I'm back! - Catching up

Greetings and Peace,
It has been a year and a day since my last blog post, but merely a week since I last thought of sitting down to do this update. There comes a point in the not-doing of something when it becomes an overwhelming task. In the case of this blog, which I have every intention of making a weekly posting, so many amazing changes have filled the year that I hardly know which to relate first.

So let's start with some highlights:
The most important, and one of the reasons I have trouble sitting down at the keyboard, is that Leo has grown from being a vibrant 1-year old into an adventurous, talkative, exploratory 2-year old. This is more fun on a daily basis than should be allowed. His favorite statement: "Ada, come play with me." Work can wait, neh?

I am in deep in the writing of a science fiction novel. At this moment I am perhaps 2/3 of the way through the first draft and it is a wonderful experience. I hope you read it when it is published. :)

I have turned over the Santa Cruz Gerakan Suci class to Guru Muda Steffan Thimmes. After two years of driving back to Santa Cruz from San Francisco on a weekly basis, I felt it time to let Steffan have a turn. I miss the group immensely, but have it on the schedule to visit once per month to teach mini-seminars.

The other reason I decided to make this change is the decision, reached with the wonderful help and support of my wife, to finally have my right shoulder surgically repaired. The doctor placed three anchors in the upper humerus to tie my labrum (shoulder cartilage) down and cleaned up the supraspinatus at the juncture of the bicep tendon. The great news is that it was successful and the pain is gone. I am rapidly recovering from the effects of the surgical intrusion also and should be back to full fighting form by the end of summer.

I completed the outline of Gerakan Suci 2.0 and quickly came to the realization that I wanted to test it for a year before I finalized the text. This is also a chance for me to see if Guru Muda Steffan can implement it successfully, or if it is too arcane in explanation. More on this as we progress.

I completed two students in Levels 1 & 2 of the Silat Kuntau Tekpi. Now I REALLY like this system. Having had a chance to go all the way through it with students who are proficient martial artists but without extensive Silat experience showed me it's depth contained within it's simplicity. I plan on teaching a group here in the San Francisco Bay Area as soon as my shoulder allows me to place people on the floor repeatedly. We can hopefully get started by this Fall.
Other than those busy makers I have spent the rest of my time integrating myself into the San Francisco tech/art/writing scene. There is a lot happening here and I am looking to get involved with a studio that produces animation and/or comics and/or games. As Leo says: "Ada, let's play."
peace,
Rennie