Joy, Holiday joy, KUNG FU JOY!

Item 1) Jeremy came over last night. Yes, people, Jeremy is alive and doing really well. We had dinner caught up (here I thought I had all these fascinating stories to tell, but his tales of drama and debauchery completely floored me, and everything I could possibly have said just seemed trite in comparison,) and just kind of sailed through any awkwardness that might have been there. And then--here's the best part, which is more meaningful than it seems, believe me--we sat on the couch, same places we've always sat, I turned on Gamecube and said, "Which controller?" And he picked the one he always picked. And then we sat down to play video games for a few hours. It sounds silly, and maybe it is, but it felt like we just picked up where we left off.

After that, Jeremy had me call my Mom and Dad to see if he could go say hi. Jeremy and my Dad, I have mentioned, have a history together that is not all peachy. Jeremy said and did some things, and my Dad, who doesn't take crap, well ... didn't take his crap, and it turned ugly. So at first I was nervous about this, wondering how my Dad was going to feel about everything. He doesn't forgive easily, you know? But when he saw Jeremy, he hugged him, rubbed his fuzzy head (Jeremy keeps his hair buzz-cut these days, wtf?!) and said, "Welcome back, kid, welcome back." Then Jeremy stepped up to the plate and said, "First thing I want to say to both of you is, I'm sorry for everything." And then they talked for like an hour.

Eventaully it got to the point where my Dad is offering to help Jeremy find various good jobs and all of this kind of thing and I'm thinking A) This never goes well and B) It's time to let Jeremy do this himself. My family always seems to be right around the corner whenever Jeremy is at a low point, even if years have gone by. I think that to hand him a life right now would be doing him a disservice. He's got a life and he's managing it--in most ways--admirably. I'm proud of him.

Item 2) So, the Kung Fu party the other night was awesome. It was at Erica's house, which is absolutely breathtaking. Lao Shir was there, and she looks awesome and seems very happy. I got to give her the ornament I made for her, too. We all sat around the fire for a while, chatting about Kung Fu and the tournament, (( tangent about the tournament... )

and then we all went into Erica's awesoem dining room for dinner. This was an actual dinner, with like five courses all served separately, and having to use different forks and all. I admit to being a little out of my depth, but it was lovely and the food was delish, especially the spinach thingie. Then we all decorated our own gingerbread men. Lao Shir and I both made Tahitian Dancer men; she really wanted to put a loin cloth on hers. It was hilarious. Also, Erica made us each a doll to suit our personalities. How cool is that? Mine had on a pareu with a sparkly little hibiscus flower glued onto it, a halter top, and a little Hawaiian straw hat. It's so lovely.

Item 3) I finished my holiday shopping today, and was so happy with the gifts I finally got for everyone, that there I was in the bookstore, with a serious case of the warm fuzzies. All of a sudden I just realized how much I love everyone in my life and how happy I am with these people who are always around me. I wanted to buy them everything, but instead I just ended up really taking my time to find something that I thought was perfect for everyone. (I did end up spending a huge buttload of money. But I will get at least some of that back in my bonus next week. ^_^ ) ( Some of my favorite things I got for others are: )

There is a chance some other family members might read this before Christmas day, so I'm not writing anymore.

Item 4) Why am I posting later than usual on a Monday night? I'll tell you. It's because I was an extra hour at the Kung Fu academy tonight. Because, you see, black belt club runs an extra hour.

JOY! Sifu invited me into black belt club tonight. Erica told me this while I was leading warmups for the first class tonight, and my reply was a very undecorous, "Mother in a bucket!" (A phrase coined long ago by rterra in a short story.) Blue-belt Chris said, "Now you get to find out the deepest secrets of the club!" Erica said, "I think he just wants more girls in black belt club" and I said, "I don't care what the reason is, I'm just glad to be in it. Now, when do I get my nickname?" ;D Purple belt Chris said, "You have to earn your nickname in blackbelt club. It's one of the secrets." (I was joking, but it is true that all the boys in there have got a nickname from Sifu: blue-belt Chris is "The Monk" [his last name translates into something close enough to that,] he calls Joe "The Hammer" and he calls Dave something in Chinese that I can't pronounce or even begin to spell.) To make it even more superfly, Lee was invited in, too.

That means two hours of Kung Fu on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I don't actually pay the dues for black belt club until I make green belt. The warmups in this class were, not surprisingly, a lot harder than the basic warmups. At one point, right before Erica showed me some wacky leg-lift thing, I wondered aloud, "What fresh hell is this?" But I enjoyed them in a way. The part I really loved is the partner stretching, you know, they call it "passive stretching" in physical therapy I think. While we were doing these, blue-belt Chris said some very encouraging things that I will remember in a locked post. I don't know why I have to lock it. Because they were so nice, I think, and I don't want to give those words away freely. And because I don't want to be so publically boastful. ;D

Then we did some testicle-ripping drills from the Tiger style, then we did them holding big ol' rocks for about a half an hour. It was truly awesome. As we were doing them, Sifu watched me and said, "Ah. Good." I mused for a few minutes on the note of relief I heard in his voice. After class he said to Lee and I, "I'm glad that you two did well. It's always a gamble letting new people into black belt club, but it's great when it works out. Your bodies are starting to understand the moves now, and it's starting to flow more naturally."

The best part? We might--might--all be going to China in the Spring. That's a huge might. But I'm holding onto it.

After class, I made sure that everyone got the ornaments that I left for them last week. They hadn't, and so I pointed them out (they were sitting there the whole time on Sifu's desk; he had no idea who they were either for or from and I guess didn't look at the tags on them.) Everyone was pleased and I was happy to have made them happy.

And, for the first time in three years, oen of my orchids has grown a flower spike. ^_^ It's a sign, isn't it?

Joy, Holiday joy, KUNG FU JOY!

Item 1) Jeremy came over last night. Yes, people, Jeremy is alive and doing really well. We had dinner caught up (here I thought I had all these fascinating stories to tell, but his tales of drama and debauchery completely floored me, and everything I could possibly have said just seemed trite in comparison,) and just kind of sailed through any awkwardness that might have been there. And then--here's the best part, which is more meaningful than it seems, believe me--we sat on the couch, same places we've always sat, I turned on Gamecube and said, "Which controller?" And he picked the one he always picked. And then we sat down to play video games for a few hours. It sounds silly, and maybe it is, but it felt like we just picked up where we left off.

After that, Jeremy had me call my Mom and Dad to see if he could go say hi. Jeremy and my Dad, I have mentioned, have a history together that is not all peachy. Jeremy said and did some things, and my Dad, who doesn't take crap, well ... didn't take his crap, and it turned ugly. So at first I was nervous about this, wondering how my Dad was going to feel about everything. He doesn't forgive easily, you know? But when he saw Jeremy, he hugged him, rubbed his fuzzy head (Jeremy keeps his hair buzz-cut these days, wtf?!) and said, "Welcome back, kid, welcome back." Then Jeremy stepped up to the plate and said, "First thing I want to say to both of you is, I'm sorry for everything." And then they talked for like an hour.

Eventaully it got to the point where my Dad is offering to help Jeremy find various good jobs and all of this kind of thing and I'm thinking A) This never goes well and B) It's time to let Jeremy do this himself. My family always seems to be right around the corner whenever Jeremy is at a low point, even if years have gone by. I think that to hand him a life right now would be doing him a disservice. He's got a life and he's managing it--in most ways--admirably. I'm proud of him.

Item 2) So, the Kung Fu party the other night was awesome. It was at Erica's house, which is absolutely breathtaking. Lao Shir was there, and she looks awesome and seems very happy. I got to give her the ornament I made for her, too. We all sat around the fire for a while, chatting about Kung Fu and the tournament, (( tangent about the tournament... )

and then we all went into Erica's awesoem dining room for dinner. This was an actual dinner, with like five courses all served separately, and having to use different forks and all. I admit to being a little out of my depth, but it was lovely and the food was delish, especially the spinach thingie. Then we all decorated our own gingerbread men. Lao Shir and I both made Tahitian Dancer men; she really wanted to put a loin cloth on hers. It was hilarious. Also, Erica made us each a doll to suit our personalities. How cool is that? Mine had on a pareu with a sparkly little hibiscus flower glued onto it, a halter top, and a little Hawaiian straw hat. It's so lovely.

Item 3) I finished my holiday shopping today, and was so happy with the gifts I finally got for everyone, that there I was in the bookstore, with a serious case of the warm fuzzies. All of a sudden I just realized how much I love everyone in my life and how happy I am with these people who are always around me. I wanted to buy them everything, but instead I just ended up really taking my time to find something that I thought was perfect for everyone. (I did end up spending a huge buttload of money. But I will get at least some of that back in my bonus next week. ^_^ ) ( Some of my favorite things I got for others are: )

There is a chance some other family members might read this before Christmas day, so I'm not writing anymore.

Item 4) Why am I posting later than usual on a Monday night? I'll tell you. It's because I was an extra hour at the Kung Fu academy tonight. Because, you see, black belt club runs an extra hour.

JOY! Sifu invited me into black belt club tonight. Erica told me this while I was leading warmups for the first class tonight, and my reply was a very undecorous, "Mother in a bucket!" (A phrase coined long ago by rterra in a short story.) Blue-belt Chris said, "Now you get to find out the deepest secrets of the club!" Erica said, "I think he just wants more girls in black belt club" and I said, "I don't care what the reason is, I'm just glad to be in it. Now, when do I get my nickname?" ;D Purple belt Chris said, "You have to earn your nickname in blackbelt club. It's one of the secrets." (I was joking, but it is true that all the boys in there have got a nickname from Sifu: blue-belt Chris is "The Monk" [his last name translates into something close enough to that,] he calls Joe "The Hammer" and he calls Dave something in Chinese that I can't pronounce or even begin to spell.) To make it even more superfly, Lee was invited in, too.

That means two hours of Kung Fu on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I don't actually pay the dues for black belt club until I make green belt. The warmups in this class were, not surprisingly, a lot harder than the basic warmups. At one point, right before Erica showed me some wacky leg-lift thing, I wondered aloud, "What fresh hell is this?" But I enjoyed them in a way. The part I really loved is the partner stretching, you know, they call it "passive stretching" in physical therapy I think. While we were doing these, blue-belt Chris said some very encouraging things that I will remember in a locked post. I don't know why I have to lock it. Because they were so nice, I think, and I don't want to give those words away freely. And because I don't want to be so publically boastful. ;D

Then we did some testicle-ripping drills from the Tiger style, then we did them holding big ol' rocks for about a half an hour. It was truly awesome. As we were doing them, Sifu watched me and said, "Ah. Good." I mused for a few minutes on the note of relief I heard in his voice. After class he said to Lee and I, "I'm glad that you two did well. It's always a gamble letting new people into black belt club, but it's great when it works out. Your bodies are starting to understand the moves now, and it's starting to flow more naturally."

The best part? We might--might--all be going to China in the Spring. That's a huge might. But I'm holding onto it.

After class, I made sure that everyone got the ornaments that I left for them last week. They hadn't, and so I pointed them out (they were sitting there the whole time on Sifu's desk; he had no idea who they were either for or from and I guess didn't look at the tags on them.) Everyone was pleased and I was happy to have made them happy.

And, for the first time in three years, oen of my orchids has grown a flower spike. ^_^ It's a sign, isn't it?