So some things are finally coming together in practice, though I'm sure I'm setting myself back by saying and thinking so--despite being in full bogu for over an hour and a half today, I was still walking by the end and still had another bout in me, maybe--it certainly was a great feeling, the progressive drenchedness of my entire head and the spent exhaustedness, but though of course there were always new waza which I had a hard time mastering, somehow by the time it came for mawari-geiko, I felt I could hold my own against at least some of the other beginners, feeling for the first time confident enough that going for big-kote and big-men actually let me do better than the sashi-waza which are supposed to be faster, but which cause less winceing flinching and are still less accurate--I was just cutting away almost effortlessly. I guess if my cut is big and straight I will make it in. It's still a long way to go and far from anything to write home about, but it's the sort of progress that's a little reassuring after so long which is not so long at all.

Anyway, a new semster begins tomorrow, and I find myself vaguely energized and excited to extend my current work to the next level, which is non-linear but exciting. And the class-composition changes which they have been making in the various classes will make my life much more tolerable indeed. All in all, I'm ready to put that old winter malaise behind me.