she's back!!

Wow - it's been ages! I can't believe I forgot to keep this going!

Since the last post (not the Remembrance Day tune), well, a whole lot has happened!
I tended to write mostly about Kung-Fu, so I suppose I'll start there:

After training and the grading being pushed ahead, and then training and the grading being pushed ahead, I finally went for my black belt - and got it! That was over a year ago now... It was an awesome time and I would do it again in a heartbeat! It was exhausting, and nerve-wracking, and stressful and when it was all done, I sat in a corner and cried for a bit. Then, I got to sit on the back of my friend's truck and drink a corona and it was the most delicious beer I've ever had!

I hit a slump after that to say the least. Although I realize grading for a black belt only makes you a serious beginner (that is correct, it teaches you, like always, that you really suck and need to train more - that's the beauty of a belted system!) I found things getting political in our local school and then I got annoyed at pressures being put on without intention from any of the schools. Bottom line, I needed to step back. So step back I did. I think I'm gonna start training again now.

It's been the better part of a year since I've been away from the school, not due to politics but injury (more on that later). Being away reminded me of what I love most about Kung-Fu. At the end of it all, I miss my family and I miss having the group that hurts all the time as bad as I do (from being sore from training hard). I hope the by's are still training hard so that they can put me through hell when I go back. I also hope they don't bug me about being away. Nothing pushes me away like a guilt trip - hey I was raised catholic, ya know! I really miss the gang. A lot.

So, in my Ed. Leave, so to speak, I got into crossfit a bit deeper. Man, that shit is crazy and it's awesome and I LOVE it! I love never knowing what the next workout will be. I love going through the sites to choose exactly the right workout for the day, and I love how it makes me collapse at the end of it no matter what we did. I love that I'm physically getting stronger in ways I never thought possible and, well, obviously, I love how it makes me look physically the more I train. Granted, thanks to max lifts this past december, well, I went out of commission. On a max deadlift, I slipped a disc (partially slipped, I think) in my lower back. I am mostly recovered now. It's been 6 months of hell!!! I'm not one to complain of pain, but when my back was bugging me to the point where I thought it was either a glute or leg injury and I couldn't bend down to tie my shoes, I knew something was wrong. I went to my massage therapist and after a few treatments, we deduced what it was. I spent most of the winter swimming laps at the University's pool.

Swimming laps worked out well, and it was nice to go back to those roots as well. Unfortunately, I don't think much of the fast lane swimmers and I get frustrated in the medium lanes. It's amazing how cocky people can get and how rude others get. After about 3 months of training there, I was finally acknowledged - I felt like I was going into the wild and being accepted among a clan of chimps or something. Chumps, chimps, meh. No offense to them, well, maybe a little bit of offence. It's one thing to want a good workout. It's another thing altogether to be snobby for 3 months of swimming along someone who clearly does keep up just fine and follows proper pool etiquette. Regardless, they're nice to me now, but I don't swim there these days since I'm officially back to doing crossfit and also taking a boot camp with a gang of my coworkers. Starting to get back in shape. Kung-fu again soon, I think as well...

So, on top of all this drama, I also started taking my Masters in Education in Counselling Psychology. It's been a very very very tiring journey. I just finished course #4 this past Thursday night when I submitted my last paper. It was pretty cool to say the least to be done this one - that was the hardest course thus far by a long shot! My puppy (oh yeah, we got 2 dogs since I last wrote on here) had surgery on Friday, and I got to spend Saturday doing whatever I felt like doing all day long!!! I watched some random tv (which I haven't done much of lately), put on a cute little swimsuit, grabbed some beers, some tunes and a good book and read on the back deck for a good while - it felt SO GOOD to relax completely! I felt like I was back in the Dominican! Man, I hope to see more of that this summer!!!!

Major life events other than the last grading since I last posted (In no particular order):
-Got engaged to my chum!
-Got married!
-Bought a mini home
-Sold our mini home
-Bought a real house!
-Got a dog
-Got a 2nd dog.
-Had various other pets that eventually passed away (our rats are all dead as are the birds - the last of which was eaten by one of our dogs...... oops!)

wow - this is one domestic list! For what it's worth, babies are not in the 2-year plan. Not even sure if they're in the 5-year plan. Also, to help that list look a little less domestic (not that there's anything wrong with domestic), I am probably the only bride on this continent to ever do kung-fu forms in a wedding dress. Also, our house contains many many swords and other weapons, and our garage holds workout stuff and no car. There. I feel better.

Beyond that, life's pretty good. I find I've somewhat isolated myself this past year and I am definitely feeling pretty lonely because of it. Oddly enough, I've hit a point where I really need a lot of down time, me-time and space. At the same time, I really need people too. Gotta make more time to be social. I suppose that is one side effect of teaching full-time. You give of yourself all the time so sometimes it's nice to just be a hermit.

I will be posting more, I have lots of rants in me that need to be published somewhere.

That is all for now. Continue as if you were normal.
-the Awe-Struck-Ninja