Erg?

I really need a pic of someone doing the confused llama ears. It would so perfectly match my thought processes right now. There is a testing session coming up in class, so tonight and next week were/are mostly going to be spent working on forms and...whatever else goes on during testing. Having not gone through it myself yet, I don't know. What I do know is that my name is on the list as eligible to test for my orange belt. I don't know how I feel about that. On the one hand, it seems a little quick, but on the other hand, I know the form, I'm comfortable with the form, and spending another eight weeks on it (the next available testing date) seems a little overkill, even if I do have to think about my balance on the front stances. (Someone needs to nail my back heel to the floor one of these days.) I've picked up pretty much everything else we do in class, even if I don't yet have the speed and power and instinct most of my partners do. (My partner tonight was a girl maybe a little older than me, who had a brown belt with an orange stripe on it. Not sure what that is.) According to the American TaeKwonDo Association (the national association my studio is affiliated with), an orange belt is a "beginner student [who] sees the beauty of the art of Taekwondo but has not yet experienced the power of the technique." (Copied straight off the packet of info I was given when I began classes, and I believe can also be found on the ATA website) Which is kind of me. I don't know. I think I will try to talk to one of the instructors sometime this week. I have to decide before Friday in order to get a testing slot, although I will probably have to do a private test anyway, since I'll have a show on testing day. I just don't want to go too quickly and get too ahead of myself. I want something real to brag about, y'know? ;-) Oh, and Sir gave me permission to watch one of the sparring nights once my schedule clears up. I technically don't have to get involved with sparring until camo belt (three belts from my current one) but I'd like to at least have an idea of what is in store. I hate walking into things blind.

Oh, and I've done eight increases on the sleeves for Short Row Stripes. I'm so bad - I was gonna be all about the UFOs, but it's like I can't put this down. The majority of my UFOs are socks, and I am definitely going to finish at least one pair by the end of this run. Maybe two. Okay, that may be pushing it, since the show is only 80 minutes long. It would be nice, though. I'm definitely going to finish Mom's socks, and then I think I'll pull out the Jaywalkers. It's been a while since I've done some socks for myself. And there isn't anything wrong with the Jaywalkers, nothing to fix or frog or anything. Just gotta finish 'em. Then, after that, I'll get Dad's cursed socks out and fix and finish them.

And did I mention I got my confirmation for Stitches West? I did - I now officially have homework to do: 12 rows of garter stitch in the round for the Two Handed Basics class, and getting a picture of a sweater I'd like to copy for one of the design classes. That's it.

Okay, it's 1:00a, I'm out of water, I'm out of Baileys (no, I have not been drinking all night, but I did indulge in one glass), and I'm actually somewhat tired, so I'm going to go lie down now and attempt to sleep and get up early enough to do some laundry before rehearsal in the afternoon.