Back from Chi-City

Man...I had a crazy time in Chicago this past week. It went better than expected, but now my life feels like it's moving in overdrive. I wasn't really planning on yapping about all of the details, so instead I will share one of my favorite songs that often plays in my mind when I am there. If I have enough drinks I may just rap the entire song for you.

Here ya go:

Respiration by Black Star featuring Common Sense

Mama Said Knock You Out

Following a mini-Posse Mandarin Wok outing, I decided to kill the remaining 10 minutes of my lunch hour in EB Games. If you have not already listened to me rave or describe my foretelling dreams about this game, then you should know that I am talking about Fight Night Round 3 on XBox360.

During my visit, I was forced to lay the smack down on a 10 year-old that liked to talk trash while he defeated his opponents. Although there was little trash talking during our battle, he was definitely the most difficult (and only) oppenent I ever faced. Me being a GROWN ASS MAN made it even more intense because that sort of raises the stakes. I don't lose to little kids. Well...not in public - that would be very embarassing.

After giving him the only knockdown he has received in weeks, and barely beating him by the judges' unanimous decision, I retained my Fight Night Championship belt and felt really good about myself for the next few hours.

BTW, If anyone else has the testicles/chesticles to step up to the 360 and throw down, BRING IT!

She Drives Me Nuts

Like most recent mornings, I was welcomed by birds chirping and sunshine as I awakened her before my usual ride to work along Green Street. I can't help but smile since I am still riding the wave of excitement that came along with finally getting her back, and she is still hot - happier, healthier, ready for action, and willing to go the distance ( I have the endurance). But the weird thing is... I am accustomed to being on top and frequently adjusting positions and angles, yet recently I have had trouble re-adjusting to how she feels - omg really damn good. It's almost like the first time all over again.

Since her return she needs more regular attention, and I am more than happy to give it to her. Just yesterday, my roommate came home and saw me standing over her with a bottle of lube. There was no awkward pause because we know each other so well, and he understands that people have urges. These same urges rolled over to this morning, when I tended to gaze at her parts more than what was appropriate. I guess you can call it elevator eyes, but it was more akin to escalator eyes.

If I had been focused on the task at hand, I would not have been so blindsided by the ridiculousness of a peanut being lodged in between her front breaking unit and the frame. Yes, a fraggin' (I love BSG) peanut on my bike. WTF!

There it was, shell intact, no cracks. Just chillin like it was supposed to be there, yet there is not a reasonable, non-wacky explanation that I can imagine. How did it get there? Does it mean anything? Was I supposed to eat it?

I almost did, but I decided to forget about it and get my ass to work. I was already late.

Have you seen this bug?

I think she was wrapping up her internet poker game when she started scratching. "Dood, this little bug has been crawling on me all day" she said, as a little grayish brown dot scuttled down her arm. Her hand attempted to capture it but ends up only smacking against the freckled road anything other than the dot might call her arm. "Let me show it to you, it's sooo cute". Bingo. She snagged it in her fingers, and by the time she presented the prize it was on her finger tips.

BTW, spending a few years in Carbondale public schools has taught me a few things: 1) No one gives a shit if you get second place in the school wide spelling bee, and 2) How to recognize a tick when I see one.

"Isn't that....a....tick?" By the time this question rolled off my tongue, I was certain that it was.

The scene/tantrum/panick attack/entertainment that followed is impossible to describe withought taking away from its hilarity/cuteness.

Her facial expression went from happy to confused to sort of confused but in denial to acceptance to panic to (use your imagination, it's Tasha!), in parallel with, "Wuh?-Wuhh??!!!! Ahhh!! (and a bunch of other noises and possible swear words)". She hopped up, ran to the door,opened it, and hurled the tick into oblivion. And just to be on the safe side, she slammed and locked the door.

I feel bad that it freaked her out, but man I cry when I think about it. Its so funny.

There was another issue with with the tick and her dog, but it turned out okay.

Hey Bro, How did the tournament go?

Yeah I know, the tournament was like 2 weeks ago, but better late than never right? I am not gonna even type a new better written recap, but instead copy and paste snippets from emails already sent. Yay lazy!

This is actually two modified emails that I sent to a friend that was curious about my first BJJ tournament. It's long, so read at your own risk.

Email One

...The tournament was a lot of fun. I forget the name of the high school where it was held, but you go here for more info.

We got there at about 9am for weigh in. I weighed in at 174.5 and LV at 165 with gi's on. I think we were both in our respective middle weight divisions.

The order of the tournament is as follows: kids, juniors, women, men's masters (above age 30), men's adult. Within these groups the order is by descending belt rank so...brown belts go before white belts.

So... for most of the tournament I got to hang out, watch other people's matches, and cheer on the people that I roll with on a weekly basis. Good times. This is probably what I like the most about the tournament. Lots of people came out to show their support. The kids divisions were awesome because...they are kids, and kids are always cute. Surprisingly some of them were really good. I saw armbars and triangles! getting performed by kids that barely come up to my waist. The women's divisions were also fun to watch. I have a new found fear of short girls with corn rows because of a certain tiny but ferocious girl that tackled and armbarred her opponent in about 60 seconds. And then there was LV.

At about noon LV's division was called. So we all giddily relocated to go cheer her on.

There was actually only one other girl in LV's division, but since a different girl that was supposed to be in like superheavy weight unlimited (she was 220lbs) didn't have anyone to wrestle with, the 3 girls got combined in the unlimited bracket.

LV went 2-0 in this bracket. Let's say there was LV, Girl A , and Girl B(for BIG). Girl A beat Girl B. Next, LV beat Girl A. Then Girl B beat Girl A, and finally LV beat Girl B. Seems like the beginning of a logic puzzle, but that's how it went. So anyways, KC won match 1 with a collar choke, and match two with an armbar. I can give you more details. But I think I will send you a couple videos.

So she took gold in this bracket and then fought Girl A in one round to take gold in her actual bracket.

I'm gonna go get lunch, but I will fill you in on the rest later.


Email Two

...LV did a great job handling the two girls. She won three matches by submissions, got 2 golds and was ready to throw down with some lunch by about 12:30.

Oh I mentioned the order of matches in the last email. If you did not pick this out from my explanation - my bracket was near the last to go. So at 12:30 I was expecting to start before 3, since the tournament was over at 3 pm the previous year, but more people were competing this year. So... I sat around hanging out, drinking water, watching matches, and oscillating between being nervous and not caring. Drinking water killed time, but it made me a regular of the third urinal from the left in the men's room.

My bracket didn't actually get called until about 4:30. By this time, I was just tired of waiting. I wasn't nervous, nor was I pumped. I was more relieved than anything else. We had 18 people in our bracket, which was one of the largest if not the largest bracket. I knew that if I kept winning I would have to win at least 5 matches to medal because there were so many people.

About four matches went by before my name was called. Me and my opponent went onto the mat. He changed out of his whitebelt to a red belt, we shook hands, the ref said a little spiel, and the 6 minutes started. Even though I didn't feel nervous, as soon as the match started, something came over me. Background sound was muffled, my body started feeling heavy, and my mind and body didn't quite feel in sync. I assumed it was a huge adrenaline dump across my nervous and circulatory system. The weird thing was that I didn't feel nervous..or what I think nervous usually feels like...but anyways.. I really didn't have much time to think at that moment because my opponent was trying to push/pull me around. I guess the adrenaline caused me to get tired really fast, so all I could do was try to conserve energy and let my opponent expend without giving him too much. One strategy that I used, which I learned from my roommate, was to put the top of my head under his chin kind of by his chest so that when tried coming forward while we were pulling/pushing at each other he would be uncomfortable. That's about all the strategy that I could muster in the state I was in. After about a few minutes of pushing and pulling back and forth with no take downs, my oppenent managed to get a leg. Like usual, I sprawled my legs back, but I couldn't get one free. In my efforts to readjust, I ended up sitting on my butt, which gave away 2 points for a takedown.

I don't know how much you know about BJJ positions, so I am just gonna say that I ended up getting 3 points with a minute left and stalling the rest of the match. So i won. 3-2.

30 minutes later I lost 2-0 (take down). This definitely was more of a "real" take down but was more of a result of my stupidity than my opponent being strong or fast. I almost got a sweep that would have given me the win, but time ran out.

30 minutes after that I lost 1-0 (sudden death take down).

So I didn't really get to do much BJJ because of my lack of aggressive take downs.

I wasn't really disappointed because it was a fun weekend, and I feel closer to people in my class, but as the days went by I was definitely a little upset because I feel like I didn't really get to do much "real" BJJ. Oh well, we live and learn.

Anyways...the experience definitely has changed the way I train and has made me more interested in BJJ/JKD...

Oh yeah, Team McVicker took 2nd place for like the 3rd year in a row, and more detail results can be found here because the Hoosier Open page has not been updated yet.

Oh btw, I like BJJ!

Porn Chowder third on the Top 16 Rejected Campbell's Soup Varieties List

Last night I was at the campus bar The White Horse - commonly referred to as "White Hoe(s)" - for the debut performance of Porn Chowder (Enter Cobra Commander: Poooooowwwrrrrrrnn CCCChhhhhhoooooowwwwhhhhddaaahh!). Even on a Thursday night in the middle of the summer, The White Horse lived up to it's nickname, and the Porn Chowder was tastee. Although, I am not a huge rock fan (I guess I gotta label their music as something), it's hard turning down the opportunity to see "G dot E", "Baby Belushi", and "That asian dude"(actual quote) rock out. They have great energy, and honestly are just hilarious mofos. This also marked the first time I saw/heard them play with their towering, yet skilled drummer that reminded a few of us of a famous actor that no one could identify. Also joining the PC crew, was their new sort of co-lead singer..."Blondie"?. Last night there was a debate on whether her nickname should be "Porn" or "Chowder". The case was closed just as quickly as it was opened because it was clear which one she added to the band as a whole.

It was a decent debut in terms of fans. The regular White Hoe patrons defintely showed interest. I definitely spotted people singing along, clapping, and drunk dancing. On my way out, I was accosted by a sketchy guy riding uncomfortably close to me on his bicycle. He wanted to know if the Porn Chowder was worth tasting. Once he knew he locked up his ride to check them out for himself. I cannot forget about the PC Fan Club. Approximately 20+ heads came in to drink the Porn Chowder- all family, friends, and co-workers. The showed love and Porn Chowder responded.

Check them out Thursday nights at 11 at the White Ho..oorse.

My favorite parts of the concert:

G dot E's two Lead Guitar Solos
G dot E's Hair
G dot E's Dresshirt, shorts, black socks with boots combo
G dot E's screaming "Hear Comes Your Man!"
G dot E trying to get Mamavasiliou to go home with him.
G dot E......

PC's rendition of "Hey Ya!" (not perfect, but definitely entertaining)
HighTower letting loose on the drums
Baby Belushi antics in general
Chauncey's Description of the Unstable Girl
Finnizle's Smile (when is that not on the list?)
Probably many things that I can't remember and don't have time to write about since I am at work.

Lata Kiddies

BTW, before going to this show, I was in the computer lab with Finnizle trying to kill some time. I decided to see if The White Horse had anything on the web about Porn Chowder. Of course they didn't, but I came across this link The 16 Most Rejected Campbell's Soup Varieties. Someone needs to put up a less lame list.

Prep Session 1

This is another entry that should have been finished and posted a long time ago, but at this point I think it is funny reading this after the tournament results. This entry was supposed to come right after the post titled "Hoosier Open BJJ Tourney".

So I am over the stuff that I was venting about earlier. It is going to happen again in the future anyway, and I think I am learning to not let it bum me out so much. But anyways, I really like JKD/BJJ these days. I liked it before, but recently I have been thinking about how I can fit it into my daily schedule. I talked to LV about this earlier today and she was even more excited. I guess bouncing back from my incident in the previous post got me a little more enthused, but I think that yesterday's "Tourney Prep Session" with LV and Finnizle put it over the top.

We decided to do 5 minute rounds, counting points, starting from standing. This is a little different from what we are used to because we typically start from our knees or from a position that someone wants to improve. I am unaccustomed to working from standing so my strategy was nonexistent initially, and I don't have many "techniques" in muscle memory. I kind of like to wait for people to attack me, but so did whoever I was rolling with. So eventually I just tried to keep the pressure on and not get myself choked,locked,thrown, or swept in the process. I had some takedowns but not enough goodones to feel like I know anything. We eventually sort of all agreed to work on this part to hammer this stuff out.

I never actually finished it and see no reason to do so.
Lata B's

EDIT: Well whatddya know...Blogger is smarter than I thought.

The Hoosier Open BJJ Tourney

LV and I have decided to compete in this year's Hoosier Open BJJ Tourney on June 10th. More Info

But before I go any further, I need to get some grappling related rambling off my manpatchless chest. The last time I grappled (Tuesday, May 9th) I got my ass handed to me. Okay that is little exaggerated, but that is how it felt. I didn't get tapped, but if someone was counting points the numbers would have spoken for themselves. I couldn't keep/improve positions, and most things that I tried in terms of techniques did not work. The worst part of it was that I was super tired and sore, which tells me I did too much work (I am lazy). My guard and guard defense sukkkkked (and still do probably). How many times do I need to almost get triangled/armbarred before I learn? Eh whatever...I don't really care at this point...it's the nature of BJJ/MA growth, it was fun, and it definitely motivates me to fix those problems. I am gonna need the bdonbuttkickers and all their advocates to help me prepare for the Hoosier Open, which I am very much excited about, BTW.

So anyways...
My first BJJ competition. My first time in Indy. Good times with LV and Fam, Feanil (he better show up), as well as Team McVicker. Can I ask for more? I would like better guard defense, please :) . A comprehensive list of things that I need to work on will be up soon. Not that you care, but I need it to help me train.

That reminds me. I also need to buy Team McVicker patches.
Until next time,
-B

Let the studying begin!

I plan on taking the GRE in July. Exact date - TBA. It's up in the air at least until I accumulate my $100+ in exam fees or whenever Feanil gives me his schedule for that month.

I am excited because it gives me some long needed direction and sort of forces me to make important decisions about my future. About damn time.

I am now up to 5 (including one that has not been given to me yet) GRE practice books, all loaners from people that have taken or bummed around and ended up not taking this lovable test. Although I know I don't need most of them, I want to see how many GRE books that I can accumulate before the test day. I know that I am lucky to not have to pay for them, but I am almost afraid to mention that I am taking the test out of fear of a practice book magically appearing and smacking me in the face.

Anyways, I started studying the verbal section today and just like before, I struggled with the analogy section the most. It kicked me in the grouch (I was gonna tack on "hard" at the end but any level of grouch kicking -even of the gentle and feathery type- hurts. It's a grouch kick! It just hurts thinking about it.). Fortunately, my practice book added a few tips that I had never considered. So... if you say my average on analogy sections was 50%, it is now 60% after my time spent with the practice book. Regardless, I still have not clue what most of the words mean, but I am better at elimating choices, which makes me optimistic. As long as I no longer have the uncontrollable urge to rip a dictionary to shreds with my teeth or to shake the shit out of an english teacher by my test day, I am confident the verbal section will go well.

Oh yeah, I need index cards.
-B