muay thai

thai kickboxing

OMG, I wish I had caught the Metallica episode!  Strangely enough, I missed the Muay Thai bit, too.  I got busy in the kitchen and lost track of time, and then suddenly it was 8:30.  I hauled hiney upstairs, but by then I had already missed that part.  I did get to see some cool takedowns, though, which were amazingly awesome in slow-mo -- graceful and powerful.  I the guys demonstrating the technique were brothers -- the Camarillo brothers, if I remember correctly (I'm bad at names: it took me like a year to remember who was Adam and who was Jamie on Mythbusters).  It was very, "Up and Over and Down and, oh, by the way, Welcome to My Armbar."  They made it look totally effortless, too.

It made me seriously want to learn Judo and BJJ, if I ever get over my general aversion to being touched by people I don't know all that well, LOL.  Cameron was all like, "OMG that's so cool!" and I was like, "No freaking kidding.  Duh."  (Now, if they'll just re-air the episode, I can show him the melon-smashing power of Muay Thai.  I wonder how People for the Ethical Treatment of Fruit feels about TimeWarp.)

I didn't get to go to Core :(  The air quality index was Unhealthy on Saturday, and I woke up at 6 AM with the onset of a pretty nasty asthma attack.  It kind of went downhill from there, and I pretty much spent the weekend hooked up to my nebulizer, when I wasn't involved in moving-related crap.  Suffice it to say that I am not happy, in this sort of ineffectual "I'm mad, but I have nobody in particular to be mad at, so I'm just steaming and don't know what to do about it" kind of way.

This is the main reason I'm planning on leaving Louisville -- it's so touch-and-go here.  We have too many days with bad air quality (though, admittedly, for me, even 'Moderate' is bad).  My immune system apparently thinks that the correct response to poor air quality is to seal off every space in my respiratory system that could possibly contain air /:  I still have a wicked sinus headache.  I've been living on decongestants and beta-agonists all weekend, and it looks like it's going to continue.  The upside?  I have absolutely no appetite, LOL.  On the other hand, all the stimulants make me crabby.

I'm trying not to be all emo about it, but it's frustrating.  I also kind of wind up feeling like a jerk, because I'll try to make plans with people, then wind up having to reneg at the last minute because I can't go outside, etc.  At this point, I just want to get back to training and have a normal life like normal guys my age.  LOL, or, you know, at least relatively normal, for values of 'normal' equal to 'I'm gay, and my hobby involves getting kicked in the head.' 

All this is part of why I have a well-developed sense of humor.  Laughter is the one thing that really keeps me going through all this crap.  Sometimes it boils down to the old axiom, "I have to laugh, or I'd cry."

I've heard good things about CO -- it's cool that they know what gluten is, there!  I happened across a reference to gluten-free bread in a book I was flipping through on Friday and thought of you (the guy writing about it said that good, crusty gluten-free bread is unheard of -- the book was about 10 years old, though: is that still the case?).  There's something to be said for a place where concern for other people (and the world we live in, and so forth) is simply part of the culture.  It's one of the things that I like about Canada.  Here, if you care about other people by default, you're seen as some kind of weird commie pinko or something.  Canada sees it as simply part of life.

In other news, I've been trying to practice at home when I can breathe well enough, but I've found that I've lost a lot of speed and strength.  It's irksome.  Some of the reduction in strength is temporary -- I'm mildly hypoxic most of the time, but right now more so than usual.  I am looking forward to the day when I can find a place to live where that won't be the case.

I hope your blood test results turn out okay!  Thyroid problems can be tricky -- my sis has hypothyroid (I think I probably mentioned that before) and she has to have her medication adjusted every now and then, and it's always a bit of a craps shoot.  I would guess that it has something to do with the unique way each person metabolises medication -- I've noticed asthma meds can be similarly finicky.

I guess I should go do some work now, or something.  What have you guys been doing in training lately?  How's the sparring class progressing?  Is Old IronBalls still around?  :)

That sucks that you didn't get to go to Core! I'm sorry to hear that.  MT has been good lately.  He actually just started showing us boxing stance, which is more sideways, I don't really like it, but it's good to know.  Sparring has been good.  We originally started out doing rhythm sparring just to get the hang of it and learn how to control.  It's really slowed down so you have time to think.  Now we are doing regular sparring which is awesome.  Last Monday the master said me and the one guy who is my size, Jim, had the fight of the night.  I need to work on keeping my chin down though, the head gear makes it a little hard but without that head gear I think I would've been injured.  Last week I got clinched and kneed in the chin, but it was such an awesome move that I laughed (and the guy told me right before we sparred that he's been wanting to try it)! The week before last I got a reverse kick to the gut that made me grunt so loud that everybody stopped and looked at me (the grunt heard round the gym), how embarrassing, it didn't hurt he just got me in the right spot and I wasn't breathing (defensive breathing is important too).  After that of course, the guy was afraid to hit me.  It's hard being the only girl and smaller than most of the guys. Iron Ballz is still around, haha!  We still call him that!

This Thursday I am going to check out roller derby (oh, it's a story but it started in Colorado, I'll fill you in after I check it out), I know you are laughing right now!  I am so not your typical roller derby chic but I met some people and I promised that I'd check it out.  I figure that I never thought I'd like to get punched in the face so who knows maybe I'll like pushing people around on skates.  We'll see, maybe I'll love that too.

The one guy I spar with starting taking BJJ and he's unsure of it because of the closeness thing.  He still does it though but he says nothing is better than kickboxing.  I'll have to look on the web for that MT TimeWarp, or catch a rerun

"I have to laugh or I'd cry" - I know what you mean.  Laughter does help a lot but it's so frustrating.  I feel for you, not breathing must be horrible and having to cancel stuff sucks too. I know what you mean about being normal...I always tell myself it could be worse.  I have to admit I feel so much better than last year, I really think that chelation changed my life, it's a complete turn around.

Good crusty GF bread is unheard of!  Most GF bread is dense, not airy, it's more like a pound cake consistency and just as heavy.  It crumbles real easy too.  GF bread is really hard to master. 

I've heard good things about Canada but the health care there scares me.  CO was really awesome, probably not good for you since the elevation results in less oxygen in your blood.  I think the air was cleaner and I heard they are more health conscious there, people exercising all over the place, rain or shine.

I definitely have trouble metabolizing meds, it's really weird.  I have a lot of hormone imbalances (apparently metal poisoning interferes with hormones), DHEA for example my body will not absorb, my doctor told me that out of all his patients I am taking the highest dose.  I've been taking it for a year and my levels are still too low.  I'm hoping the new dose will help. I'm thinking he may raise my thyroid meds too, he started me out at a really low dose so maybe he'll raise it, we'll see.  Frustrating but I'm getting there.

Well I must go too and do some work, did I ever mention I hate Mondays (esp after vacation).   Hang in there!  Hope you feel better soon and can get to Core!

First off ... OMGrollerderbyisawesomesquee!!!  I secretly wish they had roller derby for guys, even though inevitably it would attract enormous, muscular types and I'd prolly get killed if I ever tried it.  I hope you'll have fun when you try it!  It sure looks like fun.  I have decided that, if I wasn't gay, I would totally be into tough girls that do things like Roller Derby and Muay Thai.

We have a pretty active roller derby scene here, and I secretly want to go watch some time, but haven't been able to find anyone to go with me (Cam is like, "Why would I want to watch a bunch of girls in skimpy outfits smack each-other around on rollerskates?"  I'm more like, "Why wouldn't you want to watch that?").

I guess I'm not your typical roller derby fan, but for some reason, I find it absolutely delightful.  There's something ironic about taking something as blasee as rollerskating and adding violence, as horrible as that probably sounds, LOL.  (There's also something horribly, horribly gay, in the stereotypical sense, about that last sentence.)  Add to that the embrace of camp and the spirit of fun, and you have something that strikes me as the bastard child resulting from the 3-way hookup of a drag show, ice hockey, and a roller rink.  (Come to think of it, this entire paragraph has possibly just earned me back enough Gay Points to earn back the Queer Card that got revoked when I took up Muay Thai.)

We have a bunch of roller derby teams around here, including Derby City Roller Girls, who are a flat-track team that seems to be pretty good at what they do.  At least, they seem to be the best in the area.  One of them also has my favorite Roller Derby 'stage name' of all time: Carrie A. Glock (Smokahontas ain't half bad, either).

It sounds like your sparring class is teh awesome!  I'm going to have to look up rhythm sparring.  I've never heard of that.

It sounds like you're doing well, -- and I can definitely imagine how headgear could make it hard to keep your chin down!  Does it throw your balance off at all, or do you get used to it and stop noticing it?  I suppose well-designed headgear probably shouldn't throw your balance off, but it seems to me like it might.  That clinch knee to the chin sounds like an awesome move.  Those aren't easy to pull off, from what I hear!

I know what you mean about getting hit in the right spot in the gut making you grunt even if it doesn't hurt -- Brian got me in the guy with a push kick once that did that, though not as loudly, apparently (then again, the music was turned up pretty loud).  I imagine that a reverse kick would be good for that :)  It sucks that the guy is afraid to hit you now :( 

It's weird how much I miss MT.  I miss it like I miss biking and horseback riding when I can't do those things. 

It continues to be one of two reasons I'm considering the purchase of an automobile -- or, at very least, a scooter.  There's something delightfully ironic about showing up at a hard-core MMA gym on a scooter, LOL.  Cam, of course, doesn't want me to own one because he thinks I'll get myself killed -- but, IMO, I'm savvy enough about being a small vehicle in traffic to avoid getting splattered by cars, and scooters don't go fast enough for me to worry about my speed-freak gene kicking in.  This is why I will NEVER buy a motorcycle, though I live riding if someone else is 'at the wheel' -- I would kill myself, though I'd be having a great time right up until I missed the curve and hurtled off a thousand-foot cliff or whatever.  Sometimes, you have to know your own limits, LOL.

"I know what you mean about being normal...I always tell myself it could be worse."

I so hear that, and, btw, thank you for the reminder (don't worry, I mean that, and I'm not being ironic or snarky for once in my life) :) 

I keep forgetting that it can and has been worse for me in the past -- I think the frustration I'm feeling right now is a result of the fact that I was having a pretty good go of it for a little while before the pneumonia episode, and now I feel like I'm fighting to get back up to 0 so I can start over.  Lately I have been letting that get to me, when in fact trying to focus on what's good right now would actually help. 

I also have a bad habit of converting fear and worry into anger and frustration, and I have to admit, I have been worried lately -- less that I'm going to, say, keel over tomorrow than that I'm just going to keep struggling on at this almost-tolerable level.  I mean, if I'm going to live, I want to live, and right now I'm not really living, I'm just kind of a zombie.  I also get pissed because I'm taking so freaking many meds, and yet there are large chunks of the year that I'm taking them just to keep my head (barely) above water.  I don't really like pumping my body full of so many chemicals.  I've had some bad reactions to that kind of thing in the past.  I believe much of this can be rectified by living somewhere less polluted.  I hate saying that, LOL, it sounds so whiny, but it's also true.  And, as much as I love this town, I think I am capable of loving some other town just as much (just don't tell Louisville, she'll never forgive me :D).

CO is one of the places I keep considering -- my two major concerns being that it's a land-locked state (I've realized that my childhood has left me with an irrepressible longing to spend as much time near the ocean as possible) and that it's really far from my family.  OTOH, so is British Columbia, which is another area I'm considering.  I've heard mixed reviews of the Canadian health-care system -- it really seems to depend where you live -- but none of them bad enough to make me think Canada would be a bad place to live.  The Canadians I know are mostly satisfied with health care there, and it would be nice to know that if I lost my job for any reason, I wouldn't be without medical care.  It would also be neat to seek out some of my roots up there -- my Mom's family has been in that bit of the world since the 1500s, and I would like to see where we're from.  I also have pretty close relatives in Montreal that I've never met, so it might be nice to get to know them (I hope their English is better than my rusty French, though).

The health-conscious people part sounds cool.  That's one bit of Louisville culture I really don't like -- there only seem to be two kinds of people here: folks (myself included) who kvetch about the pollution, pollen, etc.; and the tough-it-out crowd who think anyone who talks about the air quality being a problem is an unqualified whiner.  I don't want to sound all 'woe-is-me, I'm-a-victim,' but I do kind of want people to understand that there will be times, around here, that my health severely curtails my activities (which is part of the definition of 'persistent severe asthma,' after all).  I would like to think that health-conscious types might be a little more respectful.  Here, it seems like people who haven't had similar experiences not only don't understand, but don't try to understand.  They just assume you're a whiny punk (which, after a while, tends to lead you to start thinking you are one, so then you have to expend effort reminding yourself that you're not, and then you start feeling like Stuart Smalley).

I've found that I do all right at higher elevations as long as I'm breathing decent air.  Bad air at high elevation would probably kill me, though, LOL.  This is one of the things I noticed when I was summering at the highest point on the Blue Ridge.  I lived at around 5,000 feet, but as long as the air was decent (which it usually was -- we occasionally had a 'moderate' AQI, but the rest of the time, it was usually 'good'), I was fine.  In NC, I used to go running on the trails on Mount Pisgah.  I did take my inhaler as a precaution, and I was careful never to overdo it, but I usually felt pretty well.  I also recovered from infections faster up there.  Also, if I'm not mistaken, CO has at least a couple of good gyms.

In the long run, I have a feeling I'll prolly wind up somewhere in VT, NH, or Upstate NY.  Albany apparently has surprisingly good air quality and seems like a neat, vibrant city (though, admittedly, I've only been there once, at night, not counting the times I've paused at their train or Greyhound station mid-excursion).  It's also possible to live near Albany in or near a small town and take the train back and forth, which is delightful.  And it's close enough to my family and the ocean that I think I'd be happy with it.  I could take the train to the shore easily.

I know what you mean about metabolizing meds.  Some I don't seem to really respond to; others do a number on me -- any kind of antihistamine tends to knock me out, and to keep me out for two days, whereas my body more or less seems to ignore Tylenol, for example.  It's interesting that metal poisoning interferes with hormones -- I should mention that to my sis.  It might be worth looking into (especially since B'more has notoriously bad water -- I always half-expect to see Brita filters on public water fountains over there, LOL).

I think thyroid meds usually start out at the lowest dose possible, then they adjust them upwards until they find the right level for you.  Basically, there's a threshhold at which your body says, "Oh, look!  Thyroid hormone.  I guess I don't need to make this anymore," and your thyroid quits working and moves to Fort Lauderdale, after which you might receive a post-card or two but that's about it, so they try to avoid that level if possible.  I know for my sis, though, the right level of medication makes a huge difference, so I hope your doc will find yours soon.

Okay, meeting time.  I guess I'll go work now, LOL.

LOL!  It's funny because I am so afraid of the big girls knocking me over (not afraid of being punched and kicked though...hmmm... i don't get that), I am not big at all!  I'm one of those skinny bitches (but muscular) so I'm sure some of these girls have at least 50 lbs on me...yikes! 

When I was in colorado we went to a friends wedding.  So the friends sister (who lives by us) is into roller derby, which I knew, never thought anything of it.  Well she was there with her friend who actually started the local roller derby league in our area.  So while we were at the reception she says to me 'hey can you skate' and I said 'I used to roller skate but haven't in a while' so she told me to come check it out.  So I said I would, they are looking for 'fresh meat' as they call it.  Not sure how it will work out with my MT schedule though or what costs are involved.  Funny you mention the names too..... we later went to some hot springs pool in CO and the sister took a picture of the pool and I just happened to be in the picture and the guy who just got married is looking through the pics and he sees the one with me in it (obviously not knowing it was me at first) and says 'hey who's that terminator bitch in the pool'....(I had my mirrored sunglasses on) so his sister knew it was me and told him...he was mortified.  So he says then that'll be your roller derby name 'TerminateHer'....haha...it was so hysterical.  Good thing I have a good sense of humour, my husband told me he wasn't sure how I would react to it. 

I got a knee to my hip last night in sparring.  It smarted a little last night but this morning I woke up and it hurt a bit more than I expected.  The master says we are doing good.  I mentioned to him the other day that I thought the guys were afraid to hit me and he said it's not about how hard you hit, it's the moves...he's right, it's the knowing what to counter with that's important, that made me feel better.  It's so hard though, I know what to do in my head but when you're there you forget to put it all into action.  I need to incorporate some spinning backfists and those reverse kicks.  I still love it though!  and, I was thinking... I AM the best female sparrer (I have to be because I'm the ONLY female sparrer). Rhythm sparring is really slow and you do it to counts.  So what we did was one person can do three offensive moves by slow count 1 (mississippi) - 2 (mississippi) - 3 (mississippi), while the other person practices defense on those 3 moves.  Then the other person would do 4 - 5 - 6 count while the first person does the defense.  It's a good way to learn control and gives you time to think.  It's a pain because you can't do like a double jab or any one-two punch but it does get you to think.  It's really hard to slow things up because you know we learn speed and all.

I actually like the headgear a lot.  At first I couldn't breathe because ours have a bar across your mouth.  I had a problem the first time I tried it on but now I don't have any problems.  No balance problems either.  The clinched knee to the chin was such an awesome move, I wish we could see ourselves spar.  The guy is like 6'2 and I'm 5'6 so when he cliched me, my head was right there by his knee, it would've been a lot harder to pull off if we were the same size.  But that head gear really protected me.  Straight in the face the punches don't even land they kinda just slide off the head gear.  The head gear has velcro in the back so it is really easy to pull off, it doesn't lace up the back like most, that was one of the reasons we ordered this particular one.  It was expensive but it was definitely worth it.

I've been checking out some roller derby info online and I did see the Derby City Roller Girls. This would be flat track too, this team probably would play the Derby City girls in a tournament somewhere down the line.  I'm not sure how it works but I know one leauge has a bunch of different teams, then the leauge has one travel all star team.  They just started the leauge 3 yrs ago.  It sounds like fun, but I've seen some of these girls and they are big compared to me! They told me last time they played which was a couple weeks ago that they sold out the Convention Center and that people were asking for their autographs afterwards, they said it was so loud with all the cheering, they weren't used to such a big venue, not sure how many seats it has I thought she said 7800 but that sounds high to me, either way it was thousands at the very least.  I think they play next in August so I'm going go if I'm not signed up that is!  They may even ask my husbands band to pay at half time. 

A lot of people in CO had scooters and I think that's a great idea because they don't go that fast, and its not really like a motorcycle.  The elevation in Denver was 5,000 and I didn't notice a difference.  I noticed a difference when we went to Red Rocks where the elevation was about 6,800.  I loved it there, I would consider it but would have to experience a winter first.  I know what you mean about being landlocked but there are some bodies of water around, and yes it is far. I didn't care for 12 hours of travel (you know, get to the airport, check in, plane gets delayed, wait, board, wait for bags, find car, drive home....12 hrs later for a 4 hr flight) either.

I know what you mean about all the drugs and not living.  That's how I used to feel.  I swear all those drugs f'd me up, I really think they affected my brain somehow too, I can't explain it but I can tell you exactly what drug (inderal for high blood pressure but I took it for migraines) changed something, it's weird.  If I didn't start the chelation I don't know where I would be now.  I told my doctor that I was slowly dying before.   I know how much health problems can hinder your quality of life.  I say it could be worse because I like to have pity parties for myself sometimes but just last week we found out my mother in law has cancer and needs chemo (she should be okay afterwards) so I hear that and I say it could be worse.

Well I hope you get this lung thing under control so you can do MT again soon.  I know how much you must miss it!  I'm off to see the doctor.  Have a great day!

Okay, I'm officially back from Zombieland, actually feeling relatively well, and cautiously optimistic :)

I think I've found a medication strategy that might work for me for the short-term.  If I take a half-dose of Xyzal every other day, it seems to keep things relatively under control without turning me into a permanent zombie or freaking me out.  The thing I think is really striking is that when I take that stuff, my lungs don't feel slushy all the time.  Seriously, the difference is remarkable -- right now, I've gone two days without a dose, and I feel like I have oatmeal in my lungs, or something.  Well, prepared oatmeal, anyway, not the dry, hard kind.  I last took a half dose of Xyzal on Saturday night, and the persistent cough, sinus, and chest congestion are just starting to come back.  Of course, I'm also just starting to feel entirely awake /:  However, I'll take being marginally comatose if it means I can marginally comatose my way around a heavy bag, and stop sitting on my butt being afraid to move.

I think I'm going to go with that plan until I find something else that works without making me too stupid and slow for Muay Thai (talk about getting smacked by the heavy bag).  I'm also going to try Zyrtec in place of Xyzal, and see if it might not get me similar or the same results with less bad.  Maybe I'll give that go tonight, instead of the half-dose of Xyzal.

Provided that one of these two plans works out without further terrible side-effects, I'm thinking about starting back at Core in about 2 weeks -- this weekend is a no-go for various reasons, and the following weekend I will be in Indianapolis.  Work is ramping up during the week, so I'll probably only be able to train on Saturday mornings for the short term, but that's okay -- that way I won't overtrain and kill myself.

I'll also be starting allergy shots soon.  I'm really hoping that will check my insane immune system enough that I'll be able to manage day-to-day life without so many meds.  Summer will still be a bear as long as I'm in the Louisville metro (it's amazing how much of a difference getting out of the city makes!), but without the constant pre-emptive strike against the poor, innocent dust mites, I'll be a lot better off, I think.

In other news, Brian is coming back to work with me!  Yeay!  :D  He was here as a contractor, and for a while was assigned to another company, but he's coming back 2 weeks from Monday.  Thus, I'll have all the more motivation to train.

So, how did your most recent doctor visit go?  Any news about training?

BTW, I like your icon.

Oh -- one more thing!

You probably already know about this, but Gina Carano has a fight on Showtime on the 15th vs Christiane Santos.  The New York Times ran a piece about it, you can find it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/sports/04mm a.html?pagewanted=1&ref=global

I'm going to try to see if I can record it somehow, or catch it at the hotel in Indy.

I follow womens MMA so Oh Yeah I'm looking forward to the Carano Santos fight, its going to be awesome! Check out Cyborg Santos on YouTube, she is awesome!  I'm definitely taping it, its very exciting, this is the first womens belt (and two women who have problems making weight I might add...I believe the forum topic was started after cyborg missed weight, carano has missed weight numerous times).

Glad you are feeling somewhat better but I know what you mean about that medicine making you tired.  I used take one (and I'd take it at bed) that made me tired all day long, I would just nod all day, it was horrible.  Hopefully the allergy shots will work.  I know Vitamin D supplements are good for the immune or they say 15 minutes of sun without sunscreen (or that can give you skin cancer?) gives you all the Vit D you need for the day.  We've been having a lot of rain lately so there is a lot of mold spores, its sucks.  Oh yeah and those dust mites suck too.  You having a mold summer? I can't remember all the allergy meds I tried but I remember that the Allerga D and Singulair together worked good.  Hope your lungs get stronger that really sucks you keep having all these problems.

Oh my last doctor appt was great, found out I have no bacteria in my gut, how is that possible.  People have good and bad bacteria and I have no bacteria.  So I have to take a bunch of enzymes every time I eat.  I really have such a hard time with nutrition and I have yet again another magnesium deficiency (again how is that possible I OD on the stuff) oh and my kidney enzymes are high, WTFF?!  I guess you can say this is why I love MT so much, its my outlet, keeps my focus elsewhere, I'm sure you know what I mean.

So MT is going well, sparring is going well.  I have to work on defense, I tend to stay close and get hit a lot just to get in a good move, need to block and 'roll with the punches' more. OH, I got knocked on my butt a couple weeks ago.  OMG is was hysterical, I actually got hit in the face, it all happened so quickly, I felt myself lift in the air, like off the floor and I landed flat on my butt! Stunned me and I knew it looked funny, so sure enough, one of the other guys told me that it looked like I flew up in the air, my legs looked like I was sitting in a chair (I am hysterical writing this) and I fell straight down.  I have no idea what happened, neither did my sparring partner. We were trying to figure out how it happened because he didn't hit me hard, I think perhaps my stance was off.  Of course he's afraid to hit me again.  Man I wish somebody would tape this stuff, I could've been the next YouTube sensation!!

I'm glad that Brian is coming back to work, I had no idea he had gone!  And cool that you can start MT in a bit, you are better off doing one day a week just to get used to it again.  Don't want to stress out your lungs too quickly!  Let me know how it goes!

Also have a great vacation in Indy!  I'm going to the UFC fight this weekend, should be fun, I'm looking forward to it!

Cool!  LMK how the UFC fight goes!  If they ever have one here when I'm not up to my eyeballs in work, school, or Kleenex, I will have to go.  I think they had one here a while back, but I didn't hear about it 'til after the fact.

I will definitely check out Santos on YouTube!  IMO, I really think women fighters deserve more attention -- a lot of what people used to respect about guys in sports, women still embody: hard work, self-discipline, swimming against the stream, so to speak, while a lot of the guys keep turning to 'performance enhancing' drugs.  I have so many thoughts about all this stuff ... LOL ... I need to write an essay or something.

WRT your magnesium deficiency -- I will ask Cam if there's a connection between lack of gut bacteria and magnesium deficiency -- a lot of nutrient absorption, etc., can't take place in the absence of gut flora.  I have this vague notion that magnesium is one of those things that depends on a reaction involving the gut flora, but I could be (very) wrong.  It has been known to happen :) 

LOL, I so hear you about the 'it happened so quickly' part!  I had something like that happen with a horse once -- somebody led this young horse at camp into a stall and asked me to shut the door, and he double-barrel kicked it the moment it was shut, and the door nailed me and knocked me flat, and there I was on the ground going, "What just happened?"  LOL 

That's reason numero uno I don't want to try serious training until I know how my meds are going to work (speaking of which, tried the Zyrtec ... wow ... gigantic no-go: it both makes me drowsy and miserable and doesn't work as well as Xyzal ... grrr).

You know, I've been thinking about seeing if we can record our MT classes at Core (for training purposes -- it would help to be able to watch your own form, I think) ... I never thought about the potential YouTube applications, LOL! 

I'll have to ask about that (about recording them).  Maybe if I brought my own camera.  If we could get some good footage, it would also make good advertising material for the gym.

In all seriousness, though, I wonder if your master would let you guys tape a couple of sparring sessions.  I definitely know I would love to see myself in action (okay, once I got done being shocked, awed, and embarassed, LOL)!  I mean, we do have full-length mirrors down an entire wall at Core, but it's not exactly like you're going to be watching the mirror when a guy who weighs twice as much as you do is trying to kick you in the head :D

I hear you about MT being an outlet.  I find that I really kind of obsess about health stuff, right now, when I don't have anything to take my mind off it.  And it's not productive obsessing -- 90% of what I get done is the result of productive obsession -- but the pity-party, sad-camp, woe-is-me kind of crap that just makes me kind of want to punch myself in the face (which I could do with ease if I could get back to the gym :D).

It's just all so frustrating (and my usual approach to dealing with frustration is basically to grab whatever's frustrating me and worry it to death, like a dog shaking a sock monkey).  I also find that even if I'm eating well and can tell I'm not gaining weight (clothes keep getting looser; belt needs tightening, blah blah), I feel fat when I haven't exercised in a while, LOL.

Right now, I'm wearing pants I would've died to even fit into back in December, and they're huge on me -- but I feel enormous.  I know that I'm thinner by a long shot than I was when I started training, but I feel fat, so I'm all self-conscious about going back to the gym.  Part of me is afraid people will be like, "OMG, you turned into a thunderbutt!" even though I've LOST weight since last I was there and am measurably smaller.  WTF is that about?  LOL

I think what I'm going to do is give myself two days to feel really freaking awful about all this -- you know, really just wallow in it -- and then I'm going to put that feeling away and get back to really working on things.  Basically, I've put myself in a position where I feel like things are being done to me and the universe is acting upon me, and I'm not really taking part or pursuing my own destiny.  As long as I think that way, it will continue to be true.  So, instead, I'm going to use the power of visualization to get myself back in gear.  I am going to visualize myself back in action, breathing better, etc. and will myself there, or something.

We have been having a very, very damp summer.   I know the pile of woodchips in my backyard (which I keep trying to foist upon people with trucks and yards, all of whom already have all the free mulch they can handle) is moldy as all heck (and, of course, I'm allergic to the mold in it -- go figure).

I will keep you posted on my Indy trip :)  It'll just be a couple of days, but it'll be at the Indiana State Fair, and I think it's going to be awesome :)

UFC was awesome!  We had crappy seats (100 bucks!) but it was exciting being there.  My husband enjoyed it too.  We went to the Q & A the day before and the weigh-ins, then we walked around historic Philly Sat. during the day.  A lot of fun.  Next time we go we'll probably see one in Vegas, figure we can make it a small vacation.  We'd like to eventually move out west, Colorado was awesome, I hear Oregon is nice too, we'd like to check it out there too, as well as Vegas.  We liked Colorado so much that we figure we'd move out that way some day.  My husband was looking up jobs at the UFC and it seems they have an opening for a graphic artist, haha.  I may make up a new resume and send one in, that would be funny if they called.  I have really good health benefits here so I'm not sure it'd be smart to leave here.  Can't hurt to try.  Then I can train with Master Toddy or Randy Couture in Vegas, LOL!

Looking forward to seeing the Carano/Santos fight this weekend.  I've actually heard that Santos may do performance enhancing stuff, who knows if its true.  She is all muscle.  I'm rooting for her because I think she's the better fighter.  Should definitely be a good fight.

LOL, so funny when I got knocked on my butt.  Yesterday I sparred again and I did so crappy.  We hadn't sparred in like 3 weeks, because they were closed for vacation one week, and the next week, one of the masters was off.  I felt crappy yesterday and the only sparring people that showed up was me and the two 6 foot guys.  It really is harder sparring with people taller than you, and I was sucking wind big time.  I did get a good punch in and knocked the guys head gear right off his head, other than that one shot, I'd say I got beat up more.  And, I'm still having trouble keeping my chin down....ugggh!  Hopefully next week will be a better sparring day.  I was disappointed in myself.  I've just been feeling so crappy lately.

Hows the meds going?  I think Zyrtec was one of the ones that made me drowsy all day, I know I took two different ones that made me really really tired.

I'm sure we'd be able to record class, somebody would just have to bring in a camcorder, I don't think they'd have a problem with it. It would be very helpful.

I hear you about the feeling fat if you don't exercise.  I feel the same way.  I really have a hard time not exercising.  I think I'm an addict.  Even if I don't feel good, I usually do something, even if its just a long walk.  We've done like 3 short vacations this summer and I didn't get too much exercise, and I feel guilty, it's weird. 

I know what you mean about letting yourself feel bad and wallow in it.  I think I'm doing that this week.  I'm feeling the pity party coming.  I think I'll try the power of visualization myself.  I really feel like blowing off my doctor appointments this week and I'm trying to convince myself that I just don't care anymore.  That won't happen of course, just having one of othese weeks.

Yeah all this rain brings so much mold and I'm allergic to it, I'm sure you are too, makes things harder. 

The Indy State Fair sounds like fun, hope you have good weather and your lungs hold out.  Hope you are feeling better.

Keep me posted when you get back to MT!