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Battlefield Utah 03-28-2009

Last weekend (March 28th), I was lucky enough to participate in a paintballing event called BattleField Utah. Its located on top of a mountain near Eagle Mountain. It hosted 150 players on 2 teams. Game started at 10am, and ran until 1pm, we had a break for lunch, then it started again an hour later and ran until 4pm. We entered the fieldd after registering and getting marked for a team with a colored tape on the arm. Once on the field, fully dressed and protected, we proceeded to our dead zone. There were refs on the field, and other players actually playing. Once at the dead zone, we had a tent where we could take off our masks, and regroup. When time was up, on 15 minutes intervals, the ref would allow us to respawn. Each time i was killed, which was fairly often, i would return to the dead zone and wait to reenter the game. Some times, I had gotten great shots off, actually killing off other players. Other times i ran too quickly to the front lines and simply was eliminated. Some times, i would go out with other folks and team up and take out the other team. I didnt keep track of the times that I was killed, or the kills that I had. What i did do was recognize that i had a blast, worked up quite a sweat, went thru a bit of co2 and paint. At the end of the day, I had a blast and would do it again. There were some really frustrating times when players on the other team seemed to be cocky and were doing and saying things that got my ire up. But, after all, we were out with guns trying to kill one another.
I do enjoy the speed, stealth and actions of paintballing. Being able to give and take hits that are not leathal, but feel the rush, is an amazing thing. The field was large and allowed 150 people to move around easily. Flags were in well placed locations, and not visible until upon them. I would do it again, and look forward to doing it again next year.

Team Building Exercise = Shooting Guns?

Wednesday, March 18th, my team at work and a couple other guys went out to west of Utah Lake and brought a ton of guns and shot up stuff for a couple hours in the afternoon. Michael has military training and a few guns to match that training. Dan has a share of guns himself. I think Scott even brough some of his own. I only had a 22 shotgun to contribute.

We all met up in Lehi, grabbed some lunch, and took off south of Saratoga Springs to find a place to shoot stuff. Surprisingly, there were already 4 groups of folks out there shooting, so we picked an area of the mountain that was secluded to set up.

We got a table setup, and spread out our weapons. Targets were setup, and we talked safety, and started shooting the small caliber weapons first. While shooting some of these, we heard a few stray ricoshets buzz past us. Kinda freaky sound, knowing that folks are around you shooting in your general direction. We honked out horns, hoping to get the message across. The strays seemed to cease for a period, and we continued setting up some targets for the higher powered weapons. While out in the field setting up stuff to shoot at, we started hearing some more strays come by. The hackles on the back of my neck were standing at attention and seiously forced me to take cover. Dan actually saw the bullet fly by, even with the pocket of air in the front breaking the sound barrier. I didnt see it, but felt enough to get a bit freaked out. We quickly dismantled our setup, and bolted from that area. No way we would be relaxed shooting stuff, with others shooting at us.

Once relocated, we setup some more targets and got to shooting stuff. All 5 of us took turns using different weapons and going through a bit of ammo. We had shotguns, various handguns, a few rifles, even an m4. It was all kinds of fun. Many things were hit, shattered, and so on. We found a ton of stuff laying around to shoot at, as well as had brought some of our own things to hit. I believe that we all had a good time, and most importantly, we were safe, and no one was hurt.

It was a great excursion and a lot of fun for all was had. Doing things with your coworkers outside the structure of work is always entertaining.

Below are some photos that we took of the event.

2009 Marv Jensen Spring Smash

In March each year, there are usualy a few rall tournaments. This year, there were 3 that we participated in. 3 Weeks in a row. It was fun, but tough.
This week, we had the Spring Smash tourney. I played at Marv Jensen for almost 6 years while working at ACS. So, this facility, above all others, feels like home for me. Which is good, since we spent at least 2 hours and sometimes as much as 5 hours, each night from Wednesday to Saturday. After a couple days, it seemed all we did at home was shower and change to come back to Marv Jensen again.
Alyssa, Kylie and Myself all played in this tournament. The girls ended up being in a combined division, and played a Round Robin format, even playing each other.

Alyssa has progressed a ton as a multi bounce player. She played all single bounce opponents, and held her own for quite a while. She would run around and get to balls that we would have thought down. She warmed up so seriously before each match, and practiced until she was ready to begin the games. During the games, her little legs kept pushing and pulling her all over the court. She got some incredible shots and played very well. While playing Kylie, she actually won 1 of the games, and lost 1 to Kylie. Before the tie-breaker was started, and after realizing it was after 9pm, we decided to call off the last game. Alyssa scored 1 more point than Kylie and was labeled the winner. What a night. 3 games were played by the girls, and all were way tired.

Kylie had trouble getting into the games, as she faced boys a lot older than herself, and didnt have the multi bounce to fall back on like Alyssa did. She did play well, and has improved so much. She can stand up against the boys, but gets a bit nervous and shys away from some of the shots, causing her to loose her cool and get her head out of the game. It was amazing to see some of the shots and gets that she was able to pull off. She enjoyed the tournament and realized that we all need to practice a bit more. We will be pitting the 2 girls against each other in our famliy games, and play them like real games witha ref and all.

I played alone on Thursday night, with none of the girls having a game that night. I played in C division. My first game, i was so off and so cold that I could only muster 4 points. My opponent was one I had played previously, in another tournament. I had beaten him in 1 game, and lost in 2 other games. The same thing happened this time. I truly thought i had him in the tie-breaker, as I had control of the game (I felt) for quite a while, but ended up loosing the momentum and lost the game. So, I was out of the regular tourney, and shunted into the Consolation round. My next game could have been Friday or Saturday. We went Friday to watch the girls play, so found out when my game would be. It was slated for Saturday at noon. If I won that game, I would play another game at 3pm on Saturday. We awoke Saturday, got all ready, took my powershot to get jazzed up for the game, got dressed, and make the trek up to Mark Jensen, to find out that my noon game was really just a 3pm game. Bummer. When I did get onto the court, I was ready to play, having watched 3 hours of play previously. I ended up winning the Consolation final in 2 games. I won a can of new racquetball's, yeah!

We love playing this sport. We love interacting with the community and love watching other players compete. Some of the games are intense, and we learn alot simply by watching others play. In the end, I hope that these activities brings our family together, and helps us stay active, learn to compete, gain skills that can be used in many other aspects of our lives.

2009 UVU rball tourney

I entered into the UVU tournament, after Preston and Mike asked me if i was gonna play. I was gonna take a week off, and not play, since I had played in the Luck of the Heights tournament the week prior, and am still playing in a tourney next week (Marv Jensen Spring Smash). But after getting asked by multiple people if I was playing, i decided to support the tourney. Plus, being in UVU, was closer than most tournaments.
My first game was Wednesday night. I was excited to play, but leery, because I was still sore from a workout previously. I worried it would hinder my play. But forged along anyway. My first game, I lost. I didnt play well at all. But after being warmed up, I played much better the second game, and won. Onto the 3rd game. This one, i musta flipped my 'play crappy mode' switch, and lost. I wish i could figure out the magic that allows me to play so well one game, and soo poorly the next game.
So, now that I lost my first game in C Division, I was in the consolation round. My next game was to be on Friday night, almost the same time as my daughters play. However, the way that the draw worked its way out, I didnt have to play on Friday, but again on Saturday morning.
Only Alyssa could come to my Saturday game, as the rest of the family was busy with other things. So, we went down there to UVU, Alyssa and I, and attempted to find a place to park. It happened to be at the same time as some 'Run' event sponsored by UVU, and parking was atrocious. It took my 20 minutes to find a place where I could actually park. We finally made our way to the courts, and I warmed up. I was able to bring in my wireless headphones this time, and listen to them as i warmed up. I havent done this for quite some time, and it was nice to not have wires inhibiting me again. So, I warmed up, got in some great shots, got a sweat going, got moving. I felt good. I started playing my first game, and scored 2 points, while my opponent went on to score 15 points, regardless of the flailing that I did in and around him. I just stunk it up. Shots that are money makers for me, would come up 10 feet short. Frustrating.
In the second game, I turned a new leaf. I did really well. Alyssa recorded the event, and while I was watching this second game, I actually heard some spectator say 'wow, where did he pull that shot out'. I assume this was reference to the obvious history of the first game shenanigans. I ended up winning that game. And onto the third game, where I was able to pull out a win. Now I had a chance to play for the final of the consolation round. I could be the winner of the loosers.
This next match was to start at noon. Just an hour away. My arm and shoulder were pretty sore, so I tended to my wounds, even found some ice nearby to put on them. This helped me feel better. I rested and got ready for the next game.
The opponent was someone I had played before, but didnt think I played well against. During the first game, I kept up for quite awhile, even leading for a bit. I was feeling good, but obviously not 100%. I kept in the game about half the points, before I started hurting pretty badly, and everything went downhill from there. I lost the first match, and during the second match, I couldn't have played any worse, had I stood outside the court and just watched.
3 games on Wednesday. 5 games on Saturday. I won 3 of the 8 games. I must win more games in order to win... haha.
I did have a great time. My shoulder and arm are not suffering today as much as I thought they would be. Maybe I'm getting stronger after all, but am not entirely strong enough yet. I will keep working on it, and trying to get better. I would like to get up into the B Division someday. Maybe next year? I need to have a goal to get better. I do play so that I can be in better shape, and believe that this is being accomplished. I also like the social aspect of the game, and have made incredible friendships thru my play. This game has also strengthened us as a family, as we all participate in games and practice. It puts my kids and me on an even playing field when we coach each other. The strength of character it is building in my daughters is incredible. They have confidence to play, socialize, and even take on responsibilities as coach, referee and judge in tournament matches. Its great to see how much they have grown in the past few years, and I believe that his sport, and our participation in it has been a positive influence on us in many ways.
We will continue to participate. Play. Train. And grow. Both as racquetball players and people.

Paintballing and Motorcycling?

This Saturday morning I got up, geared up, and took off before 930 to get to the paintball field. I have been following a local paintball store since my wife bought me a paintball marker and some other gear a couple of Christmas' ago. Periodically, the owner of JT Paintball will send out emails about games. This one was located on a great field near Eagle Mountain, Utah that is operated by Desert Edge. This is a great field, with a lot of room to play. I've been out there last year with 100+ people playing.

The field is located on a dirt road, past various farms. Its a typical Utah high desert area, with cedar brush and various other obstacles that make up some great hides to hunt the other team from. I even saw a couch out in the middle of the playing field. When we get rid of our couch, i may just bring it out there, since it'll add to the field of play, and make a great obstacle to shoot from.
There are two fields that Desert Edge plays in, and I have only been to one of them. I went to the other one first, thinking that it was where the game would be. The view was amazing, as it looked over saratoga springs, into lehi and the lake beyond. I could see my house. But no one else was there. I wondered around for a bit, enjoying he view, until i headed to the other field. Here, I
found a few folks, 10+, gearing up. After I geared up, we divided into teams and went out onto the field. I was one of 3 people that had played there before, so felt like i knew what was going on. I love playing here, because of all the trees and shrubs and built up obstacles. When using the trees, you can easily down the field, and see legs and bodies moving. If you sit still, and use the trees as cover, you may be able to sneak up on them. Its a great area, that allows you to move around in easily. I had some great shots, picked off some people, but was never the last on my team. I ended up getting shot each time i went onto the field. One was a great shot by the other guy. I had just hunted down a guy from the other team, and took him out well. All agreed it was a great shot. But afterwards, i was cocky and wondered away quickly, right into the waiting gunsights of of an enemy. Great shot. Another time, i had chased down 3 enemies, pushed them back with the help of a teammate. But when i went right, and he went left, he got distracted by another enemy, leaving the three to concentrate on me. I blew it, and ended up getting hit by a sniper guy in the trees, as i hunted 2 in a stand nearby. I never saw the guy in the tree, and he tagged me in the knee.

None of the shots were as hard as the week before during speedball. Each time i returned to the parking area, I could barely breath. Its a long walk back after getting shot, but even taking my time, i couldn't breath, as I had been exerting myself during the game so much. It felt great to run, jump, evade, shoot.
After the games (3-4), I packed up and headed home. Stopping by a gas station to treat myself with a Diet Sunkist and a Chocodile. I went home.

Once at home, we finally took down the Christmas lights. They usually spend quite a bit of time on our home, but it was time, and we had the afternoon. With all the family helping, we made quick work of it.

Afterwards, and since i had removed things in the garage to pack the Christmas lights, my dirtbikee was out... asking for a new handlebar to be put on. I started taking pieces off the old bars, making sure that i marked where things were, unlike last time. I slowly removed everything, and got the new bar put on. This time, i didnt attach it to the triple tree first, but attached the items first. Last time, i had a heck of a time with cables being too tight, having been put on incorrectly. I was slow and methodical and successful. I didnt get the grips or barkbusters put on, but did make good progress for having done it myself. I rarely do well with mechanical tasks, but did ok this time.

So, thats how I was able to combine paintball and motorcycling. I actually wish there was another way to combine them. Ive often thought it would be cool to get paintball geared up and ride quads. One paintballer on the back of the quad, one driver of the quad. We team up and play agains other similar groups. I would imagine there would be some severe injuries, but prior to that, i bet we'd have a blast acting out a real life Mario Kart.

I sure enjoy these hobbies, and am thankful for the time and abilities to participate in them whenever I can.

Random Things

Recently, on Facebook, I have been tagged for some Random notes from other people.
I avoided writing them down for a while, but finally got to them today. I wanted to keep a record of them here on my blog as well.

So, I'm simply reposting them here.

This one was difficult. Trying to come up with things that people may not know about. I am sure that some people will recognize some of them, but hope that the overall feeling is of newness.
The link is here on Facebook

And here is the contents of that post.

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Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 4:00pm

I got tagged for this a few weeks ago, but put it off. Now, I guess should try to fill it out.


1. i do not have those little crescent half moons under my fingernails. None of my fingernails.

2. I have never seen another person not have them on their fingernails.

3. I have never eaten a hotdog from a gas station.

4. A goal in my life is to die without ever having a hotdog from a gas station.

5. I have never felt an earthquake, though i have lived in areas that have suffered earth quakes.

6. I killed my high school girlfriends cat, but never told her.

7. I love to play in the water, but am constantly afraid of what is in the water.

8. I just finished building an addition to our entertainment center. This is a project I have been trying to finish for 8+ years.

9. My home computer is surrounded by MDF.

10. My shoulder will click sometimes, since I tore my AC joint. Weirds me out.

11. The only time I really drank alcohol, was a 1/5th of vodka poured into the water tank of the motorhome so it would not freeze. Next day, i had i swig of it, and spit it out.

12. I can not tell the difference between Marijuana smoke and any other kind of cigarette smoke.

13. My sweet wife can tell the difference.

14. I was once (ok many times) party to tying up the next door neighbor girls to telephone poles, all under the guise of practicing our Boy Scout knots.

15. A movie i will always stop to watch is Tremors

16. I love to watch motorcycle racing with my wife and family. But do not like NASCAR.

17. I have had an MP3 player for many years, way before ipod existed.

18. I hate when animals poop in my yard (I don't have any animals) and the owners don't clean it up.

19. I collect coins and bills. Started while in Argentina serving a Mission for my Church.

20. My favorite treat is anything with chocolate and nuts. oh, and a Chocodile. And Apple Pie. Oh, and Reeses anything. Ok, I have lots of favorites.

21. Can still speak fluent Spanish, with an Argentine accent.

22. Love Baloo the bear.

23. I love blogging. I love reading others' blogs.

24. I have had over 600 hits from 33+ countries on my SQL Server Blog since starting it in November.

25. I hate driving.
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