Busy, busy, busy day...

Today definitely was a loooong day. I don't think since last year at my old school job, I've worked anything even remotely close to a 7+ hour shift... so it was a big adjustment. I was shooting to get into the museum at about 10:00am, but I didn't get in until 11:00am. I didn't get off work 6:30pm, aiyah.

I keep forgetting this fasting thing saps my body of energy... maybe that heightens my sense of the day being long.

Anyways, I spent the entire first hour of work playing scavenger man, sticking my nose in and out the piles of equipment in the storage area looking for the proper cords to connect the Sony DV cam and a VCR console to the computer I'll be working on. I succeeded in finding the FireWire cord for the cam; no luck on the VCR hook-ups, though. The next 2 hours was equaling agonizing as I tried to capture footage off the cam to the computer... a combination of bad drivers and accursed Windows ME (bleh) made that an excruciating task. Finally, around 2:00, I was up and ripping footage, thanks to some luck fiddling with the control prefs and downloading some new drivers.

Around 5:00, my co-worker and I headed to a fencing club to film and interview Wang Yung, a Chinese American on the US Fencing team. Watching him spar and explain different things about the sport of fencing was cool (specifically saber), but the highlight of my day was actually getting to try some myself! He invited me to suit up in some gear after hearing I did kendo, so I got to dress up and spar with one of his students.

The sword definitely moves a lot faster than in kendo, and the hits are a lot more frequent since any touch to the head / upper body / arms is considered a point - the target areas in kendo are much more precise. The jacket you wear definitely takes getting used to, since it's just one giant sensor... at little bit stiffer than I thought it'd be, plus you're teethered to a wire on your back like a human yo-yo. Also, the helmet is lighter, but looking through mesh is quite a bit different than looking through the grill of my kendo men helmet.

My sparring partner went pretty easy on me at first, but after I started scoring points, he turned up the heat noticeably. At one point, I got 3 points in a row, using a parry and combo counter I use in kendo, heh heh - I think that surprised him, since I'm sure it's definitely not a move you'd see in European fencing. It's probably not good form at all, hahaha. My footwork was off... the stance is very different than kendo, though the principle of lunging off your left foot is the same, sorta. But yeah, trying it out... a lot of fun. Turns out the guy I was sparring with represents Taiwan in world competition and he's ranked in the top 25 in the world... cool.

Mentally though, fencing was no different than kendo... sure, the equipment and rules are different, but the most essential elements, one versus one, sword to sword, will against will... it's the same. The brotherhood of martial artists.... long live the fighters! (haha, yeah... corny Dune reference)

We finished wrapping up filming around 6:30. I dropped off my co-worker back at his home and then went straight to bible study. Afterwards, I finally came back home at 10:30pm, where I had my first meal... leftover wonton-mein. Yum.

Busy, busy day... tomorrow will be similar.
posted by G at 11:09 PM   |

in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
1. The act or an instance of inscribing.
2. Something, such as the wording on a coin, medal, monument, or seal, that is inscribed.
3. A short, signed message in a book or on a photograph given as a gift.
4. The usually informal dedication of an artistic work.
5. Jeremiah 31:33