Oopdot.
(It is very hard to type this because my right hand is clutching a paper-towel-wrapped ice cube in order to stave off the pain of the terrible burn I inflicted on myself via Zojirushi. Bear with me and my inevitable typos.)
Things are well. I still wish I had more time, but I think that's pretty standard for people of my age and economic standing. ;-)
This week has been fairly nice. Had lunch at French Meadow on Sunday with Jon and his (wait for it!) half-brothers' brothers and their mutual father. :) One of the brothers, Justin, lives in town but Jordan (other brother) and Pete (their father, Jon's quasi-uncle/retroactive step-father) had come to visit and see Jason (one of the mutual half-brothers, and Pete's son via Jon's mom) tech for a show by (The?) Eels at First Ave. So we went to the show Saturday night, brunched together Sunday, then browsed the Uptown Art Fair. Got all that? :-P I love Jon's family.
This weekend is black belt camp. I'm hitching a ride with another Duluth expat who trains at Nokomis. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon, stopping in Pelican Rapids for dinner and supplies, then setting up a tent in Maplewood State Park. Basically we train all afternoon Saturday, the Masters host a Kumdo tournament and a Korean barbecue, and we party for the evening. Sunday morning is another mass session, then closing ceremonies and we leave by 1 or so. I'm really excited. I'll be able to see Master Bruce and Miss Katie and god-knows who else. Eric Hyldan is a Master now, and I'm sure there are multiple colored belts I trained who now either equal or surpass my rank. Miss Rebecca and I are the only Nokomis folk going, as far as I know, though Master Ed will be there, probably with the Taitts and many others in tow. We'll see how the name/reunion/allegiance things go. Will we expats we folded into the Duluth pack temporarily, or will Master Ed claim us as his own? I just hope it doesn't get political since Nokomis and Master Ed are GM Grimestead's territory, and Duluth is Greenquist country. Yikes!
Anywho. IBBF politics aside,I think I'll have a good time. Seeing Master Bruce again will be bizarre, though, especially when he gets wind of the name thing. o_O I plan to let everyone call me whatever the hell they want and see what happens. :)
Books! Finished 'A Scanner Darkly', 'Foundation', and my re-re-re-re-times-a-million-reread of 'Catch-22'. Currently reading Tahar Djaout's 'The Last Summer of Reason' (which is dynamite!), with 'Stranger in a Strange Land', 'Jonathon Livingston Seagull', 'Snow Crash', and 'The Forever War' on the pile. Books are so delicious! I'm still waiting for 'A Dance with Dragons' to hit paperback, though, at which point all the library books will be put on hold while I devour it after 6+ long years! :) Jon and I also mutually reserved copies of 'The Total Money Makeover' (Dave Ramsey) and 'A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism" (which he/we keep accidentally (and amusingly!) referring to as Unitology).
Um. Other things. I went out with Griffin and Lioness last night, which was fun. We met up at the Town Hall Brewery after work, then watched some Game of Thrones at my place and they stayed the night.
Also.
My brain is occasionally crazy.
I've finally recognized my near-constant worrying as genuine anxiety...perhaps not a disorder, but certainly capitalized Disorder, an issue that transcends mere situational distress and and more often manifests as rampant, systemic panic with difficult-to-find escape hatches and poorly-maintained florescent lighting. I believe (and hope) that drugs are not necessary to contain it, but it certainly gives me new directions to explore in therapy. My brain gon' be shrunk. :-P
Perhaps that is all for now. With any luck I will have photos to post when I get back from camp.
Things are well. I still wish I had more time, but I think that's pretty standard for people of my age and economic standing. ;-)
This week has been fairly nice. Had lunch at French Meadow on Sunday with Jon and his (wait for it!) half-brothers' brothers and their mutual father. :) One of the brothers, Justin, lives in town but Jordan (other brother) and Pete (their father, Jon's quasi-uncle/retroactive step-father) had come to visit and see Jason (one of the mutual half-brothers, and Pete's son via Jon's mom) tech for a show by (The?) Eels at First Ave. So we went to the show Saturday night, brunched together Sunday, then browsed the Uptown Art Fair. Got all that? :-P I love Jon's family.
This weekend is black belt camp. I'm hitching a ride with another Duluth expat who trains at Nokomis. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon, stopping in Pelican Rapids for dinner and supplies, then setting up a tent in Maplewood State Park. Basically we train all afternoon Saturday, the Masters host a Kumdo tournament and a Korean barbecue, and we party for the evening. Sunday morning is another mass session, then closing ceremonies and we leave by 1 or so. I'm really excited. I'll be able to see Master Bruce and Miss Katie and god-knows who else. Eric Hyldan is a Master now, and I'm sure there are multiple colored belts I trained who now either equal or surpass my rank. Miss Rebecca and I are the only Nokomis folk going, as far as I know, though Master Ed will be there, probably with the Taitts and many others in tow. We'll see how the name/reunion/allegiance things go. Will we expats we folded into the Duluth pack temporarily, or will Master Ed claim us as his own? I just hope it doesn't get political since Nokomis and Master Ed are GM Grimestead's territory, and Duluth is Greenquist country. Yikes!
Anywho. IBBF politics aside,I think I'll have a good time. Seeing Master Bruce again will be bizarre, though, especially when he gets wind of the name thing. o_O I plan to let everyone call me whatever the hell they want and see what happens. :)
Books! Finished 'A Scanner Darkly', 'Foundation', and my re-re-re-re-times-a-million-reread of 'Catch-22'. Currently reading Tahar Djaout's 'The Last Summer of Reason' (which is dynamite!), with 'Stranger in a Strange Land', 'Jonathon Livingston Seagull', 'Snow Crash', and 'The Forever War' on the pile. Books are so delicious! I'm still waiting for 'A Dance with Dragons' to hit paperback, though, at which point all the library books will be put on hold while I devour it after 6+ long years! :) Jon and I also mutually reserved copies of 'The Total Money Makeover' (Dave Ramsey) and 'A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism" (which he/we keep accidentally (and amusingly!) referring to as Unitology).
Um. Other things. I went out with Griffin and Lioness last night, which was fun. We met up at the Town Hall Brewery after work, then watched some Game of Thrones at my place and they stayed the night.
Also.
My brain is occasionally crazy.
I've finally recognized my near-constant worrying as genuine anxiety...perhaps not a disorder, but certainly capitalized Disorder, an issue that transcends mere situational distress and and more often manifests as rampant, systemic panic with difficult-to-find escape hatches and poorly-maintained florescent lighting. I believe (and hope) that drugs are not necessary to contain it, but it certainly gives me new directions to explore in therapy. My brain gon' be shrunk. :-P
Perhaps that is all for now. With any luck I will have photos to post when I get back from camp.