YGI_OYqbQ_xLAoXuEw27pV8nyyi7lslvGEdDeWohBjmogZtvrZxzX1Kk19GDlE/s1600/IMG_5334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW6NOzPTNHFJPFf7V_ap2HvzQveCUJKEUoAKHff7A6OdtbmrqeFLkZrwzNrULxHU_fb7jMTD11slA6-YGI_OYqbQ_xLAoXuEw27pV8nyyi7lslvGEdDeWohBjmogZtvrZxzX1Kk19GDlE/s1600/IMG_5334.JPG" height="400" width="300"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Night out in Vegas because you should.</td></tr>
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Then there was the trip home...or rather there almost wasn't a trip home. On attempting to check in at McCarran International, I was informed I could not go to Denmark without a visa. After a very long argument about visas which I don't need and never have needed and an hour at a counter while they kept insisting I can't leave the US without a visa for Denmark, they gave me my boarding passes and told me not to forget to show my visa (that didn't exist) when I get to Denmark. Is it bad if the homicidal eye twitch was more because they just gave me my boarding pass, anyway, after an hour of wasting my time? If the visa was a genuine reason to not allow me to check in, I should still be sitting in Las Vegas. Not that I'm not happy I got to leave. Just that it obviously wasn't that important, so why did I have to argue about it for an hour???? Then we had to leave a team mate behind, because her ticket dates were wrong and we had to buy two extra pieces of luggage. One because the airline refused to recognise the excess attached to the ticket and the other because everyone had significant excess from shopping, sponsors and let's face it - Veeeeegas!<br>
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So bring on Slovenia and Europeans. It's official. I shoot for Denmark next week.<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuP6vS_4IYFUV4kl0DmqcluIal8m4HZAuR3jyiXlq9tbyZd7fGzOVu47WxxPdzReSaINrPLSHq56P4jlS4Fzqv03HcD-hhGGbbjripfVRRuqMlzUlieu8ZUVQ9a0IXzy-UkwklbeCB30/s1600/IMG_5110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuP6vS_4IYFUV4kl0DmqcluIal8m4HZAuR3jyiXlq9tbyZd7fGzOVu47WxxPdzReSaINrPLSHq56P4jlS4Fzqv03HcD-hhGGbbjripfVRRuqMlzUlieu8ZUVQ9a0IXzy-UkwklbeCB30/s1600/IMG_5110.JPG" height="640" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nîmes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reykjavik</td></tr>
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<br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-74760560925745411662015-01-10T14:10:00.000-08:002015-01-10T14:10:15.982-08:00So close you can taste it...I'm talking about those moments in your life when the actualisation of a goal is so close that your mouth is watering. This is what my shooting has been like lately. Every day the feel and the process is a little tighter and a little better. It doesn't have to be an epic goal or a life dream. There's just something tasty about being on that edge, when you know things are happening. I shot a 148/150 in matchplay for my first competition of the year and everyday since has been great shooting in practice. Loving those days when shooting a 10 is a choice and not a hope.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nytårspokalen 2015</td></tr>
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<br />
All of which had to be said before I gave my usual update because it sounds way cooler than anything else I needed to say :D<br />
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I fell off my bike before Xmas, and took a chunk of skin off my bow hand, right before the Kings of Archery tournament in the Netherlands. Shot a 878/900 (41x) ranking and ended up finishing 16th. Not an amazing result, but I'm claiming sissy rights on the whole gaping wound issue and calling it an okay result. It was beyond expectation that I managed to draw the bow at all. Everything else was gravy :).... I may have been banned from riding the bike prior to tournaments from now on....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No more bike for me!</td></tr>
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The Berlin Open was a substantially better innings. I shot a 576/600 and ranked equal 4th. Going into matchplay, the ties were decided by coin toss and I was demoted to 6th. I might think that the whole thing had whiskers on it, but that's how it rolled. I won through the 1/16 match against Valeria Goncherova from Ukraine 140/138 and then lost the 1/8 to Janine Meißner from Germany 144/145 to finish 9th overall. I shot my qualifier for the European Championships and finished in the top 10, so basically a happy camper.<br />
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A quick trip home to Aus for Xmas was required. I've been missing BBQ turkey and daylight for xmas :) There was, kid you not, 5 turkeys on Xmas day. Something about not being sure we would have enough food.....a problem that seems to give various family members nightmares despite never having occurred in my memory. Was just awesome to see family and have an Aussie xmas. So I'm all xmas fat and stocked up on things you can't buy in Denmark.... like vanilla bean paste, real sunscreen and Sherry Gale (our most excellent house guest for January) and settled back into the life of an archery bum.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aussie archer Sherry Gale come to visit :)</td></tr>
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The kittens are settling in well. Maybe a little too well. I woke up one morning to find Fabian trying to clean my teeth for me.... which of course ends badly for all concerned as I shoot up and kitten goes flying while I Plbplbplbpblbpblbplbpblpblpblpb!!!! trying to get the cat spit off my teeth and lips. Ugh!!!! The boys are weighing it at 4kg a piece and the vet informs me I can afford to feed them less. No one ever accused me of underfeeding a cat :D<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitty!</td></tr>
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In all these days of shooting, studying and travelling, a random and aimless rant that plays in my head just lately is about trying to understand crap coffee. Now we aren't talking about instant versus filtered or expresso versus latte etc we're talking that nasty stuff that looks like fine powdered rust and can be found in archery clubs all over the world. The floor sweepings from the clay factory that they put in jars and call coffee and sell to bad conferences and archery clubs. I'm sure you can find it at rehab meetings and anger management courses too... Because nothing tests you like really awful coffee... Now don't misunderstand, I'm not a coffee snob. It's more a life the universe and everything question... Why does such awful coffee exist? Who drinks it? Why do they drink it? Are they divorced from their own tongues? Why not drink tea instead? Because no matter how bad the tea is it can't be worse than the nasty coffee (okay I'm sure my Chinese mother could find me a worse tea)... So with the few people aside who have no taste buds and drink the crappy coffee for religious penance or something...one has to wonder at the market...<br />
I now keep a jar of coffee in my archery locker.<br />
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School, like cat spit and crap coffee, is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. It's a good thing the new teacher is actually good at teaching.... With people skills like that, one has to hope she's got something going for her. Heinous cow. Nuff said. Here's hoping I learn Danish fast and get out before I'm forced to drastic measures. Herring has few uses (eating not being one of them), but I suspect one would do quite nicely tucked in the bottom of her bag.<br />
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Got kittens, coffee and christmas sorted. Bring on 2015. Next stop - <span style="text-align: center;">Iceland :) </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-46581149590337193622014-11-07T08:33:00.002-08:002014-11-08T05:33:44.885-08:00So much to do, so much to say!Autumn has arrived and with it more changes than I can keep abreast with. Suffice to say I am glad to have a weekend before me with one whole free day. So far...one whole free day. But I digress....Changes!<br>
<br>
So we moved from a cupboard in Aarhus with 1/6 of a bathroom, and about the same kitchen space, to a house with 3 bathrooms and a walk in wardrobe next to the kitchen. The mind still boggles as to why you would need a wardrobe off the kitchen, but it's a wardrobe bigger than our whole space in Aarhus so we no complain.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ZzMAXDP8cqTFDcb06t770QQTMII7gn5PbBBrFFh85goZP9BcGr_Dn_qI4eyRZ9H97JBTYBc8u2dCYhZ7rH-yjZH0Cg5Mr_2Sl7WCvzNZifZgCxW4Eon3zfpNUr2qyAZ_2OMajPc8NMw/s640/blogger-image--1641586773.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ZzMAXDP8cqTFDcb06t770QQTMII7gn5PbBBrFFh85goZP9BcGr_Dn_qI4eyRZ9H97JBTYBc8u2dCYhZ7rH-yjZH0Cg5Mr_2Sl7WCvzNZifZgCxW4Eon3zfpNUr2qyAZ_2OMajPc8NMw/s640/blogger-image--1641586773.jpg"></a></div><br>
I've managed to give the postman a thrill twice already, being caught in my underwear, on my way to the washing machine, when he's knocked on the rather not opaque door to deliver a package. And that wardrobe, that I told you I would have left in the street rather than walking it up 5 flights of stairs in pieces, not only came down those 5 flights, but went up a further flight to be installed on the second floor of our new home.... it is never ever moving again. Never.<br>
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A peculiarity of Danish homes is that they do not come with installed light fittings. So when you move into a home, you then spend a week dining by torch or lamp light until your handy Danish man/person, who comes with a degree in IKEA reconstruction and a minor in electrical engineering, manages to install all of your light fixtures without giving himself a new and interesting hair style. And all the Australians go 'why would you do that??? Why not just have lights installed when you build a place?'...and when I ask that same question all the Danes go 'why would you do that? then you can't choose where the lights go'...There are some cultural differences that just can't be explained in simple terms...apparently the appropriate timing for light fixture installations and the Danish fondness for lining up are amongst them :)<br>
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Since my last post, we have also acquired two new babies. Felix and Fabian. We had gone to the cat centre to adopt a new cat. On arrival, Fabian walked over to me, straight up my leg, into my arms, and started purring. So you would think that would be that. However, Fabian had a twin brother who is not so smoochie and the cat centre was most insistent we could not take one without the other. And two days later I was waving one cat off a bench while the other one ran past with a steak bigger than itself, growling and drooling all the way. Needless to say they are settled in happily and already getting their own way too much, as well as substantially fatter than they were when they arrived. We can now hold kitty skype sessions between my Danish and my Australian kittens. Oddly enough they don't seem so keen.<br>
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The new shooting range is about 7km down the road and so it becomes more necessary to address my slight issue with bikes... or rather my slight issue with falling off bikes. And I had thought things were progressing nicely until I realised that for some reason when I try to turn right, my brain malfunctions and I try to commit suicide by wall/bush/tree/ground....so I have spent the better part of a week practicing that whole not falling off when it isn't a straight line or a left turn and today I think we can declare the bike is no longer my arch nemesis, but more my rather untrustworthy, don't turn your back on him, ally. We might make a Dane of her yet...(as long as she doesn't have to eat herring or say words like Sorø).<br>
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Speaking of unpronounceable Danish words... My new classes start with a vengeance next week. I will have 18 hours of Danish a week and my first exam will be before Christmas. I had an evaluation test on Monday and although I can still barely string a sentence together, apparently my reading and translation skills are adequate enough to bump me into a harder class. Of more importance, I drove there on my own and no one died from the experience despite the whole of Denmark driving on the wrong side of the road and their cars being arse backwards... I don't even have bruised knuckles, from smacking my left hand on the door, when I forget which side the gears are on.<br>
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And shooting... we had a quick trip over the border, for a coaching day in Hamburg, and I shot a few rounds of indoor to start the season. It was ugly. Not 'fell of the ugly tree and hit every branch coming down' ugly... but certainly not pretty. In my defence, it was on the back of days of moving and painting and much stress... but it was still depressing! Now, settled into new surroundings and slowly recovering, I seem to be shooting about a 570 average. A year ago that was great shooting for me, so with an untuned bow and not so much practice, I think it is a great place to start. Bring on indoor.<br>
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<br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-2709568302194659202014-09-13T00:06:00.000-07:002014-09-13T00:06:07.253-07:00So let me tell you about ChristineSo I haven't had much to say for a while. Well that's a lie... I always have a lot to say...But I haven't had anything to SAY. I've had an amazing few months with shooting and family and settling into Denmark, but we lost someone special and all the things you want to say never seem to be enough. But maybe we need to say them anyway.<br />
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So let me tell you about Christine.<br />
She was born prematurely and she left us just as prematurely. And she was all the things we should be: funny and beautiful and unfiltered.<br />
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She gave you a headache, now and then, because she told the truth and sometimes people don't want to hear the truth. But how much simpler would life be if we all just told it how it was, plain and unvarnished? 'The Invention of Lying' was a movie practically based on my family; we seem to drown in the comedy of things people probably shouldn't say. Sometimes the truth makes you wince, and sometimes the shocking honesty just makes you laugh and Christine made me laugh and gave me someone who truly understood how hard it is to tip toe around a world that would prefer you just lied.<br />
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She was a talented athlete, a promising doctor to be, an active and passionate humanitarian. The woman could sew and cook as well. My Facebook feed was full of her daily updates on new and wonderful projections, sad and worthy causes, practical and educational facts and the awesome food ambitions that screamed our multicultural roots.<br />
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I had never realised how much we talked. She died less than two days after our last talk. It was mostly just Facebook chat. For one reason or another we were always somewhere else. When I was home she was not. When she moved to Melbourne, I moved to Hobart. That catch up coffee that just never happened. We sighed about the stupidity of anti vaccination campaigners and cured the worlds ills, if folk would just do the smart thing....and laughed at terrible things our family say and at the terrible things we say and rolled our eyes at always having to shut up before you say something honest...or always apologising because there is no filter between brain and mouth. And just generally planned evil genius plans to take over the world... and or save it, depending on the day.<br />
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So I hope you always appreciate that special person in your life who always just tells you the plain unvarnished truth and go and get that catch up caffeination today and bask in the blast of fresh air of plain and uncomplicated. Everybody needs a Christine. We lost ours too early.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-12100321251886968792014-06-03T01:46:00.000-07:002014-06-07T22:54:37.660-07:00Bugger shooting Murphy...we should just shoot me.It's a weird situation when you are exercising up to 6 hours a day and feel that you really could be doing more. I walk about 2 hours minimum a day. I go to gym for an hour of cardio most days and I shoot 3 hours or more a day. And yet I feel lazy and unfit. So I went to the gym to chat with a personal trainer and he recommended TRX bands. They suspend from the air and you use them to destabilise core strength exercises and hence make them really hard to do and therefore a solid core workout. So at my personal trainer's advice I went to the next available class... there may have been whimpering and unattractive face pulling. Instead of a fairly low cardio, but solid core workout I found myself in a class worthy of Cross Fit and at one point lying flat on the floor ordering my body to do what it's told and not getting much more than panting and twitching. After the 5 hours I had already put into walking and shooting that day...it wasn't quite how I was expecting to finish my day. The 30min walk home from the gym may have looked more like shuffling and getting up the next morning involved a lot more whimpering. And after that genuinely horrible experience... I'm of course signed up for next weeks class. No one ever said I was smart :)<br />
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And on the topic of fitness and walking it is rather amusing to realise that Danes are allergic to walking. If you tell them you walked somewhere they all immediately ask why you didn't ride a bike. They can all understand an hour ride on the bike...none seem to comprehend one might choose to spend that hour walking instead. And failing that they wonder why you don't catch the bus. Relaying the latest discussions on this with Martin, who was in Colombia on his way to practice, he added his agreement that it's crazy to walk when you can ride or bus. Only a few minutes prior he had been complaining of the waft of pee on the bus heading to practice (a common problem with shared transport) so I ask the question...which is crazier? Walking in the sun and fresh air or sitting in an enclosed space with persons of suspect hygiene and the stench of pee? I think I rest my case :D<br />
I like walking and I hate waiting at bus stops and I fall off bikes great...so I guess learning to not fall off is in my not too distant future :)<br />
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In the midst of all this exercise I have started my Danish classes. Only two so far. So not expecting miracles, but I think I have it easier than many in the class as they are conducted in English and Danish. No one else in the class has English as a first language so I'm thinking the challenge is far greater for the Romanian who only speaks Italian and Romanian... although he very bravely asked me my name and nationality in Danish last class so he's doing great :)<br />
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Archery is cruising along. It occurred to me that I'm not shooting enough arrows so I'm pushing it out to shoot 200 a day. Still not strong enough to do that easily, but I think it's achievable in the next week. Until now the focus was more on technique and stability and as we had decided I'm strong enough with what I'm doing to put another turn on the limbs and up the poundage, so it's probably time to think about arrow fitness and scoring.<br />
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I have been swapping back and forth with the Carter Honey 2 and the Carter Target 3 releases. I shoot about 50/50 and am scoring a round with each. Shot a 1374 and a 1384 in practice with the Honey 2......<br />
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And then the flu struck! Shot a lousy 1333 in competition. Could not hit the proverbial. It was like the archery gods decided to swoop in and smack me silly for thinking maybe my shooting was finally improving. Finally halfway through 30m and way too late to save the day, Martin noticed my timing was out. Popped a twist in a cable between ends and I dropped 2 points in the rest of the round. Excuse me while I go bang my head on a brick wall! So it was awesome timing for Mor Damsbo to swing by and buy the kids ice-cream :)<br />
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Went to bed feeling really crappy and woke up feeling like I died a week ago and no one told me yet. Stupid flu.<br />
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Celebrated Martin's birthday with a most excellent lagkage... third time is the charm.. we need another birthday just to perfect it :D And my own birthday was awesome with a homemade strawberry tart (jordbærkage), BBQ with friends and a new phone and a bike :)<br />
Shot a 50m comp and ranked 3 in women's with a 665. It's nothing to write home about, but I was blowing my nose constantly, coughing up attractive green stuff, my right eye was weeping and every shot was like running a marathon... so I'm calling it a win. I made it through the day and Martin only beat me by 10 points in the matchplay... then went on to shoot rubbish in a later match. I'm thinking we need to discuss when it's appropriate to shoot rubbish...like in a match against your sick girlfriend, the day after her birthday, is a pretty good time to shoot an epic miss... just saying :P<br />
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And you might not know it, but flu is especially hard for the pancreatically retarded. You need stupid amounts of insulin just to stay alive so I've been mainlining it like it's saline all week...then suddenly the flu starts getting better and suddenly I'm taking enough insulin to kill an elephant...except now it decides to work. I spent a whole day sleeping on the grass at the range while Martin shot. And finally I think we are on the home stretch. Some time in the next week I might start feeling less like a mucus ridden, swamp monster, and more like an archery bum :P<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-6216110218647505862014-05-06T05:15:00.000-07:002014-05-06T05:18:39.588-07:00Project DenmarkLife blurs into shooting, cardio, eating and sleeping and yet not being in the mix of things. It's somewhat depressing to be sitting on the outside looking in. Watching the first leg of the World Cup through updates and text messages isn't quite the same as shooting one you'll understand. But it's all to good cause - Project Denmark :)<br />
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So the hopes for next year is to try out for the Danish Team and the rules state that I need to be a danish resident for 1 year to qualify and I can't shoot for anyone else in that time. So this year is a bum year. Work hard, learn danish, knock out the kinks and shoot some local tournaments. It's already paying off in matchplay experience alone. I've shot about 20 matches this year already. That's about 4 times what I would get shooting in Australia in a year. But I miss World Cup. It's going to be a long year.<br />
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My new baby arrived from Hoyt (thanks Kevin!! And Hoyt!) - a purple Pro Comp Elite with Spiral X cams. Love the bow. Love the colour. And finally I'm strong enough to shoot my spirals again. Combined with the Carter Honey 2, I'm working hard on strong shooting and good back tension. And getting stronger everyday. The new bow is 1lb heavier than the old one and while the scores and consistency are still not there, I shot 673@50m last scored round in practice and the form is looking better all the time.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CNIi_2E6Hc" target="_blank">My new Pro Comp Elite and Honey 2</a><br />
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My latest epiphany is all in the bow shoulder. My arch nemesis. I get along with my bow shoulder less than I get along with my pancreas. If you watch any videos you can always detect a movement that just shouldn't be there. Some days worse than others. But yesterday was gold. I think maybe I use too much back and not enough chest to stabilise the shoulder and being hyper flexible and not strong means the shoulder moves out of line and I hit the arm a lot. So a few ends engaging more chest muscle to keep it still and things seem to be better. Cross fingers for me... I think we have worked it out.. now just need to shoot 3000 good arrows to make it stick and hope for the millionth time that I actually 'got it' and not just think I do :D<br />
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And still making friends with the Carter Honey 2. The Target 3 is officially in the naughty corner until I fix what is broke. And there's no hint of panic shooting the honey. But it's easy to see how much I need to work on as my consistency is poor. There's a lot of work in shooting a hinge well, that you should do with a trigger too, but as I always thought... trigger with no hinge work leads to bad habits. A week before Mexico I shot a comp and missed 3 shots with target panic. So a month later and I'm not flinching at all and my scores are better than in over a year. It's small steps, but I'll take it.<br />
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I can read a lot more Danish than I can speak, but I think the speaking is coming. I can order my bread from the bakery (jeg vil gerne have to frokoststykker) and actually get what I asked for and tell people I don't speak danish and I can navigate a danish recipe without too much help and follow the danish subtitles more and more every day :)<br />
I got as far as 'i brought my own bag' with the self check out at the supermarket before it had a cat and a nice lady came to help. Was quite hard explaining that I didn't want the english version because I need to practice my danish and I know kartofler and rugbrød so getting there :)<br />
We're trying to incorporate more and more danish words. I need to remember to use the danish word when I know it... the worst bit is when I can think of three or four languages for a word...just not the danish one. And I need to learn the money. We found over 300kr in my purse in coins because I can never work out the coins fast enough so I was just using notes :D<br />
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Gym is going great. I'm not pushing too hard because I was constantly sick last year, so baby steps. This is the first time in memory that I've been healthy for a whole month. Just 1-2 hours of cardio on top of shooting and a bit of core and stretching. And after a month my insulin requirements have dropped dramatically which is probably the best test for improved fitness levels, but causing a few issues with hypos. I'm becoming queen of the snack because I can't get through an hour cardio without a hypo any more unless I'm eating before hand and I'm taking less insulin than I was in my first year. My little fingers are full of holes. Feeling like the proverbial pin cushion and slightly evil eating in front of the gym bunnies :D<br />
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Got me some love in the mail. My sister sent me Vegemite, Tim Tams and Tom Yum soup all of which I had to excavate out of the hot chocolate powder that had exploded in transit. My home smelled like chocolate cookies :) And Petra from Germany sent me pocket warmers and an Easter bunny so I'm all set :)... although the vegemite is already running out :( but the chocolate is being carefully hoarded :)<br />
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Getting laughed at by danes for wearing my winter boots on a 9C day. It was evening mind you, so way colder than 9C by then, but maybe the fact that I was in the toasty kitchen standing next to the hot oven and still had 3 snow grade thermals and a jacket on was what got the smile. No I'm really not designed for the cold. Or maybe I'm just really comfy when it's warm :)<br />
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But we have had a few sunny days. Just to tease me and make me start thinking I don't need snow grade thermals today....<br />
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And my hon sent me flowers to make me smile :) So I'm off to gym with said smile :)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-82670690032466554452014-04-03T00:08:00.000-07:002014-04-03T00:08:12.452-07:00Mexico!!3 weeks in Denmark and I still haven't had time to unpack. The Damsbo boys wrestled an enormous wardrobe up 5 flights of stairs so that I had somewhere to store my one suitcase of stuff... It probably says something about Danes vs Aussies... I'm pretty sure the average Aussie would have taken one look at the wardrobe and decided it looked great on the ground floor... I know I would have :D Totally love my new wardrobe and owe the boys cake for finding it, hauling it up 5 flights of stairs and then putting it back together :)<br />
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On to Vejle - read royal clusterf#$k. So jumpy I couldn't hit the target by the last end. Indoor 50m and I couldn't hit the barn door, standing inside, with the doors shut. Soooo depressing. And we spent 3hrs standing in the cold to be told that the matchplay was cancelled...which I was happy about so you can see I was not having a good day. The only highlight was going home to drown my sorrows in left over Thomas' birthday cake (my first attempt at lagkage using Mormor Edel's recipe) and spending the evening in the indoor range trying to fix what broke.<br />
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So a few hundred arrows and a few days with the Carter Honey 2 later...and we still know it isn't Target panic. I can shoot with a hinge just fine (just doesn't group as well as my trigger -when it's working). And a few hours shooting with a hinge seems to help with the trigger. You can see how maybe my knees were somewhat weak at the prospect of getting on a plane to Versus Mexico with the worlds crappiest score behind me and zero confidence in my shooting. But I was flying with my guy and we made it to Guadalajara with our bows in one piece and it was about 25C when we landed after sun down. What's not to like?<br />
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I spent the practice day shooting hinge only, catching up with the other internationals and had tacos for lunch at the local hole in the wall. Good food, good company and good shooting. But a day or two of panic free shooting does not a cure all make. On the day of ranking I shot the practice ends with the hinge until the last end. The wind decided to pick up and my completely untested hinge shooting hit a snag....35 seconds an arrow and a hinge in the wind are not always your friend. Shot the last end with the trigger and had no obvious problems...yay me :) My ranking round was nothing to write about (no pun intended) beyond the achievement of all arrows on target and only one flinch. I ranked 20th with a 656 (if you had seen the shooting 5 days prior you would be more impressed) and enjoyed the day.<br />
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Next day we were sorted into groups of 6 for match play. We shot 5 matches and each match was worth 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. I had 6 points and made the cut in the top 24. But my smile was for the score of 690 (5x15 arrow matches) which was an average of 9.2 per arrow and an improvement on the 9.1 average from the day before. When you're happy to just be hitting the target it is a great thing to improve your average from the ranking, and in the matchplay. Ruben Ochoa arranged a Mexican feast for us that night and we all went to bed fat and happy :)<br />
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Second round of matchplay I maintained my strategy of shooting all practice with the Honey 2 hinge and all scoring with the Target 3 trigger. I shot 704 for 5 matches with a 9.4 average. I only won two matches, but I was pretty happy with the score and made it through the cut to the top 12. Didn't win a single match in the next round, it was a tough draw and I would say it's been a long time since we shot 200 arrows on the competition field (including practice) so I was not disappointed with my day. It was a big turn around in 5 days from missing to 9.4/arrow average. Some battles are bigger wins than others.<br />
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Erika Jones and Linda Ochoa fought it out for Gold the next day and Linda took the match with in shoot off with closest to the centre. Mike Schloesser also won Gold on a shoot off with a closest to the centre call. I'll admit to eating some very tasty tacos while we watched :)<br />
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<a href="http://www.versusmxshoot.com/w/ENG/tournament/2014/results/1925" target="_blank">Versus Results</a><br />
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And now home again. Jet lagged as all get out and freezing my butt off, but happy to be home. Time to finally unpack :)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-54444732458295801082014-03-17T01:52:00.002-07:002014-04-02T09:03:23.939-07:00Down and out in Denmark and that stupid spoon...So moving to Denmark...<br />
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Holy crap we did it!...I miss my kittens.<br />
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It would be a lie to say that moving is an easy and pain free procedure (I really miss my kittens)...and the distance you move seemingly expands the stress and inconvenience exponentially. But here we be... and we're still breathing so I think you could say I made it in one piece. My residence card arrived in the mail today and I am officially legal to work, sleep and sniffle in Denmark.... mostly I'm sniffling with my third bout of cold/flu this year. Either that or it's hay fever and I'm allergic to Danish boys :D<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aarhus</td></tr>
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I'm missing kittens, real peanut butter, vegemite, decent tea, baths, strips for my nifty iBGstar glucose meter, 30C days and my family. Especially the Tyrannosaurus Rex currently posing as my niece all smothered in mulberry juice, looking like a flesh eating zombie, and my nephew who could talk the hind leg off a donkey and already has the skill of cornering pretty girls at parties and telling them boring old man stories (mostly about Gary the crocodile and car crashes that never happened) down to a fine art. And my fat, fluffy kittens who demand smoochies at 5am and can be bribed for affection in return for crunchies. And of course I miss my sister who will be the only person in the room with the same pained look and arched eyebrow as me when someone is being mind bogglingly stupid... some things need no words.<br />
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Shot the Danish National Indoor. Worked my way up to 4th in ranking and got knocked back down to 6th in the last end. Won through to the quarter finals and then lost to Camilla Søemod in the fifth end of set system by a point. Really happy with my shooting. Nothing special in the scores (I shot 568 for the ranking), but I was consistent and didn't fade half way through with exhaustion...so with a cold, jet lag, target panic and very little practice...I'm happy with the progress :) Yay me!<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jl1y9p3ebQ" target="_blank">Danish National Indoors: Match Play Quarter Final</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The drive home from National Indoor (Denmark)</td></tr>
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And now we're moving into the outdoor season. It's been too cold and windy to do much so we've been shooting 50m indoors. I'm really impressed by just how cold it can be inside. Of course the Danes are fine...they're wearing their usual jeans, long sleeve tops, and runners and look comfortable. I'm wearing 3 thermals, ski pants, an electric vest and my winter boots and still need an extra jacket for collecting arrows....looking a bit like the kindergarten children in the snow here... little waddling penguins who can't escape their parents, let alone hungry bull elephant seals, because they're so buried with clothes.<br />
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Target panic is still floating in the background. Not so much target panic as trigger panic. I'm completely panic free with a back tension. It isn't owning me, but it's teasing my mind and spoiling more than the odd shot. I was struggling yesterday which could have been the trigger panic or could have been the shakes from our ice cream and chocolate cake lunch (still wondering how they eat ice cream on a 5C day, let alone with cake for lunch...but well we know danes are a little weird).... and Martin says to relax. So thinking back to a much older post, I recalled a Matrix moment... there is no spoon - bang the trigger went off... stupid spoon. So working on remembering that the spoon, that isn't there, doesn't exist and that seems to be helping. So most of my training right now is in my own head and the only physical stress is moving under a weighty mountain of extra clothes (just walking to the target is an aerobic work out :P). Ironically I don't think training in Denmark is any different to training in Australia for the world outdoor season. Always in Aus we are training in the middle of winter for what is the summer in the rest of the world...so fog, thermals and beanies for training and then 30C+ for the competitions. This next week is thermals and snow gear to practice for Versus in Mexico, where I think it's due to be about 30C.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunday Lunch</td></tr>
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On the diabetes front, I think it's about time I owned my blood sugars. For all the folk who's pancreases work, every 3 months diabetics get a blood test that represents your average blood sugar control for that 3 months. Anything below 7% is considered good. Mine has been a solid 6.7% for over a year. My endocrinologist is a happy camper. Means he doesn't need to do anything. Says he would be out of a job if all his patients were as good as me. I think we can do better. So back into pin cushion mode. I'm blood testing like crazy and taking boosters if I'm out of range. Of course tighter control means you risk more hypos. I've had one every trip to the gym, this last week, which really slows you down and inconveniences your day... and freaks out anyone unfortunate enough to be near by when you fall in a heap. My own stupid fault. I'm just fighting on the food thing. I hate when food and insulin rule my life.... which is retarded. I take up to 8 blood tests a day and between 2 and 7 injections a day. I think my life is well and truly ruled by the needle. We're just arguing about the semantics at this point.<br />
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So gradually I am settling in. Got my man. Got my bow. The rest is just window dressing that we can fluff as needed. No hurry at this stage. Just finding my way and studying danish and game on for Mexico.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-87201982629214573002014-02-26T13:45:00.000-08:002014-02-26T14:07:57.281-08:00Eeeek!So you know how people kill their fish by feeding them too much? Well feeling a bit that way now. My ex's dad used to have these golf balls he called gold fish that looked like they were more unnaturally buoyant than even fish have a right to. Such is the feeling of being loved to death by your family with hourly offerings of cake, schnitzel, wine and donuts, on the off chance that my new home doesn't have food :D Those evil saboteurs of good intentions and fitness classes... but it's food with love, and it could be a long drought before I get home made offerings that match those of my culinarily obsessed family. So I no complain :)<br />
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Shooting has been light on for someone with so much 'free time'....But I've managed a few days in and around the chaos. So hoping my bow isn't a foreign object come the Danish Indoor next week...but I suspect it is a lost cause. Still seeing a little jumpiness creeping in if I don't shoot everyday, but happy with the progress. And even pushups are a little easier this week.</div>
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Packing up my life and squeezing in visits with friends and relatives has proven more frantic than I expected...and gosh I have a lot of stuff! I'm one of those people who watches Hoarders on tv in morbid fascination.. and looking around at all my junk that fits in one room...I wonder how people can do it. I feel suffocated by the sheer volume and I don't own much. So it's been quite cathartic to throw out and sell off and rationalise the rest. A few things have survived the cull despite me trying to be ruthless... My ottoman... maybe just because people call it a poof and I get a giggle every time..Juvenile? Me?..And my hoolahoop.... haven't managed to part with it even though I know it won't get used. It's blue and silver with sparkles...how could I possibly give it away? The magical rediscovery of things long lost or forgotten and the mystification of why on Earth I bought that... or where on Earth did that come from? And that is never fitting in a suitcase!</div>
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In two days I get on a plane and my adventure begins. Are we nervous yet? :)</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-25100902775529994222014-02-18T14:15:00.001-08:002014-02-26T14:09:59.031-08:00Getting my fit on! who's idea was that??Quit my job last week. Packing my bags this week. I'm officially an archery bum until I find a new job in my new home. In the mean time I made a promise to myself to up my shooting and my fitness while I have spare sand in the hour glass and lots of fidget energy to spare.<br />
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Day 5 of being an archery bum. I shot 3 days, went to Barre classes 5 days, up at 5.30am every day, cooked a spectacular meal for my digestively challenged friends and went blackberry picking in my break :)<br />
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Shooting has been great. It's been a long stretch of just easy shooting, working out the target panic and knocking out the kinks. My first challenge is the Danish National Indoor in 3 weeks where I will be competing as a Danish resident for the first time. I don't currently have an indoor range and my indoor bow is in Denmark, so making do with my outdoor setup and shooting 20m on indoor faces. The first thing you notice when you haven't cared about score in a while is how crap your score is, and how much work is involved in just aiming steady. There's lots of theory out there about aim and whether you should or shouldn't and how important it is etc. Some folk will go as far as shooting open rings with no dot in order to relax their focus on aim. I think this is a useful technique for relaxing people, but personally I find it makes me lazier than a cat in front of the fire and when you start chasing those 1-2 points here and there, it's worth going for a dot.<br />
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Weightier issues are afoot. 4 years ago I was wasting away from type 1 diabetes and dropping weight faster than I could change clothes. Once I started insulin, I immediately started gaining weight.<br />
At my strongest and fittest (pre diabetes), I was a solid girl of about 78kg, could run for an hour, was doing very respectable weights in the gym and shooting 60lb with spiral cams and doing it easy. At my lightest and weakest, I was so thin I had to run around in the shower to get wet (53kg), my bow was 45lb (busted down to GTX cams) with all mass weights down to bare minimum, I needed a nap to walk up a flight of stairs and my gym work out was thinking about exercise. Now I have a handle on the whole pancreas thing. My weight is a healthy 66kg and my bow weight a respectable 54lb.<br />
I'm aiming to lean down some body fat, up my muscle mass and get back to 60lb this coming season. I'm focusing on high intensity interval training, daily barrecode (core strength work out) and intermittent fasting (one of the few ways to lean down that science actually supports).<br />
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I feel ready to face a few challenges :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-44933219958071266202014-02-01T22:21:00.000-08:002014-02-26T14:08:22.859-08:00Are you a bully?Are you that person only knows how to make jokes if it is at someone else's expense? Do you always have to put someone down, somehow trying to make yourself look better, by stepping on other people? Or perhaps you are a fan of 'tough love' - if you don't constantly point out someone's faults, who will tell them? Are you the person who hasn't said a single nice thing this week? I've got news for you. You are a bully. You are that person we all know. And sadly, you are the one we secretly don't like as much as our other friends. You are the one we make excuses to avoid spending time with because you are always so mean, as opposed to because we are just too socially retarded to make a time.<br />
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Social media is a fascinating melting pot of how people wish to be seen by the world and most of us alter reality by not posting the fugly photo or by editing our opinions, before we post them, so as not to offend. But the invention of the internet has also given rise to a new level of bullying and having any presence on the net seems to attract it. Anonymity gives courage to the coward and freedom to be as mean as you like and gosh if people aren't judgemental pricks:<br />
'You're a fat bitch.'<br />
'Your boyfriend is going to leave you, b/c you got fat.'<br />
'Lose some weight.'<br />
'You're a skinny bitch.'<br />
'I hate you.'<br />
'You think so much of yourself.'<br />
'You're boring.'<br />
'Lose some weight, you slut.'<br />
'You just want attention.'<br />
'You are so ugly.'<br />
Bla bla bla bla and so on.<br />
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So let's take a look at the average garden variety bully... How sad your life must be, that trying to make other people sad is how you feel good about yourself. How much you must dislike yourself and how unhappy you must be, because the funny thing about secure and happy people is they don't need to be mean to feel good about their world. And the funny thing about being mean is that it actually makes you feel bad. Always saying negative things reflects back on your life and your life is more negative for it. And if you think about a bully you know (and even bullies know another bully), you will realise that you actually don't like them so much. Being mean makes them less likeable. They likely have no genuine friends, if it is always tainted by mean comments...or they have friends who are just like them and like themselves and their friends about as much as they like fungus - grows on you, but are you sure you want it to?<br />
<br />
I would rather be the fat, ugly chick (that I am labelled now and then) that everyone likes than the catwalk model we all detest. I love my friends and they love me and none of them are ever mean. None of them give two hoots if I gain or lose a kilo or if I'm pretty enough. Sounds so simple and logical doesn't it? Your friends are decent human beings? Shocking!<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong... there are people in the world I am incapable of being nice to. That's why they aren't my friends and I don't speak to them unless I can be polite. See what I did there? silence :) that thing that saves your inner jerk from being an outie.<br />
<br />
Real friends don't feel the need to put you down, they support you and make you stronger. So if someone in your life isn't doing that, you know what to do. And if they are an anonymous butt monkey on the internet - well who cares? They're an anonymous butt monkey on the internet, not a friend, so you don't have to care what they think.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-34493942637735998222014-01-25T17:56:00.000-08:002014-02-26T14:08:33.328-08:00Aussie, Aussie, Aussie....Australia Day...<br />
<br />
Okay so now I'm super behind on having anything to say.. but it's been a couple months so probably time I broke the golden silence and chattered away for the sake of continuity.<br />
<br />
I'm generally benign about having national days, mostly it's an extra shooting day, but I think they have a purpose and a good one. I think people should have pride in their national identity. And yes everyone's experience of nation is different, but it does include your friends, family, sunny days, uniquely Australian humour, turns of phrase that only we understand (like died in the arse and gob smacked) and lamingtons (cakey, chocolatey goodness).<br />
<br />
So seeing an article on a national lamington bake off...I'm some what incensed by the need to create new fangled versions of a national icon. And for that matter anything that doesn't need fixing. I like the KISS principle. Keep It Simple Stupid. So many things (including archery) don't need to be messed with if they aren't broken. Lamingtons are sponge cake with raspberry jam, coated in chocolate and coconut. It works. Don't mess with it. If you don't like it there are other cakes out there. And the funny thing about filling it with mango, and dipping it in white chocolate, is it isn't a lamington any more. Like putting extra things in the Anzac cookies - leave it alone!<br />
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And I think Australia Day should be approached with the same principle. Don't spend the day ear bashing people about what you hate about our home (yours and mine). Celebrate the things you love about your home. For all that isn't right or perfect, make it a day to remember what you love about life here. Our Prime Minister being an embarrassing knob is hardly news (and an awful lot of you voted for him) and we could perform better on any number of international, ethical and environmental issues.... but they aren't the only things that make Australia home.<br />
<br />
If an Australian guy pays a compliment or buys his girlfriend flowers, she will ask what is wrong and check that the cat is still alive. And we find too many compliments really weird.<br />
'hi, how's it going' means 'hi'. Just 'hi'. And we might look at you funny if you actually proceed to tell us how it's going.<br />
No other nation on the planet thinks Beached Az is funny.<br />
We all know what 'bugger me' actually means and yet no one thinks it's rude to say it.<br />
We cook Xmas turkey on the BBQ and pretty much anything else come to think of it.<br />
Our beaches have sand on them (you need to get out more if you haven't seen what passes for beaches elsewhere)<br />
Our winters have sunny days with blue sky.<br />
Kangaroos - nuff said<br />
We all got condolences when Steve Irwin died<br />
We're one of the most irreverent countries on the planet and super easy going<br />
<br />
So if you don't celebrate Australia Day, no big deal, but maybe it doesn't hurt to appreciate the good things in your life now and then and not just list all the bad. There's more to being Australian than how and when the country was settled and whether or not we have gotten right all the things that no other nation has actually perfected either. So eat real lamingtons, BBQ some dead animal and just enjoy the day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-75372502897051737382013-11-29T21:55:00.000-08:002014-02-26T14:08:45.928-08:00Bite your tongue....Target Panic. Those nasty evil words. Had never thought to have a real dose of it, but this last month I think we are definitely in that zone. So break out the BT, bust down to blank bale and batten down the hatches and Gosh Darn it (I only know one guy who really says gosh and golly... it still makes me smile)!<br />
<br />
Folk might have noticed a little peace and quiet of late. I've been light on shooting and busy with other projects, but up until a week or two ago had been happy with what little shooting I was doing. Then after 3 or more days shooting in super gusty evil nasty winds... I find I'm not trusting my trigger so much. I'm finding I lack the patience to let it go off in good time. And an insidious feeling it is too. As bad as the flinch that starts before you shoot when you've hit your arm one too many times... not too different to trying to give yourself a shot of insulin when the last one hit a nerve. No matter how awesome and gutsy you think you are...some things are just beyond self control and no amount of determination can still the flinch.<br />
<br />
Contributing to this mess was a week in hospital as an out patient in the DAFNE program. This means I spend all day there, but get to go home at night. This is a program for type 1 diabetics. Your insulin, food, exercise and sickness regimes are all overhauled with a view to better blood sugar control. I met lots of other diabetics and got to see how other people cope or don't cope with our disease and I got to see that my world really just isn't so bad. Not that I ever thought it really was...but I had never realised how much this disease devastates some people.<br />
<br />
So I guess I figured everyone approached the world with a gung-ho, take the bull by the horns attitude and I don't think I ever really thought that that attitude makes up for a multitude of sins..in fact I'm sure it gets me into a lot of trouble... But I met a person so devastated by illness that their lives had been on hold and they had never been happy in over a decade. Not just by any illness. But by an illness we share. I met people who in decades of diabetes have never been as well on their good days as I have been in the worst of my 5 yrs. And in every case the difference was distinct in the approach. It isn't like you can produce less than zero insulin so it isn't a matter of anyone being more sick, but rather having the tools and or the attitude to push back. And seeing people obtain the tools to gain control of their lives and smile for the first time in years was as heart warming as it was educational. I am blessed in the education, teaspoon of cement and friends and family that have made life with my dinky pancreas considerably less awful than it could have been. And if I knew the formula to giving people their own in built, come out fighting attitude with a hefty dose of education, I would give it. It seems to have saved me considerable trauma.<br />
<br />
I have the strength and know how to keep George the Evil Pancreas in his place, so no stupid target panic is going to get me down! Enter patience and time and perseverance...and maybe a lot of recurve :) And gradually the jumpiness is getting better. I figure never let these things settle. So all I have worked on the last few weeks is a calm, strong shot. I'm told target panic is never really gone... but neither is diabetes so they can both bite me.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/GYgI3qAYRT0" target="_blank">Target Panic You Evil Beast!</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-6346029239604658592013-09-06T20:45:00.002-07:002014-02-26T14:09:01.365-08:00Spring cleaning time againSo having a lot of self esteem and attitude convos lately...<br />
<br />
So the advice I give to me... and to anyone who cares to listen in no particular order:<br />
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<br /></div>
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Like yourself</div>
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If you don't like yourself why on Earth are you moping about someone else not liking you? They're taking your own advice and assuming if you don't like you, you're probably a jerk. And while we're on the subject - we're all jerks. No such thing as a perfectly nice, never said a bad word about anyone person...and if you've ever met one you know just how creepy they are. Budding serial killers the lot of them. If you really genuinely like everyone, there's something wrong with your wiring. Lots of people are worse than jerks. so getting back to the point, people take cues from other people. If you hate yourself, people will start agreeing with you. Better to be nice to yourself and get a head start on things. And lets face it, if no one else is nice to you someone has to be. May as well start with you.<br />
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Embrace your inner jerk.<br />
Had a laugh when the cat fell off the bed or when that lady walked into the door? Can't bring yourself to like someone even though they seem nice enough? Don't want to do the nice thing today because you just don't want to? These are the hall marks of your inner jerk. We all have one and people who don't admit it are usually the worst kind of jerks (see comment on serial killers). So you really need to make peace with your inner jerk. It's part of who you are and often provides a different perspective to balance an overly fluffy world view. And over flowing self flagellation about the occasional jerk behaviour can lead to negative thinking and erosion of self worth.<br />
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Fake it till you make it.</div>
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I grew up in the teenage social disaster that says everyone will put you down so may as well get there first. Whose stupid philosophy that was I don't know, but lets face it teenagers aren't collectively bright. I'm pretty sure puberty kills brain cells for a few years and walking out of the emo whatevers of the teen years you really need to grow out of the follow the herd and hate yourself behaviour. Frankly it's boring and not terribly useful to you or anyone else. So I decided one day that I would not be that person. I don't like people like that so why should anyone like me if I'm like that. It isn't an overnight success. You don't wake up one day and think you are the best thing since chocolate crackles. You fake it, you lie through your teeth, to yourself and everyone and that includes the mirror. And one day you just don't think you're quite as bad as the squidgey stuff that smells bad on the bottom of your shoe.</div>
<br /></div>
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Everyone is good at something</div>
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And you should not just learn what that is but you should learn to say so. Verbalisation is important in convincing the world and yourself that you are awesome. It's an interesting test with teenage girls - 'tell me you are gorgeous'. Most will go red with embarrassment and refuse to make eye contact. They'll stare at their feet, shrug their shoulders and mumble a negative. very rarely do you meet the teenage girl who can make eye contact and say with a smile 'I am gorgeous'. and I can guarantee you the one who can do it, even if they don't believe it, will be 10 times easier to coach or teach than the one who hunches over, crosses her arms and stares at her belly button lint rather than say 3 little words even in jest.<br />
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Pat yourself on the back</div>
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When was the last time you said yay me? Big or small. Doesn't have to be the discovery of the answer to fossil fuels or reaching the top of Everest. Just I did that and isn't it great! I shot that arrow with perfect technique. I made an awesome dinner. I look pretty in that picture. I didn't drop the f bomb in front of my nephew. I'm a great sister. The list is and should be endless of things you can congratulate yourself on even if it's just something small...assuming you got out of bed today. And if you didn't, well 'I am a most excellent sleeper.'<br />
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It isn't all about you.</div>
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Most people are actually thinking about themselves and how other people think of them rather than spending all that time thinking about you. When you are the last person on the line to shoot and everyone else is waiting, it is easy to think they are all watching you and get nervous. But a little walk through my own head when someone else is the last one on the line and I realise I'm wondering why they made Ivana (5'4") and Albina (6'1") share a spotting scope? Can't be for fairness or practicality. So I'm going with self amusement. I'm checking my blood sugar. I'm rehydrating. I'm wondering if there's enough time to take a pee break and if I can be bothered going even though I know now I had that thought I'm going to be thinking about it all through the next end...damn i shouldn't have had that drink of water. I'm thinking my sock is getting eaten by my shoe. And maybe just maybe I'm sparing a thought for the poor schmuck who's running down the clock and the wind is picking up. So assuming everyone else has that much rubbish in their heads at any one time... it is safe to assume they aren't sparing much brain power on you and what ever it is that you find embarrassing, mortifying or depressing about yourself... they probably didn't notice.<br />
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Own it.<br />
And if 100 people actually did witness your mortification then own it. Embrace it and pay it. I was walking back to my car last week on an especially windy day and my very pretty dress blew straight up. My hands were full of coffees for my next appointment and there wasn't a whole lot to be done for dignity or modesty and as pretty as my knickers were I hadn't chosen them with a view to an audience. So I could shrivel up and die of mortification or I could own it. I had a good laugh, assumed the old man walking to the cardiology clinic was in safe hands if he got a little too much excitement and proceeded to share my laugh with various people throughout my day. Sharing a little mortification is often a good salve for the soul. Such things happen to everyone and either they will commiserate or they will get a laugh too and you made someone else's day a little brighter.<br />
The same goes for screwing up. You screwed up six ways to Sunday. Own it. Admit it. Apologise. Fix it. And then forgive yourself. Anyone who can't forgive you can go and get their own self help advice. Whatever it is, build a bridge and get over it.<br />
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Can't is the same as won't.<br />
Let's assume we aren't talking about achieving the impossible, instead a task set before you that theoretically is possible. The first word of failure is won't. The second word of failure is can't. Try using different words in your own head. Like 'I can' or 'no harm in having a go'. If you say 'can't' or 'won't' then you have already failed. No point wasting your time and everyone else's if you are already making excuses for why you have failed when you haven't even tried yet. Winners try things. Can't win the race you didn't enter.<br />
And you know that putz that says 'not to be offensive, but'... well you all know that nothing good comes from people starting with 'but'. So if you really want to take a step in the right direction, you need to practice not saying but or any equivalents. Like not saying 'um' in a public speech. Saying 'ah' is the same thing and you know you are cheating.<br />
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Procrastination<br />
How often do you put something off? I will clean my room. I will do my homework. I will do my taxes. I will change my attitude. I will be more positive. All great thoughts. All totally pointless if you don't actually follow through. Like the race you didn't enter, the room you didn't clean and the attitude you didn't change leave you in the same state of unchanged. In order to change something you have to not just decide you want to, you actually have to do it. And the best place to start is with a goal. Small goals are fine. But goal you must have. I've heard a few sayings along the lines of if you don't know where you are going it doesn't matter how you get there. I think more importantly if you don't know where you are going it doesn't matter if you don't get there. Where is the incentive to go in the first place? And if you know where you are going, but don't plan how to get there... that's called lost people. L O S T. For all those people who don't need directions or maps and wind up in weird places - this one is for you. If you decide to be a positive person and the next words out of your mouth start with but or can't or won't...you might need to rethink your strategy. Your room doesn't clean itself and neither does your mind.<br />
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Avoid the negative Nancy<br />
That person who never says a positive thing. No encouragement passes their lips. They never make a joke that isn't putting someone down. They always give voice to the hole in your plan and always say I told you so if the plan goes awry and never offer a hand up when you fall. The glass is half empty and they're the person who drank the other half. Remind me why exactly you spend time with this person? And if this person is you, re read this blog post from the start.<br />
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And lastly, be nice. Be nice to yourself and be nice to other people and other people and yourself will be nice back. Everyone could use someone nice in their life, be that person for someone else and maybe someone will be that person for you. Better yet, hedge your bets and be nice to a few people.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-72927572595410943632013-07-13T01:11:00.000-07:002013-07-13T01:17:46.962-07:00You don't say...So on the roller coaster that is my life there was no time to write and so much to say and then you are in that moment between heart beats and all is silent and not a single syllable comes to mind. So I'll apply my usual tactic and just go BLAH on the page and cross fingers something intelligent can be found in the fluff that comes from my little brain :)<br />
<br />
Got sent a link from a friend today, while he was shamelessly asking for a plug for his new athlete page <a href="http://t.co/qXVN8fRmji">http://t.co/qXVN8fRmji </a>(that I'm shamelessly plugging for him now and mine while I'm at it <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Erika-Anear/539989942706093">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Erika-Anear/539989942706093</a>...<br />
and Martin's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Martin-Damsbo/154436418077850?fref=ts">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Martin-Damsbo/154436418077850?fref=ts</a><br />
and Ivana's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ivanabuden10?fref=ts">http://www.facebook.com/ivanabuden10?fref=ts</a>).... but he sent another link I mean to say...<br />
<br />
The other was a talk by a doctor (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMhLBPPtlrY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMhLBPPtlrY</a>) who admitted to feeling contempt for a diabetic patient and then developed insulin resistance himself. It is a good speech and well delivered and offers a perspective that we could all afford to see. While I'm not sure I agree whole heartedly with the science and philosophies discussed, I think everyone should know what it is like to have a chronic disease and have not just your friends and family and colleagues think you did something to deserve it, but your doctor too. I doubt there is a diabetic (type I or II) out there that hasn't heard 'did you eat too much sugar?' or 'what did you do?' or 'if you just ate right', at some point in their lives. My favourite lately has been 'surely you have gotten the hang of it by now' from perfectly healthy individuals who have seen a doctor less times in their life than I have in a week and feel somehow superior because in the advent of developing a life long illness they will over come the disease that baffles scientists and doctors and millions of patients alike, in an instant, and never make such silly mistakes. And you smile and make some inane and polite response and hope the homicidal eyeball twitch isn't giving away what you really want to say.... something like 'I'm so glad you felt the need to offer your scientifically make believe advice because it makes my life of illness and needles so much more bearable and I really appreciate the helpful and compassionate way you accuse me of hypochondria when my body is failing me.'... something like that, but maybe with a lot more bad words.<br />
<br />
Of course we could all always do better. But sometimes you are sick because you are sick, and sometimes life handed you lemons and sometimes life handed you lemons and then stepped on you like a bug and sometimes maybe, just maybe you could have avoided it...but it's a particularly bumptious acquaintance that fails to realise this information after the fact is going to make them about as popular as a fart in a space suit. Nobody likes the know it all with hind sight.<br />
<br />
Not to mention the purse lipped suggestion that maybe insulin should be injected in the toilet instead of the dining room...because that's the cleanest place to be giving yourself a needle and you have so much in common with back alley junkies in train station bathrooms. Yes I did hear this just the other day from a very well meaning woman. And I didn't step on her toe because ignorance is a disease and while squishing her toes will make me feel a smidgeon better, it won't cure her. I'm quite sure the restraint made my homicidal eye twitch worse. You know the look cats get when you stick silly hats on them...<br />
<br />
I think I put off writing that for a while because I was feeling a bit 'stab people with forks' about some things and I'm working hard on my positive attitude. But I think too it actually clears it out of the system if you just say it out loud and I wonder if ignorance is allowed to perpetuate because no one ever says anything to change it. I make no secret of my disease because for some reason it makes so many people uncomfortable and quite frankly if I can live with it the rest of the world can survive knowing I live with it. I once heard a particularly heinous cow say 'we don't talk about people's conditions' and with that one sentence made someone else's disease a taboo topic that people should be embarrassed and ashamed about. I wanted to stomp on her toe too.<br />
<br />
But like I was saying - positive attitude. Let's talk about archery instead :) Turkey was a good trip.<br />
<br />
OMG I totally forgot about the complete fuzznut I got stuck next to flying from Sydney to Abu Dhabi. Pause the positives! So the gentleman, and I use the term in it's loosest sense, did that oafish 'I need to prove I'm a man' thing and sat so sprawled out that he's taking up half of my seat and half of the lady's on the other side of him. And he was vertically challenged so not like he needed much room. And then proceeds to touch my leg through 10 hours of a 15 hour flight. I tried smiling politely and moving my leg, I tried pushing his hand away, I tried telling him not to touch me, and in the end I tried yelling loudly enough for the pilot to hear 'stop f***ing touch me!' And then got an 'I wasn't doing anything' look. Just a bit of word from the wise to the desperate and dateless...touching strange women on airplanes is not historically the best way to acquire companionship. I know such graceless rejection must be truly shocking, but if that is the best action you're getting I suggest you go back to basics...try a new pick up line and maybe work on your personal hygiene. I hear they do wonders with soap, deodorant and toothpaste these days.<br />
<br />
So positives!! Turkey was a good trip :) There's cake, kittens, archery, photosynthesising and shooting all in walking distance of the hotel. What's not to like :)<br />
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<br />
I was disappointed in my ranking round and I'll admit to having a behind the scenes cry about it. I've been shooting so well and so much stronger and I just couldn't do it when it counted. And I struggled with my blood sugar all day which was the real heart breaker. Just feeling like I'm never going to get it right when I need to and wondering if it is really holding me back or if I'm making excuses to fail as so many suggest, when really I should be celebrating the improvements that got me there in the first place.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTK-WeJX9_A">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTK-WeJX9_A</a><br />
<br />
Matchplay against Colombia's (once Slovenia's) Maja Marcen was, as in Shanghai, a strength and a disappointment. I shot my best arrows and let myself down with one arrow. Came down to a one arrow shoot off in the end and Maja shot a 10 to my 9, but the disappointing arrow was a 6 earlier in the match. I struggled with that arrow and thought I was out of time so shot when I really should have let down and started again. Every archer on the planet has shot one of those so I can forgive myself for poor judgement under matchplay nerves when I recall it is only the second match I have shot in a year. Australia needs matchplay practice, and despite the elite archers saying so since matchplay became the international standard, even the National Championships does not include matchplay.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFcK2vbfmFY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFcK2vbfmFY</a><br />
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And that was me once more on holidays and training and playing tourist.<br />
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<br />
We saw a clash of the titans again with Denmark versus USA for the gold medal match in teams with Denmark finally taking gold. And Patrick Laursen from Denmark taking down Georg Dollinger from Austria in the gold medal individual match. Paddy wowed the crowds the day before putting down a perfect round against crowd (and my) favourite Martin Damsbo in the semi finals.<br />
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<br />
And perhaps a more notable match because of their history was Martin shooting the bronze medal match against Braden Gellenthien. Like the Danish/USA teams matches, this match seems to occur regularly. Braden decided to up the stakes by discovering 14 strands on his cable where broken under the roller guard less than an hour out from their match and lacking a back up bow on hand he borrowed Martin's for the event. Martin took the match with some solid shooting and the guys put in a good show of friendship and sportsmanship for the crowd.<br />
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But a bigger smile for Sara Lopez as the face of that first big win taking a gold medal for Colombia with the 3rd leg of World Cup and World Games coming to her home country next. It's quite something to see pure enjoyment on the face of the new comer to the world stage. A very cool reminder of why we do what we do :)<br />
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Returning home was smooth sailing until I reached home and discovered my bow and clothes hadn't even made it onto the first plane. And then began the merry go round of phone calls trying to find out where my bag was. Which might have gone smoother if the first 4 people I spoke to hadn't been looking for a duffle bag. At the end of every call I left a description of my bow case and at the beginning of every call I spent some time explaining that it wasn't a duffle bag. Including sending them a photo of the bag. They finally decided it was a surfboard (because archery gear looks so similar) when they said 'well no wonder we couldn't find it if it wasn't a duffle bag!' and then wasted another few days looking for a surfboard bag. You don't need childhood traumas when you have such wonderful lost baggage staff :P<br />
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Thankfully my bow case arrived in tact and in time for The National Archery Series. This growing initiative was started by Urban Archery with a mind to addressing our lack of matchplay in Australia. And just a few weeks post Turkey I got to shoot some matches and put in a solid performance ranking 6th and finishing 4th. I even managed to shoot a 60. It was a great day to shoot, great day with friends and just a nice boost to put in some respectable arrows for a full day of shooting. I cannot claim to have shot better outside of practice in over a year.<br />
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So I'm patting myself on the back and saying 'oh look I can do it' :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-59901764102365761922013-05-22T03:43:00.000-07:002013-05-22T04:10:06.919-07:00Maybe shoot me instead...So still walking the line of anything that can go wrong will go wrong. I spent a week in Launceston for work staying in the biggest rathole I've ever seen - Hotel Launceston. Not only does it look like the kind of rat hole where junkies die in the corridors and dodgy 3rd rate hit men get what's coming in SVU, but it operates like one too. Keeping in mind this was not my choice of hotel, but where I ended up when my booking elsewhere got lost in the never never and I had to make last minute arrangements.<br />
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It might seem petty, but I would like to point out to the hotel proprietors that toast and juice does not a European Breakfast make. The only power points to plug in the 'European' toaster were nice and close to the ancient smoke detector so my breakfast was announced loudly with a not so charming serenade that only stopped with the waving of towels and opening of doors somewhat reminiscent of days long ago living in rathole rentals where the smoke alarms only work when the toaster is in use but make nary a whisper when black billowing smoke fills the apartment.<br />
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Post breakfast remains sat on their trays in the dark dodgy corridors for two days providing ample leavings for the rats that I'm sure were not starving with no evidence of cleaning staff to be found until my last day when I was well past caring.<br />
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But the following week my world looked up and my hon (Martin Damsbo) came to Australia for some pre world cup practice. Our friend Sherry Gale (Australian 2013 Silver Medalist) also came down for a catch up. The night they rocked in we had 96km winds and rain and we all speculated on what one does with oneself in Launceston when the archery weather is not just crappy but revolting. But true to Launnie form we woke to blue skies and not a breath of wind for the next week. Martin shot a new Danish record (710@50m) and the less said about my shooting the better, but I learned a lot and got some much needed practice in.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSNu7XlWLH4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSNu7XlWLH4</a><br />
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We flew into Shanghai a day earlier than the rest and had the practice field to ourselves for a few hours before we were swimming in Koreans... gosh there were a lot of them. My ranking round was a horror and possibly the worst I have shot in competition. Martin shot a repeat of his Danish record (smarty pants :P) and the Danish and Australian teams accounted for themselves respectably. I shot great in the matchplay and would have taken the first match if I hadn't left my brain at home and shot a 9 on the wrong target.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken from <a href="http://www.archery.org/">www.archery.org</a></td></tr>
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Martin sailed through his matches with ease including defeating Reo Wilde in the semi finals for a spot in the Gold Medal match and perhaps the most notable match of the day was Aussie Taylor Worth vs Brady Ellison with Taylor taking his 4th win in a row against the USA favourite. Much as I think Brady is a complete lovely, it's a bit awesome watching Taylor take down this titan of archery fame, match after match. Everyone loves an underdog.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taylor Worth</td></tr>
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And while sensible people in the world think being on holidays rocks... in the archery world it means you shot crap and have joined the spectators for the rest of the comp. So I spent a week kicking myself, wishing I was competing in the nasty polluted rain with the rest, training every chance I got and playing support crew to my man and anyone else who needed a gofer... and maybe getting in a shopping trip or two - cheerfully getting cheated by vendors left and right but walking away thinking I had a bargain which signifies that very best sort of deal where everyone wins or at least thinks they did... and then realising you just spent an hour bargaining over $2 and feeling a little bad that you didn't pay more.<br />
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At the finals the Aussie men placed 4th in the bronze medal match and it was grand to see green and gold on the line. Perhaps a good sign for the coming world target :)<br />
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and much pride watching Martin take Silver for Denmark against Braden Gellenthien in the Gold medal match.<br />
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Now home again with a new resolve and 3 weeks before World Cup 2 in Turkey. Am I prepared for this years cup season? Probably not. But it has been a long time since I was good enough to qualify and you need to get your feet wet again at some point.<br />
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There's an awful lot of losing that goes into winning and I figure that sooner or later I will have done my share :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-71743619544158976892013-04-06T18:52:00.000-07:002013-04-06T19:20:31.918-07:00Someone should shoot that prick Murphy and his law...I'm somewhat frazzled of late...So my hon says to me 'write a list of everything that stresses you, so we can work them out one by one'...so I'm writing you all an epic :D<br />
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Maybe it's the endless run of miserable luck...Nationals was my worst ever. My stomach was killing me for two days (suspect water supply), my blood sugar was all over the show like a mad woman's breakfast and I just couldn't hit the proverbial barn side, standing inside with the doors shut. I was called in to hospital to have my eyes re-checked after my diabetic retinopathy screen wasn't good so spent the week stressing that diabetes is making me go blind and I've only had it 4yrs. They nicely reassured me that my diabetes was fine, it was the suspected melanoma on my right retina that was worrying them... and it took 4 specialists to decide it's just a freckle and not cancer and phrases like 'I'm pretty sure it's just a freckle' to strengthen my faith in medical expertise... and of course I barely have a freckle to my name so when I finally get one it can't be somewhere normal like on my nose or a cute one on my butt cheek... no no... it has to be on my retina...Of course...why didn't I think of that?<br />
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I got bitten by six jack jumpers (read freaking big bitey ants) which stings something like being stabbed 80 times with an ice cold insulin needle at practice then spent a night debating whether I needed an ambulance when my lips went numb and my limbs went weak - a sure sign of extremely low blood sugar, but my meter read so high I'm surprised it didn't freak and tell me to go to hospital too... turns out I'm allergic to ant bites... go figure.<br />
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The clinical meeting I had organised months prior almost didn't happen when venue, speaker and speech all went AWOL at various points prior to said meeting...My previous week had already been so crap that discovering I had left my spotting scope and tripod behind in Canberra really didn't elicit more than a 'meh' instead of the usual string of healthy epithets one should expel on discovering the loss of close on a thousand dollars worth of gear... by this stage you would need a tsunami and a plague or two to impact on my mega run in with Murphy (that putz..)<br />
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And between all of that I am living in hotels. I have two world cups to train for, but work keeps me busy enough to make practice a mythical beast. I've lost a cable guard...best not ask. My arrows need refletching. My bow needs a new string. My kittens might have fleas and my mother who pointed it out doesn't believe they might be hers. My bedroom floor is MIA... I'm holding out it's just missing and not beyond hope.<br />
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And my nephew thinks that the chocolate bunny I bought him for Easter is a Tyrannosaurus Rex... not that that is a problem...but when even chocolate bunnies aren't going right...<br />
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So me, my de-flead kittens and my coffee are going back to bed...wake us up when you've shot that prick Murphy, run him over, backed up to be sure and scattered his ashes in the Derwent river that is apparently so manky you'll get mercury poisoning from eating the fish...Or maybe we all had a bad week and everyone dumping ashes in the river is biting us on the butt....<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-37059016509185421772013-02-24T01:44:00.001-08:002013-02-24T04:01:20.293-08:00Silence is golden and clowns are creepy...As much as I talk and speak my mind, I often get in trouble with folk for not having anything to say. I guess I like to speak when there is something to say and then it's oft hard to make me stop... but when one writes a blog, I suspect sometimes we're supposed to say stuff even when we don't have two words to rub together... so sometimes filling the silence is an obligation rather than a nervous habit and I'll apologise if the silence was golden.<br />
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Got to play on a high ropes course for a morning. The gentleman taking the course asked what I felt about it before we had started. And I told him I had nothing to say until I was standing on the edge of the high wire. Can't offer an opinion on how I feel about something I haven't tried before and feeling no trepidation with regards to heights generally, I really had no thoughts to offer.<br />
So now I've completed a high ropes course and have a few interesting scrapes to show for it... I can say I'm not afraid of heights, I'm not a fan of safety harnesses that cause the worlds worst wedgies and adrenalin rushes mess with my blood sugar and not in a good way... so lets not try an activity I have an actual phobia of like running down dark corridors filled with clowns... I suspect George the dinky pancreas might object.<br />
They claim such activity can help high stress situations like matchplay finals... I'm expressing my doubts at this point. No offence to Ron my new bow hunter friend who would likely beg to differ... but having your blood pound because you're on a high wire and some putz is jumping around enough to make the whole 10m high run shake that little bit extra... somehow just wasn't the same as the self doubt game we can play in matchplay. On the wire, no matter how exciting it might all be, you know that the harness will catch you if you fall and you'll probably enjoy the rush... nothing catches you when you shoot a bad arrow except the opposition shooting a worse one. So I guess I'd rather just learn confidence in my game and preparation.... I'm not so far seeing the similarity to voluntarily walking a high wire...maybe we should have tried the creepy clowns....<br />
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Regardless of clowns, I'm once more heading to Shanghai for World Cup in May. Hoping to see the bf come for a visit leading up to Shanghai and we will fly up together. This time representing different countries :) Being Danish team captain was all fun and stuff but much rather get to play. Shooting arrows is what we live for after all. Super excited for May to get here already :)<br />
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And a crack at coaching for the first time in ages last week.... Just a small group. Coaching is a funny beast, you spend a lot of time telling people to do something they already know they need to do, but for some humanly bizarre reason none of us do. How many times do you hear or say 'I know I need to work on that'.... So one has to wonder how awesome we could all be if we just did the things we already know need doing.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-64826121773166540992013-01-14T11:57:00.002-08:002013-01-17T13:06:09.903-08:00Danish Xmas round 2 :)Sitting on my bow cases to get the zips to close and racing out the door to rush to the airport to get the stack of 'don't forget' texts from various parties about things I had of course forgotten. Including spare arrow rests, peeps, nocks, socks, bathers, X-rays.... and starting to wonder what exactly I had packed. Oh yeah! Lots of thermals...lots and lots of thermals. You might recall I am allergic to being cold.<br />
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Scored the much dreaded middle seat the whole 24hrs from Melbourne to London and the not exactly hygienic oaf who hasn't yet discovered toothpaste or personal space in the aisle seat next to me. But immediately discovered that my single serve companion to the right was a chatty girl from Berlin with a shared obsession with spicy food. All in all a pleasant trip including a dash across Changi Airport in Singapore to get some chilli noodles in our 45min lay over and the same in Heathrow before we parted company to our separate destinations where chilli was likely as hard to find as sunny days.<br />
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And oh thank the powers that be for showers at the Heathrow One World lounge. I'm sure many think that first meeting at the airport after being apart for 4 months is a romantic concept all round. And on the bare face of things it is. But it's substantially more romantic if one can achieve a shower, tooth brush and change of clothes before hand.<br />
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So I rolled into Copenhagen, reasonably refreshed and finally got my welcome hug without the stress of 40hrs of transit filth to worry me :). We took a side trip to deliver a bow to a famous someone or rather who gave thanks with some very drinkable Champagne and then drove to Fyn for the night. And then a little archery before driving to Berlin the next day. Coming from Australia it's a bit weird to drive only 7hrs and find yourself in another country...at home it doesn't even take you to the next state. Or rather 7hrs from home would likely put me in Bass Strait or well on my way to Antarctica.<br />
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Berlin was more about seeing the Xmas markets and having fun. I only had my backup bow with me and it wasn't exactly tuned and jet lag is always fun. So no expectations - just a chance to see another city I've never been to, catching up with friends and a great weekend with my guy :) The Xmas market was lovely, the Vienna Schnitzel was tasty and the shooting was terrible, but we had fun.<br />
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjdDzxJa-sg<br />
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Rocked back into Aarhus and Logan and Kevin totally came through for me and my new toys arrived just before Xmas. I even got to shoot them before we left on holidays. Got a shiny new Pro Comp Elite in black, Spyder in Real Tree Snow, some new Pro Tours and indoor arrows and clothes. So thanking Santa and the boys from Hoyt/Easton for my presents.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sWjY7Ht0lE</span><br />
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Then had to put the bows away for amber hunting, kite flying and snow angels on the beach in Blåvand. Amber, I am told, is easily found anywhere along the West Coast of Scandinavia. Just look where there's seaweed.... Well I have to say that Blåvand was the most pristine beach I have seen in a while and finding a piece of seaweed was not going to be easy. On our second day there was a snow storm and it was pretty hard to find your own hands in front of your face... but we did manage to fly a kite (don't ask). After 3 days we did find amber... about the size something so tiny I can't think of anything that small... but we found it!!!<br />
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Xmas was the anticipated rounds of pork, duck, potatoes, brown sauce, risalamande and marzipan.... about triple my usual insulin intake :D, and real burning candles on the Xmas tree to which my first thought was 'doesn't that cause house fires?' and the answer was 'sometimes'.<br />
It was super pretty though :)<br />
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Spent the next week in physio, gym and shooting. Working on my left side which is very weak and even getting insoles in my shoes to correct my balance. Got my Pro Comp Elite all tuned up for indoor and attempted to get a brief tune for outdoor in the 50m indoor range. The Pro Comp has a better balance than the Contender Elite and is a lovely bow to shoot.<br />
Also roughly set up the Spyder so we could go and shoot a little 3D on the weekend. Didn't have pins or a 3D scope so it was more just play. Lots of 'I can see above, below and around the scope but when I look through it just disappears'. It was great fun though and a stunning field course. I really wish I had taken more photos. We had some video, but it just didn't do the place justice.<br />
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Back in Copenhagen we went to the movies to see Jack Reacher. It's all in English just with Danish subtitles. But a cinema full of Danes watching a movie is kind of entertaining... the whole cinema laughs at completely different things to an Australian audience and they're quite obsessed with candy. And we scored a parking fine despite obeying all the appropriate road signs. Apparently there is no such thing as free parking in Copenhagen even when the street signs say it's free.<br />
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My final shoot in Denmark was Nytårspokalen in Copenhagen. We got a little practice on the Saturday and one of the ladies brought home baked rolls for lunch which was just a bit awesome :) and I met some of the local archers. During the comp I was trying to persist with both eyes open despite the awful light and shot a terrible first round. Gave up and shot with one eye shut for the second and the score improved dramatically. Apparently being able to see the target helps :). I ranked about 5th, made it through the 1st match and lost the second match by a point shooting about my current average. Had a beer with the Norwegian boys before they headed home (okay they had beer and I had hot chocolate) and then it was time to go back to our rather odd little hotel (Hotel Fox) and relax before my long trip home the next day.<br />
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So now home again. Bow tuned, archer tuned (if a little jet lagged) and back to work. Happy New Year everyone :)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-10396509134418223072012-11-16T04:04:00.000-08:002012-11-16T04:30:01.203-08:00To-may-to, To-mah-to...Perspective is a fascinating beast.<br />
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Have you ever heard a thought so nonsensical that you tilted your head as if the angle of your brain might make it seem more sensible? Kind of like a dog does when you talk to them 'I have no idea what you're saying but if I tilt my brain maybe it will be in dog language'. I've tried tilting my head... it doesn't work any better for me than it did for my dog. I'm sure the owner is convinced it was an insightful and meaningful expansion of grey matter. It's all about perspective.<br />
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The folk who ask for your opinion and then disagree with the answer because despite their acknowledged and complete ignorance, they know better. Their reason for asking in the first place, when they apparently think they know the answer, likely makes more sense in their own heads. Perspective.<br />
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My cats see the paper bag under my bed as prime real estate to be fought over at every opportunity. Highest props go to the fat furry butt that gets to grace said real estate. I see it as the most annoying noise on the planet at 4am and a reason to put fat furry butts outside...and maybe it's a bit cute...only a bit...<br />
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One of my friends sees cooking as a torture designed by tight arses who won't buy her dinner and cook worse than she does. My boyfriend sees it as a step to getting fed. I see it as my fav way of showing how much I love my friends and family. I would much rather bake you a cake or cook you dinner. I suck at presents.<br />
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A hunter sees archery as a vehicle for hunting. A long bower sees it as a link to the past. Some folk don't see the bow at all. I see it as head space and calm. Many see only a target and maybe we all try and fit things to what we want rather than what is truly offered. It's all about perspective and sometimes no amount of head tilting will change the way we see things.<br />
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But this is my world, so I make the rules. It's my perspective.<br />
It isn't about the coffee cup being half empty or half full. It's about the caffeine people. So clear head, perfect score, great physique, awesome shot, dead deer...it's all archery to me.<br />
Just shoot the damn arrow.<br />
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And on a side note...<br />
Waiting on a Pro Comp Elite and a Spyder. Everyone cross fingers they arrive before I head to Berlin in mid December. I'm hoping to have enough time to set up the PCE for Berlin, but as Martin put it I'll be fresh off a 40 hour trip and jet lagged as all hell so maybe getting a new bow set up is the least of my worries :D But he's the one driving us from Denmark, so me and my jet lag can sleep on the way there.<br />
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Life has been busy and as usual getting in the way of things I want to do so not a whole lot of shooting going on. I have posted a new video with a view to trying something new. A little show and tell of good technique compared to bad. I'm hoping it will be a useful vehicle for showing what really can't be explained in with words alone.<br />
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHXbfqDVUZw<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-10521834787186987532012-10-12T02:02:00.000-07:002012-10-12T02:02:20.411-07:00More of a challenge...It's the weirdest concept. How often I hear someone say 'I shoot (insert appropriate bla bla here) because it is more of a challenge'. But they aren't World Champions, they aren't National Champions... They're average... Often below average achievers.
So how does one define a challenge? When there is a bench mark and you haven't gotten there one would suppose one is still 'challenged'.<br />
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In Barre they often say if you find this easy then try this and challenge yourself. Archery hasn't struck me as any different. The guys who hold the world records don't say oh that's easy I give up... They usually step up and push for the next challenge. Someone asked Clint Freeman what he would do if he shot 1440 and he said he would probably complain it wasn't a perfect X count... May be just a rumour..I've never asked Clint if it was true, but it sounds good :)<br />
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And often the one's who say this bow is more challenging than that... Never achieved all that high with either... Medals in a division of one or where the level is so poor as to make amateur an exaggeration. Or backyard braggarts who can shoot a legendary score in their own company, but never seem to pull it out when it counts.
Always gives me a giggle when some braggart as naive as any brash child steps up and shoots a ten first arrow at ten metres and announces 'this is easy!'. Oh child let me show you the error of your ways...imagine the Olympic sprinter had given up running after winning their first race and so never makes the Olympics... How many wannabes became never was-es after announcing 'it's too easy'. So easy they never achieved anything.<br />
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So I say step up or shut up. You get to say it's easy when you have achieved all there is to achieve. Before that you're making excuses and seeking the easy option where you don't feel pressured to show achievement because it's 'harder'...otherwise you're doing it because you just enjoy that option more and are too spineless to stand by your choice.
I don't find much easy. I'm smart but not that smart. I'm coordinated but not that coordinated. I find everything presents challenges if you want to be good.<br />
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So glad I'm a girl. I get to shoot because I like shooting and don't need to make excuses for it :)
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-27090260739690913342012-10-01T13:17:00.001-07:002012-10-06T18:25:08.880-07:00She's so lucky. Yeah me and Brittany.I heard a thing the other day...'you're so lucky'. I've heard this before and one has to wonder... am I?<br />
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Now don't get me wrong, my life is pretty awesome....My family loves me, I'm well educated, my boyfriend is cuter than a bug's ear and the nicest guy I ever met, I like my job, I've won a few gold medals and shot a few records in my chosen sport, I haven't had a pimple since I was a teenager, my friends are great people and I'm not ugly. Who could complain?<br />
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But is it lucky? I adore my family, I studied hard, I strive to be a good person, I work hard days and long hours, I practice archery as much as I am able, I make effort on my appearance and I try to be a good friend. Is that all just luck? Can I drop the ball and stop trying and keep all this luck? Will my job just do itself and I'll still get paid? If I spent every cent on cigarettes and alcohol would my savings plump themselves up? If I sleep instead of studying all night will the knowledge just manifest between my ears at will?<br />
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Well I already know I can't miss practice and expect to hit the target and when I don't study I fail exams. And I know that peppermint tea and wishes won't make my pancreas work (no joke some well meaning nut job tried to tell me this in earnest once... said if I still died it was because I didn't want the tea to work strongly enough...obviously, why didn't I think of that?)...I know I'll get fired if I don't rock up to work, and the government campaign - 'Every cigarette is doing you damage' is less effective on me than 'every cigarette costs a few dollars that you could use to buy some new shoes' (and shoes don't smell half as bad)....And if you don't treasure your friends and look after them... one day you just don't have any.<br />
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And if I'm so damn lucky, did it run out when God was handing out pancreases (or is that pancrei?). Hands up who would trade a gold medal or two for their slightly used but fully functional pancreas? Some might view diabetes as less than lucky. Do I run around pointing at random people and accusing them of being lucky because they can drink the maple syrup? Well maybe somedays when I think I'm being funny, but I think I have better things to do with my time than coveting pancreases and cursing the lucky bastards who have good ones. Unlike grass which may now and then prove greener (but just as likely not) other pancreases are almost always in better nick than mine and the wanting of them improves me none.<br />
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So I call shenanigans on 'luck'. I don't know anyone that I would call lucky. People earn their 'good luck' with hard work. The crappy thing about bad luck is that it's a lame excuse. Everyone has their lot in life. And no matter how crap you think yours is there is always someone who got shafted worse who probably complains less.<br />
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And apparently luck isn't doing me any favours today. No practice for two weeks and a week in Thailand and I can't hit the proverbial standing inside with the doors shut. I think by accident I should have hit more gold. But I also think the bow shoulder is holding :) and if you have paid any attention in the last 4 years, you will know that is worth a smile.<br />
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Bangkok was a melting pot of corruption and pollution. We got kidnapped by taxi drivers, cheated by restaurants and rained on everyday and I'm pretty sure that wasn't just water falling from the sky and at least one of the boys came running out of a massage looking a little wild about the eyes when the massage came with more than expected. But a flotilla of 65 tuk tuks through the city and a trip to one of the royal temples would rate pretty highly on my list of must dos. And chilli... lots of chilli :) most awesome ingredient ever besides chocolate.<br />
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And now I'm home (well in my usual hotel), the air is clean, the rain is water and the sky is actually blue. Shenanigans or not there are worse kinds of luck.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04670956113927038237noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2805194821026313691.post-73937020968800910412012-09-10T15:00:00.000-07:002012-09-10T15:00:01.451-07:00Home again, home again jiggety jig....and spring cleaning it is :)So home... where the heart is...well not really...that's on the other side of the planet lately enjoying way better weather than me... home is where my bed and my kittens are so close enough I guess :) and I get to be home for a whole week and a half.<br />
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So stage one of this important and rare event (being home) is barre class, treadmill and food diary. We're off to Thailand for work in 10 days and you can never work out enough pre bikini opportunity. Oh please let there be opportunity to lounge and photosynthesize! I spent my summer doing archery stuff and freezing my butt off in deepest darkest Denmark all in the name of love... what silly creatures humans be... and will likely spend my next summer doing the same...all I need now is new shoes to match my party dresses for conference and we're prepared for Bangkok and warm weather :)<br />
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Stage two is conquering the bows... my recurve is much neglected. So shot a bit of recurve on the weekend. Have ordered a new Titan recurve scope and a clicker extension so I can play with draw length a little more. Only shot maybe 40 arrows, but technique and strength were not as bad as expected.<br />
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The weather was heinous and foul so I shot a grand total of 4 ends outside with compound. Still have the odd shot through paper that can't be explained, but otherwise the bow seems good. So going to ignore the random unexplainable paper tear and drag out bow number two for an overhaul. It's quite possible that the random shot is purely my lack of arrow fitness biting me on the butt. So arrow fitness first. We will address fine tuning again when my fitness is up. You'll have to excuse the latest vid as a bit random. I gave my mum a lift home from the archery field on my way to indoor and managed to leave my trigger and finger sling on the table... hence using my Atension for the day and one of the shoelaces from my runners for a sling :D and occasionally wondering what on Earth I did with my spare Target 3, for once not in my handbag.<br />
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Rant:<br />
And on the topic of boring old dad stories that go know where... I never made dad sit through 10 hours of Thomas the Tank engine a day (as my nephew loves to do), so I'm not even obliged to sit through his stories beyond being a nice daughter let alone those of total strangers... so just in case anyone wondered what happened to the 50 posts a day I get from boring prats giving the same old my bow is better than your bow drivel that seems to be an obsession within the traditional class against the rest of the archery world... it's boring. Really boring. Up there with my PC is better than your Mac tripe and my iPhone is better than your Samsung...Or I guess in reality my bike is better than your evil modern car...So along with arrow to the knee jokes and comments just lacking in basic civility, there will be a lot less of them getting through the comments filter.<br />
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I am mortally dependent on insulin, readily available due to modern science, you'll have to excuse me if people ranting about how everything was better in the good old pre scientific invention days doesn't interest me. Traditionally I would have died a slow and horrible death by now...so tradition really isn't the greatest selling point with me. I'm just fine with modern conveniences like smart phones, compound bows and recombinant insulin... oh and the internet for that matter. Not that using any of these would be hypocritical if the old ways are the only good ways....no not at all...<br />
End Rant.<br />
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But most of all just glad to be home :)<br />
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