Let the record show

I was hit in the nose on Thursday in fitness kickboxing. I did not have a flashback.

Monday Redux

Wednesday's practice was just as rough, if not moreso, than Monday's. Ah Monday, that day of the week were the guantlet was done in one minute intervals soon to be replaced by Wednesday's zealous two minute intervals. I think I only managed to collect one new blister, while keeping the others reasonably controlled. This time the groups were segmented into Gi and no-gi. And as fate would have it that would put me in with all the middle weights and light heavyweights. I was in for two minutes against a very strong, cool, personal trainer. He's not particularly emotive; I guess stolid would be the term, the kind of guy who might be a dick, who might be mistaken for being an arrogant dick while he's really just stoic, you just don't know (he's always been careful never to do any serious harm to me).

I did alright circumstances pending. He tapped me out once, but I was able to launch a few counter offensives via gi, which can be a great tool to mitigate size and strength differences. At one moment he tried to stack me, and to my surpirse I didn't just roll out of it, I rolled out and popped to standing in a fluid motion. Next time I'll have to try to take advantage of that, or at least roll through in a way that sets up a submission.

There was a switching around of a few people between groups and I found myself in the smaller (by weight) no gi group. The fighters who I consider to be more dangerous than the larger fellas (not to take anything away from them). I got a submission and a take down, but one thing I learned last night is that I have a long way to go before I have a consistently effective take down. I simply got trapped in the guillotine one too many times (I escaped a couple times but was submitted once). I was the last person through the gauntlet though, and boy it was ugly. I ran on fume and two legs because I arms were dead dead dead. I couldn't feel my biceps, and my elbows are STILL killing me (we drilled arm bars in the beginner class before hand).

Final note: I need to start working on my no-gi hip throw. It really looked pathetic!

State of the body

I'm collecting aches, bruises, toe pains, neck pains, and my chronic sinusitis has been rampaging through the pollen and over whatever prescription strength cocktail I put in its way. I'm currently taking Respa AR, levaquin, generic allergy/sinus meds, and I even used some sort of prescrip strength inhaler. I can't do this much longer. The respa alone is equivalent to five different medications. better worse acceptable worse better awful better worse worse awful better, but never good. I just want to get back to good, being able to make out distinct smells.

There's a tournament in a few weeks and I'd like to say that I was in better shape than the last one (oh yeah and win too).

Just thinkin'

Girlfriend has a second interview coming up with a publishing company. She'd make 30,00 and get her foot in the door to an editing job. I'm happy for her; I hope she gets it, and I dread her getting it. If I don't get into grad school, what do I do? What reasons is there for me to stay here?(martial ones aside). At some point I have to rejoin her, but damn I really don't wanna move back to Florida. I can't live in that town anymore.

Regardless of that, I've got my own economic issues to worry about. I love the flexibility of collegiate teaching, but damn summer is lookin' bleak. I have one section, just one. Not good, not good at all. I need a job that isn't minimum wage grunt work. Don't see that happening. GOod god those jobs are just soul crushing. How can anyone do that stuff for more than a few weeks without wanting to blow their brains out?

Listening to Outkast right now.

Lake of Fire

I just watched the an excellent documentary, Lake of Fire, which is about the abortion debate. Not one side or the other, the debate writ large. Shot in black and white over a period that appears to be ten years, it runs the gammut of big whig thinkers like Noam Chomsky to certified nut-job anti-abortion assassins. There is graphic footage, the kind I simply haven't seen before any work on abortion. Yes, you see fetal remains. Yes, you see footage of the procedure. Hell, you might even learn something you didn't know before, and yeah, you'll have a few beliefs reaffirmed too.

I'm a pro-choice guy. In the end, a woman deserves autonomy over her body, and as far I'm concerned most anti-abortion arguments are scare tactics, separated only by degrees. The only thing that separates the assassin from the activist from the sacred sunday moms is the zeal.

However, I think that in order to properly educated people on what abortion is; it can't be sugar coated no more than it can be demonized. It can be a traumatic experience. It can be difficult to cope with physically, even if that is for a short time. And whether I like it or not, some people, including Ms. Roe herself, find their opinions change when presented with the matter in stark physical terms. (In Roe's case though I think her conversion has more to do with other issues that are peripherally discussed). Understanding abortion, which includes witnessing the consequences as well as the reasons for and against (both strictly physical and philosophical), should be part of a comprehensive sex-ed course, which we won't be seeing any time soon.

Stupid

Barack Obama said a group of voters was bitter, so what? Please take your manufactured outrage somewhere else media. His intent, even if not obvious, in his speech, was contextualized by his speech on race a few weeks ago. (He acknowledged the anger of some white voters, and that they had a right to be upset, the ire was misplace: it should be aimed at corps outsourcing, not some stupid Affirmative Action myth) Oh that's right, he threw his grandmother under a bus for admitting she had prejudices just like everyone else.

People. Stop watching Fox. Put Down the CNN. You can only watch MSNBC if Olbermann is on. Go to youtube and watch remarks for yourself; in fact, when it comes to news, just watch videos of the actual events, don't let some twit force feed you dumb ass narratives.

Accidental Headbutt

Ow. Seriously. Ow.

We did this gauntlet drill in bjj last night. One man in the center, six outside. The center man would go a minute with each person (6 min total). The outsiders would try to pass his guard and the center man was looking for a sweep. I was first in the center. Didn't pull a single sweep off (but I'm not sure if anyone actually got a sweep), and I didn't get passed all that often. At some point I was grappling with Sifu, and damn if I didn't eat a big ol' skull under my chin. IT hurt like hell, didn't sound too pleasant either, but for once I had my mouth guard in when hit, so I didn't lose any teeth. A valuable lesson was learned: I don't have a glass jaw. That's a good thing to know before stepping into a cage.

Today my neck is sore, really really sore. Having never taken a shot under the chin before, I can't say with certainty that it was---oh fuck it, there is no way it wasn't caused by the headbutt. My brains nearly popped out my skull. Always wear your mouthguard kids.