Um, hi.
So, yeah! I started some new things this week. Monday night, I went back to yoga. I haven’t been for about a year, during which time Heather’s been saying, “Go back to yoga! It makes you happy!” And she’s right… it does make me happy. I could take it at the Y, but I heart Jeanne a lot. She sees everything, in that the-pressure’s-on-so-get-it-right-dumbass kinda way, which is good for me. Anyway, I was really happy with how it went; I expected to be crabby over being so un-flexible (saying ‘inflexible’ is just setting myself up for a slammin’, so I won’t, thank you), but I realized that I’m waaay stronger than last year. My balance still sucks, but I think there’s probably nothing I can do about that. And then today!! I started my martial arts class. Not just any martial arts, but the feminist eclectic variety. And it was! I loved it. Yeah, it’s the kind of place where you feel uncomfortable saying ‘boyfriend’ or ‘husband’, but that’s fine. I’ve been wanting to study martial arts for a while, but don’t know enough about it to pick the one that’s best for me. I was excited by this one because it’s kind of a blend of arts, and because I was a little familiar with it since Dario, my kickboxing teacher, taught us about Wu Chien Pai and Jujitsu. So, the girls there were really friendly, and Sensei Kore is great. She’s also a well-known local tattoo artist; I had trouble not staring at her arms the whole time, because she has some great armbands. I think my best moment was when she stopped me during agility training and made everyone watch. She said I had great balanced leg muscles, because usually women only have strong quads, not strong hamstrings. And that I was doing the stances exactly right (I credit yoga for that). I was so so proud. It might be stupid, but I’ve put a hell of a lot of work into my fitness training, every single day, and it means a lot to me when somebody like that notices it. It feels good. The thing I like about yoga and martial arts is that they’re all about focus and attentiveness and, most of all, respect. Even from the two-and-a-half hours I spent at the dojo tonight (ha! yessss!), I could feel it: you’re there and you drop the attitude. You shut up and pay attention. You take critique as an opportunity to improve. That stuff is remarkably difficult for me. This is a good thing. Also, I have a new black gi (uniform). It’s sexy. So I spent the last hour packing and doing laundry, then making Gladware bowls of oatmeal with raisins and protein powder and gathering packets of Tofurky Jurky. You’d think I was preparing for the end times, but really I’m just going to Upper Michigan. Mother Ripley and I leave Friday at lunchtime, and return Sunday night. It’ll be good, I think. My plans are to knit, walk, visit Stephan’s little French cafe for my coffee, and argue with my grandma. Also, my being gone over the weekend will give Scotty a chance to catch up on his sleep. Everybody wins! You may not hear from me until I return, so… you know. Be good. Bye.Jenni