Tag Archives: jiu jitsu baby onesie

Jan19

An unexpected pick-me-up

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An unexpected pick-me-up

I was having an Andy Dwyer moment.

If you haven’t watched Parks and Recreation, Andy is the endearing yet not so smart character played by Chris Pratt. In one episode he’s trying to win over the girl he likes, April. A friend tries to help him formulate a plan by asking, “What are your skills?”

Andy responds, “I’m nice. I’m in a band.” The friend waited for more, but that was the extent of Andy’s CV.

I feel on par with Andy. I’m one of those things. The other, no one in their right mind would have me do.

Side note: I was recently telling a friend I had zero musical ability. “I like to dance, though,” I said.

She perked up. “Really? What kind?”

Evidently she was expecting salsa, swing, ballet, heck, even tap would probably do.

“Uh, just to music I like.”

She turned her attention to someone else.

Probably a good thing I didn’t mention head banging.

So, I’m sticking with “nice,” and some people think I’m funny. That’s two. I have to accept that Jiu-Jitsu is not in my skill list, despite how much I wish it would be.

Here’s an opportunity to use two of those 149 pics I’ve been stockpiling. I spotted this and another t-shirt two years ago and snapped pics in case I ever had cause to mention Parks and Rec. I hope fellow fans will appreciate them.

Mouse Rat just happens to be the name of Andy’s band!

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Sep1

The Return of Andre the Giant

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Those of you have been with me a while may remember “Timmy/Andre the Giant,” the tall guy who was my frequent Jiu-Jitsu partner at the 11 a.m. classes. The one who broke my foot in January. (I exaggerate. It was maybe my toe. And maybe not even, but I was limping and out of class for a while.)

My wounded foot a few days after “The Incident.”

That was the last I’d seen of Timmy until I arrived at an 8 p.m. class where the previous Master Cycle class was winding down.

“Hey there, stranger,” he said with nary a look of shock as I sauntered over.

“You don’t seem surprised to see me still here.”

“Nah, I knew you were hooked,” he said, reminding me of way back when I showed up a few minutes after 11 a.m. and he said, “I was beginning to worry.”

At the time, I told him, “If I’m not here, I’m dead.” Or, as it turns out, if I’m not here, it’s because you broke my foot.

Boy would it have been funny if I had said THAT to him.

~~~

I told SD1 that his blog nickname is Surfer Dude. He gave a big, appreciative, smiling nod. “Nice. I like it. It fits,” he said.

“And your little brother is Surfer Dude 2.”

“That’s okay. So long as I’m number one,” he said.

At a recent 8 p.m. class, there were only two students, both newbies. But SD1 and another blue belt, whom I’ll call ‘Stache,’ because he’s always perfectly clean shaven, (Just kidding. He has a mustache.) were also there.

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Aug18

Ilsa gets thrown

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Jiu-Jitsu was canceled Saturday because Instructor’s wife had a baby in the wee hours of the morning. When class did resume, a student, whom I’ll call Thoughtful One, slipped me a card and a pen. Many others had already signed the congratulations on the new baby card before it made its way to me. He was also collecting cash, “No pressure, though,” he said several times, to purchase a Target gift card.

I couldn’t help but feel ashamed of myself for not having been the Thoughtful One. I figured saying congratulations to his face would be enough. And it probably was, and yet… as the lone female, shouldn’t I have been the one to organize a card and gift? Yes, I know that’s stereotyping women. Still, I felt I should do more as the only mom and the student in class the longest.

So, this morning I ordered this for Instructor’s new daughter:

I’ll let you know how it’s received.

While I was shopping Amazon, another shirt caught my eye. (Oh, gosh, not THIS again!) It combines my love of Jiu-Jitsu and cats, as well as what has become my signature move, the Kimura. Last time I did it on Surfer Dude (SD1), he said, “You like that one, don’t you?”

“It’s my bread and butter,” I told him. (I don’t fully understand that expression, but it’s what came out of me at the moment.)

I didn’t buy it, though. I’m not trying to single-handedly finance Amazon’s entire line of Jiu-Jitsu shirts. (Besides, the Kimura requires two hands. Or paws.)

A couple more Instructor funnies:

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