June 22, 2009
Redemption, Bands and Breakfalls
For those who have been keeping vigil, wondering about the state of my back and butt, I thank you for your concern. I'm still a little sore, but I'm fine. On our last night of vacation, we went to the same restaurant. As we were ordering and I was trying to maintain proper balance on the center of my chair, a woman at the table next to us knocked her chair over and almost had a fall herself.
I call that redemption.
We wrapped up our vacation with a great last couple of days. On Thursday night, Mr. BBM and I went out to dinner by ourselves, and then went into the tavern to hear a reggae/rock band play. They were really good and we had a lot of fun (and a lot of rum). I spent a lot of time laughing at some of the locals down there who are absolutely insane.
I also invited the band to come play at a party I plan on having this summer on my new patio (once it's installed). I think they're planning on coming because as we were leaving, the guitar player gave me a high five and said, "see you at the party."
On Friday, we had a decent beach day and we spent the day building castles and having a blast. The dolphins were all over the place and my Dad spent the day kayaking around with them. Big I also took a kayak ride which ended up being much more of a ride than she bargained for. When the kayak dumped her after my dad lost his grip on the front of it, she was flipped out of the kayak and spent some time underneath it, under the water. She screamed, cried, coughed up some sea water and then told me that she had done a breakfall so that was why she was ok. Apparently, I wasn't the only one thinking about the martial arts while on vacation.
I'll be sure to post some videos and pictures, just as soon as Mr. BBM airbrushes my butt into a smaller size. Stay tuned.
June 18, 2009
Of Bruised Butts and Egos
I've had ER visits for myself while on vacation in the past. I've had ER and Urgent Care visits for one particular daughter as well. I've been stung by jellyfish en masse while trying to windsurf (that was pre-blog). I've hurt my back while playing volleyball on the beach. But until today, I've never made a complete and total idiot out of myself. . .
Wait. . . I used to do karaoke while on vacation.
Ok, let me rephrase. I've never made a complete and total idiot out of myself while also injuring myself on vacation. . . until today.
We went to the aquarium this morning and the girls had a blast. After, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Located back on the bay and as part of a condo area, it's not ever busy and the food is always fantastic. We chose a table overlooking a marina and had a rather uneventful lunch.
Then Lil C started getting antsy. She was out of her chair and back in her chair. The chairs were very flimsy and light and I kept warning her to be careful. One wiggle in the wrong direction and she was going to knock the chair completely over. At one point, Mr. BBM tickled her a bit and she went flying backwards. I caught her by her nose and gave her two scratches on her face with my fingernail. I figured it was better than her landing on her head and knocking everything over. I think she agreed.
While we were waiting for our desserts, Lil C announced to the four occupied tables in the restaurant that she had to go to the bathroom. I took her and left my purse behind, hanging over the back of the chair. We returned to the table and Lil C was bouncing all over the place; and I was worried that she was going to knock her chair over or fall.
"Be careful Lil C. You're going to knock your chair over. Please just sit down. Your dessert is coming."
And then it happened. Apparently I have entirely too much crap in my purse because the weight of it knocked my chair backwards just as I was surrendering to taking a seat. There was no hesitation, not even a "whoops" moment as I had committed to the sit, didn't realize the chair was already on its way over, and I was going to go with it.
Mr. BBM says he looked at Lil C, heard a "woah!" come from me and looked up to find I wasn't there anymore. Instead I had taken a hard sit on the floor landing on my right butt cheek. My lower back had a brief, although painful, encounter with the jagged wooden edge of the seat of the chair on the way down and I landed in a heap of hurt.
A table of women behind me started having a fit, asking me if I was ok and telling me I needed a bag of ice. I gingerly rubbed my back and told them I think I needed a glass of wine instead. No one laughed (at least not at the time) because I think they were more concerned that I was hurt. It caused quite a bit of commotion. Truth be told, my butt was throbbing and my back was killing me. I lifted up the back of my shirt and asked Big I if I was bleeding. She said "yes" and I went off to look at the damage in the bathroom. There was no blood on the surface. It was all underneath, a three inch long by one inch wide mark on my spine that was already painful to touch. We won't even discuss my butt. I'm just glad I landed on one cheek and not my tailbone.
Our waitress delivered my coconut cream pie with a ganache bottom on it just as I was reestablishing myself in my chair.
"Here" she said, "this will make it better."
I came home, fell asleep on the beach in my chair and woke up in a world of pain. My whole spine hurts and my neck is all messed up too. And man does my butt hurt. I can't imagine tomorrow is going to feel good.
I've spent the entire week swearing off tennis, refusing to play in the waves, and being super careful about not walking into a ditch in the sand while on the beach. This just goes to show that if the universe has it out for it, it's going to get you, one way or another.
If you're not afraid to make an idiot out of yourself for public consumption, then consider entering the Summer Serenade contest! It's simple. Lip sync or actually sing a song, record yourself and send the video to me. See details and participants on the Summer Serenade page in the sidebar!
June 17, 2009
Aution Ho!
Last night I convinced my parents to join us for a hibachi dinner. Our chef was hysterical. I think he said "Oh My God" and WasaBAY-BEE about 4000 times during our dinner. He also pelted my Mom in the head with carrots and peas. His aim was a little off. He also told my parents, who ordered well done steaks, that their dinner would be ready sometime tomorrow.
He called all of us "sweety-hearts" as he put our food on our plates and then would say "love you long time" and crack himself up laughing. No one really got it except for me. If you're a regular reader here, then you know about my rap music obsession. I have a strong appreciation for old school stuff. He also said I was a beautiful girl (using the tone from the Pharell/Snoop Dog song) and that Mr. BBM is a lucky man about 200 times. Clearly, I liked him a lot.
Despite how hysterically funny he was, the best moment of the night came before he arrived at our table. Big I was reaching out toward the cooking surface and we told her it was very hot and to keep her hands back.
"How do you know?" she asked.
Without missing a beat, Mr. BBM said, "Because it says 'aution ho!' right there."
Big I looked at him funny and asked what that meant.
Meanwhile, for 5 seconds after he said it and before I realized what had happened, I was thinking to myself, "Ah, 'aution ho' must be Japanese for 'Caution hot." Hmm, interesting. You learn something new every day."
And then I realized that the "c" and the "t" had just worn off. Japanese it was not.
We all spent the rest of the night telling each other "aution HO!" with emphasis on the second part, obviously. It seemed to fit well with our rap-song-singing chef.
June 16, 2009
Kata on the Beach
This morning I woke up early and it was overcast outside. The beach was deserted and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get outside and run through some kata. I lugged my kobudo weapons and my Mom down to the beach and set up near the dunes so as to limit the view of me from the beach houses.
I ran through my kobudo katas first. Doing kata on the beach was a bit challenging. Without the mirror in front of me and the shinza to the left, it felt different. It was a good test as to whether or not I know my stuff, and thankfully I do.
Doing kata on the beach felt really good. The wind was whipping around and I think my favorite beach kata had to be nunchaku. With the breeze blowing, they seemed to fly extra well through the air. With the sound of the waves crashing nearby, I was able to work on my breathing too.
I ran through all the open hand kata as well and made it through without forgetting anything.
Then I thought I'd have some fun. During the kata Kyan No Sai, there's a part where you go on guard and then step out with the right foot and throw the sai in your right hand, presumably into the foot of an oncoming attacker. It's obviously not possible to do the throw for real in the dojo, but at the beach it's a different story.
I drew myself a little circle in the sand and stood back. I wanted to see if I could hit my target. I hit it every time, but there was a problem. The sai wasn't going in point first and staying that way. Instead it was hitting point first and then quickly flipping over. Sometimes, the sai would end up completely covered in the sand.
I decided to experiment. I moved a little closer figuring these are short range weapons and found the trick. I was definitely too far away from the circle/attacker. By moving in a bit closer and concentrating more on technique and less on power, the sai went in blade first. It was a near perfect stick. The other interesting thing is that when the point went in first, it went in and then sort of rocked back a bit. One can imagine the damage it would do to a foot if it hit and then continued the rotational movement which would rip things apart easily. I realized why this move is near the end of the kata.
I revealed my revelations to my Mom, a registered nurse, who sat there squirming as I talked about it. I find this stuff so fascinating. It's not the gruesome part so much as it is the technique and getting it right that intrigues me. I'm thinking our dojo should put a sand box in somewhere. How cool would that be?
June 15, 2009
Mermaids, Castles, and Beer Pong
At 4:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, my family and I set out for our beach week. The drive was fairly uneventful. There was one necessary stop at a shady bathroom where Lil C spent the entire time questioning me as to why I was using toilet paper to line the seat before I allowed her to sit (Yes, sometimes, I temporarily turn into my grandmother and I'm cool with that). There were also people lined up before 9 a.m. to buy malt liquor in the store (Apparently they start early in those parts). We arrived here on the Outer Banks around noon and were able to get into our beach house earlier than usual. That's always a good thing, especially when you only get about three hours of sleep the night before.
We spent Saturday afternoon unloading the cars and settling in to the beach house. This year, we're oceanfront and we're enjoying that immensely. Yesterday, although it was cloudy much of the day and very windy, we spent the day on the beach and I wasted no time getting to work.
This year, the girls ordered a sculpted mermaid and the biggest sandcastle yet (pictures forthcoming, as soon as Mr. BBM gets his act together).
Mr. BBM made me a pile for the castle the size of a manatee, and I spent my afternoon sculpting from the top down. My dad and I decided that I need a mist bottle. These aren't your ordinary sandcastles anymore. This morning, the sculpture of the mermaid and the castle are still there and are being used as a photo backdrop for many a vacationer's picture. Big I was anxiously awaiting going down to the beach so that she could claim ownership and tell people that she helped; then my Dad broke it to her that our mermaid had been given some "plastic surgery." Two boobs turned into just one. Fantastic, and no, I don't have a picture of the new and improved.
The girls are having a great time, although Lil C has absolutely no fear which can be a bit terrifying for a parent. She's been a little cranky lately and a visit to Urgent Care this morning confirmed that she has a sinus infection. She's on antibiotics but that hasn't stopped her ornary need to sit on every sandcastle that exists on the beach.
Last night I suggested that my parents learn how to play beer pong and to our complete surprise, they agreed that it sounded like fun. We drove several miles up the beach to the K-mart so we could buy ping-pong balls. We're getting the cups today. Last night we realized we didn't have any good beer pong quality cups to play with so the game was postponed to tonight. My Dad woke up at 5 a.m. today so I'm figuring that by this evening his aim will be off and I'll be grand-champion.
Many years ago, I came home with a 4.0 GPA and my Mom was thrilled. My parents broke out a couple bottles of champagne and we drank it while playing Scrabble. At one point, my Mom announced that she was "stoned." She meant buzzed, but used the wrong word and we've never let her live it down. I'm thinking tonight, she'll be a bit stoned if the game goes on as planned.
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