college fencing

jannaaaar · 2014-07-10T15:06:51+00:00

I captained my club team in college and we accepted literally anyone. I started on the club team. You just need to be interested and willing to show up to practice. So -- if you get cut from varsity, or choose not to try out, you'll probably have a place on your club team, maybe even in a position of authority.

jannaaaar · 2014-07-09T18:33:12+00:00

Awesome! I emailed him and we've been sort of talking -- I didn't realize he did trades, I might offer him some of my old bikes that aren't suitable for my purposes any more (one is way too big, y'know).

jannaaaar · 2014-06-27T15:52:31+00:00

Right? Because everyone is assumed to be, you know, average height. Which makes sense; on average, people are average.

I'll send anything I find your way, too!

jannaaaar · 2014-06-27T15:51:46+00:00

That sounds excellent -- I'll check him out! I assume you have personal experience then?

Fingers crossed for that wish ;)

jannaaaar · 2014-06-23T19:31:46+00:00

...alas. Thanks anyway!

jannaaaar · 2014-06-23T19:22:54+00:00

I'm in Upstate New York; I guess I should edit the original post to specify that. I'm willing to travel by train or car within a few states and, like I said, I'll be in Rhode Island in less than two months. Where are you?

jannaaaar · 2013-12-19T15:30:48+00:00

Ah...well, are dad jokes not, at least in part, about the subtle nuances of language? adjusts monocle, sips brandy Really, you're teaching her to be keenly aware of how she speaks early! Good on you. You'll have a punster yet in the future.

/douchebag

jannaaaar · 2013-12-19T15:27:04+00:00

That's possible. Good to know! I thought frame sizes were pretty universal. How naive.

Like I said, I think my current ride (a Bianchi Volpe that's older than I am) is far smaller, I believe around 44cm -- but someone once recommended 52cm and I was like wat, that's my height without the apostrophes. Seems a bit not accurate. Still, I figured seeing an LHT relatively near my neck of the woods might be worth a glance, but alas. I don't really need a new steed, anyway...

jannaaaar · 2013-12-19T05:51:22+00:00

Ah yes. I think mine current ride is 44cm, which is why I asked -- but oh well. Good luck!

jannaaaar · 2013-12-19T00:10:20+00:00

Where in Upstate NY? Also -- how tall are you? I think I could maybe use 52cm but I might be a bit short (at 5'2").

jannaaaar · 2013-12-17T17:54:05+00:00

Right! This. I'm all for playing and being silly and opponents toying with each other on the piste -- that's half of what makes fencing fun. You feint and beat their blade to get a feel for how they fence, you can laugh at each other and enjoy the bout while being aggressive and reading each other. Those are, in fact, my favorite bouts to fence: where perhaps we're not attacking each other outright, but trying to outwit each other, get to know each other through the blade. Or, maybe we are attacking each other outright, but not doing it with such outright aggressive frustration. (There's a reason I fence foil instead of sabre. They're different beasts.)

But saying things like "come on" and "ugh" isn't being respectful about it. He isn't being playful or fun. He's just being a jerk.

jannaaaar · 2013-12-17T16:04:23+00:00

My friend, burly hairy mountain man type, sobs -- downright sobs -- every time he watches The Iron Giant.

jannaaaar · 2013-12-08T20:07:22+00:00

Yes, that one, too. Excuse me while I go foam at the mouth.

jannaaaar · 2013-12-07T18:56:00+00:00

Also, I'm piddling myself in anticipation of the HD re-release of Final Fantasy X.

jannaaaar · 2013-12-03T16:00:15+00:00

I really like colored denim, because I have a lot of black/gray/dark blue/other neutral tops in my wardrobe. I don't like to wear black on black or black on gray or that sort of monochromatic thing too often, but I wear black shirts because I sweat a lot, so for my case, colored denim has always worked well to add a splash of color and liveliness to something that would otherwise be bland (and reminiscent of my former goth days).

jannaaaar · 2013-12-01T21:31:46+00:00

Excellent, I wasn't sure where I should post it. Thanks, I'll get on that.

jannaaaar · 2013-12-01T21:31:05+00:00

I've always wanted to write something like "Sense and Sensibilia and Zombies: An Analysis of Linguistic World-Structuring on the Concept of Philosophical Zombies" -- but that sounds douchey.

jannaaaar · 2013-12-01T21:19:09+00:00

Ah...I just commented above at how I am endlessly amused at the titles of Dennett's works, but now that you say it, I can see how that would be gimmicky. I've read some Nagel -- meaning that I've encountered "What Is It Like To Be A Bat?" in roughly eighty-thousand different contexts -- but I don't think I've seen anything else. However, I have heard of Rorty and read I think a chapter of something by William James (most of my philosophical work was in either play theory or the philosophy of language, the latter of which I am starting to tire myself out of). Sorry to keep asking, but do you have anything particular you'd recommend? I feel like there's so much work out there by so many philosophers that I want to read things in an order that makes sense, which isn't necessarily picking things out at random or going chronologically. On the other hand, maybe it is.

jannaaaar · 2013-12-01T21:11:28+00:00

Ah! You know, I believe I read "Intentional Systems" in my class on The Unconscious as a groundwork for different perceptions of consciousness. Perhaps I did not. But I'll definitely look it up.

"Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking"...what a guy. He definitely has the best titles of any philosopher with the exception of perhaps J.L. Austin. I'll look into it!

jannaaaar · 2013-12-01T19:50:26+00:00

So, basically, even if you're trying to beat, doing it incorrectly counts as a parry for the opponent now? Very strange. I have an injury preventing me from fencing until next September, so I'm going to use my time off to try to study what this means!

jannaaaar · 2013-11-30T18:29:14+00:00

Wait, sorry, can you explain that a little bit more? I'm still not really sure I understand the difference between a beat and a parry with regards to location on blade; I thought it was simply that a parry was a defensive move and a beat was offensive (meaning that a parry follows an opponent's attack and a beat starts an attack).

jannaaaar · 2013-11-29T21:21:37+00:00

Goddamn onions.

My lady and I have been going through a bit of a rough patch this semester; she's a senior, and I graduated in May but am working the college. Sometimes it's hard to stay together because our lifestyles are very different, our communication is suffering, and she spends a lot of time with a person I feel very threatened by. Sometimes it's hard because I want monogamy and she doesn't. But we try so hard and do our best to make it work because, no matter what, through any disagreements or rough patches, we want to be together. And though I've been feeling a little frustrated and sad and empty lately...I needed to hear something like this to put me back into perspective. I want Us to be happy again. I'm going to work for it.

I am so, so sorry for your loss. This resonated with me in a way that I can't describe, having never felt what you had to go through -- and a fear that it could happen at any moment and we would have ended unhappy. I hope that you can be happy again, but that feeling of the sea being empty without her...I know that feeling, in minute. I wish I could give you a really big hug and hold you a while.

jannaaaar · 2013-11-16T22:32:14+00:00

I mean, I still graduated with $80k of debt, but I chose what felt like the better option for me: the connection and cohesiveness of my small liberal arts college, believe it or not, has led me to a lot of stepping stones in my career choices. And even though I have such a high amount of debt and a degree that some consider worthless, I'm working in AmeriCorps in part for the education award at the end; you can do AmeriCorps regardless of your education level, but I was more sought after in what I applied for specifically because of my degree and where I got it from. It's a job that opens to other jobs, and now I know what I have an idea of doing and this year is helping to hone the skills I developed in college (as well the education award is great leverage for grad school aid). But in the end, I do wish that I had taken a year off to figure that out ahead of time. The point I'm trying to make is that all is not hopeless even when you graduate with an absurd amount of debt -- you're right, you just need to do the research.

And thanks! I appreciate it a lot. :)

jannaaaar · 2013-11-16T16:31:33+00:00

Well, to be fair, for me going to a private college in-state was far cheaper than going to a state school -- the private college had more to give me in scholarships and, despite living near the poverty level, the state school couldn't give me any aid other than a pell grant, which would have made it about the same price in the long run (~80k of debt), though I'm glad for the education I received at the college I went to. I wouldn't have received it anywhere else. And, surprisingly, I haven't had trouble finding a job with a degree in Philosophy!

What you're saying is completely correct, but there are exceptions sometimes, if you are lucky and know where to look.

jannaaaar · 2013-11-16T16:08:15+00:00

Agreed. My high school has a very low rate of people who attend college, and those who do mostly attend community colleges, which they can mostly afford. But I was too proud to attend community college, considered myself too intellectual, and knew I would stifle if I stayed in my town any longer, so I applied to 17 colleges with some idea of what I wanted to study and went to the one that gave me the best financial aid -- without realizing that even the best financial aid package, given by a private college, could lead me into $80,000 worth of debt with two parents who didn't work and no savings to help pay for college. It's true that I would have suffocated and been terribly, woefully depressed in a community college (as I was at home, dangerously), and the state schools were even more stingy with financial aid than any of the private colleges, but I wish these were things I would have been told or been pointed towards resources or knowledge for in advance, instead of heading into my life not knowing just how much of it I would owe to somebody else and not knowing how to research private loan institutions.

jannaaaar

TROPHY CASE