it's my first time
... packing 2 gis (seminar + competition) for a tournament.
... separating my luggage accordingly (1 gi, 1 swimsuit, etc) in carry-on and checked luggage just in case one gets lost.
... being 'on location' for a tournament and having the concept of "free time = training" replaced with "free time = siteseeing".
... being in hawaii.

it's a wonder to me that my last tourney before retirement turns out to be the one that i'm most prepared for (in theory, that is) AND the most vacation-oriented.

aloha, y'all.

it's gettin' bettah all the time
kris is coming back and i'm going to hawaii. and life is looking up.
happy thanksgiving, everyone, i'm off to oahu. see you in a week.

i win!
we all knew it was going to happen, we just didn't know when... the bets would start coming in around every major holiday or event, but i knew better. rather than plan it so conventionally, i knew clark would propose to shama-lama on "some random tuesday".

people thought i was nuts, and to them i say "HA! i win!"
oh yeah, congrats shanderson!

can't... breathe...
i just found out what my hotel is costing for the tournament/vacation foray to hawaii, and the testing fee for the black belt/certain death foray immediately following. not to mention incidentals in between...

whatever you think the total $$ might be, double it.

excuse me while i wheeze into this paper bag.

say what you will, it isn't dead
today i had an 80+ year old man lay his coat down for me so i wouldn't dirty my feet. it occurred to me that chivalry isn't dead, but it's definitely in retirement.

scooter girls
vroom vroom, baby...



there are two faces in that helmet...

let the games begin
a friend advised me last night that i've got to start "playin' the game". ugh, i HATE that, i don't know how to play games. but i suppose she's right...

commence operation "grinning & bearing".

rollin' with the homies...
relationships are a tender thing, aren't they? i've been spending the last week or 2 hyper-aware of that little fact of life. tip-toeing around the new ones with exagerrated politeness while you figure each other out. falling back into the renewed ones while you ponder why you fell out in the first place and wondering if you'll always be caught in that cycle. and burying into the old ones with comfort, being renewed with energy rather than being spent from it.

so delicate, this balance. and i feel a bit like a steamroller, at the moment, just driving through them all.

why i'm smiling
i've decided not to end my week frustrated with a befuddling situation that is zapping more energy than i care to give, and instead focus on my top 5 highs for the week:
5) mmmm... is for massage. got one last night, and now i hurt more. who knew muscles had so many layers? still love that rubdown, though.
4) home... is where the craziness is. i got to spend the day with my parents, criticizing critiquing works of art, then got to eat loads of yummy food and simmer in nat's family for a spell on sunday.
3) cracking good movie... watched the new wallace & gromit film on wednesday with monica... it was a good break from her tuesday-of-things-breaking and my tuesday-of-being-stood-up.
2) countdown to black-belt-dom... it's not the counting that i'm happy about so much, rather the countdown clock i added off to the right there that amuses me so
1) she's been on my mind... and now she's in SD!! one of my dearest girlfriends emailed me today to tell me that she has an internship in san diego for the next 2 years, and oh guess what, she's moved down the street. i'm SOOOOO excited! i feel like a little bit of me has been saved from certain despair ; )

as far as doubt goes...
... i'm the QUEEN of that benefit. but in terms of work, i'm starting to take it personally.

free burritos
okay, so apparently if you wrapped foil on your body in some way last night, you got a free burrito from chipotle. monica and i happened upon a roll of aluminum right before we got to the counter. score!

we just thought people had horribly lame halloween costumes.