Next Step

Today is the last day of September of 2013. It's a big day in my journey through Jiu-Jitsu.

I have just completed the last of the material required for the Blue Belt Stripe 1 exam. I have been working on this since earning my Blue Belt a little over 15 months ago.

I now slide into a period of study and review. The material now needs to be internalized so that it can be performed up to standard for the exam.

I have Madeline as a training partner. She is also working towards the test, but is not quite at the same spot I am.

When performing the exam, the candidate needs someone to be their opponent. This person needs to be someone conversant in the test material. Even better if the opponent has been working closely with the candidate.

You'd think Madeline would be the perfect opponent for my test, and I for hers. In many ways she would be, but there is a significant size difference. She's maybe a shade over 5 feet tall and about a hundred pounds. I'm 5 foot 9, and over 75 pounds heavier.

Some things are easier with her due to size, and others much harder. In a way it balances out.

The next road mark will be when the exam actually commences.

Test-O-Rama

My upcoming exam is very intimidating.

I'm not scared of the three sparring sections. They are just variations on rolling; each five minutes long. If a section is good, it is included in the exam package. If it's weak, the participants have a drink of water, a breather, and do it again.

It is the three 15-minute technical sections that are daunting. Each is at least as complex as the entirety of my last exam. Each must be precisely performed.

I am reviewing over and over to get these three parts ready, and then to keep them ready. I could do the first of these with maybe a day's notice and do about a half of my review time keeping it up to snuff. I'll be happy when it's done, if only so my practice time can be concentrated on the remaining two sections.

After the video recording is finished, it all gets uploaded to HQ for evaluation.

The scoring is harsh. In the entire thing, consisting of hundreds and hundreds of movements, a maximum of 20 demerits are allowed. A foot out of place, a hand following a wrong trajectory, an error in sequence, or even standing up wrong are all demerits. Don't even talk to me about hips, head placement, posture, or grip.

My last test had about a third as much technical material, and no free sparring at all. I had 11 errors.

So I've been plugging away to get ready. About a week ago another student committed to the testing soon, and therefore I have a training partner. We've been finding time to work together whenever we can. This is largely on top of my normal review.

I also just got home from a seminar covering part of my exam material.

And it's all a hobby. Sheesh.

Gracie Seminar

This weekend was my first Jiu-Jitsu seminar.

Rener Gracie was the big name instructor instructing. He's a grandson of the guy who started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and the son of the current head of the Gracie style. He's one of two Gracies who run the Gracie University program.

At any given time there were about a hundred people on the mat. It was held in a high-school gym where they must have a heck of a wrestling program. There were enough huge mats to totally cover the gym floor. Unfortunately, they hadn't been cleaned in a very long time.

It was interesting. He'd show us a movement in great detail, repeated several times. We then worked on it for a while with a partner. He'd then take it farther, and again we'd go work. This would be repeated about half a dozen times per topic.

This really worked for me, as the first slice was always exactly the material I'm working on at my level. The next slice would be the level above, and the rest were step-by-step progressively higher in level.

At each topic I got great coverage of one of my techniques, and the higher levels lent me a much deeper understanding. The progressive nature of the lessons had us practicing the first slice many, many times as it was always included in the subsequent slices.

By the end we were all doing the easy, first part mindlessly as we concentrated on the trickier, newer higher levels. This is exactly the kind of practice that makes a technique really sink in.

My hope going in was that I'd get great work on my own level. I certainly received this, and a bunch more that I consider a bonus.

There were four people from my Gracie school attending. Hopefully, between us we'll be able to remember the high-level stuff.

Even if we can't, I got what I was there for.

Pace change

I don't like martial arts exams, but am looking forward to this one.

Perhaps it would be more honest to say I'm looking forward to it being over.

Once the test is done, my next one won't occur for several years. There will be no pressure at all for me regarding rank.

We do very basic technique at the White Belt class. I enjoy attending these sessions, and work on the material along with everybody else. Most people have a side of the body they favor while training. I, myself, am very right-handed. I almost always train right-handed. I plan on switching this and making a point of working my basics on the opposite side. I don't do that now, as I want to be fully confident in my movement, and going left-side can seriously alter this.

For me, every Blue Belt technique covered in the advanced class will be the second time through. This will strengthen my movement and effectiveness greatly. I'm also going to make sure I'm not right-handed here, either.

If I pass, I'll also be learning the next level of curriculum. Although I quite enjoy training technique repeatedly, the new stuff will make my brain keep working and keep everything fresh. I'll likely be the only student at this level for a while. As I'm going to miss chunks of training due to travel, I can expect to go through all of this material twice before my next exam. I might be more-or-less alone for most the first time through, but by the second rotation I should have peers. Even the new material won't have a pressure feel to it.

Right now, I do extra training at least twice a week. I enjoy this, but won't really need the time for review. I've already invited a student who is about to receive his Blue Belt to join me. He has a work schedule that precludes regular attendance at the advanced class. I've offered to work with him at open-mat time on whatever he has missed.

If I don't pass, I'll have to keep cramming and reviewing until I get it right. This will delay all my lovely new training expectations.

But I'm hoping to pass.

This Week

This week is going to be a minor landmark for my Jiu-Jitsu.

It starts today, Monday. Madeline and I are getting together on the mat to work over exam material. It's the first time we've really done this, and shows just how close the test is getting.

In regular training this week, we'll be covering Back Mount Frame Escape. This will end a chapter for all of us, but for me it is more. This is the last technique I need to complete in the group class. The next unit that the group class starts is one that I completed back in May.

On Friday and Saturday there is a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu seminar being held down in Seattle, a mere three-hour drive away. Several of us are heading down. Six training hours with Rener Gracie will be outstanding.

I hope that this will all help me make the transition from “guy training,” to “totally focused on training.”

The exam looms.

Jon to Ronda

It is a good time to be a UFC fan.

Over the last couple of months, two dominant champions have already lost their titles. This has already shaken things up quite a bit.

Tonight there is a Light-Heavyweight Championship fight. The undercard is pretty lackluster, but the main even is interesting. Jon Jones is the champ, and has been so since 2011. He's had 6 title matches, 5 of them against current or former champions, and won them all easily. The contender doesn't really have much of a chance, but he has earned his shot honestly. He has a puncher's chance.

In October, the Heavyweight Champ Valesquez's belt is up for grabs. His opponent is Dos Santos. The first time they met, Dos Santos took the crown from Valesquez by knockout, and the second time Valesquez took it back. This will be their third battle over the crown.

In November, the longest reigning-champion Georges St. Pierre will be taking on the number one contender. St. Pierre has been the welterweight champion since 2008 and has a string of 9 successful title fights under his belt. He is the favorite, but it should be interesting.

Just after Christmas, two titles are up for grabs.

The middleweight champion, Chris Weidman, takes on the man he took the title from earlier this year, Anderson Silva. Silva had been champ since 2006, and had a string of 15 title wins, broken by his loss to Weidman. He wants his belt back, and I don't think Weidman is inclined to give it up easily. This will either be a blowout win for Silva, or an example of a champion finally defeated by age.

The same night the UFC's only female champion, Ronda Rousey, will be taking on a woman she destroyed the last time they fought. This should be another blowout, but Rousey is always interesting. She has a perfect professional mma record of 7-0. Add in her 3 amateur bouts, and you can see a definite pattern. She has won all ten in the first round, and all by arm bar. She is so far above her competition that it will be a big deal if any can survive into the second round or manages to lose by any method other than arm bar.

I hope the the intensity continues into 2014.

Dancing with the Stars

The new season just started on the popular show, Dancing With the Stars.

Those folks face a difficult task. They have a week to learn a complicated dance routine. There are a ton of moves that all must be done in sync with their professional partner. I timed a couple of the dances they do, and they run just over one minute.

An expert partner and a one minute routine.

How much harder would it be if the routine were 15 times longer? What if all the repetitive movements were removed? You know; no sets of step step step kick, step step step kick. Every move has to be unique.

How about losing expert partner? Have a teacher spend one day teaching the given sequence and then the contestant has to practice all the movements alone.

And then it's performance night, and the contestant tries to do the dance with an unprepared partner.

Suppose they have to have three of these 15 minute routines ready to go.

That's what the first half of my Jiu-Jitsu exam looks like.

It could look a lot better. What if it could all be done with a single partner who is also learning the exact same set of routines, and who will also be there on test night?

This suddenly becomes much more manageable.

I have been without a consistent partner. There are about half a dozen Blue Belts that I train with. Some attend quite rarely, and others are nowhere near to being ready to test. The one closest to testing is soon going to be moving far away. There has been really no point in her working like a crazy person with no possibility of completing the exam.

She was supposed to be leaving this week. A pity, really, as she is just about to complete the fifth of seven chapters of material. Only two more to go.

Suddenly, her departure date was moved back two or three more months.

Our instructor jumped on this. Could she be ready to do her own test within that time? Probably impossible, unless she has a training partner who already knows the material. Gee, that sounds like me.

She is really quite gifted at this sort of thing, and already has a Black Belt in Hapkido. She could probably master the Standing Chapter within a couple of days. The Leg Lock Chapter would be harder for her, but that is quite doable within the time she has if she works like crazy. She feels motivated, and wants to go for it.

So I suddenly have a partner to help me through my exam, at the price of practicing with her to get ready for her test. Every minute of practice for me is a minute for her, and vice versa.

This will get both of us through the three technical parts of the exam. We might also partner for the three sparring sections, but any of the other Blues are quite competent to perform those segments.

And we don't even have to make it all fit to music.

New

It's the biggest time of year for new beginners at the high-school Jiu-Jitsu club, and we've got quite a crop.

Yesterday there were eight of them present. They made up half of the entire group.

We haven't really advertised around the school very hard, but the word has certainly spread.

Outside of school it is very intimidating to start attending a martial arts class. They are usually held in an unfamiliar locale, and both the art and the instructor are unknown quantities. The new student wonders if they will get hurt or beat up?

At the high school we don't suffer from these hurdles. The kids know that they are physically safe at a school activity. The sessions are held within the school itself, in a room the kids visit often during PE classes.

The instructor is myself, and I am pretty well known within the school community. I worked there as a teacher as recently as last March. All of the club's old-timers are former students of mine, as are most of the beginners. I think I have a pretty non-threatening reputation.

So the kids show up, relatively comfortable, ready to give Jiu-Jitsu a whirl. What do they experience?

The instructor is wearing a Jiu-Jitsu uniform. He gathers the class on the mat and explains what Jiu-Jitsu is, and explains how things will go. He then demonstrates using one of the experienced students. He shows how dangerous it is to end up underneath an attacker in a real fight. He then escapes from the situation. He then shows in step-by-step detail how he got out, and repeats this several times from different angles. The kids then partner up, and try to make it work. The instructor walks around helping anybody who is having difficulty.

The student is flat on their back, with somebody sitting on their chest. They follow the steps slowly and with care, roll their partner off and end up on top. They have reversed the situation. This stuff works and they see it with their very first technique.

The class is gathered back in, and they are shown the next part, or next technique, or the next variation. They are sent back to work on the new part with a different partner. This is repeated several more times.

The hour ends. The class gathers for a last time, and the session is over.

It's no wonder they like it. They were interested enough in martial arts to come and give it a try. The teaching and learning is very precise. They are not forced to fight or spar with anybody. They leave knowing exactly what they'll be learning, and how long it will take. They've also experienced dramatic success several times already in their very first lesson.

Some seem very excited when they leave.

Dream Mini

I am intending to purchase the upcoming iPad Mini 2 as soon as Apple releases it for sale.

I currently haul around a full-sized iPad, a cell phone, and an iPod. My current iPad and iPod don't hook up to the internet via cellular data. My phone could, but it's a piece of junk. The Mini will have this capability, and replace all three devices.

That's decided, but nobody knows what features the upcoming model will boast.

So what is my personal wish list?

I want as much storage as possible. The current Mini has a maximum of 64 gigabytes. This will do, but they might make a bigger version. The current full-sized iPad stretches to 128 gigs, and there is no technical reason why its little brother couldn't as well. If Apple goes this way, I'll follow. I like to store all sorts of music, podcasts, and video on my devices. My current iPad and iPod are both 64s, and not everything fits.

Weight and size matter. The current version is small and light. My wish is that new one has no added millimeters or grams. The rumor mill has this being the case, so I'm hopeful. I want the Mini to replace my current cell phone, which means it will always be along in a pocket.

The general expectation is that the next Mini will have a retina display. I want this to be the case. The current version's screen is really very good, but I'm thinking about the future. If this year's model doesn't have the better screen, it will get lumped with the current model when that one gets phased out. If it get's retina display, it will be linked with future models. This effectively means a retina-screen model will have two more years of being kept up-to-date by Apple over a non-retina version.

That's all I want; a small, light, 128 gig version with retina display.

...and a lower price would be nice.

Do it again

School clubs are very fragile things. For one thing, every year the oldest kids graduate and leave.

Of the rest, they are tempted by the other after school activities. Think of all the sports, as well as drama and the music program. Don't forget all the non-school activities available as well; think hockey, and swimming. Our town also has a very popular dance school.

Kids often try things and move on quickly.

We started the Jiu-Jitsu club as an experiment back in April. We started with about 20 kids. Within a month we were down to about 8. This group remained intact until the year ended in June. I considered this a great success.

The new school year has just started, so last week we got the club going again. We weren't really after new people at first, hoping to get the old core rolling first. Pretty much all of the old hands were back on the very first day, along with a single, unexpected beginner. If nobody else joins up, this is enough to continue with.

On the second day, there were 5 more beginners.

Today was the start of the second week, and there were 3 more beginners.

It was crowded, but neither safety nor learning were compromised.

The old crew seemed pleased to be at it again, and some of the new ones were bubbling with excitement.

It's fun.

Almost Test Time

It's almost time to start the test to earn the first of four cute little stripes on my Blue Belt.

The test for this first stripe has 6 parts. Three are technique sections, and three are sparring. The candidate performs the required demonstration, which is videoed and sent off to HQ for evaluation.

The technique sections each must be completed inside of 15 minutes. They don't mind if you make multiple attempts, but there can be no editing of the recording. I am probably ready to record the first section now. The material of the second is the hardest, and I'm only just finishing learning the material of the third.

A big difficulty of the technique test sections is that an opponent is needed who knows exactly what to do. A perfect situation would be two people ready to test, acting as each other's partner. Next best would be a pool of higher-level people to work with.

I have no test partner, and there is only one higher-level guy around, and he's often out of town for work.

The other three parts are five -minute displays of sparring variations. One is wearing gi starting with the opponent having the mount, and the second is in shorts and rashguard with the candidate starting with the mount. The third starts standing, with the opponent wearing boxing gloves and portraying a punch focused attacker.

Any moderately experienced Blue Belt can perform the first two sparring sections, and even a White Belt could help with the third. No problem getting help with these parts.

My dream test schedule would have me banging off technique part one while I'm still reviewing the other two technique sections, and then doing them about a week later. It's harder to know with the sparring. I guess we'd just keep doing those until we've gathered a set of three good ones.

If it could all be done within a month I'd be ecstatic.

Helen wants to visit our friends in the interior again before the mountains in between get all snowy. So do I.

Then, assuming I pass, I'm all set for my training trip to Los Angeles at the start of 2014.

Video Game

I've been playing video games about fighting for a long time. People have been making them ever since technology made such a thing possible.

In recent years the games have become truly spectacular. An example is the Fight Night series of games created by Electronic Arts. It handles the gritty sport of boxing.

My all-time favorite such game also came from EA back in 2010. It was called MMA.

The bad news was that it was in direct competition with the game series that held the license from the UFC. Those games included all the world-famous fighters in the UFC stable. The MMA game couldn't use any of them.

Both games had good graphics, with a slight edge to the work from EA. The beauty came in the way the player controlled their fighter. In MMA, the controls worked in a consistent fashion throughout the combat sequence from standing, to clinch, to grappling. In the UFC game, it was more a button-mashing exercise, with very little similarity of control layout through the different phases.

Anyhow, MMA was the better game, but the competition had the famous fighters. The UFC game won, and the MMA series was canceled.

Sometimes, however, things eventually turn out right. This spring the UFC and EA got together to start making a new fighting game together. I look forward to that game's projected release in the spring of 2014.

Some early video clips have been released, and they are breathtaking.

Mean

Sometimes I just do mean things.

First, let me explain something. I like to keep track of things. Things like recording my bike rides and runs. I also keep track of my Jiu-Jitsu training.

I don't simply keep track of what I've done, I also use spreadsheets and such to predict future progress.

I've known for a long time that I'd be completing the training for my current level at the end of this month. It's all on schedule.

I just applied this same model to the other Blue Belts who train regularly. It only works with people who progress steadily.

I also did it for Rob, who is still a White Belt, but who should be getting promoted any day now.

Rob can expect to complete the level that he is about to start in about 21 months.

Elizabeth is the next most Junior. She'll be finished in just under a year and a half.

Tobias is trickier. He takes some private lessons which will speed him up somewhat. I did his projection as if he were not doing so. In that case, he's done in 16 months.

The last is Ryan. He's been Blue the longest, and is working to complete all of the Guard chapter with private lessons. Assuming he does so, he will be finished the level in a year.

So how is it cruel to figure this out?

The way we work is one technique unit at a time. Each takes a week of class practice. There are longer-range goals in the form of chapters of from 6 to 13 units. Most who look beyond this do the quick mental math of 60 technique units in all. That should take 60 weeks, shouldn't it? That's a year.

Well, it is 60 weeks, which is about two months more than a year. There are also three-week review periods between all of the chapters. That adds another 21 weeks. Our school also closes down for a couple of weeks a year.

Put that all together and you have Rob's situation. He's just about to start on training that feels like it should take a year, but is actually going to take 21 months.

That also assumes no significant breaks in training.

That's how this is cruel.

It is possible to cheat. I did it in a big way. By using private lessons, and lots of solo practice I've shaved my own 21 months down to just over a year. Besides dedicating extra time, it requires money. After I complete this level, I'll no longer be able to afford any more private lessons.

Elizabeth is fresh out of high school and I doubt she can do so either. Rob has a decent job, but also a family. I had a decent job, as did my wife, with no kids. Our income is now significantly reduced.

Both Ryan and Tobias are young, have good jobs, and are single. To differing degrees they are both doing the accelerated route.

And on whichever route taken, one good holiday or one nasty injury can screw it all up.

Ketchup

I've had quite a lot of mechanical bike trouble this year. My ride has had to go into the shop for quite a few weeks in total.

We've also travelled quite a bit this summer, which has also kept me off the two-wheeler.

My self-imposed goal is 50km per week. I try and keep up, and to make up missed miles but it hasn't been working. I'm currently at only 86% of where I should be. If I wanted to catch up today, I'd have to pedal over 170km.

There is no way I'm doing that, so I'll just keep plugging away.

Luckily, my tally for running is at 150%. I've more or less put that on hold and am diverting that energy and time into biking.

Helen and I do a ride together, usually around mid-day. Yesterday we went 19km, which is pretty typical. Some days I do another ride solo in place of my normal run. At this kind of pace everything will soon be all caught up.

Unless my bike breaks again.

Seminar Trip

I think the universe wants me to get going on my Jiu-Jitsu exam.

I've been plugging away on the material to be covered, and should be done in a couple of weeks. After that I'll need a few weeks of review and then it should be a go.

The better the review is, the easier the test will be.

It sure would be nice if one of the top instructors in the association popped by to help me. That's a ridiculous idea, as none of them has been anywhere near here since I started training two years ago. Funny what the universe decides to do.

In a few days I'm off to a seminar in Seattle being taught by one of the Gracies. He will be doing three sessions, which will be exactly covering three of the techniques I am working on.

What are the odds?

Paperwork

Paperwork drives me nuts.

I teach Jiu-Jitsu as a club activity at the local high school. Should there be a lot of paperwork involved in that? I am actually lucky, as the vice principal does most of such stuff for us, but there is still more than enough left over.

The school district wants each kid's family to fill out a waiver. This thing is about ten pages long, but I suppose it's necessary.

The Jiu-Jitsu association also wants something similar. This one is only six pages long and gets sent off to HQ in California. This one is a big, fat pain.

They state that they want a copy of the form sent every three months, along with any new members' waivers. I suppose this means that a photocopy of the waivers already registered would be fine, but that isn't stated clearly. In any case, they expect a bundle of paper to be sent four times a year.

If you are negligent, no waiver on earth will legally protect you.

So what about frivolous legal action. All a waiver does is provides proof that you realize that an activity has inherent risks, but they are not necessary.

Suppose you joined a boxing club, got punched in the nose, and tried to sue. Claiming that you didn't know you could get punched while doing boxing wouldn't get you anywhere. Our club is Jiu-Jitsu, for Pete's sake. Can anybody claim that they didn't know they'd get thrown on the ground, or sat on, or have their limbs pulled on?

The funny thing is, the school form just let's us know if the parents give permission more than any real protection against liability.

The Jiu-Jitsu association forms are there to protect the association against lawsuits. You get that? How the hell could anybody in Canada sue Americans living in America over some injury suffered in Canada?

These aren't easy forms either. There is a ton of initialing, and lots and lots of nasty little blanks to fill in.

Waste of paper, in my humble opinion. I bet they just do it as a matter of course, so I must as well.

Net Training

I still have a few technique units left to complete, but have already started to review. To get my exam done I want to have the first of the many test parts ready to go the minute my instructor says it's time to start.

There are 60 techniques, each with from two to five subsets. That means it is necessary to have about 200 movement chains memorized and well-practiced.

Sometimes I do this prep with others, but more often alone. I like to practice on the academy's massive mat, but might be better off doing more at home. Every so often I get stuck on something and have to skip it or spend an inordinate amount of time trying to recall what I'm supposed to do. At home I have internet access and can raid the wonderful library of 60 second video clips that the Gracies provide online. At the school I cannot.

If Apple would just release their upcoming iPad Mini 2 I'd be fine. That is going to be my next toy and I'll be getting one that can handle wireless so I can have internet everywhere. This solution likely won't become available until towards Christmas, and my test should be over by then.

I think Apple hates me.

Twinless

Testing for me will be starting pretty soon. I have a lot of work to do getting myself ready, but there's another consideration.

To perform the exam, I'll need at least one partner who knows the techniques. The better they are, the better it will go.

There are currently people available of a higher level who already understand the material. These are our instructor, and Corey.

Corey's work means he's only in town about half the time. He'd be a great choice otherwise. Perhaps he'll be around to help for some of the six test sections, but maybe he won't.

Our instructor would be the best possible partner, but he's trying to heal a damaged shoulder. This would be bad enough by itself, but he recently also hurt a knee quite badly. There is no way he'll be able to fill that testing role for me.

There are a couple of guys my level who've gone through most of the material, but their attendance is spotty at best. We'd have to work together a lot to get things ready, and that doesn't look particularly likely.

This makes me wonder about the less experienced Blue Belts. They might be a good option for some of the parts. They might work fine in the any of the four sparring parts of the exam. I bet they'd also be willing to work with me on the three technique segments.

Might have to do the test in the order that makes sense. If Corey is around; I should do the harder first and second technique sections. If he's away, I can take one of the others my level and we can practice together until they can perform the partner role for the easier third section.

When it's time to spar I'll just take whoever is available.

I guess it's not really a problem; just something to sort out and keep in mind.

It would be easier if I were twins.

Red Sky at Night

It is the start of September, and last night I did the half hour drive home from Jiu-Jitsu into a gorgeous, fiery, spectacular sunset.

I hated it, but how can that be?

I love everything about summer. I treasure the long evenings. For months I've been doing every drive, including the evening ones, in daylight.

Winter here is just the opposite. Not only will I be coming home from Jiu-Jitsu well after dark, but also driving to get there in darkness. On Canada's west coast, there is often buckets of rain pounding down to go with the darkness. The drive is not fun.

So last night it was technicolour skies. That means in a few weeks the drive home will happen after sunset. Soon it will be happening in full darkness. After that, the light will begin to fail on my drive two hours earlier. This lasts until spring.

That's why the beautiful colours bothered me so.

The good news is that my Jiu-Jitsu drive will not be bad when the true depth of winter strikes. I'll get a week or so of reprieve as things shut down here, and we go visit family in Victoria for Christmas.

After that, Helen and I head to Los Angeles for a couple of months. The length of day there is similar, but there will be nowhere as much rain and cold. We will also be staying about one mile from the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu main school. The sunless drives will be on well-lit streets and last about two minutes....three if there's traffic.

We should be coming home again early in March. By then, my drive to class will already be in daylight, and the drive home getting close.

When I start seeing red skies on my way home after class again I'll be happy.

Naps

For Helen and me the traveling/hosting part of the summer is over. We've been home for ten days, and our company headed home this morning.

Now it's time try and invent some sort of routine. I am recently retired, and Helen is taking a 12 month leave from teaching.

We took our bikes out for an 18 km jaunt. We'll probably keep this up until at least the start of nasty winter weather. I also like to fit in a daily run.

We both want to start visiting our community's marvelous new pool. The only problem is that they've just closed for a month of maintenance.

Helen does a lot of music, and I think she has commitments Wednesday and Friday so far.

Jiu-Jitsu starts for me on Tuesday. I end up there six days a week, usually in the evening. There might also be Karate on Mondays.

With all that evening activity you might think we are virtuous, non-TV-watching people. You couldn't be more wrong. We like educational shows, certain sitcoms, and a host of guilty, reality-TV pleasures. The PVR attached to our TV is kind enough to gather them all up for us. We do our evening watching during the daytime.

There are also other hobbies, and errands, and such.

And naps....