four and six, four and six

These are the parries I need to work on before I can do any of the fancier point out-of -line stuff.

I had my first lesson with new coach V. today - Very calm, very patient, I recommend :)

We worked on parry followed by direct riposte in the 4 and 6 lines (would try and find pix, but very tired), parry-riposte-parry again, and lunge parry riposte.

The lesson highlighted how deficient and sloppy I am in just these two basics. Practice, practice, practice....

Also have a hand-me-down pistol grip that I've installed on one of my weapons - I've been resistant to using one because every one I've borrowed makes my hand hurt, but this was before I realized they came in sizes, and the ones I'd tried were likely too big for me. It was too loose to use tonight though, so it will need to wait for another day.

And all told, I think I had a fairly productive lesson, considering that I had a headache through most of the evening that feels like elephants stomping circles around my head - I think I'm dehydrated.

entering the 21st century

D. got me my first MP3 player today.

It's a total surprise as I did not ask for nor expect - I thought he'd got it for himself to use as a "brain on a stick" to replace his old voice recorder!

I like very much, but I'm kinda intimidated by it! I think I keep comparing it to my ancient (and probably in storage somewhere) first Walkman, and the last portable music device I had, a CD player - both kludgy, sensitive beasts that were inconvenient and fussy besides - move the wrong way and they'd unplug, or skip, or otherwise not work.

This... this is slick. And tiny - rather like a chihuahua, a pet that I would never have because it's so small I'm afraid I might lose it!

It's charging now, and talking to my computer to see if I have any files to play (alas, none) - where can I find such things?

I think I need to read the manual....