possibly back to bed

the alternate ride - on happiness
the discussion yesterday morning revolved around being happy - whether or not being happy or satisfied is a positive thing, and how pursuing happiness is a pointless exercise when one can simply "be happy". i was surprisingly interested.

"do not push against skin with forklift prongs"
there's a quote that's been bothering me ever since i first walked past it, stenciled formally on the side of a set of crates. is that really necessary?!

rabin memorial, SC stress relief
we all gathered for a memorial for yitzchak rabin. the speeches were fairly standard, although the chief of staff's message was very good. we then had an hour of singing along (or, in the case of myself and those in my immediate vacinity, uncomfortable nap time - it was hard work keeping our eyes open) to the traditional sad songs of the day. a lot of the songs were about hope and peace, which some found detracted from the spirit of the day. i disagreed - we're mourning the fact that rabin was assassinated, i think defiance in the face of those who worked against him is in order.

i joined nystire for a mission to the other side of the base. we were discussing possible things to do to celebrate my release (whenever that is), and i came up with a brilliant plan. getting our SC to dress up as a donkey, then pulling out a couple of big sticks and screaming "piñata!!!" would be awesome.

on a more realistic note, i decided to begin making a "wear sunscreen" presentation. i'll add a bit more every couple of days, mostly from the things that the guys do that drive me nuts.

uml and tweaking
i started getting somewhere with my tidying up, and things are beginning to fall into place. it sucks a bit that the sections i'm currently doing can't really be done incrementally... what's nice is that it's interesting enough that i'm taking it home with me (in my head, at least) :)

i was shocked today at the ease with which i could unsubscribe from another army magazine (that i actually did ask for). i called them up, told them what i wanted to do, gave them my id, and they said "done". i was in shock, considering the fact that we're still fighting over the hopelessness of unsubscribing from the one nobody wants :/

my cousin from the kibbutz has agreed that if i come visit next weekend, she'll take me to the kinneret for the 60km bicycle (with us on blades) race. sorted! although, as usual, i'm assuming that something could come up at the last moment. if nothing does, that would be excellent :)

the november wired kept me up the whole ride home :P

decision making off the board
i'd been totally exhausted the entire day, and had to choose whether or not to train. i was so out of it that i couldn't figure out how busy today was going to be, but came to the conclusion that missing friday's training would suck.

then i called up our instructor, and was informed that scrapper's test was going to be yesterday - not only did i not want to miss it, but i was suddenly convinced that i'd confused the week and had to make two other phone calls to verify that i hadn't lost my marbles.

verification complete, i managed to sort out all the options until they relied on whatever was written on my whiteboard... so as soon as i got in, i had a look and knew immediately that i needed to get ready and head off. i *just* made the bus. i spent the ride napping or engaged by hillman - i got to thinking about the reality of dreams. if the experience seems real, then i've experienced it, and that makes it real. from *my* perspective, at least.

so if i've been dreaming about battling aliens or being lost in a haunted village, then i can add those to all of my personal experiences, for better or for worse...

how did i do so much damage to my poor foot?
for the last month or so i've been having difficulty with my blades. i've also been having trouble, at random, balancing on my right leg. about halfway through the training, i noticed for the first time why.
i'm guessing it was caused by making contact with someone else's elbow a while back - with what appears to be my tibialis anterior tendon.

it's become raised, swollen and misshapen, it's like a piece of rock. and it hurts. haven't i seen the doctor enough this past week?!

the psycho-slap changes
training was pleasant (thank redbull), but about half an hour before we finished i received a psychological slap to the face. i was really excited by having learned a game-changer - if i hold my head and shoulders slightly lower, i keep my whole body not only more stabilized, but looking sharper as well. i practised doing that, only to have our instructor rush up to correct three different things in a form that i've never done differently - significant changes to things that i've always felt *right* doing.

that was incredibly hard to get over.
i now have to focus on keeping my body lower, straightening my thumbs for open-handed attacks and blocks, blocking from the outside and attacking from the inside (i've always been confused about that), angling my hands differently for the double-block, readjusting my open stance and landing sideways from the roundhouse... *not* going into tiger stance...

that's harsh.

yael deckelbaum's bag of tricks
it was a bit insane to try to get to the show - we left training in ra'anana around 22.15, and it was supposed to begin at 22.30. we managed to arrive a few minutes before things got moving - the place was packed - and one of my old team-mates rocked up after the first song. the band was missing the lead guitarist, but they didn't need him last night.
they changed their tone a little, threw in a bit of jazz, a bit of reggae, and made it a really, really special evening. it was magical, wonderful, and intimate - i'd forgotten how much i love seeing her live!

the hunt for next-door shuwarma
we walked out of the performance, both in need of food (beers and nachos after training isn't enough), and went in the wrong direction. everything that was interesting was closed, and we did a full circle before finding something acceptable. at least it was a pleasant walk, and it had only begun to drizzle by the time we went inside.

the chef in a thunderstorm
as we made to leave, thunder rolled and the skies opened. we stood there appreciating the wonder of the first real storm of the season, hoping it would lessen enough for us to get to the car. just then, the chef rocked up on his bicycle, completed drenched. it was good that we had a chance to chat, because aside from the pleasantries i'm now clued in on the after-effects of last week's event.

he took most of the week off, went back to work yesterday, and when the big bastard showed up (as usual), he was suddenly stuck by post-trauma terror. so he's gone to the police, which he should've done a week ago - but i can totally understand. i was surprised on tuesday to hear that he was doing fine, he obviously hadn't let what happened sink in.

soaked without a jumping box
we were trapped on the wrong side of the road... after discovering that the section that looked less flooded wasn't, i saw scrapper do something out of a computer game: a cardboard box was floating past, about half the distance across. he actually made it - leaving me impressed, and stuck in the middle of the road. we both had a good laugh afterwards, because i totally complicated things trying not to get soaked and i ended up all wet anyway.

and i enjoyed it :)

---
aaaah, janis joplin and pj harvey on a morning where the thunderstorm has been set to continual downpour ^_^