I went to the dentist today! I am such a coward. Luckily, though outrageously overcharging, my dentist is kind and keeps the pain to a bare minimum (which is actually the genetic merit of my parents, I suppose, because the little pain is a resultant not of my dentist's skills but of my relatively healthy teeth, but ANYway... I still feel grateful =P).
Aikido, then.
I arrived with a friend to my first class.
The dojo is in a sort of glorified attic of a (non-ice, just roller) skating club fallen on hard times. Meaning, you enter a half-lit, very dusty place and go up various meandering, chipped sets of stairs that hug the skating rink, where (very few, usually 5 to 10) teenagers and children (including one unbearably cute 4-year-old with ponytails and really tiny skates).
When you finally get to where you were supposed to go, you see a relatively big place (say, 15x5 square meters? Don't trust me on this, though, I'm terrible at this sort of approximation), covered with a sort of wooden platform, with mats on top, and a green tarpaulin hiding it all from view.
We arrived all set to do a practice class (a hands-on experience, so to speak), but the teacher (if that is his appropriate title, everyone calls him Luis anyway) smiled at us and asked "You came to watch, right?", to which we nodded and proceeded to sit down in a few plastic chairs set along one aisle.
Aside from the rather constant bowing, there is very little ceremony or spirituality in the way the class plays out.
[a week later, I resume the writing of this post. I'm a bit lazy lately, and very much addicted to msn]
In brief, then, because I don't much feel like going on about this, today I had my 7th class, and though my back aches and my shoulders hurt and I can't put the stick shift in my car on reverse with only one hand because my muscles won't let me, I'm still psyched about it, and SLOWLY starting to learn.
So, I'm happy. And I feel like I'm actually doing something worthwhile.
On the not-so-positive side, I'm not studying at all. Which is not good. Because instead, I live online. And there's nothing healthy about that. Plus, though I technically have all the time in the world to post and tell you all sorts of things that have been happening to me, in reality I never feel like opening blogger and going through the motions of planning out a sentence and typing it down. Which is a pity. So, if you can, ask me something, because it's unbelievably easier (as SRH can testify) to answer a specific question than to take the trouble to create out of the blue.
Cheers, my darling pumpkins!
[I figured that everyone needs to be called nice things every once in a while]
Aikido, then.
I arrived with a friend to my first class.
The dojo is in a sort of glorified attic of a (non-ice, just roller) skating club fallen on hard times. Meaning, you enter a half-lit, very dusty place and go up various meandering, chipped sets of stairs that hug the skating rink, where (very few, usually 5 to 10) teenagers and children (including one unbearably cute 4-year-old with ponytails and really tiny skates).
When you finally get to where you were supposed to go, you see a relatively big place (say, 15x5 square meters? Don't trust me on this, though, I'm terrible at this sort of approximation), covered with a sort of wooden platform, with mats on top, and a green tarpaulin hiding it all from view.
We arrived all set to do a practice class (a hands-on experience, so to speak), but the teacher (if that is his appropriate title, everyone calls him Luis anyway) smiled at us and asked "You came to watch, right?", to which we nodded and proceeded to sit down in a few plastic chairs set along one aisle.
Aside from the rather constant bowing, there is very little ceremony or spirituality in the way the class plays out.
[a week later, I resume the writing of this post. I'm a bit lazy lately, and very much addicted to msn]
In brief, then, because I don't much feel like going on about this, today I had my 7th class, and though my back aches and my shoulders hurt and I can't put the stick shift in my car on reverse with only one hand because my muscles won't let me, I'm still psyched about it, and SLOWLY starting to learn.
So, I'm happy. And I feel like I'm actually doing something worthwhile.
On the not-so-positive side, I'm not studying at all. Which is not good. Because instead, I live online. And there's nothing healthy about that. Plus, though I technically have all the time in the world to post and tell you all sorts of things that have been happening to me, in reality I never feel like opening blogger and going through the motions of planning out a sentence and typing it down. Which is a pity. So, if you can, ask me something, because it's unbelievably easier (as SRH can testify) to answer a specific question than to take the trouble to create out of the blue.
Cheers, my darling pumpkins!
[I figured that everyone needs to be called nice things every once in a while]
posted by jude at 9:02 am
5 Comments:
Are you calling me Lazy?
I've actually got quite used to visiting the dentist. However, I haven't returned to visit the oral surgeon who suggested I pull-out all 4 of my wisdom teeth.
Do you have any kids in the Aikido class. I have a few in my class (and there's a special kids class) and they are so precious!
Teacher = Sensei
The aches and pains will soon disappear, but its a very rewarding enterprise!
Not studying AND not blogging. That's not cool. You should concentrate on the latter (or so says this pumpkin)
Hmmmm...Could you talk about your country, customs, Latin America etc?
ciao.
1) ouch
2) nope, no kids. Nobody calls the teacher sensei where I practice, everyone just calls him by his name. As I said, it's a pretty laid-back atmosphere, which I enjoy. My only problem so far is that they're all guys except for me and another girl, so they all go into the changing room before the class and just chat, and I'm left outside staring at the ceiling, which isn't a lot of fun. One of these days I'll just waltz in and become one of the guys. They're all older than me so I guess there aren't as many hormones flying around =P.
Anyway, I was going to say that Luis (the teacher/sensei) said that there weren't any kids because until they're 12+ it's not that safe for them to practice (because their bones are still growing).
3) rewarding indeed. I'm happy! (see last post)
4) bad, bad pumpkin. You bad influence to little Jude.
5) definitely coming up. Anything in particular you'd like to know about?
6) "ciao" should always go with "bella". As in "ciao bella". Very cosmopolitan and complimentary!
ciao bellisimo!
I think the guys will be mighty embarassed if you waltz in to their changing room.
I've always noticed that martial-arts tends to attract guys who are totally oblivious to the girls in the class. They'd rather chat with the guys about then mix with the girls. (which is not to say that they aren't interested in girls; they're just not interested in the girls in class).
I'm not sure if it's because they are older and more mature...thought I can't think of an alternative reason
Hmm I don't think it goes to either extreme; they treat me really well although I should admit that there is a bit of a distance. But it's quickly diminishing, and that's good. I've always found guys to be a lot more fun to be around (and easier to understand too) than girls.
I'm not about to pull off the waltzing-in routine, never fear. Though I'm not self conscious at all, but of course THEY may be, and I have to respect that. I never change, myself, because I haven't bought the uniform yet. When I do, I'll see how to work it out.
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