well... if all goes according to plan (which it occasionally does), 24 hours from now i should be freshly arrived at the rosen plaza hotel for my 5th trip to the world yo-yo contest. the hyponitic carpet (who knew tones of maroon and taupe could be so distracting), the cardboard pizza at the lite bite, the universally ignored swimming pool... and of course the teeming throngs of yo-yo players, slick with sweat at the prospect of demonstrating their mad skills to other like-hobbied hipster-nerds.
i love worlds, and with the prospect of this being the last one (of consequence) in orlando for awhile, i'm keen to enjoy it. this will obviously be the first time i've attended whilst throwing only wood, and it's funny to be packing for worlds and only bringing one yo-yo and a cone of string. i imagine the weirdest part will be the complete lack of trying out anyone else's yo-yo. a big part of worlds is the hardware, and while i'm excited for some of my friends who have new signature editions coming out... i don't much care about the new yo-yo's themselves (since i have no prospect of trying one for at least 5+ months).
spyy has some nice exceptions on the horizon, and i can't get my hands on the team edition orbitron 5000... even if just to heft it and say 'throw you in january'. plus, the new pistolero reboot, 'el ranchero' looks amazing, and if it's predecessor is any indication, will be an incredible player as well. i suppose i'll be excited to see red's new duncan barracuda and the mark allen sentinel by werrd, too.
my self-imposed exile has been going well. the 'eh' has been to hawaii. it's been to space mountain again (and will go again a few times during worlds for sure. it's picked up some nice scars and i've burned through a few axles. the only times i've been tempted to break oath, honestly, have been while i'm trying to teach something at club. it's SO much easier to teach string tricks with a bearing. i'm pretty incapable of really slowing things down using the 'eh', and some of my harder, longer tricks i can maybe hit only 1-2 times of 10 on fixed axle. in terms of actual play though, i'm pretty sure i could keep this up forever and not miss metal significantly, which has been a surprise.
i'm not competing at worlds (if it weren't obvious). i think it would be cool to see a serious fixed axle 1a freestyle with progressive stalls and stop n go's (and slack/whip elements) embedded within the prelims... but it's not going to be me, because i wouldn't care enough about the outcome to really push. it would be neat though, to see how the judges would react to 1a elements that are so far outside the norm. i'm signed up for ladder, but that's not really 'competition'; just fun (and with wood i don't expect to get far). the only contest (besides wheel of penalty) that i care about is the annual fixed axle throwdown, run by drew tetz, randy jansen, nate sutter, colin leland, and myself. those other guys really push the limits of the subspecialty, and i'm always amped to hang out and watch them play.so tonight's the night. gonna pack the van, wake up at 5 or so, head down interstates 77, 26, 95, and 4 before rolling up i-drive and hanging out with so many of my friends. worlds is such a cool scene, in that it underscores what an interconnected tribe we are. doesn't really matter what language you speak or where you come from; if you have a yo-yo in your hand, you're 'in'. and all of the petty drama that we invent to keep the boards burning for the last 360 days or so is quelled by the fact that, in person, most people would really just prefer to be nice to each other and trade tricks than bad-mouth a company or be rude to another player. there are exceptions, but few and far between. it's a nice, chill little scene we've cultivated and i'm stoked for the chance to bask in it again.
hope to see you tomorrow!