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January 28, 2008
Brown Belt
It's finally over...my brown belt test for Jujutsu. I did stumble a couple times, but overall, I think I did well. The only thing I regret is the fact that because I was injured a month ago falling on my tailbone, I wanted to avoid taking falls before and during the test so that I would be able to get through the whole thing uninjured. But it's way more fun to be able to take the falls. Fortunately, I think it's healed enough that I can probably start taking falls again this week.
Don got a double promotion. He went from a sankyu to an ikyu which just means that he's the highest ranking jujutsu student in the class. He also teaches the beginner class on Thursday nights. His next promotion and he'll be a first-degree black belt.
A couple other people got double promotions too (both named Dave). They totally deserved it too! I was so happy for them when Sensei announced that. Both Daves have been helping me immensely in class, helping me understand the techniques better. Big Dave is great because he studies judo as well, so I get a lot of help from him on the judo-style throws and the other Dave is experienced in aikido, so he helps me on the joint locks a lot. I DON'T know what I'd do without those guys! Of course, Don helps too, but because me, Dave and Dave are closer in rank (Big Dave and I are sankyus and the other Dave is a nikyu), we tend to work more with each other while Don works a lot with Sensei and more of the beginners.
I just miss Pammie being there. She and I are buddies in class because we work things out in our heads in a similar way. But since she's had such a troublesome pregnancy, I only get to see her occasionally when we go out to dinner. I'm hoping she'll be back in training soon after the baby's born.
You can watch me testing below or you can go to http://www.youtube.com/user/priori2ude to watch it (and my other videos). Ahh, the magic of the Internet! I love it!
Posted by Amy at 12:57 PM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2008
Greatest Movies of All Time
Don asked me a question tonight that I had to give quite a lot of thought to. He asked me what I thought the top ten greatest movies were. And as I tried to put the list together, I realized I had to make two categories. One for great story, direction, writing and acting. Another for pure entertainment value. Here's my list--keep in mind, this only includes movies I've actually SEEN. If there's a movie you think is great and it isn't on my list, chances are, I either disagree with you or I haven't seen it. And I don't include movies before the 1970s because I don't like old movies. So all you folks out there crying, "Casablanca!" and "Gone with the Wind!" forget about it. Go ahead and put it on your list, but this is MY list, so all that matters is my opinion.
So first, the greatest movies according to pure entertainment value including some of my favorite lines:
25. Better Off Dead - "The international language...YOU know! LOVE! The language of love!"
24. Swing Kids
23. Bad Boys II
22. Legend of the Drunken Master (Drunken Master II)
21. Twister - "Cow... 'Nuther cow!"
20. Lethal Weapon 1, 2, 3 (yes, I know, that's cheating, but remember: this is MY list, not yours!)
19. The Terminator (I)- "I'll be back."
18. Stargate
17. The Mummy
16. Rush Hour 1 & 2 - "Do YOU understand the words that are comin' out of my mouth?"
15. Superman (I)
14. Back to the Future (I)
13. Indiana Jones & Temple of Doom - "You call him Dr. Jones!"
12. The Transporter
11. A League of Their Own - "There's no crying in baseball!"
10. Office Space - "I was told I could listen to my radio at a reasonable volume."
9. Forrest Gump - "Ruuunn, Forrest! Ruuuunnn!"
8. Bourne Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum
7. The Last Samurai - "This has been a very good conversation."
6. Blade Trinity
5. Star Wars...the ORIGINAL I, II & III (Episodes 4, 5, & 6 for you hardcore nuts out there)
4. Aliens
3. Independence Day - "Oh no you did NOT shoot that green shit at me!" (This has one of the best-written soundtracks ever)
2. The Princess Bride - "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." (At one point, had the entire script memorized.)
1. Monty Python & the Holy Grail - "How do you KNOW she is a witch?"
And counting down the greatest movies according to story, direction, writing and acting:
15. Phenomenon
14. Glory
13. The Color Purple (I know, Don, you hate Whoopi Goldberg)
12. Stand By Me - "Two for flinching!"
11. The Green Mile
10. The Shawshank Redemption
9. The Last Samurai - "Sake!!!"
8. Superman
7. Star Wars...the ORIGINAL 1, 2, 3
6. Gladiator (This movie has the greatest soundtrack ever written)
5. Independence Day
4. Forrest Gump
3. The Princess Bride
2. Monty Python & the Holy Grail - "It's only a flesh wound."
1. Braveheart - "Ireland, it's my island." "You're mad." "I've come to the right place!" (Saw this in the theater about 4 times...or was it 6?)
So there you have it. One more thing: these lists are subject to change at my discretion. And if ya don't like it, well, TOO BAD! :-P
ADDENDUM: D-OH!! I've just been reminded by an old friend that I've forgotten Army of Darkness. Yes, this is a complete CLASSIC! I would have to put this somewhere between 9 and 13 of the "Entertainment Value" category since it's one of my all-time favorites. "Whoa, the words, the words, right, right. (Ahem!) KLAATU!...VERAATA!...NIK-(cough, cough, cough)!!!!" (Silence) "OKAY THEN!" (Takes the Necronomicon and all hell breaks loose.) HAHA!!
Posted by Amy at 12:30 AM | Comments (5)
January 17, 2008
Farewell Jarrett
I just found out through a friend at my old job that a someone I used to work with there passed away yesterday due to cancer. His name was Jarrett Knyal. He was a really amazing guy who unfortunately, got colon cancer very very young--just a few years ago. He'd had treatment for it, but it came back and took him away. He was also confined to a wheelchair due to an accident on his roof when he accidentally got electrocuted. It took his left hand and his ability to walk. But he never seemed unable to do anything. He did pretty much all things anyone would do--driving, working on the computer (though one-handed), etc. He left behind his wife Briget and son Wade (a really cute little guy) and a newborn daughter, whose name I just found out is Violet.
I'm heartbroken to know that Jarrett's no longer with us. If there's one thing I'll remember about Jarrett--and sometimes chuckle about--is how often I used to see his little green "frog" car (as I called it) on the highway on my way to and from work. He had a Civic hatchback with a AAA sticker on the bumper. When I saw that I'd always know it was him and I'd always try to wave or smile to him. Even when I stopped working there, I still looked for his car.
Anyway, my deepest condolences and my heart go out to his family for the loss of their husband/father/brother/son. Farewell, Jarrett. We will miss you.
Posted by Amy at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2008
Photos
All, I've started a new account on Picasa Web Albums. If you're interested, I have a few albums in there now: Christmas 2007, some artistic pics I took, and other miscellaneous photos. Here's the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/priori2ude.
Posted by Amy at 11:45 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2008
Youtube Videos
Well, since I haven't had anything much to blog about since the holidays, here's a short one. I've put a bunch of new videos on my Youtube.com channel. A few of them are from Christmas and there are some new videos of my cats. I'm still trying to get more of my cats, so keep an eye out.
Oh, my favorite ones are the videos I took of this friend of mine at work who fell asleep at his desk (he'd worked really late the night before). We tried everything we could to wake him up--first we dropped a book, then we used an airhorn. But he was SOUND asleep! WOW!
If you're interested, check out my videos here: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=priori2ude
Posted by Amy at 12:29 AM | Comments (2)
January 02, 2008
Happy New Year
Well, it's been a long hard year, but 2007 is finally over. Some of the big highlights:
February - Gabriel had surgery to remove his thyroid; we bought a hot tub.
March - Don had surgery to remove his hernias.
April - I caught some superbug and was sicker than I'd ever been.
May - I left my job to look for greener pastures.
July - We took our usual summer weekend vacation to Meaford, Ontario; started reading the Harry Potter series (best books I've ever read).
August - Mom got really sick and had to be hospitalized for surgery.
September - Mom's still sick and fighting a bad infection after surgery; she spent her birthday under sedation as she had to have a trach tube put in to help her breathe; she starts getting better toward the end of the month. Plus I got hired as a contractor for Doner in Southfield.
October - Mom FINALLY gets better and comes home from the hospital! Took 9 weeks for her to finally get over her illness. This is THE BIGGEST thing I remember most about this year and the ONE thing I really wanted as a birthday/Christmas gift...and I got it!! YAY!!
November - I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for the family at Mom's house. We were all so excited to have her home and getting healthy.
December - A month of parties...there was the Doner holiday party at the DIA, the Doner Interactive team holiday party at Lucky's, Christmas Eve at the Bucks, Christmas Day at our house, Christmas dinner with friends at our house, NSG Christmas party, and New Year's Eve party. I partied out for a while now!
I'm really looking forward to a much better year - one where everyone's healthy and happy and things are peaceful and prosperous for all!
Posted by Amy at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)