Learn to FLY

Why is it that no matter how many rooms our house has...this goddamn fly INSISTS on flying between me and the computer monitor!!!!! I am now on a mission.

He was just playing with them, but it sure looks like he's weight training, while mixing the Tiger and Leopard styles of Kung Fu. 

If Karate and Kung Fu don't work......SQUISH THEIR HEAD!!

Big BIG Kick !! 

Saturday

I figured Id take Logan to the dojo and let him run himself tired. Thought it would make nap time easier (yeah right). Anyways, I brought the camera, and got some blurry shots.

The lip cut is healing nicely.

Once the kids are down for their nap, I got to either go clean the upstairs or borrow m moms lawn mower and cut the jungle that's surrounding the house.

Shannon

I got no idea what to title this one

After a thought provolking workout Wednesday, I found myself willed with so much Zen that I was brimming with ideas. Had a whole buncha stuf o blog about. That was Wednesday.

Thursday, about 40 minutes into Muay Thai class, my partner made a conection that send his foot itnto the pads...the pads back towards me - my hand (holding the thai pad) into my face - my cheek into my canine tooth...and the rest was me drooling blood for the next 20 minutes. I ended up with a purple/swollen upper left lip, and a nasty 1 inch long cut inside my mouth (also on the lip). It's getting better, but Im afraid all that wisdom shit flew right outta my head upon impact. If it comes back, I'll be sure to write it down.

FAMLIY NEWS: Tonight, after leaving a resteraunt, Logan and I were holding hand, walking to the car..when we heard a very loud cricket chirping. He looks up at me and says "Bad bug". I said " No - good bug...he's happy....let' listen to him sing". We bent down, and listend for a little bit (as the family continued to the car). As we walked away,I remembered that famous encounter that Caine had with Keye Luke's character on Kung Fu about the grasshopper. I said, in passing as we walked away (and with a really sweet Keye Luke accent)--"Do you hear the cricket at your feet?". I thought I had said it in passing, but at that moment, the boys arm pulled me, and I turned to see him walking on the sides of his feet......looking down. He was looking for the cricket and didnt want to step on it. I laughed, but felt very proud to share that moment with him. Perhaps I will call him "cricket" from now on, in memory of this.

NOTE TO ADAM: In retrospect, I wussed out on some of those throws. Sorry about that. Maybe it's cause of your height, or maybe I sense you're a bit tense when loading, that I didnt just "go with it" as I should have. On Monday, let's work on throws again. This time, I'll try to be braver.

Well...off to bed.

Shannon

ps. The sensei that sends out the emails in that Yahoo group I talked about is Furuya Sensei..big Aikido dude.

It's nap time

The kids are working on Naptime, and the wife is helping out today, so I have a minute to talk.

DOJO NEWS: I've heard it said "Expect the worst, and you'll never be disappointed". No Shit...they musta gone to this dojo too. No one has seen hide nor hair of the judo guy, and JJ the Greater decided to postpone her return to next week. At least Adam showed up, and we had a chance to work together. We went over a review of the jujitsu stuff, got to test the practicality of some of the techniques, and tried some variations. I showed him a few muay thai drills, and then we moved on to Judo. He really suprised me with a few inventive moves (sneaky bastard). We invited JJ the Lesser to join in , but he was quickly winded. We need about 3 or 4 mor epeople, so randori wont need as long a rest period.

Also on a good note, after working out, I spent some time with the KF sifu. He was having 2 boys demonstrate what they had learned up to this point. It was interesting watching them perform , remember, or forget moves.....it wasn't too long ago that I knew none of them myself. It made me feel good to watch these kids perform, and know that I not only knew what they were doing, but had practiced it AND had a knowledge base above it. Sweeeeet.

Well - off to parts unknown. It's very VERY hot.....so a junk yard run is not practical. Nothing outside is, really. I wanted to cut the grass, but the heat is unbearable ( not to mention that we have no gas for the mower!)

Shannon

Darth Logan pushing Darth Lance at the zoo today. 

Something to say

Well, a few months ago, the baby (Lance) started to say "dadadadadada", but then stopped as he started trying to learn the crawl. Today marked another first for him---he started to say "Bubba". This is a comon nickname that we call him, or refer to Logan when talking with him. Cool. Also, for the last week, the wife has put him in a regular high chair when we go out to eat, rather than keeping him in his carrier. We went to the zoo today, and Lance got to sit in the stroller instead of a bally pouch. I want to say that this was his first time in there, but the straps were just right for him, so I think Ive pushed him in it once before. But today was the first time that he really sat up and was able to see what was going on.

DOJO NEWS: Well, I blew off Wednesday and Friday (I made it to the Muay Thai class Thursday). I fear that Monday will take my disappointment at the dojo to an entirely new low. I will need to call to see if Judo guy had classes on Wed and Fri. No way else of knowing if there wil any judo class. ALSO, the 25th is supposed to be the return date of JJ the greater (the better jujitsu instructor). However, last week, when asked if they had heard from JJ the Greater, I was told "No, havent heard from her. Don't expect her back till sometime in August." In addition, (If you're reading this Adam), ya better show up on Monday. It would be disrespectful (and completely suck) if JJ the greater actually DOES come back, only to find no students for her class. I'm estimating about 80% chance that she doesnt show, but you never know. I have expected a call from her either way, but got nothing. Maybe I'll call her at work tomorrow and see what her plans are.

I guess if all else fails, I can always work on my (neglected) kung fu. Cept that the judo class is at 6, the JJ class at 7, KF at 8. SO if I show up at 5:45, I'll have to leave and come back later. It sucks getting psyched for class, then having such a delay. Guess time will tell.

Well, off to bed...been a long day. The wife had college classes all weekend, so I had the boys with no break this weekend. Monday is a playgroup meeting at a local park...if all the women dont wuss out cause of the heat.

Shannon

Makes me proud to be their dad 

"POWER DARK SIDE" 

Hey DAD - Is this a mini pizza?? 

Bastards sucked me in

I was/am an advid follower of the Farscape sereies on Scifi. I have all the dvds, since they decided to cancel the show, AFTER it was labeled the "Most successful scifi series". Canceling the show ruffled quite a few feathers, mine included. It seemed like those morons over at the SCI FI were more interested in promoting STARGATE, and piss on those of us who were Farscape fans.

I refused to watch Stargate, and sent hate mail to the the Scifi channel on a regular basis.


It looks like someone at the station has a brain, and they have installed Ben Crowder and Claudia Black as characters in Stargate. I watch it as I type. Way cool. They are, of course, different characters, but its sweeeet to see both of them again.

Gotta go...commercial is over.

Shannon

Lazy summer day

The wife woke me up at 8am today - telling me that she was taking Logan outside with her to mow the grass. 8am! But - I figured it gave them something to do, and the baby and I more time to sleep.

Spent most of the day bummin around the house. Went to ARby's for lunch. Logan seperates the word as if it were R B's. Cute. We ended up at the club (YMCA) and went swimming for a few hours. Had so much fun, we forgot about the time, and ran over itno "dojo time". Lately "dojo time" has been a major buzz kill, so I stayed with the family and had instead.

FLASHBACK TO MONDAY: I was really excited that the judo guy was coming back. He said to meet him around 5:30, so I show up a few minutes before that. Office staff inform me that I just missed him. He changed his mind about the times, and wants to have kids classes from 5-6, and adult class from 6-7. Cept that he never bothered to come back for the 6-7 class. I was pissed. The only other adult student passed on coming, which left me alone in the studio to sit and spin. If I was taking karate, or TKD, it would be easier to work out alone. But you cant practice judo throws without a partner. You cant practice jujitsu on an imaginary opponent. Could have worked my Muay Thai a bit, but even for that, it's better to have a partner hold pads for you, rather than just hit the free standing heavy bag. I ended up going home and enjoying some icecream with the boys.

TUESDAY was a bit better....I attended another Iaido class (Samurai Sword drawing class). THis time, instead of the blue outfit (see photo below), I wore my standard white karate gi, and put the hakama over it. Looked sweet (forgot my camera).

** Instant MORON alert......I got up from the computer, and went to check on Logan. He's been in his room for a while now, with a little tv on. I wanted to make sure he was in bed, and turn the tv of if he was asleep. As I turned to get up, I saw my cat laying behind me, with is paws raised in front of him (sleepign on his side), very similar to a efensive kung fu position. As I turned, I raised my own hands up, to mimic his position, and CLANG CLANG...raised my hands right into the damn metal wind chime we have in the archway. Moron! I quicky silenced it, and luckily, it dodnt wake either sleeping prince. But it DID give the wife somehing to joke me about the next time she says something dumb.

Well---off to cruise the web. Oh yeah, I left a YAHOO group titles Martial Arts. The group sucked. Only a few emails, every now and again, and the moderator (Melissa) started to allow only posting that were inline with her thoughts. So much for an open discussion of varying opinions. After leaving that group, I subscribed to an Aikido group. Turns out, it is not just any group----it is headed by a head honcho on Aikido. Cant remember his name, but I saw a special on him on TV once. Heavy set, 40's or 50's, buzz cut hair. I will get the exact name of the group and post it for anyone who'd like to join. The emails fro the head honchoguy are very insightful. Any postings not from him are written very respectfully, and are also informative. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in martial arts, and in mor ethan just punch, block and kick. (WIthout all that weirdo Zen double talk).

Shannon

Playing catch up

Where to start----let's see -

Monday - No judo guy at the dojo, but had a decent workout anyways.

Tuesday - Finally got to wear that damn hakama !! JJ the lesser got me an invite to an Iaido class at a different dojo, Karate for Christ. Bad point- having to REALLY watch my language. Good points: AS perviously stated, finaly got to wear my samurai costume AND, because it's a religious based dojo, they said that it was by donation only. No contract to sign, no having to sell blood for extra dojo money. Sounds good so far. There were about 25 people in the class, varying belt colors and ages. Most used bokens, and a few higher belts used dull swords. I had heard that it was prefered, if I had one, to wear my hakama....so I did...making me not only the "new guy", but the ONLY ONE wearing the top and hakama. Add my customized hachimaki (headbank), and I sure turned a few eyes. Everyone was just learning, so I didnt feel funny looking professional, but not knowing what to do. Nice group. I think that I will bring a dull sword next time. There are certain movements that require you to hold the sword with the right hand, and move the scabbad with the left...this is hard to simulate (moving a ficticious scabbard). But - YIPPE ---Im finally taking Iaido!!!!

Wednesday: Found out that JJ the greater will return to the dojo on the 25th! (HURRAY!!). Also found out that Judo guy will return Monday (ANOTHER HURRAY!!). Made a complete fool of myself on the phone with him, trying to convey that I valued his teaching, was addicted to the art, and would follow him anywhere he went (meaning to another dojo). Im not sure, but with the limited time we had to talk, and the language barrier (he is Iranian), I think I may have come off sounding like a teenager saying "Im like SOOOO glad that you're not breaking up with me!!) Anyways...the weeks should get interesting for a while. He wants to have class Monday/Wednesday AND Friday. Sooooo:

Monday: Judo, followed by Jujitsu
Tuesday: Iaido
Wednesday: Judo , followed by Jujitsu
Thursday : Kung Fu, followed by Muay Thai
Friday: Judo & Recover from Monday thru Thursday!!

As you can see from the below picture, Lance got his very first taste of French Fries. We bit off the ends, and he gnawed it to get the squishy center out. That little booger has 7 teeth now! 2 on the bottom, and 5 on top.

We went to the Picture people a few days ago (incompetent jackasses). We bought (also had coupons) 3 pictures that they managed NOT to fuckup. One is a family shot, the second a lone shot of Lance (sitting up all by himself!), and the third is a shot of Logan doing Karate. I'll post them as soon as I get them scanned.

Well, off to pry the newest Harry Potter book from my wifes sleeping death grip.

Not the greatest picture, but too many people were around to do the REALLY cool samurai poses I wanted. 

Logan takes a swing at home-schooled Iaido-----and shortly after, at ME!!! 

Momentus occasion - Lance's first French Frye 

Desperately seeking Judo

Flash back to the 80's - but it's not Susan Im after---it's Judo. Im hooked. Addicted, I dare say. It has all the physical umph that Ive been looking for. Sadly, the Judo sensei hasnt shown up in 2 weeks. I plan to call him later today, and ind out if he's just out on vacation, or if he's quit. Really hope it's just a vacation. Adam and I have started to pick up on the judo training, and it sure would be nice to have a bigger class. Since the judo class started (and combined with the Muay Thai), Im now down to 228 pounds (from 240). Im getting leaner and meaner.

Kids are taking their nap - wife is busy online...wonder what trouble I can get into ...

Truck news (1998 Chevy Blazer - 4x4-6 cylinder) : It took 2 days, but I finally got that water pump fixed.

I ended up having to remove the water pump with the fan assembly still attached. Even the auto parts people couldn't get em apart. I searched online, and found another person with my problem....no solution, just same problem. Soooo - I ended up removing the back cover of the water pump, and froze the swirly thing inside of it. I used a large C-clamp, a baby wrench, and a brick to stop that damn wheel from turning...then I attacked the big bolt (other side) with a pipe wrench. Finally worked. The hardest part of putting it all back together was those damn cardboard seals on either side of the water pump.

You would think that, being a 98, it would have had an electric fan - I even considered not fully installing the clutch fan, and sticking in an electic fan. But - It suprised me that when reattaching the fan assembly, it was a breeeze! No water leakage, and I even learned a thing or two. I got a first hand look at the engine block. I had been wondering if there was any hidden damage caused by the acident (with the drunk driver). Looks like there is none. I WAS , however, able to find the reason the air conditioner dont work. During the accident (in October), the collision damaged the a/c condenser (small radiator looking thing thats between the front grill and the real radiator. I had tried ading coolant, and it hissed right out - but I wasnt able to locate the problem area. With al that "stuff" out of the way, locating the leak was easy. Advance auto parts has a replacement for abot $200 (OUCH!!), and Ebay has one for $100. I'll chack out the local junkyard this week, and see if I can locate one cheaper.

Back to karate stuff- JJ the lesser has invited me to join/check out an Iaido class tonight. Im not to amused about all the praying that Im gonna have to deal with (it's a christian jesus people based non-profit-dojo). BUT, it's the only way Im going to get into an Iaido class. I've had that Hakama and top for almost 9 months now, and only worn it once (for Logan). Logan was excited when I told him daddy had sword class tonight. We've watched The Last Samurai bunches of times, so he understands what daddy wil be doing. I just hope it don't suck.

Ok - back to the daily grind. Cath ya'l later.

Shannon

Saturday

Wednesday: Wasted a trip to the dojo - only the lesser the "lesser" teacher was there. I really dont mean to be insultive by calling him the lesser, but he's a shodan, and IVE had to show him things, or correct him when he was teaching another student. He's really trying to "get back into it", but at this time, his memory isnt all it should be, and he is reather sloppy. Im really missing Linda (the other jujitsu sensei). I spoke to her on the phone the other day...hard to tell if she is planning on coming back. Sounds like it will depend on how much better a deal she can negotiate with the owners.
To further make the night a waste, the judo guy didnt show up. AND - no one bothered to tell me that the kung fu guy was out for the week. I swear, this place can really piss me off. OR, if you prefer, interupt my chi flow. There are only few other students at this place (tat are over the age of 10). Of them, one is only taking jujitsu with "JJ the lesser", one is (I suspect) boffing the KF guy, and has as much interest in martial arts as I do is the finer points of work farming, and thats about it. The only name on the "oughta call" list is me.

BTW: for the third sash requiment - the sifu has created what he calls the 18 earthly hands. It is a kind of form that demonstrates 18 different stance/hand/animals. Cept that is has over 23 moves, AND he forgot to include one. He taught it, but left it off the list that he gave me. I plan to take some time to dedicate to this - finally something neat that not only includes a buncha animals, but if I can learn the individual steps, I can start to mix them up - change the pattern and form my own. Ive been looking for a time/means to "do something on my own". This may be it.

Thursday: Had a decent day, then headed off to Muay Thai class. Whoopass workout as always. We worked on speed and repetition kicks. Our partner hald pads around their mid section, and we are to hit the pads as many times as possible (with round house kicks - same leg) within a minute. The goal was to kick the pad 60 times = 1 kick per second. I did fine for the first 15-20 second - then my leg felt like a lead weight. We did this with both legs. They counted kicks : I got 78!! I had to stop a few times ad get my balance, but I whooped! I think a good drill wil be to start with 15-30 seconds, and go all out. After a while, up the time. A minute seemed a bit long to start with.

Friday night, we ALL got sick. The wife had a bitchy attitude and complained of a throbbing head. Lance had a mild fever. Logan had a mild fever and a runny nose. And I - I felt liek shit. High fever, dizzyness, fatigue, loss of appitite, you name it. To further my suffering, the wife insisted on running the air conditioner AND blowing the fans into the room. Im under 3 blankets, shivering and this heartless bitch yells at me for turning of the fans. It's almos as if (and Ive blogged of this before), there is a "one up" contest between us. I swear, I could come home with a dislocated head, and before Id have a chance to say anything, she'd have something wrong that was worse. Ive almost wanted to start faking something- anything--just so I can have something BEFORE she does. For Christmas, I think I'll get her some sympathy---cause she sure is lacking it.

Saturday - still under the weather, but the fever broke, and I can get around. I had a gorilla singing telegram, followed by a 3 yr old birthday party to entertain at. Sure glad I got feeling better when I did. We missed church because of my party, but Im sure they did fine without us. I have a tedy bear telegram tomorrow. Good thing too, cause my bills are ue (dojo included).

Ohh- the dojo sent out a newsletter detailing their "grand opening", and their new location. They had the nerve to brag about offering 10 different martial arts. They threw the word "Olympic" into the judo, listed the capiero that the guy said he wasnt gonna teach, AND had the fucking never to list Iaido and kendo.

My thanks to Ruth for the email.

FAMILY NEWS: within the last 2 weeks, the baby has started to sit up for short periods of time. He's got 4 or 5 teeth now, and has 2 breaking at the same time. And Logan is now fully potty trained. He's so concerned not to get his superhero underwear wet, that we havent had to use diapers in over 3 weeks. Even over night! There have even been twice that he's headed back to the potty all by minself, went peepee, fluc=shed, put his clothes back on, and came back out to brag. 2 and a half, and alreay going potty by himself - Im SO PROUD!!

Oh, as a stopped off at home between parties today, I noticed that all the radiator fluid was pouring out of the bottom. Id say that the water pump has gone--a shitload of work. I sure hope that it's not a cracked block. If I cant get it fixed right quick, looks like my 77 hearse may move up to "primary family car". That should make the arabs happy - with the 440 8 cylider under the hood. Gassing up is gonna HURT!!!

Well, off to bed.

In defense of Diesel

It always makes me wonder when
1. Movies that I LOVE are in the $5 discount bin at Walmart
2. Actors/hollywood refers to movies I LOVE as "The biggest mistake they ever made".

Blade Runner is a cult classic, and beloved in my house - yet considered a stinker by Harris Ford.

The 13th Warrior can be quoted verbatem in my house , yet is considered a poopoo movie by Walmart.

I can list others, but the latest is the buzz around how Vin Diesel passed up Triple X 2 & Fast/Furious3 to make The Chronicles Of Riddick. I love Vin-his most recent movie sucks badly (see previous post), but I really liked Riddick. I liked HIM as Riddick. Now Fast/Furious I could have done without. I have the first or second one - and wasn't impressed. It didnt appeal to me, even though Im into modifying fast cars. Seemed like some lame ass surfer/skater movie, that appeals to the 12-19 yr male population. (Get yourself a cutesie little term, like NOS, and run it into the ground). As for Triple X, I havent seen #1, but have no desire to watch Ice Cube be a pretend badass in #2.

RELATED: As a rule o thumb, along with Sean Penn and any Baldwin Brother, I am swearing of Tom Cruise Movies. Craving attention is one think, bu t his moron is in the news waaaay too much for too much stupid shit. Poor Katie - hope she's gettign paid well.

NOT RELATED: Im watching VH1 the other night, and hey are having the top 101 Celebrity WHoopses. They have a girl on there making comments, and Im imediately in love. No idea who the hell she is, but she's prety and whitty. Watched it again, and found out her name is Jessica Coen. She is the editor of Gawker.com, and has her own blog (that you can leave comments on---damn). Anyways, Im visiting various blog sites the next day, and all of a sudden, people are refering to/referncing Gawker.com. Wonder if I was just under a rock? Or if a publicity stunt like having an adorable unknown ragging on hollywood bigwigs really works. Dunno . I still wish she lived down the street (schwing!!!)

ON THE HOMEFRONT: Would you think there is somehing mentally wrong with a woman who responds to " Do you have his b-l-u-e p-a c-i "? with "We've already read 2 of them." ?? It happened to me.

Hope everyone (all 4 of you) have a happy 4th. We're heading to the beach. The wife thinks it's fun to enter ourselves as part of the food chain. If the bul sharks dont get me, I'll see ya'll later.

Shannon

VIN DIESEL is the PACIFIER

Warning - this movie has GOT to be the biggest waste of $17 the family has encountered in the last year. Take one cult hero baddass, a bad plot, Disney ninjas, horrible situational comedy, uptight script writters, and VIOLA - you have the above named movie.

Save yourself the money and the time..leave it on the shelf.

Shannon