Rae Roy's Blog, page 82

Funky Friday: Here I Go Again

I’m leaving town soon, but I thought I have time for a brief post.

1. Ecstatic – My guitar was ready yesterday, so naturally I packed less than I should have and didn’t bake the bread. It sounds fantastic!

2. Hungry – Waiting on my bread to finish baking. There won’t be a dog or even other humans in my hotel room, so no ills should befall it this time.

3. Excited – Ad Astra!!!! I missed it last year due to a prior commitment. So much to do and see! And do many of my writing friends will be there. It’s wonderful being around people who love something as much as you do.

4. Busy – Still have turkey bacon to cook and veggies to cut up. I can almost finish loading the car. Should also dust inside it. It’s overdue. Then gas up and pick up a member of my writing group. Oh, and I better export a copy of my manuscript into word, so I can view it during the manuscript workshop. Also, the garbage needs to be taken out.

Well, that’s all the time I have.

Ciao,

R~

Ultra Busy Weekend Ahead

Ack! I forgot about Wonder Wednesday this week

Merry Monday: First Tournament

This Weekend

Near the end of last week, I acquired a cold and cough that progressively worsened as the weekend went on. After driving south, Oshawa became my home for the duration of the weekend, which began with The Great Bun Crisis. Thankfully, that was assuaged by an emergency trip to Costco. Celebratory pho was made extra tasty and complemented by great conversations.

Day one had us travel into Toronto for the seminar, which taught us the format and rules for the tournament. We also got feedback on where we could improve. Some were kata specific and others were more general. A tip I received was to square my hips, for example.

They mentioned my group would be competing around 11 AM the following day, so I believed I had plenty of time to mentally prepare.

Dinner at an all you can eat sushi place was very enjoyable. As is common with all you can eat, you might not get some of the dishes you ordered, but because ordering was done by iPad, no one went hungry waiting on a server to take the next order.

The next day, The Missing Bread Mystery began. I had baked a loaf of gluten free, egg free, dairy free, yeast free bread for my breakfasts on Thursday night. It was tasty and then it was missing. I couldn’t remember leaving it where the dog had access to it, but there were crumbs, so by deductive reasoning the mystery was solved. Breakfast wasn’t as I pictured for the weekend, but I had enough food to survive.

We arrived with little time to spare. I barely got my sword oiled then was rushed out to lineup by dojo. I figured out at the last moment that I was to start my own line as I was the only one from my dojo there.

During the opening remarks, they spoke of Maehara Sensei and I wanted to cry. Though I only met him once, he made a lasting impression. He visited from Japan last May seminar. He was so funny and expressive. Indeed, we barely required any translation. He showed us so much using only body language and one of the few English words he knew, “No!” Sadly he has since passed away.

About 10 minutes after, I was ushered onto the floor to compete. My nerves got the better of me and I made some silly mistakes like not waiting until the head judge said Hajime. In practice at my dojo, I had completely forgot to bow to the judges due to nerves. One of the key elements of this art is to remain calm under pressure, so this is an area I need to work on. I was also nervous because I knew the skill level of the person I was up against and I let that worry me.

I felt like I did pretty awful given the amount of corrections I received over the weekend, so I was in utter shock when I received a bronze medal in Shodan Division.

I could “what if” the weekend. What if I hadn’t been so sick? What if I had been more confident? What if I had time to warm up before the match? What if the dog hadn’t eaten my bread?

The truth is that it all comes down to depth of practice. I’m going to work on those corrections and practice more. Especially my hips. Perhaps the next competition will have a different outcome.

While I’m happy I won a medal, indeed my first one ever, the lessons learned over the weekend were the most valuable. Those I will carry with me forever.

The weekend was capped off with Chinese food, a hot tub soak, and the Game of Thrones season premiere.

This Week

This week I will be at work for only 3 days then it’s off to Ad Astra in Richmond Hill. I will attempt to bake bread again and as no one but me will have access to my hotel room, I expect this to be more successful. I don’t know what panels I will be attending yet as the schedule isn’t up. Perhaps I’ll go through the list and rank them to make the selection process easier as the days get closer.

Ciao,

Roy Iaidoka

Wonder Wednesday: What are Romantic Relationships For?

A fundamental thing about relationships, that I think it’s time to talk about, is their purpose.

A romantic partner isn’t someone who replaces your mother or father. You should know how to cook, do laundry, clean, take out the garbage, etc. and not expect them to do it for you.

A partner isn’t for completing your identity. You should know who you are. You should have your own goals and dreams.

They aren’t your property. Even if you’re married.

A partner isn’t a replacement for a social life. You both need friends and it should not matter what gender those friends happen to be. If you see all your partner’s friends as people they might have sex with the moment you’re not hovering, you have personal issues that you need to deal with.

A partner NEVER attacks you. They don’t physically or emotionally harm you. They don’t say you’ll never be able to accomplish that goal or that thing you love is stupid and only children love it. They don’t embarrass you in front of others. They don’t bring up your sex life at a party.

A partner is supposed to help you achieve your goals, but not at the expense of their own. You work with each other to both have fulfilling lives.

A partner is supposed to support you. They have your back. Sometimes this means getting directly involved. Sometimes it means showing you a new skill then letting you handle it yourself. Sometimes this means just listening to you and giving you a hug or just giving you the freedom. Maybe you do a little more of the chores when they’re preparing for a major project at work or school. It almost never involves money.

A good partner also communicates. If something is bothering you, you talk about it with your partner, not with everyone else but your partner. If you’re excited about something, let them know about that too. But, hey, it’s a good idea not to wait until bedtime because the lack of sleep can make for a cranky partner.

A partner pushes you to be a better version of yourself, but they accept who you are today. They give you the freedom to be whoever it is you are. They might not have all the same interests as you. You need to have some things in common, but you are individuals too.

And you do all the same things for them, but not just because they do it for you. You do it because you want them to feel supported and loved too.

PLEASE NOTE: I have a very busy weekend ahead filled with travel and will not be posting a Funky Friday this week.

Ciao,

R~