San Antonio,  Texas

  i think its always important to visit old friends and see how things have grown, up, down, side to side, things change and we must keep each other in check.  brian has designated it that it be i that post a few pics up so here we are...

we ate authentic mexican food and let me tell u, it was pretty damn good

the legendary alamo, much props to the gents who held down this fort, must've been one hell of a battle, with little elbow room.  san antonio downtown was built around the alamo, so its kind of funny to see this old school fort pop up in the middle of a modern setting.

since it was forced upon me to post pics here's the penalty, a kodak image of two close friends sleeping in peace  =)

now san antonio is a pretty small place with a population that is difficult to find, except in this one area.  this river runs down the middle of down town san antonio and its pretty hot.  dont let this crappy pictures fool you, this is a man made river covered side by side with restaurants and bars, boat rides, and lights to show these southern heads know how to get down in a chill atmosphere.

bobby and friend, it was pretty cold down there so dont let our relaxed expressions fool you.  our last night out relaxed and drinking, it was a good time.  hope you enjoyed the pics.

Bessie is Back

  Needless to say, anything that is used properly needs to be refitted and repaired, redone and reworked.  Afterall, all good things require good work and love.  No less should be given the blade that defends me and is my pride.

New Sakura (cherry blossom) fittings, fuchi and fuchi kashira with gold menuki sakura, new tsuba (hand guard) and brown silk grip

the edge has been resharpened and the saya (scabbard) has been reworked with a water buffalo horn koiguch (opening)

ain't she purty? 

      Brian's Day

  It was Brian's day and to make it sweet and memorable we decided to go to Peter Luger's...  and hence the pictures.

the left corner

the right corner

the before picture

afterwards

brian's cake

my boys... and girl 

well brian it was quite a day.  being busy as always it was a nice break and i realized how much i miss and love my dear friends, far and near.  enjoy the pics.  =)

The Long Awaited FL trip Pictures

  went down to florida for a lil bit for training and getting to know sensei's senseis as well as his family.  may i remind you all that sang and i drove down and i do not suggest this to be done without serious thought and planning.  u need good company, chow, and music.  now on to the photos.

starting out on our trek

some weird fat guy on a tiny yamaha, you have to admit, this is funny... hahaha hope he's not reading this wherever he is.

somewhere in the middle of the eastcoast~

we made it down in 14 hours, average speed was basically what you see here~

swung by daytona beach first and sang is definately at home here~

where as i played the tourist (notice the driving apparel we were wearing, i recommend comfort)

man it wasnt even 6:30AM yet, all i remember is that i was exhausted, but damn what a sunrise~

got down to business that weekend and started practicing, afterall we were there for seminars no?

here's a good look at the dojo, good space, and of course us cleaning up~

drinks and food, what else could you possibly need?

we found something~ 

at least henry did, you go mr. P.I.M.P.

here's sang's family, his little cousin is truly adorable, running around super hyper with a shockingly mature vocabulary but too friendly with the "sen nen goroshi~!!"  well thats all folks hope you enjoyed.

The Night that Almost Didn't Happen

  had to break the habit of being a loner, anti party individual again because, let's face it, anna is an old friend whom i haven't seen in a while and i owe it to her at least to be there.  for some reason wasn't in the mood to hang out, wanted to head home and rest, but instead did this just to make up for lost time and see an old pal, and i had a great time instead.  thanks anna, much love to you, you got me laughing again, and here are some pics to commemorate the event.

me and anna

the four ladies(susan, anna, sophie, and julie)  i had to escort that night, i did a lot of c*ck blocking due to the fact that they all have boyfriends, hahaha... it was awesome, i was a secret bodyguard posing as a pimp.

a bunch of drinks, challenges as to who can "really dance" , and a friend stubborn enough to drag someone out who doesn't know when they need it, thanks to all.  especially "chongo"  hahaha...