i should be posting more - part i

truth be told - as always - i've just been too tired. like really tired, like exhausted to a zombie state. particularly because i'm seriously in need of recovering and instead of resting i've continued to train hard. plus, i strongly suspect that the meds the doc gave me are working but at the cost of weakening my system. tonight's the last night, i believe they've done their job and i should be good to go by the weekend.

on a related note, i was discussing my shortness of breath with an "expert" (my kickboxing instructor) who claims that he's trained with someone who beat his asthma by training hard. quite frankly that makes sense, if i'm not training while sick. and i'm pretty sure i won't make that mistake again.

---forgotten notes from monday:

i suddenly realized i haven't been reading my rss feeds in ages - i have a lot of catching up to do. my first time going through parc station and not being on my way to work felt strange. i have arrived at the conclusion that i'm a windows person. also, that if i have to choose between real privacy (which is a right, not a privilege!) and the convenience that storing all my shit in the cloud provides, i'll go for the latter. it's shameful that the american government has become so un-american regarding freedom and rights, but i'm not going to let paranoia distract me from things i actually care about.

i needed a pre-muay thai nap and i didn't have time for one. i managed anyway. huh.

---tuesday:

oh gods, waking up super early for french classes :(
in theory the decision was to make my afternoons easier and more flexible, but in practice (granted, probably only this week) it's meant returning home and sleeping until hitting the gym :P

watching the puscifer - what is trailer pre-coffee wasn't a good idea. it did get me to purchase a bunch of the project's tracks and get me excited to see what happens.

props to the man on the metro wearing shorts at -3 celcius: that is a statement.

the french class is definitely good for my confidence. it may not be the level i need, but it's a good kick in the pants and the teacher's pretty good at mixing it up and customizing.

i arbed around downtown looking for halloween outfits, ate lunch underground and passed out when i returned home.

---beginner's jiu-jitsu was cancelled... because only two of us showed up and we both passed the exam! LEVEL UP ^_^
my passing the exam was a big achievement considering i had to demonstrate everything on the nightmarishly flexible girl. i definitely earned *my* spot :D

next step: not feeling totally useless on the advanced mats. the two of us were not being amazing, it was only after the class was over that we realized that we both needed to be good with the forward roll. there's something crazy about having firas zahabi himself clapping me on the shoulder and telling me "not to worry, you'll get it".

anyway, i'm not able to tell anyone in the gym that our performance was un-bear-an'-bull because i'd probably get slapped. [the move we were learning is called "bear and bull"]

---kickboxing was satisfying, although i used my right leg which is still healing and while i didn't do anything extreme that still wasn't a good idea :(

i left with a bit of a belly ache but i was desperate for food and hadn't gone shopping; chinese it had to be. i decided that i deserved a celebratory double-dinner and i thoroughly enjoyed it :)
during the feeding frenzy i suddenly broke out in sweat. what the hell?! all i could think of was how strange it was to feel so good and so broken simultaneously.

...

on the way home i wondered at how quickly i've acclimatized to zero. bring on the snow already!

---wednesday:

i dreamed of a successful move to somewhere near ottawa; something very political. then
my mother was driving and the road
follows a cliff with no barrier.
she drives on the edge to scare me
and it works
i freak out and i'm upset telling myself
i will not forget i will not be her passenger again
ahead a missing bridge that we'd need good speed
to clear
but she ups the stakes and brakes
and i woke up as the car plunged into a deep black chasm. what the hell, brain?

second day of classes, still late because i don't get the metro at rush hour even if i did pick a better route. one of the girls arrived after we'd all sat down and with her a smell of... yeast infection? i don't know, but it was a very loud "down there" smell and i surreptitiously kept my nose in my coffee mug as much as i reasonably could.

...

it's strange being teacher's pet.

after class i went straight home to lay about. i watched a lot of kiss of the dragon which i'd remembered enjoying but which made me go "meh". then i got in touch with aota and we sorted out my telephone contract - bell not only made the process simple and painless, but my contract's so good that after we were done aota set herself up on the same deal :)

as a side note, i'm glad that i now officially have a credit rating and it's positive :D

another side note: i have unlimited calls "nation-wide". aota and the representative both laughed out loud when i asked if that means all of canada or just quebec.
"we haven't seceded yet!" said aota.
"not only will you be able to call all of canada, sir, but you'll also be able to call quebec!" quipped the agent.

...

i chatted with pg and i'm very glad that she's doing well. she's enjoying her work and the lifestyle it affords her and she seems happy; we chatted over text and i laughed a lot. even though our breaking up was good for both of us, i do miss her.

---i went to muay thai even though my body was feeling stiff and sore, and during the warm up i developed shin splints. that was really annoying, i proceeded as gently as i could and fortunately the class was a) easy on the legs and b) exactly the class on clinches i'd been waiting for.

surreal misogynistic moment: working with a ridiculously sexy girl and doing a hip throw that involved me thrusting my hip (nothing else, you pervert) into her groin, looking down into her shirt (unintended, but enjoyed) and then throwing her to the mat.

what followed was the unsexiest thing ever: rotating partners to practice all the clinch techniques we'd learned. i've never been so drenched in other people's sweat before and i suffered a lot of chafing around my collar bones and neck - i had to half-shower before boxing (fortunately i'd brought a spare shirt) and i still spent the class worrying about ringworm.

the boxing class was pretty good and ended on a very satisfying note. after a long time talking about it, i finally got to do conditioning with the girl who terrifies everyone: firstly, i can't describe in words how hard she hits. after months of conditioning i'm now pretty damned tough, and even her soft "preparation" shots hurt. her big shots? holy shit! she knocked me down a few times before she decided to be merciful, that decision slightly embarrassing me even while i was grateful for it. one of her shots felt like my liver had touched my left shoulder. it was intense.
then it was my turn, and after a few warm up shots to establish the correct amount of power i caught her with a perfect liver shot... she was hurt, and although everyone (including her) had a good laugh about it i still felt bad.

her usual partner came up afterwards to thank me for giving him a break - i'll happily take over next time too :D

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