Practicing My Katas, Staying Warm, and Keeping the Barn in Sight

I've been having trouble being truly disciplined in my quest to be a karate man in that I set a goal of practicing my katas and one-step spars every day, and never seem to pull it off. Come Monday at class, I'm embarrassed to reveal that I don't know my stuff, and feel I've let down my sensei, whose dedication is second to none. I'm in awe of how much he and the Grand Master devote themselves to something that pays them nothing and requires so much of them, and admire them for their desire to persevere. It inspires me, but clearly not enough.

Anyway, my point is, I've been practicing more, because we are slated to test for our next belts, and I'm up for my blue belt. I'm still not sure if I want Ruth and Audrey and Nicholas to be there to watch, though they'd be thrilled to pieces. It might even inspire the kids to want to join in, but I'm not going to pressure them. It doesn't take much, and I've found being more aware and conscientious about my sparring techniques has broadened my repertoire and increased the diversity of my moves, if that makes any sense. In other words, thinking about what is and isn't working, and contemplating new things has helped me in sparring, and there's nothing like putting it into play and seeing things work out. It's really satisfying.

Part of my goal was to also increase my stamina, a goal that I've made no progress towards because the idea of exercise has no appeal to me in the heat of the moment, though in the big picture it haunts me. I still think jumping rope is my first goal, because I really need to work on my footwork in terms of my sparring. XC skiing would be nice, as well, though whenever I have free time, I just want to snowboard.

Speaking of which, I want to hit the slopes today but am worried that it will be a zoo. Big weekend, and all.

It's warmed up today to a balmy zero degrees, and yesterday when we skated at Occom Pond it was sizzling in the teens. It's a lot of fun out there, though at times I feel (being the neurotic adult that I am) like a stranger in a strange land, and pine for our home ice in Hartland. Saw an old friend, a woman who actually hails from So Cal and now lives in Hanover, enough said. I see her all the time and our kids are the same age, but whenever we meet, I get the distinct vibe that I'm intruding on her territory. She always asks me the same thing-isn't there anything to do where you live? She asked this when we went swimming at Storr's Pond, and she asked it again, yesterday.

Now I know I'm reading way too much into this, but being the suburban lifer that I am, I can't help but dwell on the subtle (and not so subtle) undercurrents of exclusivity that you get in Hanover and Norwich. When you really get down to it, Occom Pond is a country club, so east coast Ivy League, et al. Either way, it was fun, I just do better when I avoid people like that. It brings me back to the dark days of suburbia hell of LA, and completely reminiscent of life in Providence, RI.

The barn is once again in my crosshairs, though we got some crazy news from Ruth's parents. They want to buy the house they've been renting for 40 years, thus closing the door a bit more on any interest in their living in the barn. That doesn't change my resolve to finish it, and I've ordered a book on DIY building. I've got Homestead Gary looking out for me, as well, and he's been throwing suggestions my way, so come Spring, I'll hopefully be able to hit the ground running.

Yeah, right. We'll see how this goes.

Until then, my name is Fred Lee, and thanks for reading.