Arin

...means "morning" in Quenya.

Yes. Brilliant. Let's go and get a cold when we're visiting friends. Brilliant, I repeat! I don't feel particularily much like the good guest, sniffling away and being a bit sleepy all the time, but, with a lot of vitamins, some over-dosing of honeyed water, and fruits, I should be able to kick this bastard's butt.
Hey... how come I always seem to fall a bit sick, or very sick, when I go to visit friends? Le frown.

Worked two days last week, and they were both pretty good. Had some coaching from another trainee manager; always welcome, that is. But I really really want to do some hobby myself now! I want my WotR-army to be done... or at least table-top worthy. Watching Redhead paint his Dol Amroth army to near-finished status last week was very inspiring, and a bit frustrating!

Am going to show my iaido tonight, at a jujutsu kai club. JJK is some Swedish variant of jujutsu, compliant with all laws and rules and regulations on self-defence. It's a long story as to why, but, I am hoping it will go well.

Have been sparring some, and have a few bruises to show. It's been fun. Both unarmed (I may not have many techniques to show, but I do have brute strength), and armed with bokuto. I do it to practice maai, to get better ki, and to get a better feeling for what it is like to have a real opponent, in front of me, whom I have to not just respond to, but be aware of, explore weaknesses, react to when the guard is down, and so on. It helps my iaido very much, I find. And I do not do it to find out, am I a good warrior, am I a good fighter? Well, I'm not a fighter anyway, but still. You get the point.
I am always careful with my tip control when sparring, especially so when my partner is not experienced. Most of all I am that when my partner HAS had some experience, but is far from as experienced as I am. It has to do with beginner and expert being adjacent, like the lowest and highest notes of a musical scale. As a beginner, you just do, unconsciously, unhindered by thoughts. As you progress, you begin to think - sword goes this way, feet that way, cut like so and so. Then, you transcend beyond that, and it all becomes intuitive again. This is also written by Takuan Soho.
But by the end of the session, there had been improvement. He was not dropping his eyes to his sword anymore, he held his tip pointing at my throat instead of my men (forehead), and he reacted with more confidence when I feinted, or changed my stance. Very nice to see.
And how I love having a warrior friend again.

Some days... despite illnesses, despite a lot of other shite, despite the world really doing its best to bring one down - or maybe because it's looking another direction at the moment... some days, life is good. I feel open and relaxed, and my illness doesn't bother me too much. Sun's out, I'm going to do iaido tonight, meet a nice new friend whom I have it on good authority nearly choked when he found out I am sandan iaidoka (I didn't tell... why should I? I was in his dojo, after all, I'm not about to flaunt my grade or interrupt his concentration by talking, when he's instructing people) and when the day is done, I'll still be in the company of a very dear friend. Yeah. Today is good. I can feel my wings out, and my ears as well. And I'm not even on my island.