"Differential Diagnosis"

Looking back at the last twelve months of my life, I realize that this was probably one of the more exciting years I’ve had in quite some time. Sure, I’ve experienced several ups and downs, but that’s what makes life so great sometimes.

Early this year I lost something very important to me, the Taekwondo dojang/dojo where I spent a good majority of my free time training in Taekwondo. Not only did we lose the facility, but I lost contact with many of the outstanding students who attended; many of who looked up to me for inspiration and guidance. The Korean Taekwondo master and his assistant, along with the American Taekwondo master, have long since vacated that empty building, but they will forever be a part of me.
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In martial arts, your skills are constantly challenged during friendly sparring matches against fellow classmates. During PT, the only way to assess my improvement was to compare myself to the other runners. Unfortunately, the same group of people don’t always attend PT due to various work obligations, schedule shifts, and leave. I wanted solid evidence of my improvement, but just wasn’t sure how to go about it.

The answer came to me in the form of an e-mail sent to my university address.  The university was requesting student volunteers for the 2nd annual 5k "Walk for Autism" in the next town over. This was just the challenge I needed to help push myself towards further improvement!

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Day after day, I attended PT with my coworkers and did the best that I physically could with a pulled hamstring. My performance was on par with most of the folks currently "on profile" for injuries. I was one of the last few to finish the runs, always in the back of the formation, and constantly under performing in most things we did. In other words, truly pathetic!

As my leg slowly recovered, I was able to push myself harder and harder, but soon found myself unwilling to do so. Why? Because I had reached a point where if I pushed harder, I would easily surpass my initial motivation for attending PT…that girl.

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Halloween parties this weekend! Everyone have fun, and if you happen to see Snake Eyes at a party, go over and greet him!

Since the closing of the Taekwondo dojang I used to religiously train at, I???ve been wandering from one physical activity to another in hopes of finding something equally as fulfilling as my Taekwondo classes were.

For a while, I attended a local Brazilian Jujitsu school where I picked up some of the basics, along with several useful ground techniques which recently came in handy in a real world situation for deterring an unexpected opponent. Despite all the cool new things I was learning, it just never felt like home.

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(Originally Posted @ TheHush)

A few weeks ago, I attended a Japanese & Anime convention. Having spent my entire Saturday afternoon walking around dressed as a SWAT team type character, I was tired, and thus? I retired to my hotel room, which I shared with a good female friend who had agreed to come with me. Two queen sized beds took up the majority of the room, with a large empty space between the tv and beds filled by a cow hide rug on the floor. This is where my latest encounter begins… More »

I had always wondered what it was that motivated people to dress up as their favorite fictional characters and attend these large conventions with others in costume. I never quite understood it until 19 May, 2005.

The release of the final Star Wars movie was an event every Star Wars fan around the globe was waiting for. Despite what fans may have thought of Episodes I & II, we were excited! ? My friends and I had bought our tickets well in advanced and were prepared to make this one midnight screening we wouldn’t soon forget!

Hours before the movie premier, a large crowd had already gathered and the line extended well beyond the indoor lobby into the hot afternoon sun outside. You could feel the excitement and the energy radiating from the crowd as the anticipation for this epic movie heightened and its climax grew nearer. More »