Sweet 16 years of ultimate
This year is the official point in time where I’ve been playing this sport of ultimate for half of my life. That’s exciting! From this month onward, I will have participated in this global community for over half of my life. That’s something to be proud about.
This is the crazy spot that I’ve dedicated many thousands of hours, and thousands of dollars, to play and compete in. Just because I love it!
Pre-tryout nerves and how travel has made me feel (almost) invincible!
This weekend marks the start of the tryout season for club teams in my sport of ultimate. Commonly known as ultimate Frisbee (but for trademark reasons officially “ultimate”), this is a pretty intense sport that has dreams of someday being a part of the Olympics.
Featuring full field 7 on 7 gameplay, this is the sport I’ve played for nearly 16 years now. Time and experience doesn’t mean I’m spared from nerves and butterflies, but if I can travel the world solo, then I can do this!
Me at the top of Lion Rock Fortress in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka
2015 #AnnualReview Part 2: The Goals
I wrote yesterday about what went well this year, and what didn’t go so well. That was the first part of this Annual Review process to review 2015 and start thinking about how I want 2016 to go. This post is about the specific and measurable Annual Review goals that I’ve set for 2016.
Last year, I started this process but I didn’t follow through with setting all my goals and specifying the actions needed for each goal. I also didn’t go back to my goals each month or quarter to check my progress or update what actions needed to be taken to work towards the goals. This year, I’ve filled out the spreadsheet template so that I can keep updating it each month and use it to stay on track for meeting my goals. I think it’s a good idea to come back to goals periodically, or else the only thing you’ve actually done was set the goals and not take any action towards them. The chances of actually achieving them will be quite low without reassessment and action.
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Volunteering at a huge week long sporting event #volunteerlife
What is it like to be an insider at a big sporting event? I had my first taste of that last month when I was a volunteer for the World U23 Ultimate Championships. Need an excuse to travel? This could be it!
Ultimate is a great sport, full of people ranging from your stereotypical hippie to your nearly semi-pro elite athlete. You can find leagues, pickup, and tournaments for all levels of players and seriousness. That’s what I love about this sport, everyone just loves to play and meet other people who also love to play.
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One year post operation: Tiny scar and a numb face
A year ago last month, I had surgery for some facial fractures. This injury included some nerve damage on the right side of my face. I wrote about when it had just happened. In the last year, I’ve had to change some of my expectations for recovery. This is my follow up on post operation recovery.
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Pirate face, my recent surgery, and healthcare in Singapore
Sorry I haven’t been around the past few months! It has been a bit of a strange period of time, but I’ll explain later.
I’ve had the pleasure of experience healthcare in Singapore, now on 2 occasions. I fractured a few bones in my right hand last year, and a few weeks ago I suffered a collision during an ultimate tournament that resulted in facial fractures.
My face is broken
It’s called a zygomaticomaxillary complex fracture. Basically, there were some fractures in the parts of my skull supporting my eye and the tissue around my eye. The tissue under my eye was shifting or falling downwards because the bone there (orbital rim) had some slight displacement. Some of the bones to the side of my eye were fractured, and then there were some fractures in the lower part of my cheek (at the level of the bottom of my nose).
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Ultimate is my passion
A disc and a shot glass. Just another normal day at a tournament.
Ultimate (frisbee) is my passion. It’s the ultimate sport in my mind, and many will agree. It is the one thing that I know I will be passionate about for the rest of my life. It is how I’ve met many of my closest friends, and how I’ve met every guy that I’ve ever dated. Why am I so passionate? Let me explain!
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136 days until World Ultimate Club Championships in Lecco, Italy!
I’m officially 136 days away from playing ultimate in Italy for the World Ultimate Club Championships (WUCC) 2014! This international tournament will be held in Lecco, Italy (which is somewhat close to Milan). The weeks and days are winding down now, and I’ll soon be back in Singapore to train with my team (Shiok! ultimate).
How to travel to a place that just had a natural disaster?
Last Wednesday night before I left for the Philippines, I had a think about if I should really be going. Considering that they were just hit 6 days before by Typhoon Haiyan aka Yolanda, I got on my flight with mixed feelings.
It may come as a surprise that our ultimate tournament in Manila scheduled for the weekend right after the typhoon didn’t get cancelled, but I’m glad that I at least was able to bring clothes and money to donate to people who are recovering. The tournament organizers rallied all tournament goers to bring donations of food, clothes, supplies, and of course money. There were teams and players coming from different parts of the Philippines, Singapore, China, USA, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, and probably other countries that I’ve missed. One Singaporean team gathered about 450 kg of donations to bring over! I’m not sure how much was donated in total in the end, but will update here if/when I find out. Continue Reading
Hey, I'm Chewy! I'm a science journalist currently living in New York. I'm an introvert who likes to see new things and learn. Here I write about my travels and musings about food, places and cultures. Check out my photos, reviews, and random thoughts!