Did I lose it?

Two months into 2013 and I basically did not updated the blog (or the picture for what it matters). But I do not think I lost the interest in sharing my little insignificant life with the rest of the world. I still have many meaningless thoughts that want to get out of my constricted brain and find their way to the blog-o-sphere..

I have started updating the 2012 annual wrap up that will be posted during the weekend and some more thoughts..

Because if my finger have been idle on the keyboard, the rest of me hasn’t. Not only my underused little brain of mine, but the oversized body, during February especially, has been quite stressed, but in a good way!

I spent my Chinese New Year Holidays traveling to Europe: a fast as usual visit at home for an early celebration of both my father and mother’s 70 years birthdays followed by 10 days of great Aikido in Northern Europe (weekend in Helsinki, Finland, and 1 wonderful week in Stockholm, Sweden). No time to visit my beloved Norway, but soon probably it will be possible! In Finland & Sweden I had the pleasure to see several old friends, very close ones, and even make new friends. Among the old friends, Jacqueline (Stavanger Jūshinkan Aikido) graded very well to 1.dan and also Erlend (Oslo Sentrum Aikido) graded to 2.dan. I can say more about Jacq grading only because in the uke turn I ended up with her (even if I started first as uke of Patrick from Umeå and then enjoyed also being thrown around by Sara from Berlin!) 🙂

Very active days, starting from one session in my home town at Valdengo Aikikai dojo and then continued with an average of 2 sessions per day with either Endo sensei or Lyly sensei or Nevelius sensei or some other very nice instructor! And what can I say about the training partners? Just that both my body and my mind really missed (and misses) this kind of practice. I have to complain less because here in Shenzhen at least I have joined an active club with 3 sessions per week, but the Aikido style/level is nowhere close to what I really love.. but that is life and choices, and nobody is keeping me here with a gun pointed to my head.. At least also here the people is nice..

Once back, balancing with the job and the stuff to catch up with, I still managed to put one extra seminar, still with Endo sensei, this time closer to home: still about 3.5 hours (by metro + train) but the stage was in Hong Kong, and it was nice as well to meet new Aikido people just from over the border. And at the same time seeing again Ulrich and Francois “from” Shanghai (German and French, respectively 😉 ).

For now no more seminars and some compulsory overtime in order to catch up with all the extra days taken for Aikido. Some work, some quite interesting new management stuff to learn and an idea forming in my mind about the following months.. with one big Aikido seminar already planned for the 1.May holidays.

FUNNY THING OF THE DAY – I do not really know if it is the weather, my mind, bad luck or (I put here my money) the general level of stiffness in Shenzhen dojo, but when practicing up to 3 times per day in 12 days in Europe I had no joint troubles and during my first session back here in China, last Thursday, I felt some annoying pain in one knee and all the body was struggling to relax properly. And then I had to buy extra supplies of Feng You Jing and the tiger patches since I had given away all I had during my trip to Europe!

FUNNY THING OF THE DAY, 2 – Last week, the Italian political election took place and the results have been quite a shock for most of Italians. A sad and worrying shock. It leaves a quite negative environment and future prospect for Italy, whose economy is not that good already and now the country is facing a strong political uncertainty as well. Actually one party has won (not the “left”, not the “right” but the “we hate politics we are not politicians but still please elect us”) but the prospect of their intents is scary (the real ones, not the program that is actually a very.. left wing one!). Curios to see what will happen.. but stay abroad as well 😉