All Things Rowdy

Hey, we have the same initials! And I've sadly had to come to the same realization that if you're not first, you're last. The competitive field I am in is very small at the top. It's not like the NFL where there are hundreds of people getting rich and good paychecks. If you're not at the pinnacle you basically don't exist. Which is kinda me right now and it is a crushing feeling. Last week one of the top people posted a video of him training with an agility ladder for shooting. On my own and months ago I had been doing the same thing. I posted on FB and some shooting forums about it and was basically dismissed in my opinions and training methods. But this guy does it and everyone says "oh, that's why he's the champ", "what a cool new idea", "innovator". But until I win something on a regional or national level, no one is going to care about my opinion or methods. Which is tough when you're still working hard but j...

So after going to Little S' birthday party it's back off to Spain again. This time with Super D. I'm thinking 4 days in Madrid as that's the area I know best. Then two days time each down south in Seville and time up north in Bilbao. Just checking around it's kinda sad that leaving from the east coast doesn't make travel to Europe any easier. And it doesn't look like I'll have my global entry stuff done with DHS by that time either. Oh well, there is always the November trip to take advantage of that nicety. Any fall or winter travel plans for my readers?

I have tried a lot of positive self talk but my land ordeal, and especially now its subsequent costs, are really depressing me. I'm not interested in my hobbies. I'm not sleeping well. I have a hard time thinking about other things. I'm cranky at every little thing. I'm eating food in excess. All the classical signs of depression. I'm aware of it, but not doing a good job of defeating it. Like they said in the movie, "Life is pain, anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something." Thanks a lot Dread Pirate Roberts! Sadly there is no simple way to make it go away. The county is not letting go at all. I read 68 pages of County code today related to grading and brush clearing and it looks abysmal for me as far as a what I see as a positive outcome. More so the cost of the action items they require just kills me. I spent 3 grand a few weeks ago and will have to spend twice that again still to finally be finished. I'm unsure of what to do and ...

But to be truthful this is more like what I do almost the entire time I'm at a match. 90% of the time you are just standing around waiting. It will take 6 to 8 hours out of the day for me to do 3 minutes worth of shooting.

Some pics of me working on another overall match win today. Should you be interested in this kind of practical pistol shooting you should go to www.idpa.com or www.uspsa.org and find a match near you. You don't have to take it as seriously as I do, not at all! But if you like shooting and have a free weekend day now and then it can be good fun and hopefully help you improve your shooting ability.

The housekeeper said today I look like a gangster or mafioso. Do you agree? So I posted on FB a picture of my agility ladder and talked about how I use it for training for shooting. Most people kind of questioned it or dismissed it outright. Then I see a famous person posts a video of him today on FB using one and everyone thinks it's a great new idea. This actually makes me kinda angry. I don't like being dismissed or marginalized because my thoughts and ideas come from me, and not from someone "famous". Cause you know what, he isn't any better or smarter than I am. In any way. And just like MM93 grew up to take down VR46 I'm gonna do the same to all those who are at the top right now. Everyone is gonna know it and see it. Then there will be no doubting.

A few posts back I asked if anyone had a specific question about sponsorship in the shooting sports world, or at least my experiences with it. I got a comment asking "Funny, I was just thinking about this topic. I figure once we have all our gear, I think we only really need two things from our sponsor... help with entry fees & ammo. Would like to hear how your sponsors have helped you. Thanks." For this shooter, it seems the first priority is gear. The physical equipment one would use in competition, based on his saying "once we have gear". These are pretty durable items and often a once a season expense. The reader then says he/she thinks their next greatest need is ammo and entry fees. If you shoot, practice or compete often then this is at least a weekly expense so let's run through some numbers. Ammunition. I make my own 9mm for 13 cents a round using high end components. You can make it for 9 cents if you're thrifty. When I was receiving bullet...

As I sat in traffic near Mission Valley mall yesterday I saw people begging at the intersections, like normal. With the mild weather I think SD is a popular place to be homeless or transient. In this case it was an obviously pregnant, disheveled woman doing the begging. Or should I say pleading? In my mind my first thought was, I wonder if that is padding or is she in someway faking being pregnant to get more money? Closer visual inspection and she looked legit. And as I sat there averting my gaze after previously staring, the thought came strongly to my mind, "Can I see another's lack and I not care? Have you fed the hungry? Clothed the naked?", all of these New Testament style Christian thoughts. Let me inerrupt this by saying I have ZERO white guilt, zero guilt about being a 3%er. I am nice to people in the service industry but I have no problem watching TV while the housekeeper cleans the house. I don't fly across an ocean unless it is in first class. You get ...

I get a lot of people asking me about sponsorship and shooting and how it worked for me and my experiences. If ANYONE is actually interested in this topic, leave a comment and I'll write up a thorough entry about it. Otherwise, I wont bore you. Bueller? Bueller?

I wish I didn't worry so........ I have some things on my mind that I can't seem to shake off and let go of completely. First and foremost is getting the work done to tear down my private shooting range and get that land sold. I want that off my conscious sooo badly. All that property does now is cause me to feel anxious and worried. The exact opposite of its intended purpose. I am in the process of fixing all this, but I guess I won't feel really at peace about it until the range is completely torn down and the County no longer has an open case against me. Secondly I think about the little things around the house I want fixed before selling it. Time and money and scheduling. Seems to be the core component to all of these things. Oh and maybe "ownership" as well. The shower and wall in the master bathroom need fixing and replacing of fixtures. The kitchen sink and fixtures need replacing. The AC unit outside needs looking at and disconnected from the PGE control...