Sunday 17 January 2010

In TOP 10

Some of you already know of my hobby. It's archery. I like it so much that I pursue it although it takes quite a lot of time and in spite of the injuries it causes.

Injuries? Well, there is tis nasty looking black-purple-yellow-blue spot on my left forearm from the bow string. But I have learned to hold my bow properly, so that should not happen any more in the future. Good.

Then there was this bruise on my left hand, caused by the rest constantly hitting against it. Convinced that I am clumsier than everybody else (I still think that I probably am), I tried to learn to shoot more correctly untill my son and my Main Squeeze figured out it was actually a left-hand rest, put together in a way that enabled you to install it on a right-nad riser. Only that it then bruised your hand. The joint between the thumb and the hand which had constantly been beaten before is almost healed now. Good.

And then there is the most inconvenient injury of all - my nose. Yep, NOSE.

I must be doing something wrong and hte string scratches my nose so badly that it begins to bleed. Almost at the tip, slightly to the right. Doesn't look nice. And once I must have pulled the string and let it hit the nose almost directly and then there was this bleeding little spot in the middle of the right side of my nose. When it healed, it was sitting there waiting to meet the bowstring so it could bleed again. And again.

Anyway, I still decided to go to a competition. It counts for the Slovenian Cup and there you can also qualify for the national championship.

Some people say you should definitely go to competitions. I knew I was not good, but I thought it would be interestiong. Fun. So I went.

And if you're in good company - my Main Squeeze, my daughter, her boyfriend (also competing), my niece, ma MS's niece, others from our club - what more could you possibly ask for?

Want to see some photos? Here:

A woman getting ready to shoot. Yep, me:



And shooting:




The competitors checking their hits and writing the scores while the referees are monitoring and helping if necessary:







And... Oh dear!


My finger is on the OUTSIDE of my nose, pleeease! My poor nose! Protected with a strip of adhesive bandage, but still! My daughter jumped at the opportunity to take a photo of me while touching my nose.

I needed to score 370 (what? points? rings? rounds? just 370? help me with vocabulary, please) out of 600 to qualify for the national championship. I didn't believe I would and I didn't. That was not the point. I wanted to see what such a match looked like from the competitor's point of view. And I liked it.

I won't put any photos here that I do not have the permission to - let me just tell you that my daughter's boyfriend was much better. He scored 453! I think that is very good! Well done!

True, we were both on 10th place in our category, only he left 10 competitors behind and I left none. Well, next time, maybe.

And there are other competitions. I can still qualify next week or on 13th February. Next week is too soon, but IF I feel I'm good enough in the beginning of February, I just might attend that other one. I'll see. I'm not going to that competition as I went to this one when I was probably the most light-hearted archer on scene. And, as I said - I liked it.

Sunday 3 January 2010

New Year Wish

I wish you all the best - self understood, isn't it? All the things you wish for, all the little joys that make your moments more pleasant,everything that makes you happy.

But what would I make my special wish this year? Let me see.

Let me show you a picture here. I have already written once - somewhere other than here - that this is my favourite monument. Do you have a fav among monuments? I'm not a monument fan or anything, it's just that this one really pegged it right on thr head!

It was built in memory of an important priest. He was a voice of reason, also teaching people economics and playing the role of a patron to some of them.

You know what such monuments usually say? There is a verse or maybe something from the bible, can be quite poetic sometimes and then people think those deep thoughts trying to find out whether they agree with them or not.

Not this one:



It is located in a town in Slovenia and the message on it is quite simple:



"Let's pray for common sense."

That is my wish for this world - common sense, plenty of it, we need it!

All the other wishes will be closer to their realisation if this one comes true, don't you think? No trading big and truly meaningful issues for the ego of the mighty ones, no selling the show and image to people when they need the right information, no leaving anyone behind just to please the ones in the front rows, no buying weapons where people die of hunger and... you get it, I'm sure. I'll stop here or you'll need a shovel to dig yourselves out of all I say here.

So whenever you hear of people doing something mean convinced they are absolutely right and entitled to do it and you shake your heads in disbelief, that's exactly what I mean - common sense, that's what this world is missing.

Doesn't sound festive enough? Sorry that's me - I love you all, truly, but to be honest, I'm a clumsy person, I suck at celebrating, still wishing the best to each and everyone.