(no subject)

[learnedax]

Fried Kugel is tasty - although it does make me think I've made latkes the long way round.

Weekend was mostly hanging about; on Saturday while our womenfolk were having a girly movie night, umbran, laurion, and I embarked on a heady evening of manliness which I cannot describe here. Fun stuff.

On Monday I went out early to help B move some furniture, fiddled about with his banjo, then drove hither and yon collecting J and P so we could fight all afternoon. Had just enough time to get home and shower before heading out to rigel's birthday dinner at Cuchi Cuchi with lots of fun people. shavallan and arachne8x graciously worked with my non-bready restrictions* in selecting tapas-style dishes for our corner to share, all of which were excellent, if overpriced. (Though our table was fairly large, it was still a bit startling to flip over a bill for half a grand.) Then I made the possibly unwise, but more fun, decision to continue back to rigel's where a few of us gamed and chatted until after three.

And oddly, I've been sleepy the past two days.

Yesterday was not especially notable (I watched Ocean's Twelve from Netflix - a couple of good bits but really it just tried way too hard). Tonight I went back to B's for more fighting, which was still fun, but... my rate of improvement is disappointing, and with Crown Tournament coming up in two and a half weeks I should be much better prepared than I am. I do not seem to naturally be a thug. Oh well.

Ok, time to catch up on a little more of that elusive sleep.

*It hasn't been that hard this year, but I am still impatient for tomorrow night

Comments

[cat9.livejournal.com]

heady evening of manliness which I cannot describe here

You mean manliness that dare not speak its name?

Btw, I just have to add that one of the things that _most_ makes me feel like I live in a cultural wasteland is the lack of tapas. I occasionally get downright moody about it. (As in, "Yes, there are cows everywhere, but g*ddammit I want to see some squid cooked in its own ink!")

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

I thought the manliness that dared not speak its name was, er, that other thing.

I am a big tapas fan, although they seem to be by definition overpriced - which is probably the main reason I don't go to the place within walking distance so often.

[new-man.livejournal.com]

The place within walking distance (of you) is on the high end for tapas. There's a place in Brighton I like which is both good and reasonably priced. Part fo the expense is that tapas are supposed to be eaten with booze -- and that automatically ups your costs. It's funny; in Spain they're just pub grub.

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I should check them out - the other Tapas place I went to (I forget the name, but near the Cambridge-Somerville border) was similarly priced to Solea, and so was Cuchi Cuchi, although admittedly it is only "tapas-style."

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Dali is the place in Cambridge. I like it -- but it's pricey. I've only been to Cuchi Cuchi once but didn't care for it -- mostly based on value.

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Tonight I went back to B's for more fighting, which was still fun, but... my rate of improvement is disappointing, and with Crown Tournament coming up in two and a half weeks I should be much better prepared than I am.

Your rate of improvement is fine. You tend to fight the same guys a lot, and they're improving also, so it's hard for you to see your improvement. As many of the Pike Company members are brand new fighters, their rate of improvement seems faster than yours. They just haven't hit that plateau yet. They're still moving from "terrible" to "inexperienced". You're already past "inexperienced" and hitting each new adjective gets harder and harder.

I do not seem to naturally be a thug. Oh well.

Like me, you have an aptitude for a great many things. That also means you're not immediately brilliant at any given thing. Like me, you also have stupidly, sometimes cripplingly, high standards for yourself. Cut yourself some slack. You've only been fighting for two years -- and not so actively. If you were a dedicated fighter, I could understand your frustration -- but fighting once a week at best isn't going to cause rapid improvement.

[cat9.livejournal.com]

You've only been fighting for two years -- and not so actively.

And thank goodness, because otherwise you'd spend all your time smelling like rotting helmet lining, visiting god forsaken parts of the kingdom for fighter practices, and going to events only to fight and drink cheap beer all day and then sleep rolled up in a plastic tarp. You're much better just the way you are :)

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks :-)

I wanted to never be one of those fighters - it just annoyingly turns out that they're harder to beat. As with so many things, having broader interests means having shallower skill within each.

[herooftheage.livejournal.com]

I do not seem to naturally be a thug. Oh well.

So, in fact, you should probably fight in some other fashion. While thug is the majority choice for good fighters these days, it isn't the only one possible - look at Brion, for example. He tries for technically flawless, with good results. The third major option I know of is "fluid" - having most of your fighting depend on motion towards difficult positions for your opponent.

Now in truth, a stunningly excellent fighter would do all of those things, but in practice, people tend to go with what works for them.