Random Gibberish

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Car Payments!

Amy — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 07:09:56 GMT

The Bronco is dead, Long Live the VUE! Well, the transmission finally went out with a screaming clunk, after helping a friend move. I had to have it towed back to the shop where it, its parts, and its cousin are for sale. I hear there's a Bronco II following. Together, there's probably one working vehicle. But a week and a half later, I test drove an '07 Saturn VUE, and it was awesome. I bought the one I tested, which is a manual transmission, ( the last year they're making them, I think). It had 16-17 miles on it when I drove it off the lot. It is over 750 now. YAY!!! Still need a tow bar on it, but I love it. And I love that it runs. Also, I am promoted now! In Judo, not work.

Been a while...

Amy — Sun, 20 May 2007 22:05:46 GMT

Got some time to breathe now, classes are over for a few weeks. Gods, I'm up for promotion to nidan! Benching 150lbs now, my shirt sleeves are a little tight. Getting ready to start sewing like mad for Fair Oaks, so I won't be on much. Things are mostly good in my world right now, but my clutch is going out. Lost most of third gear Friday, and part of second. Anybody close that's mechanically inclined? I can do some kind of trade, since I'm flat broke. Loves to you all!

Ow...

Amy — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 07:25:52 GMT

Judo on cold mats baaad... Hell, my skin hurts right now. But I'm getting faster. Now if only I could get thinner. Gotta drop below 78 kilos, so the big girls don' squish me no more. I am benching 100 to 120 lbs now, so that's a plus. Owwergh. I know, I know... quityerbitchin'.

Catching Up

Amy — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:59:15 GMT

Well, suffice it to say, Florida Sucked. I made it to the finals, only to get my right shoulder torn up in an unfortunately fast loss. Now, in March, it's just beginning to be useful 80% of the time. Have a tournament in Alameda on the first of April, I'll try to get details up if anyone wants to come watch. Work sucks too. There's nothing to do in the shop, so we're off indefinitely. Gonna apply for some law enforcement positions... On an up note, it'll be six months on the 26th for me and my boy, hopefully I'll get some pics up soon. (Insert sappy crap here) I'm keepin' this one. Also, I am no longer a member of House of Gordon. They are moving in a direction I and some others aren't interested in following. So now I belong to the Guild of St. Margaret, portraying the court of Queen Margaret Tudor, at the Tudor faires, with English characters perhaps to follow in the years to come. Probable randomness to follow later, that's all for now.

The Story Thus Far, or, A Series of Unfortunate Events

Amy — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:25:41 GMT

Well, we're here in Florida, and it's been an adventure so far. Here's the e-mail sent out to the Judo team at home, which explains what we've had to deal with already. (I'm Amy Stevens by the way...) To start off our adventure... The Sonoma County Airporter was delayed on 101 South, due to a multi-vehichle Injury accident. as a result we were we detoured around the east bay, through Oakland, and finally arrived at SFO. we checked in at curbside, paying two bucks per bag, for expedited service and check in only to recieve ONE out of FIVE boarding passes...multiple attempts to attain online boarding passes failed, and we were stymied on our attempts in person. We arrived in Miami at 810pm EST, and it took about "three days" (two hours) to get our luggage. by the time we reached our hotel, it was already 10pm EST. We arrived to the pleasant news that we had missed the close of registration by about 5 hours, and none of us were eligible to fight in the senior divisions as they have all been drawn and pooled together. Amy Stevens, Cookie and I are all now fighting in the senior OPEN division, and the two Amys are fighting in the masters divisions on Sunday. In addition, we were almost shafted out of our USA patches, because we checked in late...we were told that there were NO PATCHES LEFT....however, we soon were redirected to a LARGE duffel bag filled with USA JUDO patches, that Amy Stevens is current sewing onto our gi's by hand at 125am EST, because the seamstress went home. and we were also told that if we were to be late that we should somehow call from the plane and explain our situation...and they claim they would've pulled our registration packets and put us into the pools.... Later on, our attempts to eat dinner were foiled as well. every restaurant in the surrounding area of the LARGE city of miami was closed, including the bar at the host hotel...barring a $30 dollar cab ride, i bought pizza for our group, and finally we were at peace so here we are, thousands of miles from home...discouraged and upset before we even take the mat. but what's important is that we're here as a team, and we are dealing with the circumstances with smiles on our faces We are all going to fight, and i cant help but anticipate that this will be a Vendetta weekend for the SRJC Judo team. Amy Wilson has just announed that she is considering shaving her head to mimic Natalie Portman from V for Vendetta... expect good news next time.... much love from hot and muggy Miami, Starving, hot and hungry... aka Amy Wilson, Amy Stevens, Cookie, Marilou Kelly, and God Damn Joe PS: Amy Wilson has also informed me, that she will be retiring once again from international competition to fight in local schmocal tournaments.... -just kidding ; - ) So, if Joe is kind enough to let me use his laptop again, I will update you all after the first day of fighting (Saturday). Wish us luck! `Cause at this point, we're gonna need it.

Need More SLEEEEEEP...zzzzzzzzzz

Amy — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 04:51:22 GMT

So, everything has been in high gear since the start of Faire. I started a class on Tuesdays, which began and ends on the same schedule as faire, I have judo Mondays and Wednesdays, usually an extra practice in Petaluma on Thursdays, drive to Casa on Friday, Faire on Saturday and Sunday, and drive back Sunday night. Whew! Then I rinse lather repeat all over again. Add to that that my boss went on vacation for almost a week and a half, and there's only two of us in the shop, and the fact that I've started competing again. I think there'll be time to sleep near the end of November. Yikes. Plus I've damaged my foot somehow. Anybody got some spare parts? Judo tourneys so far: U.S. Open, FL, second to last weekend of October. Pan Am Masters, AZ, not going because they couldn't tell Coach how many women would be in my and his daughter's weight classes. 2nd Women's Championships, MI, first weekend of November. Seattle, WA, for a points tournament, mid November. USJA Nationals, Los Angeles, first weekend of December. I will be fighting in two divisions for most of these. Judo has become an expensive hobby. Fortunately, we managed to get some additional funding for Michigan, and we're selling flower bulbs to raise more. Buy my bulbs? On the plus side, one of the boys in Judo worked up enough courage to ask me on a real date. He's a real sweetheart, a bit younger than me, (OK, almost 7 years), but we had a great time, and agreed to let things happen as they will. I had a stupid grin on my face for most of Wednesday. :} On another note, there will be a special bottle of my own brewing at the faire this weekend. You must have a fairly unabused palate to get a taste, and it is definitely different. Some folks may not like it. There will only be the one bottle, so when it's gone, tough. You will have the opportunity to smell it first, to see if you want to try it. It is a mead, and yes, I did actually brew it, my first attempt ever. See you at faire.

Nationally Ranked Athelete

Amy — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 07:41:32 GMT

Click on this link and scroll down to +78kg. http://www.usjudo.org/seniors_natfemaleRoster.asp I'm number eight, and Cookie's number seven. In the country, apparently. Right now. As far as I understand, in an Olympics year, the top five theoretically go to the Olympic trials. Wow. At the end of October, I fight in the US Open in Florida. The following weekend I fight in the PanAm Masters (30 and up). November is the Women's Championships in Michigan, and December is the USJA Nationals in the LA area. Any of my friends in the area are welcome to come to this one, December 2nd and 3rd. Training is gonna hurt...

Betrayal

Amy — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 08:15:45 GMT

So this is what it's like to be stabbed in the back. Nothing like finding out, with no warning whatsoever, that your guild is unhappy and is taking all but one of your members. Finding out, in the first hour of the first day of the first weekend of faire, that they were so cowardly that they never spoke to me, but had our entertainment director do the honors of telling me. Not that any of this is her fault. She was at least honest. That which does not kill me... But sadness and bitterness only last so long, before they turn into anger and indignation. This guild will not go quietly, nor will I meekly accept their pity or scorn or whatever they care to feel. That which does not kill me... I pity their fear, their narrow minds and their holier than thou attitudes. I pity their smallness of character, and their herd mentality. My revenge shall be to succeed in spite of them. That which does not kill me... had better watch. the. fuck. out. We will SHINE no matter how many members we have. Loyalty is being rewarded. I would rather have one strong right hand, than a dozen weak links. That which does not kill me... better get the hell out of my way. Like a phoenix, we will rise above their pettiness and be reborn from the goddamn ashes of mutiny. Hate? They are not worth my hate. I have no time for it. I am REBORN. That which does not kill me...

HOOO-AAHHHHH!!!

Amy — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 08:02:33 GMT

So whilst me girls were at San Francisco tormenting Bill Watters, I was roasting and working my ass off in L.A. For those of you that didn't know, I went down to the Golden State Open Judo Championships. Next time I'm fuckin' flying. Five adults in a Honda Civic blows. However, Joe's aunt and uncle are very cool, (I've only seen that much food at a buffet, and they made sandwiches for us to take), although their sofabed tried to kill me and Cookie. I thought my back was going to spasm on Sunday just before the tournament started. We saw some great judo, some crappy judo, and some really bad calls by the refs. Only some though. This was a senior elite level event, which means first and second place in the senior (18 and up) divisions get elite points and become nationally ranked athletes. We had nine competitors, four of which did not place. In the masters division (30+), Destinee took third after suffering a possible AC separation in her shoulder in the first match. Amy Kate, Coach's daughter, obliterated her opponents for a first place win. She was nervous because she hadn't fought in about 5-7 years. Cookie was in my pool and took third (she got points in a prior tournament), Joe took a first and became a ranked athlete, and I took second, and now am ranked as well. Not bad for my first time back in about 5-6 years. So what this means to all you non-judoka out there, is that Joe, Cookie, and I will be heading to Florida at the end of October for the U.S. Open, which you have to be invited to. And in order to be invited, you have to have points, or meet certain other criteria. We will be fighting people from around the world, and learning a hell of a lot. And most of all, we will have a damn good time. Because we'll be FLYING there, not cramming into a Honda Civic and making a Hail Mary run. HOOO-AAAHHHHH!!!

Surprise

Amy — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 23:37:17 GMT

We got her good! My sister and I threw a surprise birthday party for Mom. We called her friends, called the family, had Dad take her to dinner, OD'd my bank account, and it was worth everything to see the look on her face when she came in the door. She said later she had been thinking on the way home a party would have been nice, and thinking of the people she'd invite. Turns out we got most of them. I wasn't sure if she was going to laugh or cry, but she sure was happy. I'm so glad we did it.

Living

Amy — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 01:14:39 GMT

Well, then. So it ended up just being me and my sister this Saturday, but it worked out probably better that way. We get each other's sense of humor, and we didn't have to fill in anyone else on the "in" jokes. The club scene was kinda disappointing though. The one we went into was nice, if really small, and had good music, okay drinks, and a bouncer that looked like a young thin Vin Diesel, but it was like everyone in there was too cooool to dance. Dinner was at the martini lounge in the Metreon, awesome food and drinks, and the waiter gave me free cake. Talk about death by chocolate. I honestly thought I would be sick from the sugar shock. This was also my second time ever riding public transit. We were on the BART, and this tweeker sat down and started talking to us. When he got off, he was singing loudly, "Zip a dee do dah". The gal he sat next to was trying to become one with the wall, and kept shooting us these "I'm so sorry for you" looks, but the guy was kind of entertaining to talk to. What one ex-bf used to call "bus people". At least he was happy and not hostile. Well, the continuation of my birthday celebration will be at Fair Oaks after hours. See you rennies there! And the libations will flow...HOO-YA! There shall be rum, and scotch, and mead (I hope), and many many other things. So all you all bring something to share, 'cause I am. Update on other things: The boy didn't work out. Too immature, and I'm done trying to work with that kind of shit. Joined a gym, and have been working out for two weeks now. There was this guy that thinks he's a power lifter, and you can hear him all across the place, grunting and yelling as he tries to lift the barbell. Is it any wonder that women want their own gyms? There's some dipshit here that sued to get into two women's gyms. He says it's because the equipment is newer and the gyms are cleaner, but he probably either just wants to look at tits and asses, or he thinks he's getting revenge for feminism. What a prick. I haven't had any problems with this place yet. They even offer a striptease exercise class. Wonder how that works. I might try it out if it doesn't conflict with judo.

Regrouping

Amy — Sat, 03 Jun 2006 22:33:52 GMT

Thanks to everyone for the support. I got the new(ish) Bronco, and fortunately most of the 86 parts can be used on the 87. Just finished a pair of gates at work that we're told go to Boz Skaggs' home. Met a hottie at a Judo party, he's, ah, "talented", *ahem*, but I'm seeing some of what helped destroy the previous relationship already, and it's only been a week. As in, he really only wants to spend time on his computer. Oh well, I'll enjoy it while it lasts. I've decided I need a renaissance man. Someone who is open-minded, and likes to get out and do things, and views the computer as a tool, not a lifestyle. Someone who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, but is willing to get dressed up and go out. I need a man who is secure in himself and doesn't need to depend on others to give his life meaning, but is willing to ask for help if necessary. Who can communicate, and have a reasonably intelligent conversation. Some one who isn't threatened by the way I AM. Yeah, I know, ask for the fucking moon while I'm at it. Oh well. Time to concentrate on the tournament tomorrow. Maybe there'll be someone to fight this time. At least I have my birthday to look forward to. The big 3-0. Eep. I think I saw the turnoff for responsible adults fly past. Guess I missed my exit. My sis and a couple of the judo girls are taking me to San Francisco for the night. Whee-ha! Any of the boys wanna give me a lapdance? ;) Hey Universe. Here I am.

Death Throes

Amy — Sat, 06 May 2006 17:10:16 GMT

So that's it. Nearly four years in a relationship that probably should have been over sooner but we just couldn't see it. Here's to the good times, I'd like to think they outnumbered the bad. We'll be licking our wounds for a while, but I'd like to try staying friends when the dust settles. Neither of us needs an enemy, at the very least we could be allies... we'll see. Hopefully our mutual friends are mature enough not to take sides. I wish him success and happiness.

DOA Calaveras

Amy — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 09:54:11 GMT

And the Bronco is toast. Who would have thought that black ice would last through a downpour? And the night before Barky's birthday no less. Ironic that the fucker still runs, but isn't driveable... I'll put pics up later.

Mrghh

Amy — Sat, 12 Nov 2005 08:23:15 GMT

Yay. Veteran's Day. Honoring those who have served, and those who have died serving. My grandfather, whom I never got to meet, served in the Army. My great-uncle was an officer (Army too, I think). Now we have a day off of work, sometimes, and I'd bet half of America doesn't think to wonder why. First picture in the paper today was of an 80-something year old veteran of WWII. She still fits in her uniform. Tiny little gal. I once thought about the armed forces back in high school. Wonder now where I'd be. I'd probably have a better education, not to mention be in better shape. I have issues with people yelling at me though. Makes me want to hit them. A lot. Maybe I'll go back to school. Because I have that right. Paid for by someone else's blood.

Hmmm, need more photos...

Amy — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 05:31:00 GMT

I need more photos on this thing. Only problem is, I'm not photogenic in the least. I know lots of photos of St. Bibiana's was taken at Casa, but I haven't seen any. If anyone has some, could they send them to me?