Check out the back issues of my monthly newsletter and sign up for future updates!
Welcome to the 2.0 edition of this newsletter from the front lines of my ambitions as a martial artist and author. I'm glad you're here and am exceptionally grateful for your support, interest, and investment in this journey.
If you’re new, welcome. If you’re not, welcome back! However we know each other or however you found this newsletter, I hope sharing some stories and thoughts on a monthly-or-more cadence will inspire you to find and follow some courageous and crazy dreams of your own.
Big props to my new cohort of Patreon patrons from the month of August: Ali F., Erica S., Elise P., and Helena M. Your contribution to the "creative tip jar" powered me through outlining a book proposal and writing my first “competitive” piece of writing for submission into a contest. Thank you for your generous moral and monetary support.
If you'd like to join the Patreon party, unlock exclusive content, special notes, vlogs, and perks from September onward, you can contribute here. Every cent counts.
I've spent a lot of energy on writing and training this month, so I’ll set your expectations low for this edition and hope to exceed them. The theme of this second newsletter is Oklahoma, a place I never would have expected to live, let alone visit. If there's one thing you should know, it's this: there's more to the place than cattle, cornfields, and Tiger Kings.
Below, you'll read some field notes from "The Sooner State" from someone who had a 30-year existence on the East Coast largely spent in cities and suburbs within hour of the Atlantic Ocean.
Time to stop standing on the wall. Let’s get down on it.
Surprised
Fascinated
Amused
The last time I got my hair cut was in March, so it had been been five months rather than the six weeks advised by my stylist re: getting a trim. I’d also gotten my hair balayage-highlighted before I left in the spirit of change: change of city and imminent change of lifestyle mapped to a change of hairstyle. I didn’t know the next time I’d be somewhere and able to get a good haircut, so I shelled out big-time with my Boston-based hairdresser, trusting that she would set me up with something that would grow out without looking completely stupid if left unmaintained. Even so, a few months of semi-pro jiu-jitsu training later, I looked like a short-circuited Pikachu, my hair a static electric mess of split brown-blond ends.
I picked The Iron Rose because it was close by, the prices were reasonable, the stylists were well-reviewed, and, if I needed to re-highlight my hair, this place seemed particularly well-regarded for its hair color professionals. The reviews were filled with richly-colored glamour shots of coiffures ranging the full color spectrum. If they could make electric blues and slime greens look good, surely they could make my basic brown look acceptable.
I’d driven by the place before, a spearmint-colored house with a yoga studio upstairs and a vegetarian cafe next door. I didn’t know what to expect beyond a likely-abundance of hippy, artistic people, but when I walked inside, I felt like I’d just entered a small-scale theme park…
The rationale for stationing myself in Oklahoma came down to a single word: Lovato. Rafael Lovato Jr. is a world champion Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and MMA fighter. A native of Oklahoma City, he owns and operates two gyms in the area, with the headquarters facility located about ten miles north of downtown. It's a gorgeous facility for training and a well-oiled machine as a business. More on the latter some other time.
While Lovato's instructional videos and reputation were what initially influenced the decision to train here, there's more to jiu-jitsu in Oklahoma than the man who is practically synonymous with Oklahoma City Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Don't get me wrong: taking a class under a world-class Professor and niche celebrity is a very cool and privileged opportunity, one that makes a pricey gym membership a little easier to swallow. But it's the experiences outside of the actual teaching and training that been exceedingly memorable, including:
As the above might suggest, for all the flatness and farmland of Oklahoma, there's no shortage of things to write about regarding my time here. When it comes to author-ly activities, aside from posts on @zenintheartoffighting, and some conversations with two published authors who enlightened me about their end-to-end process, the big thing I've been working on is a draft of a nonfiction book proposal (AKA a business plan for my book), along with a few sample chapters to include with the proposal. My goal is to have a really robust proposal by the middle of October and to be pitching literary agents before the end of the year. My moonshot goal is to get an agent that's the Margaret Riley to my Glennon Doyle, or whoever works with Michael Lewis.
Snickers had her first grooming appointment of the trip and got a “Report Card” for her session. We were later told that she was unfussy until it came to her paw-dicure. Somehow, one ten-pound dog required the effort of three Petco employees in order to get her front nails trimmed:
Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed my second update from the road!
If you want to continue supporting the journey chip some $ in the creative tip jar for exclusive content and perks on Patreon, follow @zenintheartoffighting on Instagram for weekly posts, and forward this newsletter along to one friend you think might be entertained.
Until soon, with love from "The Sooner State",
Erica
P.S. If you’ve made it this far and want to check out the writing contest submission that was low-key mentioned at the top of the newsletter, it’s linked here.
Check out the back issues of my monthly newsletter and sign up for future updates!
Welcome to Issue #038 of Zen in the Art of Fighting New to the newsletter? Thank you for subscribing! I'm glad you're here and hope you like what you see. Wondering what you missed out on in previous editions? You can check out the newsletter archive here. Standby subscribers! Thank you for sticking with me. Scroll to the end for some important housekeeping related to future editions of this newsletter! Five Things Worth Sharing 1. One Good Picture: A Bug Jumps Out of the Sky Bug had his...
Welcome to Issue #037 of Zen in the Art of Fighting New to the newsletter? Thank you for subscribing! I'm glad you're here and hope you like what you see. Wondering what you missed out on in previous editions? You can check out the newsletter archive here. Standby subscribers! Thanks for sticking with me! I appreciate your support and hope you find something you love in this latest edition. Was this forwarded to you? Awesome. Now don't miss the next one. Subscribe Now Five Things Worth...
Welcome to Issue #036 of Zen in the Art of Fighting New to the newsletter? Thank you for subscribing! I'm glad you're here and hope you like what you see. Did you subscribe to this newsletter a while ago and only receive it just now for the first time? I'm sorry! I recently fixed my settings and those technical difficulties should now be resolved. Thanks for your patience and happy to have you here. Wondering what you missed out on in previous editions? You can check out the newsletter...