30 Pieces of Flair

Conditional Black Belt

dave — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:44:07 +0000

Tested last night. I did better on Tuesday’s mock test, but I did well enough to pass, so I guess that’s what really matters. I was pretty tired, so I was expecting to have a hard time of it during conditioning tests. Somehow, I was able to power through my leg lifts, so I’m a little surprised. Now, time to come up with a creative form. Should be fun …

The Return of Splint

dave — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:07:27 +0000

Gone so long, I had almost given up

I got an e-mail yesterday morning from 911 Parrot Alert, the group I’ve been working with to find Splint. It turns out someone two blocks away from my house found the little bugger up in a fruit tree, and took him in. He wasn’t sure what kind of bird he had, so he called his daughter, who immediately identified Splint as a parrot, and took him to her home in Antioch. For the past year, she’s been trying to find me, and was finally directed to 911 Parrot Alert last week.

This story so many coincidental links that it almost makes me wonder if there really is such a thing as coincidence. I may write more on that later, but for the time being, I am thrilled that Splint will soon be back home.

Requiem for a dog

dave — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:48:03 +0000

About two weeks ago, we had to have Becky, our labrador/rottweiler mix, put to sleep. She was about twelve years old. Her liver had a massive growth on it, and her entire system was shutting down. It all happened so fast, I feel like we didn’t really even have time to grieve. Becky was a terrific dog. Sweet, smart, calm, and easy-going. She didn’t fetch, she wasn’t much for long walks or swimming, but she was always there, happy to hang out with the family. I called her “wags”, because her tail was constantly in motion when she heard her name or spotted a family member (or any human, for that matter).

About seven years ago, we went camping out at Mount Madonna. The girls and I went on a hike, and against my better judgement, I allowed them take Becky along. As I mentioned before, she wasn’t much for long walks, so I figured she might slow us down. Well, on our return trip to the camp site, we got off the main trail and got lost. After doubling back, we found a main road that would take us right where we needed to be. Only one problem – Becky was now completely exhausted, and refused to go any further. She was lying there on the ground, panting furiously. I tried carrying her for a while, but slinging an 80-pound dog over your shoulders while trying to keep a 110-pound dog (Huck) under control and keeping a watchful eye over my youngers ended up being a bit too much. At one point, I was so frustrated, that I concluded leaving Becky at the top of the hill – lying on her side and panting furiously – was more than acceptable. That notion lasted about 100 yards. I just couldn’t leave her there alone, on the side of the road. As I returned, I saw her – still lying on her side, still panting, dirt collecting on her tongue. Even in her miserable state, the moment she saw me, that darn tail started wagging. I was so ashamed of myself. I had pretty much resolved to leave her there, and even in my high state of jerkiness, she didn’t care. She was still happy to see me.

I doubt that I’ll ever forget Becky.

Saddened, sickened.

dave — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:13:52 +0000

A congresswoman and many bystanders are shot while the congresswoman is holding a sort-of town hall meeting. Six people die, including a nine year old girl and a federal judge. The congresswoman survives the attack, at least for the moment.

What do some of my so-called friends on the left decide to do immediately after this unspeakable tragedy? They decide to start pointing fingers of blame. At talk show hosts, at political candidates, at law-abiding people, with facts not in evidence. They’re calling for a cooling of the political rhetoric, all the while demonizing, insulting, and belittling people they don’t even know or try to know.

They’re not mourning the dead, or praying for the wounded. They’re blaming people they hate for using “hate speech” – even though there were and are no facts in evidence that the gunman was motivated by politics. It’s naked political opportunism, in the face of an unspeakable tragedy. It’s sickening and sub-human. Anyone who engaged in this sort of ghoulish behavior should immediately apologize, and then go do some serious soul-searching. Anyone who tries to equivocate their actions after this tragic event deserves to be shunned for all time.

Shame on you.

Dang it, fell off the cliff again …

dave — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:25:36 +0000

OK, ok … so I don’t always get to blogging as much as I would like to. Mia culpa. I did get a third stripe last week, so I got that going for me … which is nice. Two more months, and I’ll be testing to become a conditional black belt. Whee.

Life is defined by your friends

dave — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 08:08:54 +0000

I love my friends.

That’s all i have to say about that.

One more stripe

dave — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:17:40 +0000

It was not easy

Got my second stripe on my red belt last week. It was not easy for me. Near the end of section 3, I suddenly blanked. Coach Matt, who was grading my effort, was kind enough to remind me that I was testing on section 4. Thanks, Matt. That pushed me through the rest of the form without a hitch. Lots of room for improvement. I was tired, and having a hard time getting low stances. Next week, I’m taking my video camera with me to class, so I can see what I need to work on. My guess … everything. Just a hunch …

I’m finally in a good place

dave — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:26:06 +0000

I’m broke, but the light at the end of the tunnel may not be a train …

So, things may finally be looking up, after a string of pretty bleak months. Looking outside my office window, the parking lot I’ve been agonizing over for several years now not only looks nice, but is functional. Traffic flow looks good, and people are behaving. Of course, we’ll need to wait and see what happens when the new school year starts, but it should still be better than it’s been in the past. Other aspects of managing facilities and operations here at the school are also falling in place. It’s been a long, slow slog, but a productive one nonetheless. The school is looking better week after week, and operations are starting to solidify. Communication lines are being established and strengthened, improvements are ramping up, and I have very little to complain about. Fingers crossed.

Last year, shortly after my father died, I took stock of my life and came to the conclusion that I’m fricking old. And I felt it. My body ached, I was struggling to lose weight, I was having a hard time keeping up at Wushu, I was healing slow, my eyesight was changing – you name it, I felt it. Here we are, a year later, and I’m finally starting to feel healthy. The aches are still present, but it’s minor background noise. I’m hitting and exceeding my targets at Wushu (except maybe that damn inside jump kick). I’m skinnier. Not considerably lighter, but I’m definitely leaner. And getting leaner at a faster rate. I feel good. Really good. I hope that I can keep this up, but who knows what the future holds? After all, next month, I start Son Shou (Wushu-based sparring), and that’s when I start getting my head caved in. Should be fun. I’ll make sure to get some pictures of the carnage.

Fionna and Moira “broke” their tails a few months ago, due to excessive happiness combined with their sheer size and our small hallways. The doctor finally decided that we needed to lop off all but about 12 inches of their tails, to avoid this problem in the future. Several weeks and several thousand dollars later, they’re healing up nicely, and none the worse for wear. They’re still those big, goofy, happy, lovey dogs that they’ve been since we picked them up in Paradise. Good. I don’t think my ever-decreasing checkbook can take much more.

There are other personal details of my life that appear to be improving, but I’m reticent to share them in deference to other people’s privacy. Until I get permission to share that, I’m not going to. Barring any setbacks, it looks like I’m on the long path to some more happy times. Will there be some adversity? Of course. Am I better equipped to handle it? I hope so. I sure feel like I am.

Let’s face it … 90% of the battle is how you feel. Right now, I feel great. Bring it, life.

Time to “Wushu Up”

dave — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:02:18 +0000

I’ve been shadowing instructors these past few weeks at Wushu Central, in hopes of becoming a part-time instructor. Should I meet up to their standards, they’ll be starting me on the kiddies. Poor kiddies …

It’s been how long?

dave — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 23:55:08 +0000

Geez. Just noticed that I haven’t posted since December of last year. I’ve been pretty busy, but that’s no excuse for not blurbing a few times a week. I’ll try and do better.

On a side note, I did update the site theme. I think it looks much nicer now.