Torture - I thought it was illegal?

Just got back from JJ class. The last ten minutes of the class was throwing a medince ball back and forth, 50 times per person from chest to chest, 30 times from behind and over the head. I'm sure that's cruel and unusual punishment in some states.

Belt Rank Progress

I created a little picture of my belt rank progress on the sidebar to the right there. As I get stripes and acheive new ranks, I'll update the diagram with the new level. Hopefully, I can updated it Monday with my first stripe.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Days I'll Always Remember

1. My wedding day.

2. My sixteenth birthday.

3. My 20th birthday

4. The day I got my 365 (driving learner's permit before graduated licensing).

5. The day I got my first computer (Commodore Vic 20).

6. The day my father died.

7. The first time I laid eyes on Kim.

8. The day we picked up our first brand new car.

9. The last time I saw my grandfather alive in the hospital.

10. The first time we stepped into the house we bought.

11. The day my team won the Math Science Olympics in High School.

12. The day I got laid off and our gecko Rocco died.

13. The day Kim and I and the kids spent swimming at Turtle Rock at Bon Echo park.

Now We Shall See What I've Learned...

I had my 5th offical Jiu Jitsu class last night, although I'm counting it as seventh since I had two introductory classes as well. My stamina has improved enough that the warm up doesn't kill me to the point of shaking, but I still have a ways to go in order to be as in shape as I want.

Material wise, its all coming back to me. At least the basic stuff. Enough such that I'm confident enough in white belt material to go for my first stripe test this Sunday. I've been asking quick questions to instructors before and after classes on points I'm unclear on so that after only 5 (7!) classes of instruction I feel ready.

I'll report back Monday on how it goes.

Figures

Over at Canoe.ca, this article caught my eye:

U.S. hiker returns Canuck's purse
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - John Suhrhoff found the Louis Vuitton bag on a Sausalito park bench during a lunch stop in the scenic city following a weekend hike.

Inside the bag, police say, was a treasure trove: a 12-carat diamond ring, pearl and emerald jewelry, a Cartier watch and roughly $500 in Canadian and American cash. The contents were worth a cool $1 million US.

Holy Smokes! How did this happen?

The Ghannadians [family who last the purse] told the Marin Independent Journal of Novato that their flight to Toronto was scheduled for Sunday evening, so they decided to visit Sausalito. The town is known for its waterfront views of San Francisco and is a tourist hub.

Shahla Ghannadian briefly left her husband in charge of the purse, which contained jewelry she wore at the wedding, according to the paper.

Suhrhoff said he found the bag on a park bench near a tour bus depot.

Empahsis mine. Really, what more can I say? Men and purses don't mix. Even if there is $1 million worth of contents.

Movie Review - V for Vendetta

Kim and I took in a Matinee at South Keys yesterday, watching V for Vendetta.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the movie and the depths to which it plumbed. Although it went overboard in certain areas such as the intensity of High Chancellor Sutter (who was more of a Hitler clone than anything) a significant part of the movie was realistic and therefore quite scary. It is entirely plausible that our generation, so comfortable that we have become in our luxury, would trade our basic freedoms for the security of a dictatorship.

It was a long movie but interesting and for the most part unpredictible which is always welcome in my world where movies are too often formulatic and spoonfed to the audience.

I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Let Me Say This About That

The phenomenom that is World Of Warcraft is one that I've studiously avoided. Not because I think it would suck or be a waste of money and time; completely the opposite. I'm convinced it is something I would adore and want to enjoy all the time. I can quickly see my free time in the evenings sucked up by adventuring in the virtual world that Blizzard has created and continues to develop.

I've already got too many things on the go, and I can't fit one more into the mix as it is.

But man, its sooooo tempting. Long ago when first starting into role playing (for me in computer games), the big draw is to create characters and breathe life into them, and then watch them gain experience and skills, victories and defeats. As graphics improved, the next step was to allow the experience to become shared. Diablo was the first game that I played over the internet with friends and it allowed four people to participate per game. It was a blast and tons of fun. Its amazing how much playing a game with other people improves its quality.

World Of Warcraft allows hundreds of people to be in the virtual world at a time, a world that streches over vast areas and filled with quests, monsters, and other adventures. This is the wave of the future for role playing as more and more games move that direction.

And I'm avoiding it only because I know I'd love it.

Getting Less Sore with Every Class

I continue to attend Jiu Jitsu class twice a week, with the latest being today at lunch. My stamina is slowly improving, techniques are coming back to me, and I am meeting new people and thoroughly enjoying myself. And bonus: I'm getting less sore after every class. W00t!

I am currently a white belt and next is yellow. All the pre black belt ranks are:
White
Yellow
Orange
Green
Blue
Purple
Brown

And then when you get to Black Belt you start ascending in ranks as you continue training. I'm thinking of putting a little icon on the side to show my rank as I climb up to Black which should take a few years.

For each of the coloured belts (aka pre-black belt) the dojo I attend measures progress by awarding stripes as students demonstrate knowledge of the material required for the next level. For each belt you have three stripes to acheive, each one representing a third of the material, before going for your belt test for the next level.

I hope to try for my first stripe next week!

Thursday Thirteen

13 Things I Hate to Do

1. Clean poop. Dog poop, baby poop, it don't matter, I hate it all.

2. Clean Vomit. Not as bad as poop, but still pretty gross.

3. Take my car to Canadian Tire for service. They take forever and I never know if they are fleecing me or not.

4. Wake up in the middle of the night. I need my sleep!

5. Give people bad news.

6. Miss family gatherings. I just feel compelled that I should be at all family gatherings and I'm letting my family down when I miss them.

7. Watch stupid drama on TV when the characters are just being stupid!

8. Watch extra corny movies where the dialogue is uber sugary. It makes me embarassed for them.

9. Wait for a movie I really want to see come out on video instead of seeing it in the theatres.

10. Gardening. I agree with Kim; its hard on the knees and back, you get dirty, and you have to do it often or you end up growing nothing but weeds.

11. Be late. For anything. Drives me bonkers.

12. Go into work late for emergency support calls. I really need my sleep!

13. Trying to come up with the thirteenth item for my Thursday Thirteen.

something new...

They say that you learn something new every day. (I wonder who they are anyways...)

I find that this doesn't really apply to me, but yesterday I did indeed learn something I didn't know before...something about Bill that I feel compelled to share.

At work, his colleagues have nicknamed him Rain Man...he said it's because he's so good with numbers and trivia (and he is).

Ok, Rain Man...I have a question for you...

How many toothpicks???

I'm EVIL!

You Are 56% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

Spring is Here!

As much as I love winter, by the time March rolls around I'm eager for spring to be sprung. I can't wait for the sunny warm days, the melting snowbanks, the reappearance of the lawn, it is such a life affirming time of year.

However, with Spring comes the annual garage cleaning. And since I didn't do one last fall, its extra big this year. I expect I'll need a couple days to do it all once the Carleton Place waste yard is open again. (note to self: must find out when that opens). Not only are there bags of leaves and debris from the fall, there are hordes of boxes from christmas and the TV Delivery, as well as general garbage that was too big to fit in a bag like an old burnt out lamp for example.

To add to the fun (oh yay) it turns out a mouse got in our garbage can and died over the winter and now it smells bad. I mean, really bad. Extra gross bad. So I need to hose that out too.

Then when spring really gets under way we are going to have to do yard work and gardening. Egads, its going to be a busy time of year.

too much?

Bill thinks we have too many boxes of cereal...

Three boxes of cereal are for the kids...and I just like a variety, it is the spice of life, you know!

I love my cereal...and when I feel like having a bowl of cereal, whether it's for breakfast or dinner (yes, I said dinner!), I like to have variety. I need choices, people! If I only had one box of cereal in the cupboard, it's almost certain that when the cereal urge strikes, I won't feel like the kind I've got. Funny enough, there are times when I look at the 8 boxes I have and none of them are appealing either. Go figure.

My name is Kim, and I have a cereal problem.

Thursday Thirteen

Places I've Been

1. Greenbush. Its a small hamlet 15 km north of Brockville Ontario and its where I grew up.

2. Athens, Ontario. Small community I lived outside of for five years before moving the Greenbush.

3. Ottawa. I went to university there and lived there before moving for a couple years, then moved back for another couple years.

4. Carleton Place. Of course, my current address.

5. Barrie, Ontario. Inbetween stays in Ottawa, I lived in a couple townhouses with Kim in Barrie for a few years while working in Toronto.

Those are all places I've lived, now places I've visited.

6. Mrytle Beach, South Carolina. We went there one March break when I was in high school. It was a blast.

7. Longford, Ireland. My maternal grandmother emmigrated from the Emerald Isle and I still have a large extended family there. My great aunt Mary took me for a visit when I was eleven for a month.

8. Calgary, Alberta. When Kim's family lived out there, we spent one Christmas vacation there.

9. Chatham, Ontario. We sometimes travelled to southern Ontario when I was growing up to visit my cousin Kevin.

10. Northern New York. One year my family took a long weekend vacation and played tourists in the States. Many fond memories of that trip.

11. Canada's Wonderland, Toronot, Ontario. One year our family vacation was to Canada's Wonderland and I was allowed to bring my friend Al. Good times.

12. Centreville, Nova Scotia. My aunt Jolene lived in Nova Scotia for a few years and I visited on more than one occasion. One time, we even flew down which was very exciting.

13. Niagara Falls, Ontario. A few times Kim and I have visited the tourist trap that is Niagara falls, usually with some family but one time on our own. We enjoyed every visit and made some awesome memories (remember the shag carpet walls?).

fried chicken...

Bill and I have had the kids up all week for March break...

Last night, neither one of us felt like cooking dinner, and since we already needed to make another run to the grocery store, we picked up a bucket of fried chicken and potato wedges. (yum!)

I was getting chocolate milk as everyone else was sitting around the dinner table...I heard the girls each ask for a leg...it's their favorite piece. Then Holden said, "I like breasts". Since I was in the kitchen, I had a little giggle where no one could see me. (remember, Holden is only 6)

After I joined everyone at the table, the conversation continued.

Bill: "Kim, what piece would you like?" (knowing full well what I wanted!)
Kim: "A breast."
Holden: "You like breasts too, Kimmie?"
Kim: "Yes, they're my favorite."
Holden: "Breasts are my favorite...I love breasts."
Kim: "Bill loves breasts too...but he also loves legs. I'm not sure which he likes better...I think breasts, eh honey."
Bill: **shakes his head at me and tries to fight back the laughter** "Kim, you better hope they don't remember this conversation when they're older!"

I think I'm getting a cramp from laughing too hard...

Holden was so serious and I couldn't help but find the humor in the conversation...it was way too hard not to laugh last night...I didn't want to answer the "what's so funny?" question!

Finally Almost Recovered

I've had a rough week. Last week at this time I came down with the flu and spent the day zonked out in bed or on the couch. I felt marginally better Thursday, went to work, had a work emergency and ended up working twelve hours. Friday I started developing a huge cluster of cold sores on my lip from work related stress and still feeling under the weather, not to mention my arm got wrenched something fierce in Jiu Jitsu class. The weekend I spent in various degrees of sluggishness, finishing Sunday afternoon with a throat so sore that it felt like I was swallowing sandpaper golf balls.

Sunday night, not only was I waking up every hour to take a painful drink of water to alleviate some pain in my throat, one of the kids had a nightmare and ended up in our bed. After an hour of being too warm and crowded I went downstairs to try and sleep on the couch, having several starts and stops there. My body just couldn't decide if it was too warm or too cold. By the time morning came I was exhausted still and called in sick to work.

Monday I was on the mend as my throat calmed down and I got some rest. My lip went from blister phase to scab phase (where it will be for the next week or so). By Monday evening I was mostly better if tired and yesterday I reluctantly went back to work. Today I'd say I'm as close to normal as I have been since this time last week, ignoring the cluster of scabs on my bottom lip of course.

Anyway, now you know why posting has been terribly light as of late. It should pick up now that I'm feeling better.

mixed up reality...

Last night the kids were wrestling...and I got into the action a bit too.

Holden bet that I couldn't get him down onto the ground (yeah, right!)...once he was there, I tickled him a bit and then put my fingers on the back of his neck and said, "watch out, or I'll use my vulcan death grip on you!"

Bill overheard this, and all I hear is a very sarcastic, "THERE IS NO VULCAN DEATH GRIP!" Then he added, "There is however a vulcan blah, blah, blah." Ok, he didn't say 'blah, blah, blah'...it's just that I don't remember exactly what he did say. All I really remember is how offended he was that I thought there was a vulcan death grip.

Geek.... :p

Actually, THERE ARE NO VULCANS...so there is no death grip or 'blah, blah, blah'.
Just saying...

My Secret Identity

(Hat Tip: Tilting At Windmills)

I Don't Feel So Good....

Yesterday both Kim and I came down with something right nasty. Stomach bug of some sort. We both spent the entire day and evening exhausted and sleeping. Today I feel a lot better but still not 100%. Kim is having a second day off work which is unusual for her.

So if you were wondering why it was so quiet around here, now you know.

On another note, I attended my second class of Jiu Jitsu on Tuesday and it went really well. I was quiet sore and exhausted by the end of it which is exactly the kind of workout I've been looking for. Next class is Friday at noon. Yellow belt, here I come!

I'm Hooked

I love computer games that are about "Empire Building". The original game in this genre that really took it mainstream was Sid Miers Civilizations and I must have played in total weeks of that game over a couple years. But my favourite of all time was Master of Orion II which was almost perfect. When Master of Orion III was being released I was extremely excited but the actual game let me down a bit. It was still good but it almost seemed overwhelming with politics and the warp lanes really seemed out of place.

When I saw Galatic Civilizations II being reviewed and described as the true hier to Master of Orion II, I knew I had to try it. I bought it on the weekend and gave it a try last night and this morning and so far I'm impressed. Very simple interface and straight forward controls, with enough decisions to keep me coming back. We'll have to see if it stands the test of time.

Down Cycle

It was a rough weekend. We got the kids unexpected for Friday night and all day Saturday which was ok, but we also had to do lots of house cleaning on Saturday so it was a busy day. Then Saturday night I heard the air intake fan on the furnace sounding very strange indeed, as if it was starting to have a heart attack. We've got technicians coming out today but last night I kept waking up listening for it to see if it was getting worse. Images of fires starting plagued my half awake moments. Fortunately, nothing happened and we still had heat this morning.

On top of all that, I woke up Sunday with a slightly sore throat that has persisted into this morning. And a runny nose. Sigh. Fortunately work is not too crazy yet and I've been taking it easy.

one is the loneliest number...

Last night Bill and I went into our small town Home Hardware store to pick up an order. While we were there, I noticed an elderly man standing at the back watching the tv. As I looked at him again, I was sure that he was the same man we saw last week when we put in our order. He was in the same place, doing the same thing...both times he was standing near the back counter watching the tv, speaking to no one. I asked Bill if he thought it was the same guy and he thought it was too.

I thought this was pretty sad. I hope that when I am old, I will never be bored enough to stand around in a store watching tv, talking to no one.

Bill gave me a hug and said, "don't ever leave me...or I'll be old and standing around watching kids play warhammer, telling them how it used to be done when I was young."

Oh, to never be lonely...

Oh Happy Day!

Rumour has it that Buffy the Vampire Slayer may make a small return.

(Hat Tip Pesky Apostrophe)

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things that starting Jiu Jitsu again has shown me:

1. My ankle that I hurt almost three years ago is still not perfect. It hurts to kneel on it in the traditional fashion so I'm hoping I can stretch it out and get it better.

2. My head weighs alot and my neck muscles are not strong enough to keep it off the mat for very long. Fortunately that is something exercise will take care of.

3. My legs are not in the awesome shape I thought they were in. Going into the Horse Stance (feet double shoulder width apart, knees bent) really makes my upper thighs scream. Again, exercise will deal with that.

4. Finding a good dojo is difficult. I was lucky nine years ago in that I found one I really liked and was high quality.

5. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is really hard. I'm still feeling muscle pains and sporting bruises from Monday's trial class.

6. Kim wants to take a martial art so she can beat me up.

7. There are a lot of different martial arts, some I have never heard off until I went looking for a good basic book on Jiu Jitsu.

8. Jiu Jitsu originated in Japan as the training for unarmed combat for Samuria warriors. Hence many movements and formalities are based on the concept of having a sword on the left hip and heavy armour.

9. Someone training in Jiu Jitsu is called a Jiu Jitsuka.

10. I really want to be a black belt. I didn't realize I had this desire until I started looking again.

11. My favourite is the throwing exercises. Not only throwing my training partner, but I get a thrill out of being thrown.

12. I'm surprisingly excited about all of this.

13. This is making Kim soooooooo jealous. Come on hon, you know you want to join me. :)

Dojo A-GoGo

Well, last night I tried out Therien Jiu Jitsu school in Stittsville and was impressed enough to want to go back. I was worried a bit because of criticisms in Bushido forums online but the advantages far outweigh the downsides for me.

When I got there I paid $21.35 which covers a new gi and two free classes. I got changed and then was taken by a black belt to a small back room where he gave me the rundown on the basics: breakfalls 1 through 5 and the hip throw. I suspected I had forgotten a lot and this confirmed it, I recognized everything he was showing me but getting my body to actually remember how to do it was surprisingly difficult. Still, I feel I aquitted myself well. The Sensi was very good and made me feel very welcome and comfortable, not at all like my experience at the Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts. I also appreciated that they didn't try to get me to commit as soon as my first lesson was over.

There are some things I didn't like. The classes are short, only 45 minutes. You are expected to warmup yourself before class while you are waiting for the previous class to finish. They entranceway was small and wet due to people coming in with their boots. And most of all, I'm not convinced the quality of the training would be as high as what I experienced at Hiscoe Dojo. I suspect if I just wanted to float through the classes the trainers would not take much notice but since I want to learn and do well I think they will respond to that and help me along.

So I'm going back next Tuesday evening for my second intro class and we'll see how it goes from there.

you've got to be kidding me...

Last night around dinner time, Bill looked at the calendar and flipped the page to March.

I gave him a look, and said, "It's not March yet."

"Close enough", he said.

I frowned..."the calendar can't say March when it's still February."

Exasperated (I'm sure), he turned around and changed it back, with a shake of his head and a big sigh escaping from his throat, loud enough for me to hear (of course).

Why the big deal?
I'm sure it really wasn't...guess I just wanted to be contrary...sometimes it's fun!