Sort-of Blank Slates

I was becoming a big fan of the "sort-of blank slate," aka the opportunity to push life's "sort-of reset" button, until I got kicked with ten solid right-leg roundhouses. By a girl.

It happened last night in jiu jitsu class. Jiu jitsu was one of those things I went to on a whim for the usual reasons: martial arts movies, 24-withdrawal, having the luxury of a sort-of blank slate schedule in front of me, and the potential for a story. The class was intense fun. We went to a pub afterwards. Sometimes, when searching for stories, you reach under a rock and find gold. Sometimes you find ten roundhouses to the gut. Which is a type of bruised gold in and of itself, I guess.

So needless to say, pushing this "sort-of blank slate" button takes a Forrest Gumpian type of thoughtless courage.

It can be great and rewarding fun to take advantage of those rare "sort-of reset" opportunities that wipe clean the busy mess of routines and schedules that we all fall into, without requiring the labor of completely reinventing and relearning ourselves. At the same time, I doubt anyone desires a "full blank slate." Potty training once is quite enough, thank you. Apparently it took me a few sleepwalking nights and rigorous study of "Once Upon a Potty" to tell the difference between a stationary drawer and the swirling portal to goldfish heaven. (Our first goldfish was named Jaws. Though the fishy part of him is long gone, his spirit in heaven says thanks for the chocolates.)

Bristol has made me press that "sort of reset button." Thing is, I didn't know until I pushed it how "reset" I was going to be. And I am more "reset" than I anticipated. Freed from old officer positions, good friends, my fraternity, my family, the ARC, Espresso Royale, Green Street, the English Building, handball, the LAS Leaders, my teaching job, the newspaper, Campus Honors Program, and all that naturalized behavior that extends our minds unto our environment (such as following the same mindless bike route or trekking to the same study corral at the ACES library) I've got a lot of fresh snow in front of me.

So I'm doing the only thing that came to mind: I'm thrashing through it on these sleek and unsteady new British skis.

I'm going with Bristol's Real Pale Ale Society to tour a Bath brewery. I'm the layout and design editor for Missing Link, a science magazine. I'm going to see Alkaline Trio on Friday. I'm discovering new favorite study spots. I'm figuring out how to manage time, hunger, and walking distances.

And of course, I'm getting beat up by jiu jitsu girls.