LOL! Yes, I like Top Ramen....but with nice tasty bits on top!

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Martial artists, what questions do people ask you?

Martial Artists...sound off! Stuff that people ask you that drive you absolutely batty......

I usually don't go around telling people I'm a martial artist, but when the subject comes up, I usually get a barrage of questions....questions that range from the actually sincere questions, to questions that make me wonder how many movies they've watched to get such dumb stereotypes.

Here are some I've gotten, along with my own commentary....If you're a martial artist, let me know what questions you've been asked.

1) Can you do a back flip? (been watching the Matrxi have we?)

2) Can you beat up Jackie Chan? (I usually just roll my eyes at this one)

3) Have you ever fought Bruce Lee? (Umm...no.)

4) Can you break bricks? (Sure...the last brick I broke tried to attack me...but I sure showed it!)

5) Is it true that martial artists can kill people from way far away? (yeah, its called a gun. actually, I do think they're referring to "Dim Mak" or the "death touch")

6) how high can you jump?

7) c'mon, can you take someone as big as me on? (usually asked by antisocial guys that happen to be big and maybe had taken 6 months of some kind of martial art)

What questions have you been asked?

Interesting sign in restroom

Well, then where CAN I put the toilet paper??

Watch what you write about in school.....

Wow...watch what you write about, or it might get you arrested.....

http://trollitc.com/forum/off-topic-ranting/young-man-writes-a-zombie-story-gets-arrested-and-charged-with-a-felony/page-1/

Almost too ridiculous to be true, but I do see how authorities were making a big stink over it. Sucks to be that high school student though!

To Do List......

Hmmm...
1) Start back up teaching Martial arts at the Middle School...... check.
2) Tell a bunch of kids in the hall at Madison to tone down their language....check
3) Have a big kid threaten to whoop my ass......check.
4) Meet 20 new Wushu students.....check
5) Find out that one of the Wushu students is "different".....check
6) Find out at the end of class, the "different" student has no idea what afterschool bus to take or what to do.....check.
7) Stick around after the other kids have gone, try to find his name on the afterschool bus list, don't find it, then take him to the afterschool activities office for assistance. Check. Walk his him to his bus, request that the bus driver to make sure that his guardian is there. Check.
8) Fill out background check papers. Get fingerprinted. check.

Great day today....except for the nasty headache I had all day (finally got rid of it)......it was a migraine i think.....I was nauseous, wished that my sunglasses were 5 times darker, everything I smelled made me gag. I should've seen it coming, because I felt the "aura" thing that comes before a migraine. A few Ibuprofens, and I was functional, at least. Started back up at the middle school again today. I took the 2007 year off, to focus on Wushu classes at my studio. But during this summer, I realized I really missed working with middle school kids. I assumed that the school would just get another martial arts instructor, but they did not. I was surpised that they had not. Good for me though....because I'm back! I've been at Madison for close to 10 years....and I figure "why stop now?".

It felt good to be back in the familiar halls.One thing I forgot about, was the audacity of some kids these days. (oh, my gosh, I'm sound like how my own parents did, back in the 1980's!) I walk in, after one year away, and the the whole "take charge" persona kicked in. Over the years, I've been known to break up fights, drag kids to the main office, and stand up to the so-called "toughs" that have meandered the halls. No different today. As I walked in, there were 5 or 6 kids running around in the hall, "play-fighting".....they're not supposed to be out yet...there was still 15 minutes till the final bell rang. They were cussing and shouting....and as I neared them, I bellowed "Hey! watch your language in the halls! And there's no running in the halls! Tone it down before a security guard catches you!"

"Who the fuck are you?" said a big kid. This kid was way taller than me and outweighed me by at least 50 pounds. *holy crap* I thought ....*what do kids eat these days that makes 'em like that?*. I was amused. Big toughie standing up to....well, he had no idea if I was a teacher or sub or what. At any rate, he threw up his hands in that "want some of this" gesture.

I said "Ya better put those hands down....'cuz if you're gonna step to me, you might not like it".

"Man.....bitch! I'll whup yer ass! Bring it bitch!" His friends laughed. *wow, welcome back to Madison, Rusty* I thought to myself. "what, are you some martial arts Mass-taaaah?" he sneeredas he took a corny martial arts stance.

"That depends.....would be big surprise, if for some reason, that I WAS a martial arts "Masss-taaaah", I joked back. I walked right through them, wondering which one of them was going to do something stupid like try to backhand me. No one did.

Later, as I was teaching my class in the commons (lunchroom/stage), those kids found out exactly who i was. Unfortunately, they walked right into the class making fun of the other kids working out....making "Hiyaa" noises and doing the "Karate kid crane stance". I walked right up to the big kid, gave him the evilest eye I could muster.....and hissed in a low voice: "Get....out...of...here.....or you....will....be....removed....from this location."

Grrr. I want to meet these kid's parents.

Anyhow....20 new kids today....and there were 6 missing. Looking forward to seeing who shows up next week. The class had a blast. One of the new students, I observed, is a (high functioning) autistic or Asberger's sydrome boy. I saw a few signs that let on that he may have Asberger's syndrome or might be autistic. He followed right along in class just fine...did everything correctly....but his lack of non-understanding of social cues was the giveaway. He made random "chirping" sounds, and did not make frequent eye contact. A few of the other kids made some unkind comments about him right there in his presence, and I was appalled.....

During the break, I spoke to several groups of the kids, explaining that "Johnny" was a little different, but that we need to understand why he's different. "He's not 'retarded' ", I told them. "He just doesn't understand social cues....that means he won't quite get a lot of things that you or I understand easily, like certain types of joking around, or certain looks or expressions....he doesn't understand that sticking his tongue out at you might hurt your feelings, or that calling you a name would make you mad. I'd like for you to help me make him feel safe in our class, because I'm pretty sure he gets teased alot".

Ooooh. That got some of them to feel a little guilty about teasing him earlier. Bingo. Exactly what I was hoping for. And you know what? Small groups of the kids ate their snack with him, talking and laughing.

Unfortunately, as everyone left after class, I realized that "Johnny" had no idea how he was getting home. "Johnny....hey buddy", i said, as I persuaded him to look me in the eye. "You are taking the activities bus, right?" ....

"I don't know. Excuse me, can I have your attention, please? I don't know. I think my Mom is getting me. Attention! I think a bus."

*uh oh* I thought. First day of afterschool activities....of course he doesn't know which bus to take. "Let's look at the bus list!...C'mon, Johnny!" I started to jog across the commons, to the bus list. He laughed in his chirpy laugh and ran behind me. I tried to look up his name on all the busses....found nothing. "Looks like we gotta....RUN to the activities office!" and we ran across the commons again.

I waited 30 minutes for the coordinators to get busses for a dozen other kids, and while doing so, I had to make sure that Johnny didn't pull out the peripherals from the coordinator's computers. "I like computers! Attention! Hello! I like computers!". He was kneeling at the front of their desks, picking at the network cables. After a wait...they finally got Johnny his bus. I finally got to fill out my background check and get fingerprinted. Well, actually, I fingerprinted myself. ha ha! They saw how I carefully "rolled" my thumb onto the print field....and someone asked "Um, so how is it you know how to fingerprint so well?" Ha ha! I laughed. "No...I was never in jail. I sign martial arts certificates this way, along with my signature....official document, you know....".

What struck me, was Johnny's frequent use of the words "Attention" or "Can I have your attention? Hello!!!" Makes me wonder how many times these phrases are used toward him....apparently enough times to where he mimics the phrase. Hmm. It will be interesting to find other ways to gain his attention....even if its just eye contact. When he did make eye contact with me a few times, I knew he "saw" me......he's there. I just have to make sure I can show the other classmates how to "look" for him.

I was happy at the outcome in Johnny's case. I think this year is going to be a great one at the middle school.

I'm going to miss my old studio...

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving our studio's assistant instructor, Marina, home, and as we neared the location of our old studio building (that is slated for demolition), I decided to stop and see what was going on with the building.

"The roof is gone...." Marina said.

"Gone? You mean falling in? They started tearing it down?" I asked.

"The roof is gone....you can see up into the sky from the inside".....

We went to the rear of the building, knowing that Jerry, the local homeless guy, was living in our old storage shed. Jerry is a great old guy....he was always there to drive away anybody that would loiter in the back parking lot.....

Jerry let us in the building through the back door, since it was unlocked. What a huge mess. The roof was indeed gone, and it was all laying inthousands of pieces on the floor. It was a sad, bittersweet moment. In the moonlight that shined into the shell of the building, Marina and I saw all of the little items that we left behind when we moved.....paint cans, leftover office items like paper clips and binder clips, the big can of sand we used for sand bags.

Then, walking upon the old training floor, we saw a couple of the patterns we painted on the floor, for footwork training. I almost cried. We spent hundreds of hours stripping the whole floor of 90 year old tile, being on our hands and knees for a week straight chipping off pieces of tile that wouldn't come off with the big tools, sanding and prepping the floor, spending long days laying careful coats of white paint on the floor, and more days on our knees or in squatting positions painstakingly measuring, taping out, and painting the footwork patterns....

.....And now, the only things remaining are the colors of the few footwork patterns that weren't buried under thousands of pounds of musty roof lumber. It was an odd sight, the red triangle-footwork shape and the blue box-step diagram peeking out in the darkness, highlighted only by moonlight.

The building smelled so old that night. A hundred year old building that housed a longtime grocery store, a butcher shop, a deli, and lastly our martial arts studio....now carried the musty odor of time, a previous fire that was built over, and old plaster that hid behind the walls we built over it.

I wanted to just sit there all night and re-live the many memories that we made there. We brought up many generations of skilled martial artists, and became a fixture in the West Seattle area. I will miss the neighborhood greatly...but moreso, I'll miss that old building very much.

Thank you West Seattle. Since my early days as a young Karate Instructor, the neighborhood provided a wonderful home for me...from my first days teaching at Southwest and Alki community centers, to my first commercial Karate studio, to teaching Kajukenbo with my business partner, to continuing the Wushu lineage of my Wushu and Tai Chi teacher. Many people earned their black belts in West Seattle.

My goal, is when a space opens up in West Seattle, I'm jumping at it. I'll be back one day, that's for sure!

Above, are pics of the old footwork patterns on the old studio floor, and a pic of the address on our old front door.

You know how everybody has a "twin"?

Well, I found the "twin" to my own car. Yeah, doesn't sound like much, but Honda doesn't make the Prelude model anymore.

Every Prelude of the same year that I've seen (not many, by the way), has been red, white and blue (how's that for patriotic colors!). I took this pic from my own car on a back street near my business...grainy blurry pic. First time I've seen a black '94 Prelude!

Speaking of which....I love my Prelude. The '94 model was the "sexiest" looking out of the whole series. The newer models, although also cool looking, were a bit too many "angular" lines to them.

Vegas, Baby!

Vegas was fun. 'Nuff said.

Aaah, well, I gues I can say that I learned a lot at the martial arts seminars, and although we spent most of the time in meetings or seminars we did find time to check out the Fremont Street Experience, the Strip, and the roller coaster at New York New York.

Hot, though. Man......it was like 108 to 110 degrees. I forgot about how hot it can get there....every time I've been there, it was in August, and it was HOT.

Next time I go, i'm going for fun, not business....

Restita DeJesus

A blast from the past!

Wow, Rainier beer is STILL being sold? I remember the familiar smell of Rainier beer when my Dad came home from a hard day of landscaping. When I got of drinking age I thought the stuff was foul! :-) I don't even know where its brewed nowadays.....

Happy 4th of July, everyone!!

Have a safe and happy holiday, everbody!

Ooooh....I guess this explains why I am the way I am......

Ha ha ha! I saw this in a restroom in California, and for some reason I thought it was funny!

Moto trip: day 11, leaving Astoria, Morton WA, then home!

We left Andrew's place about 10 a.m. It was another beautiful ride toward Washington. When we crossed the border we rejoiced at the fact that we could put our own credit cards at the pump card reader and lift our own pump was its holder! Oregon's "don't pump your own gas" still is foreign to me. But, Its great that it keeps the job availability open at gas stations.

We stopped in Morton for lunch. Lyn had a headache, Anna was exhausted, and I was sniffling and felt a headache coming on....I think I caught a bug is Reedsport. Ugh.

It got hot again, since coming inland from the coast....maybe I didn't drink enough water today, which might explain the headache.

Later, upon getting onto hwy 167, we could feel home getting closer. (me, I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed!). We parted ways from 167 to go to our respective homes.

Aaah. Home. As much fun as I've had on this trip, I'm glad to be home.

Feels funny to drive a car
now though. I ran some errands upon arriving home, using my car. I followed a guy on a Harley for part of the way, and found myself veering a bit to the right to get "into staggered formation". Duh. Car, Rusty. Ha ha!

Moto trip: day 10, Newport, Rockaway Beach, Canon Beach, Astoria

What a beautiful ride up the Oregon coast!! I've never been on hwy 101 before, and I'm glad I got the chance to ride it!

After leaving Reedsport, we continued up the coast on a chilly ride....exceptionally cool on the coast the last few days. Stopped in Newport for a hot bowl of chowder (yum!).

Nearing Rockaway Beach, I saw what I thought was a bird that Lyn rode over. It appeared that feathers exploded all over the place. Turns out, as I passed the "bird", I found that the "feathers" were dollar bills! Her wallet fell out of her jacket pocket and her cards and money were blowing all over the road. "Uh oh, something dropped", lyn told Anna Marie over the intercom. We immediately pulled over......

Lyn ran up the road to get her wallet....wasn't easy since there was traffic whizzing by. She got all her stuff, thankfully. Needless to say, I checked all my pockets and made sure they were zipped up!

Stopped off at Canon Beach to take some pics, then off to Astoria to stay with Couchsurfing.com member, Andrew.

Nice guy, and very hospitable. We all went to St. George brewhouse to meet some gal-buddies of his, for live music and beer. We were all so tired...after getting back to Andrew's place, I blew up my mattress and was out till 7:30 the next morning......

(pics are of Canon Beach, and with Andrew just before leaving his house)

Day 9: Rogue City, OR

Another hot day. Supposed to be in the 90's in this area today.....whew! Topped in Rogue City for gas, and found that we drove right into the "Rooster Crow Festival". It's pretty busy here right now. One of the main events here is that contestants get their roosters together and see which one can continuously crow the longest. Sounds interesting, but we gotta get back on the road.

The above pic is of the huge "R" carved in to the hillside at Rogue City..... Below the hillside are some the booths for the Rooster Crow Festival.....I don't know how well the pic will turn out, but the white blob on the hill is the big "R".
Restita DeJesus
Seattle Wushu Center
5519 Airport Way S. #4
Seattle, WA 98108
(206) 229-4774

Day 8: Eureka! No wait...it's "Yreka"...

We got into the old mining town of Yreka about 5:30 pm today. We couldn't ride in the heat any longer. The haze from the Napa fires aren't out this far, so the sun was just beating down through the clear sky.

About 30 miles back, we got gas in a small town (forgot the name) and just the 5 minutes of going inside to pay and pumpng our gas made us sweat like pigs....I was starting to get that weird light headed "white vision". Everything felt better after we got moving again..I normally don't ride with my jacket unzipped, but I left my jacket halfway unzipped so the air would circulate through.

It felt so good to get the sweaty gear off at the motel! After unloading the bikes, we went into town to find food. We ate at a Chinese restaurant called "Ming's",....pretty tasty food in a small town!

We're relaxing the room now...but I don't get internet access at the moment here (lyn's smartphone isn't getting internet either).....so this blog will be posted tomorrow (June 28).

What! No internet! Geez.

(pics above are of us clowning around in Yreka, and that sunny picture with the bikes?.....don't touch the bikes, everything on the bikes is blazing hot!)

Tar snakes and trucks.....

I hate semi trucks. Not the people who drive them...just the trucks. Those 18 wheelers kick up the darndest things onto the road......

We were coming into Redding, passing a bunch of semis in the slow lane. I gripped the tank lightly with my legs as we passed, because the wind blasts were pretty gusty. Just as we passed the last truck, I heard a "thump" as the truck ran over a piece of tire. The pieces of rubber kickedover into my lane, quick as a flash! I swerved to the left and saw it bouncing toward my right leg....I lifted my foot but it caught my toe then bounced right into my shin. Yowch. I'd much get kicked hard in the thigh with a good roundhouse kick. I looked behind to see if Lyn encountered it, and it appeared that she was okay..

Boy, it hurt. We pulled over about 3 miles later. Turns out, after the rubber (the size of a baseball base) hit me, Lyn ran over it behind me.

Ugh. Can't wait to see what the bruise is going to look like.

Dick's burgers flown into Cali from Seattle!

Ha ha! My brother-in-law had a business meeting in Seattle....how ironic, we got into Elk Grove and he had to leave the next day for Seattle.

He called this afternoon, just before his flight back home, asking if we wanted anything......and a few hours later, we had...Dick's burgers!

Diana said "Wow, I'm surprised you ordered a burger, 'cuz you can get those anytime at home..."

"Yeah, but I got it for the experience of having Dick's burgers flown in from Seattle!" I answered. :-)

Lyn provided "dinner music"..she borrowed Thomas's guitar and sang "Daddy's Home" when Thomas wheeled in his suitcase. Then we sang all sorts of other songs before we decided to make some grilled cheese sandwiches...it was like a campout in the family room! We still need to finish our laundry and packing for our ride out tomorrow morning.

Almost tempted to try it while we're here....

Another biker sharing lanes....

Wow...rush hour in Sacramento....

We're now on our way to Sacramento to pick up Anna's bike. Rush hour is weird here....bumper to bumper cars...but it MOVES. 30 to 40 mph, but at least it moves. Its kind of cool!

Turns out, the Sacramento Harley shop thinks that the crankcase was overfilled at her last oil change. Her plugs, air cleaner, and jets were clogged with an oil/gas mixture. Her air cleaner was really clogged and her plugs were pretty fouled. They cleaned out the system and change out the fouled parts with new ones. Yay!

Saw motorcycles lane-splitting......my first time seeing that. I actually took a pic of one guys splitting lanes as we were going 20 mph in rush hour.

Helping out around the house...

After a nice breakfast this morning, I got the tools together to do the daily pool cleaning routine. Scrubbed the sides of the pool (no wonder why Diana's arms are so toned...pulling that huge scrubber through the water is HARD), and almost fell in during the process. Then, got the huge net to pick up debris (pigeon feathers, bugs, and grass). Plugged in the automatic pool vacuum to suck up floor junk, and I was done.

Dishes,...then laundry later.....

My bike is done with its oil change and tuneup....so I'll pick it up later.....

The harley place finally called Anna about her broken-bike....they suspect that a modulator is malfunctioning. On top of that, they found GAS and oil in her air filter. A bit of oil I can understand....but gas?? They're going to take it out on the freeway to try and duplicate the loss of power.....if it dies they should have a better idea of what's going on.

More blogging to come later.....

forgot to include this pic in the Crater Lake blog post...

Anna Marie and Lyn at Crater Lake

Playing in the pool...

Pics of Lyn, Anna, and my nieces Leina and Keilani, playing in the pool this afternoon. I've got a weird tan line now... ha ha!!

Moto trip: Day 5

Took my bike to Elk Grove Cycle Center to get my oil changed and get a fluids check and a once -over for the return tour to Seattle. Should be picking up the bike later this afternoon. I hope the Harley shop can figure out what's wrong with Anna's bike before friday.

Aaaah. Sitting here with my feet in Diana's pool....hoping I don't drop this phone in it! Ha ha! Now to decide what to do for lunch.....

The pics above are of my niece Keilani and my sister adjusting the pool cleaner....

*Comment* Geez, maybe I should rotate pics before I post them

Oops. Sorry about that pic of my windshield, folks. I'm blogging from my phone, so there's bound to be a lot of mistakes and spelling errors.....

Moto trip: Day 4

What day is today? Feels kind of funny not being sure of the day. I usually spend a lot of time on my bike during the weekends, so I think I might be on "permanent weekend".

Anna got her bike towed to the local Harley dealership. Hopefully they'll find out what's going on with her bike before we have to leave on Friday.

Lyn and I washed the insect carcasses from our bikes today. Yuk! On our way to my sister's last night, I could HEAR the bugs slapping into my windshield....in 2 minutes I watched my windshield go from clear to covered. Eeew. My saddlebags, my jacket, chaps, boots, were covered in bug parts and bug innards. Funny my helmet didn't get much at all.

Taking my bike to the shop in the morning for an oil change....gotta get to bed now!

My sister Diana took us to a wonderful restaurant, "Savory Chicken", which has the best Filipino style fried chicken and gravy I've ever had! I wish there was one in Seattle!

Pics- day 2

Pics: Stretching at a rest stop, a brilliant red sun (caused by the haze of smoke caused by Napa Valley's wildfire situation), Anna's bike dead at the side of the freeway, my poor tool bag riddled with hundreds of insect parts (yuk).

Moto trip: Day 3

We stayed at the Econo-Inn at Ashland sunday night....and did we ever sleep like logs! I remember saying "nighty-night" to Lyn and Anna, and "poof" I opened my eyes and it was morning already.

After filling up on coffee and waffles at the complimentary continental breakfast, we packed the bikes up for the long ride to Elk Grove.

The freeway was full of nice sweeping curves....I definitely didn't get en-tranced from the a bike's drone like I did once on a looong straightaway. A very scenic ride. I almost threw one fist up in victory when we passed the sign that said "Welcome To California", but we were passing an 18-wheeler so I passed on the celebration. :-)

I briefly thought about asking if we could stop in Weed, just so I could get a pic of me next to a sign like "Welcome to Weed". :-)

I could feel "success" nearing as the miles flew behind us. "145 miles to Sacramento" turned into 100, which turned into 50, which turned into 45 miles to Sacramento......then....

.......SWITCH---OFF......Like a big transformer clunking loudly as all power is shut down, the last leg of our ride was unfortunately delayed. Anna's bike lost all power...right there on the freeway, while going 80 mph......

I heard a different sound coming from Anna's bike (I was riding 2nd in formation so I heard her bike clearly)....she suddenly slowed, and went to pull over. I was following about 1 second behind, and desperately tried to slow from 75 mph to 15 mph in a very short distance, so as to not run into Anna as she pulled in front of me on her way to the right shoulder. Lyn almost ran into me in the process, but we made it to the side of the freeway safely.

We all dismounted. Lyn checked the oil....no oil registering on Anna's dipstick. "Oh crap" I thought. "I hope the engine didn't sieze up" .

Lyn ran 4 miles down the freeway to buy oil for Anna's bike Some oil put into the crankcase, and her bike started right up. A mile down the road, the bike died again. No obvious anomalies...no leaks, no loss of lighting, no loose wires or fouled spark plugs. That's it....time to call a tow truck!

The first tow company that Lyn called, was no help at all. After telling the guy at the shop that we were "7 miles south of Arbuckle and 44 miles north of Sacramento", and after clearly explaining the situation, the guy said " well, the tow would be cheaper for you if you take the bike to Sacramento".

"What?...as I'd mentioned...the bike is DEAD....won't run...."

*click* Lyn hung up.

Called another place in Elk Grove....it would take about an hour to get to us, but at least we could take the bike to my sister's. The hour was taking forwever....I had to pee badly, and was about ready to find a place by the side of the road....but there was no place to go without drivers seeing. Anna said screw it and went ahead to use the bathroom......I passed on the experience because I didn't want briars in my underwear!

Long wait for the truck, but after the truck got there, Lyn and I took off for the nearest Chevron to gas up and use the bathroom. Whew! I thought I was going to injure myself from holding it!

We figured that Anna and the tow truck would get to my sisiter's house first....but Lyn sure was riding like a bat outta hell....80 mph...in the dark, with other drivers tailing me. I had to concentrate on the fast 1 hour ride because my contacts were being blurry. I I lost sight of lyn, I wouldn't be able to tell her tail light from a car's tail light.

On the way to my sister's, we managed to catch up with the tow truck....geez, we must've been going fast. Eek!

Made it to my sister's house. We all went to In n' Out Burgers for food, then crashed.....another long day!

Moto trip: day 2

Crater lake was sooo much fun. I've never seen a lake so blue in all my life. There was still many feet of snow there, but thankfully the roads were dry. The ride to Crater Lake was beautiful as well, with lots of twisties. There was on part of the road near the lake that consisted of a lot of switchbacks.....that was "interesting" on my cruiser!

We stayed in Ashland sunday night, ate at an Indian restaurant that had the BEST chicken Korma I've ever had! We tried to convince the owner to move to Seattle, since he was looking to move anyway due to slow business. But alas, he's planning on taking on a Qdoba chain .....darn it.

Funny how long tours on a bike can warp one's sense of time. I've heard a few other bikers talk about "time-hold awareness....where there's this weird sense of disorientation yet full awareness of "now". The disorientation happens when we actually check a clock and wonder why its the time it is, based on the experiences of the day. For me, time feels as if it stopped, in a way. I'm a little in a weird state...not a bad state....just a little "weird". I don't quite know how else to explain it. I do know that my bike feels like a "part" of me now, as opposed to me merely controlling it.

Tomorrow....its off for the ride to my sister's house in Elk Grove California.

Moto trip day 1-more pics

Pics of the little church in Elbe, an with our Couchsurfing hosts in Eugene, Sean and Teresa.....

Moto trip day 1

After spening an evening trying to determine the best packing job for our legguage and gear, Lyn and I finally got our bikes ready to go at around midnight on friday night. Lyn spent the night at my house, and we awoke to my Mom who was being sweet and sent us off by making us pancakes for breakfast.

We went to pick up Anna Marie, then we headed off to the "end of the quarter" party for the Wushu class. Lots of great food and great company to start the journey....

We left the party early to go to the studio to wish the kung fu students much luck for their exams . I was bummed that I'd miss their test, but I know they'd do well.

Off we go! A relatively good ride to Eugene, where we stayed with "couchsurfing" members Sean and Teresa. Wonderful couple and great people! On the way there, we stopped several times to gas up....one stop was in Elbe where I snapped a pic of a quaint tiny church.....

In the morning, the plan is to visit Crater Lake then get to Ashland to a motel.....

moto trip: day 1

After spening an evening trying to determine the best packing job for our legguage and gear, Lyn and I finally got our bikes ready to go at around midnight on friday night. Lyn spent the night at my house, and we awoke to my Mom who was being sweet and sent us off by making us pancakes for breakfast.

We went to pick up Anna Marie, then we headed off to the "end of the quarter" party for the Wushu class. Lots of great food and great company to start the journey....

We left the party early to go to the studio to wish the kung fu students much luck for their exams . I was bummed that I'd miss their test, but I know they'd do well.

Off we go! A relatively good ride to Eugene, where we stayed with "couchsurfing" members Sean and Teresa. Wonderful couple and great people!

In the morning, the plan is to visit Crater Lake then get to Ashland to a motel.....

*sigh* darn gas prices!

Gee whiz. I remember when 20 bucks filled my car's gas tank. Maybe I need to get over my "fair weather rider" persona and just start taking the bike every day!

looking for my Tourmaster raingear right now! :-)

Getting pumped for the ride to Cali

I'm getting jazzed up for the upcoming motorcycle trip! :)) only a couple of weeks left to go.

We're going to "couch surf" on the way to Cali....kind of a foreign concept to me....meeting people along your travels and sleeping at their place for no charge! Of course, gifts and household assistance are appreciated. As cost effectice such lodgings are, it would be my first time couch-surfing and while I'm willing to try it, I'm a little iffy about it. Its all about "cultural exchange", and all members are verified and (most are) vouched for. That prevents the wierdos and sickos from showing up at your door, I guess.

The couch surfing project is kind of cool..... check it out..... http://www.couchsurfing.com

testing out this mobile logging stuff..

It appears that my mobile blog and my original blog (restita-musings.blogspot.com) aren't meshing correctly. So, please disregard this particular blog post while I test my blog configuration. :-)

In the meantime......one of my students had this shirt on....and I just had to take a pic of it (considering that we do routines called "monkey forms")! Pretty amusing!

Motorcycles & mountain passes

On May 24th, me, Lyn and Anna Marie joined members of the Seattle Motocycle Riders Group on a ride out to Monroe, Leavenworth, and through the mountain passes. It was a fun day, and a good way to build our stamina for when we take our trip to California in june. ....

It was a hot day (almost 90 degrees)...but it was sooooo much fun!

Working out, and working "in"....

As a martial arts instructor, its my "job" to exercise and to get others to enjoy exercise along the way. In this line of work, you're not only a martial arts instructorl....you're also a counselor, you're also a motivational speaker, a mediator, and for some, a "parent".

Every day, I get the chance to work out.....a good sweat and the comraderie of the staff and students is always fun....and good for the soul too. But lately, I've had to remind myself that "working out" is not the only thing that keeps us healthy...."working IN", is just as important.

"Working in".....my term for "meditation".

Some people might define "meditation" as focused thought, clearing of the mind, controlled awareness, etc. I tend to define it as simply "time to just be"......

I've neglected my "time to be" for a little while now. Lately, I'll teach class, do work at home, stress out about stupid things, and do it all over again the next day. I've even found myself "not all there" in my Taijiquan classes!

When I'm "on", I can feel it....everything seems effortless, problems won't stress me out because I'll know they'll be solved, and "drama" is unheard of. When I'm "not all there",...I can feel the stress pile up, my patience thins, and my concentration lapses.

And the kicker is....when I feel that I'm "not all there", it just adds to the stress. Never-ending circle of stress. No, its not "depression"....I still love doing everything I love to do, I don't feel blue, hopeless or anything like that. I just know I'm not fully present in all things at the moment.

Being "present" in the mind, is what gives excitement to seemingly mundane things, brings liveliness to seemingly inanimate things

Its been a few months now that I've neglected "working in". I've worked out alot over the past few months, and physically, it feels great. Now its time for me to throw it into gear now....I've been in "neutral" for longer than I feel comfortable with. Time to get back "in"!