two weddings, two wins, three fish

last week i received V's wedding invitation. a couple of weeks before that i also got informed that i would be playing a role in the wedding. L and i are going to be the gate-openers to the church. V has been cramming since her wedding will be on saturday. i got the confirmation that she has seriously really included jacob in the invite last friday. so with little hope and expectation i told jacob about it and was surprised off my socks when he said he'd go. it will be on a saturday so he will be missing practice as well as i.

last night we had dinner with shunsui and nanao-chan, and they gave out their wedding invites. but unlike V, nanao-chan has been well-prepared and has been calmly executing her wedding plans. the wedding date won't be until december. jacob and i will be sponsors.

two wedding invites, and with roles! first time ever, in my whole life. seriously. either my friends are just really getting married late or i finally allowed myself to get close enough to be invited to have a role in the ceremony. most of the time i don't even make it to the guest list unless it's an obligatory invite (like i'm family or because i'm one of the bosses). anyway, it looks like i've become more than a shadow and a spectator. i believe it's all good.

meanwhile, i've won in the last two matches in my saturday practice. all the time i have dreaded and imagined how it would go. and every time i surprise myself when i hear the point called out. i have actually been told by our class's sensei that i would be recommended to take the first level exam in hongkong next year. that was a bit of a shock because i have always assumed i'd need two more years. well, it's a recommendation not yet an actual order or something. maybe there's still a chance to wiggle out of it and get to practice a bit more.

plans for the new business are going well. we're signing registration stuff in late september or early october, avoiding the mercury retrograde to be on the safe side. i have come up with more name options all including "fish". V, L and i are excited and we are all at the end of our ropes with our current work setup. we are eager to begin our new lives, literally eager to Have Lives. as such i have calmed myself sufficiently to just do what needs to be done especially in the training and re-training part. certainly i no longer wish nor intend to invest too much time and effort in training the juniors. it's either they find their groove in the next four months or not. beyond that i am washing my hands off them.