A Scare

I had a little bit of a scare today. I was the first one to the dojang today, and on my way in I was approached by a guy with a cardboard box shouting, "Hey, you want free stuff?" I backed up and kept my hands up and open (non-aggressive, defense posture) just like we're taught in class, but I had no idea what was in that box. Worst case scenario, I thought he might have had a gun or knife in there. Thankfully, he pulled out an apron and some grilling utensils and tried to sell them to me. When I told him I didn't have any money, he got into a car that had been driving up and down the street and they drove away. I was a little shaken, but fine. That's the closest I've ever come to having to use self-defense and I hope I never have to!
Class tonight was great - I partnered with Siddu and Rodney which was a lot of fun. We worked on wrist locks tonight. After class, Rodney told me that I was the "strongest little girl he'd ever met." I told him that he was the strongest little man (he's fairly short) that I'd ever met. He laughed, and said, "Somehow it doesn't sound the same when you say it to me!"
My fake tattoo was a big hit at TKD. Everyone thought that it was real, which I found funny. As if I would ever get a tattoo of a dragon on the side of my neck! You could tell by the adults' responses which ones were parents. They were the ones who said, "Pamela Plant, that better not be real!"
Mr. Coleman's (50th) birthday was on Sunday, so we threw him a party yesterday. One of our parents makes cakes for a living, so she baked a cake for him and we all hung out and socialized after class for awhile. It was nice...
Exams are this week, so I should get back to studying. :(

Updates

I've been slacking a lot, but here's the stats:
Pushups: 11,235
Situps: 12,396
Miles: 173.25
Form: 40
Sparring: 99
Acts of kindness: 240

Last week, we had a writer-in-residence visit our english class and have us do some opinion writing. So here's a piece that I threw off in about 10 minutes - its about the misconceptions that people have of martial arts (it's still in its raw form - I haven't had time to edit it):

I hate the misconceptions of martial arts that the media has given to people. Whenever I say that I take Taekwondo, the first response of most people is, “Dude, so you could kick my ass, right?” Martial Arts are not about beating people to a bloody pulp – they’re about discipline, self-control, the power of the mind over the body, and not fighting unless it is absolutely necessary. I have thankfully never been in a situation where I had to defend myself – I learn Taekwondo so I don’t have to use it. There are, of course, benefits to the physical aspect of martial arts. A toned body, muscle control, flexibility, strength, etc. But those are things that you could get through any sport. What sets martial arts apart is the focus on developing the mind – strategizing while you are sparring, thinking of different functions for a certain technique, learning which self-defense moves are appropriate for each situation. People don’t see that in Chuck Norris or Bruce Lee – all they see are the flying kicks and amazing speed of their attacks, which are, I admit, “cool”, but there is so much more to it than that. I may not be able to do a backflip or throw someone across a room, but I am a better person because of martial arts and that is the real goal in the end.

One of our teenagers, Hamp, tested for his black belt tonight. I was his partner for one-steps, self-defense, and sparring, so I got quite a workout as well. He did really well and I especially enjoyed his "What TKD has done for me" essay. Congrats, Hamp!

It seems I get injured every time I spar nowadays. I have a bruise on the joint of my elbow that is slowly disappearing, a large buise on the joint of my knee that has a new color everyday, and tonight I received a large, painful lump at the base of my thigh (right near my knee) that will most likely be a briuise by tomorrow and will hinder my ability to walk. Oh goody. I wouldn't trade it for the world, though. It's my life, and pain comes with life.

Aha!

Taekwondomom's suggestion about combining two of my interests into my senior project gave me an idea. I'm interning at a film studio at the moment and I'm pretty sure they would be generous enough to lend me one of their cameras (they've already offered to let me have one this summer when I go to France). So, I would train/film in Pennsylvania, then I would use the footage that I had to make a short film, using the studio's resources. I like it! You like it? I'm going to run it by Mr. Coleman tomorrow night. Thanks, tkdmom! :D