iai -- good class, after all, which will be behind flock.

judo -- Ouch.

No, really. Ouch. First I got pinched really good taking an ouchi gari from D when he kind of fell into the throw, necessitating that he put his entire upper body weight onto the pinched place (under my upper arm) to right himself. Ouch!

Then, did you know the under arm seam of a judogi can feel like a knife? Especially when sawed across that tender under arm area for extended periods? Something H does to hold me off him in matwork has done that twice. Must figure a way around this . . .

While I was waiting in the parking lot for sensei to show up, a carload of young guys and a girl showed up and wandered around looking at the business signs. They went to our door, then to the main door and went inside. They were looking for us, apparently, so when they came out I asked if they were looking for judo. They said yes, and I said they should hang out or come back @ 7:30. They asked if I was in the class, but I avoided answering and answered the previous question about the club not being associated with the aikido place (with which we share space), which is why the practice times are not on their website.

They said they would come back.

When sensei came I said there was a carload of folks who showed up and asked about classes. "But I didn't like the looks of 'em, so I told them to go someplace else."

"Oh, really?" (I had him going there, he looked a bit bemused.)

"Well, no. I told them to come back between 7:30 and 8. But I didn't like the looks of them."

At which point A chimed in and said they looked like MMA guys, which is of course what I meant. And I said, "I need more of that like I need a hole in my head. Let's do kata tonight."

The one guy in the tank top and shorts -- white shorts, with a design that looked in my peripheral vision to mimic a black belt -- came back. Sensei had just listened to his message on the answering machine, so was able to greet him by name, and told him to have a seat and make himself comfortable. MMA whelp asked if he could join in (he didn't bring a gi, so I don't know what he'd do for clothes), and Sensei said, "why don't you watch this class. You can join in next time."

Mind you, the older guy who showed up with a gi and had experience in aikido was invited to join in.

Opposite poles. ;-)

We didn't do any kata. :-(

naginata -- grr! But I think I'll get my naginata in the Mini-me's hands this weekend, because I think it will help her posture in judo.

work -- heh! ^_^;

family -- The Boy is off to Maine for vacation with friend & family.

school -- grr, classes

reading -- Forgot my Samson yesterday, so Tale of Genji it was. He's pining after the Lady of the Evening Faces. Who died the night he spirited her away for a romantic getaway in a rundown estate.

writing -- On hold until I have a day off. It's probably not as bad as I think it is.

It's probably worse.

iai -- I’m discouraged, because my nukitsuke is falling apart -- which it does need to do before it comes back together, but the problem is I don’t quite know what I need to do with it. Well, I still need to work on grounding the cut, but this is really one of those times I need someone watching me to tell me when I’ve got it right. As a result of this indecision, I didn’t really do any practicing for the whole weekend.

So yesterday I headed out for a brief warm up, and I checked my shibori (looking good, I think -- both hands rotating). Then some reversals and kiriotoshi, because I’m still trying to lock in the shibori when I’m moving. Then inside, and screwed around with nukitsuke, and thought about foot then strike. I think I made some headway, but I’m not sure. I’ll ask for help specifically on Wednesday.

One thing that I am having success with is the cocked rear foot. It’s more a feeling of putting weight on the foot -- even with knee down -- and keeping back. Keep coiled and on that foot. It’s quite distinctive when you feel it; very powerful.

judo -- looking forward to what I hope will be a good workout today. I hope the foundation and eyeshadow our guest of last week left on the mat has been worked out. Who the hell wears makeup to judo? Someone not expecting our level of matwork, I guess.

naginata -- My hands seem to be evening out in joge-buri. Still waiting to hear about potential summertime practice. I know it might not be absolutely polite to get a little insistent about this, but it’s been a freakin’ month -- summer’s got eight weeks left, and I might have to arrange for time off. It sucks practicing on my own. I did order some study materials, though. If nothing else, I’ll have that.

work -- work

family -- hey!

school -- trying to figure out which classes to take this fall. Probably English 210 -- reading stupid “literature” and writing crap about it. And . . . something else I haven’t figured out yet. This on-line thing is beginning to look less do-able -- I can find three classes at USD that are remotely interesting, and I’m only about 1/3 of the way to the degree. Most of the other on-line classes are pre-nursing, criminal justice, and teaching.
:-(

reading -- research

writing -- discouragement seems to be the theme of the day. I’ve got about 1500 words on this Terumasa story, but the narrative feels all wrong. Not the facts -- I think I’ve got those. Just . . . the writing itself. It’s slow and horrible quality. I usually do much better than this. I wonder if it’s the voice, or if I’m just writing this to avoid going back to the novel because once I get to the novel I will discover I can’t do it any more.

Pictures of the garden behind the cut.
( they're big )

First, I have a spiffy new icon I Skitched up, thanks to iai_adept referring to me as "Hermione"* in a response to one of my jargon-laden comments.

Second, still no resolution to the plain, dark, lightweight iai gi dilemma, so today I purchased 2.5 yards of a beautiful earthy brown linen. Ki-mono are largely composed of simple blocks, assembled and edged. They are so simple and blocky in fact, that care back in the day consisted of disassembling, washing and blocking the cleaned pieces, and reassembling with a new orientation to even out the wear.

This, using my fine gi as a model, I can do. I think before I cut the linen, however, I'll do a trial run in some heavy white cotton, which can also serve as my naginata gi (same cut, shorter sleeves). I am supposed to have an organization patch as well, which also true to Japanese sartorial tradition I will loosely baste to the sleeve.

Then remove as soon as I get home from Summer Camp, because I think this is going to be an absolutely classy iai gi, and I don't want a patch on it.

Judo last night was fun. Kudo sensei had us doing more work -- working on hold-downs with emphasis on trapping the shoulders. He also showed how if you need to prop a hand to stop uke from rolling out, you dig in your heel and lift your fingers from the mat. That's a very simple thing, but in five years no one had showed that before.

Now I have two days off, and I don't want to start the gi yet because I don't yet have the white (the linen was on sale only until tomorrow, so instead of almost $40 for fabric, I paid under $20).

But I do have that Terumasa story, which seems to be doing all sorts of unintended things for the world-puzzle, so I think I need to attend to that.

"No, Brer Fox, don't throw me in the briar patch!"

* ETA: She has reminded me that I referred to myself in this fashion in comments about seven weeks ago. But as I'd forgotten, this still counts. Right?

I used to garden a lot more. Now I like that my garden is stuffed full of plants that like to take care of themselves.

( My favorite spot, behind the cut. )

"If you read this, if your eyes are passing over this right now, even if we don't speak often, please post a comment with a memory of you and me. It can be anything you want -- good or bad. When you're finished, post this little paragraph on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people remember about you."

iai -- took bokken to judo last night to warm up with, and keep that follow-the-sword feeling fresh in my mind. Then took out the sword when I got home, to make sure I still have it. It's definitely a case of less is more.

In other news, apparently it's "preferable" that I have a solid, dark gi for testing. Grr. Maybe I can make one? All the lightweight gi I can find are all in the $75 ++ range. And I'm not keen on spending that much for a gi I won't love.

judo -- Epic. 15 minute. Matwork sessions. x3.

OMG.

naginata -- none, but will tonight. Also, no word on eastern classes. Grr.

work -- work

family -- The Girl started off her summer vacation in grand style, lost her computer privileges, then had the nerve to text me while I was at work and ask for toiletries. I responded that maybe she should ask someone who is not a b____.

school -- noschool

reading -- History of Japan still, with emphasis on the Fujiwara regents. Samson is more helpful in this regard than other histories, which sort of hand-wave over the whole social-political mechanisms by which the powerful actually did their work. It's all well and good to say Dowager Empress Akiko exerted a great deal of social pressure, but *how* exactly did this come about? Temper tantrums? Telling people lower on the totem pole to not visit the person of her displeasure? Having them outvote that person? Did she simply voice her opinion, and people went along because she was the mother of the Emperor? Samson at least shows how Fujiwara Michinaga brought down his nephew Korechika by manipulating events and having false criminal charges brought against him. But I have a very hard time extrapolating the nature of these interactions as a rule.

Does anyone have any insights into this sort of thing?

writing -- I'm beginning to think I might not need to write that Terumasa thing at all, as it doesn't really *do* anything I need doing. So I'm reading, and thinking about mothers of Emperors, and opposing families.

iai -- sent an email off to sensei before the weekend, just noting that if I'm expected to test in August, I have zero facts about it. I need to know if my edo-zashi gi is okay, and if not I need time to get a replacement (I need a second, anyway, and I was going to order a white edo-zashi . . .). When I didn't hear from him I figured something was up. And something was, sadly. He apologized and said we'd talk about testing tomorrow.

Otherwise, I'm reconstructing my nukitsuke, especially my nukitsuke from seiza. That seems to be progressing well -- I feel like my cut is more stable and grounded, and coming back up to speed. I've also softened everything considerably, and am working on the power in the cut coming from the shibori and the weight of my hips. Good timing, and necessary, because I seem to be having a tendonitis flare off the corner of my right shoulder, which is probably exacerbated by the length of my sword, as well as my chronically tonic trapezius muscles.

Still no word on the new sword, and my am I getting grumpy about that . . .

judo -- Kudo-sensei! Which means lots of gems of technique, and lots of anecdotes (I freudianed in "lost" there), but unfortunately we didn't break a sweat. One of tonight's stories was how he didn't have much of a future as a kid, being the son of a farmer, and he wanted a big future, not a little farmer future. So he'd pick fights with other kids. Not "those ones I can beat. The big ones. I still lose it, but I get to stay home." Hee. He showed techniques for holding in kamishihogatame (upper four corner hold), and for escaping, including a nasty choke between the shin and forearm.

Key points in kamishihogatame are holding with the chin near the belt, and looking far, not down. Good chest contact. Trap the shoulders.

He also said he has some tapes of iaido he's going to look around to see if he can find for me.

naginata -- no news from the person out East I emailed . . . I think I'll have to follow up with my sempai

work -- er . . . some stress there

family -- last day of school tomorrow

school -- noschool

reading -- Samson's A History of Japan to 1334

writing -- more thinking about Daichi and Teru and the bows

Made my way home okay last night. Found the family waiting to see what I wanted for my birthday dinner.

After wading through a crowd of the undead, you might think sushi would no longer have any appeal, but it's sushi. Yum.

Things seem pretty much back to normal now. No one knows what caused it, but as long as Sephora is open, the zombies wander in, get their beauty consultation, and walk out happy.

Which, for a zombie, means not visibly homicidal. Which is fine for us. As long as we don’t try to stop them going in, they leave us alone.

I suppose in a few weeks or months we’ll have an answer about the factors that brought this all about.

The place, however, still reeks.

I guess we're safe, though, until next year's Blog Like It's the End of the World . . .

Well, that was rather . . . anticlimatic. We opened the door to the floor and true to the cameras it was empty of zombies. But there were plenty of zombies milling around just outside.

We knew they were zombies, because they were stumbling around, and they were pretty rank. But they'd been clearly up to No Good in Sephora, because they had tan complexions and rosy cheeks.

So me and my team edge over to the front glass and peek.

Makeovers. The zombies were getting makeovers.

And it looks like it's actually more or less safe, so we creep out with me in the lead, but I don't need the sword, because it's fine as long as we don't get between a zombie and his path to the Holy Grail of foundation.

And the stink. The zombies have theirs, and Sephora has theirs, and now those two stinks are one. And the Sephora folks are busily consulting, and the zombies are grunting, and everyone seems happy.

Whatever works to keep them from trying to eat my brain, you know?

So I text the Mini Me, and tell her the cure is makeovers, and she says she knows who can implement that plan in our 'hood.

I guess The Boy can get his game time after all, and we'll just have to wait until the next uprising for him to show off his mad skillz.

The noises we've been accustomed to over the last few hours -- the shambling, the scratching, the thumping -- have died down. Been at least 10 minutes or so. Camera view shows no one on the floor.

We're gathering a recon crew. I've cleaned the sword and we're ready to go . . .

Finally back

can't write -- adrenalin shakes

just say glad I've been working on grip through cuts

Back hall was still clear, though we heard some pounding on the doors we went by. Live-blogging now from the cheezy import place on the same level. Cheezy imports, yes, but there was also one of those Chinese forged swords in their display case. I'm not sure if the wrap will hold up, or if the tang is up to full contact, but the edge is sharp enough to get the job done. Now we need to get back to the store. Since we came through I'm hearing some sounds I don't like in the back hall, and I'm not exactly trusting this door of a lesser store.

I’m armed, though. For real.

And still clocked in. Overtime, baby!

They’ve broken in through the glass and are wandering through our floor. What a shambles.

Last update from the kids says they’ve seen a few zombies wandering around outside without any discernible purpose. All heading vaguely north.

One of the guys and I are going to make a trip through the back hall to see if I can get myself better equipped.

Update soon.

They’ve broken in the mall proper. The first to fall were the security guards, because you know, the curfew -- and the guards still felt bound and determined to check ID for underage.

Stupid guards.

The zombies flooded in, looking like they were headed straight for us, but they went by and kind of backed up by Sephora. I don’t know if the Sephora folks had set up some kind of barricade or anything, and we won’t know now, because we’re in the back and holed-in.

We’re now considering how we can assess the parking lot situation so we can see if making a run for it is an option. With the day-use only policy on the fridge, and no vending machine, we’re kind of screwed on rations.

They've just locked us into the mall. I mean, usually they're locking people out. I guess the zombies are fairly widespread now. Channel 22's remote crew in Springfield got rolled so we lost their feed, but that ABC affiliate is going strong in Chicopee (large Polish community -- coincidence?). I don't know what happened to the Fox station -- they reverted back to normal programming, as if we don't have zombies wandering around the mall parking lot, making occasional half-hungry swipes at the door glass.

If worse comes to worse -- well, we do have glass on the storefront, but it's pretty thick. That's the first line of defense. Then there's the back -- and we've got those stainless steel walls. I think we can hold the back room for a good long time. Start breaking down shelving for use as blunt trauma weaponry.

If we need to.

Crap! I just got a txt from the Mini-me:

zomg, dey sendin us home   -- zombiez!

And I'm like:

duh -- tell me something new about ur school

And she says:

no mommy, real zombiez

But it clicks. The home invasions. Shit. I Google in one window, and in another pull up the local news -- and there it is, live footage of downtown Springfield. And there?s zombies in the park. Except these arent the everyday hanging-around zombies -- these are real frickin' brain-eating, slo-mo rampaging zombies. And I'm thinking that's an improvement.

I txt back:

home? didn't dey see the movies? u need big publik building space  ;-)

and she's like:

i konw! dey didn?t see movies! dumbshits >:-(

At this point I get on the actual for-real phone, because some news needs to travel faster than text. And I tell her to haul ass to the house from the bus stop and rendevouz with the boys and lock the doors and hunker down quiet.

And quiet doesn't mean turn down the volume on Call of Duty, I tell her to tell The Boy. They'll need to keep their ears clear. The Boy fancies himself a sniper on-line. Maybe he'll get a chance to put some bullets where his mouth is. Or, you know, where someone else's
mouth was.

A lot of no-shows today. And the buzz out on the floor is about a
whole string of home invasions -- but not the usual force-the-door
affairs (which are unheard of in this area, anyway) but a bust the
door way the hell down.

Went out to the floor to ask someone a question, and they were all
talking about how the Sephora gal never showed up -- we know because
someone here is friends with someone there, and it turns out that
person had been the victim of a home invasion last night. Sad.

The place still stinks, though.

Agh, crap. *tired*

Working an earlier shift the last two days, which means less time to load up on coffee. Nearly brained myself on the door at Target because it doesn’t like to open all the way, and if you’re walking fast you’re on top of it before you realize it’s not opening any further.

I like the mall much better before it opens. You’ve got the senior mall-walkers, the Starbucks customers on their way to their own jobs, the quiet maintenance folks with the sweeping.

Had to push my way through the Sephora crowd (gawd, the stink from that place) because their keyholder was late, and they were all milling around in front of the door with cellphones stuck to their ears, not paying attention to how much space they were taking up.

Did I mention that place stinks?

Just another day.

Except for being my roughly 14600th day of life. :-)