Ok... I had this big long post drafted up for Mother's Day, but I think it's a little too close to the bone to post. Suffice it to say... don't forget to hug the "forgotten mothers" in your life today. The ones who don't (for whatever reason) have kids to call/send flowers/give cards.
And instead of that big long post, I have to fill the space somehow... and since yesterday was the team's first "Big Game" of the 2009 paintball outdoor season, I'll prattle on about that for a while ;)
To start... yes, I know I'm a probationary member of the team. Yes, I know that technically I've played paintball before. However, I can say, having experienced yesterday... I had no idea what it was really like. In a good way. *grin*
D and I got up in the early hours (yes, boys and girls, they make a 5:00 in the morning on weekends, too) and were on the road to procure food, gasoline, and money (not necessarily in that order) and hit the road for Flasc Paintball's field down the road from the Hamilton Airport. There had been weather uncertainty and much sky-watching all week wondering if the weather would cooperate and stay dry for us. Well.. there was some rain during the week... making the ground wet enough that I started to wonder as we pulled in to park if, perhaps, we need to investigate getting a 'paintball vehicle'. Certainly, we were very glad that we'd brough my car and not D's. And that was at the START of the day.
The team recently did a very large gear order in the hopes of getting us all kitted out with the uniform before taking to the fields as a 'unit'. Some hiccups to that plan, but it worked well enough that we looked like a team when we all rolled onto the field to start the fight. But first, we had to figure out how to change into it. Thank goodness for friends with heavily tinted mini-vans *laugh*. Side-effects was kind enough to oblige when I asked if I could borrow his van... with D standing guard because 6 feet of me wouldn't quite fit in the van with all the gear and stuff that was still there *laugh*. So we geared up, checked in, grabbed our bags and paint and headed into the 'dead box' to get sorted out. There were a few mud puddles, and generically damp ground, but it wasn't too bad. There were some skids lying around, and tarps to cover gear, so we took full advantage while we chronied and got some pre-game instructions.
And then the heavens opened. A good half-hour of solid, steady rain. A note for future reference... rain inside the mask before you put it on... Bad Thing. This leads to fogging... and difficulty spotting targets between the rain speckles. Mosquitos inside the lens? Also not good.
D and the rest of the probationary members (except me) were instructed to stage a mass charge as soon as the game began... and they did, taking the opposing forces completely by surprise, flanking them, and taking control of their base within the first 5 minutes of play. I was assigned to body-guard our general. I'm cool with that. I probably took far fewer hits than I would have otherwise... and it meant less stress on my less-than-fully-functional knees *laugh* I got to try out the APEX that came with the marker set-up we bought from another team-mate for me, finally (it's a but much for indoor, really)... I had a blast. Our general didn't get shot-out until after I was gone, and I lasted a good long while before that happened, thankfully. I was so proud of myself... I made people duck!
I know... that sounds pretty lame. But bear in mind, when playing indoors (until yesterday my only experience), I was a bit of a 'paint magnet'... I rarely lasted longer than about 30 seconds and posed little or no threat to anyone on the field. So seeing people duck away from my firing line... it felt damn good.
So, yeah... playing outside is a COMPLETELY different experience... but I'm still hooked ;) It's gonna be an awesome season!!
And instead of that big long post, I have to fill the space somehow... and since yesterday was the team's first "Big Game" of the 2009 paintball outdoor season, I'll prattle on about that for a while ;)
To start... yes, I know I'm a probationary member of the team. Yes, I know that technically I've played paintball before. However, I can say, having experienced yesterday... I had no idea what it was really like. In a good way. *grin*
D and I got up in the early hours (yes, boys and girls, they make a 5:00 in the morning on weekends, too) and were on the road to procure food, gasoline, and money (not necessarily in that order) and hit the road for Flasc Paintball's field down the road from the Hamilton Airport. There had been weather uncertainty and much sky-watching all week wondering if the weather would cooperate and stay dry for us. Well.. there was some rain during the week... making the ground wet enough that I started to wonder as we pulled in to park if, perhaps, we need to investigate getting a 'paintball vehicle'. Certainly, we were very glad that we'd brough my car and not D's. And that was at the START of the day.
The team recently did a very large gear order in the hopes of getting us all kitted out with the uniform before taking to the fields as a 'unit'. Some hiccups to that plan, but it worked well enough that we looked like a team when we all rolled onto the field to start the fight. But first, we had to figure out how to change into it. Thank goodness for friends with heavily tinted mini-vans *laugh*. Side-effects was kind enough to oblige when I asked if I could borrow his van... with D standing guard because 6 feet of me wouldn't quite fit in the van with all the gear and stuff that was still there *laugh*. So we geared up, checked in, grabbed our bags and paint and headed into the 'dead box' to get sorted out. There were a few mud puddles, and generically damp ground, but it wasn't too bad. There were some skids lying around, and tarps to cover gear, so we took full advantage while we chronied and got some pre-game instructions.
And then the heavens opened. A good half-hour of solid, steady rain. A note for future reference... rain inside the mask before you put it on... Bad Thing. This leads to fogging... and difficulty spotting targets between the rain speckles. Mosquitos inside the lens? Also not good.
D and the rest of the probationary members (except me) were instructed to stage a mass charge as soon as the game began... and they did, taking the opposing forces completely by surprise, flanking them, and taking control of their base within the first 5 minutes of play. I was assigned to body-guard our general. I'm cool with that. I probably took far fewer hits than I would have otherwise... and it meant less stress on my less-than-fully-functional knees *laugh* I got to try out the APEX that came with the marker set-up we bought from another team-mate for me, finally (it's a but much for indoor, really)... I had a blast. Our general didn't get shot-out until after I was gone, and I lasted a good long while before that happened, thankfully. I was so proud of myself... I made people duck!
I know... that sounds pretty lame. But bear in mind, when playing indoors (until yesterday my only experience), I was a bit of a 'paint magnet'... I rarely lasted longer than about 30 seconds and posed little or no threat to anyone on the field. So seeing people duck away from my firing line... it felt damn good.
So, yeah... playing outside is a COMPLETELY different experience... but I'm still hooked ;) It's gonna be an awesome season!!
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2 comments:
Glad you had a good time!
xoxo
It's been a while since I checked in on your blog. Loving all the paintball updates, sounds like it's a blast. :)
And congrats on the 25lbs!! Way to go! :)
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