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For the third year running, I am participating in the Aikido Bridge Friendship Seminar in San Diego, with Doran Sensei, Ikeda Sensei, Tissier Sensei, and 6 guest instructors. (sandiego.aikidobridge.com)
Today, Thursday, was the first of five days, and just ran from 6-8 p.m., but I'm exhausted, so this is going to be quick. :-) I'm taking vacation time (Thursday-Monday) for the seminar, so I had the whole day free. Naturally I filled it with all kinds of fun. Here's how it went:
Set the alarm for oh-dark-hundred.
Hit snooze about 6 times.
Jump out of bed, soak food for the donkeys, eat.
Feed donks.
Shower, grab my stuff, and head to my home dojo (Aikido of San Diego).
Participate in a 90-minute conference call from the dojo (was there alone), so that I could be there on time to train with Jean, who has her 5th kyu exam coming up next week.
Train with Jean for an hour.
Participate in the the first session of our new 8-week Low Impact class, which was really a nice experience.
Hang around and chat after class.
Mozy on home. Eat a banana and raw nuts on the way.
Have a 90-minute massage, in an attempt to un-spasm my left calf and hamstrings, which seem hell-bent on preventing me from practicing suwariwaza.
Have a hearty snack of nachos, grab a fresh gi, and run out the door.
Forget my phone. Oh well.
Get to the seminar with maybe 5 minutes to spare. Change, get on the mat, bow in.
Have a fantastic time training. Get a few things easily, and totally miss a few others.
Spot another friend every few minutes. Grab them to train with. Grab new people, too.
Be glad the mat isn't as crowded yet as it's going to be tomorrow.
Have a blast. Notice how time flies. Bow out, and circle up.
Tell friends about a dozen times that I can't go to dinner, I need to go home, feed donkeys, and get some sleep. Get convinced to go out for dinner anyway. Just really quick.
Spend two delightful hours catching up on news, discussing teaching methods, considering breakfalls, and wondering what the nearby diners must have thought of our "animated" conversations.
Drop a friend off at their hotel.
Head home, start laundry, feed donkeys, write this blog post.
It's 12:45 a.m. Next up: Bed. Back on the mat at 8:15 a.m..
01-13-2012 01:43 AM 