Today i fought through my last engineering exam ever in the story of my life. I needed to get at least a 50% to pass the class... i'm pretty confident that i'll pass, and in 4 day's time i'll be walking the good walk for good.
then... out of the time of my life where i do what i have to do, and i start doing what i want to do... excellentness. victory is mine!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Jinsei Shinkendo!
My latest test for progression in rank (last night) went extremely well; i looked and felt amazing. apparently everyone was blown away by my consistent level of force, never shying away, never showing a hint of tiredness nor weakness...
I tested simultaneously for 3 separate ranks:
Goho = 6th of 7 student ranks
Shidoin = 2nd degree in instructorship
Gokkyu = 3rd degree in Japanese Military swordsmanship
Only 3 weeks left at Iwanami Dojo then off to Chicago where i'll continue my studies at Sojokan Dojo under the direction of the great sensei Trevis Crane.
word up y'all, nothin' can stop me now...
djd
I tested simultaneously for 3 separate ranks:
Goho = 6th of 7 student ranks
Shidoin = 2nd degree in instructorship
Gokkyu = 3rd degree in Japanese Military swordsmanship
Only 3 weeks left at Iwanami Dojo then off to Chicago where i'll continue my studies at Sojokan Dojo under the direction of the great sensei Trevis Crane.
word up y'all, nothin' can stop me now...
djd
Sunday, July 26, 2009
¡Víva la España!
Buenos días.
It is currently 7:27 local time in Málaga, Spain. My good friend and i flew into Málaga Saturday morning and since then we have been having the time of our lives. Our fist day we spent 3-4 hours on the beach of the Mediterranian, closing our experience with a couple of nice cold beers. Saturday night, we bought a couple bottles of white wine for €1,69 a piece, took ´em down like champs, and went out on the town at 1:30 AM. We landed ourselves at a bumpin´club called ¨The Sound,¨ and danced for 3 hours before they kicked everyone out at 4:30. We had met a couple of Slavakian girls and a tall, strapping Spanish gentleman, who we followed to a rather swanky club where we got in free of cover, only because we were with José. We stayed at the club until 5:30 in the morning, which was not closing until 7:00 AM... that´s right, 7AM. Soooo, we slept until 4PM yesterday; we visited Pablo Picasso´s birthplace, and then spent most of the day climbing to the top of the great fort ¨Alcazaba.¨
View from Alcazaba
View of Alcazaba from the ground
After a healthy day of hiking, we ate at the historic Café in La Pláza de Constitución. Today, we are checking out and coming back to the States.
This trip has been exceptional, and if ever presented with the opportunity to come to Spain again, i would do it in a heartbeat.
Hasta luego,
djd
It is currently 7:27 local time in Málaga, Spain. My good friend and i flew into Málaga Saturday morning and since then we have been having the time of our lives. Our fist day we spent 3-4 hours on the beach of the Mediterranian, closing our experience with a couple of nice cold beers. Saturday night, we bought a couple bottles of white wine for €1,69 a piece, took ´em down like champs, and went out on the town at 1:30 AM. We landed ourselves at a bumpin´club called ¨The Sound,¨ and danced for 3 hours before they kicked everyone out at 4:30. We had met a couple of Slavakian girls and a tall, strapping Spanish gentleman, who we followed to a rather swanky club where we got in free of cover, only because we were with José. We stayed at the club until 5:30 in the morning, which was not closing until 7:00 AM... that´s right, 7AM. Soooo, we slept until 4PM yesterday; we visited Pablo Picasso´s birthplace, and then spent most of the day climbing to the top of the great fort ¨Alcazaba.¨
After a healthy day of hiking, we ate at the historic Café in La Pláza de Constitución. Today, we are checking out and coming back to the States.
This trip has been exceptional, and if ever presented with the opportunity to come to Spain again, i would do it in a heartbeat.
Hasta luego,
djd
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Painful Bliss
Mmmmm... tonight was a beautiful depiction of the dynamic ebbing-flowing balance of Yin and Yang:
We were training Shinkendo in 90 degree heat, the shalacked wood floor possessed a strong frictional resistance to rotating movement upon its surface. We blazed through uchi komi ichi, tsuki komi ichi, combined them and created uchi stuki kihon at first as ice, which around the time we had completed uchi komi ni and tsuki komi joge we were one and like water; swinging every cut as a deathly blow to the skull of the parter, there was a trust: a trust that runs deeper than most forms of logical, or emotional trust; a trust between warriors, a respect for the honest attempt to slay and the promise of effective defense, even if it did not go according to plan. and at the same time, i destroyed a large part of my right pinky toe via blister from fucking hell
We were training Shinkendo in 90 degree heat, the shalacked wood floor possessed a strong frictional resistance to rotating movement upon its surface. We blazed through uchi komi ichi, tsuki komi ichi, combined them and created uchi stuki kihon at first as ice, which around the time we had completed uchi komi ni and tsuki komi joge we were one and like water; swinging every cut as a deathly blow to the skull of the parter, there was a trust: a trust that runs deeper than most forms of logical, or emotional trust; a trust between warriors, a respect for the honest attempt to slay and the promise of effective defense, even if it did not go according to plan. and at the same time, i destroyed a large part of my right pinky toe via blister from fucking hell
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Turning Apprenticeship
So i was recently asked to become a wand making apprentice. Two days ago i began my apprenticeship with turning a pen on a lathe. Once i get comfortable making pens, we will begin turning wands.
Here is the very first thing i've ever made on a lathe:
The pen is made of Bolivian Rosewood and takes Cross Refills.
This is secretly my father's birthday present; he has a refined taste for well-crafted tools and loves pens; he's gonna totally flip his lid!
Look forward to more pens and eventually wands ;-)
Here is the very first thing i've ever made on a lathe:
The pen is made of Bolivian Rosewood and takes Cross Refills.
This is secretly my father's birthday present; he has a refined taste for well-crafted tools and loves pens; he's gonna totally flip his lid!
Look forward to more pens and eventually wands ;-)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
New Pen!
Ahhh, the years have passed, many pens have come and gone.
In the wake of the loss of over four fountain pens, i had settled on the Uniball Vision Elite Micro Tipped black pen; a fine pen indeed, but at the end of the day... disposable.
Finally, after years of incompleteness, a new love has found its way into my life.
Meet (yet unnamed) my newest mate: a Sheaffer Prelude (sounds elegant eh?)
We had our first date today in my MSE 472 lecture; i'm sure we'll be happy together in the future.
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