savageinfidel

As my students and some of my friends know, I'm a big MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fan. I did Tae Kwon Do in high school and competed in Judo in college, so I can appreciate a lot of the technical aspects. Thanks to the Judo, I particularly enjoy what happens on the ground in the submission game. In fact, in my first competition, I got chocked unconscious, which was pretty cool. It wasn't the last time, either - when we'd visit one dojo, there was a tradition that every new guy had to get choked out - kind of an initiation rite. I gave up the judo fairly quickly, because I don;t have the body for it - have a tendency to get joint injuries. In the space of 2 years, I got a mildly separated shoulder, a torn rotator cuff, two dislocated elbows, and a severely bruised knee. To add insult to injury, since I was in the lightest weight class (131 lbs - those were the days, and are long gone), I ended up competing against kids who were 10-15 pounds lighter but had been doing judo...

Like many new parents, we use a battery-powered swing to help the Unknown Baby Boy fall asleep for his naps. Our model comes with a musical option that plays an assortment of tunes. They range from "Ode to Joy" to some pretty irritating, calliope-sounding music that could be easily be heard at the circus. But one song in particular makes me smile every time I hear it. The Unknown Wife asked why, so I showed her this clip (I just linked it because embedding was disabled for this clip). Caution - turn the sound down, because it cuts to a pretty loud, discordant piece near the end. The Unknown Wife said she'll never hear that tune again without seeing this clip in her mind's eye. Mission accomplished - my work here is done.

The Unknown Wife is a morning person, and I'm a night owl. So, I usually get the later feedings for the Unknown Baby Boy. He gets fed around 8 or 9, and then I hang out until his next feeding (sometime between 11 and 1). The little guy usually sleep for 4 hours, and the Unknown Wife takes the next feeding. Since she drops off around 9, she gets a good 6-7 hour uninterrupted sleep stretch. Because of the schedule, I'm up until 12 or 1 most nights. I do a little work on the computer (o.k., a lot of web-surfing and a little work, but let's not quibble). But I've also gotten reacquainted with late-night television. Between Deadliest Warrior , the UFC (and WEC ) and 1,000 Ways To Die , (thank you, Spike TV) I get my guy stuff out of the way while Unknown Wife is already asleep. Who knows - maybe it'll have a subliminal effect on Unknown Baby Boy.