Okay, so I played paintball for the first time last month. And then again a couple weeks after. The first time was awesome, because it was with a bunch of friends who were also pretty new to it, and I did rather well compared to all but the one friend who used to play a lot.
The second time was alright. It was interesting. They had a big special game going on, and I joined in with a few friends. There were around 60 people, divided up into 4 teams. Normally, the location is divided into a dozen specific arenas that each holds a game. In this game, the entire location was one gigantic arena, even the paths between. The teams had to stealth/battle through the brush and trees and get a flag from each area, and then bring it back to the clubhouse (safe zone)... or horde and defend so other teams couldn't. This would be awesome.. it's a great concept! Unfortunately, most of the other players (weekend warriors) were out there in full camo and fully automatic paintball guns, while me and friends had all crappy rental stuff. The rental guns are barely accurate at under 10 feet, while their guns were much more accurate at 3x the distance AND full auto!
They called those guys the "Pros". Ha! I'd think all the people with rental gear were bigger Pros, considering the guts it takes to go out there while being completely out-gunned.
Anyways, I was out there with a sleeveless shirt and shorts, because it was hot out and I didn't bring the right long-sleeve stuff I meant to. The Pros thought I was a bit crazy going out like that, but being shot in the arm doesn't even hurt anyways. The bad news: I was in the foliage-dense map area called "Vietnam" when I tripped over a short stick barricade, and landed hard on my left hand. I figured I sprained the thing, so I kept going until I got shot. I rested at the safe zone for an hour with some ice on it. Then I put it in a sling, grabbed my paintball gun with my right hand, and went back out! It was epic!
I went to work the next day. But after work, I went to the hospital to get it checked out. Turns out I broke my wrist. Right now it's in a cast. And my left hand too! I'm left-handed, so I can't draw or write, or most of anything that I'm good at. I've recently realized that I suck at using a fork with my right hand, but I'm fully ambidextrous with chopsticks. I love using chopsticks, but forks are more efficient to eat with... until now!
So that's why I haven't submitted any sketches for a couple weeks, and why I doubt I will for another 4 or 5 weeks. This sucks. They say an artist who can't create tends to become destructive, and I believe it. I control myself well, but there's a definite urge to smash things lately.