June 16, 2006
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Woohoo! 4-day weekend. June 14 was the Army’s Birthday (231 years old) and so we had an on post celebration, and the workday ended before lunch. However, before that, there was other stuff to do.
I was volun-told to be a part of the Homecoming parade that we had. (Gerald, it was almost exactly like a WP parade). The day before, we had a practice for it, and we had people pass out. Probably due to the heat, and the fact that our company had a party the day before, with lots of alcohol, due to the fact that we were changing commanders (I didn’t attend). Actually, no one rom our unit passed out, but one girl did vomit, but was able to get out of formation before she did. Her face was the same color as her ACU’s. The next day (the 14th), during the actual parade, we had one guy pass out, as in tip over and go down. There were a couple in other units, too.
Later on in the day, there were festivities, culminating with a concert that included Lee Ann Womack, The Denver Bronco Cheerleaders, Lil Romeo, and Master P. It was a pretty good time, and I forgot to bring my camera, but I guy I know recorded most of it, so I’ll have that posted sometime. I’ve never been a fan of Lil ROmeo, mostly because I listen to rock (Rise Against, Disturbed, etc) but his stuff was pretty good. Also, seeing him made me want to go and do situps. I mean, if my job was only to sing and look good, I would be more cut, too.
Thursday, I finally went to the wood shop to make my staffs. I decided to go with octagonal, since I can’t find a 6-foot lathe anywhere. I started with a block that was 2.25″ x 2.25″ x 72″. The first task it to cut it into 4 long pieces. When I started the first cut, the wood began to smoke. I was using some purpleheart that I purchased a few years ago, specifically for this project. I selected it for it’s high density (57-76 lbs/cu.ft.)), and the fact that I could not get a straight, long piece. Otherwise, I would have gotten lignum vitae, particularly for it’s weight (at 77-80 lbs/cu.ft.). Apparently, this was a bit much for the saw. You can actually see some circular burn marks on the wood, which I think adds character.
I only messed up 1 bo, so now I gave 2 bos and 2 hanbos (half bos, 3 feet long). The hanbo feels heavier than a baseball bat, and tapping it lightly against my shin was painful.
Today, I began finishing them with tung oil. Don’t worry, I already used jokes about getting tung oil for my wood, as well as many other quips about wood.
Black 6, out.
Comments (7)
Venturing into wooden weapons, I see. I just got a Kendo stick, so I know the benefits!
Have a good one!
Your information of it being similar to the West Point parades saddens me in that i was hoping that those would be good and done with once i graduated…
What are the final weights on you bos? Going to put up any pictures of the finished products?
Note to self: Not drinking before attending the parade or the Medical Examier’s Office.
Well don’t you have diverse interest!! Very nice!
Made anything tasty lately?!
This sounds really fun! By the way on top of my hiking stick–yea, I have placed a very special symbol — something you might like to try? Please take care, Sharon
Well i can cancel the hotel, BUT they charge me about 25 bucks.
So actually.. in all honesty, I didnt run this last week, I worked later into the night every day and the person I usually run with had a different shift at her work and a gym so she ran there and I just kinda kept putting it off.. But I plan on picking it back up tomorrow. And today was fathers day and I forgot my running clothes and all I had were my work clothes and I dont think running in them would have went over well. But I took this class to start running more and get into shape so I dont plan on backing down. Just takes me a while to do anything… I procrastinate too much! But I was working on a rythem (sp) I was stretching and then walking a 4th minle and then jogging what I could, usually a 4th mile and once I even got almost a half mile, and then walking and then jogging again. Intigration is the key I figured! I still havent found a very good hill anywhere I could jog without being almost hit or in a neighborhood that would call the cops for a trunk and some weird dude running up an down it.. LOL, its the rolling plains of Texas, the only hills we have are driveways and over passes and believe its illegal to play on those…!