communication breakdown

The Championships

Today marks the beginning of one of the best events of the year. Yep, you guessed it: The Championships, Wimbledon. So, you're not a tennis fan? Well, time to start. Wimbledon is so much fun because it is completely different than everything else in the sport. It is the only major tournament on grass. It has tons of (somewhat archaic) traditions that have existed for ages - bowing before entering/exiting the court, all-white outfits, no advertisements on any of the courts, etc. Not to mention the fact that it is undisputedly the single most respected tournament in the game. ESPN will be showing countless hours of it over the next two weeks. Be open-minded and give it a chance - I bet you'll enjoy it...

In other news - my first official performance evaluation at work is this Thursday. I'm not worried about it, because I've had plenty of informal feedback over the course of the year, and my manager has hinted to me that it should be a good evaluation. But I still have a little anxiety until it's out of the way, just because I've never done one of these before. I'm ready to get it over with.

I trained outside again this weekend, and got a chance to work on some of my required breaks for my upcoming test. Boy, I have a long way to go. Some of the breaks are really difficult and will really challenge my abilities. But that's the whole point, right? Plus, I just found out that our school instructor, who was planning to test the same time as me, won't be able to attend because of a work conflict. It was nice to have a "partner-in-crime" who was going through the same stuff I was, but now I'm kinda on my own. It will make things a little harder, but I'm still confident I can be ready and do a good job. This weekend I should be travelling to Wisconsin on Sunday for a black belt workout. It should be a good opportunity to ask some burning questions I have, as well as a time to train with others at my same rank.

Finally, in case you've missed it, try and catch "Joe Schmo 2" which is airs on Spike TV, Tuesdays at 10:00 PM EST. Let me preface this whole thing by saying how much I hate reality TV shows. That's what makes the Joe Schmo Show so great - it is a parody of these shows. In case you're unaware of the premise - the first Joe Schmo was a fake reality show, where everyone on the show was an actor except for one guy. They did normal reality show "stuff", like contests and evictions, competing for a cash prize, all the while filming the unsuspecting guy 24 hours a day. The actors played stereotypical roles that are common on reality shows - "the rich bitch", "the asshole", "the gay guy", etc. It was simply hilarious. They're trying a second season, and I'm not yet sure if it will turn out as well as the first, but it's worth a try. The twist this time is that there are two schmoes - a guy and a girl. The fake show which they are on is really a combination Bachelor/Bachelorette type thing. The first episode was last week and was decent, but I suspect it will get better. Check it out...