First place gets the money, second place gets a “nice try”. I like this photo because it’s a little ambiguous about which is which…
The Columbia Area Darts Association (CADA) hosted it’s first ever qualifying event yesterday. We had six players vying for paid entry ($110!) to the ADO Regional Cricket Qualifier next month in Charleston, SC. It was a round robin format, with each player playing the other players 3 legs of Cricket. Winner of the most legs on the day takes home the prize money.
I had a good day of darts, going 2-1, 3-0, 2-1, 2-1 and 1-2. Well, the 1-2 at the end stung a little, but it was one of those situations where I threw well but my opponent threw better. Nothing to be done about that. Anyway, I’m the one in the photo above giving the money away.
After the darts were done, a group of us went out to try Columbia’s newest Korean restaurant–The Korea Garden.
Jee Yeun is the expert and she declared the food at Korea Garden to be excellent. I enjoyed the galbi and “ding dong” jiggae very much as well…
And finally, this morning’s weigh-in finds me at 232.5, down 2.5 pounds from last week. It is good to be going in the right direction again. Girth remains stubbornly unchanged at 44″. If you are keeping score at home, I’ve lost 46 pounds since February.
Fans of LTG will recall that I’ve been working hard to bring the sport of darts back to Columbia in a big way. Well, truth be told even a small revitalization will be a helluva lot more than we have. With either of those ends in minds, we recently founded the Columbia Area Darts Association, or as the lazy amongst us affectionately call it, CADA.
Knowing that taking care of the important details is the first step on the road to success, I undertook the effort of having a logo designed. Lacking any relevant and necessary skills to complete such a project, I did the next best thing: I asked for bids at a website called DesignQuote.net.
Most of the bids were ridiculously expensive, but two came back with quotes that were comparatively reasonable. Unable to decide who to pick, I set them both to work. A little design competition if you will. Now, I already had a concept in mind. Back in those heady days of the 1980s when darts actually existed in Columbia the organization used this:
Old school graphic design. Ugly, but functional I suppose
I actually think it’s pretty damn awful. Still, Columbia is a fine city and all, but when it comes to recognizable landmarks, it’s tough to beat the State House. I just needed to pretty it up some. Here’s what I sent my designers as a starting point:
Hey, don’t laugh! I told you I had absolutely zero talent as an artist…
What the State House actually looks like:
Right smack dab in the middle of Downtown Columbia
So, the first designer offered me this:
Well, I guess you could say it is what I asked for, but it really wasn’t what I wanted. Know what I mean?
With the State House in silhouette, it could be any damn building. It was just not the “distinctively Columbia” look I was going for.
So, designer number 2 came up with this rendition:
Ah, my vision becomes reality at last!
Alright, that’s more like it, don’t you think? Not perfect, but as we used to say in the Federal government, “it satisfices”.
Hey, speaking of logos, did I mention that CADA is now officially a member of the American Darts Organization (ADO). Well, we are. That’s the big time, baby!
Long story short: I didn’t qualify for the 501 Nationals yesterday. I lost because I couldn’t beat players I should have owned. Conversely, I beat the guys who should have owned me. Just one of those days.
On the other hand, a darter I hadn’t seen in over a year came up to me and said “I almost didn’t recognize you. How much weight have you lost?” Well friends, the answer to that is 43.5 pounds. This week finds me at 235 and I’m pleased to be moving in the right direction again, dropping 3 pounds (after last week’s gain of 1.5). I’m working harder and it’s coming off slower. I believe my body thinks where I’m at is just about right. I disagree though. I want to lose 20 more pounds before I go into my maintenance routine.
I’ve forgotten a lot about darts it seems. Had to retire my old fixed point Black Widows as the barrel grip had worn smooth. I bought some new barrels from Jokerman with a very nice raised grip, but I wasn’t happy about how thick they are (on those rare occasions when I throw a tight group). So, I was looking at some options at Horizondarts.com and Jee Yeun said “what’s wrong with these?” and produced a set of movable point Black Widows I had put away when I switched to fixed points. They seem to be flying as well as anything else I’ve thrown, so we are going to take a drive out to Aiken tomorrow and see what happens…
Tough weekend of darts in Nashville. Just could not achieve any level of consistency and consequently lost matches I was in a position to win. Only real highlight was a top 8 finish in the Saturday blind draw and a couple of solid performances in singles (followed up by exceeding poor ones). Alas.
I also showed some regression in the war on fat, gaining a half pound. Stuck to the diet, so I can only assume that low carb beer in quantity is not conducive to weight loss. Alas.
Heading out bright and early in the morning for the trek to Nashville, TN to shoot some darts and drink some beers and have me some fun at the Music City Classic dart tourney.
This is one of the biggest dart events of the year in the USA so it attracts most of the big name darters. And it also brings in the no names like yours truly. Hey, someone has to feed the pot to allow for that $20,000 purse.
Lord knows I’ve had my share of bad luck at these past few tournaments. Here’s hoping that changes and I get the chance to beat one or two of those devils.
Which of course is the not so subtle reference to my favorite Kris Kristofferson song…
Twenty-seven legs of 501 thrown today. On the bright side, I took a shot at the out in twenty-three of them. On the not so bright side, I only hit the out in fourteen. Had I made half of those I missed I’d likely have earned a paid entry in the Regionals next month. Ah well. According to the Bible of Darts, every darters prayer should be “Lord, just give me a shot at the out!” I’m hereby modifying that to add “…and let me hit them with some regularity.”
According to the book I ought to be throwing like a champ. I think I’ll read up on flying jet planes next…
Overall, I threw decently I suppose. Moments of brilliance, including two 180s, surrounded by the usual mediocrity. Well, I guess all you can do is laugh about it (there is no crying allowed in darts!). Or maybe write steal a song. Yeah, that’s the ticket! Just call me Billy Ray Walrus!
(sung to the tune of Achy Breaky Heart)
You can tell the world I shot just like a fool You can mock the shots I coulda took You can tell your sis about the outs I missed And laugh and joke about me on Facebook
You can tell my arms they didn’t do no harm Except for the bounce outs on the floor And you can tell my lips to tell my fingertips They’ve got to find the target on the board
But don’t tell my darts, my Aiken breakin’ darts I just don’t think they’d give a hoot And if you tell my darts, my Aiken breakin’ darts They’d just say he ought to learn to shoot! oo oo
Mercifully, I leave it at that with apologies to the other Billy Ray.
Later today I’ll be heading up the highway to compete in the Charlotte Open dart tournament. Last year I made my debut in an American Darts Organization (ADO) sanctioned event at the Charlotte Open, so I’ve now come full circle. What a year of darts it has been! Indulge me while I take a little stroll down memory lane, will you?
($ indicates I managed to take home some money, * indicates multiple events at that venue, click on photos to enlarge)
July 2012
$ Charlotte Open, Charlotte, NC
I had a big thrill last year at the Charlotte Open making it to the finals in the Friday night blind draw and playing on the Championship Board. I had the good fortune of drawing John Liggett as a partner. And the misfortune of playing against two highly ranked players (Chuck Pankow and Robbie Phillips). Big time darts, big time fun!
$ State Street Pub, West Columbia, SC
They didn’t much like me winning their silly little tournament. Jee Yeun’s making sure the door didn’t hit me on the way out. I haven’t been back.
* Puddlin’ Duck, Columbia, SC (Pointless Dart League Champion)
The regulars at the Puddlin’ Duck for Wednesday night darts with the Pointless Dart League
August 2012
$* VFW, Aiken, SC (Friday night blind draw)
Except for the drive (an hour and 20 minutes from my house) the VFW is Aiken is always a great venue for good darts and good times. You can see how happy my partner David was to be taking home some money!
September 2012
Washington Area Open, Sterling, VA
Me and my buddy Duke teamed up without much success. We did manage to have a good time however.
October 2012
$ * Dolce Vita Pub, Seoul, Korea
Chris Werner and I walked away with some well deserved cash at the Supercricket tourney at Dolce Vita Pub
$ * Bull and Barrel, Seoul, Korea
Saturday nights were always hoppin’ at the newest dart venue in Itaewon–Bull and Barrel. Bridget Werner and I won a little towards our bar tab…
Dillinger’s Bar, Seoul, Korea (Itaewon 501 League)
Had a great time throwing in the Itaewon 501 singles league. Couldn’t do better than 3rd place, but I got lots of legs in along the way, had some great matches, drank me some beers, and maybe even improved my game a little bit.
$ Blue Frog, Seoul, Korea
Played one tourney here and tied (we opted to split 1st and 2nd place money rather than drunkenly play a best of 3 finals. Worst bar in Itaewon, I never went back.
What the Bulls? takes the B division crown and then the playoff championship. A fine piece of work that was!
Xenis Bar, Songtan, Korea
December 2012
$ Korea Darts Federation tournament–had a classic battle with my nemesis and friend Alister Tarbett. I took the championship in the fifth and deciding leg and I have the video to prove it!
$ * Dolce Vita Pub, Seoul, Korea (Friday night blind draw)
One final Friday night with the gang at Dolce Vita before returning to the American phase of my life…
VFW Aiken, SC ADO Regional Qualifier (I didn’t qualify)
$ * Fishbowl Lounge, Augusta, GA
Fishbowl Lounge in Augusta is a friendly joint and has a Saturday night blind draw I’ve played a couple of times. That’s Bridget Werner shooting ’em up!
March 2013
$ Garden City Classic, Augusta, GA
Pleased as punch with a Top 16 finish in Augusta. Pathetic I know…
Virginia Beach Darts Classic, Virginia Beach, VA
Me and partner Duke Gates warming up in Virginia Beach. It didn’t go as well as we’d hoped, but the beer was cold and the company was great!
April 2013
New World Dart Series, Las Vegas, NV
My first event on the “pro tour” was pretty much a beat down, but I expected no less. My bracket included 3 time world champion John Part. I managed to win 18 of 45 legs played in the round robin.
One of the highlights of Las Vegas was running into an old Korea buddy, Tom Johnson. The other was getting married. Not necessarily in that order.
May 2013
$ First Break Bar, Sterling, VA
The Walrus and the Dragon were unstoppable in the Friday night blind draw at First Break.
$ Mighty Mike’s Bar, Sterling, VA
Some outstanding darters turned out for the Saturday draw at Mighty Mikes. I was happy to come away with second place money after some real dogfights…
Spring Fling Classic, Greenville, SC
Me and my buddy Justin Hayward (not the one from the Moody Blues) teamed up in Greenville and enjoyed an outstanding weekend of beer drinking and watching the ladies get crazy in the lounge. The darts? Oh well.
June 2013
$ Aiken Singles Series (ASS) League
Had a wonderful time throwing my ass off in the ASS league with a group of truly outstanding darters. I certainly was NOT second best amongst them, so taking home second place money was a pleasant surprise!
Lucky’s Tavern, Savannah, GA. I didn’t get lucky.
Friendly’s Bar, Savannah, GA. The folks were friendly enough, but they were bastards on the oche!
Piedmont Shootout, Winston-Salem, NC
Teamed up with James Mabie in Winston-Salem and threw some outstanding darts. In practice games. My inability to hit two key darts in two different events cost us a shot at the money. Well, at least I came away motivated to not let my head beat me next time.
July 2013
* Kwagga Sports Pub, Columbia, SC
Puddlin’ Duck was sold and our Wednesday night bar home is now called Kwagga. We’ve added some new faces and we are working hard to bring competitive darts back to Columbia big time!
So, there you have it. A year in the life of a darter. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to the person who makes it all possible, my biggest fan and supporter, Jee Yeun Lee McCrarey. Thanks baby!
I’ve been working hard at improving my performance in darts competitions. Perhaps the one aspect of my dart game that needs the most work is my mental approach to playing. Simply put, I lose too many games I should win because I all too frequently have my head up my ass.
Having identified the problem, I set about looking for fixes. And through the miracle of the Internets (thank you Al Gore!) I came across this CD:
And for $9.99 on iTunes it was mine! Did I mention that I was desperate?
The author, Joseph Clough, is a self described “best selling author, international Trainer, Celebrity Coach and Hypnotherapist.” He promises to “help each person achieve their full potential” through “advanced techniques of Neuro Linguistic Programming with Time Line Therapy™ and Hypnotherapy.” He invites his clients to “Be Your Potential.” His basic premise is that we allow our subconscious mind take control and hold us back through negative thinking. And he purports to be able change our subconscious thought process through the power of…hypnosis.
Now, I’ve been hypnotized before which was a rather strange experience. I had never been hypnotized by listening to a CD. I’m pretty sure I still haven’t because throughout the 50 minute long hypnotherapy session my subconscious was saying “you know this is bullshit, right?” To which I responded “yeah, I know. But I paid ten bucks for this so shut up and listen!”
It remains to be seen if I derived any benefit from my recorded session with Mr. Clough. I did find his British accent somewhat off-putting, but the best darters in the world are from the UK, so who am I to judge. Clough encouraged me to envision myself as the successful darter I aspire to be and to identify five behaviors that would allow me to reach my full potential. I got my subconscious to play along and we came up with these:
1. Cool. I throw better darts in practice than I do in bar league play. I throw better in bar league than I do in big tournaments. And really the only explanation for this is I let myself get uptight and intimidated. So, I’m resolved to approach whatever level of competition I face with the same coolness I approach my practice sessions. In darts, it is always you against the board. So just relax and play your game.
2. Calm. Being emotional during a match is always counterproductive. Getting mad at your opponent (or yourself) won’t help you win games. You can’t control what the other guy throws, but if you stay calm you can control how well you throw. And in the end, that is all that matters.
3. Confident. This is a big one for me. I know I can throw a strong dart game because on occasion I have done so. I need to remember that I am capable of replicating that success on a more consistent basis. This kind of gets into that whole power of positive thinking thing. Instead of standing at the line thinking “for god sakes, don’t miss this!” I want to be more “you’ve done this before, let’s win the game right here, right now!”
4. Focus. Sometimes within a match I start getting sloppy with my darts and making mental mistakes. So I need to maintain a laser-like focus, concentrating from the beginning dart to the winning dart, planning my shots, working the board one dart at a time, and playing a strategically smart game.
5. Forgiveness. When it comes to darts, I’m my own worst enemy. When I have a bad throw I jump all over my ass and call myself some really awful things. Which usually results in a loss of cool, calm, confidence, and focus. So, I’m resolved to forgiving myself after a mistake, and not letting that mistake effect darts I haven’t thrown yet.
Alright, that all seems simple enough. Are you listening in there subconscious?
After a somewhat disappointing weekend of darting, I broke out a book I bought when I first started playing to see what I might have forgotten. There are fundamentally three aspects to successful darts–mechanics, math, and mental. To play well all of them need to be in balance.
I stood at the oche tonight and reviewed my mechanics–my grip is properly balanced on the dart, my stance is stable and balanced, my cock and release is fluid. Yeah, my follow through is bizarre looking, but I don’t think that really has a significant impact on my accuracy. And yes, I need to work on more consistency in my release point, but who doesn’t?
I’m working on the math and it’s coming along. But the math didn’t cost me any games this time around. (well, maybe I could have thrown for additional points in a cricket game, but that wasn’t math, that was a choice. When I’m holding the winning dart in hand I’ve got to go for it. That’s just me.)
So, that leaves mental. And yes, I believe I made the classic mistake of letting a few bad darts get in my head. When I start pressing and getting down on myself, I lose both focus and confidence. The book talks about “quiet cool” and that resonates for me. When I’m on my game (in the zone I call it) I step up to oche knowing I’m going to hit. I don’t really even think about it. I lost a huge leg missing three shots at a 32 out. Yeah, that happens. But looking back on it, I was thinking “don’t miss this, don’t miss this, don’t miss this”, instead of having a quiet cool mindset of “let’s win this right now.” It sounds trite I guess, but the mind is a funny thing and the power of positive thinking is, well, powerful.
Back from a weekend of darting in Winston-Salem, NC. I played pretty well overall, just not well enough to, you know, actually win. The worst part was being on the cusp of victory only to throw it away (no pun intended) with a couple of poorly thrown darts. Ah well, still not ready for prime time I guess.
On the drive home got caught in a massive traffic jam caused by a six car chain reaction pile up on I-85. It happened a mile or two up the road from me, but two ambulances, two fire trucks, and a state trooper vehicle kept both lanes bottlenecked for quite awhile. The accident occurred in the left lane and it doesn’t take an accident investigator (although technically I was trained as an accident investigator back in my USPS days) to figure out what happened–driving 70 plus miles per hour right on the ass of the car in front of you. Someone taps the breaks and all hell breaks loose. Idiots.
My final frustration was weighing in and finding I achieved no weight loss this week. My own fault really. Had the grand kids most of the week and that kept me off the treadmill (yeah, it was ALL their fault!). There was a Wendy’s next door to our hotel in Winston-Salem and I found it impossible to resist those soft ice cream waffle cones. I had two. I guess I should be glad I didn’t gain weight. So, holding steady at 246 (down 32.5 pounds overall). Girth also was unchanged at 46.5 inches, down 5″ since February.
I had a great day yesterday throwing darts in the ASS. Aiken Singles Series Dart League finals that is. The top six finishers in league play met at the VFW in Aiken, SC to determine a champion and your humble blog host was among them. The format was a round robin (each of the six played each other 3 games of 501) and then the top 4 finishers would advance to the championship round. I took 9 of 15 legs in the semis which was good enough to move on.
In the championship round each player faced off in full 9 game matches–a total of 27 games each–and the top two finishers would earn some dough. I went 4-5 against my first opponent, 3-6 against my second, but finished 7-2 against the third. And through the wonder of mathematics (the guy who beat me 6-3 lost to the guy I beat by a wider margin) that was good enough for the second place prize, a cool $100.00.
If you are keeping score that was 42 games of darts. We started at 1:30 and finished at 8:30. At the end it was more about endurance than skill. And I know folks joke about the athletic qualities of darters; but standing, walking, throwing, and intensely competing over such an extended period of time is both physically and mentally demanding and quite exhausting. Plus, I’m old and fat.
But not as fat as I once was! 18 weeks into the LCHF diet plan I’ve surpassed the halfway point in reaching my goal of losing 60 pounds. The previous couple of weeks I seemed to have flatlined, so I began walking the treadmill to get the weight loss jump started again. The payoff was a drop this week from 251 pounds to 246! That makes a net loss 32.5 since February 19. Color me pleased about that. I also managed to whittle away some of my stubborn girth, cutting my middle down to 46.5″, 5″ smaller than I was when I started the diet. My jeans are definitely riding higher these days!
It’s Memorial Day so of course today I’m remembering the brave men and women who answered our nation’s call to duty and paid for our freedom with their blood. I wrote about one of them, my great Uncle Frank, last year. Have a read if you are so inclined.
Back home from a weekend of darts action in lovely Greenville, South Carolina. I’d like to say I’m seeing noticeable improvement in my game, but I’m still throwing entirely too inconsistent to be truly competitive at tournament level play. There were some islands of brilliance in a vast sea of mediocrity, but nothing worth blogging about. Well, two things I’ll call progress. I’m over the jitters of playing against outstanding darters, and I did manage to advance to the third round in singles cricket which was one of my goals going in. Yeah, that qualifies as setting the bar pretty low. But it’s my damn bar to do with as I please, right?
Came home and hit the scale for my weekly weigh-in and was pleased to see a loss of three pounds. That brings me down to to 249. Glad to put those 250s behind me, hopefully forever. Total weight loss thus far is 29.5 pounds, pretty nearly half of my 60 pound goal (see, I can set the bar high too). Oddly enough, my girth measurement is up one inch to 47″. It boggles my brain to lose weight and get bigger at the same time. Jee Yeun says it’s from all the beer I drank this weekend. Well, I did put away some brewskis, but they were of the low carb (2.5 grams per bottle) variety. I’m more inclined to think it was the watermelon I scarfed down, which was pretty much my only major diet violation this week. Ah well, I guess the old saw that less is more has proven to be accurate in this case. Onward and downward!
Who says dart players aren’t athletes? I did the math and I can prove what a physically demanding game darts truly is. For example, I played in a round robin format event on Saturday with 8 other players. That means I played each player three games (legs). That’s a total of 24 legs. Now the throw line (oche) is 5′ 8″ from the dart board. Each turn (throw) consists of three darts. So after every throw you walk from the oche to the dart board and back, a distance of approximately 12 feet. It’s actually more, because you don’t walk directly back to the oche, you move behind your opponent while s/he thows. And usually you walk ever farther, because normally between throws you go back to the table area for a swallow of beer (aiming fluid). So, it’s fair to say the distance traveled for each throw is around 20 feet.
Now, I’m an average (at best) darter. And I reckon it takes me 30 darts to finish a leg (sometimes less, sometimes more). So, that’s 10 trips to and from the dart board, or 200 feet. That means each 3 leg match equals 600 feet of walking. What with warmups and trips to the restroom to recycle the aiming fluid, I walked over a mile during Saturday’s round robin.
But wait, there’s more! I played in a blind draw Saturday night (although I only lasted 9 legs before being eliminated). And on Sunday I played another 27 legs in the ASS (Aiken Singles Series) league. That’s a lot of walking! Come to think of it, maybe that’s why they call each game a leg! Hell, Johnny Cash even wrote a song about it.
Anyway, the above is a round about way of getting to this week’s progress report on my LCHF diet adventure. Other than darts, I’m really not managing much exercise. I am sticking pretty close to the dietary requirements without being fanatical about it. I have small helpings of fruit and berries occasionally and on Saturday I had a few fries because I was hungry and there were no other readily available options. But no bread, no starches, no sugary sweets. I dearly do miss them.
And so I was very pleased when my scale reported my weight as 253 pounds. That’s an incredible FOUR pound drop from last week! Overall I’m down 25 and a half pounds since February 19. It’s good to see that the self-sacrifice is showing some results. Now, I’m not sure where the weight is coming from. My girth is at 47″, just a half-inch reduction from last week and 4 1/2 inches overall. Still, my pants are riding higher these days, and that’s a much more comfortable fit.
Because I’m spending the weekend in lovely Aiken, South Carolina throwing darts. A regional qualifier today at the VFW. A blind draw tourney tonight in Augusta, GA (just across the Savannah river from Aiken), and then back to the VFW for the ASS (Aiken Singles Series) dart league on Sunday.
It’s tough to stick to the LCHF diet when I travel. And this weekend I went slightly off plan. Friday night I succumbed to the Mexican restaurant featured in the Tuscany casino that was arranged by Good Luck Mate. Had the shredded beef taco and enchilada plate ($6.95!). To my credit, I didn’t touch the rice and only indulged in dipping three tortilla chips in the salsa. I did better Saturday night, satisfying my hunger with a nice slab of prime rib (with sides of slaw and baked beans for $12.99). Sunday I threw caution to the wind and enjoyed a Carl’s Jr. burger and an authentic hand dipped strawberry shake (gawd it was so good!). I forsook the fries however. At the airport in Phoenix last night I consumed a Coney Island hot dog (chili and cheese) but didn’t eat the bun. Limited myself to two french fries. So, I wasn’t totally bad and hopefully what you eat in Vegas stays in Vegas.
On the other hand, I got in quite a bit of exercise. In addition to my sprint across the Charlotte airport I participated in a marathon of darts on Saturday. I was in the dart hall from 3:00 until almost 11:00, mostly on my feet and walking, and all I consumed during those 8 hours was a mixture of diet cokes and light beer. I won 16 of the 45 legs (games) I played, exceeding the goal of 10 wins I had set for myself going in. Keep in mind, this was a professional tourney. In fact, one of my opponents, John Part, is a three time world champion (he kicked my heinie pretty good, although I had one opportunity to win a leg but I blew it). Anyway, I was physically exhausted when it was over so I must have gotten in some pretty good exercise, right?
This week’s weigh-in finds me at 262.5, down .5 from last week and 16 pounds overall. Girth is holding steady at 49″ (down from 51.5″ in February). I’m a little disappointed that I’m not getting smaller around the middle, but I think that’s about the last place you lose your excess weight. I’m also a little worried that my carb binge hasn’t registered yet. We’ll see next week I suppose.
I spent the weekend in Virginia Beach getting my ass kicked in darts. It’s hard work being the tournament patsy and I did develop quite the appetite. After all, man does not live by low carb beer alone. They had a great snack bar set up for the tourney participants. Unfortunately, the selections were all rich in carbohydrates. Which led me to the hotel’s seaside restaurant in search of something healthy to eat. The best choice for me seemed to be the surf and turf salad and I ordered one up. After quite the wait, the server brought me a plate of leaves covered in strawberries. I said “what’s this?” and she told me it was the surf and turf salad I’d ordered. Well I took my fork and demonstrated for her that this particular salad was lacking in both the surf and the turf. “Oh” she replied, “we only serve the surf and turf on Sunday, so the kitchen must have gotten confused.” Apparently. After another long wait I got what I ordered, a tasty salad with some strips of steak and some small shrimps.
It ain’t easy keeping to this diet when I travel, although my sweetie did her best to keep me supplied with healthy snacks. And if this week’s weigh-in is any indication, the sacrifices seem to be paying off. I’ve even noticed a slight change appearance-wise. I’m still a big bellied MFer, but when poked my stomach now has some give. It used to be as hard as a watermelon. So, there’s that.
This week’s weight (still using my unreliable scale) is 263.5, down an amazing 3.5 pounds from last week and an incredible 15 pounds from the 278.5 I weighed on February 19. I pray to Buddha that I will continue to look less like him with each passing week.
My girth has dropped to 49″, down from last week’s 50.5″ and 2.5″ from my 51.5″ starting point.
Yes, I am pleased. I still have a long, long way to go to reach my target of around 220 pounds. That’s still on the high side according to the experts who claim my healthy weight to be 180 (I’m 6′ 1″ tall). I haven’t been that skinny since high school and I don’t expect, or really want, to be that thin again in this lifetime.
I’m thinking this week’s results are likely an outlier, but I’m obviously pleased to be heading in the right direction.
Although my dart game was in the toilet all weekend, I did meet some folks with a Korea connection. They had been living down Songtan way, a place I visit for darts only a couple of times a year. But we knew some of the same people and it was nice to encounter some fellow lovers of Korea. They really got a kick out of my Walrus dart jersey.
Here for a rather large annual dart tournament, the aptly named Virginia Beach Dart Classic. An interesting ride getting out here. From an amazing sunrise in South Carolina to a surprising heavy snowstorm in Virginia. The sun was quite beautiful until it began frying my retinas. Driving blind is not as much fun as it sounds. It’s 36 degrees Fahrenheit, so at least the snow wasn’t sticking. There is, however, an icy wind a blowing that makes standing on the 6th floor balcony quite painful.
Oh, the reason I was up before the sun this morning was to make the 6 hour drive and arrive in time for the two o’clock start of the Pro Cricket qualifying event. Having arrived at just prior to one, I was feeling rather pleased with myself. Right up until I noticed the start time is four o’clock. Duh! In my defense, the actual Pro Cricket event does start at two tomorrow. So you can see how I might have been confused.
Speaking of Pros, I see from the sign-up list that some of the top darters in the country have turned out. That should make the punishment that will shortly be coming my way all the more delicious.
…and Garden City, the best that you can do isn’t good enough. Or something like that.
Tough weekend of darts in Augusta at the Garden City Classic. When I played well, it wasn’t quite good enough to win. And when I sucked, well, I sucked big time.
I did manage to make the the top 16 in singles 501, but even there I lost a match that woulda, coulda, shoulda been mine for the taking. I just didn’t take it out. Ah well. My other highlight was throwing two Ton-80s, but if you don’t hit the double out to win, what you do up top is of little moment.
…for a weekend of darts at the Garden City Classic. There will be very many outstanding players in attendance so while my anticipation is high, my expectations are low. One thing I most definitely will accomplish is having a good time.
[this space reserved for photo of me holding the championship trophy]
