Birthday report

Let's see...I spent my actual birthday closing a show and then sitting through two different rehearsals in the evening. However, I got a completely awesome new jewelry box from Mom and money from Dad (with explicit orders that it be spent on making strawberry jam, which I can live with). My brother says his card is in the mail, which should be good, as the two of us aren't exactly known for sending the most modest of cards to each other, so I'm curious to see what this year's is. (Think along the lines of the "Here's your present, a card from the most thoughtful wonderful, caring, good-looking, etc., sibling ever!" type greeting cards, and you'll get the picture.) Chrissy surprised me with balloons and a cake at 1/2 Hour (the time the actors are called to get into costume) before the show on Sunday, and she, Aleah, Kristin (another of our interns) and I went out and had dinner at Bamboo Garden tonight before class. (By far the best Chinese food I've had in a long time!) Chrissy also got me a pretty blue tank top and some lotion. A hug and a kiss from Cute Guy (who, to be fair, had no one to tell him it was my birthday, and even if he had, we're not really dating). All in all, it was very fun.


Quickly, in other news, the baby blanket is growing. In fact, it's getting to the Every Round Is Getting More Interminably Long Since The Last stage. Sadly, I got too distracted watching NCIS tonight, and did half a round before realizing that I was doing a knit round and should have been doing an increase round. Sigh. Get to tink that back tomorrow, yay! Still waiting on the stitch markers to send the HSS3 package. Mom got her Mother's Day package, so I can finally show off this:

Her bright green (as per request) hedgehog.

75 pushups tonight in Haganah (three sets of 25), plus two sets of 20 "up-n-downs", where you start on the floor like you're going to do a set of situps, grab your (standing off to one side) partner's hand, stand all the way to your feet (leading with the hips) and then sit back down. The rest of class was mostly defense tonight, which means we'll probably do a lot of conditioning on Thursday. Sir said yesterday that from now til testing, we'll be breaking boards every class. I'm glad, because it means I'll get to really work on that stupid jump side kick, but I'm dreading it, because it means I'll have to really work on that stupid jump side kick. And I get to go to sparring this week! Yay! I'll be testing again on June 2nd, and I really need to get my new dobok broken in. The jacket isn't too bad - I think they probably did something to it when it was silkscreened with the new logo - but the pants are so stiff they can pretty much walk by themselves. I've washed them a few times already, but I think I will have to wash them a few more in order to have them useable by testing! (And Sir has decided that I will, indeed, be allowed to test. He makes me lead, among random other forms, In Wha 2 - my current regular class form - during EVERY instructor class and always threatens to cut me from the candidate list if I mess it up. I'd just like to point out that no one else in that class has a belt rank riding on any of these forms! Nor does anyone else in regular class have to demonstrate their form in front of the entire instructing staff twice a week. If I haven't memorized this form by now, I'm screwed. Luckily, I probably could do it in my sleep, if I had to!)

I came running into the dojahng late tonight, straight from work. Normally, I have enough time to go home and change before class, but I'm helping to supervise the tech/dress rehearsals for Showcase this week, so I brought my class stuff in with me to change at the dojahng. While Sir, Mr. R, and most of the tkd or kickboxing people have seen me come in straight from work before, the FIGHT guys usually don't. Between actually having some feminine clothes on when I came in and having my toes painted (I don't usually have bare feet in Haganah, but I'd forgotten socks), I got more "You look like a GIRL!" comments from the peanut gallery tonight than ever before. It doesn't bother me, it's all in fun. I did have to take Shane down a bit harder than normal after he failed a takedown and tried the "well, you're a girl and I was being nice" excuse, though. He knows better. Lucky for him, he's cute, was just teasing, and actually is a decent guy and one of my favorite partners in class.

Speaking of Cute Guys, though, only *I* would have the dumb luck to get involved with one of the few straight guys I know who is actually busier than I am. Sigh! Someday we might get a chance to hang out again. Maybe.