Unexpected events

[unixronin]

Yesterday was a day of unexpected events .  I suppose one could say it started with the company that I've been, among other things, consolidating and retiring ancient and often nonsensically-configured Unix servers for asking me to install a new one for a change.  (It's going to be an external nameserver, and it's going to be locked down tight and not carrying any unnecessary weight.  Solaris 9, with 64-bit support, in 140MB on disk.  Ha.)  But it went on from there with email from an old and dear friend saying, "Hi, I'm testing at my aikido dojo tonight, it'd be great if you could make it."

So I allowed what I figured was enough time to get there and stop for gas on the way, left work, and as I got to my car, my cell phone rang.  It was the on-the-ball recruiter who's been working with me on a number of different positions, to tell me that Cadence just hired one of her candidates for one of their open Linux sysadmin positions, and was very interested in screening me for the other.

Well, I talked to her for a while, then headed home, already later than I'd planned, stopping off at Costco on the way only for milk, gas and a carton of blank CDs.  Stopped off at my apartment to drop off the milk, and as I pulled into the parking garage, my right headlamp failed.  Bugger.

Took the milk upstairs, stuck it in the fridge, grabbed my camera, came back down, drove over to the auto parts store, purchased and installed [standing in the rain] one new H7 bulb.  Finally got on the road to Palo Alto, and found my way to the dojo just after the beginning of Kelly's test.  I got a few photos, but I haven't had time to review them yet and see if they're any good; my camera battery died suddenly after about ten shots.  (Both the batteries I have for my camera are basically toast.  I'm getting 10 to 20 shots from batteries that, in good shape, should be giving me 100 to 200.)  Kelly finished her test, about ten minutes of rondori followed, then Tim (to whom I was later introduced) did his test.  It was an impressive display; I could not have done as good a job as he did of evading four people when I was hale.

From there on things got surprising.  I found myself invited to test-celebration supper with Sensei, Tim, Kelly, and a third of the four students who'd tested that day, one other high-ranked student, and a Captain of the 101st Airborne.  We sat and ate sushi o-moriawase and drank expensive sake with the owner of the restaurant.  (Interesting detail:  the first sake poured for me was White Tiger sake, a name that jilara will recognize immediately, because we both used to study bok fu, which happens to be Shaolin white tiger style.)  And I sat and talked with Sensei for about two hours, and ended up being invited to take tea with Sensei in the near future.  Sensei paid me a great compliment -- she told me that she noticed as soon as I entered the dojo, and that she saw three things in me in that first look: pain, and strength, and courage.

Now I have just been invited by Sensei, via Kelly, to please attend the dojo party tomorrow night.  Interesting times seem to have come.  I wonder what this year is going to bring, if given the chance ....  I think this may be a year in which I learn a great deal about myself.

Comments

[ttocs.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an excellent day.

And just FYI, it is "sushi moriawase" or if you need an honorific "O sushi moriawase" but you can't put the honorific on the moriawase.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

tres cool, mon ami. bon chance...

[cymrullewes.livejournal.com]

Interesting times seem to have come.

Good thing Aikido is Japanese then.

I wonder what this year is going to bring, if given the chance .... I think this may be a year in which I learn a great deal about myself.

May you find joy in the learning.

[ehintz.livejournal.com]

That's what it's all about mate, hope it comes to pass for you.

[appin.livejournal.com]

Aikido is the thinking-man's martial-art. It has ruined me for any other. The concept of using your opponent's own power against them really works, and it is the only martial-art I know of that teaches how to approach your opponent with compassion. Hard on the knees though...

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I don't know whether I'll be able to do it, my knees being one of my major physical weak points at present. (The other problem would be my left ankle, which is limited to 20° of motion; barefoot, I can't get my left foot under me, which plays hell with my balance.)

[plutosonium.livejournal.com]

Suwariwaza ended up being my weak point. Broken feet just don't bend like that. Had to do my techniques on knees and toes instead of knees and balls of the feet.

A very good sensei should be able to help you work around the problem though.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, that dould be a problem. I don't know that I could even do knees and toes. My left foot is really pretty badly messed up and my knees can't take kneeling pressure for more than a few minutes at a time. (Somewhat ironic, considering my foot wasn't actually injured in the accident; but my entire lower leg had no blood supply for about four hours, and the foot and ankle are just a solid mass of scar tissue.)

[jilara.livejournal.com]

Cadence seems like the borg...sooner or later you end up part of the collective. I know who we hired, too.

Aikido, hmm? I think you have the mindset to go there...