Born under the sign of the Archer

This week is Birthday week for me.  I quite enjoy Birthdays - a time for reflection and review and for sketching plans for the new year ahead... Not to mention an excuse to binge on cupcakes.  

It also means that I'm born under the astrological sun sign of the archer - Sagittarius. A fire sign. I was also born in the Chinese Year of the Horse, which apparently means I'm doubly prone to - amongst many other less endearing qualities - restlessness, tactlessness and fieriness. And as a Fire Horse, apparently that's doubled again. And I have red hair. Traditionally considered temperamental and fiery. Uh-oh. Do you observe the trend? There's a lot of fiery going on.  

And I think some who know me might agree.  I don't ignite that often but believe me, when I do, it's a Supernova. But can I be held responsible? Because talk about having the odds stacked against me in the calm&collected stakes! Do you know, I've only just this minute put that all of that Sagittarius/Fire Horse/Redhead stuff together quite like that? And if there is anything to it at all, it's no wonder I don't always feel like I'm very good at staying still or achieving serenity. Why my temper can be like a firecracker. And why, despite my very best and ongoing efforts, I still seem to spend a lot of time with my feet in my mouth. Yep, usually both at once.

Anyway, I haven't scared you away forever with all the fieriness (I'm actually quite calm. Most of the time), what I wanted to talk about at the outset is how my sun sign was used to explain, when conversation at work turned to new things that I've done in the past year, why one of them seemed particularly apt.

Remember this? The horrid team-building away-day.

One of the things I most enjoyed about that forced-on-me-away-day-that-wasn't-so-bad-in-the-end was playing briefly with a bow and arrows. Something completely new to me, it was the most fun of its kind I've had for ages. And my colleagues suggested that's because it spoke to the Sagittarian centaur would-be archer in me.  Although I believe female centaurs are called kentaurides... I didn't know that until this week - despite a mini module at University on classical mythology, which I suspect might have mentioned it. But that's good - another important thing to add to this year's new-stuff-learnt-or-done-between-Birthdays list, just in the nick of time.

Anywaaaaay...  Perhaps off@atangentsidetrackability is also a character trait I have to the power of 3? Back to the archery thing at the away-day...  As you can see below, while waiting my turn at the bows and arrows, I took some photographs of the target area and equipment, dew on the grass, sun on the leaves etc. Doing what I usually do, which is try to avoid getting very many people in my pictures. Don't know why, but I just seem to prefer most scenes without people and 'specially if the 'people' is me. 

Lovely. Just a shadow and footprints to suggest that there are people there...

My colleague, on the other hand, pointed his camera at all the people and has hundreds of action shots, which I must admit are great to see and arguably do a much better job of capturing the event than my pictures (of leaves and feathers and gravestones) do.

So, I've volunteered to put together a little bulletin about the day to go on our intranet quarterly round-up and I think our pictures will work well together. A little setting and a little characterisation. Both important to a good story I think, don't you?  So last week, he gave me - amongst others - these...

Of me. In action. I've combined them into some little before and after (aim & release) sequences...

I was obviously concentrating hard - witness furrowed brow and squinted eye - but it was fun. Honestly.

And I do so wish I could claim that my aim improved with practice but the evidence here suggests otherwise.

Second three arrows above. First three arrows below...

Mmmm....  Okay so a little erratic I grant, and yes, there would be another 50 metres between me and the target, but I'm telling you... 2012 Olympics... with a few more hours of practice, I think I'm in with a chance. I was born to it after all.

And that'd look good on the Birthday achievement list that year, wouldn't it?