Majcher.com

So, I've been swinging between contracting and being unemployed for the last year and a half or so. What have I accomplished in that time? Not as much as you'd expect a halfway-intelligent guy would accomplish in a year of free time.

Every once in a while, I get it into my head to try to get some regular physical exercise. One of my less consistent attempts has been at Aikido - I make it out to a dojo maybe once every six months or so. I would say I was rusty, but that would imply there being something to rust. One of the things that stuck with me, however, was one of the first times I went to City Aikido, and one of the instructors corrected the way I had my gi arranged. As he showed me that the right way was to have the front right side over left, instead of left over right, he said, "This is the way we wear the gi in training. The other way is only for when they bury you in it."

This came to mind again recently, as I was getting out of the shower and putting my robe on as usual, left over right. Over the last few months, I've made a conscious effort to tie it right over left. It seems trivial, but in breaking from my years-ingrained routine in a small way, it reminds me every day that I'm supposed to be practicing, instead of getting ready to be buried.