Monday 22Jul19 - Continuation
I knocked on Dr. Finkelstein's door first thing this morning, seeing he was in. We met for only about five or ten minutes, but I was able to briefly describe what attempts I'd made and what roadblocks I'd encountered. He recommended setting up a meeting with Rebecca in which she might walk me through the process of what we're attempting. This seemed like an obvious but reasonable suggestion. Rebecca, even if she has returned from Australia at this point, won't be in until this afternoon at the earliest. It's doubtful that any meeting I arrange between the three of us will happen today.
These kinds of communication fumbles are excusable when the timeline of a project is six months to a year. A week or two lost would be regrettable under such circumstances. In such an accelerated timeline as this, it's one tenth of my total time gone. I find it especially frustrating that Dr. Finkelstein asked me whether or not I had reached out to Rebecca at all during the conference. Meeting with him this morning was meant to demonstrate my initiative. Why should I try to be responsible or accomplish anything when expectations are so low?
Astonishingly, Rebecca has reached out to me to arrange a meeting. There was reasonable cause on my part to speculate about whether I would have to be the one to track her down or she would reach out to me. That's a good sign. Keeping my temper in check is going to make all the difference over the next week as she settles back in to working closely with me.
This past weekend was about as good as a person could expect. Friday I was discouraged, but I went out dancing anyway to try to maintain my habit and socialize. Afterwards I dropped in on the graduate students at the Crown & Anchor. It was important.
Saturday morning after breakfast at the Red River Cafe, I rode the 10 and then the 333 to get to Paragon Jiu Jitsu Academy near William Cannon & Dean Keaton. The lights were off and the door was locked. As I waited outside, one other person showed up. He checked their website and found that regular classes were cancelled due to the Austin Open Tournament. The time commitment for me to get to class on Saturday mornings meant that I was unwilling to simply give up and go home. I scrambled to find another school nearby. It would have to be a close thing since it was about 11:30 am, and I guessed most schools would start their classes around that time. Another school within a 7-minute drive started class at 11:45! The other person who was waiting outside Paragon with me offered me a ride there; he turned out to me a US Marine.
As we pulled up to Intergraçao Jiu Jitsu Academy, my heart sank. It looked completely deserted! But wheeling into the parking lot, we spotted one other car there. I waved and asked them, and he confirmed that he was there to teach a class. All the students there were also at the tournament. But, he regretted, he did not have a key to unlock the chainlink and barbwire fence leading to the school. I waved goodbye to the generous man who had given me a ride - he had decided that this was all a bit too much trouble for him. Meanwhile, the instructor and I crawled under the fence and entered the academy. One other person showed up, and the three of us worked together for about an hour and a half before one or two more people trickled in. The instructor must have sent out a general notice that the school would be open for those willing to get on their bellies. I'm still terribly stiff and sore. It was a great lesson. I'll be going back.
After some lunch, I met with my friend Allie, and we kayaked for about an hour on the river. Probably another good reason for my body's soreness. We had dinner, and I had just enough time to meet a few of the TAURUS scholars at a bar on 6th Street called Vulcan Gas Company. Once a month they hold an "Emo Nite" with appropriate music and scene. It was alright. Nolan and I left near midnight to meet with about half a dozen other students from our program at a 24-hour diner called Star Seeds. It being late, we were all a bit loopy. It was all in all a very good Saturday. It gave me plenty of justification for relaxing all day Sunday.
These kinds of communication fumbles are excusable when the timeline of a project is six months to a year. A week or two lost would be regrettable under such circumstances. In such an accelerated timeline as this, it's one tenth of my total time gone. I find it especially frustrating that Dr. Finkelstein asked me whether or not I had reached out to Rebecca at all during the conference. Meeting with him this morning was meant to demonstrate my initiative. Why should I try to be responsible or accomplish anything when expectations are so low?
Astonishingly, Rebecca has reached out to me to arrange a meeting. There was reasonable cause on my part to speculate about whether I would have to be the one to track her down or she would reach out to me. That's a good sign. Keeping my temper in check is going to make all the difference over the next week as she settles back in to working closely with me.
This past weekend was about as good as a person could expect. Friday I was discouraged, but I went out dancing anyway to try to maintain my habit and socialize. Afterwards I dropped in on the graduate students at the Crown & Anchor. It was important.
Saturday morning after breakfast at the Red River Cafe, I rode the 10 and then the 333 to get to Paragon Jiu Jitsu Academy near William Cannon & Dean Keaton. The lights were off and the door was locked. As I waited outside, one other person showed up. He checked their website and found that regular classes were cancelled due to the Austin Open Tournament. The time commitment for me to get to class on Saturday mornings meant that I was unwilling to simply give up and go home. I scrambled to find another school nearby. It would have to be a close thing since it was about 11:30 am, and I guessed most schools would start their classes around that time. Another school within a 7-minute drive started class at 11:45! The other person who was waiting outside Paragon with me offered me a ride there; he turned out to me a US Marine.
As we pulled up to Intergraçao Jiu Jitsu Academy, my heart sank. It looked completely deserted! But wheeling into the parking lot, we spotted one other car there. I waved and asked them, and he confirmed that he was there to teach a class. All the students there were also at the tournament. But, he regretted, he did not have a key to unlock the chainlink and barbwire fence leading to the school. I waved goodbye to the generous man who had given me a ride - he had decided that this was all a bit too much trouble for him. Meanwhile, the instructor and I crawled under the fence and entered the academy. One other person showed up, and the three of us worked together for about an hour and a half before one or two more people trickled in. The instructor must have sent out a general notice that the school would be open for those willing to get on their bellies. I'm still terribly stiff and sore. It was a great lesson. I'll be going back.
After some lunch, I met with my friend Allie, and we kayaked for about an hour on the river. Probably another good reason for my body's soreness. We had dinner, and I had just enough time to meet a few of the TAURUS scholars at a bar on 6th Street called Vulcan Gas Company. Once a month they hold an "Emo Nite" with appropriate music and scene. It was alright. Nolan and I left near midnight to meet with about half a dozen other students from our program at a 24-hour diner called Star Seeds. It being late, we were all a bit loopy. It was all in all a very good Saturday. It gave me plenty of justification for relaxing all day Sunday.
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