1100 AAAs
Posted on: June 30, 2023, at 12:59:22am

Finally, the sheer weight of accrued low difficulty files has overcome years of rust and neglect, and I have reached my 1100th AAA. Or so the side bar claims. My profile still says 1098, so...I'll probably update this once I reach *that* particular variation on 1100.

If I sound less enthusiastic than in previous milestone posts, it's primarily because this represents a very different situation. Previously, these AAA thresholds were at least in part an indicator of progression. Now, I'm worse than I've been in a very long time. Until a week ago, I hadn't played at all since the last tournament, and the layoff shows. My efforts at derusting have been less effective than in the past.

And yet, I'm sort of at peace with that. My peak in FFR, meager though it might have been, came at a time when I was pouring an enormous amount of effort, daily, into the game. I won't say that I'll never get back to that point. FFR is still fun, and in coming back to it once more, I'm enjoying myself. But if I don't reach my previous heights, my struggles to get there have given me a greater appreciation for what I had accomplished. It's very easy to become discouraged by comparison to the many talented players in this community. Strangely, by struggling badly to play through files I've AAAed in the past, I've found a greater measure of pride in what I did back then.

Now if only I could actually de-rust, this could start sounding less like an obituary. :P

EDIT: My 1100th AAA (per the bar) was Claiomh Solais.

Level 64 (64.81)

Total AAAs: 1100
Total FCs: 1565

Best AAA: Across the Ocean (66)
Longest AAA: Highways of Ice (1662 notes)
Best AAA Equivalency: Tightwad (68.42)
Best BF: The Fusion (67)
Best SDG: For FFR (72)
Best FC: ephemera and No Time For Sleep (94 each)