It's BROKEN
Yeah, this last week just hasn't been so great. Well, the week from Wednesday a week ago to this last Wednesday. A few things happened. Not so happy things. For one, I did buy Fearless, which is awesome. But! The disc was bad! It was broken. So I have to wait for a replacement. Thankfully, the guy I bought it from said he'd send a free replacement. So that's good.

And my ICQ account got hacked. It's broken! I had a horrid, horrid password on it, and someone cracked it. So if you got any rude messages from me on ICQ, you can ignore it. I'm thinking about trying to hack it back, but it'd require using tools I prefer not to dirty my hands with. We'll see.

Oh, and I got a nasty ear infection. It hurt my ear. And my eardrum? It's broken! That's right. I took a day off of work (from lack of sleep and stress), and THAT NIGHT I wanted to get extra sleep. So I hit the hay and then promptly at 1 my ear starts hurting. I couldn't sleep until around 5. If you've heard that ear infections are painful, then you heard right. You might know that I take kung fu. I think I may have mentioned it. And when it comes down to it - between the ear infection and taking a punch to the face, I'd prefer the punch to the face. I finally fell asleep, though, and went to the doctor the next day. The blood on my pillow in the morning wasn't a good sign, and the doctor made a comment about me deciding to put off going to the doctor. I told him that I didn't notice any ear pain/discomfort until that previous night, and he told me that my eardrum had popped. So it means it sounds like I have a pillow against my head all the time, and it FEELS plugged. It's not happy. In the past couple of days I've started to hear a little better, but I'm hearing extra pitches on top of the other ones (and all of them at reduced volume). It's starting to drive me crazy.

Yeah, I'm on antibiotics, but it's just to prevent reinfection. And it doesn't really hurt anymore, it's mostly annoying. You don't appreciate a lot of things as much as you do after they're broken. I can add my hearing to that list, now.

So lots of broken things. Bleah. But in other news, there's some happy stuff. I replaced my amp! I spent a little more than I intended, but I managed to get a great deal, so that did it for me. I got a Crate amp, a little block of power called (ironically enough) the PowerBlock. And that's just an amp, no speakers included (it's just a head), so I had to get a cabinet to go along with it. I found a used cabinet, and the guy at Guitar Center made me a great deal for both of them put together, so I had to get it. The only thing is that this cabinet is a little big. It's hard to move, as it weighs more than half my weight. But at least it has wheels. And the saddest part was that I picked up both the day AFTER my eardrum broke. So I couldn't really check it out properly. But I have played a bit on it, and it is luscious. I haven't even pushed it, but it can pump out some serious volume. I'm sure my neighbors love me more than ever.

In kung fu news, today we had testing. A few more people tested, and I got to help out. It's always cool to see how much people have progressed, and there were a few that were definitely noticeable in their improvements. It's rewarding. The crazy thing is seeing people lose serious weight and start having a substantial amount of increased energy. One student in particular has lost over 25 pounds since he started. And considering he's changed a lot of his weight to muscle (which weighs more than fat), that means he's actually lost a lot more than just that. He's looking a lot healthier than when he began. And we had another student test in Gung Gee today! Gung Gee is the first truly advanced form. It's over three hundred moves, and it's not easy. He did it, although he still has some room for improvement. I helped him with his self-defense, though, and he did smack me pretty nicely. As well as kicking through four boards. Sifu was smart enough to recommend I put on some headgear we have that has a facemask over it. I'm glad he said so, because when the student (named Truman) kicked through the four boards, large chunks of them hit me in the face. He did well, though.

I also got to help a new student start today. The main reason I helped him is because he speaks hardly any English. I must admit, my Spanish has been improving, because I do use it on a regular basis to help teach kung fu. He did well, and he got to experience the pain that is the horse stance. He smiled when he realized how much the stances can hurt, which is a good sign. If you smile at pain, you're probably good for kung fu.

Okay - it's quite late, so I should get some sleep. Before continuing more kung fu in the morning. Random link time! I have a nice one today. It's political in nature. Did you ever see Superman II? Then you'll appreciate this potential for our future.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 2:22 AM | 1 comments

 
It's late and I'm sleepy
Yes, sleepy. I have been losing sleep periodically over the past week and a half. It's because I'm a busy guy. What can I say?

So I thought I'd write a bit of blog before crashing to bed tonight. I've decided to get back into guitar a little more. The whole thing with me changing choirs has helped spawn some of it. I learned how to play a new song! Actually, an old song (the second one on their playlist). It's a good song.

Lately I've been a teacher a lot. Guitar for one, and kung fu for another. And also my side business stuff - I help teach people on a forum I use. But tonight was a big kung fu night for me, for teaching. I taught two classes. The beginner class first, which was pretty big, and then the intermediate/advanced class. Normally Cory handles warmups for the first class, but he seems to have injured his eye at a tournament this last weekend. So I took both warmups. There are several crunches, pushups, that type of thing in our warmups. I got extra tonight, which might be why I'm especially exhausted. But I think I taught a few people some good stuff. I felt useful, which is a good feeling for me.

Yes, there was a tournament this last Saturday. I actually competed in it, in the forms competition for adult black belts. Sifu was a judge, and he gave me a 9.8 (which is quite good). However, it was a karate tournament, and karate judges tend to not like kung fu as much. I got 9.5s across the board from the rest of the judges. I had several complements on my form, so I think I did okay. A few people made the comment that I got robbed, but it's okay. Maybe I should make up a karate tournament-ready form. One that involves a lot of screaming, jumping, and kicking above the head. Since it appears that's what it takes to get good points. Not that it has anything to do with actual EFFECTIVE manuevers. Eh, I'll just keep working on improving my forms.

Speaking of tournaments, there's another one coming up this next weekend. A big one, in Plano (by Dallas). Sifu's going, Cory's going. I was thinking of going to support, but Sifu made the comment that perhaps I should compete. I don't know if I should - I'm almost burnt out, and I think it might be an idea to take a weekend off. Imagine that. It's something I have to figure out, since it seems lately I've been around kung fu more than Sihing, so Sifu seems to be counting on me more. I respect him, so I try to help him where I can. I'm just trying to figure out if this is something I need to do or not. It'd be a four hour drive each way, leaving Friday night, coming back Sunday evening. A bit of cost for gas and hotel. I guess I'll have to sleep on that one.

Okay - random interjection of something funny. If you're a nerd, you'll find this funny. If you're a bilingual nerd, you'll find it especially funny. It's fitting with the latest pirate craziness. (Although I STILL don't especially like the new movie.)

In 1588, invasion was beginning.
Drake : Ahoy, me hearty! What happen?
Mariner #1: Oh my! Somebody set up us the invasion.
Mariner #2: We get flag signal.
Drake : What!
Mariner #2: Main mast turn on.
Drake : It's you!
Pedro de Valdes : Como estáis vosotros caballeros!
Pedro de Valdes : Toda vuestra flota está perteneciendo a nosotros.
Pedro de Valdes : Estáis en su camino a vuestra destrucción.
Drake : What you say, matey?
Pedro de Valdes : Joer! Que no tenéis oportunidad de sobrevivir hagad vuestro tiempo
Pedro de Valdes : Ja Ja Ja Ja....
Mariner #1: Well, I never!
Mariner #2: Captain!
Drake : Avast mateys!! Take off every galeon!
Drake : Yarr!! You know what you doing.
Drake : Move cannons.
Drake : For great justice.
Drake : ARRR!

Oh yeah, good stuff. In other news, I've started learning Tai Chi. I'm adding it to my skills to balance out kung fu. Soft and hard, yin and yang. So forth. It's very interesting! It's similar to kung fu, but at the same time, VERY different. I think it'll help me learn a lot more, though. I was influenced to start learning by a particular gentlemen who gave a workshop a few weeks back. Yes, the one who made me spin around on the floor many times. You can get an idea of what he does here. And although it might look almost fake, the guys he's playing with are not faking it, believe me. It's a lot easier to believe it when you're the one he's throwing around. I'm starting to learn from Sifu, but in time I'll be visiting him to get additional training. Good stuff, indeed.

Oh! Related to kung fu, there's a movie coming out. September 22nd in the U.S. It's with a certain fellow named Jet Li. You may have heard of him. This is his last martial arts movie. Not his last movie, just his last martial arts epic film. I think it looks quite good. You can check for yourself. (Although I think this trailer is better.) And yes, I'll be going to see it midnight on release (or earlier). But you know what? I'm too impatient, and the movie looks TOO GOOD. So I bought it. Yes, that's right. I went ahead, found it on DVD (online), and bought it. It's on its way. The movie was already released in China a while back, so it's out on DVD there - it's legit. I'm going to have a good kung fu movie night when I get it, so if you're interested, let me know. It will be luscious!

Goodness! That's a lot of stuff to write about. And I wanted to make it quick. Oh well. Seems I already put a lot of links in today. But I still have a RANDOM link! Again, one that I got from Nick. He's just full of splendid randomness. Did you ever play Pac-Man? Probably. Did you like it? Probably at least a little. Were you good at it? Did you learn the tricks to playing? It's a complicated game, you know. Don't worry, there are some people who can help you out. Oh! Bonus link. I want this.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 12:26 AM | 5 comments

 
An interesting weekend
Yes, it was definitely an interesting weekend. For starters, I ended up spending a chunk of money unexpectedly. One part of the chunk was to fix my car (again). Silly water pump went out, so my coolant would simply squirt everywhere while the car was running. Took care of that and the fan belt, changed the oil, everything's better now. Although it did take a nice slice of cash to do it. Bleah. Oh well.

I also spent a chunk of money on a new vacuum. I don't actually own a vacuum. I DO own a steam cleaner. Go figure. But yes, the vacuum is quite lovely. Sihing has connections, got one for a very small amount, so I bought it from him for about $100 under the retail price. And it's the ideal vacuum for me. It fits my laziness and my geekiness all at once! Why do I think that? You'll understand, after you see the vacuum.

I've used it a few times. I think it cleaned out things from my carpet that were there before I moved in. It's quite effective, I was impressed. I couldn't stop watching it the first time, it's hypnotic. But my carpet's now cleaner than it's ever been.

So in other news, I took my guitar out to my patio on Saturday. I usually do that on weekends if the weather's nice. Sit on the patio and sip a Pepsi while I get some sun and make some sounds. Hopefully pleasant ones. Well, I was playing, and a neighbor of mine in the building next door saw me as she walked back from the pool. She didn't recognize me at first, then realized I was someone she had met a few days before. She made a comment that, "You SO need to come out to the pool and play for us!" So I went ahead and did that. Got to meet some people, and got a decent number of complements on my playing, which was cool. I need to learn more songs. I also got to meet a guy there who said he was opening up a new bar, and was interested in getting some acts to play for Monday and Tuesday. He said he wanted something a little more laid back, and my style fit very well with what he was looking for. So he basically offered me a position, which is cool. It'd be in a few months. But I think that it'd be fun.

And as I was headed out to church, I had another neighbor stop me and tell me she liked my guitar playing. She lives underneath me, and she said that her 5 year old granddaughter visits on weekends. She said her granddaughter would comment, "I hear the music!" And she'd open her patio door so they could hear me play. She said they liked it, that she thought I was quite good. So that made me smile, and I was happy to hear that my playing actually got heard and appreciated.

Church went well, the music was good. We've got a new guitarist, a young guy. He's only been playing about three years, but he's very good. Practices around 3 or 4 hours a day. Doing that tends to make you good. Ironically, after getting complements throughout the weekend, I had a conversation about a request for me to STOP playing. I had been thinking about it, but looks like I won't be playing at Newman for too much longer. I've been there for ten years now, and I think it's time to move on. I am curious to find out what the difference will be like, and if people will notice. I might take a break, go to a different church, see if I can find someplace that can use a guitarist.

Afterwards I gave my friend Andrew his first guitar lesson. He's a good guy, and he's excited to start playing. I think he'll do well. He picked up a lot in one day, and I think he'll advance fast. I guess we'll find out in time.

And a random bit of info - seems like my kung fu/tai chi developed strength is getting out of hand. I successfully destroyed not one, but TWO articles of clothing this weekend. The first was one of my kung fu shirts. It had a bit of a hole in the armpit area. But when I was taking it off, I guess I pulled a little too hard and the whole thing just tore apart. On some level it made me feel more manly, but it sucked that I ruined the shirt. Then the next day I was taking some trash to the dumpster, and when I was coming back, I walked too close to the edge of it. It caught the edge of my pants. Now I'm thinking most people would have their pants caught and it would stop them from moving too fast. Not me, apparently. I just kept walking without even noticing that I was moving and my pants were NOT. Tore three large rips in the pants leg, almost split it neatly in half. It's too bad, too. I liked those pants.

Hopefully I won't be tearing apart too many more bits of clothing. If I start ripping shirts or pants when I take them off on a regular basis, it might be time to either start wearing button-ups more, or just find stronger clothes.

So yeah, definitely an interesting weekend. This week might be just as interesting, who knows - we'll see. For now? Random link! This is one my friend Nick sent me. It's quite cool, and I can't help but watch it over and over again. It might be the musician in me, but it might be just that it's SO COOL.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 12:21 AM | 1 comments

 
4th of July!
Yes, technically, it's the 4th. The remembering of our country being founded as its own entity. Well, its own country. Sadly, I think the birth of our country and its 230th birthday mark two very different entities. I say sadly because lately, it has been kind of sad. But I don't like talking about politics, so I'll stop there.

Hmm, it's still been a bleah sort of week. I had yet another single friend (one of the few left) go unsingle on me. So trying to find single friends to hang out with (of either gender) is a challenge. I should take it as a glass is half full sort of way, and think that to conquer such a challenge is a glorious event to strive for. But eh, I'm just sick of having no friends that I don't have to share at every moment. And double negatives always make things more confusing.

So Sifu's going to be gone another week, looks like me and Sihing are splitting classes to take over for Sifu. I do enjoy teaching classes, though. I get to put my own flavor on things, and try helping people understand a little better. Plus the bonus of picking my own self-defense techniques to teach is always fun. I'm working on updating the web page, we'll finally have something up a little cleaner. I just need to finish the graphical side of things. And we might just put up some videos, too. Some good videos. I'm voting to put up one of Shannon laying some waste during his sparring competition at our last tournament. That one should be good. I'll set up the link when I get it done.

The whole mystery of human relations has been on my mind lately. I've been thinking of how it seems to be that confidence is one of the most attractive traits a person can have. It's true, and it definitely helps. But oddly, one of the other most attractive traits is a significant other. At least for women. It's one of those catch-22 things, that you don't have it until you don't need it anymore. Like a new job, credit card offers, etc. Most of the people who get attention are the people who actually are dating someone. And the ones who WANT to date someone are the ones who never get attention. Partly tied into the confidence bit, since your confidence jumps when there's someone you know thinks the world of you, and drops when no such person exists in your life. I think it lures women partially because a LOT of women like a challenge. And a confident taken guy is the ideal challenge. You know I'm right. How twisted is that?

Personally, I'd like to find (someday) a woman who is not looking for that type of guy. Thankfully I'm okay being single right now. What I WANT is just some friends I can hang with that don't come with an attachment to make me feel like a third wheel. Maybe I'll find a woman who can beat the crap out of me. That would satisfy me in multiple ways, oddly. I never thought of myself as into S&M in any way, but a woman who excels in fisticuffs becomes more attractive to me, for some reason. Maybe it's just late and my head's on a little loose tonight.

So in guitar news, I sold my amp. Back to the guy I bought it from, ten years ago. It's a little sad, I'll miss that amp. But he actually plays in live sets, and I think he could really use it better than me. I just used it to jam in my apartment, and occasionally took it elsewhere for public exhibition purposes. So I might need to get a new amp. I'm using my first little Peavey right now, and playing on it again makes me realize how crappy it really is. I think it might be time to get my new hard drives hooked up so I can start recording music digitally again, without having to worry about amp quality.

And it's early in the holiday morn, so I should get to sleep to be ready for my big day of goofing off. So that means random link time! I have two today. Well, the first one is sort of two. See, it has to do with this lovely organization everyone should be a part of. And within this organization, there's one rather new individual who you should keep watch on - trust me, he'll shake things up a bit here, sometime soon. Perhaps today. And my second link is closer to my computer nerd side. I've learned most of the languages used on computers, including nasty ones like FORTRAN, Eiffel and even assembly language. But I still have not learned other things such as COBOL, Erlang, and this lovely language. Maybe I should.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 1:03 AM | 3 comments