Friday, September 29, 2006

Training with a cold

Yes.. I have caught a seasonal cold.. either from my children bringing it home from school, my fellow dojo mates, or just from walking around in the world.

Ah.. but this cold has taught me alot of karate lessons.

a) You can achieve far more than you think that you can.

b) Attitude is everything.

c) Never let your issues stop you.

d) Admit to reality, but strive for perfection.

and finally..

e) Always be prepared for the unexpected.

I've found that my karate mind set has taken this cold as a challenge rather than as an obstacle. I've increased my intake of vitamin C, gave my body plenty of rest, but also called forth an effort to train everyday. Why train? because the exercise brings up my body temperature and creates an artificial "fever" that helps my immune system. Also, I found that the circulation increase, and the deep breathing in training actually helped me combat my coughing. I have had really restful night sleeps after my training. I didn't spend the whole night away drinking hot chocolate, and having a dry cough.

Sure.. when I woke up.. I'd have an early morning clearing of the lungs coughing fit.. but so far.. so good on this cold. I feel pretty normal. Sure.. there is a slight threat of a headache at the back of my mind, but other than that and a couple of "barks" that escape now and then... I feel great.

Pretty cool that karate can help you with the mundane challenge of a common cold.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Roadtrip with Supergroup7 Day 5, 6, and 7

My trip wasn't over. It was time to head home. Another 2 days of travel awaited us, and we were tired.

We left Dallas, and headed for Kansas City where Sensei Charley awaited our arrival. He had informed us to get into the city, and phone him as soon as we made it in, he'd come meet us, and escort us to his house. He insisted on hosting us. What a wonderful, and gracious welcome we received from him, and his family! They made us feel like family.

My husband and I were so exhausted when we arrived, we just sat in their living room not moving very much at first. We ended up falling asleep, and dreaming the first afternoon away.

Sensei Charley brought us to his dojo:

(Insert picture here)

What an awesome experience it was to train under him! He challenged every aspect of my knowledge, and filled in alot of questions that I had concerning certain movements of kata. He is very practical in his art, and makes sure that what he teaches is usable to his students. I was impressed by how he teaches in such a relaxed, and yet controlled manner. What a Sensei! There are alot of great Sensei out there, but few that I have found that I can feel comfortable learning under... I have to say that Sensei Charley is one of these Sensei that bring out the best in me.

The next day we were able to visit the Kansas City Zoo. I took some lovely pictures of that:

Insert pictures here

I saw a Red panda for the first time in my life. What a curious creature! I still am amazed at the mob of Kangaroos that I saw just relaxing on the field beside the path.

We headed home, refreshed, and ready for the last leg of our journey. Our last day spent in anticipation of seeing our backyard again, and entering our familliar mess of a house. Our trip was over, but our memories last for the rest of our lives.

Thank you to all of you that crossed my path during the past weeks for giving me such good memories to cherish.

Road trip with Supergroup7 Day 4

I woke up thrilled about what was waiting for me today.. I nearly bounced out of my room with my Bo staff in hand, and my gear in the other. You couldn't have tied me down.

We met at the University, and I was ready. Sensei Colin had warned me that I would be guiding the class this morning, and I had prepared myself. I knew that there wasn't much that I could offer these Martial artists that had over 20 years of experience to my few years that they hadn't already seen, but I KNEW that they haven't seen it from me.. so I rose to the challenge. With a smile, I entered the dojo. My smile instantly fled, and I nearly fell back into Sensei Colin ( who was walking behind me) The room was FULL of other martial artists. There was about 24 people in there already. I instantly thought "Oh no! I have to teach them too???" but my spirit rose to the occasion, and I answered my question "Sure I do, and I can.. 2 people or 20? What's the difference?"

So I turned to Sensei Colin and said "So... I am teaching these people also?"

He laughed and said "No.. no.. this is an Aikido class.. There is the Sensei.. over there.. He is teaching.. I was just testing you.."

I was both relieved, and in a way, disappointed.. ha ha ha. I looked forwards to the Aikido class. My first one.. ever. What an experience! Again, it was my Kyokushin training that pulled me through. I recognized some of the ideas that were presented to me, and I muddled through as best as I could. The students were so welcoming. They all knew what they were doing, and how to help me achieve similar results. I gained a deep respect for how intricate, and detailed the art of Aikido is.. how just a little shift in one direction can cause such an intense reaction in your opponent. I appreciated the way that the Sensei could make his demonstration partner go back, forwards, sideways, even upside down, and look like he wasn't DOING anything at all. I started understanding where the pain should be in my arm when performing the exercise, and where I wanted to send my opponent.

Sifu Tim, and Sensei Colin were indispensible to me.. they'd quickly explain the concept in terms that I was familiar with like "just do something like an inside block, with back stance".. and Boom.. I was in the proper frame of movement.. I just had to adjust this or that a little.

Here are some pictures of Sensei Colin, Sifu Tim, my husband, and myself at the end of our time together:





After Aikido class, Sifu Tim, my husband, and I went out for lunch together again, and quickly went over to the next event.

What an unbelievably fantastic facility we attended! It was astounding to see all of the resources that the students of this dojo had access to! The Sensei was warm, and welcoming.. He gave us a tour of the dojo, and shared stories of the past, and goals of the future. It warmed my heart to see how so many people flooded Sensei Colin with joyful greetings. The Sensei kindly allowed my husband, and I to train with his class. He gave us permission to bow, and pull out of class should we get tired. I gratefully accepted this gift, but deep within my heart I thought " I am Kyokushin! I have the Spirit of "Osu".. there is nothing that you can send my way that I haven't already experienced, and surpassed. Do your worst!"

Class started, and I followed every exercise with full power, and stance.. as is my habit. The only time that I had difficulty was when we did a strange kicking combination that I had never experienced before. Somehow my kicking foot would end up as the lead leg instead of as the back leg, and when I finished the combination I'd have the wrong foot forwards. I kept struggling to do the combination properly, and it took quite alot of repetitions before I smoothly GOT it. When I got it, I was happilly sailing through the air with my jumping double kick.

Then, something unusual happened. Sensei sent the lower kyus to go get water while the rest of us stood still in line. I quietly thought to myself "Ah .. yes.. of course.. they aren't as used to training.. this is good." I did some deep breathing to calm my body, and I set myself for more effort. Sensei sent the higher kyus to go get some water. I thought "Hmm.... that's different.. Will Black belts be next? What do I do? We've only started training.. I'm not used to drinking water at this point. Ah well.. when in Rome.."

Yes.. the Black belts were next to get water. I ran to the fountain, took a few sips, and then ran back into place.. ready for more training. It was announced that we would do Kata! I couldn't help but sparkle. Oh YES! Kata! I know.. I know.. I'm certifiably silly about kata.

The main problem was that this dojo does slightly different kata than what I know. My husband and I were encouraged to do our own versions. We did our kata, and seemed to always end before everyone else in the dojo... except for my Hangetsu. It took me double the time than them to perform my Hangetsu.

We were instructed to get our weapons, and line up. Everyone else had 4 different weapons.. I only had my little Canadian Maple Bo staff. We were called up to do our kata. I did the only one that I know: Chion kata. Over and over again, as the others did their different kata, I kept to my simple basic kata, and performed it. It was all that I had to offer, and it was the best that I had. What more can one ask?



Then it was time for sparring. I watched the students putting on layer after layer of protection on their bodies, and I was daunted by this. It was so foreign to me... and unusual. Foot pads, shin pads, knee pads, chest pads, forearm pads, gloves, head gear, and mouth guards. I asked the Sensei what the rules were for sparring, and for some reason, they seemed quite complicated to me. Now.. I know that in Kyokushin I train my heart, and body for a firm unshaken spirit, but suddenly everything seemed too overwhelming for me. My spirit was shaken, and I backed away from the challenge of sparring with this club. I sat on the sidelines with my husband, and watched the kyu level students fight, and I was totally taken aback. None of the sparring movements seemed familiar to me.. until I saw the black belts fight. Suddenly things looked normal again. I grabbed Sifu Tim's sleeve, tugged it and said "THERE! That's what I'm used to.. that is what sparring looks like to me.." Now, I was disappointed in myself. I had been wanting to spar with Sensei Colin for a long time, and here was my opportunity, and I had chickened out.

After the class ended, and the other students came in for the next class, I went up to Sensei Colin with shining eyes, and said "It looks like I will not be able to spar with you before we leave.." He gave me one of those "One minute" hand gestures, and went to talk with others for awhile. He returned, and then gracefully motioned for me to go before him.. like how a man gestures to a lady for a dance.

"Right here? Right now?" I asked him totally shocked. We were surrounded by students getting ready for class.

He smiled, and bowed at me. I bowed back, and got into fighting stance.. the whole time I thought.. "Oh boy.. oh boy.. oh boy.. oh boy... I'm in trouble... calm down.. you can handle this.. Oh boy.. oh boy.. "

Sensei Colin came at me like a Cyclone with booster rockets. I instantly went into my ALL-where feeling, and just reacted. I couldn't tell you exactly what I did, or what he did, but one of the things that I remember was hearing a gasp of sound come from the crowd of students, and a comment of something like "WOAH! Slow down... you are going to crash into someone.." I could barely see Sensei Colin's feet, and hands coming at me. I knew that he had sent a kick my way, but it wasn't until it had already hit, and was gone before I realized that I was struck. Normally, in Kyokushin, I would stop my forward attack movement in respect to the fact that I was just struck, and that the Sempai/ Sensei had used control. I remembered my glasses being struck. Since I wear a strap on my glasses the force of the blow just sent them to the side. I just grabbed the glasses, put them back into place, and kept fighting. Yes, I realize that they are a hazzard, but they are what I wear all the time, everyday.. they are like prosthetic limbs, and I need to work with them. If ever I have to fight to defend myself, these glasses will be on my face (like it or not).

At one point, Sensei Colin sent a punch to my face, and just held it there. I reacted quite strongly to the punch by holding it and saying "You can't punch to the head, it's not allowed!" Looking back at that moment, I laugh at how silly I was being: Here was a Shodan telling a Yondan that he isn't allowed to punch to her face in his home dojo. It was my Kyokushin training that had kicked in.. we aren't supposed to do any hand strikes to the head, only kicks. It wasn't until later on that I realized what I had done, and had said to him. To Sensei Colin's honor, and credit, he apologized to me.. can you believe that? He apologized to me, and refrained from hand strikes to the head after that.

The sparring session ended quickly. I was so happy. I had sparred Sensei Colin, and I could go home feeling satisfied that I did my best.

We were able to meet Sensei Keith Yates, and have our picture taken with him.




Afterwards we all met at a restaurant for supper, drinks, and farewells. I was so positive that I was going to end up in streams of tears when we said goodbye. I kept telling myself that it isn't over yet.. we are still waiting for our supper. It isn't over yet, we are still sharing stories. It isn't over yet. The tears didn't fall. Sifu Tim went home with his friend, and I told myself that it wasn't over yet. But as things go, it finally was over, and I stood outside in the parking lot looking at Sensei Colin's smiling face, and knowing that he was heading to the total opposite side of the earth, and that this is a very big globe. I didn't want to cry. Martial artists aren't supposed to cry.. right?

I saw in Sensei Colin's eyes the secure promise that one day we will meet again, and I believed him. The threat of tears stopped within me. I found myself looking forwards to our next encounter. I will have had more training experience on my belt, and maybe.. just maybe.. I might be more of a challenge to him when we spar.

Road trip with Supergroup7 Day 3

The day started off well.. we arrived at the University nice and early, found a place to park, and found the building that we needed to be in. There were computers in the entryway for students to access the Internet for free. I sent some emails to my children with a big smile on my face.

Sensei Colin walked in, and for me it was like seeing a long lost big brother. I knew him so well from all of those years of connecting through emails, and working together on his manual. My heart soared with the knowledge that for the next 2 days my husband and I will be spending time training with him.

Sifu Tim joined us a few minutes later. My first impression of him was of a quiet mountainside. I know.. that sounds strange doesn't it? But that is what I felt.. there is a rugged, powerful, and beautiful silence on the top of a mountain, and that was the feeling that I got from Sifu Tim.

We went into a special matted room designed for JuJitsu training. I playfully danced on the mats feeling them sink with my every step. I found that kata was difficult to perform on those mats because the floor sinks under your feet as you change weight in stance, and it throws your balance off.

Sensei Colin led the warm up. I enjoyed every challenge of it. He combined thinking with moving, and it was FUN! We stretched out some.. Sifu Tim took a picture of us doing the splits... Ha ha.. I can't help but chuckle as I see Sensei Colin all low near the floor, and our butts way up in the air.




Sensei Colin then introduced us to some new concepts about blind spots, and how to use them in our sparring. We learned to "see with the hip", and to improve how we use our kicks. It wasn't like he was "teaching".. it was more like a musician comparing how they attack certain parts of a song with other musicians. We were all learning together, and yet there was always a guide. It was fantabulous!

Sifu Tim introduced us to break falling. I shall never forget this experience. He started off simple, and advanced the challenge until at one point we were challenged to break some pretty interesting falls. I remember feeling my body stop moving, but all the organs within me shifted as if they were trying to continue going through the floor. I don't think that I've ever seen the wall spin past me so fast before.

We switched to some self defense maneuvers, and I became Sifu Tim's demonstration partner.



My Kyokushin training pulled me through here.. The things that we worked on were familiar, and I was able to understand what was expected from me, and apply it pretty confidently.

It was lunch time, and Sensei Colin had to go be with his family. Sifu Tim stayed with my husband, and I to join us for lunch. We had a couple of hours before we were expected at the next dojo, so I suggested that we go shopping at a mall. I found a little Spanish mall mentioned in the map that they provide for tourists to Dallas, and we decided to try to find this one.

We got lost. Mostly due to the fact that we didn't have a true map of Dallas. The ones that we could purchase at a reasonable price only showed the main highways, and left all of the smaller streets out of the picture. We wandered around for a good hour until we found the Spanish Mall... only to find that there only existed two active businesses in the Mall.. and that all the other ones were for lease. To Sifu Tim's credit, and proof of his patience, he wandered through the book store, and the furniture store with us happilly. Ha ha ha.. We had fun just walking together and talking. It didn't matter how fancy the surroundings were. We headed over to Sensei Brad Webb's dojo a little early. I was a little concerned because it was rush hour in Dallas, and we didn't exactly know where the dojo was.. I wanted to give ourselves time to spare. But with Sifu Tim's aide, we were at the dojo a whole hour ahead of time. Sifu Tim knows his way around busy cities, and he made each street choice make sense.

What a nice experience it was to train with Sensei Brad! If felt like our home dojo. It was close, intimate, and filled with suggestions of how to improve. I really was impressed by the students that I trained with.. they were so polite to us, and willing to apply themselves. Sensei Brad's little girls melted my husband's heart with their big adorable eyes, and expressive personalities. I, however, was immune to their charms.. (Yeah.. sure...) We focused on kata. After class, Sifu Tim asked me how many forms did I think that we did in that hour.. I tried to count them in my head.. I think that it was about 30 of them.. but my husband insists that it was only 22 of them. Either way, I think that we did quite a few of them.. and that put me in my happy spot. I LOVE kata.

Sifu Tim drove us home to our hotel, and we invited him to come up and have some fresh coffee, and snacks with us. Sensei Colin joined us for a couple of hours, also. My husband pulled out his guitar and we sang together, and listened to Sifu Tim play music. I didn't want the night to end, but the truth was that there was a full day of training waiting for me the next day, and already my eyelids were falling down. We parted ways with the promise that we would see each other soon.

Road trip with Supergroup7 Day 2

You didn't think that I would just jump to the Martial arts part of my trip, did you? I had to survive over 20 hours of driving down highways, so I think that it's only fair that you will get a couple of postings about that part of my journey.

I couldn't sleep. I honestly tried. I was SO tired from the highway travel we had done, but I laid there in bed staring at the darkened wall opposite me thinking about what is going to happen. I tried every trick that I could to settle my mind, and relax.. but none of them helped. At around 5 am, my husband sat up in bed, and I greeted him. With a big smile he agreed that we could leave early, and travel since we could always just pull over to the side of the road and nap if we felt the need.

We ended up at St. Joseph's for breakfast in time to greet the sunrise.



We experienced a Tolled Highway for the first time, and arrived in Oklahoma City during the late afternoon Rush hours. I have to state how much I learned to admire the driving skills of my husband. He handled the challenge of construction, constant boiling and changing traffic, and signs pointing this way and that ( you can consider it chaos) with calmness, confidence, and grace. Nothing shook him. He followed his path through the city, and continued onto the highway leading to Dallas.

As the sun set, and the darkness set in, we headed into the most harrowing part of our trip. The interstate highway was getting larger, and more complicated. There seemed to be a swarm of red taillights before us, and a swarm of white headlights behind us on this main artery of movement. Everything was going by so fast, we knew that we needed a certain exit, but we didn't know when to expect it. My husband stayed near the left hand side of this multilayered freeway. Suddenly, before he had a chance to change lanes, we found ourselves on an early exit. My husband tried to get back onto the main road, but the cars were far too tightly packed. He chose to follow the exit, and my instant comment was "Honey.. this isn't good.."

He responded tightly "I know.. but we are commited to this.."

We got off of that highway as soon as possible, and tried to find a way to return to our original highway. My husband asked me "What does the map say?"

I had no answers for him. I didn't have an extensive map.. it only showed me those roads that we needed to take, not ALL of the roads. We drove on a little, and ended up in the parking lot of a closed down amusement park. We were lost. I felt saddened because I knew that my friends Sensei Colin, and Sifu Tim were waiting for us at a dojo to join them. My husband and I took a few seconds to calm our nerves, and then tried to return to the Main Highway. We wandered around looking for our highway.. but none of the signs pointed to a number, they all said names like "Lyndon B. Johnson Highway" or "George W. Bush Freeway". I needed a number! That is how I recognized where we had to go. I felt so lost. I was the navigator, but here I was totally lost... until I saw a little sign set deeply among the pillars of the various levels of highway with the number that we needed. I could guide my husband again. Back up onto the Highway we went.. back into the nightmare.

We survived another 20 minutes of trying to continue on through the twists, turns, and constant movement of lights with no idea of where we were supposed to exit.

At one point I just decided to tell my husband to get off the highway, and we would go ask for directions. We tried to exit the highway, but there were booths that asked for forty cents exact change. Forty cents! To get OFF of a highway? I could understand paying to get on.. but to have to pay to get OFF? I didn't know that we had to pay to get off a highway. I frantically searched my purse for change. Luckilly I had the money. We pulled off of the highway, went into the closest parking lot of a mall, and sat there with white eyes, and terrified shallow breathing. Both of us agreed that we did NOT want to go back onto that Freeway again tonight. No way. We'd sleep in the car first.

We received awesome help from the staff at Circuit City. They mapquested directions to our hotel, and printed it up for us. My husband and I were pretty close to our destination. We gratefully took their gift, and followed the guidance. We made it to the corner where our hotel was supposed to be, and looked diligently for it. In the dark we couldn't see anything that resembled a hotel on that corner. At first, I nearly broke down into tears right there. We were FAR too late to go meet Sensei Colin, and Sifu Tim. We were lost in a strange city, and we had no idea if we were in the bad part of it or not. We were so tired, and drained. Here we were only blocks away from our goal, and we didn't know where to go. However, a calmness came over my heart. I remembered my Sensei telling me that it is in the difficult times in our life that our hard training will pull us through. We will think about how we survived that belt test, and faced that challenge victoriously, and that this present little problem is nothing in comparison. Yes.. that was true enough. I needed to focus on solutions, not on problems. My mind frame instantly changed into strategy. I saw a Jack in the Box restaurant that was open 24 hours, and I suggested to my husband that we stop there, take a breath, and a snack, perhaps we could get directions. As we walked towards the door of the restaurant, my husband pointed across the street to a little knee high sign. "HEY!" he said "Isn't that the name of our hotel???"

It was! We were across the street from our hotel. The hotel was UNDER the freeway... right under all of the multilayers of cement that criss crossed.. no wonder we had such a rough time finding it. The next morning I took a picture of that knot of horror that my husband and I survived.



Later on I found out that Sensei Colin, and Sifu Tim were also lost on the other side of Dallas. They had spent an hour and a half travelling in circles trying to find the dojo wherein we were supposed to meet.

The drought is over, now for the downpour!

Dear friends.. I have neglected this blog for the past half month due to my vacation, but I return with a downpour of stories, and pictures. I am a person who loves to tell stories, so prepare for long, exhaustive postings. If you'd like to read a very concise, and well explained version of my adventures in Dallas, I would recommend you to Sifu Tim White's report here:

http://home.earthlink.net/~timwhitesr/id12.html

Now.. gather your provisions, and prepare for "Road trip with supergroup7":

Day 1:

I had said my goodbyes to the children the day before. I had confidence that they were going to do well. We had provided them with all the necessities, and I knew that my daughter was going to handle the challenge of running the house with competence. It was going to be tough sailing on the first day, however, because Mom and Dad were leaving on the very first day of school. My daughter had taken the day off from work to be there all day for her siblings when they came home bursting with who their teacher was, and which friends were in their classroom, and what papers needed signing.

My husband and I were on the road far before the sun decided to come up into the sky. We talked excitedly about all that has brought us this far, all of our anticipations, and all of the various things that we need to do to prepare for the day. The first hours on the road went by quickly. We approached the U.S./ Canada border with the newness of total beginners.. we weren't even sure which path we were supposed to follow, or what to expect. I've heard of horror stories where people were detained for hours as their vehicles, and luggage were thoroughly checked.. this is not a good thought to have when you are facing the customs officer.

I remembered Sosai Oyama's words "A confident and grateful heart reaps many rewards for a Martial artist." So I placed my mind in that positive zone, and answered all the questions calmly, and pleasantly. There was a deep glow of inner pride when I informed him that I was a martial artist, and that I was travelling to Dallas to attend an event. I've always had that knowledge within me, but to speak it out loud to someone seems to make it MORE of a reality. Yes... I am a Martial artist.

We entered the States without any delay, and started the long ride. My husband and I noticed something unusual during our hours on the highway. At first, we saw the remnants of a blown tire strewn on the side of the road. We reacted with "Wow.. look at that!". Then we went under a bridge, and saw some radio towers in the distance. This doesn't sound too interesting, does it? It BECAME interesting, because it became a pattern. When we'd approach a bridge, we'd see broken tires, and a radio tower. I swear.. it felt like we were driving on a treadmill. My husband commented jokingly "Hey! Didn't we pass that broken tire, bridge, radio tower just a while back? Are we driving in circles?" We started looking for the combination. We'd point to each item and say "Check.. check... oh oh.. no radio tower.. I guess that the highway decoration commitee ran out of funds on this section." If I estimated how many times we saw that combination, I'd say it was at least 60 times that day. The next time we drive down that highway, I'm going to keep count.

We stopped at Wahpeton for lunch, and filled ourselves with fast food. Our bodies were not too happy about sitting still in a car for hours, and hours. I suddenly developed a deep appreciation, and gratitude for what truckers go through everytime they hit the road. I had a deep realization of just how many trucks we saw on the highway as we travelled, and how many people dedicate their energy towards getting food, clothes, and other items to and from the various places. Wow!




I knew that I had just started this road trip, and that I needed to set my mind to the fact that we will be in that vehicle travelling the roads far more than we will be doing anything else.

We headed farther stopping at various rest stops to give my husband's legs a chance to stop cramping. We would loosen our muscles by doing some kicks, basics, and a little bit of kata. My husband assured me that we will invest into cruise control should we ever consider this kind of trip again.

Back on the road, and looking forwards to stopping for the next meal, and to find a hotel/ motel for the night. We arrived at the city in nighttime. I pointed out a sign that said "Food, Lodging next exit" Let me just say for the record "They blatantly misdirected us with that sign." We turned off the highway, and found nothing more than a little gas station that offered hot dogs, and pizza. Grrrr..... Well.. I GUESS that you can call that "food", but that wasn't what passed through my mind when I read the sign. As for the lodging.. I never did find anything in that area that remotely resembled something that we could rest in.

We went back onto the highway, and tried the next exit. This one didn't have a "Food/ Lodging" sign, but I thought to myself that I'd have the same chance of finding something on this road as the last road. We found a Days Inn. As for supper, I looked around for what was close to our hotel. There was a Pizza Hut express, and a Hardees. I LOVE vegetarian pizza, so my husband went to get us some pizza.. but we became aware that this outlet does not serve salad.

I went to the Hardees looking for salad. I stood there for a long time searching through the list of things that they serve, and I couldn't find any such thing as a side salad. Finally I approached the teller, and asked them. Do you know what her response was? She said "Lady, you know that you are in a Hardee's right?"
Ha ha ha ha ha.... I just grinned ear to ear at the irony.
I answered her "I'm a vegetarian ( Well.. not really... I'm actually a Food combiner but it's too complicated to explain all that so I just call myself a vegetarian to keep things simple) Do you not have any salad at all?"

"Well.." She thought to herself "We do have this Taco salad special that is running this month.. but it has meat."

"Can I not order it without the meat? I don't mind paying full price." I said. ( Now... between you and I, I didn't think that this would be something big... just leave out the meat.. and give me the salad. Simple, right? N'uh uh.)

You should have seen the reaction I got: People were peering from behind the kitchen borders at me? Questions were racing through the kitchen "No meat? What? She wants it with no meat? But ...", "Well.. just add extra beans then.." "Oh.. then add extra salsa.."

What the heck did I just start by asking for no meat? This is my best guess.. I believe that the Taco Salad is supposed to weigh a certain weight when they serve it to you, and due to the fact that I had asked for no meat they had to adjust other things to match the weight. I just gave these poor people a complex math equation. HA HA HA!!!! I didn't look into the bag that was handed to me with the salad, I just brought everything back to my hotel room.

Pleased as punch, I sat down to my pizza, and salad. I opened the bag, and pulled out this MEGA salad.. It was humongous!!!! It was worth 3 normal salad sizes.. HA HA HA.... My husband declined my offer to help me eat it. So.. That's what you get when you order no meat on your taco salad.. ha ha ha.. I learned to make other choices on my trip.

Monday, September 04, 2006

On vacation

Supergroup7 isn't in right now. She is gone on vacation to the south to experience what it is like to be thrown around by a rather large selection of very experienced, and wise Martial artists. Hopefully she will return in one piece, and will not have too many broken bones. It would be nice if her fingers were still intact so that she can type down her experiences on this weblog for you.

Do not expect any additions to this weblog for a good 2 weeks.. but as soon as she is back there will be much to share. She hopes to find her house still standing when she returns.. Her teenagers are going to be in charge of the household for those days. Heaven help us!

Until she returns, she wishes good training, and healthfilled progress to you all.