Battles With Boredom

Book Review: Living the Martial Way

Earlier this year, my best friend recommended I read Living the Martial Way : A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think, by Forrest E. Morgan. Later this year, another friend gave me a copy as a present for passing my nidan test, so I had no excuse not to read it. Continue reading Book Review: Living the Martial Way…

Nidan

This weekend I attained a goal I set for myself sometime between 15 and 20 years ago, namely, second degree black belt (nidan) in aikido. I set this as a goal for myself during a conversation with my first aikido sensei, who said that most people, in his experience, who quit aikido did so after reaching shodan (first degree black belt). So I figured setting my sights beyond that would be a good target. Continue reading Nidan…

I Try to Get Out, But They Keep Pulling Me Back In!

While my weight doesn’t appear to have moved outside the range that it was in while I was actively on the Slow Carb Diet. However, I seem to have less energy these last several days that I’ve been eating more freely, so I’m considering doing it again.

Wonderful. I’m feeling about as flip-floppy as a politician during election season.

Slow Carb Diet Fail

I believe I’ve given it a fair shot. After being on the slow carb diet for 7 of the last 8 weeks, I haven’t seen enough change to hold my attention. It’s a bit disappointing, for sure, but not the end of the world by any stretch.

Oh well. It’s certainly been fun. Binge days have been an interesting high and low, but I think I’m going to focus on other things for a while.

UPDATE: Just for comparison, here’s the progress I made on Medifast in 2008. I wonder if slow carb would have been more effective had I more weight to lose, or if Medifast would be effective on me again now.

Update: If you are interested in trying the Slow Carb Diet, despite my failure, I encourage you, and please let me know. If you need recipe ideas, check out http://slowcarbcook.blogspot.com.

Shadows of the Samurai

Today I visited the Fleming Museum to see the exhibit “Shadows of the Samurai.” The pieces on display include full suits of samurai (侍) armor, katana (long swords), yari (spear), and yumi (bows), as well as other pieces including a tea set and theater masks. Continue reading Shadows of the Samurai…