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Day 936: Last Ditch Effort
Sep. 7th, 2010 11:13 pmSo...I thought I'd updated much more than I had. This is not so. And...I honestly cannot remember too much of what went on last week. I can, however, remember the things I've learned.
1 - Salsa dancing. Did it Monday night at FHE, after which we gamed, and it was pretty awesome.
2 - Sparring with uber tall girls (and by uber tall I mean taller than any of the men) requires dedication, flexibility, and a whole lot more planning. I sparred with girl Ryan on Tuesday night, which was good times. I found out I didn't pass my test, but only barely, and apparently my instructors are proud of me, so I just need to work on getting some power into my kicks and strikes.
3 - Feeding Elders is very different from feeding Sisters. Angela and I fed the Elders and Mitchell the Freshman on Wednesday night. Usually the sisters would chat, eat slowly, teach a lesson, and maybe have a tiny bit of dessert afterwards. Not so with the elders and Mitchell. I forget that Elders are teenage boys in neat clothes, and Mitchell still is a teenage boy, and they...practically inhaled their food. As a nervous cook, I was pretty flattered.
4 - Helping people is good for the soul. I should know that, right? I'm not going to lie, I wasn't really looking forward to spending time with Brandon and helping him haul branches in the garden. I was expecting other people to be there and for it to be socially awkward, but it was strangely companionable and heartwarming, me singing along to strange music on my iPod, getting my hands dirty, and feeling like super-woman while I hauled massive branches. I keep thinking I'm weaker than I am, but apparently training has helped with that.
5 - I suck at answering up. Part of it is being older, part of it is the way I assume no one is ever talking to me. Also, I hate push-ups. But again, I'm not as bad at them as I thought.
6 - I am good at putting up tents, but not as good as Angela. Went to Ninja Camp this weekend, and it was awesome. Also, with two cute little blond boys in the back seat I am not nearly so lethal a driver as I'd think.
7 - I am lame at blind combat techniques but pretty decent at blind groundfighting - and I like to go for the throat.
8 - While I am not so good at interacting which children, the endless amounts of inane trivia are entertaining to eleven- to fourteen-year-old boys who have questions about hypothetical battles (pirates v. ninjas, Zeus v. Thor) and my ability to logically analyze seriously geeky, weird things makes me worth talking to.
9 - My balance sucks. I always knew this, but the amount of sheer suckage is more pronounced during balance games and my silent jump is full of fail, as is my silent run, but my silent walk is pretty decent (unless Sarah is hanging onto my sleeve and threatening to jerk me off balance, at which point Sensei Raymond will totally ambush us).
10 - I suck at American touch football. (No, football involves kicking the ball with your feet, thankyouverymuch. Up Ansfield!) Apparently I am decent enough on defense but pretty terrible on offense, and my sense of strategy sucks.
11 - My sense of strategy sucks. The next time a team of ninja have to ambush some guards, someone else gets to plan the ambush. My stealth walk is decent enough that I won't get caught, but when one of the other ninjas leaps out first and attacks a guard, that pretty much means the other guard us going to notice and my stealth skills are for nothing.
12 - Hula dancing is cross-training for using a kyouketsu-shogi; all those years of dancing with poi ball means I can put on a nice light show with Dylan and Mickey's necklace lights and also means I can pull off a pretty mean butterfly. Hula dancing is less of a cross-train for a kusari-fundou, but a girl can hope. Apparently, tying people up is not my forte.
13 - Running around the forest and being harangued, trained, and ambushed by ninjas is a great way to stave off a cold. My body is so busy using its resources so as not to collapse from the effort that the cold has no way to set in. Healing sleep, on the other hand, is an excellent time for the cold to set in.
14 - I learned how to throw shuriken. Nuff said.
15 - Being a cute girl who plays D&D and brings along a cute, giggly, pretty but smart friend is a great way to survive a beginning game of Talisman with a man who is not a beginner but is a ruthless gamer.
16 - I like Tomie more every time we hang out. We hung out Friday night after training and went to Wendy's, where he regaled Angela about all the guys who hit on me during D&D that I was oblivious about, and then he regaled me about all the ways Sensei Raymond tried to hit on me that missed. We hung out on Sunday for his 30th Anniversary/game day, and we talked relationship politics and gaming and other fine things. He is pretty proud of how nerdy I am - not only do I game, but I DM. His friend, John (yes, another John), was fairly surprised that a) I game and b) I gamed with mostly girls in college and c) that I GM/DM. What can I say? Nerd girls for the win.
17 - I love my boyfriend a lot. Also, he loves me too. Because he told me. Also, he sent an email in lieu of a letter because he was afraid a letter wouldn't reach me in time. He's so sweet and I miss him and...urgh.
18 - I'm a Merlin fangirl. I am so crazy excited for third season to start, and I'm going to be in England for the premier, and I hope, hope, hope I get to see it.
And now Cody is on the phone with me.
ETA: Mr. Lemmons totally loved the wedding gift (crocheted stuffed ninja and bride). It made me warm and fuzzy inside.
1 - Salsa dancing. Did it Monday night at FHE, after which we gamed, and it was pretty awesome.
2 - Sparring with uber tall girls (and by uber tall I mean taller than any of the men) requires dedication, flexibility, and a whole lot more planning. I sparred with girl Ryan on Tuesday night, which was good times. I found out I didn't pass my test, but only barely, and apparently my instructors are proud of me, so I just need to work on getting some power into my kicks and strikes.
3 - Feeding Elders is very different from feeding Sisters. Angela and I fed the Elders and Mitchell the Freshman on Wednesday night. Usually the sisters would chat, eat slowly, teach a lesson, and maybe have a tiny bit of dessert afterwards. Not so with the elders and Mitchell. I forget that Elders are teenage boys in neat clothes, and Mitchell still is a teenage boy, and they...practically inhaled their food. As a nervous cook, I was pretty flattered.
4 - Helping people is good for the soul. I should know that, right? I'm not going to lie, I wasn't really looking forward to spending time with Brandon and helping him haul branches in the garden. I was expecting other people to be there and for it to be socially awkward, but it was strangely companionable and heartwarming, me singing along to strange music on my iPod, getting my hands dirty, and feeling like super-woman while I hauled massive branches. I keep thinking I'm weaker than I am, but apparently training has helped with that.
5 - I suck at answering up. Part of it is being older, part of it is the way I assume no one is ever talking to me. Also, I hate push-ups. But again, I'm not as bad at them as I thought.
6 - I am good at putting up tents, but not as good as Angela. Went to Ninja Camp this weekend, and it was awesome. Also, with two cute little blond boys in the back seat I am not nearly so lethal a driver as I'd think.
7 - I am lame at blind combat techniques but pretty decent at blind groundfighting - and I like to go for the throat.
8 - While I am not so good at interacting which children, the endless amounts of inane trivia are entertaining to eleven- to fourteen-year-old boys who have questions about hypothetical battles (pirates v. ninjas, Zeus v. Thor) and my ability to logically analyze seriously geeky, weird things makes me worth talking to.
9 - My balance sucks. I always knew this, but the amount of sheer suckage is more pronounced during balance games and my silent jump is full of fail, as is my silent run, but my silent walk is pretty decent (unless Sarah is hanging onto my sleeve and threatening to jerk me off balance, at which point Sensei Raymond will totally ambush us).
10 - I suck at American touch football. (No, football involves kicking the ball with your feet, thankyouverymuch. Up Ansfield!) Apparently I am decent enough on defense but pretty terrible on offense, and my sense of strategy sucks.
11 - My sense of strategy sucks. The next time a team of ninja have to ambush some guards, someone else gets to plan the ambush. My stealth walk is decent enough that I won't get caught, but when one of the other ninjas leaps out first and attacks a guard, that pretty much means the other guard us going to notice and my stealth skills are for nothing.
12 - Hula dancing is cross-training for using a kyouketsu-shogi; all those years of dancing with poi ball means I can put on a nice light show with Dylan and Mickey's necklace lights and also means I can pull off a pretty mean butterfly. Hula dancing is less of a cross-train for a kusari-fundou, but a girl can hope. Apparently, tying people up is not my forte.
13 - Running around the forest and being harangued, trained, and ambushed by ninjas is a great way to stave off a cold. My body is so busy using its resources so as not to collapse from the effort that the cold has no way to set in. Healing sleep, on the other hand, is an excellent time for the cold to set in.
14 - I learned how to throw shuriken. Nuff said.
15 - Being a cute girl who plays D&D and brings along a cute, giggly, pretty but smart friend is a great way to survive a beginning game of Talisman with a man who is not a beginner but is a ruthless gamer.
16 - I like Tomie more every time we hang out. We hung out Friday night after training and went to Wendy's, where he regaled Angela about all the guys who hit on me during D&D that I was oblivious about, and then he regaled me about all the ways Sensei Raymond tried to hit on me that missed. We hung out on Sunday for his 30th Anniversary/game day, and we talked relationship politics and gaming and other fine things. He is pretty proud of how nerdy I am - not only do I game, but I DM. His friend, John (yes, another John), was fairly surprised that a) I game and b) I gamed with mostly girls in college and c) that I GM/DM. What can I say? Nerd girls for the win.
17 - I love my boyfriend a lot. Also, he loves me too. Because he told me. Also, he sent an email in lieu of a letter because he was afraid a letter wouldn't reach me in time. He's so sweet and I miss him and...urgh.
18 - I'm a Merlin fangirl. I am so crazy excited for third season to start, and I'm going to be in England for the premier, and I hope, hope, hope I get to see it.
And now Cody is on the phone with me.
ETA: Mr. Lemmons totally loved the wedding gift (crocheted stuffed ninja and bride). It made me warm and fuzzy inside.
