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June 26, 2006
2006 SMAA Jujutsu Summit
So this weekend was one of the busiest weekends we ever had. It was the 2006 Shudokan Martial Arts Association (SMAA) Jujutsu Summit held at the grand opening of Nick Suino's new dojo, Japanese Martial Arts Center (JMAC).
The new dojo is so beautiful, I just can't get over it! The training floor is bigger than the other dojo where I train (Asian Martial Arts Studio) and decorated in a very traditional Japanese way. The natural wood trim with shoji lights really sets it apart from other dojos.
There were about 28 or 30 people training at this weekend seminar where they were learning all kinds of things from different teachers, Suino Sensei being one of them. I wish I could have trained with them, but they needed a photographer and I was happy to do that. I got to use Sensei's camera and, admittedly, I had a really fun time snapping all those photos. I believe the photo count for the entire weekend was over 850...not counting the ones I took and immediately deleted (they didn't turn out good or weren't timed right).
Friday night, there were demonstrations and a few people got tested for a higher rank in Iaido. We all had a nice dinner at Emerald City Chinese restaurant, which Greg was gracious enough to pick up the check.
Saturday was a full day of training for everyone. It was good that I was able to move freely around the training floor and around the dojo to take the pictures. I got some cool ones from on top of the bathroom...the area we're calling the V.I.P. Lounge. All we need is a one-way mirror to surround it, a few chairs, and a nice stereo system. Haha!
That night, Don and I held a barbecue for all the participants at our house. It was the biggest party we'd ever thrown! But it turned out great cause we had LOTS of help from Pammie and even got help from Dan and Carmina, who were staying in town with us. That's her doing the elegant Tai Chi pose. Everyone had a great time...especially me, who got REALLY poo-poo'ed for the first time in YEARS! I think I had 3 or 4 glasses of wine which is A LOT for me. But you'd be proud! We were sitting around the fire pit where I'd put my glass of wine (I'd cut myself off) and as tippy as I was, not ONCE did I burn myself or knock over the glass. Sue & Pam had to put me to bed. hahaha!
Of course Sunday, I was pretty hung over Sunday morning, but I got up and made it to the dojo to take more pictures. Even though I was hungry, I didn't want to eat anything till at least lunch and by then, I was feeling much better. After lunch, it was more training and more pictures. Glad Pam was there...she helped run the video camera since Don was training. After the seminars were done, Nick & Pam and John (from Toronto, eh?) came over and all of us (including Don, me, Dan and Carmina) ate some leftovers from the bbq. We still have TONS left! And I think Carmina even took some back with her. Oh, so much food!
But it was a very successful weekend. I'd like to do it again, but maybe not for a while. It was a lot of work, but we made new friends which was really cool. (That Canadian guy was HILARIOUS!) Some of them were from out of town, but hopefully, they'll come back to train again soon. And I'll be there training with them next time.
Above are some of the pictures I took...just click a thumbnail to see the full image. Hopefully, some of them are worthy of Captain Mahonious' photographic talents (some of my pics were inspired by his artistic style). I believe Don's going to put the rest of the pictures up on the Web soon. I'll let you know when and where.
Addendum:
Pictures from the 2006 SMAA Summit are now available. Enjoy!
Posted by Amy at 11:11 PM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2006
Where the Hell Is Matt?
I had to share this cool video with you guys...click on this link to view the video. This guy Matt Harding dances in all the coolest places in the world. You can also click on the picture to go to his Web site. It's kind of a stupid little jig, but by the end of the video, it kind of becomes cute and fun--especially that he could do it in SO many neat places. In fact, I believe Drew & Mike from WRIF even interviewed him. I'm envious that he got to travel the world! Enjoy!!
Posted by Amy at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2006
Border's Rip Off
Border's is SUCH a total RIP OFF!!! I'd gone shopping with Danielle last Friday night to kill time waiting for the boys to come to dinner with us. I decided to buy the soundtrack to Memoirs of a Geisha and the second season DVD's for Xena (I know...corny). I looked at the price on the Xena box: $79.99. I thought, yeah, that's kind of expensive, but I want it, so I'm gonna get it. The Memoirs soundtrack was $18 and change...not too bad--I expect that kind of price from a CD. So I gave the cashier my credit card and didn't really blink an eye, though I really should have. The total came to about $90, but I had a $10 gift certificate, so it was $80-something.
But then I got home and really started to think about it: "Did I really want to pay that much??" I thought, "I wonder if it's much cheaper online at Amazon?" I didn't get around to checking it until yesterday, so they sat unopened and hadn't even been taken out of the bag. When I finally did check, Amazon listed Xena on sale for $29-something and the CD was less than $14. PLUS the two items qualified for their free shipping...I'd just have to wait a few days more. All in all, I paid about $44! That's HALF what I paid at Borders!
So I jumped in my car and went back to Borders to return the items. The cashier asked me if there was anything wrong with them. I said, "Yeah, they're too expensive here!" I told her how they had priced the Xena $50 more than Amazon and how amazed I was that retailers could charge such wildly varying prices for the same item! She started spouting something about overhead and the fact that people can get things cheaper on the Internet which is why they charge more. I told her, "That's a LOT of overhead!! It's highway robbery!!" I mean, you'd think that if Borders wanted to stay competitive in digital media, they'd charge more competitive prices...not jack their prices up 2 1/2 times more than others! WTF??? With that kind of logic, I'm surprised they're still doing such strong business. Amazon sells all the same things and more, but for less money. So why aren't more people going to Amazon rather than Borders? I don't get it!
So I've decided to boycott them--I refuse to be suckered by them anymore. I still have that $10 gift certificate which I'll probably spend there, but that'll be the last purchase, just so I can get rid of it.
Posted by Amy at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 18, 2006
Peelin' Out
I don't know how, but our weekends always seem to get filled up so quickly! Friday, Danielle and I went out to see Nacho Libre--very funny movie, if you get a chance to see it. After that, we met up with Don and Ryan who'd been working late at WHMI installing new servers or something. We all had dinner at the Outback Steakhouse. After that, Don and Ryan went back to work for a little while longer, so me and D played some video games.
Saturday, we went to karate classes, then after that, our friend Pablo, who works for Chrysler, let us test drive a Dodge Viper. WOW! What a monstrous brute of a car! This is me sitting in the driver's seat. Here's the video I posted on Youtube.com--it was too big to upload to my blog editor. 500 horsepower, 500 ft. lbs. of torque and a throaty growl like a giant lion! We drove it out on a backroad and it was sooooo fun! To get there, Pablo drove while Don and I squeezed into the passenger seat. I had to contort myself just to get in cause it's a small two-seater. Then when I drove it, Pablo had to be in the car with me, while Don waited on the corner. The thing only gets 8 or 9 miles to the gallon and only has about an 18 gallon tank. On our way back the gas warning light came on. But then, it obviously wasn't meant for long-distance trips. Always good to have friends in the right places, though.
After that, I went shopping with Pam. We decided that for the party this weekend (for the grand opening of Nick's dojo), that she'd make cupcakes. We're going to frost them, put them in rice bowls, and sprinkle coconut on them to look like rice. Then we'll stick chopsticks in them. HAHA!
Then I went home to get cleaned up. I was so icky from karate and from walking around town with Pam (it was so hot and humid--though I'm not complaining!). Don and I went to the store, got some stuff for hamburgers and went to Ryan's dad's house on the lake in Brighton. We cooked dinner for them and after that, they took us out on the pontoon, touring the entire lake. It was really nice. Afterwards, we had a nice fire and made strawberry shortcakes for dessert. Yummy.
Now, today, we had lots of laundry to do and Don worked on the lawn again. He's trying to fix the bare spots. And Mom, Dad and the girls are on their way here for dinner. We'll take Dad out to Creekside Grill. I think Nick and Pam are coming with us so we can plan the big party this weekend. Whew! No rest for us!
Posted by Amy at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2006
Screwing Around
This weekend, Don and I helped Nick install the floor in the new dojo. It's a sprung floor with some 1,200 springs attached to a subfloor so that when the guys throw down and fall, the floor will give and it'll be easier on their backs.
By the time Don and I got there, half the floor was already done and they had a good assembly line going. Nick and his uncle took the 4x8 sheets of plywood and pre-drilled the holes. Nick's nephew pre-assembled the spring caps that would be screwed into the 4x8 sheets. Don and another guy hammered in the screw threads while the rest of us drilled in the caps for the springs as well as put the springs in. I think there were about 11 of us total working.
After we got all the springs installed and laid down onto the concrete, we went back and laid another layer of plywood on top which acted as braces for the sprung layer. It took a lot of screws and I think total, it took about 6 hours to install the whole floor.
I always feel satisfied when I do construction-type work because it's hard work and you always have something cool to show for it. I'm proud to say that I helped put the place together. Not that I did any of the REALLY hard work that Nick and Pam put into it, but if we hadn't been there, it would have taken him probably a couple or a few days at least to do what we did in just hours. And considering Nick's time constraints for opening up in 2 weeks from now, I think we helped him considerably. Afterwards, we had a little fruit snack, thanks to Nick's gracious aunt and then we went to Enzo's Sports Bar for dinner and drinks.
Everyone put in a good effort and did their part. I think Nick was proud to see such coming-togetherness and such great support for him and his dream. Apparently, Nick even laid the tatami mats yesterday too. The place is REALLY looking sharp and I can't wait to get in to take pictures of it. It is gonna look SOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL! I'll have some pics soon, plus I'll be taking pictures and video from the grand opening seminars the weekend of the 23rd, so I'll post stuff then.
Posted by Amy at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2006
Addicted
OHMYGOD! I am SO addicted to Youtube.com! I could watch videos on this web site for hours! And I mean HOURS!! I've been finding so much good stuff that time just doesn't exist. Like this video...Jon Culshaw does an ABSOLUTE dead on imitation of Tom Baker as Dr. Who (for those fellow Whovians out there). I guess that's why they named his show "Dead Ringers" cause he IS a dead ringer for the Doctor! He does a funny one where he actually calls Tom Baker on the phone and it's like the Doctor talking to himself! hahaha!! Though, admittedly, the Dr. Who ones are only funny if you know the show.
There are some really funny videos...like bloopers from Star Trek, Friends, X-Files and other shows. If you search for it, they probably have it. You just have to weed through all the stupid parody shit that people put up there cause some of it sux big time. But then there's ones like Must Love Jaws where someone takes cuts from the movie Jaws and makes it look like a love story between Brody and the shark. HAHA!! Brillian stuff! I guess it's all in the music and editing. AWESOME!
Posted by Amy at 11:43 PM | Comments (0)
June 05, 2006
Fun with Pammie
I had a fun-filled weekend spending lots of time with my good pal, Pammie. Her husband Nick, my Iaido teacher, was away for the weekend teaching a seminar, so I wanted to keep her company this weekend. I figured it would be good for her to not be bored and she's not yet familiar with Ann Arbor, so I've kind of been showing her around a bit. Friday evening, Don stopped by her apartment to help her with her computer. I guess it froze up or something so he went to fix it for her. They called me and I suggested we all go out to dinner. We went to Mediterrano's, one of our favorite restaurants. But unfortunately, it wasn't that good this time. Not sure if they changed management or what, but the food was not the high quality we expected. It took a long time for our food to arrive and when it did, Pam's was cold and overcooked and mine was too well-done. I don't think Don's was all that good, but he's not one to complain. They took mine and Pam's back and got us new ones which were better, but it still wasn't quite up to standard. And the waitress seemed highly annoyed that our orders weren't right. I also think she could've feigned being a little happier to serve us.
Then Saturday, I went to both Karate classes--didn't throw my back out this time. But I did have to endure the awful B.O. stench of this one guy who has to stand next to me (cause we're the same rank). This man stinks EVERY time he's in class and he emanates his stench for up to 15 feet away! UGH!! P.U.!! Anyway, after class, Don and I grabbed a quick sandwich before I went home to go shopping with Pam. She and I were looking for ideas on how to decorate cupcakes for the cookout we're going to have for the people coming for the grand opening of Nick's dojo. We wanted some sort of Japanese theme. I thought of taking Origami paper and making fans out of them, using toothpicks taped to the sides so they would stand on top of the cupcakes. We went all over--to World Market, a party supply store and to the Asian grocery where we ran into my good friend Zack from work. Then after shopping, we were going to eat at Emerald City Chinese, but Don called and said Greg had invited us to eat at his club house. So we finished our tea and drove over there. It rained really hard while we were there, but fortunately, it let up before we left.
Sunday was a lot of fun, though my sleeping in time was interrupted by my dad calling twice. urgh! Once we were up, though, we got our usual Sunday tacos and I took Pam shopping for her new bedding and then to Gallup park. I wanted to show it to her cause I knew she'd love to go rollerblading there and it would give her something else to do while Nick's out of town every other weekend teaching seminars. Fortunately, I was able to find where we usually park and didn't get lost on the trails. I wasn't sure I'd be able to find my way around the park without Don, but I somehow managed. Pam was able to get up to a really good speed and I actually had to work a little on my bike to keep up with her. She was loving it, but unfortunately, we went over the wooden bridge where the cars go over and she cut her hand and got a splinter on the railing. But she didn't want to stop, so she let it bleed. It finally stopped bleeding and looked way worse than it was, but she had blood all over her hand. Ugh. But she's ok, it was just a little cut and she picked most of the splinter out with her fingernail. Overall, I think she had a blast. We ended the day by taking a break sitting by the Huron River looking at the fishies and joking with the man at the next bench about the trout he was going to catch. I didn't want to leave, but it was time to get home, round up Don and go to Mom & Dad's for dinner. They made us yummy Thai curry with crab. MMMMMMM!
So it was a very pleasant and fun weekend. I'm having a great time with Pam finally being in town cause I get to see her more often than I thought I would--it's so much fun hanging out with her. Welcome Pammie!!
Posted by Amy at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)