Again, No Time

Surprise surprise. Oh well. Lots of work to do.

I hope my manga came in today... I could really use something to read. Kendo should be good tonight (although my throat is still a bit sore), and tomorrow we're packing up the last of Andy's stuff... I'm looking forward to it (I like helping other people pack, I just hate doing it myself!).

But before then... work, work, work. Bleh. Oh well... it's gotta get done, I 'spose.

Etc

No time to write, not much to write about.

Work sucks, bleh. Andy rocks (but had a rough day yesterday). BF2142 keeps crashing on me (boo). And I need to find work in Toronto.

Good times, good times.

Well, the tournament yesterday went pretty well. Wouldn't call it an outrageous success, but I did okay.

My first match was against Ryan Achim... one of the better beginners. I spent most of the match pushing him around... knocked him on his butt twice (felt bad about it, but he'd better learn that people ARE going to do that to him). Beat him with a nice 'men' hit... my hits to the head are going pretty well, and as much as I like the aesthetic and feel of a good 'do' hit, I'm starting to realize that they're hard to pull off. My timing would have to be much better.

Anyway, won the first match. Second match was against Mike Hwang... he got me on a kote hit (damnations), and then I pushed him out of bounds. I tried to do so again but he managed to hold me off long enough to win on the single point (curses)... I really shoulda beat him, but what can ya do?

Then we did a mock-team match... I played Niamh-sempai (a shodan... just my luck)... she got a good kote hit on me, followed by me landing a solid men hit... and then her finishing me after a poorly timed hiki-men on my part. Oh well... at least I lost to somebody better. No shame in that.

Overall, I think I did pretty well. Happy with my progress but still wanting to get better faster.

Other than that last night was pretty mundane... Andy was in a rotten mood after work so we just went home, I made dinner, we talked about who should be washing the dishes, we went to sleep. Slept well... woke up tired, though (and sore, surprise surprise... apparently somebody hit my left shoulder during the tournament, but I'll be damned if I remember it!). And now I'm at work and stuck here until probably 6:30 or 7. Whee. Oh well... at least Andy and I might go to Williams afterwards!

Short on Time

The weather is beautiful, my girlfriend is beautiful, and work sucks.

I have a tournament tonight... well, a little mini-tournament, at least. Wish me luck!

Weird Weekend

Well, that was an interesting weekend. Friday practice was good (as always)... I felt particularly slow, but that's to be expected sometimes, I suppose. Still, very glad I went... it was fun! Didn't get a chance to practice with Niamh-senpai again... tricky trying to get time in with her. She's very popular to practice with... which obviously I'm okay with (gives me time to practice with the sensei), but still... would be nice if I had a chance to figure out what I'll be up against tomorrow.

You read that right... I'm allowed to compete tomorrow! Yay! Mori-sensei specifically requested that I be allowed to compete... I hope I do okay. I'm pretty sure I'll do alright against the other beginners (assuming, of course, that I can stay within bounds)... but against the more experienced players... well, that' the problem, really. I'm sorta in a league of my own. I'm better than most of the other mudansha (I'd say I'm one of the best out of the "new crowd"), but I'm not as good as the guys that have been doing this for a year or more... but oh well. I'll try my best, see if I can't throw 'em off a bit... I just want to do as well as I can, ya know?

Anyway, my father is looking for me... gotta run.

Friday! Kendo! Woo!

Well, it's Friday at last... a long week, that one. Oh well... it's almost over now!

Nothing thrilling to report... still a little nervous about the trip to the parent's place tomorrow, but I hope it'll be okay. I'm always worried about being stuck in one place for 12 hours with my folks. Especially considering the topics of conversation ("Just wanted to remind you that I'm leaving in June... oh, and Andy and I are moving in together!"). Could go well, might not... just have to wait and see.

Last night broke the 5-day chain of sex... but that's okay. Andy wasn't in a terribly good mood, didn't want to talk about why she wasn't in a good mood, etc... etc... we went to Williams and I drew for about an hour (I've learned that I can't shade very well... it always looks like beards!). I really want my drawing to get better... which would help if I had time to practice. Here's hoping I have more time in the future...

Lastly, gonna buy a lottery ticket tonight... it's stupid, I know, but I have a good feeling about this one for some reason. We'll have to see on Sunday!

Not Much to Update

Yesterday was pretty tame, actually... got home early (got a ride with dear ol' mom), made dinner, played a bit of Rogue Galaxy, played a bit of Battlefield 2142, had sex, slept. Good night, all things considered. Andy was a little annoyed that I didn't wash the dishes... which is fair. Especially considering she paid for dinner the night before (when we ordered Indian). Oh well. She's at home today, so maybe she'll get to 'em before I get home. I'm heading to the gym tonight... more skipping (aiming for 35 minutes)... and I gotta figure out some way to get my bike's tires reinflated. They are FLAT.

Oh, and I have to buy those stupid tickets for St. Marys for Saturday! Gonna do that next!

Not Much to Say

Well, Andy and I sorta finished "Meet the Parents" last night. We got about 1/2 way through and it was just so awful we couldn't bring ourselves to finish it. So I skipped to the ending bit (which was appropriately feel-good), and then dinner finally (FINALLY!) arrived... it took the Indian place over an hour and a half to get us dinner! Oh well... t'was tasty, and Andy paid (which was very nice of her!). Then we had sex and went to sleep.

Sex? Oh, it was in-freakin'-credible. Best. Girlfriend. Ever.

Kendo last night was a very low-key affair... Mori-sensei wasn't there and Miyagawa had just returned from Mexico so he ran practice... we did some neat stuff at the beginning, but after that we ran a mock-shiai and learned how to ref (which is about as formal as everything else in Kendo... proper ways to stand, proper distance, proper position of the flags... that sorta stuff). I got 3 shiai in myself... two against Cho (the younger Cho)... in the second one he tried to use Jodan-kamae against me (didn't work very well... I beat him because he kept dropping his shinai!), and one shiai against Ryan... he got a 'do' hit on me, but I beat him with a couple half-decent men-hits. All in all, made me feel okay... I'm at least as good as the club's mudansha.

Oh, lastly, Niamh wants me to rent a van... forgot to mention that I don't exactly have my G2 either... well, we'll wait and see what happens. I should call to see if I can schedule my G2 test. Still don't much care for driving, but I'm starting to see the benefits of being allowed to do so!

Good Long Talks

Well, who would have ever thought "Meet the Parents" would result in an hour-long, deep conversation about moral philosophy?

Seriously, though... Andy was getting a bit bothered by my enthusiastic responses to the movie (namely, my difficulty watching people making idiots of themselves). So I paused the movie and we talked about it... which lead rather neatly into when we went to the Vagina Monologues. See, there was this one part where a woman on stage (not part of the play itself, but rather part of the intermission) was telling a story of what happened to her and she ended with something along the lines of "And then I found God and his love and protection allow me to be happy today!" I disagree with such usage of the Almighty (being an atheist and all), so I averted my eyes and squeezed Andy's hand. She took issue with this... but only brought it up now. Her belief is that by visibly displaying how I felt, I'm making my feelings public... that "everyone" could know I dislike what's being said and some of them may be insulted. My response, of course, was that it was kinda the point... I want people to know I disagree with what's being said. That it's everyone's right (and responsibility, to a degree) to make it known when they disagree with something... otherwise things like racism and mysogny would have remained perfectly acceptable (keep in mind that these were publically acceptable things not so long ago). Eventually Andy agreed with me, but it made her kinda sad... she felt sad that she isn't as mature as me (I know... weird... I'd say she's better off most of the time, but it's a question of perception). We went to bed, kept talking for awhile until she didn't feel so bad any more, and then had sex (which was really quite exceptional). Finally dropped off around midnight.

Woke up far too early this morning (6:15-ish), but that's because tonight... I have Kendo! Yay! Next week is the in-club tournament that I'm not allowed to compete in... I'd love to ref, but there's no way I'm experienced enough yet. I'll probably end up time or score keeping... which is fine, but I'd have loved to actually compete. Oh well... I probably would have lost my first match or something. And I'm competing in Cleveland, so hopefully I'll do okay there!

A Very Good Weekend

Wow, that was a good weekend!
Friday was Kendo as usual... practice was good, and afterwards we went to Rickshaw (first time I've gone in... well, probably slightly over a month!). I ate too much, but hey... it was good! And Chris Han-senpai taped part of the practice... which was very cool... I got to see my keiko with Han-senpai and a bit of it with Mori-sensei. They both say that I'm getting better, but I'm not positive yet... I just feel so SLOW most of the time. Anyway. Got home and talked with Andy for awhile (she had been out having dinner with Liz and apparently had a good time!). Had sex. Which was really good.

Saturday we woke up, had MORE sex (which was phenominal!), then made crepes. Andy hired a "Nerd Patrol" guy to come fix her computer, which he did (and then charged like $150!)... afterwards we had more sex (you starting to see why this was a really good weekend, ne?) and then went to Masonville to do a bit of shopping. Andy found a couple pairs of shoes and some nice jeans... I didn't find Ikaruga yet (but I'm not surprised... good discontinued games are always hard to find). Went out for sushi at Covent Garden, and then headed home. More sex (which Andy claims was the best orgasm she's had in her life).

Sunday I headed out to Kendo and had a gruelling practice... Mori-sensei is using the Sunday practices as "tournament preparation" practices. Lots of speed-drills, lots of running and long-distance kirikaeshi (men-kirikaeshi, do-kirikaeshi, men-men-do-do-kirikaeshi), and waza that, if you fail to get a point (like I frequently do), you immediately go into kakarigeiko until somebody gets a good point (which was rarely me). On the plus side, I get to practice with the "advanced" students... the ones who take this seriously and are going to compete soon. On the down side, my hits are nowhere NEAR as good as any of theirs... I almost always had to do kakarigeiko after my attempted waza. But again, hopefully this will result in my Kendo getting better.

After practice I met up with Elizabeth and met up with Andy at home, making steamed fish (Rainbow Trout), asparagus and rice... it was very good. Next time Andy wants to try adding the oil and soy-sauce to the fish before it's cooked... the current recipe I have calls for it to be added afterwards. Hope I remember... regardless, it was very good! And we got to try Andy's "Thurn and Taxis - Postal Service" game... a lot of fun (similar to Ticket to Ride in some ways, and a very good game on it's own). Next time I hope we get to try Shogun! We also made strawberry icecream cake... it didn't freeze quite enough (it was supposed to freeze overnight), but it was okay. Don't know if it'd be a repeat recipe, but it was pretty good.

Anyway, after Elizabeth took off around 8:30, Andy and I had more sex (never, NEVER too much sex), after which I played a bit of Battlefield 2142 with mah brother (always good to see/hear that guy) and then went to sleep... well, had more sex first (Gave Andy a double orgasm on that one) and then went to sleep.

Only downside: A little tired today. But that's okay... it's only work!

Blargh. Again again.

Well, it's Friday. Hurray for that.

My mother said something about my father having problems with the upper echelons of the company... I'm pretty sure I don't actually care. I mean, I DO care because it's my family and I don't want my dad miserable and all that, but I'm so sick of working here I don't care much past that point. My mother also said something about a few million dollars being at stake... I do hope my dad gets a piece of that (he's earned it) if it's true. If not... menh. My mother is prone to exaggerate. And I'm SO SICK of working here.

Andy is in a "mood"... just very finky and bossy, not so bad. But added to the rest of the stress in my life, not so great either... I hope it passes soon. I don't know why she's so set on being miserable sometimes... but whatever. She'll learn... she's still growing, and I don't think she appreciates how difficult it is to do an actual job that you hate as much as I hate this one. Who knows? Maybe she's right... maybe I need to pull more weight around the house... we'll figure it out one of these days. No particular rush, at least.

Anyway, back to my awful, awful job. Yay.

Gah. Work.

I am NOT enjoying this week. I'm tired, I'm sore, I'm tired... okay, so maybe I'm a little cranky from lack of sleep. Maybe I'll skip the gym tonight and just crash... nah. I'll probably go work out anyway.

Last night Andy was in a bad mood, which made ME in a bad mood (not "bad" so much as "quiet")... ended up playing a couple of quick maps of BF2142, but that resulted in me not getting to bed until about midnight. I've got to stop staying up late... it's not doing me any good.

Oh well. At least I had Chinese food last night... and I have lunch for tomorrow already in the fridge, so I don't need to worry about that. Small blessings, I suppose. And Andy seems to be doing better today. So that's also good.

Anyway, back to the salt mines. Damn I hate this job.

Throat is a bit better...

Well, I do feel quite a bit better... although it was weird trying to practice last night without kiai. Silent Kendo is just strange. But oh well... practice was good, apparently I'm getting better, and I'm loving these harder, more intense practices. Sweating buckets!

Tonight Andy and I are spending some time at William's (the coffee shop, not somebody named William's). Just goin' chill, draw, relax... get out of the apartment without spending too much money, ne? Hopefully something we can do nice and regular-like.

Oh, and it's almost warm enough to start biking again! Yay! Hopefully it lasts. I'll have to bring the ol' bike in for a tune-up... I think one of the tires is kinda flat (I suppose I could just buy an air-pump, but one thing at a time!). Maybe this weekend.

My Throat Hurts...

Three days straight of Kendo... I can barely talk any more today. I sound like a hormonal 13-year old... anything louder than a whisper and my voice cracks.

But it was SO worth it...

Friday was a regular practice... nothing spectacular (Chris Han-senpai ran the advanced practice, which was fun). Saturday morning I was up early to head to Waterloo for an interUniversity practice... and THAT was awesome. Two of the Team Canada members ran the first hour (Kamata-sensei and Tanaka-sensei), and then it was an open godokeiko with the sensei... I managed to spar with Tsumura-sensei (the 8th dan... it was like trying to hit water), Tanaka-sensei, and Kamata-sensei (although it was short... still a lot of fun!). One of the most enjoyable practices I've ever had.

And then Sunday... ho boy. Mori-sensei was planning on running a Harvard-preparation-practice... it was intense. Only about an hour long (and there were only 4 of us), but he had us going CONSTANTLY... hard, long drills down the length of the gym and back. And then after that I got to spar with him for about 10 minutes... which was unbelievably cool. Normally you're dodging other people, there are people waiting for you to finish... not this time. Everyone else left, so it was just Mori-sensei and I. He says my Kendo is getting better... which is nice (although, in all honesty, considering how weak it was, that's not too much of a statement). Still gotta work on getting better snaps in my swings and my footwork. Always more footwork.

Anyway, now I'm back at work... incapable of talking, but that might be a good thing. Blargh. Hate this job. Oh well. Gotta go align something.

Lotsa Kendo Weekend?

Well, looks like I'm NOT going to Toronto this weekend... instead, I may be going to Waterloo to do Kendo on Saturday! Why is this noteable?

Because I have Kendo today (yay!), Kendo tomorrow (yay!), and then Kendo on Sunday! YAY!

Yeah, yeah, I'm crazy... ooh, that reminds me, I gotta write Lenka and let her know I'm not coming (although she never replied to me... so I'm hoping she kinda suspects!). Anyway, that's a lot of hitting people with sticks, and I look forward to it!

AND I may be competing in a club tournament on the 27th. I'm not quite as confident as I was last time (which may be good, considering I lost)... but it should be fun. Yay fun!

Anyway, not much else to report other than that... Andy is feeling a bit better (which is nice) but she was in a bad mood this morning (which wasn't nice). But oh well. I told her about the whole Western Grad thing, but I agree with her... it's a last resort, nothing more. I don't WANT to study physics... I never did! So it means I may have a fall-back plan if I don't find a good job in Toronto, but nothing more. And it's not going to stop me from looking for a good job as hard as I can! Which reminds me... need to brush up on my resume.

Anyhoo, better pretend to do some work. Blargh.

The Gym? Really?

So I'm going back to the gym today... can't say I'm looking forward to it, but only because I'm exhausted. And it's cold... I don't like working out when it's cold. But whatever... I'm paying for the stupid membership, I might as well be using it. Which reminds me, I have to ask when I have to give notice that I'm terminating said membership... $40/month isn't a lot, but it's $40/month more than I have to spend. For now, at least.

Other than that, not much to report. Have to start looking for work in Toronto, Lenka never got back to me about my trip there so I may just scrap it and go with the Kendoka to Waterloo for the Saturday practice. Cheaper, for sure. I'm SO broke this month it's not even remotely funny. I think I'm about $400 over budget. But what can ya do? Until I get paid again, there's not a whole lot I CAN do except to try and be really, really careful with money this month. If I'm REALLY lucky, I might get money for my birthday. That'd be awesome.

Vagina Monologues... Not Bad!

Well, I went to the play with Andy last night... less of a "play" and more of a "performance", but whatever. It was good! Too long (3 hours!), but overall very empowering for her and pretty entertaining of me. Good times had by all.

By the time we got home I was too tired to do anything, though... tonight is gonna be busy (and not in the good way). Chores, chores, chores... taxes, dishes, shaving my head, preparing my gym stuff for tomorrow... bleh. Oh well. Could always be worse!

Anyway, gotta run... lunch is over (technically ended 30 minutes ago... oh well) and I have to pretend slightly harder than normal since the "boss" is around today.

My Return!

Okay, so it's not exactly a "triumphant" return... but a return none-the-less! Go me!

Montreal was pretty freakin' awesome. Andy was a total peach, as always... showed me around town, put up with me going to Kendo twice (in the middle of my vacation... what kind of freak does that!?), took me to good restaurants and was all snuggly at night.

She rocks.

The Montreal Kendo Club was pretty interesting... small club, and the second (and last) time I was there I was probably the 3rd best student attending (there was a san-kyuu that wasn't sparring due to an injury, but I suspect I coulda taken her). The practice ended with a 5-minute keiko between myself and the senpai... a tonne of fun, and I held my own pretty well! It was awesome. Have I mentioned I love Kendo? 'Cause I do. I loves it. I loves it so much!

Anyway, other than that, we bought 3 dozen St. Viateur (sp?) bagels which we brought back with us, got stuck behind a train-derailment for a couple hours (turning a 8-hour trip into a 11 and a half hour trip... thank heavens we happened to run into Rob and Michelle Lazure on the way back! They gave us a drive in from the train station, saving us money AND time... which was extremely nice of them!)... we got back Thursday night, and have spent the last 3 days blissfully doing nothing (well, except for Kendo for me on Friday, which was also good... my Kendo is really getting better! Still not good, but definitely better! I've been trying to practice with the sensei first every practice... it's exhausting, but hopefully educational!). Played about 9 hours of Rogue Galaxy... beautiful little RPG. Tonnes of fun! Almost finished FFXII... got beaten by the last stage of Vayne's final battle... oh well. I'll level up a bit, take out a few hunts, hopefully find those last few uber-spells, and then take him out next time... level 59 is a bit low to finish a FF-title anyway!

Unfortunately, today I returned to work... I hate this job... but whatever. Haven't had to do anything yet... and with any luck I won't have to for... oh... a few months! Started thinking about looking for work in Toronto again... I really should get on that.