Saturday, August 6, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
He Who Needs Sleep
It has been a while since I've had a bout of insomnia like tonight. I actually fell asleep early, around 10pm, but it was a fitful sleep. Though it isn't too hot outside, with the window unit air conditioner installed, even on just the fan setting, the bedroom feels stuffier than usual. After waking up at midnight and again at half past one, I remembered one of the better pieces of advice I've ever gotten, which is that if you can't sleep, don't sleep, ie: get up and do something else and go back to bed when you get tired.
So here I am, blogging away at quarter of five in the morning. Daisy will likely be awake in about two and a half hours. I have been reading the second volume of George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series (the fantasy novels that are the basis for HBO's Game of Thrones) and I vaguely remember dragons in my dreams. Actually, I remember dreaming of being responsible for scheduling the various duties of people riding dragons or something similar. This is very clearly due half to the book, and half to the fact that I spent the last three days at work as Pencil.
If I haven't explained The Pencil before, the job is basically to assign dealers (or other supervisors) to their positions for the day at the casino. When I'm the dealer pencil, I pick who is going to deal craps, who is going to deal roulette, who is going to be dealing on the blackjack game reserved for the guy with the half million dollar line of credit, etc. And when I'm supervisor pencil, I do the same thing but with the other floors ("floor" in this case is shorthand for "floor supervisor" the industry term for the pit boss) as well as various other duties like unlocking games about to open, locking up games that are closing, transferring markers to the cage, replacing damaged cards or dice, leveling the roulette wheel and a dozen other random tasks. I like being pencil, quite a bit actually, because of the variety of work and the challenge. However, it is not something I do every day, and clearly if it is invading my dreams, three days of it produces more anxiety than I was aware.
One fun thing: Reading A Clash of Kings (the aforementioned book two of Song of Ice & Fire), my favorite character in the book is the dwarf Tyrion Lannister who transitions from black sheep of his wealthy family to taking on actual responsibility (and power) as "The Hand of the King," which correlates pretty directly to being the President's chief of staff. "The Hand," as the job is known for short, handles the day to day operations of the castle and most of the executive aspects of the King, save those military. And, in the grand tradition of geekish vicarious living through fantasy novels, I have found myself pretending to be The Hand while serving as The Pencil.
So here I am, blogging away at quarter of five in the morning. Daisy will likely be awake in about two and a half hours. I have been reading the second volume of George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series (the fantasy novels that are the basis for HBO's Game of Thrones) and I vaguely remember dragons in my dreams. Actually, I remember dreaming of being responsible for scheduling the various duties of people riding dragons or something similar. This is very clearly due half to the book, and half to the fact that I spent the last three days at work as Pencil.
If I haven't explained The Pencil before, the job is basically to assign dealers (or other supervisors) to their positions for the day at the casino. When I'm the dealer pencil, I pick who is going to deal craps, who is going to deal roulette, who is going to be dealing on the blackjack game reserved for the guy with the half million dollar line of credit, etc. And when I'm supervisor pencil, I do the same thing but with the other floors ("floor" in this case is shorthand for "floor supervisor" the industry term for the pit boss) as well as various other duties like unlocking games about to open, locking up games that are closing, transferring markers to the cage, replacing damaged cards or dice, leveling the roulette wheel and a dozen other random tasks. I like being pencil, quite a bit actually, because of the variety of work and the challenge. However, it is not something I do every day, and clearly if it is invading my dreams, three days of it produces more anxiety than I was aware.
One fun thing: Reading A Clash of Kings (the aforementioned book two of Song of Ice & Fire), my favorite character in the book is the dwarf Tyrion Lannister who transitions from black sheep of his wealthy family to taking on actual responsibility (and power) as "The Hand of the King," which correlates pretty directly to being the President's chief of staff. "The Hand," as the job is known for short, handles the day to day operations of the castle and most of the executive aspects of the King, save those military. And, in the grand tradition of geekish vicarious living through fantasy novels, I have found myself pretending to be The Hand while serving as The Pencil.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Osu!
Yesterday morning, D qualified for her advanced blue belt in Seido karate. To do so, she demonstrated her mastery of such skills as knife hand, snap kick, basic self-defense and a kata called Seido 1, which is a fifteen move series of blocks, punches, and turns. In addition, she can recite the first three parts of the Karateka Code of Ethics and has learned a number of Japanese words and phrases, including those for stop, go, turn around, sit down, meditate, thank you, the numbers 1-10 and, most importantly, the word "Osu."
Osu (spelled so in English despite being pronounced closer to 'ous', the vowel sounding as the 'oo' in cook, the 's' a short sibilant sound, such as in 'this') is a word with many meanings. In karate class, it is the all-purpose word of acknowledgement, said by students in response to teachers. We might translate it as 'yes' but it is a 'yes' that is imbued with a respectful understanding and an implicit promise of effort on the part of the speaker. Osu = "Yes, teacher, I hear you, I understand what you are asking, and I will try my best."
Osu is also spoken when entering and exiting both the dojo and the training floor. In this sense, it is similar to the other meaning, but here the teacher being respected is the non-physical presence of Kaicho Nakamura (founder of Seido karate) and, really, all teachers who work in the dojo and the dojo itself.
We are attempting to incorporate osu into the vocabulary of our household as well.
Seido 1
Osu (spelled so in English despite being pronounced closer to 'ous', the vowel sounding as the 'oo' in cook, the 's' a short sibilant sound, such as in 'this') is a word with many meanings. In karate class, it is the all-purpose word of acknowledgement, said by students in response to teachers. We might translate it as 'yes' but it is a 'yes' that is imbued with a respectful understanding and an implicit promise of effort on the part of the speaker. Osu = "Yes, teacher, I hear you, I understand what you are asking, and I will try my best."
Osu is also spoken when entering and exiting both the dojo and the training floor. In this sense, it is similar to the other meaning, but here the teacher being respected is the non-physical presence of Kaicho Nakamura (founder of Seido karate) and, really, all teachers who work in the dojo and the dojo itself.
We are attempting to incorporate osu into the vocabulary of our household as well.
Seido 1
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
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