My week began with RPGsoc. It was the last turn before the end of the game and I would say, I had the most fun playing NPCs this turn. It was a bit stressful as a large chunk of the GM team had exams leaving most of the work to only about 3 of us, but through our collective strength, we managed to pull things together and complete the necessary work. I have to say that being a GM for something like the society game is a good exercise of career necessary skills, working on a deadline, getting out a large project, coordinating and problem solving as a team, and coming up with creative solutions. I have found it rewarding for so many reasons and am still glad that I made the decision.
After the game that evening, I went out Goth clubbing with some friends from RPGsoc. I had promised them that I would go the month before and I happily went this evening, though forgetting too late to change my shoes to something more sensible. The night was a fun opportunity to grow closer to fellow member so f RPGsoc, reminding me that I should have gotten more involved sooner. I can only hope that the friends I have made will be able to be maintained as I continue forward with my life in the States.
Wednesday was the day of my last tutorial here in Oxford. It went well and was very similar to all my other tutorials. I am not someone who gets very stressed about tutorials in tutorial and can usually navigate instruction with ease. I appreciated the opportunity to investigate economics from a social side and try something new on for a change. Though I am definitely a scientist...no question about that.
I also got to go to a board game cafe in Oxford with some friends from RPGsoc. It was a really fun experience and reminded me that Gencon is just around the corner and I have a character that I am looking forward to playing. The games also reminded me of my family and the various games that my dad and uncle play on the weekends. With father's day come and past, I just wanted to say that I love my father and that he has been the best role model and care taker a girl could as for. From giant bear hugs to introducing me to gaming and role playing, he has given me everything and more. I hope he had a great father's day and I can't wait to give him a bear hug of my own when I return.
The remainder of my week was preparing for this past weekend, the national tournament of BUCS. During my training, I undid and messed around with a few things, which may not have been the best use of my time but was ultimately necessary. I also fell through a chair and sliced up my leg pretty bad. It is fine now, but not exactly fun. It seemed that for BUCS most of the archery team was going to be a bit bandaged up, as many of us had injuries of one kind or another, which included illness. (I have finally gotten over my cold).
We left for BUCS on friday nights, meaning I had to miss the last GM meeting of the term, and spent the next two nights camping at the fields at Lilleshall. Lilleshall is the training grounds for many of the National teams that go to Olympics and other international competitions, one of the archers on our team spends a lot of time there. The place is pretty expansive with plenty of fields for various game pitches. A lot of other teams also set up camp sites for the night. I borrowed a lot of my camping gear (as most of my camping gear is in the states), but was happy to help everyone set up. There was something about seeing the circle of tents that reminded me of the camping trips that my family usually goes on every year. I felt a certain amount of joy and nostalgia. It was late on friday and so most of us showered and went to bed to get ready for an early morning the next day.
Unfortunately, I could not sleep. Between the bruising around the scrape on my leg and the hard ground (of which I just could not get comfortable despite having a mat and a sleeping bag, and the chill that set in in the night, I had not hope of getting a good nights sleep. I got up around 6 am and got ready, hoping to overcome this set back and shoot well for the day. The field that we shot on was huge and it is impressive seeing 76 bosses set out in a line across the field. Safe to say there were lots of archers (nearly 300). I set up near the novice ladies side and warmed up and hoped for the best. The shoot was long in the morning, with a lot of delays. During practice I shot really well. I had one end in which one arrow was smack dab in the centre, kiling the X/spider, and a second arrow right beside it in the X....but unfortunately, practice just doesn't count. I was shooting about average for the first distance, but at least it was sunny. The second distance was horrendous. I wanted to shoot so much better and as a team we were slowly dropping in the ranks. It was clear to me that all my pride was likely going to bite me in the ass. We stopped for lunch around 2pm, feeling very exhausted but trying to remain cheery, we continued on with the next two distances. This is when things picked up. I don't know what it was, because the bosses being closer, could not have accounted for it, but I shot much better for the rest of the day. Around 4 pm, it rained, but I was prepared and given how sunny it had been, it wasn't all that bad. It turned out that of the novices, I was the only one that really recovered from the morning. As a result, our team came 5th over all and I also came 5th over all. I was disappointed not to place, but 5th is pretty good. my final score was 1026 which is a new personal best though not what I was hoping for. It will never be what I'm hoping for.
The experienced team did well, despite the injuries and came out first, with Charlie winning 2nd and 1st (individual and team respectively). So I guess I should be proud for the team. Something I have learned about archery, is that I am a little bit addicted. I will shoot and end and agree with myself that I should stop and take a break, but then as I walk up to the face and see my score, I immediately reconsider either thinking "I can't end on this, I can shoot better than this" or "That was really good, I better shoot again and solidify my technique"...what can I say, I seem to love this sport. We turned in for an early night and I crashed hard sleeping much more peacefully and longer than before.
The next day was a 720, 6 dozen arrows at 70 m (longer than any novice lady has to shoot in any round, everyone shot the same round). At this point, I didn't care about how I did. I just shot and when that happens, I find I shoot well. I got progressively better with each dozen having one really good end in there. Overall the women experienced and novice that remained (49), I cam in 26th. I am kinda proud of that. These rankings were used to pair everyone up for the head to heads which would also be shot at 70 m in ends of 3. Since I was ranked in the top half, my first round was against a lower seed, and ironically, the same fellow novice lady that I had shot with that morning and at BUTTS and next to the day before. You certainly get to know all of the archers from other universities, pretty quickly as you end up seeing them quite a lot. I maintained my rank and won the match, the first head to head that I have ever won! The next round, I was against the 7th seed. This was the first time that I had shot a head to head against someone with a higher seed, I lost the one at the isle of man. I find that when I am the higher rank, I get more nervous, because I feel the pressure to perform and maintain my rank. When I am the lower seed however, the beast of competition comes out and I shoot much better. In fact, in a 3 arrow end at 70 m I shot a 28, two 10s and an 8. I took her to an extra round as a result, but unfortunately, I couldn't repeat the process and still lost. The rest of the day, we watched each of our archers struggle to maintain rank as the weariness of the weekend overcame us. Still it was fun and a nice opportunity to spend time with everyone. We returned back to Oxford getting back late, around 11:30pm.
I really love tournaments. I love the opportunity to shoot with people who love the sport as much as I do. I also like spending time with this team which has grown so close to my heart. No matter how I do, I enjoy getting to be around. This week ahead of me is full of good byes. Good byes that will break my heart. I will be around the following week, but anyone who is here for Uni will likely be going home. With no more tutorials, the only thing I can do is make the most of the time I have left and begin preparations for my flight home. I hope that everyone I have met here knows just how special they have made this experience for me and how much I despise the transient nature of the student life style. I will be back next week, likely heart broken to tell you of all the wonderful moments that I had. Until Next Time.
~KH
PS. Hair from Garden Party
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