I'm Making a Note Here... HUGE SUCCESS

Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, our volleyball team, The Pudendals, won the B-League (kind of like JV) intramural volleyball tournament.  If you're wondering what a Pudendal is, I don't blame you, evidently it is the artery that supplies (and I quote) "the organs of shame".

Brian, our team captain, throwing down

Laura, ready and able

I dunno if I hit this one...

There was some tough competition, but in the end, we won some Grey Goose and a case of Heineken.

On this island, often you have to adapt.  Here I've had to change my workout type, the gym I go to doesn't have many heavy weights, and so I've had to move away from a traditional body-building approach to fitness and move towards bodyweight, high intensity exercises.  Burpees, pullups, swimming, and interval running has been the invention of necessity for me as of late:

This is what's known as a "Tabata" protocol 20 seconds of intense activity followed by 10 seconds of rest for eight sets. Doesn't sound like much, but by the end you want to throw up.



Luckily I can still do a good number of core lifts like deadlifts and cleans, unfortunately there is no squat rack in the gym! What a travesty! Ah well. I can say though that I am getting into the best shape of my life, but every step has hurt... badly.

Because of this I've decreased my mile time to almost 6 minutes, and am on the way to 100 (almost) consecutive burpees.  I also know that my maximum volume of oxygen has increased, which for an asthmatic is very important, and I'm able to drill Judo for longer, with more intensity and control.  For the first time in a while, I am feeling pretty good. Thank you Tabata protocol!

Moving on up (to the Eastside)

Moved to a new place further up the hill from where we used to be staying.

Overall, really pleased with the new place, it's clean, well lit and there aren't any dogs I've heard to keep us up at night.

Very small kitchen

New bedroom, very comfotable (I kept Laura's drawer open because she says I always do it). Picture revenge!

Our Bathroom is very colorful at the moment

Our balcony view from the inside

Our car is being a total pain in the ass, I'm thinking that it may be the carburetor, damn thing doesn't start well in the morning, but once it does the first time, it does the rest of the day.   

Our car's (only) moment of glory?

Though this was quite a while ago, my Mom visited and I thought I should put some of the pics up: 

Us at the beach

Mom at Brimstone

The biggest thing I miss from home are no doubt my family and my friends.    

I've also learned of a Judo club on the island, it seems that there are martial arts happening all over the island, but everyone is scattered and disorganized, I'm hoping that there will be an opportunity for me to head to this new club and check it out to see what it's like.  

Some recent uchikomi:

Luckily the internet at our place is more stable, and allows me to upload more videos, pictures etc.  Yay.

I suppose that will be it for now, more to come!

Review

So apparently, tomorrow means sometime in a week (or more).  My bad.

I think that my indiscretion should illicit some kind of response, so here we go, we are going to review some things on here and I'll try to make it a monthly thing (we'll see).

Beers of the Caribbean (an ongoing series?)


I was worried about beer here.  Coming from a German family, and with a heavy tradition of good microbrews in the Pacific Northwest, I have had some good beers.  When I think The Caribbean, for one reason or another beer doesn't spring to mind right off the bat, and with this in mind I was worried that the quality of beer would be lacking.  Luckily, I was wrong (mostly).

Carib:

Alongside Red Stripe, Carib is arguably the quintessential Caribbean beer: it has a light flavor, it's very refreshing, and has a very simple taste (the ingredients read: water, malted barley, sugar, hops).  Luckily its simplicity is part of the charm.  A hint of citrus flavor that really gives it a nice, crisp smack at the end.  However, like many lagers, this one is simple.  It has one note, and though that note is pretty, it might get dull after a while.  When it's cold though (please god, let it be cold), this is a great beer to drink with dinner, with lunch (I even think my Grandfather would like this one), and with friends.

Maybe a lime too.


Game Review (Non-gamers avert your eyes)


Torchlight

Diablo was good in 1997, and hey, it still is.  Everything is like Diablo, everything.  I mean even the music for the town of Torchlight sounds exactly like the music of Tristram from Diablo.  Think David Bowie and Vanilla Ice.

Sure some things have been improved, you have a pet who you can equip with items and spells (and who can make selling runs to town for you), the interface is better than the original Diablo, and the inventory system is way better, but man oh man, it is exactly like Diablo.  Though I do like the steampunk element to the game...

After a while though, you have so many potions, minions, and crazy good spells, there's no need to pay attention any more, just left and right click to win the game.

The being said, I still had fun, though I wish there was a multiplayer component to the game.  This would have been a lot of fun in co-op.

Judo Fail

I was going to put up my uchikomi fail, but the internet is not cooperating here at the moment, so i'll do it when it's a bit more stable.  Until next time!