i headed out to the starbucks to do some work on the comics, then met up with horseman for some tekken. a producer friend of his met us at the metro and we headed down to saint laurent together. the guy from the gym i was going to watch the fights with (wire) was late so in the meanwhile the three of us found a quiet street to freestyle in. this producer guy liked what he heard but i have reservations regarding his own prowess... i mean, if i'm going to collaborate with someone i would prefer that person to be into really making things happen and i don't have much concrete evidence of that to go on. either way, nice guy and fun to chat with.
the ufc fights were bloody (literally) amazing. really crazy stuff! we were joined by vfmp and his boyfriend - after a stray comment wire had made at the gym i was a little concerned that he was homophobic, but not only was he cool with the guys but he found all of vfmp's boyfriends outrageous fight commentary as funny as we did (let's just say he's not a fan of cauliflower ears). so i chilled.
i got home late knowing that i needed to eat, but instead of pulling out something with nutritional content i grabbed a collection of junk food and watched a full episode of the ultimate fighter. in spite of planning to meet wire early at the gym for a sparring session. after that it was impossible to wake up for 9.30, but i did manage to get there at 10 - wire didn't pitch, so i got in a power hour with the punching bags and chatted with my kickboxing instructor who agreed that i need to focus more on sparring than on classes. i got home to watch more of the ultimate fighter and take a proper nap.
horseman came over again, we played crazy tekken that was actually overload for me - things just got serious :P
we then spent over two hours freestyling in the kitchen; horseman figures i'm already good and i feel like i need a lot of work if i'm going to say things that aren't nonsense. after he left i had fifteen minutes to do a rushed shopping run and then watched most of the rest of the ultimate fighter.
i finally completed season 14 of the ultimate fighter: that shit is addictive, and the season finale (both parts) had incredibly exciting fights!
i mixed pre-training coffee with comics, then went to work out. they were working on the octagon so only a couple of the punching bags were available, but i took the opportunity to make some sparring appointments :)
after training i headed off to godmother's for dinner. it was a pleasant evening, with yang being particularly silly. some of his behaviour was annoying and some amusing, by the end of the evening some had even rubbed off on me...
i got up early to meet up with someone at tristar to practice for the jiu-jitsu exam. we spent about an hour on the mats and i made a lot of progress! i finally felt ready, in particular having nailed an annoying part of the omoplata technique. i then worked on the bags for a bit, and shared an awkward moment with gsp as we tried to occupy the same space at the same time...
... i have to say that tristar might actually make a morning person out of me, what a great way to wake up!
i didn't have a lot of time before my dental appointment but i hurried through to the jean-talon market to pick up clif builder bars anyway. they don't do the big boxes anymore, and i actually had to ask for help to find them at all. why is it that it's harder to find clif products in canada than in the states when they're made here?!
the dentist experience was a pleasure, the examination showed that my teeth are okay except for my grinding them and that fixes to my fillings are optional but advisable. fortunately the cleaning didn't have any ensuing eating restrictions, i didn't realize just how hungry i was until i polished off a giant meal at my favourite chinese place.
i had a pre-exam rest and arrived at the gym feeling totally confident. i breezed through everything until hitting the omoplata... and failed it precisely on the point i'd been so excited about that morning. failing the exam didn't bother me nearly as much as failing it because of that. that upset me.
what followed was kind of a private lesson for a new guy in which i did almost as much teaching as the instructor. after that i sparred with one of the professional kickboxers who taught me a lot of lessons, one harsh tag at a time. at one point i thought he'd hit me hard enough to knock me out but he explained that it's just the surprise factor. the most important lesson, the one that's going to take me longer than i'd like to learn, is how critical it is not to look at your opponent's face or limbs in a fight. focus on the chest. focus on the chest. the following sparring session i had with the guy who'd demoralized me a while ago went pretty well, and reinforced that last point.
we had to stop because something was being filmed live and it's really difficult to train in silence...
...
i saw a shooting star on the way home. it might very well be the first one i've ever seen.
...
i had a great smoothie and then a great dinner, i played around with caloriecount and it really is good. apparently i'm doing well on my diet, minus excessive iron intake. this could be a very bad thing, i guess i'll need to test for it.
the reason i started watching american psycho was because i remembered enjoying it but didn't want to rate it on netflix without being sure. i don't know why i watched until the end, i'd give it a meh+.
halfway through wednesday i would realize that while watching the movie i *should* have been packing ice onto my nose and my arms. i was totally battered and bruised.
i woke up repeatedly to get the laundry done, and was caught just before the last alarm by a friend from the gym who's got a contact in one of the big aerospace companies to tell me that they'd like to see my resume. nice! after sorting that out, i headed to the french school (a private residence in the heart of the village). beaudry metro has the craziest escalators as they're flat like in an airport only they're moving uphill. this makes the simple act of standing on it feel like exercise and provides a very interesting ambience. it was a chilly tuque and gloves afternoon and i'd arrived early, so i stopped for a quick cup of coffee first, on the way coming across an amazing piece of street art on wolfe relating somehow to amnesia that you're supposed to explore physically.
the school is run from this guy's apartment, and after a brief chat he convinced me that this is a good investment. it's kind of a cross between standard teaching and immersion.
i went to la panthère verte for lunch and was impressed by both the quality of the food and that of the overall experience. i couldn't not laugh: when i asked the girl at the counter how things work she told me, rather matter-of-fact, "first you're going to taste the falafel, and then you're going to order a falafel sandwich because it's the best falafel in the city". i was feeling pretty sceptical between her statement and that piece of falafel, but then that melted away and i did as she prescribed, adding a bowl of delicious leek and potato soup. i thoroughly enjoyed my meal, was pleased to have all the recycling / compost stuff explained to me when i was done and i returned to the metro fascinated by how relaxed mont royal was.
i was so tired i slept on the metro, almost missing my stop. i got home to find that the cleaning lady had locked me out and she obviously couldn't hear me, which made me super grateful for the comfortable couch in our building's lobby. after a short rest i headed to the starbucks for a bit. by the time i returned she'd left, so i had a pre-training nap and then went to my first muay-thai class in ages.
omg - muay thai with tristar's olivier is like a punishment for all the times i've ever slacked off during training since i did judo as a kid.
snowboarders: you know that first run of the season, when your whole body's hurting and there's no way you can go out for drinks afterwards but you do anyway? it's like that...
i misunderstood one of the exercises and took a lot of damage on my forearms, and i was actually gassed out by the tail end of the class which was embarrassing. i could barely raise my arms, let alone my knees :$
[continued...]
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