No Wednesday walk for me this week because I got drafted to sub for the VFW dart league team. Our match was at Johansson’s this week, and I understand they are currently the top-ranked team. I hadn’t picked up the darts since the last time I subbed a couple of months ago, and I played embarrassingly badly in that match. I warned my teammates that about all I had to offer was being better than a forfeit, and they agreed that was good enough. I arrived early to get some practice in, but the rust in my throwing capabilities was apparent. Oh well, nothing to done but take the beating and hope I won’t be asked back.
To my surprise, I played better than I expected. Still nothing near my old standard of play, but I managed to go 2-2 in my matches, and we won the beer round (team game), which is always a nice consolation prize. Imagine what I might have done if I could find the motivation to get off my lazy ass and start practicing again. Well, I do have it in mind to do so, so we’ll see if I follow through.
Even if I decide to start playing competitively again, it won’t be in the dart league. The 2:00 p.m. start messes up my schedule, and as undisciplined as I may be, I do like to stick with my routines. I’m usually not home from the Wednesday hike until noon, and that doesn’t leave enough time to shower, nap, and blog before dart league, as is my afternoon custom. Plus, I’m not a fan of drinking that early in the day, and for me, at least, beer and darts go hand-in-hand. In fact, I call beer my aiming fluid. Still, I can see myself participating in a couple of the evening tournaments each week. I hang out in a bar during those hours anyway; I may as well be doing something productive while I’m there. Anyway, it is something for me to consider.
After darts, I made my way to Hideaway for the Wednesday feeding.
After Hideaway, I stumbled up the highway and chose The Green Room for my nightcap. Had a couple of beers, but then saw some Hash buddies at Sloppy Joe’s, so I popped in and had my last beer of the day there. Again, the dart league messed up my rhythm, and I found myself home just after seven and in bed by eight. Not good, even by my low standards.
Ready for today’s punny jokes?
How about a Trekkie twosome?
Anyway, I’m working hard to adopt this philosophy:
And now for today’s closing number courtesy of Mr. Elton John:
Congrats, I guess, on a decent-enough game. May your aiming fluid help your darts to fly true. This darts thing happens in cycles, doesn’t it.
Good luck figuring out the new rhythm. Asleep by eight? Pussy.
You seem to be attempting wilfully to evoke fear in yourself of late, what with the instant dread of MS due to a mild sequence of knee-buckling incidents while absolutely par for the course memory slips and cognitive mishaps alert you to aging fears. Well all I can say is, “Dart on!” The game/sport has multiple proven health benefits, the most obvious of which is maintained hand-eye coordination sharpness; the most underrated is its benefits to memory and the brain in general.
By the way, how far in meterage are you strictly supposed to be standing on the oche from the board in the PI?
Thanks, Dan. More good reasons to revisit my decision to abandon darts. I think approaching the game with a different attitude, i.e., just something to do to pass the time while I’m drinking, will help. Cheaper than buying lady drinks, too!
I didn’t mean to leave the impression that I was “invoking fear” in myself. I’ve been willing to live with the periodic pain in my leg, but I just wanted to be sure it wasn’t something more severe before I attempted to ignore it. I’ll post about my doctor’s visit today.
Stayed up until 9:30 last night! How do you like them apples?