Day 15 - For Those About to Inspire, I Salute You

I talk a boat load, a metric fuck-ton if you will, about mentors, leaders, being inspired and receiving inspiration. This is just a quick snippet. Looking around me, I'm surrounded by inspiring people and I can't be any more grateful than I am. That's the short of it. My people rock. Thank you very much, Argentina, good night!

Today was an excellent day. Side note: I'm wrecked after today, in such a great way. I made it back to Muay Thai at Black Rose (http://blackrosecrossfit.com/) this morning round 11am. It was me, Aaron (the owner and head coach and good family friend) and this really great guy by the name of Eric. Never has being punched, grabbed and kneed in the face been so enjoyable. I love this style. And Eric was good, patient and controlled. Aaron was also all of those things, but he also hit like a freight train thrown by god, aimed by Bruce Lee. You knew he was there when that fist landed, lemme tell you. Big fan. Knees, kicks, body work sections with a serious over under combo (my favorite), and plenty of control work with the quick pads rounded out my morning. Such a blast. Love it.

A word on Domeka Parker. Domeka does not live in the world that most call their own, and their in lies her confounding magnificence. She is the daughter of one of my favorite people, and my favorite professor, improv and acting guru Scott Parker. I've known Scott for...holy hell, going on ten years now. He's like a father to me, making Domeka that amazing, strange and wonderful talented sister. I'm impressed by her not for her amazing talent or teaching skills, but her ability to believe so whole heatedly in something, and then continue to grow. What truly gets me about her is being able to see someone so confident, someone who knows they have the right answer, achieve success, learn something new, and then believe that the new answer is also the right answer. I used to think this meant she was wishy-washy when I was first getting to know her. Now, I see that it's her ability to understand and assimilate and continue on that grants her such an impressive confidence and skill set. It's constant evolution, while still bringing those around her along for the gain.

Habit RPG update: lvl 14. Blue sword. Swanky chain hat. leather duds. wooden shield. Dragon composed of condensed midnight. Win.

I love my dance studio. I'll probably write several things about it. The two things sticking out in my mind right now, though, are two incredible teachers, Jill Dickman and Danial Brown. I had the friggin' enjoying as all hell privilege of taking Danial's class with Jill, and seeing what a real jazz dancers can do. I frequently say that "I used to be good," but it was just something I'd picked up from watching Fosse, Steven, Al Minns and way too much broadway. Jill and Danial are the real deal, what I am working to become. The combo was hot, the class was vibrant, and between Danial's spot on teaching and Jill's personality, skill and energy, I don't think I'd had a better night in some time taking class. The girls a rockstar. Had my first private with Danial, working the simple things that I never really learned (turns, stretches and proper technique mostly). It felt good, starting anew. I'm a good dancer, a good choreographer and an okay guy, but I've always lacked a solo guru of sorts. It was so easy to work with Danial. He teaches how I like and is a great man, a person that I really look up to. Below is his combo (same one, different night). I was so afraid to try from square 1 again, but it's painless, it really is. Unless you count the stretching, then it fuckin' hurts. No, really, I'm in pain here.

I'm growing, I'm learning, I'm on the right track.

Day 6 - Bad Gyro Man Bad!!!

Don't eat at Arabian Nights. Don't you do it! $8 for a tiny gyro that gave me the greatest case of rot gut I've had this side of the flu. It had almost no taste up front, was burnt, and the after-taste was closer to a rectum packed with onions than anything else. Don't eat there. That is all.

With my energy sapped that's to Bad Gyro Man, I've been hard pressed to get much done today. Though I did get to spend another couple of hours in Scott and Domeka's improv class, which is always a good thing. Not much to say there, other than I really love being there. Really, I miss performing and I'm glad I'm getting more opportunities to do so.

My head is cloudy and my gut is roiling. Not digging this. Mostly been prepping things for completion on the morrow. It's a good thing. Tomorrow is another round of teaching my freaking amazing students at the best dance studio I've ever been a part of (Vega Dance + Lab for the win. www.vegadancelab.com). No matter the blah that could happen during the week, Vega cures what ails ya.


I'm a geek, and therefor I love video games. I love them the same way I love books and movies and stories in general. They are more than my escape, they are my safe place, an inspiration and refreshingly frivolous. So when I snag one that stands out, I latch on. This year I've found so many drops of the juice, lemme tell you. Those that have been standing out have been presenting real consequences and challenges that you'd find in the good ol real world. Guns in The Last of Us are probably the best example. You get a hand full of bullets in the beginning, when you fire it's loud and unnerving, and knowing that last bullet could be the one that saves you from certain death gives a real weight is just a snazzy poke in the gullet.

It is my favorite mechanic/hook in games: scavenging. It's the ability to go beyond looting; to take the pieces of armor/chiton/scrap metal/fabric/hyde etc. and use them to make yourself stronger. It makes the world more important to you. To me, it makes each kill more humanizing and the opposite. It makes some see monsters/enemies as nothing more than equipment, makes them worth risking their life, makes player-created items all the more impressive to you and yours, and enriches the experience. Taking something from something else to create or bolster something new is a win. You're creating a functional trophy, one that just might save that skin of yours.

Now think about if you could scavenge/harvest etc aspects of other players. A huge dynamic shift. More on that later. The gyro is back. Ow.

PS. HabitRPG is gold. Level 6. Got an Axe, leather armor, wooden shield and a pet red panda. Score.