Update on 2008 so far

This is Tuck and Gunner (our border collie and lab)

This year has been particularly challenging for us. We've had a lot of fun so far and a lot tough stuff also. We've been working a lot of hours on all ends. Starting with Tang Soo Do's afterschool and summer camp programs both growing quite steadily, we have some of the advanced students helping out with the programs. Now that we have the bigger studio comes more demands, energetically and timewise. Vince has put in major long hours-weekends, always late nights, playing all the roles a active involved martial arts instructor plays: teacher, friend, counselor, mentor, parent, boss, conscience, philosopher and the necessary butt-kicker duties. Our construction business, Cabin to Castle was supposed to become more of a secondary background business (ya right) with Vince getting to spend more time at the studio and kids, but construction circumstances have happened that has totally switcheroo'ed in the past two months. Most of you who have visited us,well we have dragged you out to King Wah's chinese restaurant that two of our black belts, Jack & Jessica's parents, Jonnie & Jenny own. Well last month they had crazy fire that started in the kitchen and pretty much trashed the entire place except for exterior walls, and well you can guess who they trust enough to rebuild it-yep that'd be Vince. This is pretty big job for us, and we're jumping through lots of constant insurance hoops. It stinks to make money off of the misfortune but we'll all be happier knowing the job is done right. And yea, feel free to read between the lines there if you've ever dealt with insurance adjusters. Thankfully we have our local agent (a friend) and his team (all friends) to help us with communication documentation.

The studio is doing great. I am somewhat involved with the studio also but to a lesser degree than I used to, as Amanda (our office manager/program director is doing a really good job and no longers needs much, if any, input from me-I try to stay out of her way). I am still working out of the Back to Health Chiropractic office for massage, that is going great and I'm pretty buried with work, busy as I can handle. I am still teaching shorei-kempo but am down to 2 students-really more like just 1 as my students have kind of let their busy-ness and medical issues run their lives and haven't done class recently. I still teach all of Tang Soo Do's advance students on Wednesdays so I still get to pull lots of crazy drills out of my puddle of knowledge. It probably entertains them as they never know what to expect next. I also joined Harbor Isles fitness club in February and that has been great to get back into also, and totally complimented the quantity of massage I do, it helped cut some pounds (always working on that) made me stronger and prevents a lot of repetitive use issues many LMTs get. I trade out with a trainer at the gym and we give each other plenty of grief in our respective fields. She kicks my butt with various different lifts/drills, and I stretch and smash hers.

Winter was nuts, lots of black belt club meetings, instructor's classes, and testings all winter. We had absolutely crazy amounts of snow and our roadside snow banks were really 9-10 ft high and we had about 5-6 feet on the ground almost all winter. We sure got dumped on weather wise. We had a few sledding parties up at the house, ATV pulling sledding tubes, and frequently we had to arrange rides or pick people up who don't have 4wd or they'd never make it up our road. Snowboarding wasn't fun because the snow was too deep, and eventually sledding didn't even work very well because of deep snow...aftering getting downhill trudging/rolling out to either down to the lower road or climbing back up to the house was almost impossible and used any bit of energy people had. Vince and crew were up on the studio roof shoveling off the snow, as many buildings roofs around town collapsed this year. Our house, well we figured that better hold, as we built this sucker like brick outhouse.

We also had another black belt come to earn it this past Spring, Alex Lindsey passed his test and did quite an excellent job. So yet another one of our TSD black belts have gone off to college, Alex is now at OSU, with Christy and Jack being the same vicinity there may be some warped energy nexus forming up there. In some of our pictures he is the "short" one (6'5") with long red hair. See below camping pic (yep he will probably hate that I put this out there)

On sadness, we had 6 funerals in 5 months of the year. At one point I think my clients were like yah right, we had 3 funerals in 1.5 weeks so I had to cancel many appointments. I lost my former laboratory mentor at Cell Tech, good ol' Dr. Bob, he passed away quite unexpectedly early in the year. He was a very decent sweet man and fun coworker and a helluva ors-d'eovres cook-great recipes! I also had a few really wonderful clients lose their spouses. We had a couple parents of some of our students (from different families), Gary and Susan pass away quickly due to cancer, they were some really amazing inspiring people. Then we had our very good friend/former student/parent of students, Kim, who had moved near Portland awhile ago, died very unexpectedly; it finally gave us a chance to see her two daughters (they were red belts) again, almost all grown up--more than they were 4 years ago. That was a bittersweet reunion, Vince checks in with the girls now and then. Kim and the girls were a big part of our lives for several years when they lived in Klamath. We had just talked to Kim a few weeks before her death. Then, my coworker, front office guru at Back to Health lost her wonderful 16 year old son, Bryan two months ago. She went skydiving two weeks ago in honor of his memory, she has been quite inspiring to work with, but the rollercoast ride goes on as always. So that was the sadnesses of the year, lessons taught and leaving footprints in our memories and on our hearts.

On the up side one of the other bits o' news, we've had a kiddo at our house for most of this year as some of you may know. Monica, who earned her black belt on 9/20/08, she is 16 (almost 17-sometimes going on 40) moved in with us back in March while dealing with some family issues. She is a pretty intelligent, creative, fun, intriguing kid, she is a senior in high school, honor society student, and plans on going to college next year and taking lots of psych classes (she'll need'em, and at least as of this point in her life, she intends on running Tang Soo Do someday-she almost does now-bossy little thing!). She has worked with Vince for the past 2 years and frequently calls him Dad, as she has never known one in any real capacity (as for me I referred to my relationship capacity as sort of the deranged crazy aunt). Monica also helps Amanda run the afterschool program and runs the demonstration team at Tang Soo Do. Monica moved back with her mom beginning of the school year, and just visits us if she wants to, hopefully that will work out well for her. It was definitely different having a fulltime teen in the house rather than the periodic party raidings we used to get. You may notice on the pictures of Monica's test she has Finnianous as her last name on her belt, and if things keep going like it is, we will most likely adopt her when she turns 18. (Hey, if we croak off somebody has to get our stuff, and it better not be the government!)

standing l to r: Steph, Bree, Alex Christy, Jonnie (Kenpo buddy), Monica (center), Vince, Caty, Cara.

kneeling l to r: Steven, Jack, Tyler and Zack.

Summer brought a ton of activity for us. It all seems a blur. The studio activities were constant on weekends and for kids, all week long as we had a 6 week long summer camp. We had 78 people go on our yearly Rogue River raft trip and Amanda did a heck of a job coordinating those activities! We did some rock climbing, rafting, waterfalling, rafting, our yearly outdoors advanced belt camp, horseback riding, advanced stick/knife seminar with Master Jose Bueno, etc etc. It was a pretty busy summer!

Steph, Jessica, Amanda, Kyle, Monica & Naomi Vince sums up the summer!

Some forms training in the river at Advanced belt camp. l to r (of who you can see): Ryan, Mike, Vince, Monica, (Tyler is drowning way in the background), and Amanda.

Anyways, that is some of the highlights of this year. I tried to find snow pictures for you as it was deeper that deep, and as I write this we have flakes flying outside already on 10/10/08, yikes, it is just too damn early for that 4 letter word.