Latest entry in the Monday morning meeting win/loss column: loss.

After having been out of the office for a while, I enjoyed catching up on some technical stuff with David, then lunching. David is always interesting company. Some days he's so charged up that his good mood radiates onto everyone in the office; other days he just gets by, like most of us; and sometimes, like most of us, he needs an ear lent. I try to lend an ear when I can, because I get more than my fair share of “happy drops” from him.

Threw a disc around with Henry on the quad. Couldn't catch a damn thing. Drop drop drop. Felt like a child learning to use his hands, except a child doesn't assume he'll get it right every time. Drop drop drop.

Helped Brandon isolate a couple minor problems with his installation of OpenBSD on the CWRULUG server. That's right folks, the CWRU Linux User Group server runs OpenBSD! Those of you who are aware of my affinity for this operating system will understand that this makes me happy.

The weight room in Veale is out of joint. Many machines have strategic seats and/or pads missing. So, no workout. Today is not Tuesday, my usual workout day, but I have an assignment due Wednesday so I was hoping to fit in the lifting today.

Ultimate practice. We ran a flow drill for what felt like an hour. People complained because they didn't feel they were learning anything. Well, too bad. The flow was not great and discs were getting dropped. Repetition can be educational. Then, because it was so damn nice out, we played for a good long time: about three hours. I ran hard the whole time and felt great, until I sat out a few points (there are always more players at practice than can be on the field at once) and found my leg muscles getting very tight. I was unable to loosen them significantly, but continued playing and enjoying myself. Captain Andy Kirsch let me play at the “long” position, one that in my opinion is better suited to my physical abilities than “handler” (especially since my throws suck and I am not quick, but fast). On defense, I even played a point in the “cup”, wherein three defenders scramble full-time to cover whoever currently has the disc. Sure, it was tiring, but it felt good to be out there doing it.

Physically, this is the best I've felt in over a year. I still have a long way to go before I will be satisfied with my conditioning and strength, but I am having a rollicking good time playing Ultimate because my body is no longer an obstacle, but an ally. This is what I had been accustomed to as an athlete all my life until I started working full-time and stopped playing sports. Well, I have regained most of what I lost, and the recovery of the rest is in sight.

Finished up the day by cleaning a pile of much-needed laundry and playing a relaxing improvisation on the digital piano.