Fencing Tournaments, Car Wrecks and a Hurt Hand

This weekend was busy! As the title states I competed in a fencing tournament (saber, my favorite slashing sport) my car was hit (2nd time in under six months, I wasn’t in it both times) and my hand hurts like a you know what.

Saturday started out as any other one does, myself giving fencing instruction. But unlike other Saturdays the lesson ended with an ‘oh crap that tournaments today’! bit of a freak-out. After getting it under control and shamefully debating if I was even going to attend, I re-made up my mind and decided that I’d go.

Some how or another, even after all the times spent putting close away, Mike still doesn’t seem to know where my socks go. Heck, I would have been happy if they were even in the universal sock drawer. I ended up leaving the house a 15 minutes later than I planned, had to pick up mula to pay for the event and by the time I got there the event should have already started (they where nice enough to hold it up for me). I spent 5 minutes in the parking lot trying to beat my fencing bag into submission as I couldn’t seem to get my weapons out of the case. After pulling a Mike as I like to call it, I beat it into submission and was finally able to get the required weapons from the trunk.

I did reasonably well in the pools (where everyone fences each other). Winning 2 out of 5 and losing another 2, 5-4 and my very first bout 5-2. I was set to take the win in the DE (direct elimination) as I felt reasonably confident that I could take the guy I beat in the pools when disaster hit and I lost the DE, 15-10. Although when walking away from the strip it felt more like 15-2. I just couldn’t seem to get a hand up on the guy. Afterwards I was given some constructive comments by the ref how suggested that I got timed out (its an electric setup) and that I need to work more on a fast parry-repost if I want to try and stop it from happening again. Note to self, work on quicker parry-repost and if I’m feeling like it, take the guy out before the next tournament.

I had the misfortune of getting hit in the hand when fencing and the blade whipped down and hit between my knuckle and the top of the middle finger (and no, I didn’t walk around with it pointed up showing everyone). The initial bruise wasn’t a big deal but know that the knuckles back to its original color the soft tissue is dark blue and hurts more then the initial bruise. I’m such a baby. It also unseated my diamond on my engagement ring (please look over the fact that I was even wearing jewelry on my fencing hand). Fortunally we’re completely covered on the ring and it’s currently getting fixed right now. I can’t wait to get it back. It feels so funny not wearing the thing.

Saturday night, Mike went to Seattle to meet with some of his friends and while he was on the way up, ended up getting rear ended. And it gets worse…in my car! That’s two cars in less than six months that have been hit and both without me in them (the first was totaled right outside my house when a guy ran into the front of the car then drove off). Currently it’s in the shop getting fixed while the guys at fault insurance tries to deny the claim or even try to set one up. So mean while, I’ll probably be out $500 until they approve it, which might be forever.

I renewed my Mary-Kay consultant license and hopefully this year I’ll actually do something with it (one can only hope). Seems not so smart, but I’ll defiantly be using it to help save for the wedding which is almost a year away. I also applied for a business license, but am waiting to finish it until I get my PO Box set up as I want that to be my shipping address. I finally went through and the change of address with USPS which even though they used to claim it was free, can only be done on line and they charge you $1 to do it. Which really isn’t a biggy but I had to do it twice since two people moved, with different last names and you can’t do batch if they all don’t have the same last name.

Last weekend we also purchased a new computer/printer set from a large chain electronics store (here’s a hint, its blue) and walked away with a desktop computer, a laptop, printer/scanner and wireless router for $1200 plus tax and additional product insurance. They are also having a special right now on 18 months, zero interest if paid in full. We defiantly took advantage of that. We’ve had it a week now and it’s sad to say, but I haven’t actually gotten on any of the equipment. Should probably do that this weekend.

And yes, another book review (not one of the ones I promised before but a new one):

The Treasure Keeper
By Shana Abe











I’ve never read one of her books before and I saw the cover and just had to see if it was any good. When I couldn’t put it down in the book store, I decided that I needed to get it. I was enamored with the book the inter way through. When reading it, it felt as if it was from a first person point of view but it took me a bit to realize, it was actually third person point of view. This is probably due to the journal entries in the first part of the book.

This book is about a you drakon (dragon) with powers that most female dragons don’t receive and when her fiancé goes missing, takes off on her own to find him against the rules of the clan. Zoe finds herself in Paris trying to pick up the last pieces of Hayden’s trail when she is haunted by another of her childhood friends shade that just won’t leave her alone. Using her unique powers she searches for the lost men her life and the evil that could destroy everything she’s cared about.

My main negative comment about this story is that her fiancé Hayden kept putting off their wedding and completing in physical acts and I personally felt that not a strong enough reason was provided by the author to explain this. At first he seemed like his collar was too tight around his neck and then more relaxed later on and his personality was stronger then the reason she provided. Perhaps I don’t know enough about the subcultures in the series, but it wasn’t necessarily stressed that the females and males hadn’t been with other partners or each other before marriage. The other issue was how Hayden who was such a snob towards other dragons, didn’t seem unnatural to later be hanging out with one. This is probably back story from another, but Zoe didn’t think it was strange either. PS- still not sure what the title had to do with the story.


Overall I give it a 4 out of 5 for storyline/romance and a 5 out of 5 for bedroom steaminess.

Moving and a Party!

Well, I did it. I (mostly) survived this weekend and everything that was packed into it. Friday was crazy, mostly because of the mad dash of packing that I tried to complete for the move on Saturday.

Last weeks agenda; Friday-continue packing, Saturday-parade 8:30-1, move 2-5:30pm, 25th anniversary party 6-7:30, Sunday- move, board meeting (didn’t make it).

Saturday started out with a fun little jaunt to the fencing club where I organized the waiting group of fencers and figured out where we needed to be for the Daffodil Festival Parade I had signed the club up for. When we made our way down to where we are supposed to meet up with the parade coordinators, there were none in site to help direct us where we need to go. We wonder around a bit, mostly because I had no idea where we where going, until I spied someone with a clip board and they finally direct us to our starting location.

We sat there in a vacant parking lot waiting around for a bit after being assured that we’d be told when to start marching. The numbers of the units around us are at about 50. Our unit was number 116. It took about and hour in a half, waiting in the cold wind for the units numbers of the parade to reach 100. At about this time, I start looking for the Daffodil Parade coordinators who I had been assured would be there to start us out and low and behold, none of them were around. I saw a unit tagged 112 and then a huge marching band rolled by and the unit after them was 119. We squeezed in behind them and started the long 10 blocks of group fencing. I wasn’t aware how long we marched until we had to walk back to where the cars where parked. My legs are still extremely soar and don’t liked to be used for mundane things like walking or climbing stairs.

Afterwards I went straight home to pick up Mike and headed over to the apartment complex so we could do a walk through and sign the lease on the apartment. The walk through wasn’t so bad, it was the continuous forms that we had to sign that seemed to take forever. After all the forms were signed, we where handed the keys and immediately started the long process of changing residences.

At around 5:30 pm we headed over to the grocery store to pick up the remainder of the food for my patents 25th anniversary party that was also taking place on Saturday. I though the party started at 7 but it started at 6 (I should have known this as I was the one who send out the invites). We where a little late and once I had the chicken salad out I started mingled with the rest of the group. Although I helped plan the event, with everything else that was going on, I wasn’t the one who really helped put everything together. My two sisters did a phenomenal job getting everything cooked and placed out on the table. I'll have to post the punch recipe as it was delicious and I'm pretty sure that I'll be serving it at my wedding.

After the party, Mike and I went back to the apartment, assembled the bed and spent the first night in the apartment. I was a bit cold, but amazing. The natural light in the apartment is great and we probably won’t end up using much electricity just because of that. We meet up with my parents for a brunch on Sunday. We ended up waiting an hour to be seated off of a 25 minute wait quote. Once we consumed the overly proportioned meals we continuing the moving process. We currently have almost everything moved in and after looking at the huge pile of junk sitting in the middle of our living room, it amazes me that I had almost everything stuffed into my room.

All that’s left to move is most of my crafting supplies and some miscellaneous items that didn’t get packed. Then it’s cleaning time at both places before I can get down to the serious unpacking.

Last night has to be one of the worst nights of sleep I’ve ever gotten. Misha, my cat, needed attention last night, probably because she knew how tired I was, and about once an hour would wake me up with sharp claws to the face or shoulders asking for attention. I didn’t want to throw her out of the room on her first night at the apartment, but if it continues again, I’m kicking her out of the room.

On today’s agenda; work, gym, clean old room and bathroom, move more stuff to the apartment, organize and clean new apartment, start unpacking.

Lets see how much of the above actually get completed.

Apartments, Sakura Con and lots of Potato Salad

Well my weekend was packed full of fun. Friday, Mike and I went apartment shopping and finally found an apartment, yeay. It’s a loft and it looks like it’s going to be fun decorating and organizing the place. Utilities aren’t included, but we got a month free so it’ll hopefully equal out in the end. We sign the lease on the 10th and we’re probably about half way through packing.

Packing, now there’s an interesting subject. I’ve never had anyone ‘help’ me pack before. Usually it’s me, boxes, perhaps a cat and a full day or two to get everything together. Mike got the closet cleared out in about half the time it would have taken me and after a bit, I just had to let him go and not worry about organizing anything, just getting ride of the trash.

My sister also had birthday party and my mother had the coolest cake made for her. It was an orange Shubert cake and it tasted exactly like its name. It was delicious.

Saturday started off with my normal fencing lesson before turning into mass frenzy of packing, navigating and then setting up for the fencing demo held at this years Sakura Con at the Seattle Convention Center. It seems no matter how many times I drive around lost in Seattle, I just can’t seem to remember where things are. I ended up doubling back a couple of times trying to find the convention center before finally stumbling upon it. We didn’t have too much trouble making our way towards the office to get out passes and then it was up to the demo room to take a look at the space we where given. I should say first off, that last year at the same time, the convention had at least twice as many people roaming the halls and escalators. This year it looked like a sad reflection of its former self. I don’t know if it was from the lack of speakers or perhaps funding, but I was deathly afraid that we’d have even less attendees and spectators then last year.

Happily, that wasn’t the case. I’d say that we probably had triple the attendance then last year, and we managed to keep it for the entire show, thanks to the help of other volunteers from MTFC. At one point one of the volunteers offered to give me the microphone, probably afraid that I was angry that I didn’t get the chance to speak or fence at the event. I told him he was doing a great job and to carry on while I continued to make the rounds around the room and answer any questions the spectators might have. The hour flew by fast and the group was entertained and involved in the show. I think it was one of the best demonstrations MTFC has held.

Afterwards we checked out the paraphernalia that was for sale at the convention. There were a lot of articles that I wish I’d never seen but there where some really interesting stalls there. One in particular had a metal sculpture with glass used to create a flying dragon form. Another had skirts that I wasn’t willing to fork over the amount they were asking for, but it did give me some ideas for making my own skirt.

We navigated the many floors that were involved in the convention and headed down to Mike’s favorite restaurant, The Tap House, where sushi, popcorn shrimp, lava cake (the best I’ve ever had) and of course beer was consumed. I listened to some interesting stores and met a group from Portland that was up in the Seattle area for Sakura Con. Afterwards, it was a pain trying to get into the parking garage that I parked in, as the only pedestrian entrance available seemed to be two elevators with a line stretching down and around the block.

After many failed attempts at locating the outdoor entrance for the stair well, we only managed to get into it because someone leaving held the door open, our group ended up being a floor too high from where we parked. While half the group (me included) ended up just walking down the ramps, the other half (including Mike) squeezed between a bunch of thick metal cables and the cement floor. We’re talking probably about the width of my hand. Aside from being extremely tall, they’re also are whipcord thin. They might have bet us to the car, but I had the keys.

Sunday was Easter and it was relatively relaxing. My grandmother had the fun experience of trying to cook a ham that had already been pre-cooked. The meat was a little crispy, but after trimming off the burned ends, it still tasted good enough to eat. Next came the six (yes I did mean 6) pounds of potato salad she bought, to make sure everyone got some. Keep in mind that usually our family gatherings aren’t more the 6 to 8 people. Next year, we’re talking about shaping the potato salad into a shape of a ham and featuring it with ham as the accent meat surrounding it.

I also managed finished re-reading one of my more favorite books, and here is the review.

Book Review:

Archangel’s Kiss, by Nalini Singh



This is the second book in the series of Guild Hunter Novels and it was as ensnaring as the first. The passionate relationship between the main character Elena and the Archangel Raphael, smoldered the pages with an intensity the rivaled the paranormal suspense that I could barely put the book down until I had finished reading the last page. Her descriptions of Angels and their relationships with Vampires and humans is realistic and draws you into the secondary characters and the depths that they hold under their surfaces. It makes me wonder, and hope, that once she’s done with this particular guild hunter that she’ll match up the remaining Vampires and Angels that work for and are tied to Raphael.

This chapter of her series has the reader entering the scene as human guild hunter Elena has woken up to find that she has been asleep for a year and has been transformed into an angel by none other then her Archangel lover Raphael. As their relationship unfolds, it’s strained by Raphael’s need to come to terms with their new relationship and the sometimes hate filled experiences with his sentries. Mixed in with Elena coming to terms with her new body and relationship is the murder of other vampires and angels, stolen children and the desire one of the Archangels has for her immediate death.

I really enjoyed reading this book the first time around and it only gets better with every read. I’d recommend this book to anyone.