A Personal Blog
I get it. Things change in the world, and since the internet has wandered on the scene, things have been changing faster than ever. Clothing styles have come and gone, our beloved English language has become better in many ways but worse in others, and the advancement in technology has gone off the rails. Whether you like it or not, the world today is vastly different from what it was a mere 25 years ago.
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On our property, we’ve got a stream, a brook, a pond, a shallow well, and another three-season stream that’s much smaller than the first. Since half way through July, the three-season stream has totally dried up, both the other stream and brook are all but a trickle, the pond is about three feet lower than its regular level (which is rather depressing to look at), and the shallow well is probably half its normal level. It’s got to be. I haven’t checked it this year, but if I were to go by what I’ve seen in previous years, that’s about where the water level is at this point in the season.
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Have you ever given thought to how many sheep live in the United Kingdom? During my search for this post’s leading photo, a hunch told me I should find something that pertains to Great Britain. Or England. Or the United Kingdom. Or one or all of the above. I’ll explain why below, but for now, just know that since sheep are plentiful in that part of the world, I decided to go with a photo of the very animal. By the way, in case you’re curious, England is home to 13.8 million sheep and the United Kingdom as a whole is home to 31 million sheep. And if you’ve ever wondered what countries are situated within the confines of the United Kingdom, I can inform you that they’re England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Now there’s some random knowledge you never knew you wanted or needed.
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I should have named this post, “The Reason None of Us are Rich.” That would have been more appropriate because how many of us have the wherewithal to accumulate the first 100k of play (or investment) money? Not many. I can’t count how many friends I’ve attempted to guide toward investing income, only to wallow in disappointment years later after learning that their initial enthusiasm has waned into the abyss of nothingness. It’s a shame, really. Such a shame and I’ll tell you why below.
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I never thought I’d hate something so much.
When I was a kid, I spent a good majority of my summer swimming at a lake about a half-mile from my house. I can remember enjoying most of my vacation days there – from June to early September. My friends and I would either ride our bikes down the hill to the lake or sit our butts on our oversized skateboards to do the same. Either way, we’d end up rolling through that six-foot tall chain-link gate that was attached to that six-foot tall chain-link fence. Ours was a private beach and membership was required. Oddly enough, I only remember one season when the powers-that-be actually enforced membership. They bought some elastic bands and plastic tags that members were encouraged to wear around their ankles. A teenager sat at the gate to police who came through. Again, that only lasted one summer, or two at most. And I’m not sure I ever wore the band around my ankle. I’m also fairly certain that only half the people who visited that beach were members. Relaxed environment would be an understatement.
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When I was in high school, we (the student body) referred to a particular group of students as “burnouts.” These were the guys and gals who wore the soiled jean and leather jackets and/or who were generally people the average student would avoid. They all smoked. Most of them did some sort of drug. A good portion of them held a sorry disposition. None of them were aware of their reputations though, which made the entire ordeal rather entertaining. They were the burnouts who hung out with themselves and we were the rest who hung out with ourselves. Two groups divided by starkly different cultures. Everyone ended up pretty decently though, so I’m guessing it was a kid thing – being all divvied up like that. As adults, we smile at one another and generally get along just fine.
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I actually haven’t come across this question all too much in real life, but from what I understand and can see on the internet, the question is a very popular one. Is BJJ hard to learn? I get it. There are tons of people out there who might want to learn the sport or fighting style or self-defense framework – whatever you want to call it. And walking into a gym for the very first time to find answers can be fairly intimidating. I remember when I did that. I knew nothing about jiu-jitsu and I knew nothing about martial arts in general. I still made the call though and now, who knows how many years later, I’m still going strong. None of this helps you though. You still want to know if Brazilian jiu-jitsu is hard to learn. I’ll answer that question below.
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It really depends on what type of person you are and where you plan on finding yourself in July in Maine. Do you enjoy winter activities while having few people around? If so, Maine (especially the coast) definitely wouldn’t be the best location for you (it can be hot and crowded). But if you have an affinity for the warmth and if you like to swim in the ocean, camp, and sail, yes – I’d say Maine during mid-summer would be right up your alley.
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Living in Maine is like listening to a tale of two peoples. Half of Maine’s residents despise the cold, yet they continue to live in the state, and the other half deplore the heat, yet they continue to live in the state. Granted, Maine’s “heat” is much less hot than the heat found in other states. I’ll tell you though, it sure feels hot when a guy is trying to sleep while stuck to his bed sheets. Sweat. That’s all I can say. And lots of humidity.
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If you’ve read any of my other Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu related posts, you already know that I’ve been training for what seems like ever. And since I’ve hung around for as long as I have, you’d think that the conversation about being bored with the sport has come up once or twice. The thing is, it actually hasn’t. It’s never come up. I’ve never heard one person during all the years of my training say, “Hey, this is actually becoming a bit played out. I mean, how many times are we going to do the same things over and over again?”
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