Ten Tentacles - So many arms, so little time.

Ganked from bluestarliz:

1. Are you in a relationship?

Yep. Married.

2. Do you hate more than 3 people?

I don’t even think I hate one.

3. How many houses have you lived in?

13.

4. What is your favorite candy bar?

Almond Snickers.

5. What are your favorite shoes?

These Ozark Trail shoes I have on right now are my latest favorites, but I own and actively wear over twenty pairs of shoes.

6. Have you ever tripped someone?

Yes; accidentally and on purpose.

7. Missing Question - Ask me something.
8. What was your favorite summer trip this year?

My trip to Coaches College at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO.

9. Do you own a Britney Spears CD?

No.

10. Have you ever thrown up in public?

Oh yeah. Not for a while, though.

11. Name someone that’s ALWAYS on your mind.

My wife and my girlfriend. What?! I’m Latin. We all have a chilla! Hi, honey!

12. What is your favorite music genre?

Alternative Rock.

13. What is your sign?

Aquarius.

14. What time were you born?

I forget. I think it was late in the evening or very early in the morning.

15. Do you like beer?

Ales, yes.

16. Have you ever made a prank call?

Absolutely.

17. What is the most embarrassing CD you own?

Um. I think I have a Rat CD somewhere.

18. Are you sarcastic?

No, not in the least!

19. What is your favorite color?

Purple.

20. How many watches do you own?

One pocket, one wrist.

21. Summer or Winter?

Winter.

22. Spring or fall?

Fall.

23. What is your favorite color to wear?

Forest Green.

24. Pepsi or Sprite?

Pepsi.

25. What color is your cell phone?

Black and silver.

26. Where’s your second home?

Downtown Fencing Club.

27. Have you ever slapped someone?

Whenever I was asked nicely.

28. Have you ever had a cavity?

Yep.

29. How many lamps are in your bedroom?

Two.

30. How many video games do you own?

Between my son, my wife, and I, I think we have them all.

31. What was your first pet?

A shepherd collie mix named Don Quixote. We called him Don Q or just Don.

32. Have you ever had braces?

Nope.

33. Do looks matter?

Yes, but not all by themselves.

34. Do you use Chapstick?

Only when I have to.

35. Missing Question - Ask me something.
36. American Eagle or Abercrombie?

Uhhhh. What? I like the little commuter planes. Does Abercrombie have an airline?

37. Are you too forgiving?

Yes. But I don’t care.

38. How many children do you want?

One. The one I’ve got.

39. Do you own something from Hot Topic?

Yes.

40. What is your favorite breakfast?

Buttermilk pancakes with real maple syrup and bacon.

41. Do you own a gun?

Do a bow and a cross bow count?

42. What was the last thing you ate?

Hamburger and fries.

43. When was the last time you cried?

It’s been a while.

44. What did you do 3 nights ago?

Coached foil.

45. When was the last time you went to Olive Garden?

It’s been a while.

46. Have you ever called your teacher mom?

I don’t think I ever did that. Sometimes I call my wife mommy. Heh.

47. Missing Question - Ask me something.
48. What are your nicknames?

I have at different times in my life answered to Mano, Ruby, Patch, Hey you, and Hey baby. Mostly, I’ll answer to anything if the sex is good.

49. Do you know anyone named Bertha?

My dad had a one wood called Big Bertha. Seriously.

50. Have you ever been to Kentucky?

I’ve been -through- it.

51. Do you own something from Banana Republic?

Nope.

52. Are you thinking about somebody right now?

Liz. It’s her fault I’m doing this meme.

53. Missing Question - Ask me something.
54. Do you smoke?

Not for about a year and a half now.

55. Do you own a diamond ring?

Does the one I bought for my wife count?

56. Are you happy with your life right now?

Very much so, yes.

57. Do you dye your hair?

Sometimes. Not lately. Maybe again soon.

58. Does anyone like you?

I hope so!

59. Who’s your best friend(s)?

You are!

60. What were you doing May of 1994?

Uhhh, I barely remember yesterday.

61. Do you own a Backstreet Boys CD?

No.

62. McDonald’s or Wendy’s?

McDonald’s. Wendy’s doesn’t have a play place.

63. Do you like yourself?

Yes.

64. Are you closer to your mother or father?

My mother.

65. Favorite feature(s) of the opposite sex?

Feet, toes, legs, butt, breasts, fingers, lips, hair; pretty much the whole girl. They aren’t much fun in pieces.

66. Are you afraid of the dark?

Sometimes.

67. Have you ever eaten paste?

I don’t think so.

68. Do you have a webcam?

Yes, but I never use it.

69. Have you ever stripped?

Not officially, no.

70. What are you looking forward to the most this week?

Getting the damned dog run finished.

Damn you, Liz.

Ganked from Ann Marie:

You scored as Mermaid. Mermaid: Mermaids are also known as Sirens. These creatures were beautiful women who tricked sailors into becoming completely entranced by their haunting voices and found death soon after. Not all stories of Mermaids are about gentle loving sea people. They are mystical, magical, and extremely dangerous. They have a way about them that brings anyone they are around to seem enchanted. They are very mysterious creatures and to meet one… Would mean certain Death. Let the song of the Sea fill your soul, for you are a Mermaid. Mermaid 92% Dragon 83% Angel 67% Demon 58% Faerie 42% WereWolf 33% What Mythological Creature are you? (Cool Pics!) created with QuizFarm.com

Ahem! Merman, merman. Yes. Manly mermaid! Right!

Ganked from revjim and bluestarliz:

Two Names You Go By:
1.) Mario.
2.) Coach.

Two Parts of Your Heritage:
1.) Spanish.
2.) French Canadian.

Two Things You are Wearing Right Now:
1.) Green SANS Polo Shirt.
2.) Reading Glasses.

Two Things You Would Want in a Relationship:
1.) Orgasms.
2.) Great Food.

Two of Your Favorite Hobbies:
1.) Sport Fencing.
2.) Reading.

Two Things You Want Really Badly at the Moment:
1.) An order or teriyaki wings from Fresh Market.
2.) My iPod to be working.

Two Pets You Had/Have:
1.) Don Q
2.) Leeloo

Two people Who Will Fill this Out:
1.) Corrie Ann (cause she LOVES me)
2.) Ann Marie (cause she LOVES these things)

Two Things You Did Last Night:
1.) Taught enthusiastic students to fence.
2.) Rubbed Corrie Ann’s feet.

Two Things You Ate Today:
1.) Bowl of reduced sugar Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
2.) No, that’s it.

Two People You Last Talked to:
1.) Corrie Ann.
2.) Cory.

Two Longest Car Rides You’ve Been on:
1.) San Jose, CA to Virginia Beach, VA
2.) Orlando, FL to San Jose, CA

Two Favorite Holidays:
1.) Halloween.
2.) Fourth of July.

Two Things You Can’t Live Without:
1.) Books.
2.) My Family.

Two Things You Should be Doing Instead of this:
1.) Working.
2.) Packing my iPod up to get repaired.

So, um, yeah. That’s my Happy Feet, up there. They aren’t so happy now. This is because my stupid-ass dogs got to them. This, and a host of other chewed up shoes and toys and books and magazines and coffee tables, is the reason why we spent the greater part of the weekend building a dog run. It’s not completely done, as you can see in the photostream bellow, but it will be done by next weekend.

Yesterday was post-hole digging day. My dad came by to help and we spent the entire day digging all but three of the total post-holes I was going to need. We had a gas powered auger, but thanks to the Virginia clay all around my property, and the shortage of rainfall we’ve had lately, it was like drilling through concrete. We had to start the holes, then fill them with water and let them soak through while we started the next hole. After things cooled off and my dad went home, Corrie Ann and I set the corner posts with concrete. It was long, grueling work and at the end of the day I showered and collapsed in bed. I slept for thirteen hours and got up to do it all over again.

Today I finished the last three holes, which took all morning, and put the corner post supports in place. Corrie Ann and I then set all the rest of the posts after she helped me secure the braces. The biggest pain was setting the one gate post we set today. I’d miscalculated on the space I needed and ended up having to widen the hole. I honestly think we managed to pick the rockiest part of our property for this dog run; all of the posts are set, though, minus the final gate post.

My hands are incredibly sore and every major muscle group aches. Last night I felt the same way I did after my first full day of drills at coaches college; my muscles actually felt like they were giving off heat. I’ll be doping up on ibuprofen tonight. Mmm, anti-inflamatories.

Ganked from officialgaiman:

My blog is worth $7,339.02.
How much is your blog worth?

Yeah, yeah, I know. There hasn’t been a decent update in days. One is coming, I promise. In the mean time, go and find out how much your blog is worth. I don’t know how you cash it in. Maybe it’s just about bragging rights. Woo!

Ganked from Woody:

Darth Vader and Tony Soprano; wow. I also got Lauren Bacall and Sammy Davis Jr., but they wouldn’t fit in the collage. I am everyone! I’ll have to try it later with a different picture and see if anything different comes up.

I'm sitting in the Colorado Springs Airport, mooching off of their free WiFi connection. Coaches College is officially over and I am on my way home. I'm still having a hard time codifying everything I have experienced and been through in the last ten days. It honestly feels like an eternity since I first arrived here (and I'm considering doing two sessions next year … oi). I took tons and tons of pictures, and you can see most of them on my Flickr account, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. I feel like I got a great deal more than my money's worth in knowledge and training, and the food was excellent too!

The night before I left to come to Coaches College, I remember mentioning how scared I was. The fear, honestly, was justified. I feel like if I'd come here with a devil-may-care attitude, without a healthy respect for the amount of work ahead of me, I might not have succeeded. Fear is a good motivator; it keeps you on your toes. I think it helped me stay focused on the things I needed to do to finish and pass.

It wasn't all work, of course, but I tried to keep my eyes on the prize and reserve my fun and games for a celebration at the end; and celebrate we did. See celebration dance below:

I think I'm going to let things jell and percolate for a few more days before I write my final wrap-up. All in all, it was a tremendous experience. I am greatly looking forward to doing it again next year.

Today did not go as well as I’d hoped. I drew Advance, Retreat, and Advance-Lunge for my footwork and Random Actions for my bladework. Ordinarily this would be just great, except that Eric Frey drew the same cards a half hour earlier, when I was his student, and I felt this (completely irrational) need to make my presentation vastly different. The footwork portion went flawlessly; I got very high marks in this area. The bladework portion started off well, but I got lost in the middle, and flustered, and it showed. Thankfully, I did manage to clearly conclude and draw it all together. The long and the short of it is that I passed! I got an 80.5 out of 70, so I could have done way better, but I passed.

In addition to being Erik’s student, I was also Ingrid Biederman’s and Jim Kent’s student at 9:15am and 10:00am respectively. Both of them did really well and passed also.

The end of Jim’s practical brings my activities at Coaches College to a close. I’ve had a fantastic time and learned more than I think I can even fully digest right now. I’ve taken some more pictures today, and I’ll be posting those along with a wrap-up post later tonight.

Right now I need a shower … and beer!

I passed, I passed, I passed! I got an 88! I honestly had no idea how much my stomach was knotted up over this. I’m told it’s the hardest part. All I have to do is the practical tomorrow and I’m done. I’m feeling good about it. Hope it goes as well as tonight. Hurray! Some of the folks want to go celebrate at the bar across the street from the training center. I think I’m gonna postpone my celebration until after I pass the practical.

Thursday was a rough day; three sessions and one seminar. By the third session, which began at 7pm, I was ready to throw in the towel. Fencing only twice a week, for an average of three hours a session, really didn’t prepare me for the level of work required here. This is especially true because almost all of the work here is done in motion. I’m accustomed to doing it at extension distance, in club. This, my little chickadees (if any of my fencers are reading) is going to change. Get ready!

The seminar was on long term planning for your club and fencers. Dr. Robinson gives a great talk, but much to my dismay I had a very difficult time staying awake. I blame lunch, just before, and a slightly warmer temperature than usual inside the West Wing Auditorium; full tummy plus warm room equal sleepy Pedro.

After Thursday night’s final session in the gym I ate dinner, took a shower, and fell asleep to V for Vendetta, playing on my iBook. Both of my roommates went out, so I had the room to myself until well after falling asleep.

This morning we had our final, four and one half hour session in the gym; it was all review. By the time an hour had gone by I was done. My left knee had had enough, and all the compensating for it was playing hell with my shins and ankles. I was very glad to be let go a half hour early. Lunch, a shower, laundry, and a nap later (yes, there was much studying in between all that activity and inactivity) I am now ready for dinner and my written test. I’ll post after, once I know how I did.

Wish me luck!