"Differential Diagnosis"

“Bzzz! Bzzzzz! Bzzz!” My phone vibrated loudly just as I was stepping out of the shower. A text message from a girl, but not just any girl, this was the girl who’d motivated me to start working out with her and my coworkers. This was my accomplice for several fun filled weekends, and this weekend would be no exception. I ignored the text message for the time being, but quickly returned to it once I was shaved and dressed.

“Come by my place tonight, I have a surprise you won’t want to miss…bring drinks.” I smile a sly, devilish grin for a few moments as I thought to myself, “I love her surprises,” and gathered my wallet & keys. My first stop, the liquor store to pick up a few of our favorite drinks, then off to her place for my “surprise.”

Her place, a large co-ed dorm located on a military installation, is much like a typical college dorm on the inside, but it’s outward appearance is that of a quiet, orderly building. The hallways and common areas are homey and elegant, but within each private room a multitude of happenings goes on mostly unnoticed. From underage drinking, to adultery, and even domestic abuse, things aren’t always as nice and orderly as they may appear.

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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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