have a little faith in me
I take my place today one step higher in the world. Well, the world karate, that is. I am truly grateful for the copious amounts of faith placed in me; if I had been evaluating me last night, I wouldn't have promoted me based on the horrendous performance I gave last night. Though I hate to grant myself the handicap, I admit that it had everything to do with the fact that we were in the gym. The hardwood-floor gym. The NEWLY REFINISHED hardwood-floor gym. For those of you not in the know, very few things in the world can wreak havoc on my system like the floor of a gym. Perhaps arsenic is close. Or maybe Japanese salmon. But the minute I walked in, my stomach cramped, 15 minutes into it I was about to pass out, and by the time I was finished with the test, I was throwing up. Dizzy, no balance, no depth perception, no breathing... all really good, fun ways to spice up a kumite match, especially. You know, a little extra challenge.

Actually, what it comes down to is me being entirely too hard on myself. I got a number of compliments and "good jobs!" and "way to go!s" and other strong words of encouragement, but I personally feel I was falling apart. Overall I just didn't do what I know I'm able to do, and was actually really embarrassed that I was Captain Tard-O. The powers that be were obviously going off the "package deal" and not my single serving showing. The bum part is, now I feel like I have to prove my promotion... but first I'm taking time off to let that gym air out. Just say no to gyms!!