It's a day for Advil

The seminar at Dogwood Aikikai went very well; there were quite a few people in attendance, and the energy level was proportionally high. I know it was a good seminar, as I feel as though I've been flung down several flights of stairs. There is no part of my body that doesn't hurt.

On Sunday morning, I was there to see a couple of the instructors at Dogwood test for nidan in iaido. Beautiful stuff, keeping in mind that the kata taught are designed for situations in which you might need to kill someone with a sword. I got to participate in the iaido classes as well, which was a lot of fun.

A curious thing: I saw a past professor of mine, Dr. Tinkler, at Panera Bread today when I went there for lunch. It immediately brought to mind the bygone Medieval Germanic Epics class. On one occasion, while studying Beowulf, a girl in the front row pipes up with "I don't like Beowulf. He's just so arrogant!" Dr. Tinkler, nonplussed by this obvious and asinine statement, retorts "Of course he's arrogant! You don't set yourself up in the Grendel-grabbin' business unless you have a pretty high opinion of yourself!"

It's a statement that has stayed with me ever since. OK, maybe you had to be there. I was.

Thursday

Jeez, almost three weeks since my last post. Granted, I haven't been on the road in a bit, but still...

Posting from work, so I must be brief. This weekend is the aikido seminar at Dogwood Aikikai, with Claude Berthiaume shihan. There are going to be iaido segments as well, which I'm really looking forward to; I have doubts about what opportunities I'll have to take pictures, but I'll try.

Other trips coming up: Mankato, MN, 2/16; Jessup, GA, TBA; Miami, FL, TBA; Canton, MS, TBA.

Clearly, I still have scheduling to do.

Some thought-provoking links:

What Is Your Dangerous Idea? (It's a long one, but well worth reading when you can.)
How To Do What You Love
Behind the Deluge of Porn (A long piece, and a bit histrionic in places, but it raises some interesting points about media and advertising.)

Avanti!

Wisconsin Dells, WI, 1/4/06

Those whom the gods would destroy, they first send to Wisconsin.

Appropriately enough, my day started with the hotel failing to give me a wake-up call. Normally, I'm not likely to bother with one, and this is just a reminder why; if you have to get up in the morning, set the alarm clock. I made it to the customer site on time, mind you, but I had to move quickly (and skip breakfast).

That said, despite some delays at the FCI, everything still went smoothly. I expect I'll be doing the traditional after-the-fact, over-the-phone supplemental training, but that is so common as to be notable only by its absence.

Wisconsin Dells is a highly weird place; kind of an intermediate step between Pigeon Forge and Reno. These people do love their waterparks; inside, outside, with hotels, with casinos, cinema, you name it.

But in the winter, it's a ghost town. Not exactly a brisk tourist trade this time of year. And with the lights, and the neon, and the theme parks all empty, there's a faintly unsavory feel to the area, like a happy clown with rotten teeth.

But that's as may be; in the morning, I drive back to Milwaukee in the hopes that my travels will go more smoothly than they did yesterday. I feel exhausted and look worse, so I'm going to bed. Well, in a bit. After I surf the Intarwub. And read a few chapters (currently working through The Compleat Dying Earth, by Jack Vance). And complete my UltraCorps actions for this round.

OK, fine, I'll go to bed.

Memphis, TN, 1/3/06

Seems like I've been spending a lot of time in this airport of late; it's a pity that it looks so much like a hospital.

Flying Northwest Airlines today; they're pretty good. Although I still can't help, when seeing NWA, but think of a rap group instead of an airline. I don't fly in an RJ85 very often, but I like them well enough; I was seated right next to the engines, but that's what noise-cancelling headphones are for.

(A caveat: Wikipedia's been in the news a lot lately. Me, I like it, and browse it regularly, but I have no illusions about its veracity. It's a good jumping-off point for research, but should not be treated as a definitive source.)

The intercom just reported that the flight to Milwaukee is oversold, but they're offering various incentives to anyone willing to take a later flight. If I didn't have a 2.5 hour drive ahead of me once I get up there, I'd consider it. I wonder what they will do if no one takes them up on it...?

PC Gaming magazine has a preview article about D&D Online; apparently it comes with voice-chat support built in. I wonder how that will hold up versus the sheer number of players that will be bombarding it, and the availability of alternatives such as TeamSpeak.

Wow, battery life on my laptop sucks.

[Update: 4:15PM] Well, still in Memphis, as there is a problem with one of the plane's radios. The original departure time was 2:30 CST. Gonna be here a while yet. Fortunately, WiFi is my friend.

[Update: 5:40PM] Guess what? Still in Memphis. My flight was canceled, but I've managed to finagle a seat on the next one. We'll see what calamities await.

Nashville, TN, 1/3/06

The Plan: Wake up very early, drive to the airport, and fly to Madison, WI. Arriving around noon, I shall have ample time to drive to Wisconsin Dells, check in to my hotel, and enjoy the day.

The Reality: Mocked by God, I arrive at the airport to find that my reservation has been cancelled. Later flights would cost upwards of $1100.00. Frantic calls and judicious use of Expedia manage to turn up a more reasonably-priced flight from Nashville to Milwaukee. Now I must drive two hours to BNA, fly to Memphis, fly to Milwaukee, arrive late afternoon, and drive two more hours to reach my destination.

At least I'm able to get there! Not like I haven't danced this dance before, but it's still a harrying occurence until new plans can get made. Oh yes, and it could be considered (by someone with a less-than-generous mind) all my fault. On the plus side, at least Debitek has sent an employee that can handle it. :)

First Post of '06

Happy Ninja New Year!

No, I don't know what that means, exactly. Cartoon Network was saying it during their Naruto marathon that night.

But what it does mean is that I can link to this video about ninja. Flip out!

(So what if this post is late? It's not like any of you were in a proper mental state to read anyway. Lushes.)

Some New Year revulsions:

• Lose some damn weight. Travel kills my diet, not to mention my workout schedule.
• Write more often. This blog is kind of a step in that direction.
• Reconstruct my life, with a new car, a new place to live, and a new job(?).
• Break all my bad habits. Make some new bad habits.

Dare to dream, you know?