I went to my karate class this evening, having little trouble overcoming my usual inertia and reluctance after the workday. I keep telling myself that I always feel better during and after those 90 minutes than before, and tonight's results proved no different.

Our last three practices have actually been a lot of fun and much more relaxed -- Larry Lazarus (what a great name), our teacher, has been off on a trip to Asia, and his "understudy" Rob has taken over the classes. Larry is 60, ornery, and incredibly mercurial. He's also a real hardass in class, literally berating us when we do something he thinks is boneheaded. (Despite all this, I legitimately like him - he's grandfatherly and good at what he does - and I figure that, faced with his attacks, it's better to act like a tree in the wind rather than a stone wall.)

Rob, on the other hand, has taken Larry's absence as an opportunity to teach us new kata that we'd only see during the months that Shotokan of America has them on the program. Tonight we went over Tekki Nidan, Tekki Shodan, and Jute without worrying much about basics and harping on technique. The goal was to "learn the dance" and have a modicum of familiarity with the kata to not feel foolish during one of the club's "special training" sessions. Going over these kata also breaks up the general monotony of our otherwise highly structured classes: 15 minutes of warm-up, 30 minutes of the basics, 30 minutes of controlled kumite (sparring), and 15 minutes of kata practice. Tonight was just one big kata free for all...

Now, being as juiced as I am, there's absolutely no way I'll be getting to bed within the next 2 hours. So, it looks like I'll be up reading Jeff VanderMeer's short story collection Secret Life and another couple of Hellboy comics. Comments on these readings I'll leave for another day, but, Jason, a big, big thanks to you for the Golden Gryphon book. The first and title story is nothing short of spectacular.

***

Today I had one of the most unusual lunch breaks I've ever taken while at work. Todd Stabley, a friend of mine who works on campus for the Center for Instructional Technology, and I went to lunch at Carrburrito's, where we both had some fantastic fish tacos. Afterwards, we went over to the UNC Surplus Store (which is only open on Tuesdays and Fridays) where he found an old, functioning metal lamp. When I told him how much I liked it, he said if I wanted it, I could buy it, because he already had a simliar piece for which he'd paid $40 at an antiques store. The lamp, made almost entirely of metal (some bakelite, too, perhaps?) has two adjustable arms upon which a 18" hood is mounted. In the hood are two flourescent lights, which are pretty eerie when they're the only things lighting a room. The kicker -- I got the lamp for $5. Bargains like these just make me feel good.

Oh, yeah. After making the purchase Todd even drove me back home where I dropped off the lamp, and then we sat down to some homemade chocolate-chip banana bread which Steffi had just extracted from the bread machine.