??

I normally feel like there is something to be learned from almost every experience. Especially the ones that try us. This past week it has not been easy for me to discern what mine should be, but I will still brainstorm so ideas and see what sticks....

I am more fragile than I realize. People think I am tough or fit or active or whatever based on the type of hobbies I do and the level I do them at, but really I don't think I totally fit that role. Those things are a maximum attainment for me, not the norm. Really I guess I am quite weak and fragile. But that type of thinking leads me then to believe I probably have a markedly decreased life expectancy.....

Which leads to the second possible lesson learned from this, that the middle is not where I want to be. If I am happy I want to be joyous and loving it, whatever it is. If I am upset I want to gnaw and gnash and have a red face. To be vivid and vibrant. Personality and emotion. Not tepid, not lukewarm. Never tense, never hesitant. This is not to be confused with manic depression or being bipolar, but just being more animate overall. Less "blah" and more "rrrrawr"!

A greater sense of myself is probably needed. Rather than just blithely going along and reacting to my health, I should self monitor a little more. Be more aware and monitor my diet a little better.

So all these things and one thing I'm keeping private are really the only things that come to mind as lessons learned from this latest week in the hospital.

Hmmm......What to think, but more importantly, what to do?

morpheus

it is impossible to sleep without the aid of drugs in a hospital. impossible i say!!

stricken again

i am in the hospital again with a partial small bowel obstruction.
ng tube is in an pumping furiously, probably for two more days. i hate the thing and it has irritated my throat so much i can only speak or swallow with grimacing or scowling.

first step of course is dealing with the inflammation medically. if that doesn't work then it is surgery.........

so nothing exciting going on here anytime soon. sorry.

2 broken bones later. NOT MINE!

The part that really matters, I was 5th place out of 9 in men's sport for the Super D race. There were no age classifications, just gender and skill level. This was my second race in the Sport class, a big step up from beginner in the level people train and how serious they are about racing.

I had been doing all jiu jitsu training and no mountain bike training at all. So I was happy to be mid pack in this race. And especially happy for the help I received in bike set up and riding from some of the pro's and experts I have seen now at a few races. Cool to be hanging out with the real racers rather than lounging aimlessly with the beginners.

The race was at Elfin Forest, a place I had never been before. There was no real forest. But it was 45 minutes from the house rather than 90 minutes or 3 hours like most of my races. The course was not suited to my strong points but I liked it the more I rode it. Rocky, loose and many many downhill switchbacks. I actually ended up racing on platform pedals for the first time ever! I might make the switch permanent. Too bad I just bought XTR cliple$$ pedal$.

If the dam we were parked under broke it would have been pretty exciting! And it was crazy to see $40,000 worth of bikes in the back of the rental truck. Someone broke a leg in the XC race and someone broke an arm and ribs in the Super D race. I fell once at slow speed in the race. I wish I had brought my pads after I saw the rocks.

Wanna race? I say you should start with Robert at Racers and Chasers!!

hot;nkkn;svlnr;ydtjpy!

The most expensive t-shirt I own -OR- I'm the Marco Melandri of BJJ -OR- The 2010 World JJ Championships

***The most expensive t-shirt I own***
Entry fee-$100
Gasoline-$40
Training-$130
Toll road-$10

Total-$280 for 4 minutes of fighting and this t-shirt.


****I'm the Marco Melandri of Brazilian jiu jitsu competition****
Some guys just don't have the luck. Marco Melandri is that guy in MotoGP. He showed promise on the Honda and then after moving to Ducati and Kawasaki he has basically stunk. But he is still fast enough to be in MotoGP and has won races at the world level but is not considered one of the top guys.

That is me in Brazilian jiu jitsu competition. I have stood on the podium in some big tournaments but after going from blue belt to purple I have kind of floundered if you just look at it on paper. Three tournaments with three losses. Two from submission. Horrible. Yet everyone I have lost to has gone on to take second in our division. From smaller local tournaments to the freaking WORLD championships of jiu jitsu.

I may occasionally be derided by folks for my competition performance, like Marco, but I am still competing at a top level with the best guys.

I may be the slowest cheetah, but I'm still a cheetah!!!



*****The 2010 World Jiu Jitsu Championships*****
If you are one of my FB friends you know I struggled with my health and weight coming into this tournament. If you are a long time blog reader you know last year I dislocated two ribs before the worlds and couldn't compete. Cursed I tell you, cursed I am.

Well even with a last minute issue with my weight and finally weighing in EXACTLY to the freaking ounce, 141.0, I was able to compete this year in the Mundials.

To be the world champion there is not age category, you just "are". My first fight was against a really good kid, 20 years old, from Sao Paulo Brasil. I of course googled him when the brackets were up and researched all I could about him. Heck, he did the same thing and actually friended me on FB! hahahah.

I fought hard but made one mistake early on in how I positioned myself and then one mistake being a little too slow at the end and he caught me with an Americana arm lock from the top, half guard. He went on to take second place in the world in the male, purple belt, light feather class.

I can now say I know what fighting someone world class is like. I feel good about my effort on the day, I know where to improve and I can't wait for next year!!!! CSU Long Beach, next year my hand will be the one being raised!

Win or loose, I love Brazilian jiu jitsu. my opponent

!

I know it was only in training, but I finally tapped another purple belt. Finally.