"Differential Diagnosis"

Written sometime in 2009:

The heart, it resides within the very core of our bodies and silently manipulates many of our actions on a daily basis. One of the many organs which our lives depend on, but the one organ from which love blossoms; beating from the earliest stage of our life???s development until the very end. Its no wonder why so many different cultures place such significance upon the heart.

***

My mind, so focused on various objectives and martial arts has grown strong, and it has instilled in me a strong sense of self and determination unbreakable by any challenge.

More »

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!

More »

Thanksgiving, it’s the time of year where American families come together to celebrate everything they are “thankful” for. ? The cook of the family wakes up extra early to begin? preparations, the men are off from work and enjoy their holiday by watching football and drinking a beer or two, the kids sleep in late and are eventually awakened by the delicious smell of food. The climax of this holiday begins at the dinner table.

Friends, immediately family, and distant relatives all sit at the massive table and eagerly await the presentation of the main course. A giant turkey is brought forth, while the onlookers applaud and loudly comment to themselves. The head of the table begins the gluttonous feast by sharing a few words and carving the turkey.? Laughter, smiles, the clanking of dinnerware, and idle conversations fill the house for the next few hours. More »

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.

More »

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.

More »

Wearing my heart on my sleeve has never been a very viable strategy with the fairer sex.? Friends kept telling me to “hide my true feelings”, and I’ve heard others advise friends to “hold your cards close to the chest.” Well, after countless lessons learned, I decided to take their advice.

More »