Sick

I've been sick all weekend and motivation is down. I think I got the same bug that my roommate has. I'm getting a bit behind in numbers so I plan on kicking it up a notch next week. I've been very busy with work lately and on the road a lot. I spent a few days in Whitecourt last week, I was there the day after all the excitement happened. While staying at the hotel with little to do I started working on a customized spreadsheet to keep track of my numbers. I've never kept track of numbers electronically before so it will be a shift. I'm going to try and be more organized this year.

Now that we don't have regular Tuesdays and Thursday practices (well Thursday looks like it might be on again) I find my schedule is up in the air. I can't remember the last time I was at regular Monday/Wednesday classes. I'm going to try and go to those classes more regularly.

New Weapon

The weapon I've chosen to learn for this years I Ho Chaun class is the Chinese straight sword (Jian). I picked up my sword last Friday from the stock at Silent River and was delighted by the quality of the weapon. It seems pretty sturdy overall and is surprisingly heavy. The blade is fairly stiff and doesn't bend easily, giving the weapon a very solid feel. No Wushu floppiness here. As some of of you might be able to guess, I'm not a fan of light floppy Wushu. A sentiment that is reflected in my Kwan Dao usage. It's also very pretty with engraving on the blade that reminds me of the Green Destiny.

I'm excited, giddy even, to have something new to learn. I suspect a steep learning curve, its a lot different from what I'm used to. For the last couple of years I've pretty much stuck to two handed long weapons. I've done a bit of reading and watched some videos to try and get an idea of the basics. I've also been playing with it on and off throughout the weekend and I can tell I'm in for sore wrists and forearms. It is pretty tiring to swing around only using the one hand. From what I've seen I think the weapon is all about the footwork and body rotations.

Just the presence of my new toy sitting on my dresser has been enough to keep me excited all weekend. I'd be holding it constantly if I couldn't resist the urge to draw it and fool around every five minutes. If anyone out there has any knowledge they can share with me about the weapon I'd appreciate it.

Since I was so awful at journaling last year I'm very determined to not repeat my mistakes. This is an important entry for me since it is the first I've made this year and I am going to try hard to make it a Sunday routine. I give permission to everyone to give me hell if  my journaling starts to slide.

Dragon Dance Practice

I had a great time this Saturday at Dragon Dance practice. It was one of the most motivational days at Kung Fu I've had in awhile. It was fantastic to see so many people turn out to put together a dragon and lion dance. There was such a lively ambiance in the room. I can see why everyone keeps telling me to come out on Saturdays more often.

I tweaked my knee the night before and about 1/3 of the way through practice it was starting to hurt, making me limp a bit.  I decided to power through it and by the end of practice it felt fine, so that's a relief. The dragon dance and demo practices have really been driving me lately. I really enjoy the team aspect and the freedom for creativity.

Expatriate

It's been a long time since my last entry. Lately, my lack of journaling seems to be stemming largely from my inability to express what I'm thinking. I've been mulling things over lately, collecting thoughts, many of which led to half written, unintelligible discarded drafts. Thoughts and ideas come by and I store them away. They start as hazy, vague outlines, and take time to become fully realized. Next thing I know, I've spent all my time thinking instead of writing. Time to start putting things on paper.

Topic of the day is how I've felt so confused lately about what community means to me. I feel divided among three different homes. The first is Stony Plain. The place of my childhood, teenage years and, at the youngish age of twenty six, where I've lived most of my life. The second is Edmonton where I've lived for the past six years or so. Where I've gone to college, matured into adulthood and met most of my current friends. Lastly there's my place of work in Sherwood Park. Honestly it's far too early for me to have any feelings for Sherwood Park. I'm only a year and a half into my first genuine career and my job has me working all over the province more than it does in Sherwood Park. Therefore I'm mostly indifferent to Sherwood Park. Nevertheless I do spend the majority of my week there and that takes a toll.

My condo in downtown Edmonton is a base camp for frequent journeys to the East and West. I've been living away from Stony Plain long enough that I've become disconnected from it. My sense of community in Stony Plain now comes from Silent River and my parents house. My parents place is an acreage about eight kilometers West of Stony so growing up I always had a slight rural disconnect from the town. As Silent River becomes more and more involved in the parkland community, the harder it is for me to feel like I'm part of the parkland community. I can't hop out the door and be at class in a few minutes. I can't shovel a seniors driveway after breakfast, before heading to work. I don't have the luxury of acting on impulse anymore. Most of everything I do in Stony is planned and so damn deliberate.

As this very moment, reading what I just wrote, I realize I should have said I have four homes. Don't think I've forgotten you dear readers. The community of the Kwoon is the most powerful of them all. I didn't mention it earlier because, really, you could say that the Silent River community IS my Stony Plain community.

There's no question that Edmonton is where I belong right now. I like it here. I love living within walking distance of an amazing Thai restaurant. I love the proximity of so many cultural, artistic and social venues. I cherish my freedom and the oh so accessible ability to go wherever I want, to do anything I want, whenever I want. My social life and activities with friends is very important to me. Edmonton is where I want to live right now. Still in the background of my consciousness there is the distant call of a rural parkland life. I can see myself eventually ending up there. But that would be for when I decide to settle down and adopt a more domestic life. The family, wife, kids and a dog idea.

This post has gotten out of control and I'm going to have to continue it later. Until next time.

Dragon Dance

Last Thursday I spent my first practice learning how to dragon dance. I quite enjoyed it. It was even more fun than I was expecting. Its also a lot trickier than I thought. Knowing which direction to move isn't always intuitive. Being aware of everyone else and knowing how to adjust your own direction and speed is very important. I can definitely see how it would take a fair bit of practice as a team to make it look smooth.

I have yet to learn the lion dance. I've never made a great effort to learn the lion dance, not really sure why. I'm oddly nervous around the lions, like they are something to be revered. Fragile and holy. They make me feel brutish. I'm uncomfortable even handling them much less being in one.  Its all very silly I know. I'm going to have to learn...

Jasper

I spent the weekend camping in Jasper. Its the first time I've been out camping this summer. Seems to be harder and harder to get people together for trips. It felt great to be out in the woods again. Saturday was spent swimming at lake Annette and some light hiking. I managed to get a wicked sunburn on my shoulders and back from the beach.

The weather was perfect Saturday but kind of lousy Sunday. The mosquitoes at the campground were absolutely terrible so we tried to spend as little time there as possible. We visited Maligned lake Sunday and I was amazed at how high the water is everywhere. The boathouse at the lake was underwater. I've always wanted to canoe across Maligne lake and camp on the sites there, hopefully I will be able to do it this summer.

I wonder if I can fit in my fridge...

This heat wave is really kicking my butt. My primary directive the past few days has been to keep as cool as possible. It doesn't help that the AC in my office at work broke yesterday, when its 28 degrees in the office I should be allowed shorts! My condo is sweltering and I haven't been getting much sleep because of it. Stupid lousy weather isn't making it any easier to exercise. Here's hoping we have a surprise blizzard. Alright I gotta turn off the computer, its too hot.