Broomball..... *Sigh*

Right now I'm captain of our broomball team, This Plus 5 Bananas, and its a really fun sport. I would probably qualify it as a mix between soccer and hockey because it is played on ice with sticks, but there are no pads (with the exception of a helmet) and no skates. Just you, your shoes, your stick, and that funny looking orange soccer ball that we shoot around. I really do enjoy this sport!

However, part of me wishes our team was just a little more competitive. Fact of the matter is we aren't very good. It is still tons of fun and we are always getting better (we have improved a ton since last semester when we first started) but we lose or tie every game (that is a fair fight). And eventually it starts to wear on me. I know the frustrations of losing better than most on our team as well because I play goalie. Meaning: if we are losing, that little orange ball made it past me to get to that point.

In the back though I have Sarah, my defensive angel. I am incredibly grateful for the fact that she shows up to every game and plays rock solid defense because she makes the game a lot less painful for me in the goal. Jonathan and Denali are starting to get the hang of being the chaser on defense too which is proving to be quite nice on the defensive front. I *heart* my defensive line.

Offense (a.k.a. the rest of our players) is starting to get better as well! We can now pass and get the ball down to the other end of the ice without it being immediately taken away. Shooting is still kinda iffy, but it just takes practice and making it to the other goal is the first step in that direction. Hopefully we can score a point soon...

And so everyone is steadily improving in their positions, but recently I have been confused by the discontent in positions. Instead of constantly improving in a single position that they have been playing for 3 quarters so far (for most of them), some want to change up positions. And in some cases I think this could work. Having more versatile players makes for a better team. However, not everyone is suited to every position. For serious. All positions require a certain mindset and skillset in order to be played effectively.

Offense requires endurance for running, ball control, shooting, positioning, and being aware of where your teammates are for passes.

Defense requires full ice awareness, precise positioning, the ability to make snap decisions, hedging, a synergistic partner, and ball control.

Goalie requires full ice awareness, no fear of the ball, the ability to give snap decisions, being able to give orders while maintaining focus, quick reflexes, and knowing what to expect.

Trying to switch from one position to another usually requires learning a whole new mindset as well. It can't just happen overnight. Besides, trying to randomly switch up positions not only messes up the balance of the team, but it isn't all that effective either. So as captain and goalie when I hear during the day "Oh *Jane* decided she is going to play this position." or "*Jack* and I have decided we're going to be switching positions." my usual response is:

Astonished look --> "What?" --> Receive confirmation --> "No."

Another part of me is just annoyed at it too. How does this help the team as a whole? Usually, these switches also make my life harder as goalie as well... It would be just as ridiculous if I showed up to a game and said, "Hey guys, I've decided to play offense today. Now pick a new goalie. By the way, the game starts in 3 minutes." It just doesn't work like that...

Ever.

So I think I'm done with this broomball rant for now... Maybe one day we will win a legitimate game. Or score a goal. Maybe...

Public Speaking... Right...

I despise my Comm 141X class with a passion. More than basketball, more than people who only use the elevator to go up or down one floor, and even more than I hate country music. I would WILLINGLY listen to 3 hours straight of country music if that meant I didn't have to attend Comm for a night. This should tell you something. Its an honors section of the communications class though and it is labeled "Public Speaking," but this in itself is a joke.

This class has no public speaking and will never adequately prepare a student for public speaking. NEVER. I have done quite a large amount of leadership stuff and subsequently I have done quite a bit of REAL public speaking. The kind of speaking that happens in front of the PUBLIC with a PURPOSE. Not me standing in front of 15 of my friends and an over-zealous teacher/grader. No, public speaking is a different monster. However, the Comm monster is stupider and larger. Everything you do and say while speaking is over-analyzed and given to you on a grading scale that can never be conquered. The scale is technically out of 40, but since the Communications Department here at UAF has deemed that no speech may ever be perfect an A is at the 30 point mark. My speech netted me a whole 20 points. The grading criteria is also incredibly subjective to the point where I may as well just give up. There is no objectivity in the grading here because it is solely based on how the teacher feels I met the criteria.

Not on the effectiveness of the speech. Not on the content of the speech (mostly). Its based on things such as: Did you touch the podium? Did she feel as if you talked about your topic enough? Did you follow your outline to the dot? Did you lose your place?

The standards are almost impossible to satisfy fully. As in it will NEVER happen. So this is the kind of class that I feel I will have problems with down the road because it is not my ability to speak or confidence in front of people that matters in a "Public Speaking" class (because that would make sense right?). No, this is a class that every little thing will be judged by a panel of one. The one who carries an iron fist of power and is not afraid to punch your grade in the crotch at any chance she gets. I mean, I lost points because although my informative speech was not persuasive (seriously it wasn't) she felt as if it came close. I had a section on the grading that had nothing but positive comments in it -- Grade on that section: 2/5.

I swear, I think my first persuasive speech will be on why the speech guidelines for that class are garbage and how it should be graded in order to accurately determine the effectiveness of a speech.

That's the other thing, the topics are beyond stupid that we can talk about. There are no guidelines, no expectations, no specific audience or topic to talk to/about. Just whatever you can muster for the 5 or 7 minute speeches. My first 2 speeches were about the "Benefits of Video Games on Society." Come on now, this has no relevance to my class or any group. Half of the topics that are presented would have NO place in a public setting. I wish this class either didn't exist or was actually public speaking... Not this pish posh garbage class that pretends to be a public speaking class. All the other Comm classes (that are not honors) actually live up to what they say they are going to be. Group Context is a class that presents speeches to different audiences based on the topics that they have. Public Context is a class that prepares the students for actual public speaking. But here I am being "taught at a different level than the average student." In this case it really means I'm wasting my time and energy for a stupid required course that may or may not be impossible to pull an A in.

So now I'm off to finish my speech outline for the speech I have to present tomorrow night on "The How-to's and Why it is Important to Tune Instruments."

I hate Comm.... I hate it a lot.

Spring Break Adventures (Part I)

Starting at about 6:45p.m. on Friday I was officially on spring break! WOO! I love breaks. It's when my life finally stops spinning around in endless loops of work and stress and just stops for a little while. I opted to stay up here at UAF for spring break, and I don't regret it at all. Plane tickets are expensive and it could be nice to spend some time in the peace and quiet that is my deserted dorm floor.


So far it has been fantastic. Nuff said.


Friday night I went right after my calculus class to the World Ice Sculpting Championship over in the ice park right here in Fairbanks, AK. Needless to say the works were incredible.

This one was my favorite

The artistic finesse required to do these thing is just astounding. Plus the conditions in which they craft these ornate sculptures are not very hospitable either. It's cold, dark, and you have to spend the whole time outside messing with ice. To me that just sounds like frostbite waiting to happen, but I guess for them it seems like a ton of fun. Plus there are prizes! Who doesn't love prizes? :P


So after a couple hours of fun over at the ice park Denali, Elika, Ashley, and I all drove over to the airport to send Ashley off. She's headed home to spend some time with her family for spring break! Hooray! After our goodbyes the three of us that remained drove back to campus and decompressed for a couple hours. By decompress I mean: we lied on the floor and then watched an episode of The Office and 30 Rock while we waited for airport trip number two.


Trip two comprised of Denali and I driving Elika to the airport for her huge travel itinerary. I don't know if anyone could tell or not, but I think Elika was excited to board the first of her flights heading towards Ecuador. I think I heard her yell "OH MY GOSH!" about 300+ times last week :D She's going down to visit with her emotional twin Valerie who is doing a Baha'i year of service down there (which sounds really amazing by the way). So off she goes to Ecuador!

Valerie and Elika (this picture is on Elika's blog)

Then back to the dorms again for me where I went to go bug Skyler and Kaleb for a while before heading to bed. I like sleep.

Denali headed out early the next morning to hang out with her family in Homer for a while. That should be fun for her. Campus is eerily quiet... But I kind of like it. Having everything just stop for a little while is probably good for me. Skyler, Kaleb, and Marshall headed towards Anchorage today as well to go skiing down at Alyeska.

But so far the single greatest thing about my break is the fact that I now have the time to go skiing. The weather has been beautiful around here for so long now, but my classes are so time intensive when it comes to homework and actual attendance in those classes. So now that everything has stopped, I said "Dude, I can go skiing now!" And so I did! 11k out on the UAF trails after being out of skiing shape had my triceps yelling at me to stop using them... But I did get to go out there for a good hour and took some pictures as well! It was so beautiful and sunny outside yesterday. Plus it felt good to get some decent exercise in.

 
Then I spent the rest of the day messing with Kaleb before they all left. Skyler and I also made some food that turned out pretty well.

And now today has just been a day of relaxation. A little skiing, some music transposition, and some blogging. Plus Diddy Kong Racing! WOO! I love that game so much! If you want to know, I now have sheet music for this video so I can play the music on my horn. Yup, I'm a super nerd.

So that sums up Spring break for me so far. I love having the ability to do nothing with my life for a while :D

I also swear that if Jonathan wakes me up in the morning again I will murder him... Hehehehehe.

Sportsmanship should always be present

You know, no matter what the sport I always admire good sportsmanship on the ice/field/court. Players should be out there to work hard and play a tough game without making it in to a huge spectacle of fighting and swearing. At that point tempers run high and injuries are way more likely to occur (and I am living proof of that... hehehe). Yeah.... I become exponentially more intense as the cheap shots start flying.

Anyways, back to what I was saying. Sportsmanship: its important.

Now last weekend I went down to Anchorage for the Governor's Cup. It's basically the biggest hockey game series in the state between UAF and UAA. They play one game up here and we play one game up there. Rivalry games are amazing, they get even better when there is a massive trophy on the line! But on my way down to the game I was told about this article that was written in the UAA school newspaper, "The Northern Light."

You can read the article here.

It was the single worst article in terms of sportsmanship that I had ever read from a school newspaper. Or even any publication in general. Even if I didn't go to school up here at UAF I would have been appalled at the downright rudeness that was shown by these school writers. I mean, I understand the whole school spirit aspect and the fact that you want to win, but the amount of just downright unsportsmanlike content in that article made me want to gag. People like that truly just make me want to travel down there, find them, and punch them in the face (no I won't actually do it, but the thought is rather satisfying).

There is no need for such blatant bashing of any group of individuals. Ever.

So what I guess I would say to Megan Edge, Patrick McCormick, and Taylor Hall would be this: "I do hope you are proud of what you have published because I'm sure that is all the pride you will get. There is no pride gained from trying to make yourself sound superior, just a general sense of disappointment from your audience. And by the way, you talked all that smack and still ended up losing. I guess that's just karma."

Because we did win the cup. We won the first game 5-1, lost the second 4-1, and won the shootout 2-0. So do actually try to act somewhat sportsmanlike. It won't kill you and in the long run will make you look like a more respectable person in the process.

Speaking of sportsmanship I have a soccer game tonight and a broomball game on Tuesday. Playoffs have started! It ought to be fun :D

So now I'm off to get ready!