karate, anyone?

i slept in on saturday morning to let my voice rest. as the afternoon ambled along, i knew that if i didn't leave the house, i'd stay in until i had to leave for soundcheck at aaron davis hall the next day. i didn't want to go to the brooklyn new music festival event at fulton mall because i knew i'd be yelling or talking in a loud area or something and i didn't want to strain my vocal cords.

it was high time that i turned my attention to the rest of my body. i'm used to working out almost every day. something in me feels wierd when i don't go for a run in the park, at least. still and all, i've been pretty dilligent and thanks to my reflux problem, i have to be careful -- and healthful -- about what i eat. in the past year, i've lost about 25 lbs. my gym membership ran out a few weeks ago and i wanted a challenge, so i headed to a karate school in chelsea that a friend recommended -- the world headquarters of seido karate on 23rd street. i don't know why i chose to pursue this. karate? me? i'm a very physical girl workout-wise. i've spent my entire life wringing on all of my brothers, literally. i like bruce lee as much as anyone else, i suppose -- but i've never studied a martial art before. i think it's because i like the idea of having something quantitative to show for my time and my effort. for each rung that i successfully climb, there is a belt, a certificate. something.

my friend steve (who has a 1st degree black belt in judo) had already said such wonderful things about the place but then i got two more signs: the first thing i saw was saxophonist virginia mayhew's cd for sale at the front desk. surprise, surprise -- she's a 3rd degree black belt. later on, as i looked over the students working out in the room adjacent to us, i saw trumpet player mark mcgowan. he was a green belt but stepped away from it for a few years and was returning as a white belt, to relearn everything.

ricky, the soon-to-be blackbelt receptionist at the front desk, explained each brochure carefully, answered all of my stupid questions and was extremely thorough. after some deliberation, i decided to prorate the month of september to get my feet wet.

there's still a lot that i don't understand -- like the belt colors and what they signify -- but i'm ready to go to the library and start doing research.

after i left there, i picked up a bio on james dean, fell in love with a brown swede vintage cowgirl pantsuit at jim smiley's vintage shop that i couldn't quite get my butt into (but i will 10 pounds from now) and saw the excorcism of emily rose, which didn't freak me out at all until i woke up at 3am and couldn't go right back to sleep...