Experiments in Woolgathering

Well, heinous Thanksgiving weekend traffic notwithstanding, I am back from the Aikido seminar in Chicago with Saotome Shihan in one piece. This was my first time seeing our master instructor, and to put it simply, he is amazing.

He’s on another plane of reality when it comes to aikido. Even our sensei, who is a 5th dan and been in Aikido for 30 years, is baffled by him at times, so you can imagine what those of us who have only been doing this for a few years or less go through at times.

It was a very martial seminar, lots of atemi (strikes) after the blend with the initial attacks. Strikes to the solar plexus, ribs, leg, any of which might be exposed after a committed attack. Each time we started with one strike and then he would sometimes show combinations of strikes.

Sensei Saotome explain that, despite its reputation, Aikido is not gentle, we, the practioners of Aikido are, or rather we have a moral obligation to be. In any situation, any level of escalation could be appropriate, what matters is that we start as low on that scale as possible.

Listening to him requires you to concentrate because his English is fairly broken and accent thick. However that seemed to just make me understand better, as paradoxical as that sounds.

Bleah.. I have been working entirely too much lately. Between long days at work and working on some stuff for some of Rachel’s clients I’ve barely had time to think. I’ve squeezed in a few aikido classes here and there which have definitely helped keep me sane – though doesn’t help me catch up on sleep. Still, I obviously prefer the sanity and less rest to the alternative!

That said, the SaLR option got me thrown into a wall Sunday. Not completely, but my post throw roll ended with my feet slamming into it. I escaped with a severely bent big toenail on one foot with a little numbness on the bottom of the other. All in good fun.

Recounts… yes one is underway in Ohio. The Green Party and the Libertarians raised the cashola for it. Talk about strange partners. There were a lot of irregularties that surfaced in the week or so after the election: voter intimidation, crazy long lines, ballots mishandled, problems with the electronic voting machines (which weren’t used everywhere), and so on.

I’m skeptical that the outcome is going to change, but if it induces some change in how elections are run around here that would be nice.

I had the most amazing dream two nights ago—and I don’t remember it, or only remember only a little. Not amazing because of the content, but because I was lucid, aware that I was dreaming.

The setting was almost like a kindergarten class. There were other people there, I think some of my local friends, but I’m not sure. Low chairs and tables, lots of bright, primary colors. I remember being amazed that I was aware I was dreaming, and hoping I’d remember it well in the morning. The only other thing I recall was trying to ask someone something – which one is encouraged to do in a lucid dream – though who I was going to ask or what my query was I’ve no idea.

I’ve been, on and off, reading about dreams and dreaming, and have been curious particularly about lucid dreaming. So, on one hand this was really exciting. I just wish I’d remembered it better. It’s rare that I remember a regular dream well, so it’s not surprising that this is the case this time. Hopefully next time will be different.

That’s right, it’s another farkin’ book review!

I started this book before the election, and between that and work it was slow getting started. This slow start was not because the book started slow though. I was hooked almost immediately actually, I just had no time.

Once my free time loosened up a bit, I dove into The Skinner with relish. (more…)

Well, I’m mildly dismayed that I woke up at 5 am this morning (and it’s a holiday from work too). In my defense, I did go to sleep before 11 pm last night, and 6 hours of sleep is an average amount for me.

The other thing mitigating my dismay is that I love early mornings. I love the calm and the quiet, watching the sun rise, the illusion of having the world to myself. The air is cleaner, crisper. The sense of potentiality is palable.

I’ve always been a morning person, part of having grown up on a farm I suppose. I wake up on my own before my alarm goes off probably… three quarters of the time. Getting up late (meaning after 9) makes me feel like I’ve wasted a big chunk of the day.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to be one of those people who can’t function on less than 8 hours of sleep. I can’t remember the last time I needed that much sleep on a regular basis!

Well, off to enjoy the rest of my early morning!

Yeah.. the election.

Where to start? (more…)