Hitting the Century Mark

"If you stumbled across this blog by chance, you might want to consider hitting the 'Back' button before continuing. Consider this your first, last, and only warning...proceed at your own risk."
P. Nurple (1st entry - April 2008)

"As stated in a previous post, it's nice to know that those types of memories won't be lost forever. Here's to the next 50 entries!"
"The Rambler" (50th entry - August 2008)

In my first post, I explained that I started this blog due to Livejournal friends who complained that I wrote too much about ultimate, and Facebook friends who had no idea why I kept posting pictures of this crazy sport. Although that's the reason I started, as I approached 100 entries, I had to question why I continued to blog.

Afterall, I'll never be as eloquent and insightful as Steve, who writes a far superior ultimate blog that's directed to a Canada-wide audience. Nor will I ever be the player that Wronski or Sharpe are, who can both succinctly summarize open games in a few sentences. Hell, I won't even be able to explain the mystic connection between stars and discs like my Gelato-loving friend does on an all-too-infrequent basis. If the three Ottawa ultimate blogs listed above aren't to your liking, just hit up www.ocua.ca for the full details on the Ottawa ultimate frisbee scene.

As stated in my 50th entry, I've come to enjoy re-reading some of my older entries. Reading how down I felt after my first Fish tryout, how insecure I was going to my first two day tournament (Flights), and the pride I experienced after giving my all at Regionals enable me to re-live important moments in my development as a player...and person.

There's definitely more than the ability to re-experience the past that has kept me writing. I'm always pleasantly surprised (and a little scared) when someone approaches me and tells me that they read my blog. It's particularly frightening when this is how a person introduces themselves to me. Having said that, I've met a number of extremely talented players through this blog, which is definitely a benefit. My unscientific research tells me that most of you found my blog through a search engine or got the link from a friend. To these individuals, I appreciate you taking the time to read my thoughts. However, please continue to be warned not to take my rambling too seriously.

There's also the fact that this blog is a creative outlet. The parody songs, top ten lists, poems, predictions, and recaps are VERY different from what I do on a daily basis (analyze credit risk of foreign buyers). In the case of some of the more embarrassing entries (cut from Arrested Development, BigFish, IAD…notice a pattern? ;-)) the blog can even be considered a no-cost form of therapy.

Although I've improved at censoring my entries, I still struggle with how much should go in my posts, and how much should stay private. I'd never want anyone to be upset over something I wrote. At the same time, I feel an obligation to be honest. Having said that, there's been a fair amount of ultimate-related stuff that was simply too personal to appear here.

I continue to fear that if I'm too candid about my shortcomings as a player, someone might use the information against me. That said, a common piece of feedback I get from readers is that I'm too hard on myself. For instance, regarding a recent IID game, even though I focused on bad decisions in the recap, honestly, the other team had nobody who could run with me, which resulted in 5 goals, 5 assists, and 5 D's (yah 55…5!). The challenge of writing a well balanced, insightful, semi-censored post, is kind of fun…if that makes sense?

Looking forward, I can't guarantee that the blog will be around forever or that I'll write as frequently. Finding topics to address is increasingly challenging. That said, if I can achieve my goal next summer and make the tournament roster of Fish, the experience will definitely give me enough material to keep plugging away (maybe in a new location though). More than anything else, it's the people (especially team-mates and friends) that keep me writing. At the risk of sounding cliché, ultimate characters are the salt of the earth.

It's funny, but the last time I posted some ultimate pictures on Facebook, I didn't get any complaints or weird comments from FB friends. That's probably because I've recently reached the tipping point where the majority of my FB friends are from ultimate, as opposed to "real life" (a blurry line lately). My Livejournal friends have recently started to ask about my ultimate exploits, which is equally amusing. Maybe I don't need this blog afterall? ;-)

In parting, I'll echo a line from one of my favorite current songs and leave you with this comment about the blog - Enjoy yourself, take anything you need from it :) Here's to the next 100 entries! Until next time, happy hucking!