Reading is fundamental. And fun. And mental.

My good friend over at www.thefightworkspodcast.com asked me if I would write up a review for the tournament I was in last week. So if you are interested in my impression and experience you can read it here: http://thefightworkspodcast.com/2009/03/31/2009-pan-american-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-championships/
Me, Fabio Santos, Alex Brandao

Broc Glover's Breathe Easy Ride for Cystic Fibrosis 2009

Last year I went with my friend MM to a charity ride/event for ex pro motocross racer Broc Glover, whose 10 year old son was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. I rode the supermoto as it was pretty new in the US at the time and had a great time, though freezing.

So when MM had acquired a new to him Ducati Monster 800 and I had my new to me FZR 400 we decided to do the event again and donate some of our time and money to help develop a cure for cystic fibrosis.

I won 5 dvds, 3 shirts, 2 hats and 3 gift certificates for 30-40% off from different vendors. Lunch was also catered In-N-Out Burger and salad from BJ's and all the Hansen's Soda I could drink.

The ride was again a little chilly and again around Palomar Raceway, errr Mountain and the surrounding area. There were sport bike, cruiser and dual sport routes to follow and MM and I chose the sport route.

One third up the mountain the electrics on my 20 year old bike crapped out and stranded me. Thankfully the ride had provided for free roadside assistance and I eventually made it back home with my bike, thanks to San Diego Motorcycle Towing.

The day had its ups and downs, but it was for charity and I saw many rare and unique motorcycles. The legends available for autographs were great and I finally got to meet Wayne Rainey (a childhood racing hero of mine) for the first time ever in my life.

Various Pictures of the Event:

international monday

vietnam-the family of barbers who buzzed me for my haircut today. very nice and only $8 before tip. quite talkative and quite the characters. the matriarch was very detailed in telling me how she colors other women's hair my natural color but that it is soooooo hard to do and rarely comes out exactly like mine looks. i'm sure they kept a big chunk of my hair to use as a color sample.

italy-pizza for lunch.

mexico-this one is not so funny or cute. my house keeper told me today of her cousin who was murdered last week in TJ and his family's fear and planned flight to the US. he was murdered by the Zetas or Pelonis, two cartels from different parts of MX trying to win the turf war now that the Gulf/Arellano cartel is no longer top dog.
he was kidnapped, his family would not pay the ransom, so they shot him execution style, cut out his tounge, cut off his penis and placed it in his mouth and then burned him. due to the nature of whats happening there is more to the story, but this is all i will write here.

Pan American Brazilian Championship 2009

Quarter Finals-Rowdy vs Ralph Gracie Student: Rowdy by points
Semi Finals-Rowdy vs guy from Delaware : Rowdy by advantage
Finals-Rowdy vs winner of other bracket: other guy by submission

So there you have it, I placed second in the Pan American BJJ Championships. Easily the biggest thing I have ever been in.

I worked so hard, for so long I really am happy to have this result. (though it was tempered by knowing it is yet ANOTHER 2nd place medal to add to the pile, though for a national level comp)

All of my fights were hard, I was able to listen to Fabio and do what he asked me to do in each fight.

Forgive me for geeking out, but I felt like Han Solo at the end of Star Wars when they put my medal around my neck!

So here are some pics of the event...
I was on top and in control most of the time. Always able to pass the guard, which I did pretty soon after this

Like I said, I had presence of mind to listen to Fabio during my matches

This is my FAVORITE picture from the event

Could I be smiling any more? I felt like a rockstar on the podium with like 20 people taking my picture!

Thank you to Caleb at www.thefightworkspodcast.com for keeping me "in the know" with BJJ podcasts and always listening and talking to me about jiu jitsu. (Heal up good man!)
Thank you to everyone at Fabio Santos Academy for helping me train, my privates with M., K., and lately with D. and of course Professor Santos!
And greatest thanks to D.D.B for giving me the opportunity to train, focus, cross train and be single minded in accomplishing my goals. I could do nothing without you!

Rowdy B. 2nd place S1 <141lbs blue belt
Pan American Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championships

11:00 news, the AM version

Today is a 'rest' day for me, so not much going on with me. Keeping you up to speed with me, here is what is going on:
1.Broc Glover Breathe Easy ride for Cystic Fibrosis this weekend in Temecula. I will be going with MM. He will be on his Ducati and I will be on my FZR400, sporting the classic sportbike. Charity and motorcycles, gotta love it!

2. Pan Ams tomorrow, so I am doing anything NOT to think of brazilian jiu jitsu today. I got off my diet for 2 days and I am .5 of a pound off. So today I am having 4 or 5 bottles of Ensure and that is it. 7 guys in my division and I did not get the 1st round bye. I will have my results up Saturday night as my match(es) are in the morning so I should be home around 5pm easy.

3. Got the time off for the World Superbike race at Miller in Utah. Go Ben Spies!! That will be an awesome race to see and be at. The only stop in the US. And you know he is gonna win it!

4. Researching a trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia. To be taken probably in October.

5. Getting ready for spring break in San Diego with J, K and M.

There you have it, the top 5 Rowdy News items at 11:00 today. Maybe there will be a breaking news flash later. Stay tuned!

2nd Biggest Loser?!?!?

To help me stay in shape and to try something different, I have been going to a 0600 bootcamp style exercise thingy. They weigh and measure you in the beginning and at the end, so see where you have gained and lost inches, your weight and your body fat.

I started at 143lbs and 9% body fat. Well now I am 135lbs and 7% body fat. Here I am in this class of old ladies and overweight people for the most part and I, probably the fittest and lightest, have made greater losses (or gains depending on your perspective) than any of them but one?!?!?!

How wrong is that? Once again though it goes back to what I said last week, "trying is failing, DOING is succeeding." They are 'trying' and I am 'doing'.

I do wish it was summer though, as I am looking great and I want to be at the beach!!!

"that's some Jerry Springer right there!"

Everyone has a family and everyone thinks their family is crazy/messed up/super funny/odd or whatever.

Check mine....................

A relative J1, was married to R1 and they had some children together. They divorced and R1 married G1. R1 and G1 had children together, step brothers to my cousins (the children of J1 and R1).

Well, now J1 is getting married, for the 13th time to a child of the R1 and G1 union. So J1 is marrying one of her children's stepbrothers.

Top that.
PS-J1's mother, my grandma, is also dieing of a brain tumor.

humanity

I was listening to a radio program on XM radio about the Unibomber's brother, David and his work with his brother's victims. It restored my belief in humanity and the compassion and forgiveness inherent in humanity.

I disagree with his view of capital punishment, I am for it, but his sense of forgiveness and responsiblity is inspiring.

a killer weekend with 'the warthog'

Friday
2200-arrived and gave him "How to win any argument" book as a gift for debate
Saturday
0730-hiking up Cowles Mountain
1000-brazilian jiu jitsu class
1130-releasing 'Godzilla' back into the wild so he could be with his family and be free (guilt will keep me from ever having a pet just for my own pleasure for any length of time)
1200-pizza at Oggi's
1300-new dress clothes for debate nationals in Alabama
1400-finishing all the cable installs for the new tv and such (K learned how to use a dremel)

1500-showed him basic car maintenance and repair
1600-mixed martial arts and extreme sports expo at Del Mar

1800-diner at the Crab Hut
1930-dessert at Fiji yogurt and board games
2000-watching Traitor on dvd

Sunday
0900-sleep in, breakfast of fresh muffins
1000-church, where they really involved him
1300-more pizza for lunch
1400-playing rummy
1500-goodbyes at the airport

trying vrs doing

I've heard it said before, "Trying is failing, doing is succeeding."

Monday I have a meeting with an admissions person to get into the EMT-B (Emergency Medical Technician-Basic) program and one of the tech/vocational schools here in San Diego.

8 weeks of classes, $1,000 and a few clinical days later I am able to take the national test. Then hopefully I have a freaking job doing it! If not, I'll just add it to the resume for reapplication to PA school in September.

No matter what, I'll come out OK.

Pet Shop Boy

Well, not really. That was somewhat of a misleading title to this entry. But it is about animals.

When people get to know me, three things really seem to stand out as something I lacked growing up.
1. I have never been to Disneyland. Or any theme park other than Sea World. (and my first time at one of those I was in my 20's)
2. I didn't know how to swim until last year when I took private lessons with a UCSD triathlete for a few months. Now I can actually swim swim rather than dog paddle.
3. I never really had a pet growing up. At least not in the traditional sense. I have pictures of me riding horses as a kid and playing with dogs, but they were never mine, always other family members.

As a little tyke, I liked sharks, monsters and dinosaurs. Not exactly the easiest things to find at the pet store. My parents had a few dogs when we were younger and those I think really soured me on animals.

Bullet was a reject police dog German Shepard that chased us, bit us, ran away and killed the neighbor's sheep. Kanuk was our second dog and I'm not sure what he was but he was white and reminded me of sled dogs, Kavik and other Jack London tales. He bit one of my cousins in the face very viciously so my aunt shot him with a shotgun and killed him.

Living on the Lost River in southern Oregon I caught fish, frogs, tadpoles and turtles but they were all short term projects. When we moved to Montana I bought a kitten from a grade school teacher but he ran away. His name was Peter and staying true to his name liked living at a church rather than our garage.

My sisters were able to have dogs and cats but they were "responsible" whereas I was not. So my pleas off and on for a pet went unheeded. So my childhood was without the lesson learned nurturing and caring for animals. It was catching bees and throwing them at people on the playground, burning ants with a magnifying glass, catching fish to eat, shooting robins and such with my BB gun. Normal boy in the wild fare.

Then we got ducks. Yes, ducks. Somehow, someway we were able to convince our mom that ducks were the pets for us to have! So we got little duck chicks at the farm and ranch store and took them home. Soooo cute. We would fill up our little red wagon with water and take them on "walks" around the block. Heck, I even took them to school once for show and tell. Want a recipe for pandemonium in a 3rd grade class room? Bring 2 young white ducks to show and tell. One of the little girls freaked and dropped one and the other got away and then it was pure bedlam. Kids yelling, ducks pooping, ducks running and squawking, kids running and squawking. We let them fend for themselves while we went on vacation and the ate up our whole garden. Mom was not happy. So we released them into the wild at the pond where I fished and they just did their natural duck thing.

Everyone once in a while I would get nostalgic about this all and think about getting a pet, realizing I am somewhat more responsible now. I enjoy animals beyond eating them and wearing them. I have many fond memories of animals as I have never been attacked by anything, unlike my brother. I've seen bear, cougar, salmon, sharks, dolphins, bald eagles and other in real life, up close and in their habitat.

But I have never had a pet. Taking care of my neighbor's rabbits for a week is as close as I've gotten in the past 8 years.

So what should I see when I walked in the front door this afternoon but this:

My wild little kid version of me who's only rules growing up were to not whine about stuff and be home by dark, kicked in and quickly turned the situation into this:

A few minutes of scrounging in the garage and yard and I had a pretty good little terrarium built:

Anyone happen to know what kind of lizard I caught? edit: it is an adult male Southern or San Diego Alligator Lizard.

One reason I have an AMAZING life

It is March, technically still winter, and I was able to lay out on the hammock and type a 2 page outline for my fiction novel and begin the prologue.

Nice.

yummy or yucky?

I'm 'fixed', so I know I'm not pregnant but that still does not explain the weird hunger craving inspired meal I had last night.

Lite Chocolate Soy Milk
Chinese Style BBQ Pork with Hot Mustard
Wheat Toast
Watermelon

Explain that one to me................But it was all yummy and it all worked together for me. And I am only 1lb off where I need to be for the Pan-Ams!

TMI Tuesday

Long time readers will remember my Black Cherry Kool-Aid urinal post. If you're new, basically one of the places I worked at had some sort of air freshener or something in the bathroom that smelled just like Black Cherry Kool-Aid and every time I would go to the bathroom I would get thirsty.

Yesterday I had to use the guest bathroom because O. was cleaning the master bathroom. The guest bathroom had this organic peppermint shampoo that I decided to use, never having even seen it before. Well when I went to rinse my hair it made me sooooo hungry for dessert!

On my birthday, or really any day, I like angel food cake with my own special frosting. I make this frosting my taking a tub of whip cream, adding some marshmallow cream and crushed peppermint candies. You stir all these together and it is a DELICIOUS light yummy topping for angel food cake.

So as I placed my head under the water and the shampoo rinsed out of my hair and ran down my face, I was suddenly hungry for angel food cake.

also today,
0615-700: boot camp workout
0845-0945: mountain biking
1100-1215: brazilian jiu jitsu

I got mine

In my senior yearbook from HS there is a full page article about me and motorcycle racing. Well, the dreams and such of that never happened. But the motorcycle I wanted to start my racing career on when I was 18, well.......I just bought one!!

It needs a little bit of work here and there, but it is a modern classic! As The Black Keys would say, "I got mine."

rowdy roddy piper writer

Guess what? No, not that. Guess again. Nope, not that either. I am going to do my first wikipedia edit. A guy I train with at jiu jitsu is a pro wrestler, yep like full on 6' 7", 300lb, millionaire WWE pro wrestler.

So I wiki-ed him and we talked about some of the stuff on the page and he says much of it in incorrect. Now I am going to be editing his page with his assistance.

Maybe I'm geeking out but I think it's neat.

i don't know karate but i know ka-rowdy!

but you wouldn't know it by this:

i girl in jiu jitsu hit me with an elbow in the mouth resulting in re breaking this tooth. yes, re breaking.

i first broke it running face first into some playground equipment chasing J,K and M around.

fortunately my dentist has a crush on me and i am able to get in for an appointment within 2 hours of this happening.

*update* my dentist told me, "athletes always hurt their teeth. i want to save my teeth that's why i don't do anything athletic." then she also told me to stop doing "karate". i settled with just telling her i would start wearing a mouth guard to jiu jitsu. and my tooth looks 100% like new/orignal! and only $31!

Wishfull Thinking

My b-day is in May so this is to give you time to plan. It is also all in jest, purely window shopping. I am not working so there is no way I would ask anyone for a present, when I am an unemployed adult. That is just beyond silly and into selfish. So think of this as an exercise for better times, fueled by my latent consumerism and preference of my b-day over xmas.

1. class at California Superbike School.
2. 6' fish
3. subscription to Foreign Policy magazine
4. Atama Mundial gi probably A1 or A2
5. Santa Cruz Blur medium
6. shark cage diving trip
7. Little Chief smoker
8. Ruger Mini-14 or Glock 19

OR

1. a job, maybe one i like
2. braces
3. to finally freaking win a jiu jitsu comp
4. lots of bullets
5. hand crank survival radio
6. pizza for dinner every night and Mexican for lunch for a week
7. some good books

AV Club

Before
A 32", 85lb tubed TV in an unfinished pine armoir.

After
A 46", 55lb LCD TV on a wood and glass stand.

things i learned/remembered by 0615 today

1. there is also a 4:30 on the clock that happens in the morning!
2. i don't particularly care to train boxing.
3. sloppy joes can be a breakfast food.

My weekend, in websites

Dinner was at www.crabhutsd.com
Recreation was at www.skydiveperris.com
Helping my friends at www.dmvtestbike.com
Training at www.fabiojiujitsu.com
Church at www.lds.org

freaky fly-day

I was outside the Borders book store in Mission Valley and noticed something wrong with a guy walking towards me. This really huge black guy, all dressed up was walking towards me and he had his fly open! Ha Ha. Normally I would let that go and he would just have to figure it out on his own.

Today I thought I would be nice, so I make eye contact and kind of grab at my jean's fly and say, "Hey man, your fly" making a zipping motion.

Well he just looked at me like I was some weirdo. But as I walked past and kinda thought about his soon to be embarrassment it occurred to me that maybe what he heard was, "Hey man, you're fly!"

Subtle yes, but entirely different.

T is for tough, T is for thursday, T is for try it

0615-0715: Circuit training

0800-0855: Mountain biking

1100-1230: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu*

A. brought some guys back from Brazil. I did good. (insert sly, confident smiley here)

the meaning of dreams

Are dreams just neurological back-wash? If people in the Bible and regular history had dreams and visions that meant something, do mine?

Thoughts and actions are closely linked. But do dreams qualify as thoughts?

Do my dreams have a meaning? What about my constant nightmares?

Good Belly

Good Belly, I drinks it.

Good belly, I has it.

Ode to Aus Jus

In Beethoven's 9th symphony there is a popular movement entitled Ode to Joy. It is one of the first things you learn to play on the piano. (I tried teaching myself how to play the piano in college. I made it that far and it is the height of my musical achievement)

One of my great food joys is a delicious French dip sandwich. So while I work on the video presentation and the music to play on my toy xylophone I give you my "Ode to Au Jus"

Ode to Au Jus
Hot toast and tasty lean roast beef
on the plate you're a pair
a perfect combo but not quite there
you need that special thing to cross my teeth.

They call you a juice, one I could almost drink
salty and steamy and brown
it's only with you this all goes down
why you're called 'French' is something I can't think.

Au jus you make the meal complete
some people add tomatoes or cheese
if I finish you early I ask for "more please"
with you this sandwich is the best to eat.

You Learn More from Your Losses

Team Fabio Santos blue belts. (me center)
So I learned something today! HAHA. Actually for my first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament in 8 years, I don't feel to bad. I did BJJ off and on with friends (nothing formal) from 1999 till 2001 and did a few no-gi tournaments and one judo tournament then. Then I quit BJJ, for the life of me I don't know why. Probably took away from my skirt chasing time. I digress.

Today I was in the Copa Pacifica. For my age, weight and experience there were only 4 competitors. I lost my first match and as they were pressed for time that means I tied for 3rd. The guy who beat me went on to win our division. I got the takedown and passed his guard but didn't maintain control enough to get the points. We had a half guard battle and then I got rolled, mounted, I reversed him and then arm-triangle choked.


While I did loose I did get the takedown and establish the pace and my game. I listened to what Fab told me and I was easily the strongest and fittest person in my division. I just need some more experience and more time learning technique.

Pics today, video on youtube sometime later. But only for a short time as I don't want a loss on the internet for too long. Pride I guess.....

I do think I am going to do the Pan American Championships next. I have a competitive spirit and this has only thrown fuel on my fire!!

Nick F. if you are in the Pan Ams, I can't wait to see you there and battle again!!

A weekend with J

Playing 2 square with the big exercise ball.

Watching old Bugs Bunny cartoons.
Going to the park and exercising.
Eating antelope and ostrich burgers at Crazee Burger.
Riding the coaster are Belmont Park. Visiting the Museum of Photograhpic Arts in Balboa Park.
Shopping/browsing at Borders, Old Navy and DSW.
Playing rummy.
Going to Long Beach for my BJJ tournament.
Eating lunch at CPK.
Walking around the Pike street waterfront, including riding the ferris wheel there. Goodbyes at the LBC aeropuerto.