Good times
Life goes on. Make sure you pay attention while it moves by - because everything going by? That's your life.

So I'm a little more pensive now, for some reason. Things have been going okay. I've gotten back in touch with a couple of the women who vanished mysteriously. Seems like they have just vanished from everyone, being busy with life. So I don't hate ALL women. Mostly. For now. But I think I'm still going to keep a good distance for the time being.

Work's been cool. Learning new stuff, starting to actually get opportunities to show my skills in various ways. I'm looking forward to making a difference. And my side business (which I'll just call "my business" from now on) is on the verge of a new development. I'm just finishing up a class I took online and over the phone that took two months. I'm quite excited to get moving onto the new stuff. I think it should be very interesting to see how it compares to how I've been doing so far.

And kung fu is excellent, of course. I've neglected to mention the fact that we have several people in our full contact class now, and that many of them (I think six) are actually competing in a tournament that's going to be on the weekend of the 11th. And Sihing? He's fighting the champion. But of course. So he'll be in the title match. Should definitely be interesting. I'll give more info as I find out. I'm not competing, myself, but I'm training with everyone. So my skills are coming back up to a decent level. It's been too long since I've really trained. I'm actually gaining muscle weight again.

That, and Sigung is coming! He'll be in this weekend. Buck Sam Kong. Sifu's Sifu. He'll be giving some workshops. Not just that - but I'll actually be having my next test. Under Sigung! That's right, it's my next level. Phase 2. Completion of the forms I've learned as a full group, with Sigung's blessing (if I pass). Next step is Phase 3, which only Sihing has completed. So if I can get that far, then I'll definitely have accomplished something big. For now, Phase 2 will do. Which is most likely going to require me to demonstrate Gung Gee for him. Which is STILL the hardest form I know. Ugh. But hopefully it'll go well.

And I've found something out interesting, in the lines of physical activity. I don't know how many of you have ever gone OUT to a movie with me. But I have a tendency to not walk down rows, having to avoid ten people's knees to get to my seat. No, I take the DIRECT path. Which is usually straight over the front rail. Occasionally over the first row of seats, as well. And sometimes, the top of that front rail is five feet off the ground or more. So vaulting it is not something seen too often. That type of stuff I do in lots of places, when I get the need or chance to. Well - I just found out that all of that has been categorized as a sport. Called Parkour. So since it's a sport, I'm going to have to learn the rest. The basics, since I appear to only practice some of the more advanced techniques. The basics are learning how to land properly (from a height), as well as learning how to roll correctly (which is used in conjunction with a landing from a higher height). Perhaps when I get a decent amount of practice down, I can get some video of it. Maybe put it on YouTube. Who knows.

Okay, more pensive stuff. I actually got this quote from a video I found about Parkour. But it works for anything. "We do not stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." I like that quote a lot. It makes me feel a little less guilty about enjoying getting a new toy or two every now and then.

Speaking of which - the car has been keeping the smile on my face. I've learned how to drive it a little more effectively. And I'm comfortable enough now with a manual gearbox to not panic too much when I pull away from a stop. Even at a slight incline. The thing that does worry me is how easily the thing can reach a three-digit speed. It feels almost casual. ALMOST. But not quite. The rush from hearing the engine scream as it climbs at that pace is unreal. I've had a few experiences already that are memorable. Most of which involved witnessing another silly driver driving by at a reckless rate of speed. Which, of course, made me curious to see just how fast they were driving. So I had to catch up. Which meant I had to go FASTER. Over the weekend there were three.

The first of these was a little white Japanese car - I think it might have been a Nissan. There were three or four guys in it, most likely teenage. It blew through the light traffic on the BA as I was headed west. So I latched on behind them, punched it up to around 99 or so and caught up. Just from watching, it was disturbing to see how bad of a driver the guy really was. He seemed to not have full awareness of his surroundings, as he was not exactly driving optimally. My exit was right around there, so I just punched it again and got out of there.

The second and third were both 4 wheel drive vehicles. I was taking a little road trip with Nick, going out to see what's south of Bixby. And I'll say this - it's really pretty! Especially in the fall. A good cruising road. On the way there, we were just pulling out of Bixby when we got behind an SUV. After Bixby, the speed limits go up a bit. The SUV picked it up speed and was going rather fast. The speed limit was about 65 (I think), and he was definitely going over that by more than 10. We just kept up with him, enjoying the scenery. Then we pulled through a little podunk town, with a speed limit around 35 or so. The SUV seemed to ignore it - perhaps he knew that there aren't any cops there, or something. I obeyed the limits of the city, and so he was way out in front when we got back out of the limits. I looked at Nick and said, "Let's catch up to him." It didn't take too long - I put the little Honda up to around 110 or so. Which is a record for me. And I'll say this - when you're going that fast with the top down, the wind noise is unreal. But the rush was crazy. Eh - I'm not TOO crazy. There weren't any other cars around, and it really was in the middle of nowhere.

The third one was a pickup on the way back. I had pulled behind a couple of slower cars, and was thinking about passing them when the truck blew by all of us at a crazy rate. So, of course, I had to catch up to him. I did about the same as I did the first time, and caught up without issue. I DID consider trying to pass him to see what he'd do, but I think there's a line around pushing the limit, and passing him would be crossing that line. But all in all, it was an eventful weekend, and I got my fix on seeing what hitting triple digits was like. I don't plan on making it a regular event, but it was definitely a rush. Although many bugs were killed in the process.

And now it's officially Halloween! Don't get scared. I went and saw Saw 3 over the weekend. The first Saw is actually very good, in my opinion. And 2 isn't too bad, either. 3 is probably not as good as either, but it wasn't BAD. Although I will say that all the gore the left out of the first one and the second one they put into the third one. And then doubled it, just to be sure. Yes, it's VERY gruesome and violent. One scene in particular made me a little perturbed, and it usually takes a good amount of gruesomeness to make me irked. This did it. So you're now warned. Although if you haven't seen the first Saw - I recommend it! It's a good Halloween flick. Most of the violence is implied but not shown. There IS some, but it's not overly done. I liked it mainly for the new angle they used. It's refreshing to see a new idea in an American horror movie. That doesn't happen much anymore.

Okay, enough blog for today. I need to get some sleep. Work in the morning, and such. But yes! Random linking first. The idea of superficial judgement turns my stomach. And the fact that I find myself doing it unintentially makes me sick, as well. I wish we didn't judge people on visual things. But it happens. And the images we're given don't help that. Oh! And bonus random link. Since I was looking for fun scenic routes to drive, I found one in particular. It's about 3 hours away, but if you're willing to do that drive (especially before fall's over), you might check it out.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 11:37 PM | 4 comments

 
Okay, so I vanished a bit
Call me distracted. I have been rather busy. That, and I'll admit a new obsession with a show called Top Gear. In fact, I was just watching an episode now. It's British TV. It actually has won an Emmy - so it's not a bad show at all. And it is all about CARS. It's quite fun. And how do I think it is? BRILLIANT. Here, let me share a few bits with you. They have full competition episodes that are broken into various parts, they have silly (and hilarious) episodes, fun comparison episodes, and of course, they have really bloody fast cars. Although, those cars may be insanely fast, there is one that's obscenely fast. And you wouldn't think it, looking at it. But oh yes - IT IS. While my car is very, very sweet - this last one here is oh so tempting. If I can get to where I can afford crazy toys that I really shouldn't get.

Although I will admit - I am totally enamored with my Honda. And yes, it's been on Top Gear, as well. In a bit of a fun comparison episode. But what about what I think of driving it? It's unlike anything I've ever been in. I can't help put have a stupid grin every time I get behind the wheel. Which is pretty much daily. I have, indeed, broken the 600 mile "break-in" requirement, which means I was able to push the RPM to the redline, into VTEC land. Although I'll admit - I couldn't quite make it to 600. Maybe it was a little closer to, oh, 510. And I took Justin (Sihing) out for a drive. And breaking into that VTEC was a rather sensual experience. There's just something about hearing the engine rev to a point that you think you NEED to shift, then letting it continue for another 3000 revs before shifting is insane. Basically - when the engine hits 6000 RPM, the Honda turns into a RACE CAR. Seriously. The only problem is (and I'll quote something I read somewhere for this), once you hit the VTEC, you go from 0 to illegal in very little time. So it's only something that's able to be consumed in bite-sized pieces. But perhaps that's what makes it so much more... LUSCIOUS.

And how's it handle? Like it's glued to the road. Take a 90 degree turn at 30 miles per hour, and the tires don't even squeak. It's just like the car's saying, "Okay." Where if I tried that with my Chevy, the car would be saying, "holy crAP ARE YOU INSANE!" I am very happy with the new toy.

So what else? Work has been definitely keeping me busy. Getting more to do, although I like it that way. Kung fu is continuing as usual - slap on some lion dance practice and restarting full contact training, and yeah, I'm a LITTLE busier than I have been. Plus more sore, somehow. And this last weekend was more loaded than normal. I went to a martial arts tournament for under 18 students to help judge. It was definitely educational, and rather fun. Sifu said it was about time I start getting seen around the martial arts world more, so it's time to go help at tournaments. It was good.

That, and my family's all out of town this last weekend, so I had to stay at the house and dogsit. With FOUR dogs. All of which missed the folks, I think - which means I got no real sleep at all. Grr! They're cute and all, but after they jump on you two thousand times and take a crap in the living room AFTER you just let them in from being outside (to, oh, maybe, take a crap?) and make all sorts of noises ALL NIGHT LONG, you get a little tired of it, somehow. Yes, he really did crap in the living room. So yeah, I didn't get enough sleep, and it's been pretty much like that for a while, now.

Random quality humor photo montage:


So that's been pretty much it. That, and me being sick of women. I think I might turn chauvinist for a while, just because I'm tired of their CRAP. Which, things being as they are, would probably attract hordes of females. Basically, you can add a couple more to my list of females who simply stop communicating with me. Suddenly. For no explained reason. No, I didn't go out and insult their weight, or eating habits, or even try telling them something like, "Boy, you're cranky - you must be PMSing!" No, I've been fairly cordial. But I seem to have somehow aquired an anti-mojo. Which is like mojo, but works in the reverse fashion. Maybe I need to just find a way to pass on my antimojo to some other unsuspecting chap (hmm - chap? perhaps a little too much Top Gear). Then I'll have my old lovely mojo back, and have the five-woman minimum that I used to have. All lovely ladies just aching to spend time with little ol' me. No such luck nowadays. I'll just have to give them up and spend time making oodles of money, driving excellent vehicles with my pimpin' shades on, enjoying playing guitar and singing, and keeping in tiptop physical condition whilst learning how to kick ass. Oh well.

Okay - so that's been a good catchup blog, I think. But of course, there's more! How about random YouTube links? Instead of just Top Gear? Might as well suck all their bandwidth while you can - who knows what Google will do now that they're in control. For now, enjoy some fairly random videos. Funny stuff, music, destruction of childhood dreams, and a Google video about the one guy who kicks more ass than ANYONE.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 10:37 PM | 3 comments

 
And yes, the birthday was excellent
So my birthday was yesterday. Yes, I am now older, according to the silly calendar year we adhere to, according purely to the number of revolutions around the large star in the middle of our solar system that our planet circles. That was a long sentence. Yeah - the birthday was quite good. I spent some time with the family, had some kung fu in the morning. And at night I had a surprise visit from some old friends. Bret and Kimberly! I haven't seen them in a long time, and it was good to hang out with them. I got cake and ice cream, and even some gifts. Random things from Bret, which isn't surprising. Indeed. Dolphin-shaped light bulb, flash cards about the presidents, 2006 calendar of Pope John Paul II. And Pepsi, which is always good. It was good times.

So what did I do during the day? Here, this is a little hint:




Oh, and for a more thorough view you can download a bit of footage I shot here (be warned, it's a 9 MB file).

The glorious Honda S2000. Yes, a 2007 model. It's my dream car. And it's sitting in my garage. I'm still in disbelief. I drove it all weekend, which took getting used to. It's my first standard transmission, so it has taken some learning. I will admit, I've killed it a couple of times. Yes, the first time was AT the dealership. Which was funny, but okay. Two more times when I was parking and forgot to take it out of gear. So it just died in the parking space, which isn't bad. But so far (crossing fingers) it hasn't died IN traffic.

So so far I've got about 200 miles. Most of that came from driving it back from Bartlesville. But I've driven around town a bit. I have a bit of a sunburn from it. And wind burn, probably. I'll admit - the more I drive it, the more I love it. I know it has a lot of power under the hood I haven't felt yet, but I have a respect for an engine like that. So in time. For now, I'm taking it very easy.

I will say I drove my other car (which I'm keeping), the Monte Carlo, around a bit tonight. My parents told me that I'll feel the difference right away, and they were right. I had spent so much time getting acclimated to the Honda, I had forgotten how my Chevy drove. And I did find myself pressing for the clutch a couple of times. When I floored it to get on the freeway, it made me laugh. It felt like it was trying, but just wasn't really grabbing the road. And the first turns I took I was pushing the car a little harder than I realized - that is to say, almost TOO hard. In the Honda it felt natural. And like it was a casual turn. In the Chevy, it was almost like it was shrieking at me, "What are you DOING?" And I'll say that I have NOT floored the Honda yet. I'm waiting until after the break in period. The break in recommendation is 600 miles before pushing it beyond 5500 RPM. Yes, that's correct - 5500. It redlines at 8000 RPM. The VTEC kicks in around 6000 RPM. The handling is unreal. It just picks up and goes wherever you point it. Yes, indeed - it is LUSCIOUS. And hella fun.

I'll be driving my Chevy to work for the most part - I can't handle the idea of putting the Honda in rush hour yet, or trying to park it in a packed parking lot. But I'll definitely be taking it out a bit at night.

Anyway, I'm quite happy about it, in case you haven't figured that out. It's the first sports car I've ever driven, much less owned. It IS my dream car, and I've been planning on getting a new car for a while. It just happened to work out that the time that I could do it landed on my birthday. And I'll happily share it with anyone who wants to check it out. Oh, I'LL be driving. But taking a spin is never a problem. (And sorry, but I won't drive multiple states just so you can see it.) I'll admit - it's a very pricey toy. But MAN. What a fun toy it is.

That's been taking most of my time lately. Working, kung fu, and getting ready for this last weekend. Oh! I did almost forget a little detail. I'll share this. 'Cause it's FUNNY. So I was driving around in front of the kwoon (kung fu) after dropping off Cory, who came with me to Bartlesville. You know, checking out the clutch, the feel of the transmission. Feeling it out. Well, there was this red Eclipse parked in the lot. It just sat there as I drove around. There were people in it. So after I drove around a while, I stopped by them to ask what they were up to. It was a couple of girls, and the driver talked to me. She said they were going to leave, but they saw me driving around and were trying to figure out if it I was going to sell the car, if I was test driving it, or if I owned it. We talked a bit about this and that, and I continued with my testing of the vehicle in the parking lot. (A large EMPTY parking lot, just so you know. Except for that Eclipse.) And after a little while longer, the girl stops me. I don't remember exactly how it went, but essentially she said, "I'll be out of town during the week doing some training for my job, but I'm here on weekends." And then she handed me a piece of paper. With her name on it. And her PHONE NUMBER. Yes, that's right. I hadn't even gotten HOME yet, and already this car had landed me some digits. Sure, she might be a gold digger, but it's pretty funny. I went ahead and gave her mine, since I'm very skeptical about someone sharing digits purely because of the vehicle they drive, so I probably won't call her anytime soon. But hey, if she wants to call me, then let it be. It cracked me up, though.

So yeah - it's been a good weekend. I'm tired, for some reason. I think I'm going to have some lovely ice cream that Kimberly gave me, maybe watch part of a movie (I wish I had a copy of Ronin right now...), and then sleep HARD. Thanks to everyone who wished me happy birthday on either MySpace, Facebook, or in person - all the details helped make it an awesome birthday. Yes, even completely excluding the CAR, it was an awesome birthday.

So time for random links! A video my friend Bret shared with me that I found rather funny. It's longer, but it's worth it for one video shot they got that was awesome. It has to do with how silly some speed limits are. And then I found a bunch of fun things with Google Maps. There are a variety of things. Well, I'm a fan of Escher, but seeing it on maps kind makes me feel woozy. Apparently the iPod has had more of an impact than people realize. Versailles is cool - did you ever notice the stick figure that is visible from above? Look carefully, and see if you can see him smiling at you. And to finish - I think Google Maps still has a few bugs in it.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 10:37 PM | 0 comments