The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

"People who meet in airports are seventy-two percent more likely to fall for each other than people who meet anywhere else.....Did you know that people who meet at least three different times within a twenty-four hour period are ninety-eight percent more likely to meet again?"

-Oliver, from  The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight



So I just finished reading The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith and I adored it! I highly recommend it for any teen/young adult female who loves cute love stories. Not your typical romance novel, but one that could actually happen in real life. This novel actually reminded me of my own "love"at first sight, ironically also with a British Bloke, and on a trip.

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It was the summer after my first year of high school. I was going to be 16. My family had a cruise planned as our annual family vacation. My parents chose a short one, five days and four nights, since none of us had been on a cruise before and we weren't sure if we had "sea legs". (I definitely didn't, seeing as I was sick most of the trip) We were sailing out of Florida to the Bahamas.

The ship sat in Port Canaveral for a few hours before we were to set out to sea. We arrived early, had our bags brought to our rooms and unpacked before exploring the ship.

My dad and brother had walked ahead, I was lagging behind a bit with my mom. So far I hadn't seen anyone around my age and was quickly doubting the trip. Then from where we were, on a floor that overlooked the main entrance of the ship, I saw a boy. He had long dark hair and looked to be around my age, and my type. Sort of punk rocker looking, with dark fitted jeans and a band t-shirt on. He happened to look up at the exact moment I was looking at him. We made eye contact, and I'm pretty sure I didn't smile and just looked away as if I hadn't been staring awkwardly. When I looked again, he and his family were gone.

Later that night, I was going to go to this "teen club" on the ship while my younger brother was off at some supervised kids thing on the pool deck and my parents were grabbing drinks at one of the bars. I didn't even get in the door, the music was some awful rap stuff and I was in no way going to be surrounded by a bunch of wangsters. I had enough of those at school to deal with. Plus I was a little nervous being the only white girl in sight, especially of the punk/freak persuasion. I didn't wanna get tormented while on vacation. So I walked away and took a seat on a set of stairs. I sat for a bit, wondering where I could wander off to until it was time to check in with my parents. As I got up and began to walk I was ambushed!

This tall, slim, dark, figure had grabbed me and spun me round. I got dizzy and thought I was dreaming. "I've been looking all over for you!" said this enthusiastic voice in a British accent.
When he finally stopped spinning me and held me out at arms reach, I realized it was the boy I saw earlier in the day. "Me? How could you look for someone you don't even know?" I replied. "Ah typical American....well I saw you earlier, and thought I had to meet you" he said. I think I mustered some sort of 'hmph' or 'huh' in reply. We made our introductions, and then wandered the ship together. At some point later in the night, we were outside and staring out at the ocean all around us. The thing I won't forget most, is the moon. It was a huge full moon, and it was red! Which only happens during particular eclipses. It was beautiful, I've never seen one before, and I haven't seen one since. He kissed me while we were looking at the moon. It was sweet and straight out of a book or movie. I won't forget it.

We spent the entire trip inseparable, except when it was dinner or family time. I even began picking up on his accent. He was a vacation fling. We exchanged emails/screennames/myspace info before saying goodbye. We at least managed to get one photo together, before parting ways.

We stayed in touch immediately after the cruise, mostly through email. Then we stopped talking for a while, and we haven't seen each other since, except through pictures on Myspace and Facebook. Thanks to Facebook we're still able to communicate, even though we haven't, but it's good to know we can. Especially after our brief, special connection. Our own "love" at first sight.

Fencing

I LOVE FENCING!

Fencing changed my life. It helped me lose weight, be healthy, gain friendships, learn patience, teamwork, and hard work.

The Olympic sport that is fencing, dates wayyy back to the Middle Ages, possibly even before. It originated in Europe, with the first fencing weapon (don't say sword!), the Rapier. It was light weight, and used mostly for practicing dueling. It most closely resembles today's Foil.

Click here to read more about the history of fencing

There are three weapons; Foil, Epee, and Sabre. Each weapon has it's own set of rules and the equipment varies as well. The foil is the lightest of the three, and usually used as a beginner weapon for those new to the sport. The main target area is the chest and torso. In competitive (electrical) fencing, foil fencers wear a lame to show the target area and record touches (points) during a bout. In foil, you can only hit with the tip of the blade. There are also rules of right-of-way, which is how scoring is determined.

Sabre has a larger bell guard, and resembles more of a Calvary sword. Sabre fencers can score touches by the point, as well as by slashing. Sabre is very fast paced, and also has rules of right-of-way, but to the beginner it is difficult to see because of the speed. Sabre's target areas are from the waist up (chest, torso, arms, head). Sabre fencers too, wear a lame.

Then there is Epee, my love. Epee also has a large guard, but its shape is similar to the foil because you can only score with the point, so you don't need protection from slashing. Epee is somewhat of a free-for-all, there are no rules of right of way. You can hit anywhere on the body, from fingers to toes. And you and your opponent can hit at the same time and both receive points, unlike the other two weapons. Epee requires a lot of patience because of it's free-for-all nature.

One of the things I love most about fencing, is that it teaches you how to work on a team and as an individual. While you're a part of a team, you don't all compete at the same time like in soccer or football. You go one at a time. So it is a matter of how you do as an individual that affects your team. So you need to do well, not only for yourself, but for your team as well.

From left to right: Epee, Sabre, Foil

I started fencing my freshman year of high school, thanks to a former friend who had interest in joining the school team. She asked me to come with her to the preseason team meeting so she wouldn't be alone. I agreed to go, since I had only seen fencing on TV or in movies, thinking it'd be cool to see in person. I can't recall what the coaches and some varsity team members said during the meeting, but I was hooked. I signed up then and there.

I was a little out of shape, having not played softball or done horseback riding in a year or two. The practices were intense. The coaches didn't do cuts like other varsity teams because their practices were so vigorous that people cut themselves. I didn't think I was going to make it past the first day, but I wanted to prove something to myself, and I really wanted to get a weapon in my hand and I knew I wouldn't until after the first few weeks of conditioning.

While I stuck with it, going to practice every day, even Saturdays and Holidays, my friend who originally had the interest slacked off. She missed practices, or would show up and not participate. She didn't want to fully quit, but didn't really wanna do it either.

I was on the Junior Varsity squad my freshman year, I learned a lot. I made a lot of new friends. I lost weight and was being healthy and active. And I fell in love with the sport. I joined a club over the summer, where I practiced for two hours, twice a week, to stay in shape and get better for the next season. I continued this practice regime every summer.

My sophomore year, I learned even more, and I got my chance to enter a big tournament. It was the Brentwood Holiday Tournament. I wasn't scheduled to compete, but this older girl, Angela, who I looked up to a lot on the team because of her personality and fencing skills, pulled her groin while warming up. My coach asked me to take her place. I was so nervous but so excited. It was an individual tournament, so I didn't have the pressure of letting anyone but myself down. I didn't place in the tournament, but just participating in it fed the hungry competitive nature I had inside. It made me want to work harder and compete more.

My senior year was the most memorable year, I placed at every tournament that season, and finished with a winning record. My team as a whole placed 2nd at the County Championship. And I earned the James Nelson Memorial Award, which is given to one boy and one girl fencer every year, nominated by the coaches for their efforts on and off the strip. It's the award I'm most proud of, of all my medals, plaques, and trophies.



I went on to fence at Hunter College. Hunter is only a Division 3 school, so it's not competitive, and I didn't get any scholarship for fencing. But I didn't care, I fenced because I loved it. My freshman year I was as at my peak, picking up where I left off in high school. I placed in nearly every tournament, and had a winning record for the season. My sophomore year, I was in a bit of a slump and did fairly well. Not as well as I wanted to, being as competitive as I was. Then the summer before my junior year, I was in a bad car accident. I suffered a severe concussion, and had symptoms that lingered for over a year, and both of my knees were crushed in the car. I had constant pain, every single day. I couldn't stand or walk for long periods of time. I attempted to fence, but couldn't do it. I fenced terribly because I was in too much pain to concentrate and too much pain to practice as often as I should have. I fenced in maybe two or three meets/tournaments and had to stop. I tried again my senior year of college, but again, couldn't do more than a few meets/tournaments. It was too painful.

That's me on the right

Now, almost 4 years after my accident, I've found a new way to get involved with fencing again. I can't personally compete, my knees are still too weak (even after surgeries on both), but I am teaching others.

One of my friends is the current coach at Centereach High School, this past fall he opened a fencing club in Sachem. As of now, the club only meets once a week, but has sparked a lot of interest. There's two classes, and combined there's around 30 kids. The first session is coming to an end this week, but there's a new session starting up again next week. The kids range in age from elementary school to high school, and you can see some of them are just doing it because they're being forced to, but others love it. They are at the gym early every week, always smiling and eager to please the coaches (Anthony and myself). I love that I can be involved with the sport I love, and I love even more that I can spread/teach it to new people. I hope that this club eventually evolves into a varsity team for the school, and I also hope that one day I can be a full-time coach.

Search for Sachem Fencing Club on Facebook and Like it!

You can also contact coach Anthony Mattera at 631-438-2842 or sachemfencing@gmail.com for more information about the club.