Virgin Territory

22Jun/101

This week is my last improv class. The week after, we (the students) are to put on a show in front of a real live audience. Nothing big. I suppose it's more of a friends and family and other students type of thing. I'm hesitant about performing in front of people I know but overall I don't feel too nervous. lol that won't matter too much though as I'm not planning to tell my friends to come. I just want to get this over with! I'm not very much looking forward to this. Improv is fun and all, but it's not worth my Sundays. I'm glad I took it but I'm even happier it's going to end soon.

A more immediate performance that I am a little worried about is my first bjj tournament this Saturday. Okay maybe more than just a little.

I get this gnawing feeling that I'm going to get my ass kicked pretty fucking bad. I pray the jiu-jitsu deities won't break my spirit by having some kid flying triangle me 10 seconds into my match. Paying $80 to get my ass kicked in ten seconds and a "free" t-shirt as a consolation prize is not my idea of a good investment at all.

Let me tell you, I am not competing because I think I'm anywhere close to good. I get my ass handed to me all the time in training. I'm probably not the absolute worst blue belt in the world, but in terms of the blue belt ladder I'm pretty far down there.

I never intended to compete when I first started training. It was just for recreation. Competing though, seems like one of those things where everyone who trains should at least do once or twice in your life. So on Saturday, I'm going to try my best and see what happens.

I have also decided on a tattoo. Well not the tattoo really, but rather the artist. Xoil is coming to New York in October, and I plan to get a piece done by him. The general theme I want him to do is Atlas holding up the universe.

One of my first shots with my 10-22mm

He can have freedom to interpret Atlas how he wants. My inspiration was from Atlas Shrugged. I like The Fountainhead more, but Atlas Shrugged ranks right up there as one of my favorite books. I identify strongly with a lot of the themes in Ayn Rand's novels, and I think Atlas would be very meaningful as a tattoo.

I thought of the first image, Lee Lawrie's statue in front of Rockefeller Center, because I liked his use of lines and circles in his tattoos. I want an image that he can work with to bring out the best of what I think he's good at, and what better than the symbol of the fucking universe.

All this is apt to change though. I'm planning on putting my deposit down this weekend, but my ideas might change from now til October.