Happy New Year and Best Wishes for 2007!

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Wall flip, attempt #1.

This is funny. Because it didn't happen to you.

Lessons of note:

• Only attempt this when I am warmed up, but not fatigued (ie: near the beginning of my session).
  
• Remember to put more mat on the floor, so I actually have more cushioning if I happen to over-rotate.
• Remember to uncurl after the initial tuck faster so I don't rotate so much.
  

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Christmas evening was spent discussing the perils of consumerism with my cousin from halfway across the globe. The discussion got a little bit heated at times, but to avoid things getting ugly, I conceded that there isn't much we can do about it either way.

As much as we like to believe that true happiness comes from non-tangibles -- love of friends and family, achievement, health and security -- these things usually are coincidental with consumption and modern civilization, which is consumerist by nature. Shut off everything, and people start dying as food stops coming in, the heat stops working in the dead of winter, and the hospital life support machines stop working.

Maybe it's balance that we need to start advocating...

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Good Karma and Bad Karma / Myopic Foresight and Hindsight in 20-20

Good: To kill time between contracts and do something nice for Christmas, I made a point of volunteering for the Salvation Army by playing Christmas Carols on guitar while collecting donations.

Bad: Made my signature dish for a Christmas potluck dinner last night, being chilli. I left it alone for too long and it burned on the bottom of the pot, so I transferred it to a casserole dish. Being "pretty sure" that it was approved for stovetop use, I warmed it up on the guest host's stove. So, several hours slaving over a hot stove and simmering destroyed in a flash (it's probably not a good idea to eat stuff that may or may not have porcelain chips in it). I was very sad after that happened.

This is the second item that I have inadvertently destroyed this way...even if it worked once, it won't necessarily work all the time. Speaking of which, did you know that it is a really bad idea to use a glass coffee table as an ironing board?

Good: Finally cleaned my apartment and am making a concerted effort to make it more so.

Bad: Mind you, the majority of that consisted of shoving everything into one room, which is now a nightmare to navigate through.

Good: Again put my guitar skills to use at my Capoeira studio's Christmas party, also aided by my culinary skills, having cooked Sate Chicken stir fry (with pineapple and green pepper) on the spot (with a portable skillet and everything).

Bad: No photos. I stupidly left my camera at the academy and I'm really hoping it's still there when the academy opens up again on the 30th.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

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Riddle me this...

This is a bizarre world where there is no God, but there is goodness. People have no heart, but they have feelings. There are no relationships, only marriage. Marriage has no sex, but lots of kissing and hugging. We can see and smell, but we cannot hear, touch, or taste.

People do not go to work, unless they happen to be accountants, engineers, and tennis players. There are no doctors or hospitals, which is a good thing because you won't get sick (but you might fall ill).

For fun, no one watches hockey or cricket, although people still play basketball, soccer, football, and foosball.

You don't have a house but you do have a roof. You can have walls, but without paint. You can have floors without the carpet. You can even have grass, but no yard or a picket fence.

In the natural world, we have trees of green, but no red roses. We have bees but not birds, eels but not seals, llmas but not lambs. The sun never shines, although the moon comes out. It never rains, it never snows, although they get periods of sleet.

Beef is consumed regularly, although chicken and fish are not. Fruits and vegetables are not either...unless it happens to be green peppers, lettuce, or apples. People eat pizza with mushrooms, pepperoni, cheese (both mozzarella and cheddar, but no parmesan), and pineapples (but no anchovies, olives, or onions).

In the entertainment world, the Foo Fighters are popular, but no one has heard of Nirvana. Green Day, Hoobastank, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are cool, but nobody listens to Justin Timberlake or Nickleback.

For fun and games, we have lots of books, but they're not made of paper. We have queens and fools, but no kings and jokers. We have rooks, but no castles, chess but no checkers. We have riddles, but no jokes.

In the world of technology, we still have Google, Yahoo, askJeeves, and InfoSeek. But, no one ever uses AltaVista or HotBot. But then, it doesn't matter because we have no Internet or computers. But we do have LCD screens. Just no monitors.

We have no cars (unless they're Hummers, Ferarris, Jeeps, or Corollas), but they all have wheels, transmissions, and mufflers (but no brakes or tires). We have geeks, but no freaks. We have carrots, but no onions...apples, but no oranges...seeds, but no pits.

What else can this world have?

(hint: it's not so much what the words represent and mean...)

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