granola and hot sauce

First, I was invited to do some sparring with one of the only other people around my age. He might be a little older, or a little younger. I'm not sure, but I thought it would be a good first match. I had a hell of a time getting myself going that morning and was still feeling pretty sluggish when I showed up. That said, he proved to be one of my tougher opponents of the day, instead. Getting punched in the face got my adrenaline to finally kick in.

I got punched in the face a lot on Saturday. Numerous people apologized for landing poorly controlled punches - we don't spar hard. Most prefer to go lighter than I'd want them to. I feel good about how unfazed I am by it. I know it's because they're throwing their strikes more desperately. One sparring partner commented that I land more head kicks than anyone there.

I sparred with a lot of people.  Maybe twice as many as last time. I grappled a number of people, too. My stamina has improved so much. I chatted through my mouthguard a lot. Maybe too much at times, but it's my chance to practice being social. That seems to be improving, too.

After about two hours, things seemed to be winding down, and I knew that I was more exhausted than my body was yet letting on. I hopped on my little bicycle and pedaled home. Then barely moved until Monday. I'm amazed that everything has turned out ok, so far. I even recovered in time to participate in this park sparring event. It's been another tough month.

The heart issue did turn out to be minor. I just have to be conscientious about it. I suspect that either the vaccine caused it, or aggravated it, or maybe I had covid and didn't know it, and that's what caused it. Maybe it was all that coconut oil I used to eat, but I switched to peanut oil many months ago. It may get better on its own. 

So far, so good, in terms of the cancer. I'm still struggling with the contradiction that I had cancer but it was just a speed bump. I'm afraid it will come back in one form or another, but in the meantime, I got to class again tonight. Judo was great. We had this terrifying drill, where we each had to throw everyone else in the class, using one of three throws we just learned, while they try not to be thrown. While the rest of the class watches as they wait their turn. 

The throws worked against different types of people. Ouchi gari works against larger opponents, while kosoto gari works better against those who are lighter on their feet. It was interesting to see kouchi work against some, while ouchi other worked against the rest. It was nice do quite well at it, there in front of everyone. I'm feeling back on track again. It's not a track that goes anywhere, but it's a huge benefit to both my mental and physical health. Maybe it will help keep the cancer from coming back.

On the one hand, that seems almost indisputably reasonable to me. We have all sorts of evidence that both physical and mental health play a gigantic role. On the other hand, people often treat it as bad luck and something we really only fight with medical intervention. After a person gets it. especially. We don't want to blame anyone for their own grave misfortune, but those same factors play a role in how aggressively it advances, and how likely it is to come back, should the medical intervention work.

Maybe sometimes it is entirely bad luck, but even then, there are things we can do to improve or sabotage our chances against it. Not just in terms of physical health, but in terms of meeting emotional needs, living in ways that don't make us too stressed out and miserable. Sometimes that's less a matter of having a right attitude, and more of how we spend our time every day. The mind tends to overestimate it's own role in the situation.

Plus the broccoli. I don't know why I keep trying to make tofu - stir-frying broccoli is so much easier to do reasonably well. I also planted a variety of leafy greens. They barely last a day after buying. so if I can grow a good amount, that should work. My plants outside are pumping out lots of peppers. I've finally started making sauce. It's so easy and good. Like making my own granola, I feel silly for taking so long to try it. I thought it would be more complicated.

I'm talking about basic vinegar hot sauce. No fermenting things, no infusing oil with leaves and twigs. Just pureed vinegar, peppers, and salt. That alone is good, but I roast the peppers in olive oil first, and I'm experimenting with adding other things, like mango, and trying different types of vinegar. As for my granola, I've realized that if I add water to the oats and cacao first, letting that clump before baking it all together with the nuts, seeds, and coconut, I end up with those clusters everyone seems to think so important for granola to have.