So where were we?
Shortly after I posted that photo of my messy room, I had a fit of guilt and cleaned it all up, lest someone actually witness that in person. The only thing I have no clue what to do with is that damn air conditioner. I might have to rent it a kennel. Wednesday night, I went to the advanced Iaido class with a few of my co-samurai. I forgot that the beginners’ martial arts class was scheduled right before that, so I caught the end of it. I wish I could express to you what it’s like to even be in the same room as Kore. I mean, at this point I’ve spent a lot of time around her, both in the dojo and at her studio. But still, she amazes me. I watched her teaching them gunjenbu (punching), the way you chamber your fist, palm-up, above your hip, then spiral out and kiai as you strike, without twisting at the waist. It’s totally different than in boxing, where most of the power comes from the upper body and even from the legs. I remember feeling so slow and weak when I first learned gunjenbu, and then one night it clicked. Also, it was awkward getting into the correct stance; I felt stiff and wobbly, and had to constantly pay attention to where my feet were. Now it’s natural to fall into that position, and be fluid and keep my energy focused. I love that feeling. I sat through the meditation at the end of the class. I wanted to stay there forever. I changed and got my sword out, and she made us practice cuts til our arms were ready to fall off. And then the Universal Kata! I feel like I’m ready for the seminar in two weeks, at least. It’s going to be intense. I’d really like to stay for some of the meditation sessions, too. Last week at work, I finished that project that’s been a burden on us since I started (TWO YEARS AGO, holy crap). They also hired another ASP developer; I’ve been pretty much on my own for a year, so this is a huge event. I can’t wait to be able to focus again and build new things. Also, we’re moving downtown in two weeks! My daily commute will be 34 miles shorter. SCORE! Friday night, we went bowling. I’ve been bowling a lot lately. I have no idea why, because I suck at it (the goal is to break 100), although I have a hell of a lot of fun anyway. Somehow I always end up dancing at the bowling alley. I think it’s the supersexy shoes. Afterward, I went to see Evil Dead 2 at midnight with Sean and crüe. I hadn’t seen it in so long, I figured it would all be new to me. Hell no; I still have that whole movie memorized. I’m sad I can’t make it to Army of Darkness this Friday… I’m all about Bruce Campbell camp, and the crowd there was hysterical. Saturday morning, I didn’t even beat myself up for sleeping until almost 10. I went to kickboxing. I love the instructor at the Blaisdell Y because right as we’re about to die, she yells something like, ‘COME ON! This is for YOU!!’ It’s so great. I came home, showered, and laid around on the couch in my underwear for half an hour. This, of course, is a complete novelty to me, because I’m always making an effort to not feel guilty about not moving constantly. Then I put some pants on and went to Gigi’s to sit in the sun and read. I’ve been doing that for an hour or so on the weekends. I finished The Secret Life of Bees and started on Three Junes. Reading! Sitting! Yeah, OK. I’ll shut up now. It’s a big deal to me, though. Saturday night, eight of us went to gay bingo. First of all, Viva and Jerry were there. If you live in Minneapolis and don’t know Viva and Jerry, you suck. Second, Miss Richfield was hysterical. Third, the place was packed full. So awesome. Fourth, I WON. Dude, I’ve never won bingo in my life! I got a $100 gift certificate and tickets to the Jungle Theatre. And my place in gay bingo history, of course. Afterward, we all went up to Suzi’s. Rumor has it we were on the verge of getting 86’d from Suzi’s, but I’m having none of it. Especially since we’re having the regular Wednesday night thing there from now on. I’m sure you’ve heard about it by now, and if you don’t show, Wendy’s totally gonna cut you. Sunday was brunch, the kind where it’s perfect and sunny outside and you eat really, really slowly because you want to sit out there forever, but you feel guilty because people will hover over your table the second you’re done. I went on a very long walk, since I was very sore from kickboxing and lifting, and then I went to the laundromat. Now, most people dread the laundromat. Me, on the other hand, I look forward to it, except for the part about having to lug around 90 pounds of quarters, and also picking through and removing the Minnesota ones, since you’re too attached to be able to spend them. See, at the laundromat, you get knitting and people-watching time. You put your stuff in 3 or 4 washers, you sit for 25 minutes and you knit. Then you get up and switch your stuff to two giant dryers, and sit for 40 minutes more and knit. You watch the old guy playing the deer-hunting video game. You try not to stare too much at the couple fighting up front. You wonder who the hell all those little roaming kids belong to. You bite your lip really hard trying not to laugh when you see that dude pull off his shirt and toss it into the washer. It’s awesome. I went to dinner with Kaye and Mollie, then we drove eight thousand miles to Myth to see BILLY FUCKING IDOL. Oh my god. OK, so when we first decided to go, I thought it would be a joke. A novelty. A vision of the past. But, dammit, that show rocked. And how can that man be so hot and so old at the same time? It’s like they grafted his (sneering) head onto a 20-year-old body. Unbelievable. So I screamed my head off and danced and whipped out a whole hell of a lot of rock hands (well, two, but often, you know?). Kaye also met her future husband; he’s the one who was grabbing her ass the whole time. There are some photos here on flickr, of course, and recordings and more photos on LJ. Since there are a lot of people in the cities who refuse to drive up to Maplewood to see a show, I need to talk up Myth again: that venue is great. The staff is awesome, and it’s just a really good space. Or maybe I shouldn’t tell you how awesome it is, so it’ll continue to be less crowded. Anyway! We finally found out about their dance nights, and we’ll be attending Thursday evenings. It’s ladies’ night, and god knows I’m nothing but a lady. Hahaha. YEAH. Since Arabic was cancelled tonight (when I first got the call, I thought they meant the whole class was cancelled, but whew), I’m going down to ze lake to play ze catch now. Keep on truckin’, hear? Jenni