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Day 904: Meant to Be
May. 7th, 2010 11:18 pmFridays were meant to be like today. Today I slept in. Went into the office and got the last of my paperwork done in, seriously, ten minutes. Came home and watched an episode of Angel and made lace, then went to a ball game with Amber and Sally. Amber had a hearing in front of a loquacious judge, so she told me to go ahead. I got to the ballpark first and picked up a student ticket, and then because it was windy and a little chilly, I waited inside the gates. Then I saw Sally arrive, and we ended up talking, like prisoner and priest, through the bars, exchanging stories about life, marriages (her sister got suddenly married recently), church, our jobs, and all the best things in life. Amber arrived, and we bought hot dogs and found our seats. From there we giggled at the Creighton dance girls (like we always do), we admired the baseball players in their cute little uniforms, and talked about boys, Amber's court week, my court week, and Sally's new job.
I busted out a little early to meet Angela at the law school, and we wandered up to the student fitness center to use the mats in the multipurpose room to practice. Angela was awesome about practicing with me - we did half staff techniques (and Tomie really did teach me enough to get through testing), combat techniques, and ground techniques (which didn't end well because Angela is ticklish and would giggle whenever I went for an upset punch). My shoulder was a little twingy, but she was awesome and pretty much indulged me with whatever I wanted to try. We shuffled back and forth between everything - grabs, working from knees, the like. I was surprised at what things I could remember - I remembered a couple of things from the first couple of nights Tomie taught me, which was surprising but kind of heartening.
After training I printed off a patient form at the library so I can go see a chiropractor on Monday about my left shoulder, and then I went home, and I made couscous. Or, well, it wasn't real couscous, because I didn't read the box properly at the grocery store, it was "pearled" couscous, which meant it was pasta pearls. And because I am a genius in the kitchen, I managed to burn some of it, but the rest of it was edible, and I figured I'd need all the carb energy I could get (but not so much that I might throw up). Then I headed off to the dojo to just get all stretched out before testing.
See, on Tuesday Sensei Raymond gave me the "you're having private testing" talk, and he told me Sensei Marr has three rules: don't bleed on his carpet, to puke on his carpet, and don't get overwhelmed (also don't take off your belt or spit on the carpet or leave the room without permission, but still). So...I've spent all week terrified of solo testing. I'd originally invited friends to come along, and then Sensei Raymond said I'd likely be stuck in the back room with Mr. Lemmons as a punching dummy, so I figured I'd be alone in the back room and testing wouldn't be that entertaining. I prayed at least as hard as I pray before law school exams, and then I set about stretching.
Now, I'd heard from both the Senseis Raymond that neither of them would be in class on Friday, so I was more than surprised to see the both of them. They didn't end up staying for adult class, but they hung around for the kids class while I stretched out. Younger Sensei Raymond talked to me and Curtis about video games (because that's the kind of guy he is), and he asked if I was ready, and I said, "As ready as I'll ever be," which he deemed an appropriate response. I ended up talking to Elder Sensei Raymond about life, the law (he was on jury duty; he learned that Angela and I are both in law school), and other fun things. Younger Sensei Raymond, Ryan (the orange belt boy, as opposed to the green belt girl), and I ended up talking about being hassled by cops (Ryan did a brief stint in DCC for driving on a suspended license, Sensei Raymond got into an altercation with a cop). On the whole, Elder Sensei Raymond is a cool guy, and I'm glad we're friends.
Also, he'd brought his little girls with them, and they were super cute. Possibly the cutest moment ever was when the littlest one ran over to Younger Sensei Raymond and was all, "Uncle Jason, play with me!" and he shook his head and said, "No, because you wouldn't give me a hug," and then she hugged him, and it was just...awwww. And then she gave him a hula hoop, which he inspected and deemed sturdy, and I backed up right quick, because he started whipping it through the air, and I remember the last time I'd seen him weaponize a hula hoop. Josh (the elder, from D&D, a tree climber) looked non-plussed and said he didn't think a hula hoop was that dangerous. Sensei Raymond showed him. Angela came out of the bathroom, because she'd been getting changed into her uniform, and as soon as she saw Sensei Raymond armed with a hula hoop she backed up too.
We know better.
Testing itself was...in-class, first of all. No back-room terror. I started off the night in human cross, which was a little terrifying, because that was how Mr. Lemmons started his black belt test, and he was tortured something fierce that day. Of course, Sensei Marr beckoned me out of line and sent me off to the corner while everyone else was getting ready to roll, and then during combat techniques he made me demonstrate stuff, and then during wall techniques he pulled me out of line to do human cross again (but jump in when it was my turn), so no one really knew what was up. The twins and Ryan the girl were sweet, sending me smiles and trying to be reassuring, like I really wasn't a bad person. Josh finally asked the question during wall techniques, and Angela told him.
Then...then the worst part of the night. We formed a circle on the mat, and I was in the middle. Sensei called out a whole bunch of different people, and I had to two techniques per person. I ran out of remembered ones pretty quick and I had to hustle, and I was so embarrassed, because I totally tripped over my partner a couple of times. But I survived. I was brave about distance dives, and...in the end I wasn't nearly as tired as I thought I'd be. Of course, that early human cross was brutal, and my mom gave me super pain pills so I wouldn't cry like a girl the first time I landed on my shoulder, but I was sure I'd failed, because I just didn't feel like I'd done well.
After class we hung around shooting the breeze, talking to Curtis about his job and going to visit him, and me and Angela giving Curtis dating advice that he really doesn't need yet. I asked Josh about Lair night, and other things, and as we were getting ready to go Sensei Marr pulled me aside and told me I'd passed, that he was confident I was ready for my next rank and tonight was just my chance to show off. It took pretty much all my willpower to not break into a crazy dance right then and there and embarrass the living daylights out of myself. He told me good luck on the bar and to contact him if I had any questions.
So now...now I'm a green belt. It feels pretty awesome, not gonna lie. So on Tuesday I'm going to ask Sensei Raymond about my new rank requirements. Because this barrel roll business does not look promising at all.
I busted out a little early to meet Angela at the law school, and we wandered up to the student fitness center to use the mats in the multipurpose room to practice. Angela was awesome about practicing with me - we did half staff techniques (and Tomie really did teach me enough to get through testing), combat techniques, and ground techniques (which didn't end well because Angela is ticklish and would giggle whenever I went for an upset punch). My shoulder was a little twingy, but she was awesome and pretty much indulged me with whatever I wanted to try. We shuffled back and forth between everything - grabs, working from knees, the like. I was surprised at what things I could remember - I remembered a couple of things from the first couple of nights Tomie taught me, which was surprising but kind of heartening.
After training I printed off a patient form at the library so I can go see a chiropractor on Monday about my left shoulder, and then I went home, and I made couscous. Or, well, it wasn't real couscous, because I didn't read the box properly at the grocery store, it was "pearled" couscous, which meant it was pasta pearls. And because I am a genius in the kitchen, I managed to burn some of it, but the rest of it was edible, and I figured I'd need all the carb energy I could get (but not so much that I might throw up). Then I headed off to the dojo to just get all stretched out before testing.
See, on Tuesday Sensei Raymond gave me the "you're having private testing" talk, and he told me Sensei Marr has three rules: don't bleed on his carpet, to puke on his carpet, and don't get overwhelmed (also don't take off your belt or spit on the carpet or leave the room without permission, but still). So...I've spent all week terrified of solo testing. I'd originally invited friends to come along, and then Sensei Raymond said I'd likely be stuck in the back room with Mr. Lemmons as a punching dummy, so I figured I'd be alone in the back room and testing wouldn't be that entertaining. I prayed at least as hard as I pray before law school exams, and then I set about stretching.
Now, I'd heard from both the Senseis Raymond that neither of them would be in class on Friday, so I was more than surprised to see the both of them. They didn't end up staying for adult class, but they hung around for the kids class while I stretched out. Younger Sensei Raymond talked to me and Curtis about video games (because that's the kind of guy he is), and he asked if I was ready, and I said, "As ready as I'll ever be," which he deemed an appropriate response. I ended up talking to Elder Sensei Raymond about life, the law (he was on jury duty; he learned that Angela and I are both in law school), and other fun things. Younger Sensei Raymond, Ryan (the orange belt boy, as opposed to the green belt girl), and I ended up talking about being hassled by cops (Ryan did a brief stint in DCC for driving on a suspended license, Sensei Raymond got into an altercation with a cop). On the whole, Elder Sensei Raymond is a cool guy, and I'm glad we're friends.
Also, he'd brought his little girls with them, and they were super cute. Possibly the cutest moment ever was when the littlest one ran over to Younger Sensei Raymond and was all, "Uncle Jason, play with me!" and he shook his head and said, "No, because you wouldn't give me a hug," and then she hugged him, and it was just...awwww. And then she gave him a hula hoop, which he inspected and deemed sturdy, and I backed up right quick, because he started whipping it through the air, and I remember the last time I'd seen him weaponize a hula hoop. Josh (the elder, from D&D, a tree climber) looked non-plussed and said he didn't think a hula hoop was that dangerous. Sensei Raymond showed him. Angela came out of the bathroom, because she'd been getting changed into her uniform, and as soon as she saw Sensei Raymond armed with a hula hoop she backed up too.
We know better.
Testing itself was...in-class, first of all. No back-room terror. I started off the night in human cross, which was a little terrifying, because that was how Mr. Lemmons started his black belt test, and he was tortured something fierce that day. Of course, Sensei Marr beckoned me out of line and sent me off to the corner while everyone else was getting ready to roll, and then during combat techniques he made me demonstrate stuff, and then during wall techniques he pulled me out of line to do human cross again (but jump in when it was my turn), so no one really knew what was up. The twins and Ryan the girl were sweet, sending me smiles and trying to be reassuring, like I really wasn't a bad person. Josh finally asked the question during wall techniques, and Angela told him.
Then...then the worst part of the night. We formed a circle on the mat, and I was in the middle. Sensei called out a whole bunch of different people, and I had to two techniques per person. I ran out of remembered ones pretty quick and I had to hustle, and I was so embarrassed, because I totally tripped over my partner a couple of times. But I survived. I was brave about distance dives, and...in the end I wasn't nearly as tired as I thought I'd be. Of course, that early human cross was brutal, and my mom gave me super pain pills so I wouldn't cry like a girl the first time I landed on my shoulder, but I was sure I'd failed, because I just didn't feel like I'd done well.
After class we hung around shooting the breeze, talking to Curtis about his job and going to visit him, and me and Angela giving Curtis dating advice that he really doesn't need yet. I asked Josh about Lair night, and other things, and as we were getting ready to go Sensei Marr pulled me aside and told me I'd passed, that he was confident I was ready for my next rank and tonight was just my chance to show off. It took pretty much all my willpower to not break into a crazy dance right then and there and embarrass the living daylights out of myself. He told me good luck on the bar and to contact him if I had any questions.
So now...now I'm a green belt. It feels pretty awesome, not gonna lie. So on Tuesday I'm going to ask Sensei Raymond about my new rank requirements. Because this barrel roll business does not look promising at all.
