Moike is coming! (Read on to find out what a Moike is)

Nice! One of my loyal readers is a little cranky because I haven’t written in almost a week. It’s nice to be loved, so thanks for reading, Chuong! So here’s the latest entry in stream-of-consciousness form (thanks James Joyce for popularizing that).

First of all, I got a call on Tues night from Jennifer and Pat, the friends I saw on Sunday at LAX. They are engaged! I knew it was coming because Pat had emailed me asking if I knew Jen’s ring size and what she might like. I said I didn’t know her ring size but gave some suggestions on her taste. He said, “You don’t know her ring size? You mean you guys don’t try on each other’s rings?” I can’t even remember if Jen wears rings. I know I don’t. I don’t even know my own ring size, let alone a friend’s. At any rate, I am THRILLED for them and was there when the two of them were falling in love. Their first big weekend was New Year’s Eve 2004, which I spent with them and the guy I had just started to date. Things with my guy did not last. But even if I didn’t adore Pat anyway, he’d always be okay by me because after my guy and I broke up he apparently told Jen, “I don’t know what [my guy] is thinking. He’ll never find anybody who’s better than Val!” And he obviously feels that way about Jen, which makes him okay in my book.

So anyway, heartiest congratulations to Jennifer and Pat on their engagement! I love you guys and can’t wait to celebrate with you in person!

Here are the pics of us from Sunday, when Pat and I knew Pat would be proposing, but Jen had no idea and I was crapping a brick worrying that I’d spill the beans somehow. And wishing Jen would go to the bathroom so I could see the ring! Never happened.



Okay, topic shift to my exciting life (hold onto your hats): I was at the Laundromat this evening. I just didn’t feel like training today, unless you count sitting on your ass eating Thai food, sitting on your ass eating baked Lays, and sitting on your ass eating bananas “training.” And I did laundry tonight instead of during the day like normal because tomorrow Moike is gonna be here! Moike is my friend and training partner from Chicago, and he’s also pals with the New Breed guys because he trains at the one in Evanston. He’s intimately familiar with LST. I call him Moike because he’s from Australia and that’s how he pronounces Mike, which is his real name. Yes, making fun of somebody’s accent is extremely sophisticated, up there with fart jokes and boobie humor. But I have HIM calling himself that, so it’s at least persuasive.

Anyway, Moike’s gonna be here because he has a layover at LAX on his way to Australia. So I’m gonna pick him up in the morning and we’ll get back in time to take Johnny’s no-gi class at 11. Then during the day I’m sure we’ll hang out and do stupid stuff before Johnny’s 6pm no-gi class. So you can see why I don’t want to be doing my laundry tomorrow during the day: I’d either miss the training or the stupid stuff! I’m way psyched to see Moike; he’ll be the first person from Chicago that I’ll have seen in over 3 months. He keeps threatening to take a road trip like mine; I’m sure he will and I’m sure he’ll avoid me when he’s planning it because I’ll have lots of unsolicited advice.

I think I mentioned that I trained at Tim Cartmell’s place on Tues night. I forgot to mention something funny that he said. In BJJ, the energy the other person gives you, as well as the size and shape of the person, help to dictate the kinds of moves that will be the most effective against that person. So for instance, if I have long legs, a triangle choke is likely to be a high percentage move for me.

Brad and I were drilling one of the knee bars that Tim showed (a knee bar is a finishing hold where you bend the opponent’s leg backward at the knee. Sounds violent, I know. But it’s a matter of being smart about tapping and/or about locking it on.), and when Tim saw me execute it on Brad, he said, “You know, you’re the perfect size to break Brad’s leg.” Both Brad and I were happy to hear that, me moreso.

Here’s a pic of me and Tim:


Thanks to Tim for a great training session and to Brad and Wen for introducing me!

Here’s another stream-of-consciousness thing: I mispronounce *everything* around here. For instance, one of the main drags around here, Sepulveda, is pronounced Se-PUL-ve-da, not Se-pul-VEE-da, like I’ve been saying. And Hollywood BJJ is on a street called La Cienega, but it’s not pronounced See-en-AY-ga, like I thought, but rather See-EN-eh-ga. It reminds me of when I moved to Chicago and got laughed at because I pronounced Paulina St. Paul-EE-na rather than Paul-LINE-a, which is the correct pronunciation. And I always made fun of people from Delaware, who say New-ARK rather than NEW-erk, which is how you say it in New Jersey (i.e., correctly).

Thus ends the pronunciation lesson. (I wanted to use the word “orthography,” but it’s not the correct word in this context. Damn.)

So another cool thing is that on Saturday, Randy Couture is giving a seminar at Big John McCarthy’s academy, where I trained last Sunday and will train again this Sunday. Randy is a retired UFC Hall of Famer, so it will be fun to learn from him and bask in his reflected glory.

Today is my roommate Sean’s birthday. I found out this morning, so after I bought him and Ouano lunch at Thai Star, I had the perfect excuse to go to Target, which I love, to buy him a bunch of crap: silly string, Halloween candy, a whoopee cushion, soap bubbles in Spongebob Squarepants dispensers. Gonna give him all that stuff soon. So happy birthday, Sean! You little punk.

Time to find him and give him his presents!