Sensei: Say, melancharisbron, you're a... what? (peers past the black fabric ties of the hakama to discern the color of the belt beneath) ah, you're a green belt. You wouldn't know off-hand when you did that kyu exam, would you?

M: (slightly croggled - sensei would only have one reason for asking this question, especially on the mat during training) Er, uhm, yeah, a year ago last December.

Sensei: Hmm, I see. (a beat) Well, you probably want to start thinking about studying for the next kyu...

M: Oh, yes. Certainly.

***
Uhm... ooops? With the way the language study seemed to be sucking out all my brains, I'd sorta-kinda decided I was not in such a hurry for the next rank. But, clearly, that's not what came out of my mouth during last night's conversation.

Sensei took the trouble to button-hole me during the post-training beer regarding my training focus and examinations, in between the moment of hilarity that ensued when I showed up with my post-training Belgian beer and an order of friet (that's "French fries" to folks in the US). My dojo-mates teasing me about how I was turning Belgian; in my defense, I showed how I'd spurned the local-default condiment of mayonnaise (sound FX: ptttt!) and rushed to the kitchen for a small helping of ketchup.

Thinking about the exam-call on the way home, I reckoned that my "not-in-a-hurry" had turned into a "yes" because my inner child, who's been on something of a strop in recent days (probably an after-effect of that mini-cold), wanted something that carried with it a fair amount of confidence in success.

Besides, presuming I would succeed (not always a certainty, although I will do my best - and even have a training /v/i/c/t/i/m volunteer, a friend from a lower grade who's also probably looking to get some tips on how best to train for his own exam - which makes me smile: hey, I'm actually worth talking to about a topic I really like!), AS I WAS WRITING (man, flake in a snowstorm, here), presuming I succeed, there is a blue belt given to my by my friend M., who managed to reach 2nd kyu before her health made doing aikido an impossibility, but who still keeps social contacts at the club. I would be very pleased to be able to wear that belt in particular.