eMarkLee

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to enjoy one of my favorite activities in the bay area (although not necessarily only in the Bay Area) with a crew of folks including X-Kahn and PB. We had a blast at my friends Mike and Serene’s Santa Clara Paintball park. We were just hanging out with them last week and so it is proper that I call out one of the most fun experiences around.

We had a nice group go, with 10-12 people for some good team play. We probably went through about 10 different rounds of battles. If you are unfamiliar with Paintball, these rounds basically consist of two teams shooting paintballs at each other. When you get hit, you throw your hands up and yell “HIT” and walk off the field. Usually it is evident because you will feel it and have a spot of paint on your body.

Paint and Pain

Don’t make me put paint on your candy-ass

For me, Paintball is more than just a game of GOTCHA with your buddies. There are some very important life-lessons that are learned when you paint ball:

1. There are some very skilled Special Forces Rambo-types. You are not one of them.
2. You must proceed and advance the line. You can’t just hide behind a barrier and expect to win.
3. Don’t advance without proper support.
4. Protect your balls
5. When you’re the last guy left on your team and there are five opponents advancing against you, pick an angle against the enemy and take out as many as you can before you get blasted. Don’t retreat.
6. Don’t run around straight up….get down to the ground.

I’m not sure how many of those lessons translate to life lessons, but just make sure you protect your balls.