Got up early (for a Saturday) and headed to Honbu Dojo. We had cutting practice all day. First group started about 10am and went until lunch. Wakadanna came by and we discussed the target-soaking situation, which he rectified by buying two large, wheeled trashbins. Whilst purchasing said bins, he also picked up an electric pump. This is how it should be done! Drop the pump into the bucket, stick the hose in the toilet, plug it in and watch the magic. Also, Nakayama's no-stinky discovery is also a big hit. No idea what's in this wonder liquid, but diluted 100 times in a spray bottle and it immediately kills any and all nasty stinkiness.
After cutting we did a little rearranging in the office; pulled the door off the bathroom, moved the shelves to fit the soak buckets, moved the locker into the hall, realized we couldn't get the soaker bins out past the locker, moved the locker to where the clothes rack is, and then rearranged everything else around again. We just got way, way too much crap in the office.
tonchan
P got her monthly check up -- mom's doing okay, Tonchan is growing as expected. Kickin' around on a regular basis. I am guessing that having one's organs randomly kicked and pushed on from inside is a less-than-pleasant experience, with which mom is dealing as well as can be expected.
Also, we have passed a Milestone: P's waist is now officially bigger than mine. I have lost 3 kilos in the past 3 months and dropped 3 centimeters off the waistband, and she has progressed steadily into pregnant-ness.
Also, we have passed a Milestone: P's waist is now officially bigger than mine. I have lost 3 kilos in the past 3 months and dropped 3 centimeters off the waistband, and she has progressed steadily into pregnant-ness.
After work, got some curry with The Eng and headed back to his place to trouble shoot his wireless network. Seems the adsl line and wireless were fine, but for some reason the he was getting a PPP authentication error. Maybe the crappy ISP changed his account or something, who knows.
We then spent a good hour racing his remote-control Ferrari around the well-waxed wood floor, much to the dismay of his cat, LB.
We then spent a good hour racing his remote-control Ferrari around the well-waxed wood floor, much to the dismay of his cat, LB.
dad & patriotic ladies
As a matter of fact, it's genetic. My dad runs. It's a health thing. Recently, he ran the Hope and Possibility Race in Grand Central. Most of the runners had prosthetic limbs or were in a wheelchair or something. My dad's handicap is his twisted sense of humor: note his 'kamikaze' (divine wind) headband.
pork shabu w/ericka
Lily's mom is in town for a few days in bid'ness, so we got some pork shabu with her bro Tre and the indefatigable Tony. Cool little place just down the street, and damn fine pig eats.
tokyo national museum
Well crank an egg on my head and call me a frying pan it is HOT today! But never mind the heat, we had some culture to be gettin'! P and I cruised up to Ueno, got lunch at Hard Rock, and checked out the Meiji Era art from the Joe Price collection at the Tokyo National Art Museum.
Extremely cool. We wandered the rest of the museum and saw the permanent collection as well -- lots of great swords, pottery and other artifacts of Japan-ness.
After the museum we took a wee break at 'bucks, then headed back to Shiroganetakanawa station, did some shopping for dinner, and wandered back home through the Shinohashi local shopping street summer festival.
pikachu
More birthday silliness. Went up to Kanda to enjoy some fried meat and beverages with the mostly-British gang from work, and pikachu announced my birthday as the ladies surprised me with another birthday cake. Then we wandered Kanda a bit and ended up in a salaryman standard standing bar for some late-night bits and bobs.
A good time was once again had by all and a fine way to become 34 (if a day late, but who's counting?)
happy bday to me!
I thought I had escaped the birthday gremlins, but they caught up with me at work!
dragon fruit juice
Okinawa Festival at Isetan in Shinkuju again, so P took me to get some quality noodles and then we grabbed a couple of bento and other goodies for dinner.
And of course P got her traditional dragon fruit juice ("pulpy!") and I got an acelora juice ("tart!")
Then we walked over to Bic Camera and got my birthday present: my very own bloodpressure monitor! It's a little jobby that goes on the wrist and measures blood pressure and pulse. I will collate data from daily morning and evening readings and see what's what. So far so good -- I think my bp's better when I test it at home. Then again I can make my bp go down 30 points just by zoning out and relaxing for 30 seconds, so I'm less interested in the exact number and more concerned about keeping it stable or even dropping, not rising.
Cause I'm an Old Man now, eh.
yoshida party
Went to Yoshida's for a birthday-is-a-good-excuse-to-eat party. Spent most of the time playing with Marin:
At the station waiting for the train, there was a salaryman in a messed up black suit who sat down on the bench. Then lay down. Then fell onto the floor. Then somehow got back up onto the bench. by the time we got on our train he was lying on the bench again.
And then at Shibuya station we saw this fellow:
ginza nap
Snuck out of work early and headed down to the dojo. I ended up practicing noto (sheathing) for almost 2 hours. Details man, it's all about the details.
After practice it wasn't too terribly hot so I walked 45 minutes through Ginza down to Shinbashi station, and found this salaryman having a wee nap after what I assume to be a quite a few beverages with the boys. Ah, the reserved and conservative Japanese!
happy b-day & bye-bye ky!
Yotsu's birthday and her last day in the office -- she's off to join her new husband in NY. Good luck KY!
my back hurts
I think I tweaked my lower back sitting all day on Saturday judging for the tournament, and of course I ignored the pain for the next few days, running around with the guys and training and not getting enough sleep and working and not really sitting zazen very well.
Now it hurts. I don't think I totally threw my back out or anything, but bending over is truly unpleasant, and sometimes if I move badly I imagine I know what it's like to have red-hot iron stuck into my body. I can't exactly figure out what kind of movement hurts. Lying down feels fine, walking is okay, but sometimes it's like the strain of supporting the weight of my legs is too much for my hips/lower back, and it just hurts.
I went to the dojo last night but thankfully it was closed -- don't think working out would have been a good idea.
Now it hurts. I don't think I totally threw my back out or anything, but bending over is truly unpleasant, and sometimes if I move badly I imagine I know what it's like to have red-hot iron stuck into my body. I can't exactly figure out what kind of movement hurts. Lying down feels fine, walking is okay, but sometimes it's like the strain of supporting the weight of my legs is too much for my hips/lower back, and it just hurts.
I went to the dojo last night but thankfully it was closed -- don't think working out would have been a good idea.
tournament
We got up early and out the door on time to taxi up to the Chuo City Sports Center. The place was already setup and so everyone got changed out and registered, then before you know it we were lined up and starting the opening ceremonies. We had the standard boring (and long!) speeches from the ex-Cabinet bureaucrat, the mayor, etc. and then we're off!
Started with the cutting demo; me and five guys took our places, faced our targets, and did our damage. I think five out of six of us made our cuts, so that was good. Then Gosoke and Yamada-sensei did a jo vs. sword demo, and finally all the Big Sensei demo'd iai kata. Always interesting to see the differences between all the big guys; very subtle in some ways and obviously different in others.
After the demos we started the competition: single-elimination pyramid, divisions based on rank. I judged for several divisions up to lunch and my back was pretty sore from sitting up straight in a chair for a couple hours solid.
For lunch I ate with the guests and other sensei; Hashimoto-san provided bento from his restaurant and it was damn fine eats. I stuffed myself and then got back down on the floor for more judging.
My division, 5/6dan was last. I was wearing my formal kimono, with long sleeves, and had my tabi (socks) on, so in my first round I couldn't see where I was cutting and I kept sliding all over the place. I barely won, beating Tominaga who has always kicked my butt since years ago, but only because he's a long-distance truck driver and hasn't practiced much. Got into better form in the later rounds and swept my way to the finals.
Then it was time for all the final rounds so I was back to judging for the first few divisions, and then ran back to do my final round for first place. Didn't feel too bad, just kind of cruised through it as I was pretty fried by then, but managed to get three out of three flags for the win!
Then we did the awards ceremony, handed out trophies and certificates, etc. and before you know it we were cleaning up and getting ready to head out.
Started with the cutting demo; me and five guys took our places, faced our targets, and did our damage. I think five out of six of us made our cuts, so that was good. Then Gosoke and Yamada-sensei did a jo vs. sword demo, and finally all the Big Sensei demo'd iai kata. Always interesting to see the differences between all the big guys; very subtle in some ways and obviously different in others.
After the demos we started the competition: single-elimination pyramid, divisions based on rank. I judged for several divisions up to lunch and my back was pretty sore from sitting up straight in a chair for a couple hours solid.
For lunch I ate with the guests and other sensei; Hashimoto-san provided bento from his restaurant and it was damn fine eats. I stuffed myself and then got back down on the floor for more judging.
My division, 5/6dan was last. I was wearing my formal kimono, with long sleeves, and had my tabi (socks) on, so in my first round I couldn't see where I was cutting and I kept sliding all over the place. I barely won, beating Tominaga who has always kicked my butt since years ago, but only because he's a long-distance truck driver and hasn't practiced much. Got into better form in the later rounds and swept my way to the finals.
Then it was time for all the final rounds so I was back to judging for the first few divisions, and then ran back to do my final round for first place. Didn't feel too bad, just kind of cruised through it as I was pretty fried by then, but managed to get three out of three flags for the win!
Then we did the awards ceremony, handed out trophies and certificates, etc. and before you know it we were cleaning up and getting ready to head out.
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