bookmark_borderCeremony

This is just two of the photos I just got via email from the ceremony last night.

        

This is Ryan at the end of his display. He chose to do a new form he had just learned and end with the breaking of the board.

        

Along with the new black belt, the students also got new pants and a new ‘shirt’. Ryan’s new shirt, a special order, had not arrived yet so he still wears his ‘old’ one.

As I looked over the images, I started crying. I wish I could have been there. I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished. I can only hope that someday he understands this.

bookmark_borderWording

had had

What the heck heck kind of wording is that?

‘So far, Grace had had a bad day at work.’

This is what it was to begin with: “Grace had a rough day at work.” It’s not that it’s a bad sentence, it’s just that it is dead, not moving, going nowhere. Yawn. And it sounds as if she is done with the day. She’s not.

I rephrased it to the ‘had had’. Didn’t work. So how to rephrase it so it is moving, here-and-now, you know, good.

Grace’s day so far was not going well.
Grace’s day was not going well.

I think I like that one. It leaves a lot open. Yeah, think I’ll go for this one.

bookmark_borderRyan, Cho Dan

This afternoon, Ryan Johnson will recieve his first degree black belt in Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan, a Korean style martial arts. He will be 10 yrs old in May.

I got to see the test, which he passed despite getting a leg cramp and being pulled out for five minutes. Lorna is there today to see the ceremony where they get their certificates and the belt.

I love my nephew, more than he knows. The 700+ miles that separate us rips my heart every day. When I realize that the future of the world is in the hands of kids like Ryan, I can see hope.

Then there is Kelli, his sister. Kelli (‘that’s Kelli with an i’) is currently an orange belt (??) and will be eligible to test for her black belt in a year and a half. But we are thinking that will be too young for any child, since she is now only 5. Kelli has grown up watching Ryan do his thing so when she was ready to start, she was far ahead the other beginners. She and I got the chance to get to know each other when I was up there for a month last year. Then when I was there again a few weeks ago, it was as if we were old friends.

She about made me cry when, as her cousins were being told that ‘that would make her your aunt too’, she jumped in my lap and said, ‘No, she’s my Aunt Paula’.
Continue reading “Ryan, Cho Dan”

bookmark_borderUp to 33

Sifted through the rubble and made it to the beginning of Chapter 33. Ack, there are some awkwardly phrased sentences in there. Not a surprise but still, ack!

I also found plenty of ‘one step at a time’ scenes. She did this then this then this then this. As in she sat down. She took off her shoes. She picked up the book. She turned the first page. blah blah

But hey, it’s still not too bad. I am doing this via the computer screen. I’ve not printed this section out yet. I reckon I should. Just hate wasting paper, ya know?

bookmark_borderWriting Tools

There are some good tools for every writer, most of them an absolute must.

There’s the dictionary, thesaurus, and pencil sharpner.

But there’s also the tv remote, trash can basketball, and the internet.

Here are some of the things in my tool box:

    PONG! – an extension for Firefox

    Clines – another Firefox extension

    Die Wagenschenkea German flash game, I mean a German resource that is mouse movement driven.

    Letters – a resource from FlashCom

    Amaztype – a unique search tool from Amazon.com

bookmark_borderNews Flash!

Hey, if you are a crip, check this out! We need to do what we can to save what little of the ADA is left. If you have a comment or ‘testimony’ about how the ADA has impacted your life, do it! Put yer wheels in motion, get those fingers to signing, your canes to tapping, your dogs to howlin’, and let your voice (in whatever form you choose) be heard! In this case it is actually true: move it or lose it!

What? Oh, alright… (mumbling political correctedness curses)

If you or someone you know is a person with a disability, I strongly urge you to visit the U.S. Newswire article from the National Council on Disability request for ADA testimonies.

We demanded it, we wrote it, we got it passed, we got it signed, and we need to keep it!

bookmark_borderCool Photo

This is a hoax image. I am not sure what the original picture was about. But frankly, who cares? It is obvious the guy has been at work. And it is obvious the dog is licking him. Maybe he has cheese on his nose. I like the picture. Get over it.

This will go onto one of the image pages but I just had to show it here. Story is below.

“This photograph shows a red Doberman kissing an exhausted fireman. He
had just saved her from a fire in her house, rescuing her by carrying
her out of the house into her front yard, while he continued to fight
the fire. She is pregnant. The firefighter was afraid of her at first,
because he had never been around a Doberman before. When he finally got
done putting the fire out, he sat down to catch his breath and rest. A
photographer from the Charlotte North Carolina newspaper,
“The Observer,” noticed this red Doberman in the distance looking at the
fireman. He saw her walking straight toward the fireman and wondered
what she was going to do. As he raised his camera, she came up to the
tired man who had saved her life and the lives of her babies, and kissed
him, when the photographer snapped this photograph.”