Happy Duan Wu!

[Editor’s note: This entry was originally posted on the old DieselFish blog on June 16, 2010]

--- Joyce L wrote:

Today is Duan Wu (aka Dragon Boat) Festival on the Chinese calendar. My Mum wrote to remind me. Things to do include eating some rice in lotus leaf and paddling hard!

I urge everyone to study up on the history of dragon boating here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duanwu_Festival?wasRedirected=true

...and be able to tell a little story during the next new paddler day!

(and do better than my "well there was once this poet with depression"...)

Sent on a bus from Joyce's iPhone

Re: Duan Wu Festival!

Wed Jun 16, 2010

Hi Fishies:

Reading Joyce's email reminded me of something that a newbie told me after one of our New Paddler Day events. He said that one of the things that he likes about dragon boat paddling is that it is a cultural as well as athletic activity.

The race in Portland that we just returned from is a prime example of this duality. The race celebrates Portland's sister city relationship with Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and is part of a program designed to promote the exchange of educational, artistic, and cultural activities. We see a little bit of this on our own home turf as well when we dress our CDBA boats with the heads, tails, and drums before races. These decorations make the boats a little heavier, but I enjoy seeing them because they bring a little tradition back to the sport.

I'm actually going to my parents’ house tonight for a special dinner. Celebrating Duan Wu is a new tradition for us. We're not especially festive, so in the past, we only paid attention to the Lunar New Year. Mom only started buying zong for the holiday after I joined the team. For those of you that haven’t had one before, zong are like Chinese tamales – big globs of meat-filled sticky rice that are steamed in lotus leaves. They are perfect for carbo loading the night before a race or practice session.

As Frank pointed out, DieselFish is one of the most diverse clubs in the Bay Area. I'd like to think that this experience has brought everyone in the boat a little closer to Chinese culture.

Happy Duan Wu, everybody!

-A.

It's like a Benetton ad!

  

Hello Internet friends!  Doesn’t dragon boat racing with DieselFish sound like fun? Go to http://dieselfish.org/ now to sign up for a free practice session!

My Favorite Long Beach 2010 Moments

[Editor’s note: This entry was originally posted on the old DieselFish blog on August 7, 2010]

This year’s Long Beach race was a blast – 48 hours of nonstop thrills and spills. There was so much to do and see!

Lining up the boat

*Medaling in Division 2A. Much better than last year! Our newbies went home with hardware!

*Cheering for the Youth Team in their championship race. Way to go, guys! The DieselFish God was very happy on Sunday – the kids won gold! 

*Introducing myself to the Chinese women’s team. “Xiao jie, dajia hao! Wo shi BILL. Wo shi Meiguo ren!” Hey Bill, have you been receiving a lot of angry phone calls from overseas? Now you know why.

*Watching Birk get sauced. While Birk was away from his seat, the kids spiked their beloved leader’s Coke with soy sauce, Tabasco, and lots of other crazy crap. Then they let him drink it. Funny lil’ bastards.

*Enjoying exotic drinks at the Purple Orchid. Joyce, Bob, and I had some time to kill, so we went to a tiki bar and sipped fruity, slushy rum drinks from mugs shaped like Polynesian statues. I left my sobriety in El Segundo.

*WALKING AROUND WITH THE DF TRAMP STAMP. I felt powerful, fashion forward, and filled with team spirit! Definitely a good look! [BRO FIST]

*Murdering pop classics at the Karaoke lounge. Raise your hand if you knew that Shun could sing. Anyone? It turns out that our Favorite Foreigner is big time into old school lover man R&B. On a sad note, O'Sum didn't get to sing his favorite Wonder Girls tune.

*Witnessing this:

It's like a frame from a Miyazaki movie!

 

Let’s do something like this again, in about a year or so…

Yours in the DieselFish God,

Alex
Head Captain, Lucky Season 13

Hello Internet friends! Doesn’t dragon boat racing with DieselFish sound like fun? Go to http://dieselfish.org/ now to sign up for a free practice session!

The No Skateboarding Rule

[Editor’s note: This entry was originally posted on the old DieselFish blog on July 29, 2010]

Hi Fishies:

The Long Beach race is almost here! Excuse me for a second, won’t you?

[Goes over to closet, puts on a house cardigan and slippers]

Ahhhh, that’s more like it. I’d like to take a moment to talk to you about the No Skateboarding Rule. As you know, this is the team’s Lucky Season 13. As such, we've been cursed recently by a bunch of pre-race injuries that have, unfortunately, taken paddlers out of commission.

While the coaches and leadership team are happy that you guys are staying fit and active off the water, we think you should take it easy in the days before the upcoming race. So please don’t try any new physical activities, and don’t overexert yourself.

Banned activities include, but are not limited to:
*Skateboarding
*Marathon running
*Bungee jumping
*Mixed martial arts
*Parkour
*Dirty dancing
*The Pho Challenge

You get the picture. Let’s all make it down to Long Beach in one piece.

Best,

Alex
Head Captain, Season 13

PAST PERFORMANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RESULTS. ALEX IS NOT A REAL DOCTOR NOR A LAWYER, MUCH TO HIS PARENTS’ ETERNAL SHAME.

Hello Internet friends! Doesn’t dragon boat racing with DieselFish sound like fun? Go to http://dieselfish.org/ now to sign up for a free practice session!

WE NEED TO GET KIM KARDASHIAN TO JOIN DIESELFISH

[Editor's note: This entry was originally posted on the old DieselFish blog on July 20, 2010]

Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt...

Recently, a first-timer left his shirt at BIAC. I picked it up for him, and agreed to hand it back to him at my office during my lunch break.

First Timer: Hi Alex, thanks for picking up my shirt.
Me: No problem! Did you have fun on Saturday?
First Timer: Yeah, but I got really sore the next day!
Me: That's how you know it's working! You had a good workout!
First Timer: Yeah, the next day, my arms were sore, my back was sore…even my butt was sore.
[The security guard that I nod hello to every morning hears this and chuckles to himself]
Me: …Err, yes. The DRAGON BOAT PRACTICE SESSION that you were just referring to does work out those muscle groups…
First Timer: My God, my butt seriously HURT! I had trouble sitting down!
[A bunch of people dressed in suits – upper management-level executives, perhaps? – hear this and start cracking up.]
Me: Yeah, well, that happens when you GO DRAGON BOATING. WHEN YOU TRY DRAGON BOAT FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU WILL GET SORE IN MANY AREAS, INCLUDING THE PART YOU JUST DESCRIBED.
First Timer: I never knew my butt muscles could ACHE like that! I couldn't drive the next day because my rump hurt too much!
[A bunch of the women from the marketing department walk by and begin giggling uncontrollably]
Me: YES, THE DRAGON BOAT PRACTICE SESSION THAT YOU ARE DESCRIBING WILL WORK OUT NEW AREAS OF THE BODY… [defeated]Look I got to go, please come back and practice with us any time….
###
 

During the off season, a parent of one of kids from the Youth Team gave paddling with DieselFish a shot.
 

Me: Hey [NAME WITHELD], what did your dad think about dragon boat?
[NAME WITHELD]: He liked it, but his butt was really sore the next day. He doesn’t have any fat back there. It’s all bone.
Me: … Please tell him that he can come back any time he wants.

Hello Internet friends! Doesn’t dragon boat racing with DieselFish sound like fun? Go to http://dieselfish.org/ now to sign up for a free practice session!