Kick Boxing

A few semesters ago I signed up for a Self Defense course here at UW-Milwaukee. We learned punches, kicks, blocks and how to properly fall when shoved down. It was awesome. A semester went by and I missed it, so last semester I decided to go to the gym here at UWM and found a kick boxing class. I went there with an open mind (hoping that it would be similar to the self defense class) and it was a blast. At the beginning of the semester we learned basic punches and how to always keep our elbows in to protect our sides and to protect our head when we duck out of a punch. We slowly incorporated kicks into the work out such as round house kicks, side kicks and snap kicks (yes at times I felt like Chuck Norris). Soon the semester came to an end (one of the classes I was solo so the instructor, Arthur, gave me a private lesson that really kicked my ass). 

Today was the first day of kick boxing this semester and we had roughly 22 people in the class with a max of 20. Only three of us came back from last semester meaning 19 people were new. Usually we have about 8 or 10 people and Arthur makes us really sweat. Today, with 22, it was no different. The sweat was running down my forehead before long and muscles started to ache in that glorious pain that can only come from a good work out. Hopefully next class people decide not to come so Arthur can work us out even more, incorporating more kicks and more complex moves like we did back in December. 

Basically, I love kick boxing as a work out. Go out and find a work out that you love and can't wait for your next class. For me, I have 1 day 19 hours and 27 minutes until my next kick boxing class. 

German Script

In one of my German classes this semester we are going to learn to read and write old German script. Our professor (my Opa's lodge brother) showed us a letter that was written in this script and you were lucky if you could identify one letter much less a word. Each individual letter of the script looks different than our 'now' script. Here is the alphabet in lower and upper case so you can see what I mean: 

The 'c' doesn't look anything like the now c but like a 'i' without the dot (otherwise known as title). One of the projects for this class is to find an old letter written in the script, preferably from our family as that would be more fun and interesting. Well, my Oma when she was in school had a little book that was considered her 'year book'. It is nothing like our year book in that there are no pictures or even the list of the children's names; however, all of her friends and teachers memorized a little poem or something to write in the book. I now have this book. Here are a few pages from the book:

My Oma, having grown up writing and reading this script still makes some of her letters the same, mainly the 'm' and 'n'. Hopefully by the end of the semester I will be able to read this and the rest of the book or poems from her school friends like I would a normal book, like you are reading this, without pauses to identify letters. 

First Day, Last Semester

Today I start my first day of class for my last semester as an undergraduate here at UW-Milwaukee. I'm currently planning on taking 5 classes (2 Criminal Justice, 2 German, and a Sign Language class with the possibility of dropping the Sign Language class). My 2 CJ classes should be fun. One is about research methods where we probably talk about statistics and reports and math type stuff. My second one is about comparative criminal justice where we spend one month on USA's law, the constitution and why our law is the way it is (how we will fit that into just one month of school beats me), then we will look at other countries like Germany, and Japan and Islamic law and see how they differ from USA's law. As for my German classes, one is movies after the war (this one being online) and the other about scripture and reading (which is taught by my Oma's and Opa's lodge friend) so both of those will be fun but will be a lot of work. The Sign Language class is just an introduction to sign language and we will have to interview a deaf person and by the end I will hopefully know more words in sign language than just swears and random animals. 
Today might be the first day of my last semester but graduation and the day I walk seem like a far thought. I'll take it one day at a time and will manage (with some days being much more stressful than others). All in all, it should be fun, but for now, I'm off to my first class. Good luck to all of those in the same boat as me and to those with semesters left before graduation, the light at the tunnel does keep growing.

Books vs. Movies

You ever find yourself reading a book that you've already seen the movie of and thinking to yourself 'This would have been so much better if they added this instead of cutting it out. Now I understand the character/scene better.' Well that is normally what happens to me. 
One night, hanging out with friends, we decided to watch Stephen King's IT. Before I got to finish the movie, it was time for me to go home (i.e. parents were at the door as I was too young to drive) and never finished the movie. I read IT and with the first page I was hocked. It was so descriptive and gruesome that I couldn't put the book down and just kept reading (remember this isn't a short story, it is over 1,000 pages). While I was reading IT, I remembered back to the movie night with friends and Tim Curry giving us his creep smile as the clown who liked to float, everything floats. After reading the book (which managed to spoke me) I watched the whole movie and thought it was crap. The acting was good and the cast just the same, but the story line was nothing compared to the book. The book spooked me for a week or so and I was expecting the movie to have me just as 'scared' for at least a week. By the end of the movie, I was disappointed. I love Stephen King books because of his 'what if' attitude regarding the supernatural. 
Currently I am reading Stephen King's Secret Window, Secret Garden. I have seen the movie and thought it was brilliant with the writer going crazy, coming up with this mysterious person and doing terrible things while he thought he was asleep (including killing his own cat, burning down his ex-wife's house and eventually murdering his wife) and in the end we find out that it was the writer all along (kind of like Fight Club, but instead of fighting, they are writing). I have just come to the part where we (the audience as well as the main character (Mort)) find the cat with a screwdriver nailing it to the garbage lid. My only hope for this book is that it is as brilliantly written as it was portrayed in the movie. 
As a final thought, I do normally try to read the books before seeing the movies as I find my imagination is a lot more twisted and dark than what is normally portrayed on film.

Bread

Today I made Focaccia Bread. I started making bread last year when my Oma (German for Grandma) found a recipe in a magazine with kids holding up the finished loaves. It looked simple enough and she thought that if kids could do it, she couldn't the two of us. So I went over there one Saturday morning and we got busy. By the time we were done, more flour was surely on the two of us and on the floor than in the bread itself it seemed. Our hands and the counter top was sticky from the kneading and it took at least ten minutes to get ourselves clean. While the bread was in the oven, after washing up, we played solitare (I had to let her win a few times just like she always let me win when I was younger), and worked on her puzzle and then the oven timer went off. We rushed over to the oven with mits in hand and opened it up to find two perfectly golden brown loaves of bread. We took them out and couldn't wait to try them so we ripped off the end of one and put a little butter on it which melted in seconds. The two loaves didn't even last two days as it tasted so good. I still enjoy making bread with my Oma when we both have the time (and ingredients) and have tried various other recipes, but none which tasted as good as our first recipe of plain traditional bread. 
Like I said, today I made Focaccia Bread. It is a simple bread with different seasonings on the crust and cheese, onions and tomatoes sprinkled on top. Since I didn't find a recipe that I was too fond of, I had to mix different recipes together to get my desired result. It looks and smells delicious. If it wasn't for my Oma finding that one recipe in that magazine, I probably never would have tried to make bread (which my Opa's father did for a living, sadly never writing any of his recipes down). I plan to continue making bread, trying different recipes and experimenting on my own, all thanks to my Oma. Love you Oma!

The New Yardbirds

Today is one for the record books. Today, back in 1969 Led Zeppelin released their debut album. Many of you probably don't even know who The New Yardbirds where or why I am talking about them with Led Zeppelin. If you don't, that's fine, you will gain a little Rock 'N' Roll knowledge right now and if you do, you still might learn something fun. They Yardbirds, with member Jimmy Page, was on tour when they broke up in '68. Page felt committed to the tour so he called on Robert Plant, who wasn't Page's first choice for vocals, John Paul Jones for bass and John Bonham on drums which Page continued to play the guitar. Page remained the band from The Yardbirds to The New Yardbirds. Once the tour ended, they signed with Atlantic Records   who said their music would go over like a lead zeppelin (remember, this is the same time as The Beatles were hitting it big and a year before they would split, and The Rolling Stones). Page and the gang liked the name and recorded their debut album in less than 30 hours!
Led Zeppelin's biggest selling album (Led Zeppelin IV) never reached #1 in the U.S. but that never stopped Led Zeppelin doing what they did best, which was looking for new way to make music. Most notably was Jimmy Page who wanted mastered the double neck guitar, play mind blowing solos and using a violin bow instead of strumming with a traditional pick.
If it wasn't for Jimmy Page wanting to keep the tour contract, we would never have such great albums from Led Zeppelin that inspired new musicians to come up with their own form of rock. Thank you Jimmy Page.

Good Bye Christmas

Today I finally took down the last of the Christmas decorations. I took down the train. The toy train we have is from the 70s if not earlier. It belonged to my dad and grandpa and some day I will own it. We always set it up last going around the Christmas tree, by the stereo and then by the couch making a nice loop. After we take down the Christmas tree (my dad chops the branches off in the house) and haul it outside for the cat to play on, I always like making a fun swerving design in the rest of the open space in the living room. Past years my dad and sister would always help. This year dad was too busy it seemed and I had to convince my sister that it would be fun, even though she barely did anything. I played with the train for what seemed like hours while listening to the radio (rock mind you, not Christmas music anymore). I was getting good at adjusting the speed (otherwise it would tip over ~ as it did several times). I even passed notes to my sister who was sitting my the other switch playing on her phone more than with me. What once was a fun family tradition that I longed for once the nip of winter was in the air turned out that I was the only one who enjoyed it. My dad today was making deliveries, mom is at work and sister is gone, so I had the train all to my self. This morning after waking up and brushing my teeth I played with the train. It swerved on the tracks. I had the marble in front of the train going around a few times too (which is very tricky at the curves). It was a blast. But now the train is all packed up in the boxes where it will be stored in the garage until next Christmas where I will once again enjoy playing with the train even if no one else wants to. I always felt closer to my grandpa (who died before I was born) when I played with the train and will remain to play with it for years to come.