9.26.2003
Listening to: my sacrifice by Creed
Mood: Good, but tired (and will more likely take a nap after this)

That was awesome...we were able to acquire the new chest guards and shin guards to help make our sparring sessions more safer (always a plus).  I think the chestguard kept my back nice and straight the entire time (when I woke up this morning, my shoulders and my neck don't make the usual cracking noises it usually does everyday...another plus ::smiles::).  Today, we're going to visit a nearby WalMart and grab some gloves and some bracer type protectors (we were considering purchasing kiddie shin guards for our forearms but, we'll see...)

During our session, a couple guys came down to work out at our exercise room across from us and saw what we were doing.  One, I believe, has an interest...and another (who is a friend of mine) watched us for about half of our session... we almost smacked him though... that wouldn't have been good... nope nope, not at all.  So, we have (I'm hoping) a definite number of 4 more people joining if not more.

I'd like to type more, but I need some rest so that I can recover and actually get some homework done today!  Ja ne!

-VashMatrix

9.24.2003
Listening to: My Will [Nocturnal Club Mix] by Dream
Mood:  Good, and ready to sleep

I'm excited...the shipment for the chest guards and the shin pads will be here tomorrow!  Hopefully I can get my sparring partner to spar with me tomorrow (he has nothing going on in the evening but...laziness keeps calling him to do nothing...I'm trying my best to spar from Thurs.-Sun).  I was so excited ("was" because I'm now tired) that I went and prepared my shinai.  Last I left it, the cloth guard I had applied on it was really in bad shape...so I did some improvements, some experimentations here and there, several unique knots...and voila!  Its done...check it out here: Finished Shinai, Close-up of Shinai.

-VashMatrix (who is going to bed now...)

9.20.2003
Listening to: Change the World by V6
Mood:  Feeling good

"Hyaa-aaah!" ::clang:: "Huu-aah!"  ::whiff:: "Woo!" ::crack:: "Urgh, got me..." ::VashMatrix lightly slaps his wrist::

We had a very rockin' sparring session this evening.  We were at it for an hour this time.  We have actually noticed each other gradually getting better with each practice, which is very good.  I've come up with a name for what we're doing, as well as some rank names (but I'll delve into that at a later date when I work out the whole ranking system).  You can call what we're doing, "Shouten" or "Shouten Shuurai."  I'm not sure which one to stick to at this time but...basically our focus is to um...well, focus our strikes.  Shouten means "focus, point."  Shuurai refers to "lightning strike." So, we'll see...  At any rate, things are moving rather nicely now.  I think we definitely have three guys wanting to join us during our sparring sessions so its looking pretty good.  Man, was I wiped though during our 2nd match (out of 3).  I felt as if I could not go on and that I had to quit...my heart was telling me and so was my body, going into supreme over-heat mode.  But you know, I felt myself saying to myself, "My sparring partner looks like he's still going strong...so I will too."  ...and that was it.  Glad I stayed too...man did we have close encounters though... one time he literally brushed the tip of his shinai on my adam's apple...talk about a "near brush with death" hehe.  We had some head strikes as well, though they were purely unintentional.  I even delivered a hard thrust strike upon my sparring partner's chest, and I was like, "Uh oh, I may be getting out of hand" and so I asked him if he was alright and warned him that I can get caught up in stuff like this.  He told me it stung, but it was cool.  So, that rocked.  I'm going to try and train myself more in control and focus though so that things won't get out of hand in striking.  What's cool though was that, during our session this evening, I was able to come up with different offensive and defensive stances.  That was cool.  ::sigh:: Can't wait til our next sparring session (in the meantime I need time to let my body heal...) and next time we'll have a chest protector and shin guards... ::forms a big smile::

Ja ne!!

-VashMatrix

9.18.2003
Listening to: Hitorijime
Mood: Angry at Microsoft programs because they don't make sense sometimes...

So, I thought to myself...I might as well update the page today...so I do what I usually do: open up the folder that has my files, right click on this file, and selected Microsoft Front Page to open this file like I always do...  Then, I get this error message telling me the file (which I clicked on) doesn't exist!?  Then its asking me to insert my Win XP CD (for reasons I have no idea what for).  I just ignored that message and clicked "cancel."  Then the program runs but the file isn't loaded, so I try again...and again...and again, til I decided to just open the program and the file independently... I hate Microsoft.

Ok, so now on to the real stuff I was going to chat about...oh yeah, UPS...Geez, they told me that the package was going to be "on-time" and should be arriving on the 16th...so its pass two days, and every time I check that stupid (as you can see, I'm not in a very good mood right now) tracking site to find my package...the last thing it tells me that it was shipped from CA around 12:44am on the 16th...that's it ::rolls eyes and makes a strangling motion with his hands:: ...I just want my shinai, and I want them today... ::sigh::

This brings me to another point (one could say right now that I have officially entered my "rant" mode)...a friend of mine was having a conversation with me and we both agreed that for the majority...people suck.  You do have some nice people and very courteous ones...but, yes...the majority of people suck. ::sigh::

::thinks, thinks...but is disturbed by his overwhelming anger...and resigns to stop typing for this entry before it gets out-of-hand::

-VashMatrix

P.S.: Microsoft sucks too...sorry, I'm done now... ::goes into his cubby hole in the corner of the room and sleeps::

9.13.2003
Listening to: I Am by Hitomi
Mood:  ...how about, "I want to sleep, but I have so many things to do first"? (expect to see this mood often)

Yeah so last night, a friend of mine comes to my room and tells me that there was something I just got to see...and man, when someone says that you...you just bolt it out of there and check it out.  So I busted out of my room and followed him with hurried feet to our porch only to see five of my fellow students dressed in medieval garb...which was pretty awesome let me tell you.  So I started questioning them as to why and they inform me about the Renaissance Festival this Saturday.  I was like...whoa, that's awesome...I was able to join the band wagon before it was too late, and I was able to...well, if I told you the costume I wore...you'd pick me out quickly when I upload the picture of us together...I'll hold that off for a while...

So, today was just a blast!  I never really role-played that long for a day in an MMORPG let alone in real-life.  That was the sweetest experience I had...it was like I was totally someone else ::wishes he could attend anime gathering functions:: Ahh, well...so we took several pictures, and I may put it on this website.  Our traveling group consisted of:

Lord Loidensis
His Wizard
Sir Robin
The Ambassador of Beijing, Miroku
The Servant of the Ambassador, Ming Vas
The Executioner
The Plague Infested Leper

Again, staying in character was really fun...but man did we do a lot of walking... great exercise but I'm tired ::laughs heartily, takes a deep breath, then sighs::  So, some of the guys will be going next weekend or perhaps the weekend after that, but...I'm not sure I will...well, at least that's what I'm thinking now anyways, hehe.  Ja ne!

-VashMatrix

9.12.2003
Listening to: Change the World by V6
Mood:  ...how about, "I want to sleep, but I have so many things to do first"?

Well, all I really had planned to do today on this site was to post a new link on my contents column.  Its a site I go to every so often.  Its known as a music-rotation site...I believe its the first of its kind.  At any rate, it has the very sugoi (in my opinion) music at this site.  You gotta check it out to believe me...oh yeah, and most of the MP3's (if not all) on that site are in Japanese and usually of an anime nature.

Time for me to hit more of the books and...wait for my sparring partner to get his lazy self up to my room (and if you're reading this...well, d'oh).

-VashMatrix

9.11.2003
Listening to: Turning Japanese by Incubus
Mood:  Semi-hyper (I think anyone would be when listening to this song...)

::commemorative silence offered for the souls of 9/11/01::

...well, let's see what interesting mischief I'm up to today...  Nothing really...just a bit saddened by the fact that the seller I bought the shinai from is known to be extremely slow on shipping items. ::frowns::  If I don't get this by tomorrow or Saturday...and if I get it mid-week, I think I'll give him neutral feedback.  I mean, come on!  As soon as the auction ended...BAM! I went to Paypal.com to pay for this...and he didn't even send me a notification that he received the money or what not.  I frown upon eBay users that are like that so...if you use eBay (that would probably make about 75% of all the computer users in the world...), send stuff quickly and immediately!  It rocks to see your feedback filled with..."fast payment" or "psychedelic speedy delivery" or "I was taken aback by his quality and swiftness of shipping that I sent him an extra $50" ...ok, so maybe the 2nd comment wouldn't be true...I mean, who says "psychedelic speedy delivery" anyways... ::sticks out his tongue, jokingly::

I'd type in some more, but I need to get ready for Holy Hour... ja ne!

-VashMatrix

9.8.2003

Two days ago...

::the sounds of battle grunts, quick foot movement, and the contact of cloth-covered foam wooden swords can be heard echoing in an enclosed room...then all of a sudden, you hear a large crack echo across the room that causes the dead silence that followed::

My sparring companion looks at me in slight disbelief and opens his mouth to say..."I think its broken."  I took a careful inspection of his daito and judged by its unnatural curve that his words did not bear any trace of humor for us to enjoy.  "It was bound to happen," I thought to myself, "I suppose now would be a good time to purchase brand new sparring weapons...perhaps those more suited for our style of sparring."

::sigh:: Well, there you have it in a nut shell...one of the daito's we were using is no longer usable.  So, I decided to hop online to eBay and purchase a pair of bamboo shinai...they should prove well if not better in our sparring sessions.  Interested in seeing the broken daito?  Click here for a picture. 

Talk of purchasing armor and several non-essential (but very sweet looking stuff) has been the conversation as of late concerning our future sparring sessions.  We will also be training in flips (again, another non-essential but sweet thing to see) which I have already started.  (I get so disorientated though when I try flipping...)  Anyways, I know with several practices...such feelings should pass...or at least I hope it would.

Okay, until later then...ja ne!

-VashMatrix

9.5.2003

Wow, I feel like its been ages since I've been to my own site... ::looks at the previous entry's date::  ...oh, so it has...

Well, a lot went on during that date to today...yeah, so.  I don't have time right now to type all that stuff...ok, bye...

-VashMatrix

 

...still here, huh?  Ok well let me try to fill you in as best I can.  Let's see I dropped my ambition to start a kendo-esque club and instead have started sparring sessions with a friend of mine here.  I figured after a couple of months, then I might start the club...but, eh...who knows.  I actually finished my first sparring session with my friend and it proved to be very fruitful, I'd say.  We both seem to know what we're doing and injuries were kept to a bare, bare minimum ( i.e.  Neither he nor I are hurting right now...maybe when we wake up the next morning with a sore back or something...but right now...we good ^_^ ).  ::just had a thought enter his mind:: Ooo! Ooo!  If we did get some spectators, we might be able to have some pictures of some of the sparring sessions...sugoi! (<--someone spell check that for me and e-mail me if that's right, onegaishimasu).

I also had my first classes...oh man...I think I'm going to have a so-so semester.  I actually think it might be even more towards the easy side but...hey, don't want to jinx it now.  ::realizes he just did, pushes himself away from the desk calmly and collectively with effortless ease, and cries in the corner of his room::

One of the hardest, so far, I'd have to say is studying Latin.  We have a new teacher, and we aren't learning things like how to translate "See Spot run!" ...but something more to the effect of... "To see Jesus is to see His Father.  For this reason Jesus perfected revelation by fulfilling it through His whole work of making Himself present and manifesting Himself through His words and deeds, His signs and wonders, but especially through His death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth." (from Dei Verbum - the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation).  Don't get me wrong...I want to translate Latin in order to be able to read the original texts such as these in their un-translated form...but mama mia!  I only had 2 one-hour classes of Latin so far...

Then I also have a four hour class which isn't bad at all...except for the four hours we meet that only offers a 7 minute break...argh!!  I'm not bringing anything to drink in that class...and if I did...I'd make sure to take tiny sips and drink alot about a couple minutes before break time...

Oh, and the flute?  Going very well.  I almost have "Change the World" by V6 done...I just need to reach the low F and work on my breathing and I'll be good to go in terms of recording it and putting a sample here for you to listen.

That's about it, hope I don't take this long again before I put in an entry.

-VashMatrix...again