Horse Hockey

Don't you just love Colonel Potter from the old M*A*S*H series? He could come up with some of the most colorful colloquialisms. I think horse hockey and monkey muffins were my favorites. And horse hockey describes perfectly well how I feel about what is going on at the dojo.

We'd planned all along for our black belt test to be in May or June. After much negotiation, we'd set the date at June 17th. I was there when sensei called Mr Worbington at the Greenville dojo and requested that date. Mr Worbington said that date was good. So we planned on June 17th. Carole went out and bought her plane ticket for the 15th. She was planning on flying in Thursday and staying through Sunday.

Mr. Bill Pogue had a seminar scheduled for June 3rd. Sensei had originally requested that date, but Mr Worbington said no. He said it would have to be one of the last two Saturdays in June, so we settled on the 17th.

Last week, Mr. Pogue rescheduled his seminar for the 17th. When sensei called Mr Worbington to make sure enough of the board would still be there to test us, he replied, "What are you talking about? I told you the test would be July 15th!"

Horse hockey!

Nobody ever said anything about July. We requested May or June. They said June, so we made plans for June. July never entered into the conversation. Nobody mentioned July...

Last week, sensei had said that if they try to change the date of our test because of the seminar being rescheduled, he would test us himself at our own dojo--which both James and I would prefer anyway, since that's the dojo we worked, sweated, and even bled in to get this far.

Tonight, sensei backed down from that. He said he wouldn't test us himself in our own dojo because it wouldn't be as recognized.

Horse hockey!

So now, I don't know what is going on. I don't know when our test will be, or even if we have one. James said he's not going to test if they keep changing their minds. I'm so fed up with the whole mess that frankly, I don't care if I test or not.

And that's not horse hockey.

Memorial Day

"I'd like to say to my daughter Carrie, and the children and grandchildren of veterans everywhere, YOU are what we fought for."--Lt Corbin Willis, WWII


Americans and every free nation on Earth can trace their liberty to the white markers of places like Arlington National Cemetery, and may God keep us ever grateful...." --President George W. Bush


"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." --George S. Patton, Jr.

Memorial Day Weekend

Not much to talk about today. I woke up this morning and the wisdom tooth was still hurting. I've been rinsing with warm salt water throughout the day, but it's never hurt this much before. It may be time to think about having it out. Right before my black belt test, too.



I've taken it pretty easy today, spending most of the day laying on the couch knitting and watching DVDs. I got this project finished. It is really purple and gold, though the picture makes it look more bluish.


I was going to start a scarf to match, but couldn't decide on a pattern, so I decided to just work on some of my already in progress projects.

Blazie was out last night. showing his pretty colors. He looked so cute propped up on his themometer unit, I just had to get this picture.
I have a new baby cousin born yesterday. These are some cousins I've pretty much lost touch with over the last few years. From the look of things, I'll have another cousin before too much longer.

I got Cody's report card in the mail yesterday. One C, one A, and the rest Bs, and has been promoted to 7th grade. His C was an 82, which in my day would have been considered a B, but they've changed the scale here recently. Hasn't solved the public school's problems, but they did it anyway.

Now I'm off to watch the National Memorial Day concert on PBS. Corny, I know. But I watch it every year. I love it.

A Bit of Good News

Two bits of good news, actually.

First off, this guy finally ate last night.

He'd been eating mice all his life, but mice aren't enough for a snake this size. I was trying to switch him to rats. He ate the first two I offered him just fine, then refused to eat any more.

For 2 1/2 months.

During the past week, I had a "Duh" moment. He's used to eating mice. He might not like rats. I decided to offer him mice at his next feeding, just to see if he would eat them. He did. Well, one, at least. I offered two, but he refused the second one. At least I know there's something he will eat. For now, I'll offer him mice every 4-5 days to fatten him back up, then we'll try to get him switched over to rats. I'll scent the rats with something like Mouse Maker, gradually reducing the amount of scent until he is eating straight rats. Hopefully it will work. He needs to be on rats at his size.

Secondly, Scarlett is blue! In snake slang, that means she is getting ready to shed. Scarlett, if you'll remember, is the one I had so much trouble with her throwing up and have been tube feeding her for the last month. A month ago, I thought she was going to die, now she's going to shed. I'll hold off feeding her until after the shed, and will measure her as well. I don't expect her to have grown much, but we'll see.

Sunset is blue as well. After this shed, I sure hope he starts eating again.

Hmmm, given the tone of these recent posts, maybe I should change the title of this blog to Snakes and More.

So here's a DAUB pencil sampler exercise to get back on topic...

DAUB Drawing #?

Ok I forget what number this is, but it was a really easy--and to my mind senseless--exercise. Trace my hand, then draw a secondary outline around it following the general shape of my hand. Then draw curved lines along where the knuckles would be. I'm not quite sure what the point of the exercise is.

My wisdom tooth has been acting up today. Yes, I only have one. It usually doesn't bother me, but every once in a while it will get sore for a day or two. Not enough to make me feel the need to have it out. Just enough to remind me it is still there.

Lots To Catch Up On

I was getting ready for work this morning when about 6:15 I heard this plaintive little voice--

"Mom?"

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"Is school still going on?"

"No, honey. Yesterday was your last day."

"Then why am I awake?"

I felt so sorry for the little feller. He came in and turned on the TV, and I'll bet he napped on the couch a bit, too.

After work, we ran by the school to pick up the horn he was checking out for the summer. That thing is huge. It is almost as big as Cody is, but he's been playing away at it since he got home. Then we stopped and got his hair cut. About the time we got home from all that, it was time to get ready and go to Karate.

So we get to karate, and James and I told sensei about the students walking out on us, and how disrespectful we thought it was. He said he'd handle it on an individual bases. He also said that he wants very soon for the dojo to be his sole means of support, so he has to be tactful and not run anybody off. All this time, I'm thinking that if he doesn't change a lot of things, he's going to lose his dojo anyway. All his good students will quit on him, and he'll get the reputation of having a poor quality program. He won't attract any new students like that. Another thing if he wants to build his school up is to invest in some quality advertising. He can't depend on his students to bring enough new people into the dojo. He needs to advertise on the radio, TV, newspapers... ways he can really REACH people.

He also told us that he got an e-mail saying that Bill Pogue is wanting to change the date of his seminar from June 3 to June 17. That's right, our testing date. He doesn't think there will be enough of the board going to the seminar to affect us testing, but if they do try to make him change the date, he will test us himself at our dojo. James and I are like, "YEAH!!!! We're cool with that!"

The nightmares have already started....

Last night I dreamed two dreams about testing. In the first one, I dreamed that I was having an allergic reaction to something and my left eye was swollen shut and the left side of my face was all swollen up. I was holding a cool, damp cloth to my eye to try to get the swelling down enough I could see to test, however, the board decided they weren't going to wait on me. They started the test without me. One black belt started making fun of me because I was not able to test. He said something, and he and the entire board started laughing at me.

I woke up then, and when I went back to sleep, I dreamed that I was going to my test. When I got there, I pulled my gi out of my gym bag and it was all wrinkled and dirty. They wouldn't let me test with my gi looking like that.

So I've had two dreams in which I failed the test before I even started.

Back to class, when she got there, I over heard her bragging to somebody about how well she could spar. Later in the class, I ended up paired up with her. The drill was for me to throw multiple techniques and she was to block them. Non contact, unfortunately--or fortunately for her because I wore her out. I was throwing stuff so fast that she couldn't block anything. Sensei had to come over and tell me to slow down. Then when she was aggressing, and I was blocking, she couldn't land a thing on me. It's like she was bouncing in slow motion--really telegraphing her moves. For all her bragging, she spars like a white belt. For heaven's sake, she is a PURPLE belt. She needs to act like one. Then again, if she'd truly earned the belt, it might mean more to her.

After class, Justin brought in his new guitar. Travis was playing it and acting like he could really play. Then Sensei got on it and put Travis to shame. I knew he could play the guitar, but I didn't know he could play that well. We have a multitalented sensei.

Now on a more serious note. Some of you may remember this post. Well, it's worse than I thought. See, I'm kind of like a second mom to a lot of the students in the dojo. They will talk to me about things they won't talk to their parents about. Tonight, one of the students confided in me that she groped his genitals on more than one occasion. I had seen her do it to one student, but apparently there have been others as well. What makes this so bad is that this student is under age. And since I now know, I have the burden of responsibility.

I will have to seek counsel on what to do about this.

I Did It!

I gave Scarlett her liquid feeding tonight by myself! Cody's help was not required. I think she must be getting used to it, because she is much calmer about it than when we started. I've both increased the amount I'm feeding her--we're up to 2.5 CCs now--and reduced the amount of water mixed in to the food, and I believe the little bugger is actually gaining weight! She sure looks a lot fatter than she did a month ago. I'm going to give her a couple more liquid feedings, then try another pinky head. And pray she keeps it down so I can get her back on whole mice. I can't imagine trying to tube feed a 3 foot snake!

The other snakes are doing well. Except for Slider, that is. Ball pythons are known to go off their feed for months at a time, and he has. I've tried everything I can think of to get him to eat, even to the point of opening his mouth and putting the rat's head inside. He just spit it back out. I wouldn't worry so much but he appears to be losing weight.

Sunset has finally started calming down. He doesn't roam his tank as incessantly as he had been doing. I'm hoping he starts eating again soon. He hasn't eaten in just as long as Slider, but Sunny is still plenty fat and sassy. He may have lost a little weight, but he needed to anyway.

Onyx hasn't eaten in about a month either, but he gave me a beautiful shed this evening and I hope he starts eating again, too. I measured him, and he is almost 39"long. He and Snow run neck and neck for being my longest snake, though when they reach full adult hood, I think Snow might just win that race.

Monty's appetite has picked up tremendously. Cody decided to try to feed him for the first time Saturday. I told Cody to wiggle the mouse in front of Monty's hide so he'd strike at it. Well, Cody accidentally dropped the mouse, and Monty grabbed it before it even hit the ground.

Snow has been my best eater so far. She has never refused a meal. In fact, I put her on a diet she was getting so fat. I'm going to start feeding her every 14 days for a while until she slims down a bit. She is just going blue, so she'll shed in about a week.

And baby Blaze is growing like a weed. He shed last week, and I always measure them when they shed. Since switching Blaze to the next size mice, he has grown 3 inches in 5 weeks!

And that's how my snakes are faring.

Sometimes I sit down at my blog, and can't think of a thing to say. That happened a couple of days ago. My one faithful reader may have noticed that there was no post Monday. I just couldn't think of anything to blog about. I'm not real big on talking politics, and haven't done any new sketches...

Speaking of drawing, I've almost worked up the courage to try the Baby Brandon exercise from the Drawing for Dummies book. It is a portrait of the Author's grandson--just a head shot. I've always been intimidated at the thought of drawing people, but I am about ready to try this one. Frankly, DAUB just isn't cutting it for me. The book simply isn't any fun.

Oh, and I started a new knitting project--still using stash yarn. It is a hat (yes, another one) and scarf set done in the colors of my old alma mater, Hardin-Simmons University. That would be purple and gold. It actually looks pretty nice together. And as always, I'll post pictures when it is done.

Respect

Sensei was still out tonight, and it's not like he made it a big secret. I mean, he had a sign posted on the door for weeks before tonight and anounced it several times in class. So why do certain students even bother to come if they are just going to walk out when they find out James and I are teaching? They did it again, just like they did Thursday, but this time they took Brian and Alex with them. Now, Brian, I would expect it from. But Alex really surprised me. I figured he was better than that. Yes, I do intend to tell sensei what happened. I think he needs to know. When he is out, James and I are his representatives. If they wouldn't walk out of a class he was teaching, they shouldn't do it to us, either. This shows both us and sensei tremendous disrespect.

Kudzu

It was introduced as ground cover several years ago. Nobody could guess that it would also cover trees, bushes, bridges, telephone poles....

They say it can grow up to a foot a day.

Soon it will cover everything.

And I finished a baby hat.

No kudzu on that.

Baby Hat

from a really pretty varegated yarn. I'm getting quite a collection of hats. Now I've got to find a charity or something to donate them to.

Cut Her Some Slack?

Last night, Josh W. started back to class. He had been a student several years ago, then things happened and he had to drop out for a while. In the meantime, he'd been lifting weights and got really buff.

About a year ago, he came back intending to start classes again, but got really embarrassed by the way she was throwing herself all over him. He only came to two classes, then quit again. So last night when sensei said Josh was going to start back, James and I mentioned how much she'd like that.

Sensei said, "Y'all need to cut her some slack. She's young and she's been repressed by her father. "

Yeah, right.

First off, she is nearly 22. Her birthday is only three weeks away. I know because last year on her birthday, she tried to throw herself a birthday party at the dojo. It didn't really go over so well. Point is, she's not THAT young.

Secondly, if a man went around doing the same things to women that she does to the guys in the dojo, no one would say to cut him some slack for any reason. Nooo, he'd be thrown under the jail. People would talk about what a horrible person he is. He'd be called a stalker, a molestor, a sex offender--everything short of a rapist. There might even be demands to have him castrated. He could, and most likely would, be charged with sexual assault and/or sexual battery. If he'd done some of the things I've seen her do.

Yet it is somehow ok if she does it because she's a woman, and she's been repressed.

Go figure.

A Sketch! A Real Sketch!

I actually did a quick sketch today on my lunch break at work. My techniques are a little rusty, but I think it turned out ok. For a quickie...

Gotta go hit the shower and work on my shodan essay. Sensei wasn't at class tonight because his oldest step son graduated from the GED program. James and I led the class in an open workout. They showed up, and when the realized sensei wasn't going to be there, they left. It ended up being me, James, Josh, and Josh Williams. We went through kata, and that's about it. I did my kata several times. James' mother showed up about 7:30 and made him leave since Sensei wasn't there. He won't be there Tuesday night either.

What was really bad was when I did my kata facing the back of the dojo instead of the front...I messed up on wansu, chinto, and kusanku. I did seisan fine, and made it through niahanchi, sanchin, and seiunchin, but it felt wierd going in the opposite direction.

I did something new yesterday when I took my walk. See, I walk down this dirt road between some cotton fields for about a mile, then turn around and walk back to the house. It's about a quarter mile from my house to the dirt road, making approximately a 2 1/2 mile walk. Well, at the point where I turn around, I stopped and did all my kata back to back before walking back. It was really nice because it's like being out in the middle of nowhere. I messed up most of my upper kata then, too. I get so used to doing them in a certain way, in a certain place that when the scenery is different, I forget what I'm supposed to be doing. So it is good that I'm trying to do them in different locations.

Oh! Before I forget...good news. Cody got accepted into the art program at school. The schools here don't offer regular art classes. The kids have to try out for the art program. I knew he would make it. He's quite the talented little artist.

Old School

I received this e-mail from Mr Tedder a couple of days ago:

The only reason I care about being in the adult class now is for you and James, for moral support if nothing else. I mean I care about the other students too, but they are Wade’s. You and James are the only ones that are “Old School”.

Old School

There are two types of students in our dojo. The serious ones, and the not so serious ones.

You can tell which ones are which.

Students join a karate class for different reasons. Some join just for something to do. Some join to impress their peers. Some join to prove how tough they are. Some join to flirt and throw themselves at members of the opposite sex.

Some join for the exercise. Some join to learn self defense. Some join to become martial artists.

We have all types in our dojo.

You can tell which ones are which.

Old School.

An Asymmetrical Object

This DAUB project was to sketch an asymmetrical object. While sitting outside the dojo, waiting for class to start, I whipped off my sandal and sketched it. It only took about 10 minutes, if that long.

Mr Tedder came in tonight and worked bunkai with James and me. It was actually fun. Kind of like the way classes used to be all the time.

Tomorrow, I start my official count down...One month until the testing...

I'm gonna go throw up now.

A Storm Moving In