I got a massage last night, from a cute girl about my size with hands like a hydraulic press. It hurt, but that was pretty much what I needed. I may go back tomorrow to finish the job: I have some incredibly stubborn knots in my shoulder blades, which I'm working on from an emotional angle, but they could use some help.

I had the need-to-move-my-body itch today, and I'm busy Thursday and Friday, so I went to the dojo. The pain in my leg is reduced to one sore chunk about the size of two quarters, and I was able to work around it pretty well. As I'm training more or less regularly, but less frequently, I'm fascinated by how my relationship with aikido and the people I train with has changed over the years (I passed the four-year mark in September). Now that we all know each other, and I'm up to a level where I can take most of what everyone dishes out (at least a few times) it's mostly a barrel of laughs training with the folks I like, and feeling like I'm wasting my time with the folks I don't.