One step forward, two steps back

Last night I was given the honor of a black stripe on my white belt!! I have been training at Fabio Santos' Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy for two months now.

I told him I entered the South Bay Open and he told me to start going to the advanced class as much as possible. So last night I went to my first advanced class. This class is 90 minutes rather than the 60 minutes of the beginner class. And being soo excited about training, I decided to do both classes back to back, so I trained 150 minutes straight last night!

The end of the advanced class I got my stripe! Then I went into the beginner class and didn't tap anyone! hahaha. I just need to be humble and realize I am training, learning and growing. My pride was a little hurt that I was promoted in the advanced class and then didn't "show it" in the beginner class.

But you know what, my sense of what is going on during rolling and sparring has really increased, so in that sense I think it is worth it.

Position leads to submission.

My favorite glass

K was the only one of the three who got me a present for my b-day. He made me a glass with a fighter jet etched into the glass. It is the perfect morning time jiuce glass! I love it. And I have the only one like it in the world!!

Thanks K!

Summer Time!

I love summer, it is my favorite time of year! Even though this thing I go to frequently, called a 'job', is putting a small cramp in my summer style I shall still have fun!

1. Going to Wyoming, South Dakota for the 1st time
2. going to a MotoGP race
3. Camping and sea kayaking at Anacapa island with good friends
4. Competing in and hopefully winning my class at the Southbay Open
5. Attending the Scandanavian Festival up in Junction City, Oregon
6. Visiting with J,K,M
7. Buying more fireworks for my illegal show on the 4th of July
8. Supermoto track days at Adams

end is the only part of the word, that i heard-Cake

"Suspend"..........hmmmm, does that mean she is thinking about 2012? Ambition laid bare....

My feelings exactly kid.

Smuggling

When I worked in Iraq for SAIC, the equipment I dealt with was all about interdiction and detection of smuggled goods, weapons, drugs or whatever.

So how did I go from that to being in a hotel room with a nondescript duffel bag full of chili?

Nalley's chili is not sold in so-cal, so I have to "smuggle" it in from out of state. I can't help it, it is my favorite!

Let's do some modern, big city math. A gram of cocaine is $50. There are 28 grams to an ounce, so an ounce of cocaine is going to cost you $140. A can of chili is 15oz, so the equivalent of a can of chili in cocaine costs $2,100.

My chili costs were
-airfare $500
-chili $30
-duffel $20
-baggage $50
totally $600 for 24 cans of chili. That breaks down to $25 a can of chili, versus $2,100 for a can of cocaine.

I feel like I am getting a bargain!!!

Trial by Fire

July 26th I will be competing up in Torrance at the South Bay Open. I will be fighting Masters, Superfeather.

Rar!


Last competition I was in was one put on by Megaton Diaz in Arizona back in 2001. I think I was 4th and the only person my division winner didn't submit. Before that my last competition was the California State Grappling Games where I placed 2nd in my division in 1999...

So yeah, it has been a while since I have fought. But it is back on now! I just need to make sure I dont weigh more than 140lbs on fight day with my gi on.

Book Killer On Mass Reading Spree

Young Stalin-Biographical account of his life to about 1920.
The Road-Post apocalyptic story of a father and son trying to survive.
In Defense of Food-A rebuke of how science and "nutritionism" encourage what we eat.
The Man Who Made Lists-Biography of Roget.
The Lucifer Effect-A study of the Stanford Prison Experiment and Abu Ghraib.