Back to the grind

I woke up fully intent on eating breakfast (you know, like you're supposed to), going to the gym and running, then coming home, showering, and getting ready for work (bunch of meetings this afternoon before rehearsal). My hips are so sore from the final kicking drill we did last night, though, that staying home and doing some pilates and stretching seems like a better idea. No broken hands last night - I did break the board first hit, although I must have caught part of it with my wrist again and not felt it. It doesn't hurt, but it's all bruised again. Oh well. My students think it's cool.

More on class after the cut link.

Class was big tonight, but not as intense as it was the first time I went through a testing week. After a total brain fart during attendence (I'm not usually in the row that collects attendence cards and completely blanked on what I was supposed to do - there's a great start to the evening!), we warmed up with drills (partnered with CGB, who is also not a bad teacher, as I learned), then went through all three self-defense moves and practiced our forms like usual. After that, though, was a little unusual - Sir had us line up against the wall and then called us out in ranks to show our form like we would for testing. It was really cool to actually get to watch what the other people around you have been working on instead of catching it out of the corner of your eye. After that final nasty drill (gripping partner's hand for balance, seeing how many round kicks you can do in thirty seconds without putting your foot down), Sir called me and a few others who wouldn't be there on Wednesday to stay after class and work on the board breaks. I had several people, including Sir, compliment my form after class, which was kind of nice. I made some comment to Mr. R during formwork along the lines of it wasn't my form I was worried about, it was my self-defense, so he stopped me and we did self-defense instead of formwork for a bit. I know the moves, but they aren't in my body like the forms and one-steps, so they feel awkward and clumsy to me. I'm going in Monday afternoon for my test and will talk to Sir afterward about my concerns. Part of me is thinking, "Well, obviously I can do the stuff that they require for the test, so as long as I know it, I should do it and what's the big deal?" while the other part of me is going "There has to be more to it than this."

I finished the first part of the second short-row sequence last night, but my stitch count is off. The first time, actually, it was off by three stitches. Found where I thought the mistakes were, tinked back, fixed, and am now off by one stitch. I'm pondering fudging it, since for the life of me, I can't figure out where else I forgot to decrease. We'll see.

High winds, high tides, and low temps today. They're saying maybe even a thunderstorm this evening, although what is considered a thunderstorm here wouldn't even pass as someone's rumbling tummy where I grew up. I do miss thunderstorms. As much as I bitch about the weather in the Midwest, I've lately seriously been thinking about maybe moving back. To Chicago, specifically. The only problems being that I have no money and no job contacts there, so if I do move, it will not be in the immediate future. I love California, but I do miss being close to my family. My great-grandmother is in the nursing home, and my grandmother, my aunt, and my mom have all had recent minor surgeries/health issues that I wasn't able to be there with them for. Chicago is about three hours from my hometown. But it does get cold there. I hate cold wet weather, but on the other hand, it does give me an excuse to knit warm wooly garments that I can't use much out here! So I'm thinking...