My office has a ping-pong tournament every Friday at 5:30. It started three weeks ago. Today was the third tournament. The same person has won all three tournaments so far. (Not me). I always feel stupid when I lose to him, as I am the 2nd seed and I really think I should beat him at least half the time. I think it's more of a rules issue than a skill and experience issue; I was good about declaring the sharp pieces of wood and "Hoy!" dropbox out-of-bounds before the tournaments got underway; but not about making sure everyone knew that the server has to declare the score before serving, and then enforcing that in my own games. I tend to be easily manipulated! Psychologically, we are well-matched opponents. So I need to investigate why I'm losing, psychologically. I decided then I've been relying too much on kills and not "pushing the volley". And also, part of it is skill and practice. Like, today I developed more of a forehand.
I told my boss on the train home today that if I played him at ping-pong, I would destroy him. This is the kind of thing you are not supposed to say to your boss. But it was true, and I was pretty tired, so I said it. The tournament's pretty fun- I would like to do that at work all day (not really). It's a nice way to beat people at things that don't matter so they give you mad respect (actually, that doesn't really happen so much). I don't like beating people who are way worse at it than I am, because I think they aren't even trying. Yesterday I played this girl, as the tournament was set up wrong, who I had to wipe the table with just so I could practice in a hard-core way. As I developed my forehand.
Five hours later: i feel less like a person who played ping pong and more like someone who is tired and ill, as I slept very little the night before, and just got back from a noise rock concert with my roommate. I met Andrew's friend, George. I also met someone from Dallas named Avi who knows my blog roll occupant/improbable accquaintance Jeffrey Max. So I know your real last name now, Jeffrey. These two occurances may seem improbable, but the noise-rock community is very small. No, not really. But the Dallas private school (I think) community is very small. And my roommate knew George from the west coast.
12 hours later from that: I doing weird stuff with pictures.
3 hours later from that: I am sitting and doing nothing I am going to get nothing done this weekend. Like, oops. But at least I am going to hang out with my friend named Brian Koplow.
1 hour later: Man, I fucking hate being a "gentry". I hate that people think I am a gentry. Although, looking at who I associate with I guess I am a gentry. I don't know anyone in this neighborhood who used to live here. Maybe that's what I'll be for Hallowe'en instead of Joelle Van Dyne. A gentry. Riding a broomstick horse.
3 hours later: I am sitting at my computer eating dinner in the dark. I would rather sit in the dark even when I'm alone. I would also rather there were no streetlights, even though that would increase the danger quotient, supposedly. I don't totally think that's so. When there are no streetlights, your eyes adjust, when there is starlight.
5 comments:
Tell Avi I said hi and that my old name just wasn't cutting it. I had that shit legally changed.
Cool, I will.
I like this girl Naomi's blog, too.
thanks jeffrey. did you really change your name or what? maybe i should change my name. what did your parents say????
I did. It's really easy. You just go to the civil court and fill out a sheet of paper. My parents didn't care that much.
"lighting is effective in preventing crime mainly if it enables people to notice criminal activity as it’s taking place, and if it doesn’t help criminals to see what they’re doing. Bright, unshielded floodlights—one of the most common types of outdoor security lighting in the country—often fail on both counts, as do all-night lights installed on isolated structures or on parts of buildings that can’t be observed by passersby (such as back doors). A burglar who is forced to use a flashlight, or whose movement triggers a security light controlled by an infrared motion sensor, is much more likely to be spotted than one whose presence is masked by the blinding glare of a poorly placed metal halide “wall pack.” In the early seventies, the public-school system in San Antonio, Texas, began leaving many of its school buildings, parking lots, and other property dark at night and found that the no-lights policy not only reduced energy costs but also dramatically cut vandalism."
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