Monkey Voice

Today. Well...

Today was FRICKINAWESOME.

At lunchtime, I opened up my email app to send a long email to kancho-sensei Sims about my training, and a couple of questions. As soon as it opened, I saw in my inbox an email from him, sent this morning, with the subject line "Shodan".

O_O

Reads it, I does. After a couple of updates about the New Lynn dojo, and him being invited back to Sri Lanka to train some students there, he wrote "I think it is time for you to start wearing a black belt again." 

O_OOOOOOOOO

I am so immensely pleased, gratified, happy, satisfied, validated... whatever. Name a positive adjective, I'm probably it. As much as shodan (sho - first; dan - level) is a beginning, not any sort of end, it's highly symbolic for me. My shirobi (white belt) symbolises my return to karate-do, my determination and renewed commitment; regaining the right to wear black symbolises for me the progress, improvement, and success of those efforts (I've recorded 60 training sessions since I resumed training in mid-to-late November last year) - as well as the drive to continue those efforts and improvements, as well as confirming for me my own appraisal of my progress and skill. 

Anyway. My old belt doesn't leave much to tie once it goes round my waist, so I need another, while I sort out the right kanji/kana to have embroidered on a real proper black belt. So today's photo is not a selfie with belt - but I felt the need to go on about it nonetheless, as it is a HUGE day for me.

Today's photo is the girl, reading to us this morning from the Book With No Pictures:

Bettr; Flickr.

Another was a hawk or eagle, shot hastily out of the car window, from too far away, and very under-exposed:

Kimunor preset 135/3.5@3.5;K30.