Lax, and... filler, really...

Hey there, everyone.

While I still doubt that anyone is really reading this, I’ll address this to “everyone”, just in case multiple people stumble accidentally across this page and end up reading this…

So, last night (Friday, 20120921), I went to a lacrosse game at the US Naval Academy. The Academy was playing a Japanese team- I heard it was the Japanese National Team, but that wasn’t confirmed because no one really knew whom they were- and I was invited by a woman who was at the hospital.

She’s a Red Cross volunteer, whose son plays lacrosse at the Academy. He’s played for a few years, and he’s about to graduate.

I’ve taken to carrying around my lax backpack with a stick in it everywhere I go here, to try to drum up interest. I’m trying to start a group here so that we can just toss around, play some half-speed games, just have some fun.

And she saw the stick, and invited me to the game.

… Now, I didn’t even know that lacrosse *existed* in Asia. A friend of mine, Singaporean, told me that lacrosse is big there- she says because ‘it reminds us of our colonial masters’. Now, that doesn’t really make sense to me: when the ‘States was ruling in Japan, lacrosse was not a national sport. It was around the same time that Americans were systematically wiping out the American Indians, so I find it unlikely that they brought lacrosse across the Pacific with them at the time.

But, point is, it apparently does exist in Asia.

… They just aren’t really very good at it.

Hey, in all honesty, I can’t trash them hard- I’m sure that any of the guys on that team could have owned my ass. But then, I’ve only ever played one year of lacrosse- one season, that is, and I amassed about 10 minutes of field time over a few brief stints in a few games.

The Naval Academy’s team, however, is far, far beyond my skill level. As such, they are also very far beyond the Japanese team’s abilities. The final score was 23-3.

Now, with a score like that, I honestly feel that they shouldn’t have allowed those 3 goals. If they dominated them to such an extent as to finish 20 points beyond them, then I honestly feel that they shouldn’t have allowed those 3 goals. Clearly they were much better than the other team, clearly they were able to shut them out, so honestly, I think that they should have. Three goals? No. Those shouldn’t have gotten through.

Because of what my friend said about lacrosse in Asia being big, I was expecting the Japanese to play a hard game, and to give the Academy a run for their money. But after the score was 7-0, I changed my mind, and was pretty sure that it was going to be a smear. The Academy had 13 points before the Japanese scored once.

Well, because I knew the mother of one of the players, I hung around after the game. First, I went onto the field (it was the practice field, but still pretty cool) and got to toss around with 3 of the players, who complimented me on my stringing job. (my primary stick has a custom string job- it’s like a Pita Pocket, but with two strips of mesh instead of leather pieces)

After we tossed for a bit, we went and had a tailgate. Parents of players brought food- almost everyone brought something different- so there was soda, tea, salsa, teriyaki steak sandwiches, barbeque pork, pizza… it was a good time. Now, it was on the campus, so there was no alcohol allowed- but I’m 20, so of course that didn’t make much difference to me. Of course.

So, now, I’m pretty excited about getting this lax group started here at the hospital. I need to find a good time, but once I do, I’m confident that I have enough interest to have enough people to have a good group going. I’m very much looking forward to it.

… And, yes, that’s all for today.

Oh, except for this:

I have, last week, gotten a carbon fiber socket for my leg. I had a plastic one- plastic, because it is very cheap, and they can reshape them to every whim. With plastic, all they have to do is reheat the socket, and bend, stretch, or shrink them to fit your leg. When you first have your amputation and first get into a leg, your residual limb stump will shrink rapidly, often changing shape and size several times in the space of a week. Once you form a carbon fiber socket, it’s finished. There is no reshaping, no tweaking. So, understandably, they hold off until your leg has mostly stabilized and stopped shrinking and changing.

Carbon fiber is stronger, and much lighter, than the plastic sockets. It is also a slightly closer fit because without your leg changing, they don’t have to give you as much room for adjustments.

I also got a new foot put on. This one is called the “Variflex XC”, and it’s a C-shaped curved piece of carbon fiber at the ankle. My last foot was a straight piece, but this one allows for more flex. Because of that, my gait is smoother because I don’t rock up and down on my foot (because if the ankle doesn’t flex, the foot stays at 90 degrees, so when you rock from your heel to toe your body will lift up, and then I would drop down onto my right foot, making it a lift-drop, unsteady gait), and because it flexes more, it also springs back more, giving more energy to each step. This means that I can move more quickly- apparently, this foot can even allow you to jog slightly, say, to cross the road quickly.

I’ve been sleeping very little lately, mostly because they’ve changed my medication… again…. I was taking Lyrica, but there are concerns that Lyrica can affect balance, so they moved me to Cymbalta. However, I may only take it once- in the morning- so, by the time I try to go to sleep at night, the meds have worn off, and my leg is pretty much constantly ‘buzzing’, making it very hard to get to sleep.

But, enough whining.

Until next time…