cousin dave

Somehow managed to find his way up from Osaka, so he came over for dinner and will crash for a few days as he plots his Tokyo assault.

your own path

So it looks like Kiyokawa, Iwata, Misawa, Hoshi, and Tamaki have decided to leave and do their own iai thing. Everyone's got his own path, I reckon. Perhaps some people already know exactly what they are doing even when they're only 25 and have been training for only a handful of years. Then again being 25 and having some old dudes tell you "You don't know what you're doing, because you're young and inexperienced" isn't really going to convince anyone. Best thing for people who still have lots of growing up to do is, let them grow up. Hell, if my parents were paying my rent and I didn't have to work or study, and could just practice all day, I'd milk it for all I could. As it was, when I was in college I did have my parents paying my rent, but I also worked part-time and busted my ass studying, besides training 7 times a week.
As for my path, thought I would have Honbu all to myself because Miyasawa started teaching the Friday classes at Tokiwa down the street, but as it turns out the gym was full of chairs for an assembly, so everyone ended up coming to Honbu. He and Kaeda spent their time with a new dude, two people watched class, and I just zoned out and practiced for an hour and a half. Recently been trying to figure out how to use my left hand/arm/side of the body, not my right, to draw smoothly and quickly. Definitely Kuroda-sensei's book gave me a hint: the left wrist needs to not be rolled out; keep the left armpit closed, elbow back, open the left chest and keep the wrist straight, dropping the saya back and down.
That whole 'move without moving' thing is pretty farking weird, but here's how I explain it people:
Extend both arms straight out in front, palms together. Now swing open your arms so that your arms are extended out to the sides. Your arms are now open 180 degrees. Each hand moved 90 degrees. OK, so do it again, but this time, as the arms open, pull the right foot back, turning the body to face to the right, moving in sync with the right arm. When you're done, you should again have the arms extended out to your sides, open 180 degrees, only this time you're facing right, not front. Notice the position of the left hand. If you do it carefully, you can move such that the left hand stays fixed in space. But you opened your left arm; it moved 90 degrees from its original position. Get it? Move without moving.
After practice I had a mad craving for sweet & sour pork, so went with Gosoke and Ohtsuka-san and Wakabayashi-kun to the cheap-ass greasy-floored Chinese restaurant at Kanda station, and because I was really hungry I also had spicy shrimp.

yup

Time to stand up.

DB 70's X-Mas Party 2004


DB 70's X-Mas Party 2004, originally uploaded by renfield.

Had our 2004 X-Mas party for equities sales, research, and clients.
70's theme, so I dressed appropriately.

Ann's knife fight scar


Ann's knife fight scar, originally uploaded by renfield.

She took on three drunk, armed attackers, disabled two, but the third dude stuck her...or maybe it was just surgery...

bookmark string

I can't honestly say if it's a Japanese thing or not, but whenever I buy a book it comes with a string attached to the spine to be used as a bookmark. I find that incredibly useful.

virtual keyboard

virtual keyboard
As a matter of fact, this is the coolest toy currently in my possession.
Red laser projects image of keyboard on my flat desk. Then all I do is type. Touch typing takes on a whole new meaning with this thing, but it's damn fun to use.
Naturally it has a battery and cables to hook up to all the various palms and portables for road warrior use.

cousin dave

My family is, like all families, insane.
Got a voicemail on my cellphone:
"Heah it's Dave...I'm at the airport in Tokyo now...I gotta meet this IBM lady and then go to the hotel...so maybe we can have dinner later, cause I don't feel too tired. The hotel is...The Royal, Park...something. Near the TC...? In the middle, y'know, of Tokyo. OK. Bye."
So I email Hiroko in an attempt to decipher this enigma. She writes back:
Well, you're related to him by blood.
Royal Park Hotel in Hakozaki, close to TCAT (Tokyo City Air Terminal).
http://www.rph.co.jp/access/index.html
Tel: 3667-1111
I called them and left him a message to call us at home or my mobile when he checks in this evening.

I am great.

Hiroko
She is great. I am not worthy.

manhattan tie

manhattan tie
An incredibly cool tie from Emy and Dolph. X marks the spot where they live.
Hint, as the holiday season approaches: I can always use more cool ties!

half-life 2

Had a big seminar for everyone in Mugairyu. First one in a while, and about 75 people showed up so that was cool. As expected, plenty of idiotic he-said-she-said politics and conspiracy theories. Man, just shut up and train already!
After that I went up to Yutenji to have dinner with Smallwood. We went back to his place to make sure his new sound card was working. By playing Half-life 2. Let me use my fine command of the English language to explain how good this game is: holy fucking shit.
And that's about all you need to know. The machine gun and rocket launcher are cool, but not nearly as much fun as using the gravity gun to:
  • whiz circular saw blades through multiple targets
  • knock furniture into shards
  • splatter paint cans
  • smack around dead bodies hanging from bungie cords
  • throw milk crates

This game makes we want to buy a PC just to be able to play it!