More Splatter

Went paint balling again this weekend, despite the dire heat of August.  Had another great time and an equally fun turnout.  We did pretty well, though the field was crowded, I think the local Groupon stuff made the place hopping popular.  (Happily avoided the little kids birthday party.)

My "fans" at the field are trying to convince me I'm good enough to play in some kind of organized team? Pffft no I don't think so.  (Unless that means I can play for free??)

I have some very pretty bruises from the experience, though I think each of them was pretty well earned, and I took out a couple people most games, probably due to how crowded the field was.

I'm now "scouting" the interwebs more frequently for deals on paint, because man that expense can add up quickly!  Happily we have some pretty good places around here that stock it high on occasion, you just have to go at the right time.  Looking forward to more frequent trips to the field when summer officially ends.

Capoeira!

Capoeira!!! "As if you needed another activity."

I know, I know ... but it's just so darn fun!  Okay, so backing up, what started as a 5 week Groupon deal resulted in me committing to joining a Capoeira studio for weekly classes.  For those of you who not know, Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that involves music, dancing, sparring, culture, and gymnastics.  It dates back to African slaves who trained in secret, disguising their fighting techniques in dance and music.  It is incredibly fast paced, utilizing speed, power and creativity.  The SB Batuque studio Chris and I joined is a small space in Goleta that shares the week schedule with a ballet studio.  It's lead by a true character of epic proportions, Mariano Silva.  (Pictured below ... that was his outfit at this year's solstice.  If you care to look up more, they are all equally or more intense.  He may have the most continuous energy I've ever seen in a single human being...)

The long, long history of this art/sport is quite fascinating, and close to impossible for me to simply summarize here.  There was a period of time in history when anyone caught practicing Capoeira or fighting for any reason would be arrested by police, possibly tortured and mutilated.  It's a dark but rich legacy that we as new students are only barely scratching the surface of, and it's exciting.

Because Capoeira was so underground, it has become a tradition over time for students to receive a nickname (like a undercover identity) at their initiation ceremony (the Batizado) from a master.  I was given the name Allegria (Joy), Chris is Ferugen (Rust) and Ben is Sorriso (Smile).

Our timing when joining was a little strange, because we were swept up in the tail end of the training year just prior to new students receiving their belts.  So essentially, a bunch of folks on our same "level" have been training for nearly a full year, so we are not nearly as sharp as they are.  I feel particularly clumsy at times since this is also the first martial art I have ever tried out.  The music appeals to me greatly.  The people at the studio are friendly, laugh easily, and welcoming.  I am looking forward to getting to know everyone a little more.  The classes are intense and challenging.  Chris has discovered that going to them is having a positive effect on his Su Bak Do work, and I have found that no matter what is going on, I feel light, unstressed, and loose after every class despite how difficult it can be.  Sometimes my shoulder starts to bother me after too many cartwheels, so it is possible I will have to really take it easy during the current intense period of paddling.  So far once a week isn't toooooooooo bad.... hopefully I can stick with it long enough to be able to feel confident when I get to play in the roda.

Change Season - Dana Point 2nd Place!

So in change season, typically our tiny team runs two gender crews in the "minor" races before the Catalina US Championships.  Everything, of course depends greatly on logistics with our limited budget and paddler supply, but either way change season has always, always been my favorite part of the sport of outrigger.  You go crazy long distance, you have to think strategically, you have to go crazy all out yet you have to be ready to be in the canoe for a very, very, long time.

This past week was the Dana Point 9-man race (change race) and the first of this season.  To our delight, we were told we would be running co-ed with our top people.

Expectations were pretty high, but happily we had an amazing race, during which we had first place a few times, but ultimately were bested by a large club from down South.  This 2nd place tasted very sweet nonetheless, and reminded all of us once again why we love this sport so much and that hard work really does pay off.  As our coach said as we were out on the water, "These are the moments that make coaching totally worth it."

A few of us stayed behind for the afternoon to collect our bling.  (Which included a really cool plaque made of island wood of some kind ... it was very special, so we decided to give it to our coaches.)

Only a couple months ago many of us would have said Ka Nai'a was going to have a laid back, more relaxed year which was less focused on being competitive and more focused on building its base.  Oops? :)

Anglican Youth Retreat

Finally got the Youth Retreat video done.  Check it out!!!  (My video programming software is a moody little PITA!  But it spit out a result at last.)  I am getting used to using my video camera again after the first one broke - I forgot how much time it takes to sort and edit footage!

So, on to ANGLICAN YOUTH RETREAT 2012!

The camp this year was great.  Instead of Sacramento area we were up in Washington, at Warm Beach, which is a false, slanderous name, not only because it was indeed not warm but because it poured rain on us Monday.  Bah!  The green of everything was great though, and I was ecstatic to have an actual grassy long sports field, as well as an amazing view of the ocean and the distant islands that are so quintessential to Washington.

The students contemplated some ancient and modern arguments for the existence of God, heard a bit of ways in which Christ is revealed in the Old Testament, and discussed their personal struggles with having their faith questioned and attacked in their lives.  It was interesting to hear that for the most part many of them struggle more with learning how to appreciate and accept (not "tolerate") the other faiths and beliefs of their friends, family, classmates, etc.  The group bonded very quickly, and though I spent a pathetic amount of time recovering from paddling by taking cat naps, I was very happy I was there.  A huge ropes course was a new element we have never seen, which was by far one of my own highlights since I looooove playing up in the trees.

The students were incredible diverse for such a small group, full of unstoppable energy and smiles.  As usual, summer retreat more than anything makes me wish everyone lived closer.  Praise the Lord for email and social networking. :)

Paintball!

I know, right? Pffft ... studs.

Something else fun recently: PAINTBALL!  Okay, so we've played a few times, but there is a field that opened up in Oxnard that made for an especially exciting day.  This was the second time Chris and I were able to try out our guns, which worked great.  (Though I totally forgot to turn my hopper feeder on ... oops.)  I shot some guy in the hand who apparently didn't think a girl with a gun was much of a threat.  Uhm... yeah that was silly of him.  There were quite a few folks there, including some itty bitty kids that made me smile.  Most of them seemed to know each other and no one was hyper competitive, which added to a pleasant atmosphere.  The one thing that was a negative against the Oxnard field was it did not have a burrito truck to service the hungry players in the middle of the day.  (We got spoiled by one of the giant fields out near Six Flags.... we are suckers for food!)

I am looking forward to going and playing again maybe next month.  I could see it being a very addictive activity, especially when you get a group of friends together who work well together and talk to one another. It makes the game easier to win, and when you win, you don't get hit.  (At least, that's what I keep telling the girls who are too scared to play.)  At some point we are all thinking about doing a round in some abandoned field or something nearby with friends only.  That seems to be less intimidating to the other folks I know who just aren't quite ready to commit to the activity. Pew pew!!

Outrigger Iron Season

Normally I'm so good about updating after a race, but life has just been nutty.  So instead of a race post, I'm going to do a "season thus far" recap.  First, I went into this season thinking it was just going to be fun, and not so competitive.  I was excited to meet new people, train hard, and play on the beach.  I was so wrong... turns out we had more folks return than I had ever imagined, and we were all ready to work hard, so we got pushed, and pushed, and pushed.  The competition among teams has been fierce, especially against one behemoth club down South.  (Maybe the only huge club in SoCal this year... but they are monsters.)

Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was delighted when our ladies boat won 1st in short course in the first race in San Diego.  (Complete with 2 newbies.)  I doubled a couple races after (paddling both short course followed immediately by long) and got a 4th place mug for short course in the 3rd race.  At our home race, the Rig Run (of which I had the honor of being chairman) the ladies short course boat took 3rd, open co-ed took 2nd.  That was kind of mind blowing ... double races and double places!  I was grateful when that event was over - it was a ton of work and I was tired of getting called by the city of Santa Barbara. :P

Then the REAL work started.  Coaches decided to beat the living snot out of us for the month of June, gearing up for the Iron Championships.  We won the co-ed open race last year, but we knew it was going to be much much harder to even place this year.  In the past big clubs have gone gender, but "the enemy" was openly, unabashedly placing crews in every division with the intention of taking 1st and 2nd in everything.  It's a little nuts... but whatever.  We were getting up for 5 AM practiced on M, W, F and in the evenings on T, TH.  Then distance on Saturdays.  Correct.... six days a week of paddling.  I was not allowed to cross train (my road bike whimpered at me daily) and I slept like some kind of rotting dead log every night.  It was stressful and exhausting.  Tensions among the team were a little high, and the great unknowns of the future were looming - the pressure was really on.

I didn't know how the championship race went, even when it was over.  It was hard; very hard.  The start was a little wonky and a bunch of boats jumped out early on us when the line was not straight.  The swells were enormous.  We caught the women's pack so fast it was hard to keep track of what boat was what.  It was hot.  We had a great glide at the finish, but I knew we didn't take 1st.  I was so grateful to hit the water when it was all over that didn't even bother me.  I didn't think we had 2nd.  I was convinced at the end at best we had 4th or 5th place.  (Still nothing to sneeze at.)  I had to catch a plane that night for Seattle, so my mind was wandering a bit and I was just happy it was all over.  Then I got a text message from a teammate who stayed behind at the race site.

2nd place.  Wow!!  So great when hard work is rewarded... :)

I also just have to add that it has been fun having Eric on the crew this year.  He has such a great epic face in all his race pictures!!!

Rawr! The face of a champion!

Overall the team has been great.  Wonderful new energy, and I can't wait to hit the island with everyone and dive into change season.  Huzzah!

Paralegal!

As many of you know, two years ago I started the UCSB Extension program to earn my Paralegal Certificate. And now, I'm all done!  Yup, they gave me amazing grades and I am officially certificated.  It's very exciting, and the first time since Chris and I got married that neither of us will be in school taking classes.
Yippee!

The program, in general, was actually a lot of fun.  I learned quite a bit, though I don't think I can say that every class was "worth it" but all in all it was an excellent educational experience.  My favorite class was actually Business Law because the teacher was so fun; she made everything about making money and was interactive and engaging.  It was also fun because business students were in the class, instead of just other paralegal students so there were some new perspectives bought into the mix.  I did a project about a business idea proposal, where I floated the concept of doing an "in home" nutrition session for people (specifically parents with teens) and got wild feedback from the class.  So if this paralegal thing doesn't work out, I have a business model on the back burner ready to go. :P  The only critique I got was that apparently I wasn't planning to charge people enough ... haha!

It's a little weird that college was sooooooo much harder.  You almost had to try not to get an A in most of these courses... however I greatly appreciate the fact that everything was modeled after working folks, so all the classes were at night.

The most surprising class was Bankruptcy not only because I knew zippo going in, but I was also convinced it would be horribly boring and in fact it was not.  Again, the teacher made quite a bit of difference, but it was pretty amazing to see how ignorant I was about the subject that I think most people believe they at least have a general knowledge about.  Among the other goodies were Real Estate and Probate.

So what now? For now I'm staying at my current job, though I don't want to limit myself.  We'll see if any little fishies come to nibble, and I'm focused (as usual) this summer on paddling and all the other exciting activities... and will go from there.

Just so happy to be DONE! :)